Ossian Collection > Life and letters of James Macpherson

228 JAMES MACPHERSON.
terials before bringing out the Historif on which
it was based. Nor was this step injudicious :
he was well aware that the facts which he was
about to give to the public would stir the eml^ers
of a past struggle, and that in proving the later
intrigues of Marlborough with the Stuarts he
would be provoking the bitter resentment of the
Whigs. Mindful of what had happened with a
previous production, he foresaw that the truth
of his information would be assailed, and he
himself denounced for the second time as an
impostor. To forestall criticism he left the
documents on view at his publishers', and early
in 1775 they were printed and issued as Original
Papers cMntaining the Secret History of Great
Britain from the Restoration to the Accession of
the House of Hannorer, with Memoirs of James IL
The Papers raised a storm of astonishment, and
the delight of the Tories was only equalled by
the disgust of the Whigs. Walpole gave vent to
his feelings in the strongest language ; and even
in a later day the part which Macpherson played
in the work has always exposed him to Whig
contempt. ^ It was not long before the assault
^ For some remarks on the character and authenticity of
the Papers, see Eanke's Hist, of Eng. in the 17th Cent., vi. 35.