Ossian Collection > Poems of Ossian

BERRATHON.
ARGUMENT.
Fingal, in his voyage to Lochlin, whither he had been invited by
Starno the father of Agandecca, touched at Berrathon, an
island of Scandinavia, where he was kindly entertained by
Larthmor, the petty king of the place, who was a vassal of the
supreme kings of Lochlin. The hospitality of Larthmor gained
him Fingal's friendship, which that hero manifested, after the
imprisonment of Larthmor by his own son, by sending Ossian
and Toscar, the father of Malvina, so often mentioned, to res-
cue Larthmor, and to punish the unnatural behaviour of Uthal.
Uthal was handsome, and, by the ladies, much admired. Nina-
thoma, the beautiful daughter of Tor-thoma, a neighbouring
prince, tell in love and fled with him. He proved inconstant :
for another lady, whose name is not mentioned, gaining his af-
fections, he confined Nina-thoma to a desert island near the
coast of Berrathon. She was relieved by Ossian, who, in com-
pany with Toscar, landing on Berrathon, defeated the forces
of Uthal, and killed him in a single combat. Nlna-thoma, whose
love not all the bad behaviour of Uthal could erase, hearing of
his death, died of grief. In the mean time Larthmor is restored,
and Ossian and Toscar return in triumph to Fiugal.
The poem opens with an elegy on the death of Malvina the daugh-
ter of Toscar, and closes with presages of Ossian's death.
Bend thy blue course, O stream! round the narrow
plain of Lutha. Let the green woods hang over it,
from their hills ; the sun look on it at noon. The
thistle is there on its rock, and shakes its beard to the
wind. The flower hangs its heavy head, waving, at
times, to the gale. ' Why dost thou awake me, O
gale?' it seems to say : ' I am covered with the drops
of heaven. The time of my fading is near, the blast
that shall scatter ray leaves. To-morrow shall the
traveller come ; he that saw me in my beauty shall
come. His eyes wiU search the field, but they will
not find me.' So shall they search in vain for the voice
of Cona, after it has failed in the field. The hunter
shall come forth in the morning, and the voice of my
harp shall not be heard. ' Where is the son of car-
borne Fingal V The tear will be on his cheek ! Then
come thou, O Malvina; with all thy music, come!
Lay Ossian in the plain of Lutha : let his tomb rise
in the lovely field.