Ossian Collection > Poems of Ossian

THE WAR OF INIS-THONA. 145
spears. The grey-haired hero rose, when he saw the
sword of Fingal. His eyes were full of tears ; he
remembered his battles in youth. Twice had they
lifted the spear, before the lovely Agandecca : heroes
stood far distant, as if two spirits were striving in
winds.
"But now," began the king, " I am old; the sword
lies useless in my hall. Thou, who art of Morven's
race ! Annir has seen the battle of spears : but now he
is pale and withered, like the oak of Lano. I have no
son to meet thee, with joy, to bring thee to the halls of
his fathers. Argon is pale in the tomb, and Ruro is no
more. My daughter is in the hall of strangers : she longs
to behold my tomb. Her spouse shakes ten thousand
spears; he comes a cloud of death from Lano. Come,
to share the feast of Annir, son of echoing Morven ! "
Three days they feasted together ; on the fourth,
Annir heard the name of Oscar. They rejoiced in the
shell.* They pursued the boars of Runa. Beside the
fount of mossy stones, the weary heroes rest. The tear
steals in secret from Annir : he broke the rising sigh.
" Here darkly rest," the hero said, " the children of my
youth. This stone is the tomb of Ruro ; that tree sounds
over the grave of Argon. Do ye hear my voice, O my
sons, within your narrow house? Or do ye speak in
these rustling leaves, when the winds of the desert rise? "
"King of Inis-thona," said Oscar, "how fell the
children of youth? The wild boar rushes over their
t Tn rejoice in the shell, is a phrase for feasting sumptuously
and drinking freely.