Lady Augusta Gregory

by Irish Myths

  Chonaill and in the forest parts of Cairbre of the Nuts. And he

  himself went up to the top of Ceiscoran, and his two dogs Bran

  and Sceolan with him.

  And the Fianna were shouting through the whole country

  where they were hunting, the way the deer were roused in their

  wild places and the badgers in their holes and foxes in their wanderings, and birds on the wing.

  And Conaran, son of Imidd, of the Tuatha de Danaan, had the

  sway in Ceiscoran at that time, and when he heard the shouting

  and the cry of the hounds all around, he bade his three daughters

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  that had a great share of enchantments, to do vengeance on Finn

  for his hunting.

  The three women went then to the opening of a cave that was

  in the hills, and there they sat down together, and they put three

  strong enchanted hanks of yarn on crooked holly-sticks, and

  began to reel them off outside the cave.

  They were not long there till Finn and Conan came towards

  them, and saw the three ugly old hags at their work, their coarse

  hair tossed, their eyes red and bleary, their teeth sharp and

  crooked, their arms very long, their nails like the tips of cows'

  horns, and the three spindles in their hands.

  Finn and Conan passed through the hanks of yam to get a

  better look at the hags. And no sooner had they done that, than a

  deadly trembling came on them and a weakness, and the bold

  hags took hold of them and put them in tight bonds.

  Two other men of the Fianna came up then, and the sons of Menhann along with them, and they went through the spindles to where Finn and Conan were, and their strength went from them in the

  same way, and the hags tied them fast and carried them into the cave.

  There were not long there till Caoilte and Lagaidh's Son came

  to the place, and along with them the best men of the sons of

  Baiscne. The sons of Morna came as well, and no sooner did they

  see the hanks than their strength and their bravery went out of

  them the same as it went from the others.

  And in the end the whole number of them, gentle and simple,

  were put in bonds by the hags, and brought into the cave. And

  there began at the mouth of the cave a great outcry of hounds

  calling for their masters that had left them there. And there was

  lying on the hillside a great heap of deer, and wild pigs, and hares,

  and badgers, dead and tom, that were brought as far as that by

  the hunters that were tied up now in the cave.

  Then the three women came in, having swords in their hands,

  to the place where they were lying, to make an end of them. But

  first they looked out to see was there ever another man of the

  Fianna to bring in and to make an end of with the rest.

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  And they saw coming towards them a very tall man, that was

  Goll, son of Morna, the Flame of Battle. And when the three hags

  saw him they went to meet him, and they fought a hard battle with

  him. And great anger came on Goll, and he made great strokes at

  the witches, and at the last he raised up his sword, and with one

  blow he cut the two that were nearest him through and through.

  And then the oldest of the three women wound her arms

  about Goll, and he beheading the two others, and he turned to

  face her and they wrestled together, till at last Goll gave her a

  great twist and threw her on the ground. He tied her fast then

  with the straps of a shield, and took his sword to make an end of

  her. But the hag said: "O champion that was never worsted,

  strong man that never went back in battle, I put my body and my

  life under the protection of your bravery. And it is better for you,"

  she said, "to get Finn and the Fianna safe and whole than to have

  my blood; and I swear by the gods my people swear by," she said,

  "I will give them back to you again. "

  With that Goll set her free, and they went together into the hill

  where the Fianna were lying. And Goll said: "Loose off the fastenings first from Fergus of the True Lips and from the other learned men of the Fianna; and after that from Finn, and Oisin, and the

  twenty-nine sons of Moma, and from all the rest. "

  She took off the fastenings then, and the Fianna made to delay,

  but rose up and went out and sat down on the side of the hill.

  And Fergus of the Sweet Lips looked at Goll, son of Morna, and

  made great praises of him, and of all that he had done.

  CHAPTER III.

  DONN, SON OF MIDHIR

  One time the Fianna were at their hunting at the land of Toraig to

  the north of Ireland, and they passed a fawn that was very wild

  and beautiful, and it made for the coast, and Finn and six of his

  men followed after it through the whole country, till they came to

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  Slieve-nam-Ban. And there the fawn put down its head and vanished into the earth, and none of them knew where was it gone to.

  A heavy snow began to fall then that bent down the tops of the

  trees like a willow-gad, and the courage and the strength went

  from the Fianna with the dint of the bad weather, and Finn said

  to Caoilte: "Is there any place we can find shelter to-night? "

  Caoilte made himself supple then, and went over the elbow of the

  hill southward.

  And when he looked around him he saw a house full of light,

  with cups and horns and bowls of different sorts in it. He stood a

  good while before the door of the house, that he knew to be a

  house of the Sidhe, thinking would it be best go in and get news

  of it, or to go back to Finn and the few men that were with him.

