brother in I-thorno: he left the land of his fathers. He chofe his place, in filence, by rocky Crathmo-craulo. His race came forth, in their years; they came forth to war, but they always fell. The wound of my fathers is mine, king of ecchoing ifles! He drew an arrow from his fide. He fell pale, in a land unknown. His foul came forth to his fathers, to their stormy isle. There they pursued boars of mift, along the skirts of winds. The chiefs ftood filent around, as the stones of Loda, on their hill. The traveller fees them, thro' the twilight, from his lonely path. He thinks them the ghofts of the aged, forming future wars. Night came down, on U-thorno. Still ftood the chiefs in their grief. The blast hissed, by turns, thro' every warrior's hair. Fingal, at length, burfted forth from the thoughts of his foul. He called Ullin of harps, and bade the fong to rife. No falling fire, that is only feen, and then retires in night; no de part has led him, the piece is neither disagreeable, nor abounding with that kind of fiction, which fhocks credibility. parting meteor was Crathmo- craulo's chief. He was like the ftrong -beaming fun, long rejoic ing on his hill. Call the names of his fathers, from their dwellings old. I-thorno *), faid the bard, that riseft midft ridgy feas! Why is thy head fo gloomy, in the ocean's mift? From thy vales came forth a race, fearless as thy ftrong-winged eagles; the race of Colgorm of iron fhields, dwellers of Loda's hall. In *) This episode is, in the original, extremely beautiful. It is fet to that wild kind of mufic, which fome of the Highlanders distinguish, by the title of Fón Qi-marra, or, the Song of mermaids. Some part of the air is abfolutely infernal, but there are many returns in the measure, which are inexpreffibly wild and beautiful From the genius of the mufic, I should think it came originally from Scandinavia, for the fictions delivered down concerning the Oi-marra; (who are reputed the authors of the inufic) exactly correfpond with the notions of the northern nations, concerning their dira, or, goddesses of death. Of all the names in this epifode, there is none of a Galic original, except Strina-dona, which fignifies, the strife of heroes. In Tormoth's refounding ifle, arofe Lurthan, ftreamy hill. It bent its woody head above a filent vale. There, at foamy Cruruth's fource, dwelt Rur-mar, hunter of boars. His daughter was fair as a fun-beam, white - bofom ed Strina dona! Many a king of heroes, and hero of iron fhields; many a youth of heavy locks came to Rur-mar's ecchoing hall. They came to woo the maid, the stately huntress of Tormoth wild. But thou lookeft careless from thy fteps, high bofomed Strina- dona! If on the heath fhe moved, her breast was whiter than the down of Cana *); if on the fea-beat fhore, than the foam of the rolling ocean. Her eyes were two ftars of light; her face was heaven's bow in fhowers; her dark hair flowed round it, like the ftreaming clouds. — Thou *) The Cana is a certain kind of grafs, which grows plentifully in the heathy moraffes of the north. Its talk is of the reedy kind, and it carries a tuft of down, very much resembling cotton. It is exceffively white, and, confequently, often introduced by the bards, in their fimilies concerning the beauty of women. Thou wert the dweller of fouls, white handed Striną - dona! Colgorm came, in his fhip, and Corcul furan, king of fhells. The brothers came, from I-thorno, to woo the fun-beam of Tormoth's ifle. She faw them in their ecchoing steel. Her foul was fixed on blue-eyed Colgorm. Ullochlin's *) nightly eye looked in, and saw the toffing arms of Strina - dona. frowned. Their flamThey turned away. Their hands were Wrathful the brothers ing eyes, in filence, met. They ftruck their fhields. trembling on their fwords. They rufhed into the ftrife of heroes, for long for long haired Strina, dona. Corcul- furan fell in blood. On his ifle, raged the ftrength of his father. He turned Colgorm, from I- thorno, to wander on all the winds. Crathmo craulo's rocky field, he dwelt, by a foreign ftream. Nor darkened the king alone, that beam of light was near, the daughter *) Ul-lochlin, the guide to Lochlin, the name of a itar. |