The royal gazette — [Charleston] S.C., 1782-04-24 00:00:00, page 4

*"A mannfeript ivis certainly left with Mr. Becket; who declares
that several persons called to examine it; and that he heard none deny
its authenticity. * A ,
t Mr, Clarke hath just published an Answer to Mr. Shaw's Enqui
tyi—which we have net yet perused..
LITERARY ARTICLE.
From the Monthly Review, for December, 1,81.
an Enquiry into the Authenticity of the Poems ascribed to Os
sian. By W. Shaw, A. M. F. S. A. Author of the
Gallic Dictionary and Grammar.
OUR Readers need not be informed, that, at the firft ap
pearance of the poems ascribed to Offian, fiifpicions were
entertained of their authenticity: and notwithstanding 'Dr.
Blair produced a number of Strong and explicit testimonies to
support the credit both of the author and the translator, yet
there were some " sturdy" feeptics, who with little' ceremony
pronounced them to be forgeries, tend hesitated not to declare
publickly, that Offian and Macpherfon were the fame. This
declaration received great support from the well-known deci
sion of a very eminent writer, who rehfdning on the improbabi
lity of such poems having been preserved through so many ages
by tradition only, boldly pronounced their preservation, im
pofffle.
What intrinsic beauties the poems of Offian may possess, is
no object of the present enquiry. Their merit, as com,ofitions,
is however, with us, the principal reason for supposing them
to be, in a great degree at lead, the production of a “ bard of
modern times." The belief of their being genuine hath been
indeed declining of late very fart; and it is the design of the
present pamphlet to destroy it entirely. To effect this, it was
mccefTary toaffeft the internal evidence, and totally to invali
date the testimonies adduced In favour of the authenticity of
Offian by Dr. Blair.
* Mr. Shaw's knowledge of the Galic language is undoubted
ly very great ; and the proofs be hr h afforded of it. arc incon
testable. In this view he is peculiarly calculated to investigate
the present fubjedt, with the, accuracy and precilion of the
critic and fcfelar. What others have copjedured, he hath
-proved: and particular detention hath given credit to general
suspicion., “ I profefs myfelf, fays this,author, to be an en
quirer after truth.— Truth has always been dearer to n)e than
my country; nor Jhal) 1 ever support an ideal national honour
founded on an imposture, though it were'to my hindrance.
I can shew Dr. Johnson, that there.is one Scotchman who loves
truth better than his country, and that I am aflurdy enough
moralist to declare it, though it should mortify try Caledonian
vanity- I think proper to speak in this clear and open manner,
and prefix my name, because I know that some men imagine
there is no moral turpitude in anonymously publishing one
thing in a pamphlet, whilst they think and believe the contrary."
When the authenticity of the poems of Offian was firft called
so qpeftion, the pretended original manuscript was fald to have
been left, for the space of fix weeks, at Mr. Becket's fhop.for
the infection of the curious. Thi.s MS. however Was never
seen by any perlon, who was capable of reading it. If any MS.
at all was left with the publisher, just by way of a blind to the
credulous, Mr. Shaw conjectures that it might have been some
Irish MS. * and this conjecture is strengthened by a very singu
lar circumstance which will be related hereafter. At all events
it could not be a MS. of the poems cf Offian: “ for it is very
well known (fays Mr. Shaw) that the Earje dialed of the Galic
Was never written nor printed, until Mr. Macfarlane, late Mi
nister of Killinver, Argvldhire, published in 1'754, a translation
of Barter's Call to the Unconverted. Since his time there have
been some songs and books of piety printed. This I can cafily
prove because no Earfe MS. ever was or chh be produced.
And although the Plaints of David, and Confeffiou of Faith,
have been trahflafed into Galic, it is well known that it is nei
ther the Earfe spelling nor dialed ; but written in the Irijb Ga
lic. It was fift published in 1694, and was verified by the
Synod of Argyle ; but the belt executed Psalms are allowed to
be done by the Romifh clergy of the North of Ireland."
Mr. Shaw quotes a pillage from Col. Valancey's Ififh Gfafr
mar, to prove that Mr. Macpherfon, instead of truncating from
the Galic into English, hath an the contrary tandated his own
Enghfn into Galic. From this remarkable defection, Mr. Shaw
Shrewdly hints, that " if ever Mr, Macpherfon intends to pub
lish a Galic version, he would do well to attend to the true
orthography of, the old Galic ; especially if he wishes to con
tinue' the impofture."'
