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This is the description of the famous car of CuchuDin. Ever 

 since its first appearance, it has furnished critics with a very satisfac- 

 tory proof of its being recently constructed of materials collected 

 from Homer, Ovid, and the Song of Solomon. But our object at 

 present is, to compare Macpherson's description with that presented 

 to us by Mr. Ross, as a faithful transcript of the genuine and original 

 Gaelic. Ross admits that Macpherson, on whom, as usual, he is un- 

 sparingly severe, "has borrowed, perhaps," some ideas from the Can- 

 ticles that are not suggested by the original. The former, instead of 

 saying that " its sides are replenished with spears, and its bottom is 

 the footstool of heroes," says, " it is filled with spears, with shields, 

 with swords, with heroes." Macpherson's version is unquestionably 

 more elegant, and he should be forgiven for borrowing a few orna- 

 ments from the Hebrew bard, only for the dishonest endeavour 

 to make them his own. Ross, instead of presenting us with the fine 

 image of the footstool of heroes, Jills the car with all kinds of arms, 

 and converts it into a baggage waggon. He says, "that the absurdity 

 of comparing the curvature behind the car, first to a wave near a rock, 

 and next to the sun streaked mist of the heath, is not vindicated by 

 the original, where it is compared to a wave or to mist round the cliff 

 of a rock." The former comparison to a " wave near a rock," where 

 it assumes a hollow curve, is just and beautiful : but Ross omits 

 " near the rock," and so loses both the propriety of the simile and the 

 beauty of the image. Why it should be compared to " mist on the 

 heath," or " to mist round a rugged rock," we cannot discover; but 

 if one of these comparisons must be admitted, we prefer the former ; 

 for it may be mist driven by the wind, and its motion will be one 

 point of resemblance at least ; but mist round a rock, gives us the 

 idea of something stationary, and has no more resemblance to a war- 

 rior's car rushing to battle, than a sleeping ward of invalids, to the 

 British cavalry charging the enemy. 



