Ossian Collection > Poems of Ossian

288 THE POEMS OP OSSIAN.
Fingal, like a beam from heaven, shone in tit
midst of his people. His heroes gather aroimd him
He sends forth the voice of his power. ' Raise m;
standards on high; spread them on Lena's wind, ilk
the flames of a hundred hills I Let them sound on tli
winds of Erin, and remind us of the fight. Ye son
of the roaring streams, that pour from a thoiisam
hills, be near the king of Morven ! attend to the worJ'
of his power! Gaul, strongest arm of death! O 0.-ca
of the future fights! Connal, son of the blue shield
of Sora! Dermid, of the dark -brown hair! Ossian
king of many songs, be near your father's arm!' AV(
reared the sun-beam* of battle; the standard of tin
king! Each hero exulted with joy, as, waving, it utv,
on the wind. It was studded with gold above, as tht
blue wide shell of the nightly sky. Each hero "tiac
his standard too, and each his gloomy men!
' Behold,' said the king of generous shells, ' hou
Lochlin divides on Lena ! They stand like broken
clouds on a hill, or a half-consumed grove of oaks
when we see the sky through its branches, and the
meteor passing behind! Let every chief among the
friends of Fingal take a dark troop of those that frown
so high : nor let a son of the echoing groves bound on
the waves of Inistore !'
' Mine,' said Gaul, ' be the seven chiefs that came
from Lano's lake.' ' Let Inistore's dark king,' said
Oscar, ' come to the sword of Ossian's son.' ' To
mine the king of Iniscon,' said Connal, heart of steel!
' Or Mudan's chief or I,' said brown-haired Dermid,
' shall sleep on clay-cold earth.' My choice, though
now so weak and dark, was Terman's battling king ;
I promised with my hand to win the hero's dark-brown
shield. ' Blest and victorious be my chiefs,' said Fui-
gal of the mildest look. * Swaran, king of roat"^^
waves, thou art the choice of Fingal!'
Now, like a himdred different winds that pour
through many vales, divided, dark the sons of Selnia
advanced. Cromla echoed around! ' How can I re-
* Fingal's standard was distinguished by the name of 'sun-
beam:' probably on accountof its bright colour, and by its being-
studded with ffofd. To begin a battle is expressed, in old com-
position, by 'lifting of the sun-beam.'