natives had no intercourse with strangers, nor desire of novelty. The difference time has made in the Celtic spoken by the Irish and Highlanders of this day is so trivial, that men born in distant countries, on meeting, converse and understand each other without much difficulty. Nor are Ossian's poems more unintelligible to either, than Chaucer to an Englishman, or even Spencer, who wrote only in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.

Mr. Laing, after objecting to the authenticity of the poems, all that extensive reading, wit, and ingenuity could devise, comments at length, on the manner in which they made their appearance, and 'thinks it very suspicious. "Not satisfied," says he, "with a doubtful translation, a man of letters, possessed of an original manuscript, comments and dwells upon it; "communicates it with raptures to his "friends; conveys it in a faithful edition "to the world; deposits it in some public

library for the inspection of the curious,

"and

"and finally bequeaths it to some public " institution."

Now, impartial reader, hear and judge, if the manner in which these poems came to light and found their way abroad, differs widely from the formalities above required to render them authentic. Dr. Blair testifies, that "an accidental conversation gave " occasion to Mr. Macpherson's translating one or two small pieces of the Gaelic poe"try. These being known to me (Dr.

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Blair) and some others, rendered us very "desirous of becoming more acquainted "with that poetry. Mr. Macpherson, "afraid of not doing justice to compositions, which he admired in the original, 66 was very backward to undertake the task " of translating; and the publication of "the fragments of ancient poems, was with "no small importunity extorted from him. "The high reputation these presently ac

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quired, made it he thought unjust the "world should be deprived of the posses"sion of more, if more of the same kind "could be recovered; and Mr. Macpherson

"was warmly urged by several gentlemen "of rank and taste, to disengage himself "from other occupations, and to undertake

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a journey through the Highland and "Islands, on purpose to make a collection "of those curious remains of antiquity. "He complied with their desire, and spent "several months in visiting those remote

parts of the country; during which time "he corresponded frequently with his "friends in Edinburgh, informing them of "his progress, of the application which he "made in different quarters, and of the

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success which he met with. Several let"ters of his, and those who assisted him "in making discoveries, passed through

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my (Dr. Blair's) hands. His undertaking

was the object of considerable attention: "and returning at last, fraught with the poetical treasures of the north, he set "himself to translate, under the eye of 66 some who who were acquainted with the Gaelic language, and looked into his manuscripts; and by a large publication, "made an appeal to all the natives of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, whe"ther

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"ther he had been faithful to his charge, "and done justice to their well known fa"vourite poems."

This is the plain natural narration of a man, who was himself, from the beginning, instrumental in bringing to light the works of Ossian, and whose veracity none can doubt. The The manuscripts collected and brought by Macpherson from the Highlands, were looked into and examined, by persons acquainted with the language.— Many, we may presume, were only recent, being taken down from the recitation of persons who knew the poems by heart. There were more ancient: Captain M'Lachlan, of the 56th regiment, possessed some on vellum, so old, as to be scarce legible. They were the remains of many that had been collected by his predecessors, who were great admirers of the Highland bard. But the largest and most valuable assortment of his works, was procured from M'Donald, of Kiles, in Knoidart. gentleman affirms, that among them was one of as old a date as the year 1410.

One

Mrs.

Mrs. Grant tells us a fact,* which, as most of her other informations on this head, she probably had from the linguist who accompanied Macpherson through the Highlands; that when the translator was pressed to produce ancient manuscripts, “a red "book, in which a chieftain had caused "several of the original fragments to be "written down, occurred. It was parch

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ment, and it was old; but upon exami"nation, it shrunk from trial; for as I was "told, (says she) it was not three hundred 66 years old: these, however, (she properly

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observes) proved superabundantly, that "the translator was not the author of the

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poems." The red book here mentioned, seems to be the Leabhar Dearg, belonging to Clanronald's family. If so, it contradicts Mr. Laing, who asserts, it contained no original poems of Ossian. However, as he could not understand them, the falsehood must be attributed to his Gaelic master, whose ignorance has exposed him to so

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* Vide her letter to Robt. Arbuthnot, Esq. p. 349.