The poems of Ossian &c. containing the Poetical Works of James Macpherson, Esq. in prose and rhyme: with notes and illustrations by Malcolm Laing. In two volumes |
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 | The poems of Ossian |  |
556
CANTO IV.
The sprightly morn, with early blushes spread,
Rears o'er the eastern hills her rosy head:
The storm subsides; the breezes, as they pass,
Sigh on their way along the pearly grass.
Sweet carol all the songsters of the spray;
Calm and serene comes on the gentle day.
Rears o'er the eastern hills her rosy head:
The storm subsides; the breezes, as they pass,
Sigh on their way along the pearly grass.
Sweet carol all the songsters of the spray;
Calm and serene comes on the gentle day.
Amidst attendant fair Culena moves,
Culena, fruit of Indulph's nuptial loves!
Too soon to fate the beauteous queen resigned,
But left the image of herself behind.
To the calm main the lovely nymphs repair,
To breathe along the strand the morning air;
They brush with easy steps the dewy grass,
Observing beauteous nature as they pass.
Culena, fruit of Indulph's nuptial loves!
Too soon to fate the beauteous queen resigned,
But left the image of herself behind.
To the calm main the lovely nymphs repair,
To breathe along the strand the morning air;
They brush with easy steps the dewy grass,
Observing beauteous nature as they pass.
Th' imperial maid moves with superior grace;
Awe mixed with mildness sat upon her face;
High inbred virtue all her bosom warms,
In beauty rises, and improves her charms.
Silent and slow she moves along the main,
Behind, her maids attend, a modest train!
Observe her as she moves with native state,
And gather all their motions from her gait.
Awe mixed with mildness sat upon her face;
High inbred virtue all her bosom warms,
In beauty rises, and improves her charms.
557
Behind, her maids attend, a modest train!
Observe her as she moves with native state,
And gather all their motions from her gait.
Thus through Idalia's balm-distilling grove,
Majestic moves the smiling queen of love:
Her hair flows down her snowy neck behind,
Her purple mantle floats upon the wind;
The Graces move along, a blooming train!
And borrow all the gestures of their queen.
Majestic moves the smiling queen of love:
Her hair flows down her snowy neck behind,
Her purple mantle floats upon the wind;
The Graces move along, a blooming train!
And borrow all the gestures of their queen.
Thus steal the lovely maids their tardy way
Along the silent border of the sea.
Slow-curling waves advance upon the main,
And often threat the shore, and oft abstain.
A woody mound, which reared aloft its head,
Threw trembling shadows o'er a narrow mead:
From a black rock crystalline waters leap,
Arch as they fall, and through the valley creep,
Chide with the murmuring pebbles as they pass,
Or hum their purling journey through the grass.
Along the silent border of the sea.
Slow-curling waves advance upon the main,
And often threat the shore, and oft abstain.
A woody mound, which reared aloft its head,
Threw trembling shadows o'er a narrow mead:
From a black rock crystalline waters leap,
Arch as they fall, and through the valley creep,
Chide with the murmuring pebbles as they pass,
Or hum their purling journey through the grass.
Pleased with the scene the wand'ring virgins stood;
The main below, above the lofty wood.
Their eyes they sate with the transporting scene,
And, sitting, press the fair-enamel'd green;
Enjoy with innocence the growing day,
And steal with harmless talk the time away.
The main below, above the lofty wood.
Their eyes they sate with the transporting scene,
And, sitting, press the fair-enamel'd green;
Enjoy with innocence the growing day,
And steal with harmless talk the time away.
Meantime fierce Corbred, who preferred in vain
His suit to Agnes, fairest of the train,
Who fled from Tweed to shun his hated arms,
Entrusting fair Culena with her charms;
Saw the disdainful nymph remote from aid,
And bent his lustful eyes upon the maid.
He rushed with headlong ruffians from the wood,
And seized the fair: the virgins shriek aloud.
For help, for help, the struggling virgin cries,
And as she shrieks, aloud the wood replies.
