Ossian Collection > Works of Ossian, the son of Fingal > Volumes 3 and 4

lo T E M O R A: Book I.
there' on its banks ftood Cairbar *) of Atha,
• His fpear fuppoits the king : the red eyes
of his fear are fad. Cormac rifes in his foul,
with all his ghaftly wounds. The grey form
of the youth appears in darknefs ; blood pours
from his airy fides. Cairbar thrice threw
bis fpear on earth ; and thrice he ftroked his
beard. His fteps.are iliort : he often flops ; and
toffes his linewy arms. He is like a cloud in
the defart, that varies its form to every blaft:
the
moR part of the poem is delivered down by tra-
dition , the text is rometlmc-s various and inter-
polated. After comparing the different readings,
I always made choice of that, which agreed beft
witlt thi- rpirit of the context.
*) Cairbar, the fon of Borbhar -duthul, was defccnd-
ed lineally from Larthon the chief of the Fir-
bolg, the firft colony who , fettled in the fonth
of Ireland. The Gael were in posfefllon of the
northern coaft of th?lt kingdom, and the firft
monarchs of Ireland were of their race. Hence
arofe thofe differences between the two nations ,
which terminated, at laft, in the murder of Cor-
mac , and the iiTurpation of Cairbar , lord of
Atha , who is mentioned in this place.