on high within my hall, the armour of my foe! Her foft heart beat against her fide. Diftracted, pale, fhe flew. She found her youth in all his blood; he died on Cromla's heath. Here refts their duft, Cuthullin; thefe lonely yews fprung from their tombs, and shade them from the ftorm. Fair was Braffolis on the plain! Stately was Grudar on the hill! The bard fhall preserve their names, and fend them down to future times !" "PLEASANT is thy voice, O Carril," said the blue-eyed chief of Erin. "Pleasant are the words of other times! They are like the calm fhower of spring; when the fun looks on the field, and the light cloud flies over the hills. O ftrike the harp in praise of my love, the lonely fun-beam of Dunfcaith. Strike the harp in the praise of Bragéla; fhe that I left in the Isle of Mift, the spouse of Semo's fon! Doft thou raise thy fair face from the rock to find the fails of Cuthullin? The fea is rolling diftant far; its white foam deceives thee for my fails. Retire, for it is night, my love; the dark winds fign in thy hair. Retire to the halls of my feafts; think of the times that are paft. I will not return till the form of war is ceafed. O Connal, fpeak of war and arms, and fend her from my mind. Lovely with her flowing hair is the whitebofomed daughter of Sorglan." 9 CON CONNAL, flow to fpeak, replied, "Guard against the race of Ocean. Send thy troop of night abroad, and watch the ftrength of Swaran. Cuthullin! I am for peace till the race of Selma come; till Fingal come, the first of men, and beam, like the fun, on our fields !" The hero ftruck the fhield of alarms, the warriors of the night moved on! The reft lay in the heath of the deer, and flept beneath the dusky wind. The ghofts of the lately dead were near, and fwam on the gloomy clouds: And far diftant, in the dark filence of Lena, the feeble voices of death were faintly heard. *It was long the opinion of the ancient Scots, that a ghost was heard fhrieking near the place where a death was to happen foon after. The accounts given, to this day, among the vulgar, of this extraordinary matter, are very poetical. The ghoft comes mounted on a meteor, and furrounds twice or thrice the place destined for the person to die ; and then goes along the road through which the funeral is to pafs, fhrieking at intervals; at lait, the meteor and ghoft difappear above the burial place. VOL. I. R FIN ARGUMENT to Book II, The ghoft of Crugal, one of the Irish heroes who was killed in battle, appearing to Connal, foretels the defeat of Cuthullin in the next battle; and earnestly advises him to make peace with Swaran. Connal communicates the vifion; but Cuthullin is inflexible; from a principle of honour he would not be the first to fue for peace, and he refolved to continue the war. Morning comes; Swaran propofes difhonourable terms to Cuthullin, which are rejected. The battle begins, and is obftinately fought for fome time, until, upon the flight of Grumal, the whole Irish army gave way. Cuthullin and Connal cover their retreat: Carril leads them to a neighbouring hill, whither they are foon followed by Cuthullin himself, who defcries the fleet of Fingal making towards the coaft; but, night coming on, he loft fight of it again. Cuthullin, dejected after his defeat, attributes his ill fuccefs to the death of Ferda his friend, whom he had killed fome time before. Carril, to, fhew that ill fuccefs did not always attend those who innocently killed their friends, introduces the episode of Comal and Galvina, |