We must not pretend to pursue this Writer in hi^ attempts
to overthrow the credit of Offian from internal evidence; ne
vertheless we cannot quit this part of the fubjeft without pre
senting our readers with the following very curious remark:
" The mythology of the Poems of Offifin hath been raised
entirely on the superstition of the second fight, heightened by
poetry, and the Tories of ghosts, apparitions, &c. &c. so com
ihon in the fifteenth century, which Mr. Macpherfon so much
aft &sto defpjfe: but to which, however, he isrindebted for all
the materials he had.
“ The other great spirit to which allrtfions sometimes are
made, is nothing less nor more than the common Highland idea
of the devil, Who is believed ' to raise every storm, and go abroad
with it. All theft notions are still prevalent in the mountains,
and a proper part of a mythology. In fhert, the whole machi
ffeiiyls nothing but thefuperftition ofthe Highlands, poetical
ly embellished.
" The Spirit of Loda is ingenjoufly translated from Ireland
jeto ^Scandinavian God, taken from a tale, called Muirarlach
mor o laiaban. Mr. Macpherfon, not perhaps knowing that
Laiaban was thelrifh name of Leinßer, turns it to Loda, and
calls it apart of Scandinavia. The tale makes Mujrarfacb a fort
Qf_m.oD.fter, and fometimes.a knight errant engaging a windmill,
and then a giant striding from hill to hili across Erin. It afford-'
ted, however, to an author a good hint; and Mr. Macpherfon
accordingly conjured it to the jpiritof Loda. This tale is com
mon in the Highlands to this day."
Th^ Author cf this enquiry, after having observed how easy
it is so produce a poem with such Galic epithets, as blue-eyed,
white bofom'd, dark-brown hair, &C. and having translated a
fanza of it into Earfe, to impose the whole for an original of
" other times'' on the credulous and ignorant reader, relates a
very singular fa& to strengthen his assertion, 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 tip! One of the
poems of that collection is happily set off with the title of The
/Lords of Woe. The author told me, that' ail he had for the
^pound-work of it was a song called furswa na truaidbe, com.-
posed on a late emigration of the Highlanders to America. In
the fame mapnerrthe rest of the collection was made tip ft"
After art examination of the internal evidence of the authen
ticity of the poems & afcribed to Offian, Mr. Shaw proceeds to
the examination of external testimony; on this head he is full,
Clear, and explicit. 1 ^
Mr. Smith, the ingenious author of " Galic Antiquities"
published last year, hath assured us, that “ Mr. Macpherfon
" hath 1 tAWays been readiest to shew his originals to the best
'.' Friges." Thjs affection Mr. Shaw fiatly denies: and then
observes with refoeft to himleTf. that Mr. Macpherfon had
often promised him a'light of thore pretended originals, but
mever could be Induced, after application to him at fix different
times, to fulfil his promise. " There was always some apolo-
gy fande; —the M^. were at his house in the country, or
miilaid ; or the key was loft; or I should fee them some other
time. Why did he promise to shew them? And since he pro
miled, why not shew them? Let the Public draw inferences.
This is true. Let Mr. Macpherfon,contradict it if he can."
Mr. Shaw informs us, that in the year 17,8, he set out from
London tor the Highlands and Hebrides to collect materials for
his Dictionary. Ever y where he made the most anxious enqui 4
ries about the poems of Offiah, mid with infinite folicitud^
fought for some of the originals, inorder, ifpoffible, to remove
the feepticifm of his friend Dr. Johufen, refpefting their au
thenticity, by attested copies. But his enquiries were to no pur
pose. He was mortified at his ill success; and he who glowed
with ambition to convert Dr. Johnson, became himfelf an un
believer!
“ When I travelled, fays Mr. Shaw, fnto the Highlands, I
made it my bitfinefs to fee as many as resided in the country of
those gentlemen whose irones Dr, Blair hath made use of. Mr.
Donald Macqueen, Minister of Kffimuir in the Isle of Sky, is
the firft name who vouches for Mr. Macpherfon's translation
being " a literal one," and " that the original was repeated by
numbers in every part of the Highlands." This is the learned
Minister who chose to be silent when interrogated on this fub
jedt by Dr. Johnson ; and although he gave his signature to
Dr. Blair, as a voucher for their authenticity, to ray certain
knowledge, he is not in pofleffion of a line of the originals;
although long in search of them, he wished to procure me some,
but knew not how. - —
We should suppose this last circumstance to be rather ludi
crous than serious. But Mr. Shaw marks it with a very folcmn
interjection ! —as much as to fay—“ How Scotchmen—how my
own countrymen are addidecl to lvin^ !"
