oeelee: 
Trifh Aca 
s 
copies cone in the Hig 
corrected the edition publithed at r. Young 
does not mention the apparent antiquity of the MSS. frem 
which he tranfcribed thefe ballads. 
are the principal colle&tions of Gaelic poetry 
which have been publifhed, as preferved by tradition or in 
manufcripts, in the Highlands of Scotland. 
collection made its appearance foon a 
sae this ae ae 
thefe Irifh poems relate to the Fingalians; but they differ both 
in the incidents which they relate, and in their manner and 
ftyle, from the poems under fimilar an which have been 
collected in the Highlands of Scotlan 
alata sale : ‘ e ma agic cal 
s, inftea mere reference to the belie 
em pls oyment ay meets of depa a fpirits, which the 
Fingalian poetry of the Highlands exhibits 
As the refult of the refearches of the Highland Society, 
which was given to the world in their report into the nature 
and authenticity of the aie of Offian, wilt fall more pro- 
perly under our notice, when we come to difcufe that au- 
Hieicity, we fhall Sroeed | to point ont the moft ftriking 
alae or of thefe p 
e firft perufal of the poems, the reader is ftruck 
with es ob{curity ; he finds it neceflary to paufe and re- 
fle&t, before he can ire fe meaning of many paflages, 
or perceive and trace the connettion of the narrative. 
after he has ecome accuftomed to the ftyle, h 
down to 
perf, in fuch a ftate of mind and fala as will permit 
enable him Bisse and impartially to appreciate their 
Ande oh ter A _ 
oe 
mantic 
and fickly charaGer. Seal however, cee is onehet in 
the poems which gets the better of all thefe objeCtions ; 
and which is more powerful in its attractions, than the faults 
8 poetry, are ft 
Dr. Blair r emarks, entienact: - fublim ten- 
produce a folemn attention in the mind, aod prepare it for 
great and extraordinary events.’ 
Pied following paffages may be cited as inftances of the 
> 
es 
ee "AS autumn’s dark ftorms pour from two echoing hills, 
fo toward each other approached the heroes. As two da 
ftreams from 
and Toles sound hiss the ipa 
ae ota roll the waves on high ; 
laft peal of fe thunder of heaven $ fuch is ae 5 ite. of 
battle. The groans of the people fpread over the hills. It 
was like the thunder of night, when the cloud burfts on 
Cora, and a thoufand ghofts fhriek at once on the hollow 
=i 
ad.’? 
The apnea of the following paflages is of a folemn 
i awful char 
s©A dark r ed Cas an fire comes down from the hill. 
through — and his voice was lke the found of a 
di a 
“Dim a nd i in tears he flood, and ftretched his - hand 
over the hero; faintly he raifed his feeble ~ ae the 
ale of the reedy Lago. My ghoft, O Conn 
native hills; but my corpfe is on the fands of Ulin 
dea It 
The fons of gren Erin fha 
of ghofts. Like eer moon he retired, in the 
‘ midft of the whibling Tarte 
The following are inftances of the other ftriking charac- 
ear of Offian’s poetry, oe :—Gaul, the fon of 
and the lover of Oithona, eee of the misfor. 
tune "which had befallen her, pee o her refcue, and pro- 
poles to dea her foe in fingle co 
«¢ And fhall the daughter of Neath live,” fhe replied with 
a burfting figh: « Shall I live in Tromathon, and the fon 
of Morni low? My heart is not of that rock ; nor my foul 
carelefs as that fea, which lifts its blue waves to every id 
and rolls beneath t he blaft which fhall lay thee 
low, thall ff the branches of Qithona on earth. 
fhall wither together, of car-borne Morni he na 
row houfe ant to me; and the grey ftone of t 
o 
dead ; for never more will I leave thefe rocks, feafurrounded 
Tromathon. Chief of Struman, why cameft thou over the 
waves to Nuath’s mournful daughter? Why did I not pafa 
away ia fecret, like the flower of the rock, that lifts - 
fair ae unfeen, = ha vee withered lave on the blaft 
Wh thou co » to hear my departing figh 
O had I dwelt at Diva in “ve bright beams of my fam 
Then had my years come on with joy 3 and the virgins 
would blefs my iteps. But’ I fall in youth, fon of Morni, 
ang my father fhall blufh in his hall.”’ 
“No father mourned his fon flain in youth; no brother, 
his brother in love ; they fell without tears, ee the chief of 
the : people was low 
© And is the fon of Semo fallen? faid Carril with a figh. 
roful are Tura’s walls, and forrow dwells at Dunfcaich, 
