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That at present he remembers only two of any length, each of them relating to a lady, who fled to the Fingalians for protection; also a description of the horses which, it is said, carried the body of Cuchullin to the grave; and that the Reverend John Macdonald, now residing at Buckies, near Thurso, has written down, from his recital, all that he remembers of these poems and verses, a copy of which he herewith subscribes :

That he was well acquainted with the late Mr. James Macpherson; and when he first went to the Isle of Sky, to collect Ossian's poems, that he met with him in Doctor John Macpherson's house in Sleat, and sung many of those poems to him; and that Mr. James Macpherson wrote them down as he repeated them :

That he is the John Macdonald, of Breakish of Strath, in the Isle of Sky, mentioned in Doctor John Macpherson's letter to Doctor Blair, dated twenty-seventh day of November, seventeen hundred and sixtythree, and printed in the Report of the Highland Society of Scotland, Appendix, page 9.

That Fingal, Ossian, Oscar, and the Fingalians in general, were at all times, and without any doubt, reckoned and believed to be of Scotch, and not of Irish extraction:

That Cuchullin was a Scotch chief, and had a house at Dunskaich in the parish of Sleat, in the Isle of Sky. That Dunskaich is built on a round rock, almost surrounded by the sea, and having no access to it but by a drawbridge: That without the entry to the castle, there is a long stone sunk in the ground, to which Cuchullin's dog was tied, except when he was hunting: That the wall of the dun, or castle, is yet above twenty feet high, and strongly built: That he has often been within the said dun:

That the description of the horses and chariot of Cuchullin, which, so far as he recollects, he has given to the Reverend Mr. John Macdonald, alludes to Cuchullin's own funeral, who was killed in Ireland :

That the poem called Cath Loduin, also the poems called Caom-mhala and Carraig-Thura, now printing in Gaelic, by the Highland Society, in London, and a copy of which he has lately had an opportunity of perusing, by means of Sir John Sinclair, Chairman of the Committee of

The description of the car of Cuthullin was probably short and energetic in the poem of Fingal, but was expanded to the length it now is, from another poem describing the same car at the funeral of Cuthullin.

that Society for printing Ossian in the original, are familiar to him: That he believes he did repeat them often in Gaelic prior to the twelfth and fifteenth years of his age, and some of them even to his twentieth year; but that he cannot at this time recollect any particular passages of

them:

That the contest between Fingal and the Spirit of Lodin, or Loda, he has often heard repeated, in the manner of a tale, but that he cannot at present recollect any part thereof:

That Carraig-Thura should properly be spelt Carraig Toure: That Carraig signifies a round rock, uneven and broken in the face of it, and very ill to ascend to the top: That Thura, or Toure, signifies a house, a castle, or a palace:

That Selma is the name of a place which is familiar to him: That he cannot say where it was situated; though it is generally believed that it was in the North of Scotland:

That he has heard in Gaelic poems, several addresses to the Sun, the Moon, the Evening Star, and to Malvina; but he cannot recollect any of them at present:

That he does not remember ever to have heard a poem, in which Oscar, the son of Caruth, killed Dermid, the son of Morni :

That he has heard the poem in Gaelic, called The Six Bards, in which each of them gave a description of the night; but that the landlord was not reckoned one of the Six Bards.

That there are three Gaelic poems, in each of which a maid is said to have fled to the Fingalians, for protection from great men, or heroes: That the names of those heroes are mentioned in each poem, as Borbar, Ullin, and, if he remembers right, Mack Rie na Hiarsemaile.

All which is truth, as he shall answer to God.

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Sworn before me, one of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the County of Caithness, at Thurso, the twenty-fifth day of September, one thousand eight hundred and five years.

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No. II.

Letter from the Rev. Mr. ROSING to Sir JOHN SINCLAIR, accompanied by Extracts from SUHM's History of Denmark.

SIR,

HAVING observed, that, whatever in Ossian refers to Scandinavian persons, bears a strong conformity to the opinions and manners of those nations, I thought, that some instances of this might not be without some interest, and, though not be admitted as proofs, yet tend to corroborate what other proofs may be adduced. On this supposition, I have collected some instances of that nature, which I shall freely communicate, and if the parallel has not been drawn before, perhaps you may find something to your purpose in the following observations.

Cath Loda, Duan I. “He reaches the sounding shell to those who "shone in war," &c.] This is perfectly agreeable with the notions of a future state introduced by Odin. According to his tenets, only those who died in war, or at least in a violent manner, should come to Valhalla, the abode of Odin. There they should have seats according to their merits and exploits in war. They should be amused with continual fighting and blood-shedding, often be killed, but ever awake again. They should also there be sumptuously regaled with strong beer and bacon. But those who lived and died in peace, should go to Hel, where they should enjoy no pleasure, or at least pleasures far inferior to those of Valhalla; and the ill-natured were sent to Nixleim, where they should be tortured. On the contrary, the ideas of a future state that pervade the poems of Ossian, whenever he does not introduce Scandinavian persons, have much in common with those of the Joter, who were the first inhabitants of the North, and were settled there previous to the Gothes and Odin. For though they fancied a separate abode for the deceased, which they placed far towards the north, along the frozen sea, yet they also believed, that the deceased used frequently to dwell in their burialhills, at times appeared, and had horses, dogs, arms, and every other thing for their service, all of clouds and mist.

