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

£2 REPORT ON THE
with the original of that paflfage, and a literal tranf-
iation, is given by Dr Donald Smith, in the Appen-
dix, NO. 19 j to which is fubjoined, a fac simile of
the writing of the MS. This paffage coincides very
nearly with three ftanzas of the edition of Claim Uis-
necb, as published by Gillies, in his collection, p.
265.
But the largeft and mod valuable collection of
manufcripts, in the poffeffion of the Society, was
prefented to it, on the application of this Committee,
by the Highland Society of London. One of thefe
belonged to the Reverend James M'Gregor, dean
of Lifmore, the metropolitan church of the fee of
Argyll, as afcertained by an infcription on the MS.
itfelf. Jt appears, from dates affixed to it, to have
been written at different periods, from 1.512 to
1 529. It contains more than 1 1 ,OCO verfes of Gae-
lic poetry, compofed at different periods, from the
time of our more ancient bards, down to the begin-
ning of the 16th century. Among the more an-
cient are poems of Conal, fon of Edirikeol, Of-
fian, fon of Fingal, Fergus Fili (Fergus the Bard),
and Caoilt, fon of Ronan, the friends and cotem-
poraries of Offian. Of the modern poets, whofe
works are here preferved, the moft illuftrious are
Sir Duncan Campbell of Glenurchay, who fell in
the battle of Flodden, and Lady Ifabel Campbell,
daughter of the Earl of Argyle, afterwards married
to Gilbert Earl of Caffilis. Of this collection alfo,
Dr D. Smith has ftirnimed the Committee with an
account, which the Society will find in the above,
mentioned