16 
to publifh, in 1797, the South Pruffian 
Newfpaper, and a Gazetta Poludniowo 
Prufkay in large quarto. At Danzig, the 
Fournal of Danzig is {till continued and 
at Thorn, the German Political, Literary, 
azd Economical Journal of Thorn. 
In Cracew two newfpapers have been 
eftablifhed fince the change of government, 
viz.the German Cracaw New/paper, and 
the Polithh Gazetta Krakow:/ea. 
». Attempts have at different times been 
made to eftablifh a newlpaper in the Polith 
and the German language at Lemberg ¢ but 
neither of them exifted long. ‘This want 
of fuccefs is probably owing to-the fi- 
tuation of that city. The part of Gal- 
licia which lies to the eaft of Lemberg, is 
inhabited by peaceable land-owners, 
among whom there is not a fufficient num- 
ber of newfmongers and politicians to fup- 
port anewfpaper. The parts to the weit 
of Lemberg formerly received the news by 
the Warfaw and French newfpapers, and 
fill receive by the Vienna, Cracaw, and 
Hamburg journals, which are there circu- 
lated, by the Mercure univerfel de Ratif. 
bonne, and the Fournal de Francfort, mott 
articles of intelligence four or five days 
earlier than it is poffible to obtain them 
if they went to, and then came back again 
from, Lemberg. ‘That city, theretore, 
has now no other public paper but an Ad- 
vertifer or Intelligencer, filled with adver- 
tifements, edicts of the government, affairs 
of police, &c. 
In the Emperor of Roffia’s fhare of Po- 
Jand, nota fingle newfpaper is printed: 
they there read the Pete: fourg new!papers, 
as in the Pruflian divifion they dothofe of 
Berlin. 
——=E— 
For the Monthly Magazine. 
Oz LAING’S DISSERTATION o7 the POEMS 
of OSSIAN. 
O the fecond voiume of that profound 
A i and eloquent work, the Hiftory of 
Scotland, by Malcoim Laing, efy.a Dif- 
fertation'on Offian’s Poems is annexed, 
which has excited very general attention in 
Scotland. Enquiries are again renewed in 
the Highlands, to difcover manufcripts, 
or to colle& atteftations in fupport of their 
authenticity; and the poems in Earfe, 
fent by Mr. Macpherfon’s friend to whom 
they were entrufted, are now in Edin- 
bureh. In the controverfy between 
ro) 
Clarke and Shawe, facts were oppofed to 
fa&ts, and affertions to afiertions. But 
the fubject is now, in other hands ; and he 
who enters the lifts againf Mr. Laing muft 
bring with him no common fhare o7_criti- 
Laing’s Differtation on Offian. 
[Feb, =, 
cal acumen, learning, and tafte. The 
controverfy will probably extend to Ger- 
many, where the poems of Offian have 
found many admirers and imitators, and 
a tranflation of the differtation is faid to be 
getting ready for the prefs at Hamburgh. 
It would occupy too much of your Ma- 
gazine, to convey but an imperfect. idea 
of the merit of this criticifm, were I to 
attempt an outiine. The general heads of 
the detections are reduced to thefe. rf. 
The Roman Hiftory of Britain :—2d. 
The middle ages:—3d. ‘Traditions :— 
4th. The manners and cuftoms of the 
times: — 5th. The real origin of the: 
poems:—6th. Imitations of the ancient 
and modern poems:—7th. The pretended 
originals :—8th. Macpherfon’s avowal of 
the whole impofition. 
The moft fingular difcovery is under the 
head of the Origin of the Poems: Mac- 
pherfon wrote and publifhed an epic poem 
in verfe, the Highlander, two years be- 
fore the fragments appeared, and four- 
years before the’ produftion of Fixgal. 
The outlines of the plot of thefe two epic 
poems are fimilar, but the time of the 
Highlander, in the tenth century, is 
changed to the third in Fingal. The 
fame imagery, and even the fame inci- 
dents, abound in both. ; 
’ Malvina’s dream in Earfe, publifhed as 
a fpecimen of the Original, is very clearly 
proved to be tranflated from the Englith. 
But to complete the detection Mr. L. has 
examined the famous ‘* Red Book of 
Clan Ronald,’’ which was roundly af- 
ferted to contain the originals, and which 
was fo long kept up by Macpherfon himfelf. 
This book proves to be a collection of 
fongs, Englifh and Earle, written in1726, 
none of which relate to Offian, colle&ted 
by Mac Vurich, the bard of Clan Ronald. 
It may be an amufement to fome of your 
poetical readers to enlarge the lift of imi- 
tations given us in the Differtation. 
Iam, &c. j 
Dec. 16, 1800. Li Py 
f EEE 
To the Editor of the Monihly Magazine. 
SIR, 
AS I was the other day in a large com- 
pany where it was afferted, that the 
fituation of the poor was not fo bad as was 
by fome malicioufly and jacobinically re- 
prefented, I fhall beg leave, for the infor- 
mation of thole who are either purpofely~ 
or inconfiderately ignorant. of the ftate of 
the greater part of the community in 
large towns, to lay before them a plain 
ftatement of facts, ten 
1 
oe 25 
