Of the two manuscripts mentioned in the custodial history note only the present one remains. A little further evidence for the ascription to Alasdair lies in the small portions of text in Roman hand (pages 118, 176; compendium &, passim), which may be compared with the facsimile of the poet’s hand published as frontispiece to the 1924 edition of his work. The manuscript was written during or after 1747 (cf. pages 143, 146, 149), and some of the poems, notably “An Àirce” (page 169), appear to be rough drafts of versions published by the author in 1751. (This was first noted by Donald Mackinnon in ‘Celtic Review’, volume 4, page 304).

Marginalia are as follows: page 118, first few letters of the alphabet (Gaelic hand, probably scribal); page 133, ‘Mary Mc Donald Eachen’ (Roman hand, probably non-scribal); page 170, semi-legible line (?) ‘re bl g m bacilor a Dia gan agla...’ (mixed hand, probably scribal). ‘No.33’ refers to the manuscripts listing in Ingliston MSS. A.iv.18, A.iv.19 (‘Fragment, Poetical—25 leaves’) and A.iv.21. ‘15 JMcH’ refers to its listing in Ingliston MS. A.iv.13 (‘Quarto Manuscript marked No 33 with Page 118 on the outside Leaf’). The manuscript is fragmentary, the scribe’s pagination running 118-121, 131-134, 143-184.

The manuscript contains a ‘Pro patria’ watermark.

The contents (text) are as follows.

(i) Part of “Òran Luaidh no Fùcaidh”, beginning (acephalous) ‘Do chul pechdich sios na dhualimh’, 52 lines. (Page 118.)

(ii) ‘Ho ro mo bhobig an drachm’, 8 stanzas. Incomplete. (Middle of page 120.)

(iii) Pages 122-130 missing.

(iv) ‘Nach goirid fo na ghabh shinn ar’, 9 stanzas. Incitement composed shortly after Prestonpans (21st September 1745). May be acephalous. (Page 131.)

(v) “Oganich uir a chuil téudich”, 5 stanzas + chorus. Jacobite waulking song. (Middle of page 134.)

(vi) Pages 135-142 missing.

(vii) ‘An t-aodich boich bostoil drechor’, 13 stanzas, probably acephalous. Incitement to rise again following Disclothing Act of 1747. (Page 143.)

(viii) ‘Shid i chulidh s cha bi Nuligh’ (i.e. "Siud a’chulaidh ‘s cha b’ i ‘n ulaidh"), 6 stanzas. Obscene satire on an unspecified woman. Edited and translated in R. Black, An Lasair (Edinburgh 2001), pp. 190–3. (Middle of page 145.)

(ix) “S édrim uallich mer, éri na n-uile fer”, 7 stanzas. Another incitement to rise again following Disclothing Act of 1747. (Middle of page 146.)

(x) ‘Comma mar dig u idir’, 6 stanzas. Incitement, addressed to Prince Charles, following Disclothing Act of 1747. (Page 149.)

(xi) “O togamit óirnn far uisge s far tuinn”, 7 stanzas. Another incitement to rise again. (Middle of page 149.)

(xii) “Na habir Na habir &c. Na habir nas mó”, 15 stanzas. To Mrs Anna Campbell of Barr, the Oban poetess (daughter of Duncan Campbell, notary), who had satirized Prince Charles. (Page 151.)

(xiii) ‘O gan digadh ar caulich garbh daoinach’, 28 stanzas. To the same. (Page 156.)

(xiv) ‘O Thearlaich mhic Shemis mhic Shemis mhic Thearlaich’, 9 stanzas. In praise of Prince Charles and dispraise of his enemies. (Bottom of page 160.)

(xv) “S ball beg míriaghuiltich lag láidir”, 20 stanzas. To the Oban poetess, Mrs Anna Campbell of Barr (daughter Of Duncan Campbell, notary), who had satirized Prince Charles. (Page 167, line 4.)

(xvi) “Ga dé hug dhuit a bhrachdaid shalich aimid nam ban thu”, 9 stanzas. To the same, apparently following her reply. (Bottom of page 167.)

(xvii) “Adhra mhíalich nan cath”, 64 stanzas (“An Àirce”). (Page 169, line 6.)

(xviii) ‘Bha S: C: sin am a ro an triblaid ann’, 18 stanzas. Satire on James Campbell, writer in Inveraray and captain of Ardkinglas’s company of the Argyllshire Militia. (Bottom of page 174.)

(xix) “Ha Caimbeulaich ainimoil an drásda ann an Albainn”, 12 stanzas. Satire on the Campbells. (Bottom of page 177.)

(xx) ‘Och s och s och mi fein smaonachidh ar lucht ar cles’, 12 stanzas. A lyric on the Highland dress. ‘Finid’ after stanza 8 deleted. (Page 183.)