the remembrance. My eyes must have their tears. Pale in the earth is the the foftly-blushing fair of my love. But fit thou on the heath, O Bard, and let us hear thy voice. It is pleasant as the gale of spring that fighs on the hunter's ear; when he wakens from dreams of joy, and has heard the mufic of the spirits of the hill. FINGAL, ARGUMENT to Book VI. Night comes on. Fingal gives a feast to his army, at which Swaran is prefent. The king commands Ullin his bard to give the fong of peace; a cuftom always obferved at the end of a war. Ullin relates the actions of Trenmor, great grandfather to Fingal, in Scandinavia, and his marriage with Inibaca, the daughter of a king of Lochlin who was ancestor to Swaran; which confideration, together with his being brother to Agandecca, with whom Fingal was in love in his youth, induced the king to release him, and permit him to return, with the remains of his army, into Lochlin, upon his promise of never returning to Ireland, in a hoftile manner. The night is spent in fettling Swaran's departure, in fongs of bards, and in a converfation in which the ftory of Grumal is introduced by Fingal. Morning comes. ran departs; Fingal goes on a hunting party, and finding Cuchullin in the cave of Tura, comforts him, and fets fail, the next day, for Scotland; which concludes the poem, Swa THE clouds of night come rolling down and reft on Cromla's dark-brown fteep. The ftars of the north arife over the rolling of the waves of Ullin; they fhew their heads of fire through the flying mift of heaven. A diftant wind roars in the wood; but filent and dark is the plain of death. STILL on the darkening Lena arofe in my ears the tuneful voice of Carril. He fung of the companions of our youth, and the days of former years; when we met on the banks of Lego, * This book opens with the fourth night, and ends on the morning of the fixth day. The time of five days, five nights, and a part of the fixth day is taken up in the poem. The scene lies in the heath of Lena, and the mountain Cromla on the coaff of Ulfter. and and fent round the joy of the fhell. Cromla, with its cloudy fteeps, anfwered to his voice. The ghofts of thofe he fung came in their ruftling blafts. They were feen to bend with joy towards the found of their praise. BE thy foul bleft, O Carril, in the midft of thy eddying winds. O that thou would come to my hall when I am alone by night !---And thou doft come, my friend, I hear often thy light hand on my harp; when it hangs on the diftant wall, and the feeble found touches my ear. Why doft thou not speak to me in my grief, and tell when I fhall behold my friends? But thou paffeft away in thy murmuring blaft; and thy wind whistles through the gray hair of Offian. Now on the fide of Mora the heroes gathered to the feaft. A thousand aged oaks are burning to the wind.The ftrength* of the fhells * By the ftrength of the fhell is meant the liquor the heroes drunk of what kind it was, cannot be afcertained at this diftance of time. The tranflator has met with several ancient poems that mention wax-lights and wine as common in the halls of Fingal. The names of both are borrowed from the Latin, which plainly fhews that our anceflors had them from the Romans, if they had them at all. The Caledonians in their frequent incurfions to the province, might become acquainted with thofe conveniencies of life, and introduce them into their own country, among the booty which they carried from South Britain. goes |