the flames of war, it was also employed in evoking the halycon of peace. It appears that the unanimity of the Fenian militia, when not cemented by opposing the common enemies of their country, was sometimes disturbed by the heart-burnings of the rival septs of Morni and Boishne, of which Goll (or Gaul) and Finn were the respective leaders. Of this contention for precedence the cause has never been distinctly assigned. On one occasion, near the palace of Finn, at Almhaim (Allwin), when it rather appears that the chief was in fault, it assumed such a serious aspect, and threatened such consequences, that the bards required to use their utmost authority to soothe the chafed spirits of the chiefs, and pour oil upon the troubled waters. "To effect this, they shook the chain of silence,* and flung themselves among the ranks, extolling the sweets of peace, and the achievements of the combatants' ancestors. Immediately both parties, laying down their arms, listened with attention to the harmonious lays of their bards, and in the end rewarded them with precious gifts.Ӡ

The ode from which the following passages are taken, is supposed by the translator-and, indeed, the internal evidence is such as to admit little doubt of the fact -to be the one which Fergus "composed, or rather

* The reader will recollect Moore's beautiful allusion to this custom :

"Dear harp of my country! in darkness I found thee,
The cold chain of silence had hung o'er thee long,
When proudly, my own island harp, I unbound thee,
And gave all thy chords to light, freedom, and song."

t Walker's Hist. Mems., p. 44.

D

recited extempore, on the occasion*" of this memorable

contest :

ODE TO GAUL, THE SON OF MORNI,

TRANSLATED BY MISS BROOKE.

High-minded Gaul, whose daring soul
Stoops not to our chief's† control !
Champion of the navy's pride!

Mighty ruler of the tide!

Rider of the stormy wave,
Hostile nations to enslave !+

Shield of freedom's glorious boast!
Head of her unconquered host!
Ardent son of Morni's might!
Terror of the fields of fight!

Long renown'd and dreadful name!

Hero of auspicious fame!

Champion in our cause to arm!

Tongue, with eloquence to charm!

With depth of sense, and reach of manly thought;
With every grace, and every beauty fraught!

Girt with heroic might,

When glory, and thy country, call to arms,

* Reliques of Irish Poetry, 4to. ed. p. 163.

"Finn Mac Cumhal, then general of the Irish militia."

"Besides their standing armies, we find the Irish kept up a considerable naval force, whereby, from time to time, they poured troops into Britain and Gaul, which countries they long kept under contribution. To this, however,

Thou go'st to mingle in the loud alarms,
And lead the rage of fight!

Thine, hero!-thine the princely sway
Of each conflicting hour;

Thine ev'ry bright endowment to display,
The smile of beauty, and the arm of pow'r !
Science beneath our hero's shade,

Exults, in all her patron's gifts array'd:
Her chief, the soul of every fighting field!
The
arm, the heart, alike unknown to yield!

Hear, O Finn! thy people's voice!
Trembling on our hills,* we plead—

O, let our fears to peace incline thy choice!
Divide the spoil,† and give the hero's meed!
For bright and various is his wide renown,
And war and science weave his glorious crown!

Did all the hosts of all the earth unite,
From pole to pole, from wave to wave,
Exulting in their might:

His is that monarchy of soul
To fit him for the wide control,
The empire of the brave!

many objections have been made,

whilst, at the same period of time, no objections have been made to the accounts of the Phoenicians, the Tyrians, and, after them, the Greeks, having very considerable fleets, and making very distant settlements."-O'HALL. Introd. to Hist. and Antiq. of Ireland.

"This alludes to a custom which prevailed among the early Irish of holding all their public meetings, and frequently their feasts, on the tops of lofty eminences."

"Possibly, it might have been about the division of the booty gained in some British or, perhaps, continental expedition, that the tribes of Morni and Boishne were at variance; at least, it appears, by this passage, that a part of their discontents arose from some such occasion."

Friend of learning! mighty name!
Havoc of hosts, and pride of fame!
Fierce as the foaming strength of ocean's rage,
When nature's powers in strife engage,
So does his dreadful progress roll,

And such the force that lifts his soul !

Finn of the flowing locks,* O hear my
No more with Gaul contend!

voice!

Be peace, henceforth, thy happy choice,
And gain a valiant friend!

Secure of victory, to the field

His conquering standard goes;
'Tis his the powers of fight to wield,
And woe awaits his foes.

Not to mean insidious artt
Does the great name of Gaul its terrors owe;
But from a brave, undaunted heart
His glories flow!

*The natural and beautiful ornament of hair was much cherished and esteemed amongst the ancient Irish. . . . . . . The epithets' flowing, curling, waving locks,' perpetually occur, and are apparently esteemed as essential to the beauty of the warrior as to that of the fair."

"Indeed, for a spirit of honour and a natural rectitude of mind, the Irish were remarked even by the writers of a nation once their bitter enemies. Their love of justice and attachment to the laws was thus acknowledged in the days of Henry VIII.: The laws and statutes made by the Irish on their hills (called Brehon laws), they keep firm and stable, without breaking them for any favour or reward.'-BARON FINGLAS' Breviate of Ireland. Sir John Davies, too, (atmey-general in the reign of James I.), acknowledges that there is no nation r the sun that love equal and indifferent justice better than the Irish.'' IES' Hist, of Ireland.

Finn of the dark-brown hair! O hear

No more with Gaul contend!

my

voice!

Be peace sincere henceforth thy choice,
And gain a valiant friend!

In peace, though inexhausted from his breast

Each gentle virtue flows;

In war, no force his fury can arrest,

And hopeless are his foes.

Spirit resolute to dare!

Aspect sweet beyond compare,

Bright with inspiring soul! with blooming beauty

When conflicting tempests rave;

As still, with the increasing storm,
Increasing ruin clothes its dreadful form;
Such is the chief, o'erwhelming in his force,
Unconquer'd in his swift, resistless course!

Tho' in the smiles of blooming grace array'd,
And bright in beauty's every charm;

* "Here we find a repetition of the same image that occurs a few stanzas before....... But an extemporaneous composition like this ought to be exempt from that severity of criticism which may, with justice, be exercised on the productions of study and the labours of time."