His suit to Agnes, fairest of the train,
Who fled from Tweed to shun his hated arms,
Entrusting fair Culena with her charms;
Saw the disdainful nymph remote from aid,
And bent his lustful eyes upon the maid.
He rushed with headlong ruffians from the wood,
And seized the fair: the virgins shriek aloud.
For help, for help, the struggling virgin cries,
And as she shrieks, aloud the wood replies.
558
Alpin alone, (his men were sent before),
Stalked on his thoughtful way along the shore.
The distant plaint assailed the hero's ear,
He drew his sword, and rushed to save the fair.
Before the chief the dastard Corbred fled,
And to her brave preserver left the maid.
Prostrate on earth the lovely virgin lay,
Her roses fade, and all her charms decay:
In humid rest her bending eye-lids close;
With slow returns her bosom fell and rose:
At length returning life her bosom warms,
Glows in her cheeks, and lights up all her charms.
Stalked on his thoughtful way along the shore.
The distant plaint assailed the hero's ear,
He drew his sword, and rushed to save the fair.
Before the chief the dastard Corbred fled,
And to her brave preserver left the maid.
Prostrate on earth the lovely virgin lay,
Her roses fade, and all her charms decay:
In humid rest her bending eye-lids close;
With slow returns her bosom fell and rose:
At length returning life her bosom warms,
Glows in her cheeks, and lights up all her charms.
Thus, when invading clouds the moon assail,
The landscape fails, and fades the shining vale;
But soon as Cynthia rushes on the sight,
Reviving fields are silvered o'er with light.
The landscape fails, and fades the shining vale;
But soon as Cynthia rushes on the sight,
Reviving fields are silvered o'er with light.
Th' affrighted fair the gallant warrior leads,
To join, upon the sand, the flying maids.
They crowd their cautious steps along the sea,
Quake at each breath, and tremble on their way;
Their tim'rous breasts unsettled from surprise,
To every side they dart their careful eyes.
To join, upon the sand, the flying maids.
They crowd their cautious steps along the sea,
Quake at each breath, and tremble on their way;
Their tim'rous breasts unsettled from surprise,
To every side they dart their careful eyes.
Thus, on the heathy wild the hunted deer
Start at each blast, together crowd through fear,
Tremble and look about, before, behind,
Then stretch along, and leave the mountain-wind.
Start at each blast, together crowd through fear,
Tremble and look about, before, behind,
Then stretch along, and leave the mountain-wind.
The gallant youth presents the rescued fair,
Confirms their trembling breasts, removes their care;
The gen'rous story from herself they hear,
And drink his praises with a greedy ear;
Steal on the youth their eyes, as Agnes spoke,
And pour their flutt'ring souls at every look.
Confirms their trembling breasts, removes their care;
The gen'rous story from herself they hear,
And drink his praises with a greedy ear;
Steal on the youth their eyes, as Agnes spoke,
And pour their flutt'ring souls at every look.
But fair Culena feels a keener dart;
It pierced her breast, and sunk into her heart:
She hears attentive, views, admires, and loves,
Her eye o'er all the man with pleasure roves.
With painful joy she feels the flame increase,
Her pride denies it, but her eyes confess:
She starts, and blushing turns her eye aside,
But love steps in, and steals a look from pride.
It pierced her breast, and sunk into her heart:
She hears attentive, views, admires, and loves,
Her eye o'er all the man with pleasure roves.
559
Her pride denies it, but her eyes confess:
She starts, and blushing turns her eye aside,
But love steps in, and steals a look from pride.
Thus fair Culena struggles up the stream,
And 'tempts in vain to quench the rising flame.
At length, with blushing cheek and bending look,
Th' imperial maid the warrior thus bespoke:
“O gen'rous chief! for thus your deeds would say,
How shall our gratitude thy kindness pay?
Indulph shall hear, and Indulph shall reward;
Such gen'rous actions claim a king's regard.”
