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what were in *' the hand-writing of Mr. Macpherson himself, or of 

 others whom he had employed." * * * * " Of the Books of which 

 the Committee had so often heard, only one was recovered, a small 

 duodecimo volume." This volume the Committee acknowledges to 

 have contained nothing but a few songs, poems, &c., chiefly Gaelic, 

 and some English, but none of the originals of Ossian. But though 

 these ancient books could not be found, the Committee imagines that 

 it "has very satisfactory evidence," that several large and ancient 

 books had been in the possession of Mr. Macpherson, and for 

 this we are referred to several authorities in the Appendix. We 

 have examined these authorities, and we must declare that they are 

 not to us " very satisfactory evidences" that the books mentioned, 

 contained copies of the genuine poems of Ossian. Malcolm Mac- 

 pherson, who signs his affidavit as a marksman, swears only that his 

 brother gave a book to Mr. James Macpherson, " which wholly 

 regarded the Fions or Fingalians." The affidavit of Ewan Macpher- 

 son states, that the declarant is seventy-three years of age ; that Mr. 

 James Macpherson had but a very imperfect knowledge of Gaelic ; 

 that the declarant took down poems of Ossian for Mr. Macpherson, 

 from the recitations of several persons; that Mr. Macpherson got a 

 book from one of the Mac Mhuirichs which contained some poems 

 of Ossian ; that Mr. Macpherson got an order from Clanranald on a 

 Lieutenant Mac Donald for a Gaelic folio manuscript, called the 

 " Leabhar Dearg," which, declarant heard, contained some of the 

 poems of Ossian; that the declarant never saw that book, but is 

 positive that the book given by Mac Mhuirich to Macpherson, was 

 not the ^'Leabhar Dearg;" that he had often heard poems of Ossian 

 relative to the Fingallians repeated in his youth ; and that he recol- 

 lected to have read a part of Mr. Macpherson's Fingal ; and, as far 

 as he could recollect the substance of the original, he thought the 

 translation well executed." The affidavit of Lachlan Mac Vuirich, 



