the compositions of Duncan Ban (Macintyre), Rob Donn, and a few
others that come into our own series, if we exclude the pathetic
'Old Bard's Wish,' 'The Song of the Owl,' and, perhaps, Ian Lom's
'Innerlochy.'

"But, while this may be so far satisfactory to our readers, we are
under the necessity of claiming their charitable forbearance for
the strangers of the mountain whom we are to introduce to their
acquaintance. The language, and, in some respects, the imagery and
versification, are as foreign to the usages of the Anglo-Saxon as
so many samples of Orientalism. The transfusion of the Greek and
Latin choral metres is a light effort to the difficulty of
imitating the rhythm, or representing the peculiar vein of these
song-enamoured mountaineers. Those who know how a favourite ode of
Horace, or a lay of Catullus, is made to look, except in mere
paraphrase, must not talk of the poorness or triteness of the
Highlander's verses, till they are enabled to do them justice by a
knowledge of the language. We disdain any attempt to make those
bards sing in the mere English taste, even if we could so translate
them as to make them speak or sing better than they do. The fear of
his sarcasms prevented Dr Johnson from hearing one literal version
during his whole sojourn in the Highlands. Sir Walter Scott wished
that somebody might have the manliness to recover Highland poetry
from the mystification of paraphrase or imposture, and to present
it genuine to the English reader. In that spirit we promise to
execute our task; and we shall rejoice if even a very moderate
degree of success should attend our endeavours to obtain for the
sister muse some share of that popularity to which we believe her
entitled."