Ossian Collection > Poems of Ossian

i64 OSS IAN
dwelt at Lotha's * roaring stream ! The tale was long,
but lovely ; and pleased the blushing Utha.
CRIMORA.t
Who Cometh from the hill, like a cloud tinged with
the beam of the west? Whose voice is that, loud as
the wind, but pleasant as the harp of Carril ? J It is my
love in the light of steel : but sad is his darkened brow !
Live the mighty race of Fingal ? Or what darkens in
Connal's soul ? §
CONNAL.
They live. They return from the chase, like a
stream of light. The sun is on their shields. Like
a ridge of fire they descend the hill. Loud is the voice
of the youth ; the war, my love, is near ! To-morrow
the dreadful Dargo comes to try the force of our race.
The race of Fingal he defies ; the race of battle and
wounds !
CRIMORA.
Connal, I saw his sails like grey mist on the dark-
brown wave. They slowly came to land. Connal,
many are the warriors of Dargo !
CONNAL.
Bring me thy father's shield ; the bossy, iron shield
* Lotha was the ancient name of one of the great rivers in
the north of Scotland. The only one of them that still retains
a name of a like sound is Lochy in Inverness-shire ; but whether
it is the river mentioned here, the translator will not pretend to
say.
t Cri-mora, a woman of a great soul.
% Perhaps the Carril mentioned here is the same with Carril
the son of Kinfena, Ciithullin's bard. The name itself is proper
to any bard, as it signifies a sprightly and harmonious sound.
§ Connal, the son of Diaran, was one of the most famous
heroes of Fingal ; he was slain in a battle against Dargo, a
Briton ; but whether by the hand of the enemy, or that of his
mistress, tradition does not determine.