But truth —truth in our Author's “ dear delight !"—yea,
as he himfelf assures us in page 37. “ it is dearer to him than
his country!" We are not to wonder that he remained " un
corrupted e'en among" Scotchmen! the scalloped Jhell is Rill
without its jf/ver, and Fingal without its Earfe! „„ _
We have now difeharged the duty of impartial criticks, by
presenting the reader with a general view of this pamphlet, to
gether with an enumeration of some of the most Rrikin'g fads
that are produced in support of the Author's appeal : - for an
A,cal it may be jußly called ;—an appeal to the common sense
and reason of mankind ; and above all, a direct and unamhigur
ous appeal to gentlemen, whose profefiions and characters in
life would, we fnouldimagine, secure their integrity, and ren
der them superior to the meaner artificers of timid imposture,
or the more daring asseverations of direct and palpable fal
ffiood. But, what'fliall we fay? what can we think? To fay
the least, we are // aggered. To give the fofteft terms to our
feelings, we are faked. There must be impofture:—there
must be fallhood fomewbere.
General and diffirfe representations of the opinions, customs,
and manners of a people at large, may be given by One author,
and may be controverted by another, without fnbje&mg either
of them to the charge of intentional deceit. Candour will make
due allowance for involuntary mistakes; and some apology may
be made for prejudice itfelf. Objects viewed in various lights
admit of various reprefenta tious; and imagination will always
" Mr. Donald Macleod, Minister of Glenelg, I think, lod
ged Mr. Macpherfon in his journey. He hath vouched also for
the authenticity ; yet though I challenged him to produce three
lines of the original, he could not shew one.
“ Mr. Niel Macleod, one afthe Millifters of Mull, vouched,
but could not, although desirous of it, favour me with one line.
He hint for different people, wlip he thought were poli'elfed of
them, but they produced only the compositions of the fifteenth
century.,
“ Mr. Macaulay, chaplain to the 88th regiment, is menti
oned also as a voucher. He knowsjutl as much cf the poems
as his above brethren. I have converted with Mr. Macaulay on
the fubjedt.”
The other teftimanics in Dr. Blair's Appendix, are all quef
tiohed, or diredly confuted by our author; and he boldly
challenges the gentlemen whose narnea.be mentions, to difprovc
his assertions, or to make good their own.'
Mr. Smith in hi : defence of the authenticity of Offian, men
tions “ Profeffor Macleod of Glasgow as a person who was al
lowed to compare fotrte books of the original with the trans
lation :" and " yet, fays Mr. Shaw, in a conversation with me
in London, who promised to purchase any number of lines, not
under fix, at the rate of two (hillings and sixpence each word, he
could neither repeat a syllable, nor undertake to procure from
Mr. Macpherfon, although then in town, a single line. Thus
fruitlefs hitherto has been every attempt to difeover a single
Rauza of an original—excepting what hath been translated from
the English, to impose it as a specimen of the original!
In otir review of Mr. M' Nicol's " remarks on Dr. Johnfon'j
Journey to the Western Islands," we quoted a paflagC of which
Mr. Shaw takes very particular notice, and in a manner of
which we could not have formed the flighted suspicion. We
mail beg the reader's indulgence for quoting it again, for the
fake of relating a circumßancc which happened in confequencc
of it, which it would be unpardonable to omit,
" 1 shall not take up my time, fays Mr^Shaw, with making
observations on the illil>eralities and feurrilities of which it is
made up: but only will point out to the world such a frefh in
llance of impoflure as will astonish; in which Mr. M'Nicol tri
umphs as having proved the authenticity of Offian's poems.
The book was written on purpose to eltablilh the genuineness
of those poems. How far it hath succeeded, appears from the
following fraud, the only argument adduced. " But as Dr.
" Johnson may think it too great a trouble to travel again to
" the Highlands for a light of old MSS. lihall put him in a way
“ of being fatished nearer home. If he will call feme morn
“ ing on John Mackenzie, Esq; of the Temple, Secretary to
'• the Highland Society, he will find in London more volumes
“ in the Galic language and character, than perhaps he will
“ be plcafed to look ~t, after what he hath Aid. Among these
“ is a volume which contains some of Odian's poems." On
reading the last lenience, I was overjoyed that the originals of
Offian were at last discovered, notwithftandjig my own- bad
success in meeting with them. Being impatient to fee them, I
accordingly loft no time in waiting on Mr. Mackenzie, and
having looked over these volumes in MS. found no compo
sition of Offian therein. They are MS. written in the Irish
dialed and^chqra&r, on the fubjeft of Irilh and Highland ge
ncalpgy.—-There is every reason to believe, that this is the very
MS. if any, that was left at Becket's by Mr. Macpherfon some
time ago, with a view to impose it as that of Offian, for I am
credibly informed that this piece was feat to Mr. Mackenzie by
him.".