And 'tempts in vain to quench the rising flame.
At length, with blushing cheek and bending look,
Th' imperial maid the warrior thus bespoke:
“O gen'rous chief! for thus your deeds would say,
How shall our gratitude thy kindness pay?
Indulph shall hear, and Indulph shall reward;
Such gen'rous actions claim a king's regard.”
She said; and thus the chief: “Imperial maid,
More than the debt thy approbation paid.
In this I did not strive with gallant men,
Or drive disordered squadrons from the plain;
But frighted from his prey a sensual slave;
The gloomy sons of guilt are never brave.
Whoe'er would seize on a defenceless fair,
Would shun the sword, and fly amain from war.”
More than the debt thy approbation paid.
In this I did not strive with gallant men,
Or drive disordered squadrons from the plain;
But frighted from his prey a sensual slave;
The gloomy sons of guilt are never brave.
Whoe'er would seize on a defenceless fair,
Would shun the sword, and fly amain from war.”
He said, and stalked away with manly state;
Grandeur, with awe commixed, informed his gait.
His pond'rous mail reflects the trembling day,
And all his armour rings along the way.
The royal maid observes him as he flies,
In silence stands, and from her bosom sighs,
Slowly moves on before the silent fair,
And in the palace shuts her secret care.
Grandeur, with awe commixed, informed his gait.
His pond'rous mail reflects the trembling day,
And all his armour rings along the way.
The royal maid observes him as he flies,
In silence stands, and from her bosom sighs,
Slowly moves on before the silent fair,
And in the palace shuts her secret care.
Meantime young Alpin seeks the king and peers;
But fair Culena in his bosom bears.
In vain against the rising flame he strove,
For all the man dissolved at once to love.
But fair Culena in his bosom bears.
In vain against the rising flame he strove,
For all the man dissolved at once to love.
Within the high-arched hall the nobles sat,
And formed in council the reviving state;
For instant peace solicitous prepare,
And raise a bulwark 'gainst the future war.
No high-flown zeal the patriot hurled along,
No secret gold engaged the speaker's tongue;
No jarring seeds are by a tyrant sown,
Nor cunning senate undermines the throne.
To public good their public thoughts repair,
And Caledonia is the gen'ral care.
No orator in pompous phrases shines,
Or veils with public weal his base designs.
Truth stood conspicuous, undisguised by art;
They spoke the homely language of the heart.
And formed in council the reviving state;
For instant peace solicitous prepare,
And raise a bulwark 'gainst the future war.
560
No secret gold engaged the speaker's tongue;
No jarring seeds are by a tyrant sown,
Nor cunning senate undermines the throne.
To public good their public thoughts repair,
And Caledonia is the gen'ral care.
No orator in pompous phrases shines,
Or veils with public weal his base designs.
Truth stood conspicuous, undisguised by art;
They spoke the homely language of the heart.
Arrived the gallant warrior of the night;
They hear with eager joy the gloomy fight.
His conduct, courage, and compassion raise,
And every voice is forward in his praise.
They hear with eager joy the gloomy fight.
His conduct, courage, and compassion raise,
And every voice is forward in his praise.
The great Dumbar his awful stature rears,
His temples whitened with the snow of years.
On the brave youth he bends his solemn look,
Then, turning round, thus to the nobles spoke:
“Beneath the royal banner, Scots afar
Had urged on Humber's banks the foreign war;
My father dead, though young I took the shield,
And led my kindred warriors to the field.
The noble Caledonian camp was laid
Within the bosom of a spacious mead.
Green-rising hills encompassed it around,
And these king Malcolm with his archers crowned;
Full on the right a spacious wood arose,
And thither night conveyed a band of foes.
The king commands a chief to clear the wood,
And I the dang'rous service claim aloud.
I went, expelled the foes, and killed their lord,
And ever since have worn his shining sword.
I now retire from war, in age to rest;
Take it, brave youth, for you can wield it best.”
His temples whitened with the snow of years.
