MR small's biographical SKETCH OF PROF. ADAM FERGUSON. 658 



after having weighed the observations at your full leisure, and at your own time, 

 you will please to put them also under a cover to me. You will easily per- 

 ceive, that .this letter is meant only for your own eye ; for few men wish to know 

 that they have been so long deceived, on a point which the smallest attention 

 might at once ascertain. — With my best respects to all friends, I am, with great 

 esteem, yours most faithfully, James MacPherson."* 



The observations on the method to be adopted in printing the Gaelic language 

 in Greek characters, drawn up at M'Pheeson's desire, and sent to Ferguson 

 along with the above letter, were to the effect, that the existing Gaelic ortho- 

 graphy does not give the pronunciation of that language with truth and cer- 

 tainty, for the same letters represent different sounds, and the same sounds 

 are expressed by different letters, and this in a promiscuous manner, according 

 to the fancy of the writer. That in Gaelic a large number of letters are absolutely 

 quiescent, which were probably introduced to represent in a clumsy manner a 

 coarse pronunciation used chiefly in Ireland. That from these irregularities in 

 the use of the letters which are really needful, and from the absurd accumula- 

 tion of those which are useless, confusion has arisen, that renders the writing of 

 the language arbitrarj^ and the reading of it a matter of conjecture. With the 

 view of making an experiment, a Scripture story— the finding of Moses by 

 Pharaoh's daughter — was copied from the Gaelic translation of the Bible, and 

 on the opposite page the same words were written in Greek characters. This 

 specimen of the proposed system was circulated by M'Pheeson among his 

 friends, who were requested to make the experiment of reading the specimens to 

 some illiterate Highlander, with the view of ascertaining which of the two would 

 be best understood. In answer to the objection, that the use of the Greek 

 alphabet would be a great inconvenience and innovation, it was urged, that 

 y the Highland gentry do not generally read the Gaelic ; that it would be but the 

 labour of a few hours to master the Greek letters, and their use would smooth 

 the way for those who wished to read and write the Gaelic language. It was 

 further expected, that the familiar use of the Greek letters would naturally 

 lead to the study of the Greek language itself, then much neglected in Scotland ; 

 and that it would be " no degradation of its characters to express the composi- 

 tions of a poet, which the taste and learning of Europe have long since ranked 

 among the admirable works of antiquity." 



To the letter of M'Pheeson, and these observations, Ferguson replied in the 

 following terms :— 



" Edinlurgh, 30th May 1793. 



My Dear Sie, — I am glad you are decided on the form in which Ossian is to 

 be recorded. You may expect to hear different opinions on the subject ; but if 



* MSS. University of Edinburgh. 



