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

A P O E M. 143
wliO flinll ncvv' le?.d the war, before the race
of kings 'i Miil fettles on thefe four dark hiils :
within it let each warrior ftrike his ihield.
Spirits may defcend in darknefs , and mark us
for the war." ■ They went, each to his
hill
net the bard mention fome circuailtances very
ridiculous, and others altogether indecent. Morna,
the wife of Comhal, had a principal hand in "all
the transitions previous to the defeat and death
of her husband ; fhe , to ufe the words of the
bard , -ivho ivas the guiding Jlar of the ivo^nen of
Erin. The bard , it is to be hoped, misreprefent-
ed the ladies of his country : for Morna's be-
haviour was , according to him , io void of all
decency and virtue, that it cajniot be fuppofed^
they had chofen her for their guiding ftar.
The poeni confifts of manj ftanzas. The laitr
guage is figurative, and the numbers harmonious j
but the piece is fo full of anachroniims , and lb
unequal in hs compofition, that the author , moft
undoubtedly , was either mad , or drunk , when.
he wrote it. It is worthy of bein<T
remarked, that Comhal is, in this poem, verv
often called i Comhal n a /?' Aihiii, or Cawhal of
Albiii ; which fufnciently demonftrates , that
the allegations of Keating and O' Flaherty, cou'
cern!r:g Fiun Mac -Comhal, arc but of lute in-
vention.