Ossian Collection > Essay on the authenticity of the poems of Ossian

62 ON THE AUTHENTICITY
be understood with a few slight Hmitations.
The Romans, we know, penetrated, under
Agricola, beyond the Tay. During their
stay in Britain, their intercourse with the
Highlanders, whether of a friendly or hostile
nature, must have been not infrequent ; and
this must have produced some influence, at
least, on the language and habits of the ad-
jacent tribes. The Danes, too, during the
subsequent ages, frequently invaded the west-
ern and northern parts of Scotland, and some-
times even formed temporary settlements.
To them, no doubt, many names and terms
of Teutonic origin may be traced ; some of
these are actually found to exist, and just
where they might have been naturally ex-
pected, in the western Isles, and in the north
of Scotland.
There is one part of Mr Laing's argument,
on this subject, which demands more parti-
cular attention. He asserts, " that there is
" not now, in Scotland, a Highlander of the