The genuine history of the Britons asserted against Mr. Macpherson ...

156 THE GENUINE HISTORY OF
Mr. Macpherfon in p. 78— 91 applies himfelf
to the bufinefs of refuting the arguments of Fa-
ther Innes, concerning the Spanifli or Scandi-
navian extraftion of the Scots of Ireland. This
is an harder talk than the former. And yet thefe,
and all the other conclufions of our Hiflorians
and Antiquarians, may be anfwered without any
great difficulty. Fluttering for want of infor-
mation concerning the real defcent of the Scots,
the hiftorical mind has wandered over the con-
tinent in fearch of their original home, has
eagerly caught at the mofl: trifling appearances of
argument, readily embraced the wildeft fug-
geftions of Tradition, and molded both into a
fyftem, which is more fpecious and folid than
the fictions of the Irilli, but eafily yields to the
force of a well-direfled blow. So far, therefore,
as Mr. Macpherfon's arguments relate only to
the Spanifh or Scandinavian origin of the Scots,
I {hall not attend to them. He may demolifli
thofe Go:hick Structures at his will. His efforts
tions in p. 6^ ; the appeal to Camden, Ware, and Ufiier, in
p. 64—65 ; what is faid of Ware and the Pfalter-Cafliel in
p. 67, and ot'the form of the Irifh Alphabet in p. 67—68 ;
are all taken from Innes, p. 428, 429, 431, and 432, 430,
433—434,435—437, 434—435» 439' ^"^^ 448—449» without
one acknowledgement of the real Owner, and more than
once with the adoption of his own words.—And Dr. Macpher-
fon had borrowed fome of the arguments before from Innes.
See p. 88— 90.—Compare alfop. 70^71 of Mr. Macpherfon
ivlth p. 90 of the Dod^or,
arc