If we are to credit Mr. Shaw, there fcems to have been a ge
neral combination among his countrymen, to support the repu
tation of Offian, at the expence ofahpoftdf every virtue under
heaven!" In their ideas, the very,honour, of Scotland in deeply
interested in the difonte : and the highlit encomiums, bestowed
upon its present ftafe of letters, will not atone for the flighted
attempt to rob the “ bard of other times" of his “ bearded
thistle," or his " four grey Rones of the duiky heath!"
" In my tour in the Highlands, fays Mr. Shaw, a refyeCabie
Minister begged 1 would set about a translation of Fingal, and
that he and others would undertake to prove it the compofitiou
of Offian, and procure affidavits for that purpofc.
“ A gentleman promised to ornament a scalloped fliell with
silver, if I Jbvold bring him one from the Highlands, and to
fovear it v ds j the identical ihtll out of which Fingal used to
driuk!"
give different colours and different dimensions to what is not
fixed in its appearance, nor definite in its limits. But in mat
ters of plain and unequivocal fad, there is no scope left for the
plan of fancy. In such matters, fiction is imposition ; and to
misrepresent, is to falfify^
The main objed of the present controversy is now reduced to
a very narrow compass. Can the editor of Offian produce the
originals, which he pretends to have collected in the Highlands
and Hebrides? If he can, what reason hath he to give for refu
ting them ? The world will nalonger be fatisfied without them:
and the only alternative left to Mr. Macpherfon, is, their im
mediate communication to competent and disinterested judges ;
or the infamy that o ght ever to stigmatize the charader of an
impostor :—the contempt and execration of the wife and good;
and particularly of those who, having been deluded by novel
ty, or charmed by ingenuity, gave too cafy credit to his hon
our and veracity.
Though we are daggered, we will not; as yet, fay, that we
are convinced. We call on Mr. Macpherfon to step forward t(>
vindicate himfelffrom the opprobrium that will otherwise black
• n his name, as long as Offian is heard of; and for which all the
beauties of Fingal and Femora can never make an adequate
aton :.;ent.,
Let not Mr. Macpherfon affect a contemptuous superiority
to the accusations of his enemies. " They accuse rom envy"
it may b said. So much the better for Mr. Macpherfon'sho
nour. They are sooner answered, especially as their charges
refpe& fa& and not fpecuiation. But let him not talk of an
fweriug by fierce. The Publick will not be fatisfied at so tafy
a rate; nor will he himfelf with to difpeufe so easily with so se
rious a charge, if he hath the support of truth, or the sense of
honour. If he is an honest man, he ouglß not to bear it ; and
if he is a gentlemen, he will not :—tor affected indifference,
like “ flubborn audacity, is frequently the last refuge of guilt."
But Mr. Macpherfon is not the only person whose credit in
point of veracity i> affected by this controversy. The names of
fevera! gentlemen are diredly pointed out, who are dec'ar^d to
have been auxiliaries in the fraud. If Messrs. Macqueen, Mac
leods, Macaulay, &c. &c. have truth on their tide, they will at
openly repel the attack, as it hath been openly made, on their
honour; and not fuffer the world to infer their guilt fram their
silence.
If Dr. Blair hath been made the dupe of artifice, he ought
no' to be too proud to confess it. It will shew a greatness of
foul to uifavow what he is unable to vindicate ; and the world
will forgive his credulity, when it is convinced that he had no
fuare in the impoßure.
N. B. Mt. Shaw hath asserted that Donors Blair andFergu
fon were concerned in a collution, to impose on Dr. Percy a
pretended passage of the original Galic of Offian, by making a
young Highlander repeat before him some lines, which he de
clares were only a translation cf Macpherfon's Euglijb. It is
proper to observe, that Dr. Ferguson hath positively denied the
charge by a publick advertisement. Mr. Shaw hath publickly
acknowledged his mistake, so far as Dr. Ferguson was said to
be acceffary to the imposition: but he still avers the fad to
be in the main true ; and we have not heard that it was ever
contradiaed by Dr. Blair or J'r. Percy.
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