Evening star., 1909-01-24

as eating raw meat, ana performing out
landish religious rites.
In response to popular demand, he
wrote and published book called "A
Historical and Geographical Description
of Formosa," which furnished a minute
and imaginary account of the manners
and customs of the island. illustrations
gave still more lively idea of its marvels.
The Jesuits, who were at that time very
unpopular, were attacked and the book
had tremendous sale. He did not stick
at the most improbable stories, and, if he
once made slip, boldly faced it out.
Eighteen thousand male children were
yearly sacrificed to the gods he said; al
though it was obvious that SO small an
island would soon become depopulated at
that rate. He explained his fair skin by
the story that the upper classes were ac-
customed to remain indoors, out of the
rays of the sun. Such yarns as these
were believed, and London was enthusi-
astic 1t was proposed to raise funds to
send him back to Formosa as mission
ary. This idea pleased Psalmanazar,
probably because he thought that 1t
would offer a good chance to leave the
country with some extra money in his
pocket.
In an evil hour he visited Oxford, and
at the university met some men of science
who persisted in asking inconvenient
questions He brazened it out and lied
as imaginatively as usual; but his replies
as to the length of the days and the po-
sition of the SUN at different times in the
year We're fatty opposed to the facts of
astronomy. Severer questions proved
the sham beyond a doubt, and Psal-
manazar's bubble burst as quickly as it
had grown Finding himself a mere butt
for all the gibes of the town, he quickly
disappeared from view, and for long
time lived in obscurity. In after years
he repented of his trickeries and decep-
tions, and became hard working literary
hack. DIR. johnson used frequently to
dine with him in an alehouse on Old-st.,
and he is reported to have found in him
"a piety, penitence, and virtue exceeding
almost what we read of as wonderful in
the lives of the Saints
A somewhat similar attempt at in
venting a bogus language was made by
two Frenchmen about 1880, who tried to
impose upon learned men by placing be-
fore them specimens of the language and
literature of place they named
"Taensa," located near the Mississippi
River. The fraud was exposed; but not
before some savants had been caught.
The Poems of Ossian
SUCH efforts as these hardly belong to
~ literary history, but are rather to be
classed as plain roguery. Of a very differ
ent sort were the poems of Ossian, which
created a tremendous literary sensation
at the end of the eighteenth century
The poems, really sort of rhythmic
prose, were launched upon the sea of
books by James Macpherson, Scot
schoolmaster, who claimed to have gath
cred the material in Scotland, from re-
mains of old Gaelic literature. Among
other devout admirers was the Emperor
Napoleon, who used to carry volume of
Ocean" (as he spelled it) around with
him on his campaigns.
But sturdy old DR.. Johnson, who hated
Scotsmen, would have none of it. He was
of the opinion that anyone could write
such stuff forever, if he would only aban-
don his mind to it." Macpherson pre-
tended to have in his possession old manu-
scripts, upon which the poems were
based But he was obviously tricky in
the whole affair, and such originals as
were finally produced proved worthless.
But he found many supporters, and to
this day the exact facts in the case are
not known. Sad to say, he was buried in
the Poets Corner in Westminster Abbey
Defoe. Master of Deception