Gods and Fighting Men, Lady I. A Gregory [best e books to read TXT] 📗

the fine that they had not got.

And he put a great desire and longing on them to go back to Ireland; so

they forgot that a part of the fine was wanting to them, and they turned

back again toward home.

 

And it is the place where Lugh was at the time, at a gathering of the

people for a fair on the green outside Teamhair, and the King of Ireland

along with him. And it was made known to Lugh that the sons of Tuireann

were landed at Brugh na Boinn. And he went into the city of Teamhair,

and shut the gate after him, and he put on Manannan's smooth armour, and

the cloak, of the daughters of Flidais, and he took his own arms in his

hand.

 

And the sons of Tuireann came where the king was, and they were made

welcome by him and by the Tuatha de Danaan. And the king asked them did

they get the fine. "We did get it," said they; "and where is Lugh till

we give it to him?" "He was here a while ago," said the king. And the

whole fair was searched for him, but he was not found.

 

"I know the place where he is," said Brian; "for it has been made known

to him that we are come to Ireland, and these deadly arms with us, and

he is gone into Teamhair to avoid us."

 

Messengers were sent to him then, and it is the answer he gave them that

he would not come, but that the fine should be given to the king.

 

So the sons of Tuireann did that, and when the king had taken the fine

they all went to the palace in Teamhair; and Lugh came out on the lawn

and the fine was given to him, and it is what he said: "There is a good

payment here for any one that ever was killed or that ever will be

killed. But there is something wanting to it yet that it is not lawful

to leave out. And where is the cooking-spit?" he said; "and where are

the three shouts on the hill that you did not give yet?"

 

And when the sons of Tuireann heard that there came clouds of weakness

on them. And they left the place and went to their father's house that

night, and they told him all they had done, and the way Lugh had treated

them.

 

There was grief and darkness on Tuireann then, and they spent the night

together. And on the morrow they went to their ship, and Ethne, their

sister, with them, and she was crying and lamenting, and it is what she

said:

 

"It is a pity, Brian of my life, it is not to Teamhair your going is,

after all the troubles you have had before this, even if I could not

follow you.

 

"O Salmon of the dumb Boinn, O Salmon of the Life River, since I cannot

keep you here I am loath to part from you.

 

"O Rider of the Wave of Tuaidh, the man that stands best in the fight,

if you come back again, I think it will not be pleasing to your enemy.

 

"Is there pity with you for the sons of Tuireann leaning now on their

green shields? Their going is a cause for pity, my mind is filled up

with it.

 

"You to be to-night at Beinn Edair till the heavy coming of the morning,

you who have taken forfeits from brave men, it is you have increased our

grief.

 

"It is a pity your journey is from Teamhair, and from the pleasant

plains, and from great Uisnech of Midhe; there is nothing so pitiful as

this."

 

After that complaint they went out on the rough waves of the green sea;

and they were a quarter of a year on the sea without getting any news of

the island.

 

Then Brian put on his water dress and he made a leap, and he was a long

time walking in the sea looking for the Island of the Fair-Haired Women,

and he found it in the end. And he went looking for the court, and when

he came to it, all he found was a troop of women doing needlework and

embroidering borders. And among all the other things they had with them,

there was the cooking-spit.

 

And when Brian saw it, he took it up in his hand and he was going to

bring it with him to the door. And all the women began laughing when

they saw him doing that, and it is what they said: "It is a brave deed

you put your hand to; for even if your brothers were along with you, the

least of the three times fifty women of us would not let the spit go

with you or with them. But for all that," they said, "take a spit of the

spits with you, since you had the daring to try and take it in spite of

us."

 

Brian bade them farewell then, and went to look for the boat. And his

brothers thought it was too long he was away from them, and just as they

were going to leave the place they were, they saw him coming towards

them, and that raised their courage greatly.

 

And he went into the boat, and they went on to look for the Hill of

Miochaoin. And when they came there, Miochaoin, that was the guardian of

the hill, came towards them; and when Brian saw him he attacked him, and

the fight of those two champions was like the fight of two lions, till

Miochaoin fell at the last.

 

And after Miochaoin had fallen, his three sons came out to fight with

the three sons of Tuireann. And if any one ever came from the east of

the world to look at any fight, it is to see the fight of these

champions he had a right to come, for the greatness of their blows and

the courage of their minds. The names of the sons of Miochaoin were Core

and Conn and Aedh, and they drove their three spears through the bodies

of the sons of Tuireann, and that did not discourage them at all and

they put their own three spears through the bodies of the sons of

Miochaoin, so that they fell into the clouds and the faintness of death.

