17- 



Yielding to her requisition, the chiefs attend her to 

 the lake or fountain, where they find an armed knight, 

 the aon of an enchantress, ready to receive them. Thev 

 engage in combat with him. They are vanquished, and 

 led away prisoners to the palace of the enchantress, un- 

 der the guard of the two giants mentioned by the artful 

 damsel. It is not necessary, for our present purpose, to 

 relate the adventures which followed ; I shall only observe, 

 that the watei's of the fountain, into which the damsel 

 pretended she had dropped her ring, were endued with 

 iuiraculous powers. 



Chiunque beve 

 Di si dolce acqua, tutto si risana; 

 Onde e delta la ix>iite del Sanajo. 



Let us now turn to the Irish tale.* 



During a feast, given in the hall of Almhaiu to the Fi- 

 nian chiefs, Finn steals from the festive board " to breathe 

 " the fragrant gale." An enchanted doe suddenly appears 

 before him. He calls his dogs, and pursues her to Slieve- 

 Guillin, Avhere she instantly vanishes. Finn then looking 

 around, discovers, near a small lake, 



A weeping fair, 

 Upon a bank reclin'd, 

 In whose fine form, and graceful air, 

 Was every charm corabin'd. 



VOL. X. C ' Tl^e 



* Reliques of Irish Poetry, page 73. 