  And he made up his mind to go into the house, and there he sat

  down on a shining chair in the middle of the floor; and he looked

  around him, and he saw, on the one side, eight-and-twenty armed

  men, each of them having a well-shaped woman beside him. And

  on the other side he saw six nice young girls, yellow-haired,

  having shaggy gowns from their shoulders. And in the middle

  there was another young girl sitting in a chair, and a harp in her

  hand, and she playing on it and singing. And every time she

  stopped, a man of them would give her a horn to drink from, and

  she would give it back to him again, and they were all making

  mirth around her.

  She spoke to Caoilte then. "Caoilte, my life," she said, "give us

  leave to attend on you now." "Do not," said Caoilte, "for there is a

  better man than myself outside, Finn, son of Cumhal, and he has

  a mind to eat in this house to-night." "Rise up, Caoilte, and go to

  Finn," said a man of the house then; "for he never refused anyman in his own house, and he will get no refusal from us. "

  Caoilte went back then to Finn, and when Finn saw him he

  said: "It is long you are away from us, Caoilte, for from the time I

  took arms in my hands I never had a night that put so much

  hardship on me as this one."

  The six of them went then into the lighted house and their

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  shields and their arms with them. And they sat down on the edge

  of a seat, a
nd a girl having yellow hair came and brought them to

  a shining seat in the middle of the house, and the newest of every

  food, and the oldest of every drink was put before them. And

  when the sharpness of their hunger and their thirst was lessened,

  Finn said: "Which of you can I question?" "Question whoever you

  have a mind to," said the tallest of the men that was near him.

  "Who are you yourself then? " said Finn, "for I did not think there

  were so many champions in Ireland, and I not knowing them. "

  "Those eight-and-twenty armed men you see beyond," said

  the tall man, "had the one father and mother with myself; and we

  are the sons of Midhir of the Yellow Hair, and our mother is Fionnchaem, the fair, beautiful daughter of the King of the Sidhe of Monaid in the east. And at one time the Tuatha de Danaan had a

  gathering, and gave the kingship to Bodb Dearg, son of the

  Dagda, at his bright hospitable place, and he began to ask hostages of myself and of my brothers; but we said that till all the rest of the Men of Dea had given them, we would not give them. Bodb

  Dearg said then to our father: 'Unless you will put away your

  sons, we will wall up your dwelling-place on you.' So the eightand-twenty brothers of us came out to look for a place for ourselves; and we searched all Ireland till we found this secret

  hidden place, and we are here ever since. And my own name," he

  said, "is Donn, son of Midhir. And we had every one of us ten

  hundred armed men belonging to himself, but they are all worn

  away now, and only the eight-and-twenty of us left. " "What is it is

  wearing you away? " said Finn. "The Men of Dea," said Donn,

  "that come three times in every year to give battle to us on the

  green outside. " What is the long new grave we saw on the green

  outside?" said Finn. "It is the grave of Diangalach, a man of enchantments of the Men of Dea; and that is the greatest loss came on them yet," said Donn; "and it was I myself killed him," he said.

  "What loss came next to that? " said Finn. "All the Tuatha de

  Danaan had of jewels and riches and treasures, horns and vessels

  and cups of pale gold, we took from them at the one time." "What

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  was the third greatest loss they had?" said Finn. "It was Fethnaid,

  daughter of Feclach, the woman-harper of the Tuatha de Danaan,

  their music and the delight of their minds," said Donn.

  "And to-morrow," he said, "they will be coming to make an

  attack on us, and there is no one but myself and my brothers left;

  and we knew we would be in danger, and that we could make no

  stand against them. And we sent that bare-headed girl beyond to

  Toraig in the North in the shape of a foolish fawn, and you followed her here. It is that girl washing herself, and having a green cloak about her, went looking for you.

  "And the empty side of the house," he said, "belonged to our

  people that the Men of Dea have killed. "

  They spent that night in drinking and in pleasure. And when

  they rose up in the morning of the morrow, Donn, son of Midhir,

  said to Finn, "Come out with me now on the lawn till you see the

  place where we fight the battles every year." They went out then

  and they looked at the graves and the flag-stones, and Donn said:

  "It is as far as this the Men of Dea come to meet us. " "Which of

  them come here?" said Finn.

  "Bodb Dearg with his seven sons," said Donn, "and Angus Og,

  son of the Dagda, with his seven sons; and Finnbharr of Cnoc

  Medha with his seventeen sons; Lir of Sidhe Fionnachaidh with his

  twenty-seven sons and their sons; Tadg, son of Nuada, out of the

  beautiful hill of Almhuin; Donn of the Island and Donn of the

  Vat; the two called Glas from the district of Osraige, Dobhran

  Dubthaire from the hill of Liambain of the Smooth Shirt; Aedh of

  the Island of Rachrainn in the north; Ferai and Aillinn and Lir and

  Fainnle, sons of Eogobal, from Cnoc Aine in Munster; Cian and

  Cohan and Conn, three sons of the King of Sidhe Monaid in Alban;

  Aedh Minbhreac of Ess Ruadh with his seven sons; the children of

  the Morrigu, the Great Queen, for six-and-twenty women warriors,

  the two Luaths from Magh Life; Derg and Drecan out of the hill of

  Beinn Edair in the east; Bodb Dearg himself with his great household, ten hundred ten score and ten. These are the chief leaders of the Tuatha de Danaan that come to destroy our hill every year."

