Ossian Collection > Poems of Ossian, the son of Fingal > Volume 2

222 SUL-MALLA OF LUMON J
♦* Darkness dwells in Cluba ot^harps : the race of kings
is distant far ; in battle is Con-mor of spears ; and Lor-
raor u king of streams. Nor darkening alone are they ;
a beam, from other lands, is nigh : the friend ■ of '
strangers in Atha, the troubler of the field. High, from
their misty hill look forth the blue eyes of Erin, for he
is far away, young dweller of their souls. Nor, harm-
less, -^hite hands of Erin ! is he in the skirts of war ;
he rolls ten thousand before him, ifi his distant field."
" Not unseen by Ossian," I said, " rushed Cathraor
from his streams, when he poured his strength on I-thor-.
no ', isle of many waves. In strife met two kings in
I-thorno, Culgorm and Suran-dronio : each from his
echoing isle, stern huntef s of the bq^r !
" Tliey niet a boar, at a foamy stream : each pierced
it with his steel. They strove for the fame of the
deed ; and gloomy battle rose. From i»le to isle they
sent a spear, broken and stained with blood, to call the
friends of their fathers, in thtir sounding arms. Cath-
mor came from Bolga, to Culgorm, red-eyed king : I
aided Suran-dronlo, in his land of boars."
" We rushed on either side of a stream, which roared
;hrough a blasted heath. High broken rocks were
round, with all their bending trees. Near are two cir-
cles of Loda, with the stone of power ; where spirits
d Lormor was the son of Con-mof , and the brother of Sul-malla.
After the death of Con-mer, Lormor succeeded ijim in the throne.
e Catiiinor, the son of Borbardiithul. it would appear, from the
partiality with wliich Sul malla speaks of that hero, that she had seen
hui\ previous lo his joining her father^s army ; though tradition po-
sitively asserts, that it was after his return, that slie fcH in love wiih
iiim.
f I-thorno, says tradition, was an island of Scandinavia. In it, at
a huatinp party, met CiUgorui and SuTan-dronlo, tlic kings of two
neighbouring isjes. They differed about the imnour of killing a boar ;
and a war was kindled between them. From this ep«ode we may
karn, that the mannew of the Scandinavians were much more savage j
and cru#l than those of Britain. It is remarkable, that the na«ies, i
introduced in this story, are not of Galic original, which circum-
stance arlci-ds rocai to Jur.poS?, tii.;t i; i;*a it;, fcuJwiation la truQ
hiSO^ry,