J. F. Campbell Collection > Temora, an ancient epic poem, in eight books

A P O E M. 195
the chiefs to lead, by turns : they led, but they were rolled avvav.
— From his own mofly hill, blue-fhielded Trenmor came down.
He led wide-fkirted battle, and the ftrangers failed. — Around him
the dark-browed warriors came : they ftruck the fhield of joy.
Like a pleaflint gale, the words of power rufiied forth from Selma
of kings. But the chiefs led, by turns, in war, till mighty danger
rofe : then was the hour of the king to conquer in the held.
" Not unknown, laid Cromma-glas * of fhields, are the deeds
of our fathers. — But who fhall now lead the war, before the race
of kings ? Mift fettles on thefe four dark hills : within it let each
warrior flrike his fliield. Spirits may defcend in darknefs, and mark
us for the war." They went, each to his hill of mift. Bards
marked the founds of the fhields. Loudeft rung thy bofs, Duth-
maruno. Thou muft lead in war.
* In tradition, this Crommaglas makes mifreprefented the ladies of his country,
a great figure in that battle which Comhal for Morna's behaviour was, according do
loft, together with his life, to the tribe of him, fo void of ail decency and vir-
Momi. I have juft now, in my hands, an tue, that it cannot be fuppofed, they had
Itifli compofition, of a very modern date, chofen her for their guiding Jiar. The
as appears from the language, in which a 1 po:m confifls of many ftanzas. The lan-
the traditions, concerning that decifive en- guage is figurative, and the numbers har-
gagement, are jumbled together. In juf- monious ; but the piece is fo full of ana-
tice to the merit of the poem, I (hould chronjfm?, and fo unequal in its corn-
have here prefented to the reader a traiifla- pofition, that the author, moft undoubt-
tion of it, did not the bard mention fome edly, was either mad, or drunk, when he
circumftances very ridiculous, and others wrote it.- .It is worthy of being re-
altogether indecent. Morna, the wife of marked, that Comhal is, in this poem,
Comhal, had a principal hand in all the very often called, Comhal na h'Min, or
tranfaftions previous to the defeat and death Comhal cf A!hicn, which fufficiently demon-
©f her hufband ; (he, to ufe the words of ftrates, that the allegations of Keating and
the bard, uho was the guiding Jlar of the O Flaherty, concerning Fion Mat-Ccmnal^
women of Erin. The bard, it is to be hoped, are but of late invention.
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