The celebrity which such singular poems soon obtained appears, now, to have induced M'Pherson to come forward not as the translator, but as the author; accordingly, we find him in the preface to the second edition of the work, use the term "Author," in reference to himself. The supporters of the Gael were not disposed, however, to see the laurels which had been so suddenly twined round the ancient Celtic bards as suddenly carried away again, and, accordingly, a most severe and animated controversy was commenced between the friends of M'Pherson, who wished him to be considered the author, and the defenders of the Highland muse. The former party seemed to have gained the ascendancy, not on account of the justice of their cause, but from a combination of fortuitous circumstances. There was, at that time, both in England and Scotland, a party of men who bore no good will to the Gael, on account of the prominent part they had taken in the cause of Charles Stuart; and these, headed by Samuel Johnson, were amongst the fiercest and most bitter opponents of those who defended the authenticity of Ossian. It appears, however, that M'Pherson himself was appalled by the fury of the tempest which, in a moment of culpable and blinded ambition, he had unwittingly raised; and we find him rather succumbing under the storm than attempting to battle with it.

The subject is, however, involved in much obscurity, notwithstanding the many enquiries which were made, both at that time, and in later periods; and this obscurity has been much deepened by the whole of the conduct of McPherson. If he ever had the original Manuscripts, and there appears to be little doubt on the subject, he took particular care to destroy them, in order to further his claims to being received as the original author. His wish has to a certain extent been completed, as the great body of the public, at the present day, seem to accord

these productions to a bard of no higher antiquity than M'Pherson himself; and we do not wonder at this judgment of the public, seeing the very great industry which Johnson and many others used, in order to misrepresent the subject. There is no doubt that M'Pherson is entitled to the claim of originality in the manner which he connected and disguised the poems, and this circumstance alone has caused much difficulty in separating the translator from the author. But there remains a fact, which all that has been said against the authenticity of Ossian has never overturned; namely, that many of the originals of these poems, translated by M'Pherson, exist at the present day. A question of great importance hinges upon this, namely:-If M'Pherson was the author of Ossian, and if it was originally written in English, who was the author of the Gaelic poems published by the Highland Society and Dr. Smith? The existence of these originals prove, beyond dispute, that, at a former period, how far remote none at present can tell, there were Poets of very high merit in the Highlands of Scotland. Some there are who assert that these originals are merely translations from the English, to support an impudent attempt at forgery; but those who assert this know nothing of the language, or are led away by prejudice and bigotry. No one who is at all acquainted with these Gaelic originals, and versant in the late poetry of the Highlanders, but must admit, that they are entitled to claim a much more antiquated origin than the time of M'Pherson. The Ossianic poetry in matter, manner, measure, and majesty of language, differs as much from the most talented of the modern Gaelic muse as the Homeric poetry does from the most insipid Heroics of the present day; and M'Pherson or any of his friends were as incapable of committing the forgery as any of our bards are of continuing the story of Childe Harold or Don Juan.

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That McPherson was not even well acquainted with the Gaelic language is evident from his notes, where he very often abuses the original by his ignorance of its meaning; and it is also as certain that Strathmashie, his assistant, could not compose such poetry, for we have abundance of his composition to prove the fact.

Although the Poems of Ossian obtained, deservedly, a celebrated distinction, there was no complete edition, in the original Gaelic, printed until 1807, when an edition was published under the authority of the Highland Society of London, accompanied with a Latin translation, notes, dissertations, etc. The Gaelic text of which was reprinted in 1818, and these are still the only authentic and genuine editions of Ossian in the original.

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It may probably be deemed important to account for the lapse of nearly half a century that took place, between the publication of the English and that of the Gaelic originals of these poems.

M'Pherson proposed in his first edition to print the Gaelic originals of the poems immediately, if he could obtain as many subscribers as would indemnify him for the expense, but the poems soon acquired a celebrity, and in a subsequent preface he informs the public, that as nò subscribers had come forward, he did not think such a course necessary. He afterwards again intimated his design to print the originals, as soon as he had time to transcribe them for the press. Whether he ever transcribed them, or ever seriously intended to do so, is involved in much obscurity; for, in 1763, he went out to Florida with Governor George Johnson, and if the manuscripts ever existed, they were lost either there or during the passage to or from that country. He returned to this country in 1766, and died in 1796; but was so much occupied with other pursuits that he could not procure time, or had not the disposition, to prepare his work for the

press, although £1000 was received by him from Sir John McGregor Murray, Bart., being the amount of a subscription made by some gentlemen in the East Indies for that purpose. After M'Pherson's death, the furthering of the work was intrusted to the care of John M'Kenzie, Esq. of the Temple, Dr. Thomas Ross, and other eminent Gaelic scholars; but did not appear until 1807. The very able, complete, and masterly manner, however, in which the work was brought forward, leaves no cause to regret the delay which latterly and necessarily took place.

From 1753 until 1767, we have not been able to find that any Gaelic work was printed, with the exception of an edition of the Mother's Catechism, Shorter Catechism, and the reprint of Macdonald's Songs; but about that time the attention of the public was drawn more to the literary and religious state of the Highlands. In 1767, the New Testament, translated by Stewart of Killin, with the assistance of Dugald Buchanan and other eminent Gaelic scholars, was published by the Society in Scotland for propagating Christian Knowledge. The language of this translation was looked upon at that period as perfectly free from Irish idiom; but at the present day it is deemed as containing much more Irish than Gaelic. It was, however, considering the limited means of the worthies engaged in it, executed in a manner highly creditable to their industry and talent. At this period a translation of the Sum of Saving Knowledge, an amended and much altered translation of the Shorter Catechism, and the first edition of the very justly celebrated Hymns of Dugald Buchanan, made their appearance. The Hymns of Buchanan have passed through more editions than any other original work in the Gaelic language; within the thirty years after its publication, there appeared five editions, and up to the present time there have been more than twenty editions of it published in various parts of Scotland.

· In 1768, Macintyre published his volume of Songs; they were reprinted in 1790 and in 1804. At present, they are again completely out of print. In 1770, there was a volume of Hymns published by one M'Fadyen, who was, at that time, a Student in Glasgow University, but of whose future career we have no account. About the same period, another Student in Glasgow University published an Elegy on the death of Dr. M'Lachlan, and one or two other Gaelic poems-but his history is likewise involved in obscurity.

In 1773, a translation of Willison's Shorter Catechism appeared at Edinburgh, which, with corrections and alterations, by Robert M'Farlane, was reprinted in 1799, and again in 1820. In 1774, an edition of Watt's Catechism in English and Gaelic, was published at Edinburgh.

About 1775, Ronald M'Donald, the son of Alexander M'Donald, proposed to publish a Selection of old Gaelic Poetry, including some of his own and his father's pieces; the first volume appeared in 1776, but as it did not meet with sufficient encouragement, no more was published; this volume was, however, reprinted with considerable alterations in the Orthography, by Turner, in 1809, but has never been much esteemed by the Highlanders.

In 1777, an anonymous collection of Mirthful Songs was published at Edinburgh: they were mostly of a Jacobin cast, and have now become exceedingly rare.

In 1778, Shaw, who had long contemplated, and been engaged with a Celtic Grammar, published his Analysis of the Gaelic Language—and in 1780, his Gaelic Dictionary made its appearance. About the same period, the attention of the pious was directed to the fact, that no Bible existed in the language of the Highlands. It was resolved by the Society for promoting Christian knowledge, to supply this deficiency, and, in 1783, the first part appeared; it was prosecuted with considerable assiduity, and finished in