Cath Loda, Duan. I. "Fingal again advanced his steps, wide through "the bosom of night," &c.] The kings were, at the same time head. priests, and used frequently, especially on solemn occasions, to perform the rites themselves, which they generally did in the night, an instance

of which I have added under No. 2, of the enclosed paper. This, I believe, shews the propriety of the above, and a few other passages in Ossian.

Fingal. B. 3. "That your fame may reach the maid who dwells in "the secret hall."] That remark I do not recollect to have seen in Os sian applied to any, but to Auandecca. It is not improbable, that it refers to a custom among the Scandinavians, that virgins of great distinction, had a separate dwelling to themselves, which was called Jomfru-Bur, literally the cage, i. e. the dwelling of the maid. There no man was allowed to enter, and thither they often retired for safety from suitors whom they disliked. Under No. 3, I have quoted two passages, where that custom is mentioned.

Cathlin of Clutha. "A son of Loda was there...... They turned "battle in fields, before the kings of men."] The ancient Scandinavians paid much credit to sorcery, and attributed to it a great power in turning the issue of a combat or battle. It was especially ascribed to the descendants of the Joter and Fins, who were generally looked upon as sorcerers. When heroes entered upon a contest with antagonists, whom they suspected of such supernatural means, they used to tie thin cloth. or skin round the blade of their swords, or resort to other means of breaking the charm. Sometimes they siezed the sword by the blade, and knocked away with the handle, when they fancied that the edge had been deadened, as they called it. Under No. 4, is a passage in which this superstition is mentioned.

Carric Thura. "Utha was near; she had followed," &c.] Ladies going to war were not uncommon at all among the Scandinavians; and it was not only love and attachment to a certain person, that induced them to it; most often they were merely actuated by true martial spirit, and desire of fame. They were called Skioldmoer, i. e. shield-maids, appeared in the dress and armour of men, and often displayed no less ferocity and bravery than they. As late as the 8th æra, in the great battle of Bravalla-heath, three ladies of this description distinguished themselves among the first heroes of the age. Under No. 5, is an instance of a mother following her son to war.

Oina Morul." I denied the maid..... he came with battle," &c.] This manner of conducting courtship was quite in the spirit of ancient north, of which there are some instances under No. 6.

Cath-Loda. Duan. III. "Sleep descended on the foe. I rose like a VOL. I.

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"stalking ghost," &c.] Of scenes not inferior to this in barbarity, there are, alas! too many in our ancient history. Under No. 7, will be found one, which is not, however, of the most shocking.

Fingal. B. 5. "King of Morven, said the hero, lift thy sword and "pierce my breast."] This contempt of death was, perhaps, by no nation carried farther, than by the ancient inhabitants of the North. An instance of this I have translated under No. 8. It was not uncommon among them, that warriors when they grew old and unfit for when they had been severely wounded in a battle, put a period to their life in some signal way. So did the famous Sterkodder in the 5th, and Sigund Ring, king of Denmark, in the Sth æra, and many others.

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The sword of Fingal, which was made by a smith of Lochlin, was called Luno, and was said to kill a man at every stroke. Not finding that a name is given to any other sword in the poems of Ossian, I should be disposed to think, that Fingal has adopted this from the Scandinavian manners. Among them it was, from the most ancient times, very common to give names to swords, and sometimes also to other parts of their armature. Skrep was a famous sword from the second age. Tyrfing was another from a later period, of which it was thought, that it must take a man's life every time it was unsheathed, a superstition which proved the cause of the death of many innocent people. Krotta, Misteltien, Skum, were also names of famous swords.

In Carric Thura, the spirit of Loda says, "The king of Sora is my "son." If Loda is Odin, and Fhrothal Frode III. of Denmark, those words are literally true, for Frode III. was really descended from Odin, both by his father and mother.

Dar-Thula." The blast came rustling through the hall," &c. Conlath and Cuthona. "The midnight wind is in my hall." From these expressions I should conclude, that the Caledonians, in the times of Ossian, constructed their houses in the same way, as the ancient Scandinavians, without windows and chimneys, but with a large opening in the roof, to emit the smoke from the fire-place, which was in the midst of the room. This manner of building prevailed in Norway, nearly till the end of the eleventh century.

Besides those of Swaran and Frode III. I find several invasions of Ireland and Scotland, between the 2d and the 8th centuries, but as none of them seem to have any connexion with the stories in the poems of Ossian, I shall only, under No. 9, give a catalogue of them. If you

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