On the brave youth he bends his solemn look,
Then, turning round, thus to the nobles spoke:
“Beneath the royal banner, Scots afar
Had urged on Humber's banks the foreign war;
My father dead, though young I took the shield,
And led my kindred warriors to the field.
The noble Caledonian camp was laid
Within the bosom of a spacious mead.
Green-rising hills encompassed it around,
And these king Malcolm with his archers crowned;
Full on the right a spacious wood arose,
And thither night conveyed a band of foes.
The king commands a chief to clear the wood,
And I the dang'rous service claim aloud.
I went, expelled the foes, and killed their lord,
And ever since have worn his shining sword.
I now retire from war, in age to rest;
Take it, brave youth, for you can wield it best.”
He said, and reached the sword. The youth replied,
Shooting the heavy blade athwart his side:
“My lord, with gratitude this sword I take,
Esteem the present for the giver's sake.
It still may find the way it oft explored,
And glut with hostile blood its second lord;
To bloody honour hew its wasteful path,
A faithful sickle in the fields of death.”
Shooting the heavy blade athwart his side:
561
Esteem the present for the giver's sake.
It still may find the way it oft explored,
And glut with hostile blood its second lord;
To bloody honour hew its wasteful path,
A faithful sickle in the fields of death.”
He thus. With placid mein great Indulph rose,
And spoke: “Thus always meet our Albion's foes;
With foreign blood your native arms adorn,
And boldly fight for ages yet unborn.
For us, my lords, fought all our godlike sires;
The debt we owe to them our race requires:
Though future arms our country should enslave,
She shall acquit our ashes in the grave;
Posterity degen'rate, as they groan,
Shall bless their sires, and call their woes their own.
Let us, my lords, each virtuous spark inspire,
And where we find it, blow it to a fire.
Thy service, gallant Alpin, in this war,
Shall both be Indulph's and the senate's care.
Meantime, with manly sports and exercise,
Let us from bus'ness turn the mental eyes:
The mind relaxed acquires a double force,
And with new vigour finishes the course.”
And spoke: “Thus always meet our Albion's foes;
With foreign blood your native arms adorn,
And boldly fight for ages yet unborn.
For us, my lords, fought all our godlike sires;
The debt we owe to them our race requires:
Though future arms our country should enslave,
She shall acquit our ashes in the grave;
Posterity degen'rate, as they groan,
Shall bless their sires, and call their woes their own.
Let us, my lords, each virtuous spark inspire,
And where we find it, blow it to a fire.
Thy service, gallant Alpin, in this war,
Shall both be Indulph's and the senate's care.
Meantime, with manly sports and exercise,
Let us from bus'ness turn the mental eyes:
The mind relaxed acquires a double force,
And with new vigour finishes the course.”
He added not: the godlike chiefs obey;
All rise at once; great Indulph leads the way.
The palace here, and there a virid mound,
Confine a flow'ry spot of grassy ground.
The under-rock, emerging through the green,
Chequers with hoary knobs the various scene.
Thither repair the chiefs and sceptered king,
And bend upon the plain the hollow ring.
Obedient servants from the palace bear
The horny bow, the helm, the shining spear,
The mail, the corslet, and the brazen shield;
And throw the ringing weight upon the field.
Imperial Indulph, tow'ring o'er the plain,
With placid words addressed the warrior train:
“Let those who bend the stubborn bow arise,
And with the feathered shaft dispute the prize;
An antique bow a Balearian wore,
When Romans thundered on our Albion's shore.
The skilful archer, dealing death afar,
Threw on our Scottish host the distant war;
Great Fergus springs, a king devoid of fear,
And through his body shoots the reeking spear;
The bloody spoil through striving cohorts brings,
And sends this relic down to after kings.”
All rise at once; great Indulph leads the way.
The palace here, and there a virid mound,
Confine a flow'ry spot of grassy ground.
The under-rock, emerging through the green,
Chequers with hoary knobs the various scene.
