224 



bled under their feet, till Conn Crither struck the king of Spain a 

 desperate blow, which knocked off his head from his comely body." 

 Again, in the same tale, the wrestling of Faisdiolach, one of Fionn 

 Mac CuhhailVs heroes, with Coimhleathan, one of the warriors of 

 " the king of the world," is thus described : " Do iadhadar na doid- 

 lamha doileointe dainginghreamacha tar na dromanaibh reangramhra 

 roireidhe, agus do thugadar cuir teanna tulganach do chSile, gui- 

 comhshuathadar agus gur coimhbhriseadar an clarfaithche do bhifa 

 na ccosaibh." " They closed their inseparable firm-griping hands 

 over each others backs of polished brawny loins, and they gave a 

 strong and firm attack to each other, so that they mingled and bruised 

 together the surface of the earth that was under their feet." There 

 are some other particulars in the Irish tale which shew a strong 

 similitude between it and Ossian's story, but it is so overloaded 

 with epithets, that it may, perhaps, be as well to leave it in the 

 obscurity of the original. The language of the Irish tale, though 

 not of the days of Ossian, shews, however, that it is far, very far 

 indeed, more ancient than the modern and corrupt jargon, in which 

 the poems published as the original Gaelic of Ossian are composed. 



That Doctor Hanmer was acquainted with the tale of the Battle 

 of Verttry, appears from his " Chronicle of Ireland," where the sub- 

 stance of the story is related, and the names of the heroes appointed 

 to guard the different ports and harbours of Ireland are given, with 

 very little variation from the manuscript tale. — See the folio edition 

 of the Chronicle, pp. 24, 25, or the reprint in 8vo., Dublin 1809, 

 p. 47 to 54. The Chronicle was originally collected in 1571. 



The fifth example; "The Battle of Lora." The foundation of 

 this poem is to be found in Irish poems, copies of which are common 

 in circulation among all readers of Irish poetry. There is a tolerably 

 correct copy in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, and a cor- 



