“Well have you done to bring me of this fruit; But greater signs of prowess must you give: Go pull the tree entirely by the root, And bring it hither, or I cease to live.” Though hard the task, like lightning fast he flew, And nimbly glided o’er the yielding tide; Then to the tree with manly steps he drew, And pull’d it hard from side to side: Its bursting roots his strength could not withstand; He tears it up, and bears it in his hand. But long, alas! ere he could reach the shore, Or fix his footsteps on the solid sand, The monster follow’d with a hideous roar, And like a fury grasped him by the hand. Then, gracious God! what dreadful struggling rose: He grasps the dragon by th’ invenom’d jaws, In vain; for round the bloody current flows, While his fierce teeth his tender body gnaws. He groans through anguish of the grievous wound, And cries for help; but, ah! no help was found! The hero’s death is a tragic one; and the life of the “helpless maid!” vanishes in the usual tender regrets of bards. Our great interest in the production, apart from the early death of the gifted and sympathetic Stone, lies in the fact that he was the first English-speaking man of letters who attempted to deal fairly with the products of the Gaelic muse. To students of Macpherson’s Ossian and Ossianic ballads it will be apparent that the Badenoch tutor merely imitated Stone in the English productions; he gave the spirit, not the letter of Gaelic poetry. Macpherson’s trouble lay in the originally unexpected necessity of providing Gaelic originals which would be fair equivalents for his published English versions. The bitter assaults made on his works naturally led to his manner of self-defence. As an illustration of how _poetical_ translators deal with the original materials placed in their hands, nothing better could be found than this Gaelic ballad which Stone published in English dress in the “Scots Magazine.” In “Mackenzie’s Report,” the original Gaelic, Stone’s rendering, and a literal version are supplied. The second is described as a “Translation of the foregoing,” as published by Stone in the “Scots Magazine” for 1756. In order to show how a “translation” was regarded in the age of Macpherson, it may be well to give the last three verses of “Fraoch’s Death” in the original, then the “Report’s” literal version, and lastly Stone’s poetic translation. Here are the last three verses of the Gaelic ballad:— Thogamar anois an cluin Fhraoich, Corp an laoich an Caiseal Chrò. On Bhas ud a fhuair am fear, Mairg is mairion na dheigh beo. Gu mhi sud an tuabhar Mna, Is mo chonairceas air mo dha Roisg, Fraoch a chur a bhuain a Chrainn, An deis an Caoran a bhi bhos.