Ossian Collection > Reliques of Irish poetry

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" No wonder (he replied,) each foreign knight
" Should now infult onr coaft !
" Lofl are the fouls of martial might,
" The pride of Erin's hoft !
" Oh.! fince your deaths, ye fav'rite fons of fame ' !
" Difmay, defeat, diflrefs, and well-earn'd fhaine,
" Alike our lofs, and owv reproach proclaim !
For
' Cucullin here alludes to the death of his kinfinen, the three fons of Ufnoth, (or
Uifneach,) who were cut off fome time before by the perfidy of Conor. As their
flory may perhaps be acceptable to my readers, I will here prefent them with it, in
all its fabulous array.
Deirdre, the beautiful daughter of Feidlim INIac-Doill, fecretary to Conor king of
Ulfter, had, from her infancy, been fhut up and flriclly guarded in a fortrefs, to
fruftrate the prophecy of a Druid, who had foretold at her birth, that flie fliould be
fatal to the houfe of Ulfter. On a day, as (he looked abroad from her prifon, flie
perceived a raven feeding on the blood of a calf, that had been killed for her table,
and had tinged with crimfon fome new-fallen fnow. — Immediately turning to Leavar-
cam, (her governefs,) fhe aflced, if there was any one in the world fo beautiful as to
have hair black as that raven's wing ; cheeks of as bright and pure a red as that blood ;
and a (kin of the fame dazzling fairnefs as that fnow ? vLeavarcam replied, that
there was ; and that Naoife, the fon of Ufnoth, more than anfwered the defcrip-
tion.
Deirdre, curious to behold this wonder, entreated her governefs to contrive fome
means by whi:h fhe might procure a fight of him ; and Leavarcam, pitying her fitua-
tion and confinement, and thinking this a good opportunity to elFedl her deliverance
from it ; went diredlly to the young and gallant Naoife, informed him of the circum-
ftance, extolled her pupil's charms, and promifed to indulge him with an interview,
provided he would, on his part, engage to free the fair captive, and make her his
wife. Naoife joyfully accepted the invitation: — they met; — mutual aflonifhment and
admiration concluded in vows of the moft paffionate love ! Naoife, with the aid of
his brothers, Ainle and Ardan, flormed the fortrefs, and carried off his prize ; and
elcaping thence to Scotland, they were there joined in marriage.
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