late minister of Killinvir, in Argyleshire, published in 1754 a trans- 

 lation of Baxter's Call to the Unconverted."* 



Shaw's conjecture, that he had an Irish MS. which he may have 

 sometimes shewn, is strongly corroborated by Johnson's declaration, 

 that the editor has been heard to say, that part of the poem has been 

 received by him in the Saxon character. The Irish character having 

 some resemblance to the Saxon, may have led him, from ignorance, 

 to conclude, that it was the latter; unconscious how such a conclusion 

 Avould expose him to the caustic observation of the critic, that " he 

 had then found, by some peculiar fortune, an unwritten language, 

 written in a character which the natives probably never beheld." 



In 1781, Shaw, the author of a Gaelic Grammar and Dictionary, 

 published an inquiry into the authenticity of the poems ascribed to 

 Ossian. He wrote in a bold popular style, and having evinced him- 

 self to be a master of the Gaelic language, his opinions were calcu- 

 lated to have no small influence in the contest. He stood boldly 

 forth as " a sturdy moralist, who loved truth better than Scotland," 

 and wrote with the earnestness of one conscious of the truth for which 

 he was contending. He coincided in Doctor Johnson's arguments, 

 and added to them all the weight of his authority derived from his 

 knowledge of the history, language, and customs of the Highlands, 

 as well as from having travelled through them, for the express pur- 

 pose of gleaning information relative to the question in dispute. 

 " Many mountains," says he, "I traversed, many valleys I explored, 

 and into many humble cottages I crept on all four, to interrogate 

 their inhabitants. I wandered from island to island, wet, fatigued, 

 and uncomfortable. No labour I thought too much, no expense too 

 great, while I flattered myself with converting the disbelieving Doctor 



• Shaw's Inquiry, pp. 26-27. 



