In answer to Fingal’s inquiry she says that, “as yet she has not been spoken of with any man,” but that “her affection and love she has given to his son”—Ossian. In these ballads and tales “geasan,” some bewitching obligations or bonds, are frequently spoken of. It was by the exercise of this power—these invisible bonds—that the faithless spouse of Fingal compelled the beautiful Diarmad to elope with her. This Princess, “the golden-headed Niamh,” put her “geasan” on Ossian. She thus addresses him:— “Obligations unresisted by true heroes, O! generous Oisin, I put upon thee, To come with myself now upon my steed Till we arrive at the ‘Land of Youth.’ “It is the most delightful country to be found, Of greatest repute under the sun, Trees dropping with fruit and blossom, And foiliage growing on the tops of boughs. “Abundant there are honey and wine, And everything that eye has beheld, There will not come decline on thee with lapse of time, Death or decay thou wilt not see.” He is to get there a “hundred swords,” and a hundred of every article or possession that could be dear to the heart of a warrior or a bard. Ossian thus replies:— “No refusal will I give from me, O charming queen of the golden curls! Thou art my choice above the women of the world, And I will go with willingness to the ‘Land of Youth.’” The poet then describes in melancholy strains his parting with his own people—the Féinne:— “I kissed my father sweetly and gently, And the same affection I got from him; I bade adieu to all the Fianna, And the tears flowed down my cheeks. “Many a delightful day had Fionn and I, And the Fianna with us in great power, Been _chess-playing_ and drinking, And hearing music—the last that was powerful? “A hunting in smooth valleys, And our sweet-mouthed dogs with us there; At other times, in the rough conflict, Slaughtering heroes with great vigour.” Macpherson’s Ossian is never caught at “chess-playing,” or speaking of other things that might savour of more recent days. The course of Ossian and Niamh is thus described:— “We turned our backs to the land, And our faces directly due west; The smooth sea ebbed before us, And filled in billows after us.” Before they arrive at the “Land of Youth,” Ossian rescues a distressed Princess from the hated hands of a giant; and “We buried the great man In a deep sod-grave, wide and clear; I raised his flag and monument, And I wrote his name in Ogham Cráobh.” They are welcomed to the “Land of Youth” by a “multitude of glittering bright hosts,” and conducted to a Royal fortress, by whose side are seen— “Radiant summer-houses and palaces, Made all of precious stones.”