have a merit that tranflations rarely poffefs. Were it not for the Roman imagery, that is fometimes injudiciously retained, no one, unacquainted with the originals, would fufpect that Hammond wrote not from his immediate feelings. To fay that it would be hard to find in all his productions three ftanzas that deferve to be remembered,' is certainly the height of prejudice. The Doctor forgets, that although at his time of life the fubject of a love elegy may be totally uninterefting, it is not the cafe with every one, and we doubt not that at a certain period there are those who read them with greater avidity than even "LONDON," or "the VANITY OF HUMAN WISHES," Dr. Johnfon is at a lofs to tell why Hammond, or other writers, have thought the quatrain of ten fyllables elegiac. The character of elegy, he adds, is gentlenefs and tenuity. Sa long as fome of the moft violent and impetuous of the paffions are the fubjects of elegy, fo long will this be an imperfect and miftaken definition. The next life that offers itself is that of Collins a writer whofe imperfections and peculiarities are left in the blaze of genius. But hear what Dr. Johnfon fays- His diction was often harfh, unfkilfully laboured, and injudicioufly felected. He affected the obfolete when it was not worthy of revival; and he puts his words out of the common order, feeming to think, with fome later candidates for fame, that not to write profe is certainly to write poetry. His lines commonly are of flow motion, clogged and impeded with clusters of confonants. men are often efteemed who cannot be loved, fo the poetry of Collins may fometimes extort praife when it gives little pleafure.' [To be continued.] Stanhope fhall come and grace his rural friend, With blushing awe the riper fruit commend, The two first of these stanzas are original, the last is evidently borrowed from the following beautiful paffage of the 5th elegy of the first book of Tibullus: Huc veniet Meffala meus, C..t..t. ART. see ART. III. An Enquiry into the Authenticity of the Poems afcribed to O p.480.w UR Readers need not be informed, that, at the first appearance of the poems afcribed to Offian, fufpicions were entertained of their authenticity: and notwithstanding Dr. Blair produced a number of ftrong and explicit teftimonies to fupport the credit both of the author and the tranflator, yet there were fome "fturdy" fceptics, who with little ceremony pronounced them to be forgeries, and hefitated not to declare publickly, that Offian and Macpherson were the fame. This declaration received great fupport from the well-known decifion of a very eminent writer, who reafoning on the improbability of fuch poems having been preferved through fo many ages. by tradition only, boldly pronounced their prefervation, impoffible. What intrinfic beauties the poems of Offian may poffefs, is no object of the prefent enquiry. Their merit, as compofitions, is however, with us, the principal reason for fuppofing them to be, in a great degree at leaft, the production of a "bard of modern times." The belief of their being genuine hath been indeed declining of late very faft; and it is the defign of the prefent pamphlet to deftroy it entirely. To effect this, it was neceffary to weaken the internal evidence, and totally to invalidate the teftimonies adduced in favour of the authenticity of Offian by Dr. Blair. [Vid. the "Appendix" to his elegant "Differtation."] Mr. Shaw's knowledge of the Galic language is undoubtedly very great; and the proofs he hath afforded of it are incontef table. In this view he is peculiarly calculated to investigate the prefent fubject with the accuracy and precifion of the critic andfcholar. What others have conjectured, he hath proved: and particular detection hath given credit to general fufpicion. profefs myself, fays this Author, to be an enquirer after truth. Truth hath always been dearer to me than my country; nor fall I ever fupport an ideal national honour founded on an imposture, though it were to my hindrance. I can fhew Dr. Johnson, that there is one Scotchman who loves truth better than his country, and that I am a flurdy enough moralift to declare it, though it fhould mortify my Caledonian vanity. I think proper to fpeak in this clear and open manner, and prefix my name, becaufe I know that fome men imagine there is no moral turpitude in anonymously publishing one thing in a pamphlet, whilft they think and believe the contrary.' When the authenticity of the poems of Offian was firft called in question, the pretended original manufcript was faid to have been left, for the space of fix weeks, at Mr. Becket's fhop for the inspection of the curious. This MS. however was never feen by any perfon, who was capable of reading it. If any MS. at all was left with the publifher, juft by way of a blind to the credulous, Mr. Shaw conjectures that it might have been fome Irish MS.* and this conjecture is ftrengthened by a very fingular circumftance which will be related hereafter. At all events it could not be a MS. of the poems of Offian; for it is very well known (fays Mr. Shaw) that the Earfe dialect of the Galic was never written nor printed, until Mr. Macfarlane, late minifter of Killinver, Argylefhire, published in 1754, a tranflation of Baxter's Call to the Unconverted. Since his time there have been fome fongs and books of piety printed. This I can eafily prove, because no Earfe MS. ever was or can be produced. And although the Pfalms of David, and Confeffion of Faith, have been tranílated into Galic, it is well known that it is neither the Earfe fpelling nor dialect; but written in the if Galic. It was, first published in 1694, and was verfified by the Synod of Argyle; but the beft executed pfalms are allowed to be done by the Romish clergy of the North of Ireland.' Mr. Shaw quotes a paffage from Col. Valancey's Irish Grammar, to prove that Mr. Macpherson, inftead of tranflating from the Galic into English, hath on the contrary translated his own English into Galic. From this remarkable detection, Mr. Shaw fhrewdly hints, that if ever Mr. Macpherson intends to publish a Galic verfion, he would do well to attend to the true orthography of the old Galic; efpecially if he wishes to continue the impofture.' We must not pretend to purfue this Writer in his attempts