J. F. Campbell Collection > Poems of Ossian > Volume 3

AUTHENTICITY OF OSSIAN'S POEMS, 375
Isles, until the latter end of the seventeenth cen-
tury, Since the extinction of their order, the songs
and " tales of the times of old" no longer echo in
the hall. The harp remains unstrung, and no more
vibrates to the voices of the bards. The song of
TÌctory is no longer raised on the return of a trium-
phant hero:* nor are the songs of the bards now
raised over the tombs of the M'arriors.f The valiant
deeds of other times are no longer recited ; and the
venerable remains of the Celtic language have been
gradually on the decline, but wiU now, it is hoped,
be preserved for ever !
Spenser, n\ liis View of the State of Ireland,;}: tells
• It was usual for the chiefs, returning frotn successful expeilitions,
to send their bards singing before tliera, and, on tlieir arrival at home,
they were accompanied in the soiig of victory by other bards.
" Dui^g aòlas an talla nan stuadh ;
Thill righ nam buadh le 'sluagh gu 'thir.
Tha cliòmstri Charuinn fada uainn,
Mar fhuaim nach cluinnear ni 's mò:
Togadh bàird a 'chiuil an duain;
ThiU gaisgeach nam buadh le chliu."
Carraig-thura, Vnl. J. p. g(J.
" Let the beam spread in the hall, ihe King of Shells is reiurned ! The
strife of Carun is past, like sounds that are heard no moie. Raise the
song, O bards ! The king is returned witb his farae." Macpherson's
Translation.
t The funeral songs, or elegies, in Ossian's time, closed every stanza
with some remarkable epithet or simile iii praise of the hero. " Thou
wert mighty in battle — thy strength was like the strength of a stieara—
thy speed like the eagle's wing — thy path in battle was terrible : the
steps of death were behind thy sword. Death ofCiithuUin.
X Spenser's Works, Vol. V'I. (12mo. edition) p. 121. HisViewof the
State of Ireland was written between the years 1380 and 1589.