And tell how many feet ’s the brute in length;” What Finn did ask he never yet refused; Alas! that he should never see his home. Along the back he measures now the boar, Light-footed Mac O’Duine of active step. “Measure it the other way against the hair, And measure, Diarmad, carefully the boar.” It was indeed for thee a mournful deed, Furth of the sharply-pointed, piercing arms, He went, the errand grievous was and sad, And measured for them once again the boar. The envenomed pointed bristle sharply pierced The soul of him the bravest in the field. Then fell and lay upon the grassy plain The noble Mac O’Duine, whose look spoke truth; He fell and lay along beside the boar And then you have my mournful saddening tale. There does he lie now wounded to the death, Brave Mac O’Duine so skilful in the fight, The most enduring even among the Feinn, Up there where I see his grave. The blue-eyed hawk that dwelt at Essaroy The conqueror in every sore-fought field Slain by the poisoned bristle of the boar. Now does he lie full-stretched upon the hill, Brave, noble Diarmad Mac O’Duine Slain, it is shame! victim of jealousy. Whiter his body than the sun’s bright light, Redder his lips than blossoms tinged with red; Long yellow locks did rest upon his head, His eye was clear beneath the covering brow, Its colour mingled was of blue and gray; Waving and graceful were his locks behind, His speech was elegant and sweetly soft; His hands the whitest, fingers tipped with red; Elegance and power were in his form, His fair soft skin covering a faultless shape, No woman saw him but he won her love. Mac O’Duine crowned with his countless victories, Ne’er shall he raise his eye in courtship more; Or warrior’s wrath give colour to his cheek; The following of the chase, the prancing steed, Will never move him, nor the search for spoil. He who could bear him well in wary fight, Has now us sadly left in that wild vale. Glenshee. This is, in every way, a fair specimen of the Dean’s MS., and of the story of the death of Diarmad as it existed in Scotland in the year 1512. The story is entirely a Scottish one, Glenshee being a well-known locality in the county of Perth, and Ben Gulbin a well-known hill in Glenshee. This has been called an Ossianic poem, but, according to Dean M’Gregor, it was not composed by Ossian, but by a poet obviously of more recent times;--Allan MacRorie, who was probably a composer of the 15th century. The resemblance of Diarmad to Achilles will occur at once to the classical reader, and there is no reason to doubt that there were large classes in the Highlands in the middle ages well acquainted with classical literature.