Ossian Collection > Romance of the Highlands

THE BARDS. OSSIAN. 8i
The copy was sent by a Mr. MacDiarmid, who had
taken it down from an old man in Glenlyon thirty years
before. This man had learned it in his youth from
people in the same glen long before MacPherson was
born. It runs: —
"O ! thou who travellest above, round as the full orbed
hard shield of the mighty ! Whence is thy brightness without
frown, thy light that is lasting O sun ! Thou comest forth
in thy powerful beauty, and the stars hide their course," etc.
The similarity may well be noticed.
The conclusions reached by the Committee left no
doubt that at one time there had been an abundance of
Ossianic poetry circulating in the Highlands of Scotland.
They were compelled to acknowledge, however, that they
were unable to obtain any one poem the same in title and
tenor as those published by MacPherson. They were
inclined to believe that he was in the habit of inserting
passages of his own make-up and dropping passages
where it did not suit his purpose or humour to put them
in. Finally, they had to confess that they had been
greatly handicapped through the length of time that had
elapsed from the publication of the poems. Had the
investigation been proceeded with when David Hume
suggested it nearly fifty years earlier, it might have been
possible to collect many more pieces and hear much oral
work besides. The Committee had no hesitation in
declaring that MacPherson held many decided advant-
ages over them.
Those who knew the Highlanders and Highland
history best, are strong supporters of the authenticity of
MacPherson's Ossian. Stewart says, "When a boy, I
took great pleasure in hearing these recitations, and now
reflect with much surprise on the ease and rapidity with
which a person could continue them for hours without
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