Thither repair the chiefs and sceptered king,
And bend upon the plain the hollow ring.
Obedient servants from the palace bear
The horny bow, the helm, the shining spear,
The mail, the corslet, and the brazen shield;
And throw the ringing weight upon the field.
562
With placid words addressed the warrior train:
“Let those who bend the stubborn bow arise,
And with the feathered shaft dispute the prize;
An antique bow a Balearian wore,
When Romans thundered on our Albion's shore.
The skilful archer, dealing death afar,
Threw on our Scottish host the distant war;
Great Fergus springs, a king devoid of fear,
And through his body shoots the reeking spear;
The bloody spoil through striving cohorts brings,
And sends this relic down to after kings.”
Thus, grasping the long bow, the monarch said:
Rose valiant Grahame and youthful Somerled.
Next Gowal in the strife demands a part,
Famed on his native hills to wing the dart.
Rose valiant Grahame and youthful Somerled.
Next Gowal in the strife demands a part,
Famed on his native hills to wing the dart.
Full on the mound a helm, their aim, was placed;
And Gowal drew the nerve first to his breast;
The bow reluctant yields, then backward springs;
The nerve resounds, through air the arrow sings.
Close to the aim, the earth the arrow meets,
And, as it vibrates, the bright helmet beats.
Applause ensues. The shaft was sent by Grahame,
And cut its brazen journey through the aim.
The prize on him the murm'ring chiefs bestow,
Till Somerled assumes the ancient bow.
The dancing chord the leaping arrow left,
And, rushing, took on end Grahame's birchen shaft;
Tore on its way, around the shivers fly,
And Somerled brings off the prize with joy.
“Who,” cries the king, “this shield his prize shall bear,
And fling with skilful hand the martial spear?
Behind this buckler mighty Kenneth stood,
When Tay, impurpled, ran with Pictish blood.”
And Gowal drew the nerve first to his breast;
The bow reluctant yields, then backward springs;
The nerve resounds, through air the arrow sings.
Close to the aim, the earth the arrow meets,
And, as it vibrates, the bright helmet beats.
Applause ensues. The shaft was sent by Grahame,
And cut its brazen journey through the aim.
The prize on him the murm'ring chiefs bestow,
Till Somerled assumes the ancient bow.
The dancing chord the leaping arrow left,
And, rushing, took on end Grahame's birchen shaft;
Tore on its way, around the shivers fly,
And Somerled brings off the prize with joy.
“Who,” cries the king, “this shield his prize shall bear,
And fling with skilful hand the martial spear?
Behind this buckler mighty Kenneth stood,
When Tay, impurpled, ran with Pictish blood.”
He said, and placed a mark, the knobby round,
And measured back with equal steps the ground.
The valiant Grahame, the mountain-youth, arose;
Gowal again his martial stature shows;
Bent on the knobby splendour of the prize,
First from his hand the singing weapon flies.
The steel-head marked a circle as it run,
Flamed with the splendour of the setting sun.
And measured back with equal steps the ground.
563
Gowal again his martial stature shows;
Bent on the knobby splendour of the prize,
First from his hand the singing weapon flies.
The steel-head marked a circle as it run,
Flamed with the splendour of the setting sun.
Thus when the night the weeping sky o'er-veils,
Athwart the gloom the streaming meteor sails,
Kindles a livid circle as it flies,
And with its glory dazzles human eyes.
Athwart the gloom the streaming meteor sails,
Kindles a livid circle as it flies,
And with its glory dazzles human eyes.
Thus flew the spear, and sinking in the mound,
With quick vibrations beat the air around;
But missed the shield. Grahame's not unpractised art
Dismisses through the air the murm'ring dart:
Full on the middle boss it takes the shield;
The fighting metals clatter o'er the field:
From the firm knob the point obliquely flies,
And on the field the trembling weapon lies.