 

And then Brian said: "What way are you now, my dear brothers?" "We are

near our death," said they. "Let us rise up," he said, "and give three

shouts upon the hill, for I see the signs of death coming on us." "We

are not able to do that," said they. Then Brian rose up and raised each

of them with one hand, and he shedding blood heavily all the time,

until they gave the three shouts.

 

After that Brian brought them with him to the boat, and they were

travelling the sea for a long time, but at last Brian said: "I see Beinn

Edair and our father's dun, and Teamhair of the Kings." "We would have

our fill of health if we could see that," said the others; "and for the

love of your good name, brother," they said, "raise up our heads on your

breast till we see Ireland again, and life or death will be the same to

us after that. And O Brian," they said, "Flame of Valour without

treachery, we would sooner death to bring ourselves away, than to see

you with wounds upon your body, and with no physician to heal you."

 

Then they came to Beinn Edair, and from that they went on to their

father's house, and Brian said to Tuireann: "Go, dear father, to

Teamhair, and give this spit to Lugh, and bring the skin that has

healing in it for our relief. Ask it from him for the sake of

friendship," he said, "for we are of the one blood, and let him not give

hardness for hardness. And O dear father," he said, "do not be long on

your journey, or you will not find us alive before you."

 

Then Tuireann went to Teamhair, and he found Lugh of the Long Hand

before him, and he gave him the spit, and he asked the skin of him to

heal his children, and Lugh said he would not give it And Tuireann came

back to them and told them he had not got the skin. And Brian said:

"Bring me with you to Lugh, to see would I get it from him."

 

So they went to Lugh, and Brian asked the skin of him. And Lugh said he

would not give it, and that if they would give him the breadth of the

earth in gold for it, he would not take it from them, unless he was sure

their death would come on them in satisfaction for the deed they had

done.

 

When Brian heard that, he went to the place his two brothers were, and

he lay down between them, and his life went out from him, and out from

the other two at the same time.

 

And their father cried and lamented over his three beautiful sons, that

had the making of a king of Ireland in each of them, and his strength

left him and he died; and they were buried in the one grave.

 

CHAPTER III. (THE GREAT BATTLE OF MAGH TUIREADH)

And it was not long after Lugh had got the fine from the sons of

Tuireann that the Fomor came and landed at Scetne.

 

The whole host of the Fomor were come this time, and their king, Balor,

of the Strong Blows and of the Evil Eye, along with them; and Bres, and

Indech, son of De Domnann, a king of the Fomor, and Elathan, son of

Lobos, and Goll and Ingol, and Octriallach, son of Indech, and Elathan,

son of Delbaeth.

 

Then Lugh sent the Dagda to spy out the Fomor, and to delay them till

such time as the men of Ireland would come to the battle.

 

So the Dagda went to their camp, and he asked them for a delay, and they

said he might have that. And then to make sport of him, the Fomor made

broth for him, for he had a great love for broth. So they filled the

king's cauldron with four times twenty gallons of new milk, and the same

of meal and fat, and they put in goats and sheep and pigs along with

that, and boiled all together, and then they poured it all out into a

great hole in the ground. And they called him to it then, and told him

he should eat his fill, the way the Fomor would not be reproached for

want of hospitality the way Bres was. "We will make an end of you if

you leave any part of it after you," said Indech, son of De Domnann.

 

So the Dagda took the ladle, and it big enough for a man and a woman to

lie in the bowl of it, and he took out bits with it, the half of a

salted pig, and a quarter of lard a bit would be. "If the broth tastes

as well as the bits taste, this is good food," he said. And he went on

putting the full of the ladle into his mouth till the hole was empty;

and when all was gone he put down his hand and scraped up all that was

left among the earth and the gravel.

 

Sleep came on him then after eating the broth, and the Fomor were

laughing at him, for his belly was the size of the cauldron of a great

house. But he rose up after a while, and, heavy as he was, he made his

way home; and indeed his dress was no way sightly, a cape to the hollow

of the elbows, and a brown coat, long in the breast and short behind,

and on his feet brogues of horse hide, with the hair outside, and in his

hand