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his grey head rested on his staff. Sightless are his aged eyes. He hums the fong of other times. The noife of Hidallan's feet came to his ear: he knew the tread of his fon.

"Is the fon of Lamor returned; or is it the found of his ghost? Haft thou fallen on the banks of Carun, fon of the aged Lamor? Or, if I hear the found of Hidallan's feet; where are the mighty in the war? where are my people, Hidallan! that were wont to return with their echoing fhields? Have they fallen on the banks of Carun ?"

"No:" replied the fighing youth, "the people of Lamor live. They are renowned in war, my father! but Hidallan is renowned no more. I must fit alone on the banks of Balva, when the roar of the battle grows."

"But thy fathers never fat alone," replied the rifing pride of Lamor. "They never fat alone on the banks of Balva, when the roar of battle rofe. Doft thou not behold that tomb? My eyes difcern it not; there refts the noble Garmállon, who never fled from war! Come, thou renowned in battle, he fays, come to thy father's tomb. How am I renowned, Garmállon? my fon has fled from war !"

"King of the streamy Balva!" faid Hidallan with a figh, "why doft thou torment my foul? Lamor, I never fled. Fingal was fad for Comala; he denied his wars to Hidallan. Go to the grey ftreams of thy land, he faid; moulder like a leaflefs oak, which the winds have bent over Balva, never more to grow!"

"And must I hear," Lamor replied, "the lonely tread of Hidallan's feet? When thousands are renowned in battle, fhall he bend over my grey ftreams? Spirit of the noble Garmallon!

carry

carry Lamor to his place; his eyes are dark; his foul is fad; his fon has loft his fame!" "Where," faid' the youth, fhall I fearch for fame to gladden the foul of Lamor? From whence fhall I return with renown, that the found of my arms may be pleasant in his ear? If I go to the chace of hinds, my name will not be heard. Lamor will not feel my dogs, with his hands, glad at my arrival from the hill. He. will not enquire of his mountains, or of the dark-brown deer of his defarts !”

"I must fall," faid Lamor, "like a leaflefs oak: it grew on a rock! it was overturned by the winds! My ghost will be seen on my hills, mournful' for my young Hidallan. Will not ye, ye mifts! as ye rife, hide him from my fight? My fon! go to Lamor's hall: there the arms of our fathers hang. Bring the sword of Garmállon ; he took it from a foe !"

He went and brought the fword with all its ftudded thongs. He gave it to his father. The grey-haired hero felt the point with his hand.

"My for! lead me to Garmállon's tomb : it rifes befide that ruftling tree. The long grafs is withered; I hear the breezes whiftling there. A little fountain murmurs néar, and fends its water to Balva. There let me reft; it is noon : the fun is on our fields!"

He led him to Garmállon's tomb. Lamor pierced the fide of his fon. They fleep together their ancient halls moulder away. Ghofts are seen there at noon: the valley is filent, and the people fhun the place of Lamor.

"Mournful is thy tale," faid Ofcar, "fon of the times of old! My foul fighs for Hidallan; he fell in the days of his youth. He flies on the blast of the defart, his wandering is in a foreign G 4 land.

land. Sons of the echoing Morven ! draw near to the foes of Fingal. Send the night away in fongs; watch the ftrength of Caros. Ofcar goes to the people of other times; to the fhades of filent Ardven; where his fathers fit dim in their clouds, and behold the future war. And art thou there, Hidallan, like a half-extinguished meteor? Come to my fight, in thy forrow, chief of the winding Balva !"

The heroes move with their fongs. Ofcar flowly afcends the hill. The meteors of night fet on the heath before him. A diftant torrent faintly roars. Unfrequent blafts rush through aged oaks. The half-enlightened moon finks dim and red behind her hill. Feeble voices are heard on the heath. Ofcar drew his fword!

"Come," faid the hero, "O ye ghofts of my fathers ye that fought against the kings of the world! Tell me the deeds of future times; and your converfe in your caves; when you talk together, and behold your fons in the fields of the brave."

