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

I20 T E iM O R A:
his iliield. His eyes were half-clofed in fleep; the voice of Fillan
came. " Sleeps the hufband of Clatho ? Dwells the father of the
fiiilen in reft ? Am I forgot in the folds of d.^rknefs ; lonely in the
feafon of nljrht ? "
Why doft thou mix, faid the king, with the dreams of thy fa-
ther ? Can I forget thee, my fon, or thy path of fire in the field ?
Not fuch come the deeds of the valiant on the foul of FingaL
They are not there a beam of lightning, which is feen, and is then no
more. — I remember thee, O Fillan, and my wrath begins to rife.
The king took his deathful fpear, and ftruck the deeply-found-
ing fliield : his fliield* that hung high in night, the difmal fign
bofomed dweller between my arms ; than a
fair-handed daughter of heroes, in the hour
of reft."
Tho' tradition is not very fatisfa(3ory
concerning the hiftory of this poet, it has
taken care to inform us, that he was very
eld when he wrote the diftich. He lived
(in what age is uncertain) in one of the
weftern ifles, and his name was Turloch
Ciabh-glas, or lurtcch of the grey-locks,
* Succeeding bards have recorded many
fables, concerning this wonderful ftiield.
They fay, that Fingal, in one of his
expeditions into Scandinavia, met, in one
of the iflands of Juteland, with Luno,
2 celebrated magician. This Luno was the
Vulcan of the north, and had made com-
pleat fuits of armour for many of the heroes
of Scandinavia. One difagreeable circum-
fiance was, that every i>er(bii who wanted
to employ Luno to make armour for him,
was obliged to overcome him, at his own
magic art. — Fingal, unskilled in fpells or
enchantments, effeifted with dint of prow-
efs, what others failed in, with all their
fupernatural art. When Luno demanded a
trial of fkill from Fingal, the king drew
his fword, cut ofF the fkirts of the magi-
cian's robe, ahd obliged him, bare as he
was, to fly before him. Fingal purfued,
but Luno, coming to the fea, by his ma-
gic art, walked upon the waves. Fingal
purfued him in his fliip, and, after a chace
of ten days, came up with him, in the ifle
of Sky, and obliged him to erefl a furnace,
and make him this Shield, and his famous
fword, poetically called, the f,n of Luno.
— Such are the flrange fi^Ttions which the
modern Scotch and Irifb bards have formed
on the original of Offian,
of