AT ARGUMENT to Book VII. THIS book begins, about the middle of the third night from the opening of the poem. The poet describes a kind of mift, which rofe, by night, from the lake of Lego, and was the ufual refidence of the fouls of the dead, during the interval between their decease and the funeral fong. The appearance of the ghoft of Fillan above the cave where his body lay. His voice comes to Fingal, on the rock of Cormul. The king ftrikes the fhield of Trenmor, which was an infallible fign of his appearing in arms himself. The extraordinary effect of the found of the fhield. Sul-malla, starting from fleep, awakes Cathmor. Their affecting difcourfe. She infifts with him, to fue for peace; he resolves to continue the war. He directs her to retire to the neigh bouring valley of Lona, which was the refidence of an old Druid, until the battle of the next day fhould be over. He awakes his army with the found of his fhield. The fhield defcribed. Fonar, the bard, at the defire of Cathmor, relates the first fettlement of the Fir-bolg in Ireland, under their leader Larthon, Morning comes. Sul-malla retires to the valley of Lona. A Lyric fong concludes the book. I FRO ROM the wood-skirted waters of Lego, afcend at times, grey-bofomed mists; when the gates of the weft are clofed, on the fun's eagle-eye. Wide, over Lara's ftream, is poured the vapour dark and deep: the moon, like a dim fhield, is fwimming thro' its folds. With this, clothe the fpirits of old their fudden geftures on the wind, when they ftride, from blast to blaft, along the dusky night. Often, blended with the gale, to fome warrior's grave, they roll * As the mist, which rofe from the lake of Lego, occafioned diseases and death, the bards feigned that it was the refidence of the ghosts of the deceased, during the interval between their death, and the pronouncing of the funeral elegy over their tombs; for it was not allowable, without toll the mift, a grey dwelling to his ghoft, until the fongs arife. LuA A SOUND came from the defart, it was Conar, king of Inis-fail. He poured his mist on the grave of Fillan, at blue-winding Lubar. Dark and mournful fat the ghoft, in his grey ridge of fmoak. The blaft, at times, rolled him together: but the form returned again. It returned with bending eyes, and dark winding of locks of mift. It was dark. The fleeping hoft were ftill, in the fkirts of night. The flame decayed, on the hill of Fingal; the king lay lonely on his shield. His eyes were half-clofed in fleep; the voice of Fillan came. Sleeps the husband of that ceremony was performed, for the fpirits of the dead to <mix with their ancestors, in their airy halls. It was the bufinefs of the spirit of the nearest relation to the deceased, to take the mift of Lego, and pour it over the grave. We find there Conar, the son of Trenmor, the first king of Ireland, performing this office for Fillan, as it was in the caufe of the family of Conar, that that hero was killed, *The following is the fingular fentiment of a frigid bard : More pleafing to me is the night of Cona, dark-ftreaming from Offian's harp; more pleasant it is to me, than a white bofomed dweller between my arms; than a fair handed daughter of heroes, in the hour of reft." Tho' tradition is not very fatisfactory concerning the hif tory o of this poet, it has taken care to inform us, that he was old when he wrote the diftich, a circumftance, which we might have fuppofed, witbout the aid of tradition. very I .1 Clatho? |