Ossian Collection > Poems of Ossian, the son of Fingal

102 THE BATTLE OF LORA:
llreamy Morven I Narthmor, take the fleeds* of the
ftrangers, and attend the daughter of Fingal : let her bid
the king of Sora to our feaft, to Selma's fhaded wall. Of-
fer him, O Bofmina, the peace of heroes, and tjie wealth
of generous Aldo: our youths are far dillant, and age is
on our trembling hands."
She came to the hoft of Erragon, like a beam of light to
a cloud. In her right hand flione an arrow of gold ; and
in her left a fparkling fhell, the iign of Morven's peace.
Erragon brightened in her prefence as a rock, before th6
fuddcn beams of the fun ; when they iffiie from a broken
cloud, divided by the roaring wind.
" Son of the diiiant Sora," begun the mildly blufhing
maid, •' come to the feaft of Morven's king, to Selma'i
Ihaded Walls. Take the peace of heroes, O warrior, and
let the dark fword reft by thy fide. And if thou chul'elt
the wealth of kings, hear the words of the generous Aldo.
He g ive so Erragon an hundred fteeds, the children of the
rein ; an hundred maids from diftant lands ; an hundred
hawks with fluttering wing, that fly acrofs the fky. An
hundred girdles f fliall alio be thine, to bind high-bofom-
ed women; the friends of the births of heroes, and the
cure of the fons of toil. Ten flieils ftudded with gems
fliall faine in Sora's towers : the blue v/ater trembles on
their itars, and feems to be fparkling wine. They glad-
dened once the kings of the world J, in the midlt of their
echoing halls. Thefe, O hero, Hiall be thine; crthy white-
bofomed fpoufe. Lorma fhall roll her bright eyes in thy
lialls ; though Fingal loves the generous Aldo : Fingal I
who never injured a hero, though his arm is ftrong."
" Soft voice of Cona I" rephed the king, " tell him,
that he fpreads his feaft in vain. Let Fingal pour his
fpoils around me ; and bend beneath my power. Let
him give me the fwords of his fathers, and the ihields of
other
• Tliefc were probably liorfcs taken in the iiicurfions of the Caledonians into
the Roman province, which fcems to be intimated in the phrale of the fleeds of
Jltavgeii.
i San(51ified girdles, till very lately, were kept in many families in the north
of Scotland; fhey were bound about women in labour, and were fuppofed to alle-
viate their pains, and to accelerate the birth. They were imprefled with feveral
nirftical fig;ures, and the cerepiony of binding them about the woman's waift, was
accompanied with words and geftures which ftiewcd the cullom to have come ori-
ginally from the druids.
t The Roman emperors. Thefe (hells were fomc of the fpoils of the province.