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nothing. It has nothing of Irish that we can recollect, except the 

 " son of Alpin," of whom Macpherson declares that he knew but 

 little. He says, " tradition has not handed down the name of this son 

 of Alpin. His father was one of Fingal's principal bards, and he 

 appears himself to have had a poetical genius." Mr. Macpherson 

 might, if he chose, have told more of " this son of Alpin." He knew 

 that he was Saint Patrick, to whom, under that name, the Irish Ossian 

 has addressed the most of his poems. In various copies of the Irish 

 poems the name is variously written, as " Mac Alpuinn" " Mac 

 Alphruinn" and " Mac Calphruinn," but all meaning the same per- 

 son. But what does Mr. Mac Neill say, as to the original of the 

 poem ? Certainly nothing that proves that it ever was anciently in 

 existence in the Gaelic Language. Mr. Mac Neill does not tell us 

 that Mac Murrich repeated this poem in his presence, or any where 

 else ; or that he even declared that he had seen or read that poem, 

 as he did the poem of Darthula. No. He goes more cautiously about 

 the business, and only declares, " that he is of opinion, the last poem 

 in the collection, Berrathon, is contained in a manuscript which I," 

 (Mr. Mac Neill,) " myself, saw him deliver, with three or four more, 

 to Mr. Macpherson." 



This Mac Murrich was the bard and historian of Clanranald ; as 

 such, it is to be supposed, he knew how to read, and therefore 

 knew the contents of the manuscripts he gave to Macpherson ; yet 

 he did not say that the poem of Berrathon was contained in those 

 manuscripts, he only declared " that he was of opinion" it was con- 

 tained in one of them. This is miserable quibbling, and proves how 

 great anxiety there was to seize upon any thing that afforded the least 

 shade of evidence to prove the authenticity of the poems. There is, 

 however, a proof, amounting almost to a positive certainty, that the 

 English poem is the only genuine original of Berrathon. The poem 