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  Finn went back into the hill then, and told all that to his people.

  "My people," he said, "it is in great need and under great

  oppression the sons of Midhir are, and it is into great danger we

  are come ourselves. And unless we make a good fight now," he

  said, "it is likely we will never see the Fianna again."

  "Good Finn," every one of them said then, "did you ever see

  any drawing-back in any of us that you give us that warning?" "I

  give my word," said Finn, "if I would go through the whole world

  having only this many of the Fianna of Ireland along with me, I

  would not know fear nor fright. And good Donn," he said, "is it

  by day or by night the Men of Dea come against you?" "It is at the

  fall of night they come," said Donn, "the way they can do us the

  most harm."

  So they waited till night came on, and then Finn said: "Let one

  of you go out now on the green to keep watch for us, the way the

  Men of Dea will not come on us without word or warning."

  And the man they set to watch was not gone far when he saw

  five strong battalions of the Men of Dea coming towards him. He

  went back then to the hill and he said: "It is what I think, that the

  troops that are come against us this time and are standing now

  around the grave of the Man of Enchantments are a match for any

  other fighting men."

  Finn called to his people then, and he said: "There are good

  fighters are come against you, having strong red spears. And let

  you all do well now in the battle. And it is what you have to do,"

  he said, "to keep the little troop of brothers, the sons of Midhir,

  safe in the fight; for it would be a treachery to friendship any

  harm to come on them, and we after joining them; and myself

  and Caoilte are the oldest among you, and leave the rest of the

  battle to us. "

  Then from the covering time of evening to the edge of the

  morning they fought the battle. And the loss of the Tuatha de

  Danaan was no less a number than ten hundred ten score and ten

  men. Then Bodb Dearg and Midhir and Fionnbhar said to one

  another: "What are we to do with all these? And let Lir of Sidhe

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  Fionnachaidh give us an advice," they said, "since he is the oldest

  of us. " And Lir said: "It is what I advise, let every one carry away

  his friends and his fosterlings, his sons and his brothers, to his

  own place. And as for us that stop here," he said, "let a wall of fire

  be made about us on the one side, and a wall of water on the

  other side." Then the Men of Dea put up a great heap of stones,

  and brought away their dead; and of all the great slaughter that

  Finn and his men and the sons of Midhir had made, there was

>   not left enough for a crow to perch upon.

  And as to Finn and his men, they went back into the hill, hurt

  and wounded and worn-out.

  And they stopped in the hill with the sons of Midhir through

  the whole length of a year, and three times in the year the Men of

  Dea made an attack on the hill, and a battle was fought.

  And Conn, son of Midhir, was killed in one of the battles; and

  as to the Fianna, there were so many wounds on them that the

  clothing was held off from their bodies with bent hazel sticks, and

  they lying in their beds, and two of them were like to die. And

  Finn and Caoilte and Lugaidh's Son went out on the green, and

  Caoilte said: "It was a bad journey we made coming to this hill, to

  leave two of our comrades after us." "It is a pity for whoever will

  face the Fianna of Ireland," and Lagaidh's Son, "and he after leaving his comrades after him." "Whoever will go back and leave them, it will not be myself," said Finn. Then Donn, son of Midhir

  came to them. "Good Donn," said Finn, "have you knowledge of

  any physician that can cure our men? " "I only know one physician could do that," said Donn; "a physician the Tuatha de Danaan have with them. And unless a wounded man has the

  marrow of his back cut through, he will get relief from that physician, the way he will be sound at the end of nine days." "How can we bring that man here," said Finn, "for those he is with are no

  good friends to us?" "He goes out every morning at break of day,"

  said Donn, "to gather healing herbs while the dew is on them. "

  "Find some one, Donn," said Caoilte, "that will show me that

  physician, and living or dead, I will bring him with me."

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  Then Aedh and Fiann, two of the sons of Midhir, rose up.

  "Come with us, Caoilte," they said, and they went on before him

  to a green lawn with the dew on it; and when they came to it they

  saw a strong young man armed and having a cloak of the wool of

  the seven sheep of the Land of Promise, and it full of herbs of

  healing he was after gathering for the Men of Dea that were

  wounded in the battle. "Who is that man?" said Caoilte. "That is

  the man we came looking for," said Aedh. "And mind him well

  now," he said, "that he will not make his escape from us back to

  his own people."

  They ran at him together then, and Caoilte took him by the