309 



had slain in war/' If the GaeUc line in the poem were original, the 

 translation of it into English should be different from either Mr. Mac- 

 pherson's or Mr. Ross's pretended versions. There is a still greater error 

 in writing na for the preposition a or a7in, than even an, which we have 

 just shown to be erroneous. 'Na d' eagal in the fifteenth line is non- 

 sense. To convey the meaning of the English words of Mr. Ross's 

 amended reading, " In thy fear" the Gaelic should be " Ann d' 

 eagal," or, acccording to more ancient custom, " Ann f eagal." 



The orthography of the original is, also, a further proof of its 

 modern fabrication. It would be an endless and useless labour to 

 point out the proofs of that description which those originals furnish; 

 we shall, therefore, merely mention the word thuirt in the thirteenth 

 line, substituted for the word dubhairt, said, found in all Gaelic 

 books, ancient and modern, except the modern Scotch Gaelic. 



The elision of vowels is also another proof of the modern compo- 

 sition of those originals; but this so frequently occurs in the Society's 

 publication, that it would be folly to give any particular examples. 

 We shall therefore refer the Gaelic scholar to any page he may 

 please to open of any of the three volumes of the " Gaelic originals,'' 

 and we pledge ourselves that he will find in it abundant examples of 

 improper elision. 



To the objections made against the orthography of the originals, 

 the sticklers for the authenticity of those originals may say, with Sir 

 John Sinclair, (in his Dissertation, p. 92, vol. i. of the originals,) 

 " that the orthography was designedly made as it is, for the purpose 

 of making it agree with the orthography of the Gaelic Bible, with 

 which the generality of Gaelic readers are best acquainte<^." Can 

 this be received as an answer .'' We are told, both in the Report of 

 the Committee of the Highland Society, and by Sir John Sinclair, 

 in his " Dissertation," printed in the first volume of the Gaelic origi- 



s s 2 



