Ossian Collection > Poems of Ossian, the son of Fingal

Book P^IIL AN EPIC POSM. 289
my fathers fliall meet me, at the gates of their airy halls,
tall, with robes of hght, with mildly-kindled eyes. But, to
the proud in arms, they are darkened moons in heaven,
which fend the fire of night, red-wandering over their face.
" Father of heroes, Trenmor, dweller of eddying winds!
I give thy fpear to Offian, let thine eye rejoice. Thee
have I feen, at times, bright from between thy clouds ;
)^Q appear to my fon, when he is to lift the fpear : then
fliall he remember thy mighty deeds, though thou art
now but a blaft."
He gave the fpear to my hand, and raifed, at once, a
ftone on high, to fpeak to future times, with its gray head
of mofs. Beneath he placed a fword * in earth, and one
bright bofs from his fhield. Dark in thought, a- while,
he bends : his words, at length, came forth.
" When thou, O itonc, fliall moulder down, and lofe
thee, in the mofs of years, then fliall the traveller come,
and whiftling pafs away. Thou know'ft not, feeble wan-
derer, that fame once llione on Moi-lena. Here Fingal
reiigned his fpear, after the laft of his fields. Pafs away,
thou empty lliade ; in thy voice there is no renown.
Thou dwelled by fome peaceful ftream; yet a few years,
and thou art gone. No one remembers thee, thou dwel-
ler of thick mill: 1 But Fingal fl-'all be clothed with tame,
a beam of light to other times; for he went forth, in echo-
ing ileel, to fave the weak in aims."
Brightening in his fame, the king Urode to Lubar's
founding oak, where it bent, from its rock, over the bright
tumbling Itream. Beneath it is a narrow plain, and the
found of the fount of the rock. Here the llandard f of
Morven poured its wreaths on the wind, to mark the way
of Ferad-artho, from his fecret vale. Bright, from his
parted weft, the fun of heaven looked abroad. The hero
faw his people, and heard their ihoots of joy. In bro-
O o ken
* There are fome ftones flill to be feen in the north, which were ere<fled, as
memorials of feme remarkable tranfadions between the ancient chiefs. There
are generally found, beneath them, fome piece of arms, and a bit of half-burnt
wood. The c:iufe of placing; tlie lail there is not mentioned in tradition.
t The erei^ing of his llandard on the bank of Lubar, was the figual, which Fin-
gal, in the beginning of tlie book, promifed to give to the chiefs, who went to con-
dudl Ferad-artho to the anrly, ihould he hinilelf prevail in battle. Thisftandari
here (and in every other part of OfOan's poems, wliere it is mentioned) is called,
ihe fun-beam. The reafon, of ihi;i appellation. Is given mgrs than once, in- nates
prsceding.