With quick vibrations beat the air around;
But missed the shield. Grahame's not unpractised art
Dismisses through the air the murm'ring dart:
Full on the middle boss it takes the shield;
The fighting metals clatter o'er the field:
From the firm knob the point obliquely flies,
And on the field the trembling weapon lies.
Next valiant Alpin takes the pond'rous spear,
And bending back dismisses it through air:
The long quick weapon flying o'er the field,
Falls on the boss, and perforates the shield;
The waving shaft is planted on the mound;
And with applause the neighbouring rocks resound.
And bending back dismisses it through air:
The long quick weapon flying o'er the field,
Falls on the boss, and perforates the shield;
The waving shaft is planted on the mound;
And with applause the neighbouring rocks resound.
Young Somerled wrenched from the rock a quoit,
A huge, enormous, sharp, unweildy weight;
Such now-a-days as many panting swains
A witness rear on long-contested plains:
Slow-bending down, at length the hero springs;
The rolling rock along the heavens sings;
Falling, it shakes at once the neighb'ring ground,
And on the face of earth indents a wound.
A huge, enormous, sharp, unweildy weight;
Such now-a-days as many panting swains
A witness rear on long-contested plains:
Slow-bending down, at length the hero springs;
The rolling rock along the heavens sings;
Falling, it shakes at once the neighb'ring ground,
And on the face of earth indents a wound.
Thus when strong winds the aged tow'r invade,
And throw the shapeless ruin from its head;
It falls, and cleaves its bed into the ground;
The valley shakes, and rocks complain around.
And throw the shapeless ruin from its head;
It falls, and cleaves its bed into the ground;
The valley shakes, and rocks complain around.
564
All try the mark to reach, but try in vain;
All falling short, unequal wound the plain.
Alpin with diffidence assumes the stone,
For such a space had Somerled o'erthrown:
Th' unwieldy rock a while he weighs with care,
Then springing sends it whizzing through the air;
The wond'ring warriors view it as it rolls;
Far o'er the distant mark the discus falls;
It shakes the plain, and deals a gaping wound,
Such as when headlong torrents tear the ground.
All falling short, unequal wound the plain.
Alpin with diffidence assumes the stone,
For such a space had Somerled o'erthrown:
Th' unwieldy rock a while he weighs with care,
Then springing sends it whizzing through the air;
The wond'ring warriors view it as it rolls;
Far o'er the distant mark the discus falls;
It shakes the plain, and deals a gaping wound,
Such as when headlong torrents tear the ground.
Th' applauding chiefs own in the manly game
The hero great as in the fields of fame.
The hero great as in the fields of fame.
Culena, leaning on her snowy arms,
Observant from the window points her charms.
Th' imperial virgin saw with pleasant pain,
The fav'rite youth victorious on the plain:
Sadly she sighed, accusing cruel fate,
Which chained her in captivity of state.
Observant from the window points her charms.
Th' imperial virgin saw with pleasant pain,
The fav'rite youth victorious on the plain:
Sadly she sighed, accusing cruel fate,
Which chained her in captivity of state.
The veil of night had now inwrapt the pole;
The feast renewed, goes round the sparkling bowl.
Great Indulph rose with favour-speaking mein;
Approaching Alpin thus the king began:
“Say, will the stranger tell from whence he came,
To reap this harvest of unrivalled fame?
Nobler the youth, who, though before unknown,
From merit mounts to virtue and renown,
Than he, set up by an illustrious race,
Totters aloft, and scarce can keep his place!”
The feast renewed, goes round the sparkling bowl.
Great Indulph rose with favour-speaking mein;
Approaching Alpin thus the king began:
“Say, will the stranger tell from whence he came,
To reap this harvest of unrivalled fame?
Nobler the youth, who, though before unknown,
From merit mounts to virtue and renown,
Than he, set up by an illustrious race,
Totters aloft, and scarce can keep his place!”
The monarch spoke: attentive look the peers,
And long to drink his voice with greedy ears.
And long to drink his voice with greedy ears.
| The poems of Ossian | |