Evening star., 1925-03-14
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

Somewhere in Florida may lie the
Gaelic originals of the poems of
Ossian, which James Macpherson
gave to the world In translations
shortly before the embattled farm
ers OF Concord fired the shot heard
round the world.
/ say may lie in Florida. not that
they are in Florida. land of oranges,
sunshine and tourists. 1t is just
an interesting speculation. America
may have the key to the Ossian-
Macpherson controversy. Again, it
may not.
In some old book stall, in st.
Augustine, or at New Orleans, in
Louisiana. may rest package of
strange manuscripts. The passerby,
browsing over the stands, might
toss them aside as worthless.
Yet they might be ethe manuscripts
which Macpherson said he possessed,
the originals from which he de-
clartd he translated the poems of
Ossian. discussed in this column this
week!
Stranger things have happened.
After all these decades, would they
not be veritable literary find"
those ancient. Drowned manuscripts?
Tradition says they may have been
lost in this country
Macpherson, it will be remembered,
refused to turn over the manuscripts.
after he had been accused OF fax
ing. 1t is not known to this day
whether he actually had any con-
siderable number of manuscripts. In
Retds Bibliotheca Scoto- -Celtica, pub
llshed at Glasgow in 1882, occurs the
following:
Macpherson proposed in his first
edition to print the Gaelic originals
of the poems If he could obtain as
many subscribers as would indem-
Nifty him for the expense, but the
poems soon acquired a celebrity, and.
in subsequent preface, he informs
the public that, as no subscribers had
come forward, he did not think such
a course necessary. He afterward
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 even seriously intended to do so,
is involved in obscurity. for, in 1853,
he went out to Florida with Gov.
George Johnson and If the manu-
scripts ever existed, they were lost
either there or during the passage
to or from that country"
1t is, therefore, a pure speculation,
but an interesting one, nevertheless,
to those interested in poetry. What
would such a one not give to be the
finder of such precious manuscripts! I!
As for me, ! would like TO verify
Macpherson's statement that the
poems were genuine. After reading
Ossian through, browsing over the
controversy. and re-reading Mac
pherson's own preface and introduc-
tory remarks, l feel as follows:
If the poems are not genuine, Mac
pherSon is one OF the most magnifi-
cent takers" in the worlds history.
Nothing short of genius itself could
have falsified those productions and
produced such eminent critical opin-
ion upholding them.
The poems ring with veracity. In
DR.. Hugh Blair's extended critical
remarks PREDATORY to the old edi-
tions, the Ossian poetry is subjected
to much consideration as to the in
ternal marks of veracity.
1t must be admitted that the
learned doctor builds up a most in
teresting case for the genuineness of
Ossian and for the integrity of
Macpherson's translations. He points
out the freedom from all an
archronisms, the trueness to ancient
ways of thinking, freedom from alb
stract ideas, utter lack of commercial
or even agricultural thought; and 1t
must be admitted that when the
critical reader of today reads Ossian
with this thought in mind, he is
practically forced to agree with DR..
Blair