Cuchullin fits at Lego's lake, at the dark rolling of waters. Night is around the hero; and his thousands fpread on the heath: a hundred oaks burn in the midst, the feast of shells is fmoaking wide--Carril ftrikes the harp, beneath a tree; his gray locks glitter in the beam; the rustling blaft of night is near, and lifts his aged hair. His fong is of the blue Togorma, and of its chief, Cuchullin's friend.

in the

Why art thou abfent, Connal day of the gloomy ftorm? The chiefs of the fouth have convened against the carborne Cormac : the winds detain thy fails, and thy blue waters roll around thee. But Cormac is not alone: the fon of Semo fights his battles. Semo's fon his battles fights the terror of the ftranger! he that is like the vapour of death (1), flowly borne

(1) Οΐη δ' ἐκ νεφέων ἐρεβεννὴ φαίνεται ἀὴρ Καύματος ἐξ ανέμοιο δυσαέις ὀρνυμένοιο.

HOM. II. JA

As vapours blown by Aufter's fultry breath,

Pregnant with plagues, and shedding feeds of

death,

Beneath the rage of burning Sirius rife ?

Choke the parch'd earth,and blacken all the skies,

POPE

by fultry winds. The fun reddens in its prefence, the people fall around.

Such was the fong of Carril, when a fon of the foe appeared; he threw down his pointless fpear, and fpoke the words of Torlath, Torlath the chief of heroes, from Lego's fable furge: he that led his thoufands to battle, against car-borne Cormac, Cormac, who was diftant far, in Temora's (1) echoing halls: he learned to bend the bow of his fathers, and to lift the spear. Nor long didft thou lift the fpear, midlyshining beam of youth death ftands dim behind thee, like the darkened half of the moon behind its growing light.

Cuchullin rofe before the bard (2), that came from generous Torlath; he offered him the shell of joy, and honoured the fon of fongs. Sweet voice of Lego! he said,

(1) The royal palace of the Irish kings ; Teamhrath according to fome of the bards.

(2) The bards were the heralds of ancient times; and their perfons were facred on account of their office. In later times they abused that privilege; and as their perfons were inviolable, they fatyrised and lampooned fo freely those who were not liked by their patrons, that they became a public nuifance. Screened under the character of heralds, they grofly abufed the enemy when he would not accept the terms they offered.

what are the words of Torlath? Comes he to our feast or battle, the car-borne fon of Cantéla (1).

He comes to thy battle, replied the bard; to the founding ftrife of fpears. When morning is gray on Lego, Torlath will fight on the plain: and wilt thou meet him in thine arms, king of the ifle of mist Terrible is the fpear of Torlath it is a meteor of night. He lifts it, and the people fall death fits in the lightning of his sword.

:

Do I fear, replied Cuchullin, the fpear of car-borne Torlath He is brave as a thousand heroes; but my foul delights in war. The fword refts not by the fide of Cuchullin, bard of the times of old! Morning shall meet me on the plain, and gleam on the blue arms of Semo's fon.- But fic thou, on the heath, O bard and let us hear thy voice: partake of the joyful shell ; and hear the fongs of Temora.

to

This is no time, replied the bard bear the fong of joy when the mighty are to meet in battle like the ftrength of the waves of Lego. Why art thou fo dark, Slimora (2) ! with all thy filent woods: No

(1) Cean-teola', head of a family. (1) Slia’-mór, great hill.

green ftar trembles on thy top; no moonbeam on thy fide. But the meteors of death are there, and the gray watry forms of ghofts. Why art thou dark, Slimora ! with thy filent woods?

He retired, in the found of his fong; Carril accompanied his voice. The mufic was like the memory of joys that are past, pleafant and mournful to the foul. The ghofts of departed bards heard it from Slimora's fide. Soft founds fpread along the wood, and the filent valleys of night rejoice. So, when he fits in the filence of noon, in the valley of his breeze, the humming of the mountain bee comes to Offian's ear: the gale drowns it often in its course; but the pleasant found returns again.

Raife, faid Cuchullin, to his hundred bards; the fong of the noble Fingal that fong which he hears at night, when the dreams of his reft defcend: when the bards ftrike. the diftant harp, and the faint light gleams on Selma's walls. Or let the grief of Lara rife, and the fighs of the mother of Calmar (1), when he was fought, in vain

(1) Calmar the fon of Matha. His death is related at large,in the third book of Fingal. He was the only fon of Matha; and the family was extinct in him.

-The feat of the family was on the banks of the river Lara, in the neighbourhood of Lego,

on

on his hills; and she beheld his bow in the hall. -Carril, place the shield of Caithbat on that branch; and let the fpear of Cuchullin be near; that the found of my battle may rife with the

gray

beam of the east.

The hero leaned on his father's shield: the fong of Lara rofe. The hundred bards were diftant far: Carril alone is near the chief. The words of the fong were his; and the found of his harp was mournful.

Alclétha (1) with the aged locks! mother of car-borne Calmar! why doft thou look towards the defart, to behold the return of thy fon? Thefe are not his heroes, dark on the heath nor is that the voice of Calmar : it is but the diftant grove, Alclétha ! but the roar of the mountain wind!

Who (2) bounds over Lara's ftream, fifter

and probably near the place where Cuchullin lay, which circumftance fuggefted to him, the lamentation of Alclétha over her fon.

(1) Ald-cla'tha decaying beauty

probably a poetical name given the mother of Calmar, by the bard himself.

turn

(2) Alclétha speaks. Calmar had promised to reby a certain day, and his mother and his fifter Alona are reprefented by the bard as looking, with impatience, towards that quarter where they expected Calmar would make his first appear

ance.

VOL. II.

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