SECTION IX.

Mr Macpherson's Collections of Gaelic Poetry.—Early Suspicions of their Authenticity.—Strengthened by some Expressions used by Mr Macpherson. -Estimate of his Abilities.-His Highlander, and his Translation of Homer.

Of all the collections of Gaelic poetry which have, at different periods, been made, that of James Macpherson, Esq. has deservedly excited the greatest interest; and, as it was the first, in point of time, so it still continues to occupy the foremost rank, in point of intrinsic value. The poems themselves, which he has given us, are far more considerable in their extent, more finished in their structure, and of far purer style and

imagery than those which have been given by Dr Smith.

Mr Macpherson, indeed, in collecting these poems, enjoyed advantages which have not been, nor can ever henceforth be, enjoyed by any person, who engages in a similar undertaking. He began his researches twenty years earlier than any other collector; before that generation had yet passed away, in whose memory the knowledge and admiration of Gaelic poetry was still fresh. He travelled, by a most extensive route, through the Highlands and islands, supported by a liberal subscription of the friends of Celtic literature; and he was introduced everywhere to the gentlemen and clergy of the Highlands, by the patronage and recommendation of the eminent names of Dr Blair, Dr Robertson, Dr Carlyle, and Mr Home. Under such favourable auspices, it was not surprising that Mr Macpherson succeeded in obtaining almost all that was valuable in

the tradition, or written records of Gaelic poetry. To subsequent collectors, such as Dr Smith and Mr Kennedy, who engaged in this undertaking at a later period, on the limited scale of their own abilities and influence; and in the narrow circle, to which they had personal access, he left, as might have been expected, only a few meagre gleanings; some of which, however, are of unquestionable antiquity, and of undeniable

merit.

From the high rank which Mr Macpherson's collections have been allowed to hold in the scale of poetic merit, contrasted with the supposed state of society in which they were said to have been composed, and the long period through which they were said to have been handed down by oral tradition, suspicions of their authenticity came naturally to be entertained; especially by persons who were unable, or unwilling, to take into consideration the circumstances, which have

been pointed out in the ancient history and manners of our Celtic ancestors.

Mr Macpherson himself, having, by certain expressions which have dropped from his pen, contributed, in some measure, to give additional strength to these suspicions, though perhaps without any such design, it may be proper here, shortly, to trace the share which he has had in these collections, as far as this can now be done, not in the manner of Mr Laing, by gratuitous inference and vague conjecture; but by an analysis of what has, by himself and others, been long ago made public to the world.

It appears, from the notices which have been given us of Mr Macpherson's character, by those who knew him best, that he was a man of an ardent and impatient spirit. Mr Hume charges him with pride and caprice.* He calls him "a strange and hete

* Committee's Report, p. 5.

"roclite mortal, than whom he never knew

a man more perverse and unamiable."* It appears, at the same time, that Mr Macpherson possessed a very considerable degree of literature; and that he had been actuated, from a very early period, with an eager passion for literary fame.† Born in a remote corner of the Highlands of Scotland, he appears to have entertained, from his youth, a high admiration of the traditional poetry of his country. In his Dissertation on the Antiquity of Ossian's Poems, prefixed to his first volume, he tells us, that " though he "admired the poems, in the original, very

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early, and gathered part of them from tra

dition, for his own amusement, yet he

never had the smallest hope of seeing "them in an English dress." Dr Blair, accordingly, in his letter to Mr Mackenzie,

* Committee's Report, p. 9.

See, in the Report, the letters of Mr Home, Dr Carlyle, &c.