OF THE PASSIONS, 5J5 



says the son of Fingal, " in thick mists beside the reedy lake : but never 

 shall they rise without song to the dweUing of the winds." 



Ossian seems to have been wonderfully skilled in the language of all 

 the passions. Equally vehement, gentle, and sublime, he could rouse at 

 his v/ill the fury of the brave, or melt him to tears of tenderness. The 

 following passage, being part of the address of Fingal to his grandson 

 Oscar, is full of heroism and fine feeling ; and I give it from the version 

 of Dr. Donald Smith rather than from that of Mr. Macpherson, as being 

 not only ore literal, but more beautiful. 



Son of my son ! said the king, 



0 Oscar, pride of the generous youth I 



1 satsr the gleaming of thy sword, 



And I gloried to behold thee victorious in the battle ^ 



Tread close on the fame of thy fathers, 



And cease not to be what they have been. 



When Trenmor lived, of glorious deeds. 



And Trathal, the father of heroes, 



They fought every battle with success. — 



Oscar ! bend thou the strong in arms ; 



Protect the weak of hand, and the needy, , 



Be as a spring-tide-stream in winter ; 



To resist the foes of the people of Fingal ; 



But like the soft and gentle breeze of summer 



To those who ask thine aid. 



So lived the conquering Trenmor ; 



Such after him was Trathal, of victorious prowess, 



And Fingal — the support of the feeble. 



On a day when Fingal had but few in his train, 

 By the tall of the soft murmuring Roya, 

 There was seen to sail in the midst of the ocean 

 A boat that conveyed a lovely woman. 

 It neither halted nor sickened \ 

 Till it reached the river-fail : 

 When out of it rose the' beauty of female form. 

 She shone as a beam of the sun : 

 Her look exceeded her figure. 



" Branch of beauty ! covered with the dew of grief," 

 This calmly I said, 



"'if blue [naked] swords can defend thee, 

 " Our dauntless hearts will second them." 



" Thy protection I claim, for thou art Fingal," 

 Replied the daughter of youth : 



** By the excellence of thy might, and by thine eloquence 



I claim speedy and opportune protection. 

 " Thy countenance is a sun to the forlorn, 

 " Thy shield is the dwelhng- place of mercy. 

 " I am pursu**d over the sea : 

 " A hero of heavy wrath is following my track ; 

 " The son of Sora's king pursues me ; 

 ** The mighty chief— whose name is Mayro Borb." 



" Rest thou here underbuy. protection, 

 " Beautiful form of the fairest hue ! 

 " And, in defiance of Mayro Borb, 

 " Thou shalt find safety under the shade of my shield." 



Perhaps the two sublimest passages in the poems of Ossian are, his 

 Address to the Sun in his Carthon, and his description of the Spirit of 

 Loda in his Caricthura, the genuineness of both which is ascertained be- 

 yond the power of suspicion. The first evinces subhmity combined with 

 exquisite tenderness ; and has a near resemblance to Milton's admirable 

 address of the same kind. The second evinces sublimity combined with 

 majestic terror, and has as near a resemblance to the mighty Spirit of the 

 Cape in Camoens's Lusiad, though it is greatly superior. We have not 

 time for quoting both these passages, and I shall confine myself, there- 

 fore, to the latter. I shall quote from Mr. Macpherson's version, which 

 js sufliciently true to the original. 



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