48 



Ross says, " the incongruous and fantastic figure of a stream of 

 smoke on a ridge of rocks is not in the Gaelic poem ; but the horse's 

 forelock is said to be like a small cloud of mist on the top of a hill." 

 Here the text is at variance with the note, and contains nothing about 

 either a small cloud, or the top of a hill. In Macpherson's simile we 

 can trace some resemblance between the objects compared, in Ross's 

 none. A horse's neck, to a fanciful imagination, may bear some simi- 

 litude to a curved ridge of rocks ; and his mane, tossing as he moves, 

 to a current of smoke, such as Macpherson must have often seen 

 rising from a kelp-kiln, and sailing along the cliffs on the sea beach. 

 But in the name of all the muses nine, and of all the ancient Irish 

 and Caledonian bards, where is the resemblance between a horse*s 

 forelock and "mist on the dwelling of deer," i. e. mist in a deer park? 

 Not long since, Morna's hair was compared to mist : how did the 

 horse's mane or forelock become entitled to a similar comparison ^ 

 Macpherson has shown more taste and variety in preferring smoke. 



Nothing can be more injudicious than the description of the car 

 of CuchuHin, by the timid scout of Swaran. He is described as hav- 

 ing just returned from spying the approaching enemy, as trembling 

 with fear, " his eyes rolled wildly round, his heart beat high against 

 his side, his words were faltering — broken — slow." Instead of speak- 

 ing in a style accordant to this character, and breaking out into a few 

 hasty ejaculations expressive of his fear, and of the necessity of pre- 

 paration for instant combat, he gives us a long elaborate speech 

 of fifty-three lines, inflated with high-sounding epithets, and em- 

 bossed with similes about mist and smoke, and gems, and foot- 

 stools, and the boat of night, eagles, and winter storms, and the king 

 of shells, and white-nosed horses ! We wonder he did not tell us the 

 name of the farrier of these horses, with what metal they were shod, 

 and the number of nails employed in the arming of their loud resound- 



