Ossian Collection > Popular tales of the West Highlands > Volume 3

320 west highland tales.
41 — Cairbre.
" Arise Art, and grasp thy glaive,
And stand in the place of thy father ;
And if thou get'st thy due of the world,
I'll think that thou art a king's son."
42 — Oisean.
" He gave another cast aloft,
Its height appeared to us sufficient ;
There fell by him, by his aim's greatness,
Art MacCairbre at the next spear cast."
Reciter.
The Cairbre was dead, and Osgar was upon his
knees, and the spear through him. Cairbre had a
ceap made against the rock, and they put the ceap
(helmet) on the crag, so that Osgar might think he
was alive.
43 OlSEAN.
" They set about the king his ceap,
Cairbre's people, rough in fight,
That they might reap the fruit of the field,
When they saw that Osgar was wounded.
44
" He lifted a slab from a hard plain,
From ofi" the earth of the ruddy side ;
He broke the pillar on which was the ceap,
The last deed of my worthy son."
45 OSGiiR.
" liaise me now with you, Eeanna,
Xever before have you hfted me ;
Take me now to a clear mound,
That you may strip off me my armour."