Ossian Collection > Temora, an ancient epic poem, in eight books

36 T E M O R A;
locks, from Lumon of the roes. — At diflance rofe the voice of Fcr-
nar, with the deeds of the days of old. The fong fails, at times,
in Lubar's growing roar.
* Crothar, begun the bard, firfl: dwelt at Atha's molTy flream.
A thoufand ■f' oaks, from the mountains, fonned his echoing halL
The gathering of the people was there, around the feaft of the
blue-eyed king. — But who, among his chiefs, was like the ftately
Crothar? Warriors kindled in his prefence. The young figh of the
virgins rofe. In Alnecma | w-as the warrior honoured j the firft of
the race of Bolga*
He
Inis-huna, the ancient name of that part
of South-Britain, which is next to thelrifli
coaft. — She had followed Cathmor in dif-
guife. Her ftory is related at large in the
fourth book.
* Crothar was the anceflor of Cathmor,
and the firft of his family, who had fettled
in Atha. It was, in his time, that the firft
wars were kindled between the Fir-boFg and
Gael. The propriety of the epifcde is evi-
tbnt; as the conteft which originally rofe
between Crothar and Conar, fubfifted af-
terwards between their pofterity, and was
the foundation of the ftory of the poem.
+ From this circumftance we may learn
that the art of building with ftone was not
known in Ireland fo early as the days of Cro-
thar. When the colony were long fettled- in
the country, the arts of civil life began to in-
ereafe among them, for we find mention
made of the tsivert of Jtha in the
time of Cathmor, which could not well be
applied to wooden buildings. In Caledo-
nia they begun very early to build witlr
ftone. None of the houfes of Fingal, ex-
cepting Ti-foirmal, were of wood. Ti-
foirmal was the great hall where the bards
met to repieat their compofitions annually,
before they fubmitted them to the judgment
of the king in Selma. By fome accident
or other, this wooden houfe happened to
be burnt, and an ancient bard, in the
charafler of Offian, has left us a curious
catalogue of the furniture which it contained.
The poem is not juft now in my hands,
otherwife I would lay hers a tranHition of
it before the reader. It has little poetical
merit, and evidently bears the marks of a
period much later, than thatwhereirrFingal
lived.
X Alnecma, or Alnecmachr, was the
ancient name of Connaught. Ullin is ftiil
thfi