Ossian Collection > Fingal

A P O E AI. 137
for thou art pleafant, and carried away my night
with joy. Sing on, O Bragela, daughter of car-
borne Songlan !
It
anions, and who refided, at the time, with Connai,
the Ion of Caithbat, in UHler.
Cuchullin was but three and twenty years old, when
heaffuniedthe management of affairs in Ireland: and ths
invafion of Swaran happened two years after. In the^
twenty-feventh year of Ciichullin'sage, and the third of
his adminiftration, Torlath, the fon of Cantela, fet up
for himfelf in Connaught, and advanced towards Temo-
ra, in order to dethrone Cormac. Cuchullin marched a-
gainft him, came up whh him at the lake of Lego, and
totally defeated his forces. Torlath fell in the battle by
Cuchullin s hand ; but as he himfelf prefTed too eagerly
on the flying enemy, h^ was mortally wounded by an
arrow, and died the fecond<lay after.
The good fortune of Cormac fell with Cuchullin :
many fet up for themfelv es, and anarchy and confufi&n
reigned. At laft Cormac was taken off", nobody knew
how ; and Cairbar, one of the competitors for the throne,
having defeated all his rivals, became fole monarch of
Ireland. The family of Fingal, who were in the intereft
of Cormac's family, were refolved to deprive Cairbar of
the throne he had ufurped j in particular, Ofcar the fon
of OHian, had determined to revenge the death of Cathol,
his friend, who had been affalfmated by Cairbar, The
threats of Ofcar reached Cairbar's ears : he invited him
in a friendly manner to a feaft which he had prepared at
the royal palace of Temora, refolving to pick a quar-
rel, and havefome pretexi: for killing him.
The quarrel happened ; the followers of both fought,
and Cairbar and Ofcar fell by nmtual wounds : in the
mean time Fingal arrived from Scotland with an army,
defeated the friends of Cairbar, and re-eftablilhedthe fa-
mily of Cormac in the polTeihon of the kingdom. The
prefent poem concerns the death of Cuchullin. It is, in
the original, called Duan loch Leigo, i. e. The Poem of
Legos Lakey and is ?»ji epifode introduced in a great po-
em,