to overthrow the credit of Ohian from internal evidence; nevertheless we cannot quit this part of the fubject without presenting our Readers with the following very curious remark: The mythology of the Poems of Offian hath been raised entirely on the fuperftition of the fecond fight, heightened by poetry, and the ftories of ghofts, apparitions, &c. &c. fo common in the fifteenth century, which Mr. Macpherson so much affects to defpife: but to which, however, he is indebted for all the materials he had.. The other great fpirits to which allufions fometimes are made, is nothing lefs nor more than the common Highland idea of the devil, who is believed to raise every storm, and go abroad with it. All these notions are ftill prevalent in the mountains, and a proper part of a mythology. In fhort, the whole machi A manufcript was certainly left with Mr. Becket; who declares that feveral perfons called to examine it; and that he heard none deny its authenticity. nery hery is nothing but the fuperftition of the Highlands, poetically embellished. The Spirit of Loda is ingeniously tranflated from Ireland into a Scandinavian God, taken from a tale, called Muirarlach mor o Laiahan. Mr. Macpherfon, not perhaps knowing that Laidhan was the Irish name of Leinfler, turns it to Loda, and calls it a part of Scandinavia. The tale makes Muirarlach a fort of monfter, and fometimes a knight errant engaging a windmill, and then a giant ftriding from hill to hill across Erin. It afforded, however, to an author a good hint; and Mr. Macpherfon accordingly conjured it to the Spirit of Loda. This tale is common in the Highlands to this day.' The Author of this Enquiry, after having obferved how easy it is to produce a poem with fuch Galic epithets, as blue-eyed, white bofom'd, dark-brown hair, &c. and having tranflated a ftanza of it into Earfe, to impofe the whole for an original of "other times" on the credulous and ignorant reader, relates a very fingular fact to ftrengthen his affertion, viz. that in this manner a collection was made up and published at Edinburgh, three years ago by Mr. Clarke, entitled The Caledonian Bards. It was reviewed in London, and adduced as an argument for the genuineness of Fingal. Mr. Clarke, when I charged him with it, confeffed that it was entirely made up! One of the poems of that collection is happily fet off with the title of The Words of Woe. The author told me, that all he had for the ground-work of it was a fong called Furram na truaidhe, compofed on a late emigration of the Highlanders to America. the fame manner the reft of the collection was made up*.' In After an examination of the internal evidence of the authenticity of the poems afcribed to Offian, Mr. Shaw proceeds to the examination of external teftimony; on this head he is full, clear, and explicit. Mr. Smith, the ingenious author of "Galic Antiquities" publifhed last year, hath affured us, that Mr. Macpherson hath always been readiet to fhew his originals to the best judges." This affertion Mr. Shaw flatly denies: and then obferves with respect to himself, that Mr. Macpherson had often promifed him a fight of thofe pretended originals, but never could be induced, after application to him at fix different times, to fulfil his promife. There was always fome apology made; the MSS. were at his houfe in the country, or miflaid; or the key was loft; or I fhould fee them fome other time. Why did he promife to fhew them? And fince he promifed, why not fhew them? Let the Public draw inferences. This is true. Let Mr. Macpherson contradict it if he can.' *Mr. Clarke hath just published an Answer to Mr. Shaw's Enquiry; which we have not yet perused. Mr. Shaw informs us, that in the year 1778 he fet out from London for the Highlands and Hebrides to collect materials for his Dictionary. Every where he made the most anxious enquiries about the poems of Offian, and with infinite folicitude fought for fome of the originals, in order, if poffible, to remove the scepticism of his friend Dr. Johnson, respecting their authenticity, by attefted copies. But his enquiries were to no purpofe. He was mortified at his ill fuccefs; and he who glowed with ambition to convert Dr. Johnson, became himself an unbeliever! "When I travelled, fays Mr. Shaw, into the Highlands, I made it my bufinefs to fee as many as refided in the country of thofe gentlemen whofe names Dr. Blair hath made use of. Mr. Donald Macqueen, minifter of Killmuir in the Ifle of Sky, is the first name who vouches for Mr. Macpherson's tranflation being "a literal one", and "that the original was re"peated by numbers in every part of the Highlands." This is the learned minifter who chose to be filent when interrogated on this fubject by Dr. Johnfon; and although he gave his fignature to Dr. Blair, as a voucher for their authenticity, to my certain knowledge, he is not in poffeffion of a line of the originals; although long in fearch of them, he wished to procure me fome, but knew not how...... Mr. Donald Macleod, minifter of Glenelg, I think, lodged Mr. Macpherson in his journey. He hath vouched alfo for the authenticity; yet though I challenged him to produce threelines of the original, he could not fhew one. Mr. Niel Macleod, one of the minifters of Mul', vouched, but could not, although defirous of it, favour me with one line. He fent for different people, who he thought were poffeffed of them, but they produced only the compofitions of the fifteenth century. . Mr. Macaulay, chaplain to the 88th regiment, is mentioned also as a voucher. He knows juft as much of the poems. as his above brethren. I have converfed with Mr. Macaulay on the subject.' The other teftimonies in Dr. Blair's Appendix, are all quef tioned, or directly confuted by our Author: and he boldly challenges the gentlemen whofe names he mentions, to difprove. bis affertions, or to make good their own. Mr. Smith in his Defence of the Authenticity of Offian, mentions" Profeffor Macleod of Glafgow as a perfon who was allowed to compare fome books of the original with the tranf lation:" and yet, fays Mr. Shaw, in a converfation with me in London, who promised to purchase any number of lines, not under fix, at the rate of two fhillings and fixpence each word, he could neither repeat a fyllable, nor undertake to procure from Mr. |