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mes; and the tombs of the valiant rife; the tombs of my people rife! O my fathers! and I at laft must remain alone. But I will remain renowned, and the departure of my foul fhall be one stream of light. Lathmon! retire to thy place. Turn thy battles to other lands. The race of Morven are renowned, and their foes are the fons of the unhappy.

OITH O NA:

A

РОЕМ.

7

OITHONA:

D

A POEM. *)

arkness dwells around Dunlathmon, though the moon fhews half her face on the hill. The daughter of night turns her eyes away;

for

*) Gaul, the fon of Morni, attended rathmon into

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his own country, after his being defeated in Morven, as related in the preceding poem. He was kindly entertained by Nuäth, the father of Lathmon, and fell in love with his daughter Oithóna. The lady was no lefs enamoured of Gaul, and a day was fixed for their marriage. In the mean time Fingal, preparing for an expedition into the country of the Britons, fent for Gaul. He obeyed, and went ; but not without promifing to Oithóna, to return, if he furvived the war, by a certain day. Lath

mon too was obliged to attend his father Nuäth in his wars, and Oithóna was left alone at Duns lathinon, the feat of the family.

Dunrom

math,

for fhe beholds the grief that is coming.

The fon of Morni is on the plain; but there

1

18

math, lord of Uthal, fuppofed to be one of the Orkneys, taking advantage of the absence of her friends, came and carried off, by force, Oithóna, who had formerly rejected his love, into Tromathon, a defart ifland, where he concealed her in a cave.

Gaul returned on the day appointed; heard of the rape, and failed to Tromáthon, to revenge himself on Dunrommath. When he landed, he found Oithóna disconfolate, and resolved not to furvive the lofs of her honour.

She

told him the ftory of her misfortunes, and she fcarce ended, when Dunrommath, with his fol lowers, appeared at the further end of the if land. Gaul prepared to attack him, reconnnending to Oithóna to retire, till the battle was over. — She feemingly obeyed; but she secretly armed herself, rufhed into the thickeft of the battle, and was mortally wounded. Gaul pursuing

the flying enemy, found her juft exfpiring on the

field he mourned over her,
and returned to Morven.

ry handed down by tradition;

raifed her tomb,

Thus is the fto

nor is it given

with any material difference in the poem, which

opens

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