Ossian Collection > Ossian, his principal poems

THE FIVE BARDS 295
THE CHIEF.
Let clouds upon the hills appear,
Spirits flv, and travellers fear ;
In the woods let whirlwinds rise,
And falling storms disturb the skies ;
Let windows clap, and torrents roll,
Let meteors glare from pole to pole,
Let the bright moon her radiance shed,
Or in black clouds enclose her head ;
Little the night employs my care,
Stormy or dark, or blue the au*.
Night flies before the gleam of rncrn ;
Soon as his rays the hills adorn,
Dispersing clouds the day restore.
But we return from night no more !
"Where are our might}^ kings of old,
Our far-fain'd kings, in battle bold ?
The fields where once they fought are dumb ;
Scarce remains their mossy tomb !
So we from memory shall decay, —
This lofty house shall sink away ;
Our sons the fragments of the fall
Shall see not, but to age shall call,
To tell where stood their fathers' hall !
Raise the song ! the harps resound
Send the shells of joy around ;
Let an hundred tapers shine.
Youths and maids in dances join ;