Trenmor came from his hill, at the voice of his mighty fon. A cloud, like the fteed of the ftranger, fupported his airy limbs. His robe is of the mift of Lano, that brings death to the people. His fword is a green meteor: half-extinguished. His face is without form, and dark. He fighed thrice over the hero : thrice the winds of night roared around! Many were his words to Ofcar; but they only came by halves to our ears: they were dark as the tales of other times, before the light of the fong arofe. He flowly vanished, like a mist that melts on the funny hill. It was then, O daughter of Tofcar! my fon began firft to be fad. He forefaw the fall of his race. At times,

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heroes had failed, along the pleasant vale. Duthcarmor was here, with his people, dark rider of the wave. Ton-thena had hid her head in the sky. He bound his white-bofomed fails. His course is on the hills of Rath-col, to the feats of roes. We came. I fent the bard, with fongs, to call the foe to fight. Duth-carmor heard him, with joy. The king's foul was like a beam of fire; a beam of fire, marked with fmoak, rufhing, varied, thro' the bofom of night. The deeds of Duth-carmor were dark, tho' his arm was strong.

*

Night came, with the gathering of clouds. By the beam of the oak we fat down. At a diftance ftood Cathlin of Clutha. I faw the changeful foul of the stranger. As fhadows fly over the field of grafs, so various is Cathlin's cheek. It was fair within locks, that rofe on Rath-col's wind. I did not rufh, amidst his foul, with my words. I bade the fong to rife.

"Ofcar

forced thither by a form; at least I fhould think that to be the meaning of the poet, from his expreffion, that Ton-thena bad bid her bead, and that be bound his white-bofomed fails; which is as much as to say, that the weather was stormy, and that Duth-carmor put into the bay of Rath-col for fhelter.

*From this circumftance, fucceeding bards feigned that Cathlin, who is here in the disguise of a young warrior, had fallen in love with Duth-carmor at a feaft, to which he had been invited by her father. Her love was converted into deteftation for him, after he had murdered her father. But as thofe rain-bows of beaven are changeful, fay my authors, speaking of women, the felt the return of her former paffion, upon the approach of Duth-carmor's danger. I myself, who think more favourably of the fex, muft attribute the agitation of Cathlin's mind to her extreme fenfibility to the injuries done her by Duth-carmor: and this opinion is favoured by the fequel of the ftory.

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"Ofcar of Lego," I faid, " be thine the fecret hill t, to-night. Strike the fhield, like Morven's kings. With day, thou shalt lead in war. From my rock, I fhall fee thee, Ofcar, a dreadful form afcending in fight, like the ap-pearance of ghofts, amidst the ftorms they raife.. Why should mine eyes return to the dim times of old, ere yet the fong had burfted forth, like the fudden rifing of winds? But the years, that are paft, are marked with mighty deeds. As the nightly rider of waves looks up to Ton-thena of beams: fo let us turn our eyes to Trenmor, the father of Kings."

"Wide in Caracha's echoing field, Carmal had poured his tribes. They were a dark ridge of waves. The grey-haired bards were like moving foam on their face. They kindled the strife around, with their red-rolling eyes. Nor alone: were the dwellers of rocks; a fon of Loda was there; a voice, in his own dark land, to call the ghofts from high. On his hill, he had dwelt, in Lochlin, in the midst of a leaflefs grove. Five ftones lifted, near, their heads. Loud roared his rufhing stream.. He often raised his voice to the winds, when meteors marked their nightly wings; when the dark-robed moon was rolled behind her hill. Nor unheard of ghosts was he! They came

with.

This paffage alludes to the well-known cuftom among the ancient kings of Scotland, to retire from their army on the night preceding a battle. The story which Offian introduces in the next paragraph, concerns the fall of the Druids. It is faid in many old poems, that the Druids in the extremity of their affairs, had folicited and obtained aid from Scandinavia. Among the auxiliaries there came many pretended magicians, which circumftance Offian alludes to, in his defcription of the fon of Loda. Magic and incantation could not, however, prevail; for Trenmor, affifted by the valour of his fon Trathal, entirely broke the power of the Druids.

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