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

A P O E M. ^s. I
fliall return. — Battles rile before him, blue-fliielded kings delcend
to war : the darkened moon looks from heaven, on the troubled
field. — He fliall biirft, with morning, from dreams, and fee the
tombs of warriors round. He fliall afk about the ftone, and the
aged fliall reply, " This grey flone was raifcd by Offian, a chief
of other years ! "
* From Col-amon came a bard, from Cor-ul, the friend of
ftrangers. He bade us to the feaft of kings, to the dwelling of
bright Colna-dona. We went to the hall of harps. There Car-ul
brightened between his aged locks, when he beheld the fons of
his friends, like two young trees before him.
Sons of the mighty, he faid, ye bring back the days of old,
when firft I defcended from waves, on Selma's ftreamy vale, I
purfued Duth-mocarglos, dweller of ocean's wind. Our fathers
had been foes, we met by Clutha's winding waters. He fled,
along the fea, and my fails were ipread behind him. — Ni^ht de-
ceived me, on the deep, I came to the dwelling of kings, to
* The manners of the Britons and Ca- the Germans of his own time) the' it has
ledonians were fo fimilar, in the days of daggered feme learned men, is not luffi-
Offian, that there can be no doubt, that cient to make us believe, that the anticnt
they were originally the fame people, and inhabitants of North-Britain were a Ger-
defcended from thofe Gauls who firft pof- man colony. A difcttffion of a point like
felTed themfelves of South- Britain, and gra- this might be curious, but could never be
dually migrated to the north. This hypo- fatisfa<aory. Periods fo diftant are fo in-
thefis is more rational than the idle fables volved in obfcurity, that nothino- certain
of ill-informed fenachies, who bring the can be now advanced concernintr them,
Caledonians from diftant countries. The The h'ght which the Roman writers hold
bare opinion of Tacitus, (which, by-the- forth is too feeble to guide us to the truth
bye, was only founded on a fimilarity of thro' the darknefs which has furrounded
the perfonal figure of the Caledonians to it.
2 Selnia