Her eyes were wandering flames, amidst difordered locks. Forward is her white arm, with the fpear; her high-heaving breaft is feen, white as foamy waves that rife, by turns, amidst rocks. They are beautiful, but terrible, and mariners call the winds !" "Come, ye dwellers of Loda !" fhe faid, "come, Carchar, pale in the midst of clouds! Sluthmor, that ftrideft in airy halls! Corchtur, terrible in winds! Receive, from his daughter's fpear, the fees of Suran-dronlo. No fhadow, at his roaring streams; no mildly-looking form was he! When he took up his fpear, the hawks fhook their founding wings: for blood was poured around the steps of dark-eyed Surandronlo. He lighted me, no harmless beam, to glitter on his ftreams. Like meteors, I was bright, but I blafted the foes of Suran-dronlo." * Nor unconcerned heard Sul-malla,, the praise of Cathumor of fhields. He was within her foul, like a fire in fecret heath, which awakes at the voice H 3 dible, if we make allowances for the lively imagination of a man of genius. Our chief failing, in a ftorm, along one of the islands of Orkney, faw a woman, in a boat, near the fhore, whom he thought, as he expreffes it himself, as beautiful as a fudden ray of the fun, on the dark-heaving deep. The verfes of Offian, on the attitude of Runo-forlo, which was fo fimilar to that of the woman in the boat, wrought fo much on his fancy, that he fell defperately in love. The winds, however, drove him from the coaft, and, after a few days, he arrived at his refidence in Scotland. There his paffion increafed to fuch a degree, that two of his friends, fearing the confequence, failed to the Orkneys, to carry to him the object of his defire. Upon enquiry they foon found the nymph, and carried her to the enamoured chief; but mark his furprize, when, inftead of a ray of the fun, he faw a skinny fifherwoman, more than middle-aged, appearing before him. Tradition here ends the story: but it may be easily supposed that the paffion of the chief soon subsided. voice of the blast, and fends its beam abroad. Amidft the fong removed the daughter of kings, like the voice of a fummer-breeze; when it lifts the heads of flowers, and curls the lakes and ftreams. The ruftling found gently spreads o'er the vale, foftly-pleafing as it faddens the foul. By night came a dream to Offian; formless ftood the fhadow of Trenmor. He feemed to ftrike the dim fhield, on Selma's streamy rock. I rofe, in my rattling fteel; I knew that war was near, before the winds our fails were spread; when Lumon fhewed its streams to the morn. Come from the watching of night, Malvina, lonely beam! ARGUMENT. Reflections on the poet's youth. An apostrophe to Selma. Ofcar obtains leave to go to Inis-thona, an island of Scandinavia. The mournful story of Argon and Ruro, the two fons of the king of Inis-thona. Ofcar revenges their death, and returns in triumph to Selma. A foliloquy by the poet himself. OUR youth is like the dream of the hunter on the hill of heath. He fleeps in the mild beams of the fun; he awakes amidst a storm; the red lightning flies around: trees shake their heads to the wind! He looks back with joy, on the day of the fun; and the pleasant dreams of his reft! When fhall Offian's youth return? When his ear delight in the found of arms? When fhall I, like Öfcar, travel in the light of my steel ? Come, with your ftreams, ye hills of Cona! liften to the voice of Offian. The fong rifes, like the fun, in my foul. I feel the joys of other times! I behold thy towers, O Selma ! the oaks of thy fhaded wall: thy ftreams found in my ear; thy heroes gather around. Fingal fits in the midft. He leans on the fhield of Trenmor: his fpear ftands against the wall; he liftens to the song of his bards. The deeds of his arm are heard; the actions of the king in his youth! Ofcar had returned from the chace, and heard the hero's H 5 praise. |