Ossian Collection > Report of the Committee of the Highland Society of Scotland, appointed to inquire into the nature and authenticity of the poems of Ossian

60 LETTERS TO AIR. MACKENZIE, l?V.
that for some months he left all the originals of his traub'.
iation open to inspection and examination, in Becket the
bookseller's shop, and intimated, by advertisement in the
Newspapers, that he had done so. But when, after their
being left there for a considerable time, he found that no
one person had ever called to look at them, his disdain of
public censure became still stronger. I urged him to write
to the Highlands for authentic testimonies from some of
those gentlemen from whom he received his materials. He
Utterly rejected this proposal, as implying a public distrust
of his veracity j but at the same time consented to my
making some enquiries of this nature, which he thought
might come more suitably from m& than froBi himself.
Accordingly, frcrm my zeal to throw every light upon |]io<
subject, I did v/rite to a' number of gentlemen in the High-
lands, many of them of the most respectable rank and cha-
racter, requesting information of what they knew respect-
ing the originals of those poems of which Mr Macphersort
had published a translation. The result of their testimony
I gave in a printed Appendix to my Dissertation on tlie
Poetry of Oàsian ; furnishing, I think, strong and irrefra-
gable evidence in favour of the authenticity of the poems
now given to the Vv^orld as genuine productions of ancient
Highland bards.
For my own part, from my perfect knowledge of all the
circumstances of their discovery and translation, it was im-
possible for me to entertain any doubts on the subject of
their authenticity. Of all the men I ever knew, Mr Mac-
pherson was the most unlikely and unfit to contrive and
carry on such an imposture, as some people in England
ascribed to him. He had none of the versatility, the art
and dissimulation, which such a character and such an un-
dertaking would have required. He -was proud, high-spi-
rited, and disdainful ; imtable to a degree, when his honour
aad veracity were impeached 5 not very apt, on any occa-