297 



At p. 486, Doctor Mc Arthur gives us *' the Original Episode of 

 FaineasolHs," which the Society could not find when printing their 

 copy of Macpherson's originals, but which was afterwards most 

 luckily and miraculously discovered among that gentleman's papers. 

 We shall hereafter have occasion to revert to this Episode when we 

 come to analyze some passages of the " original Gaelic." 



To wind up his " Supplemental Observations," and, perhaps, in 

 the hope that it might add something in corroboration of the evi- 

 dences produced for the authenticity of Ossian's poems. Doctor Mc 

 Arthur enlists in the service some of his ingenious countrymen, who 

 have supplied "a description of Selma;'" "of the river Cona;" "of the 

 Banks of the river Eite;" "of Inis-Connel and Inish-Eraith ;" and lastly, 

 "of the kingdom of Morven; with a map of the ancient Selma, the resi- 

 dence of Fingal, with part of the Fingallian territories in the shire of 

 Argyle." As to the situation of Selma, it appears by the description 

 of it given by Mr. Stewart, that it was believed to be " in that part of 

 Argyleshire called Upper Lorn," upon the top of a hill where " are 

 still to be seen vestiges of extensive buildings, Avith fragments of the 

 walls, bearing evident marks of fire, scattered along the sides of the 

 hill." To support the conjecture that Selma may have been situated 

 where Mr. Stewart has placed it, he quotes largely from the Ossianic 

 poems of Doctor John Smith, as well as from Macpherson's Ossian, 

 both which he, perhaps, thought must be important in the inquiry 

 whether these poems are the genuine productions of that bard or 

 not; but which, in our opinion, proves nothing to the purpose. 



The poems, such as they are, may, perhaps, describe the great 

 features of many rocky and hilly places on the coast of Scotland ; 

 but there is little or nothing in the quotations given from those 

 poems by Mr. Stewart, that might not be equally applied to the 

 description of a mountainous tract of ground situated on the sea- 



