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

And not one of them was left alive on either

side that could hold a weapon but only Oisin and one of the sons of

Garb. And they made rushes at one another, and threw their swords out of

their hands, and closed their arms about one another, and wrestled

together, so that it was worth coming from the east to the west of the

world to see the fight of those two. Then the foreigner gave a sudden

great fall to Oisin, to bring him into the sea, for he was a great

swimmer, and he thought to get the better of him there. And Oisin

thought it would not be worthy of him to refuse any man his place of

fighting. So they went into the water together, and they were trying to

drown one another till they came to the sand and the gravel of the clear

sea. And it was a torment to the heart of the Fianna, Oisin to be in

that strait. "Rise up, Fergus of the Sweet Lips," said Finn then, "and

go praise my son and encourage him." So Fergus went down to the edge of

the sea, and he said: "It is a good fight you are making, Oisin, and

there are many to see it, for the armies of the whole world are looking

at you, and the Fianna of Ireland. And show now," he said, "your ways

and your greatness, for you never went into any place but some woman of

high beauty or some king's daughter set her love on you." Then Oisin's

courage increased, and anger came on him and he linked his hands behind

the back of the foreigner and put him down on the sand under the sea

with his face upwards, and did not let him rise till the life was gone

from him. And he brought the body to shore then, and struck off his head

and brought it to the Fianna.

 

But there was great grief and anger on Dolar Durba, the eldest of the

sons of Garb, that had stopped in the ship, and he made a great oath

that he would have satisfaction for his brothers. And he went to the

High King, and he said: "I will go alone to the strand, and I will kill

a hundred men every day till I have made an end of the whole of the

armies of Ireland; and if any one of your own men comes to interfere

with me," he said, "I will kill him along with them."

 

The next morning Finn asked who would lead the battle that day. "I

will," said Dubhan, son of Donn. "Do not," said Finn, "but let some

other one go."

 

But Dubhan went to the strand, and a hundred men along with him; and

there was no one there before him but Dolar Durba, and he said he was

there to fight with the whole of them. And Dubhan's men gave a great

shout of laughter when they heard that; but Dolar Durba rushed on them,

and he made an end of the whole hundred, without a man of them being

able to put a scratch on him. And then he took a hurling stick and a

ball, and he threw up the ball and kept it in the air with the hurl from

the west to the east of the strand without letting it touch the ground

at all. And then he put the ball on his right foot and kicked it high

into the air, and when it was coming down he gave it a kick of his left

foot and kept it in the air like that, and he rushing like a blast of

March wind from one end of the strand to the other. And when he had done

that he walked up and down on the strand making great boasts, and

challenging the men of Ireland to do the like of those feats. And every

day he killed a hundred of the men that were sent against him.

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER VIII. THE KING OF ULSTER'S SON

 

 

Now it chanced at that time that news of the great battle that was going

on reached to the court of the King of Ulster. And the king's son, that

was only twelve years of age, and that was the comeliest of all the

young men of Ireland, said to his father: "Let me go to help Finn, son

of Cumhal, and his men." "You are not old enough, or strong enough, boy;

your bones are too soft," said the king. And when the boy went on

asking, his father shut him up in some close place, and put twelve

young men, his foster-brothers, in charge of him.

 

There was great anger on the young lad then, and he said to his

foster-brothers: "It is through courage and daring my father won a great

name for himself in his young youth, and why does he keep me from

winning a name for myself? And let you help me now," he said, "and I

will be a friend to you for ever." And he went on talking to them and

persuading them till he got round them all, and they agreed to go with

him to join Finn and the Fianna. And when the king was asleep, they went

into the house where the arms were kept, and every lad of them brought

away with him a shield and a sword and a helmet and two spears and two

greyhound whelps. And they went across Ess Ruadh in the north, and

through Connacht of many tribes, and through Caille an Chosanma, the

Woods of Defence, that were called the choice of every king and the true

honour of every poet, and into Ciarraighe, and so on to the White

Strand.

 

And when they came there Dolar Durba was on the strand, boasting before

the men of Ireland. And Oisin was rising up to go against him, for he

said he would sooner die fighting with him than see the destruction he

was doing every day on his people. And all the wise men and the fighting

men and the poets and the musicians of the Fianna gave a great cry of

sorrow when they heard Oisin saying that.

 

And the King of Ulster's son went to Finn and stood before him and

saluted him, and Finn asked who was he, and where did he come from. "I

am the son of the King of Ulster," he said; "and I am come here, myself

and my twelve foster-brothers, to give you what help we can." "I give

you a welcome," said Finn.

 

Just then they heard the voice of Dolar Durba, very loud and boastful.

"Who is that I hear?" said the king's son. "It is a man of the

foreigners asking for a hundred of my men to go and meet him," said

Finn.

 

Now, when the twelve foster-brothers heard that, they said no word but

went down to the strand, unknown to the king's son and to Finn.

 

"You are not a grown man," said Conan; "and neither yourself or your

comrades are fit to face any fighting man at all." "I never saw the

Fianna of Ireland till this day," said the young lad; "but I know well

that you are Conan Maol, that never says a good word of any man. And you

will see now," he said, "if I am in dread of that man on the strand, or

of any man in the world, for I will go out against him by myself."

 

But Finn kept him back and was talking with him; but then Conan began

again, and he said: "It is many men Dolar Durba has made an end of, and

there was not a man of all those that could not have killed a hundred of

the like of you every day."

 

When the king's son heard that, there was great anger on him, and he

leaped up, and just then Dolar Durba gave a great shout on the strand.

"What is he giving, that shout for?" said the king's son. "He is shouting

for more men to come against him," said Conan, "for he is just after

killing your twelve comrades." "That is a sorrowful story," said the

king's son.

 

And with that he took hold of his arms, and no one could hold him or

hinder him, and he rushed down to the strand where Dolar Durba was. And

all the armies of the strangers gave a great shout of laughter, for they

thought all Finn's men had been made an end of, when he sent a young lad

like that against their best champion. And when the boy heard that, his

courage grew the greater, and he fell on Dolar Durba and gave him many

wounds before he knew he was attacked at all. And they fought a very

hard fight together, till their shields and their swords were broken in

pieces. And that did not stop the battle, but they grappled together

and fought and wrestled that way, till the tide went over them and

drowned them both. And when the sea went over them the armies on each

side gave out a great sorrowful cry.

 

And after the ebb-tide on the morrow, the two bodies were found cold and

quiet, each one held fast by the other. But Dolar Durba was beneath the

king's son, so they knew it was the young lad was the best and had got

the victory. And they buried him, and put a flag-stone over his grave,

and keened him there.

 

CHAPTER IX. (THE HIGH KING'S SON)

Then Finn said he would send a challenge himself to Daire Bonn, the King

of the Great World. But Caoilte asked leave to do that day's fighting

himself. And Finn said he would agree to that if he could find enough of

men to go with him. And he himself gave him a hundred men, and Oisin did

the same, and so on with the rest. And he gave out his challenge, and it

was the son of the King of the Great Plain that answered it. And while

they were in the heat of the fight, a fleet of ships came into the

harbour, and Finn thought they were come to help the foreigners. But

Oisin looked at them, and he said: "It is seldom your knowledge fails

you, Finn, but those are friends of our own: Fiachra, son of the King of

the Fianna of the Bretons, and Duaban Donn, son of the King of

Tuathmumain with his own people."

 

And when those that were in the ships came on shore, they saw Caoilte's

banner going down before the son of the King of the Great Plain. And

they all went hurrying on to his help, and between them they made an

end of the king's son and of all his people.

 

"Who will keep watch to-night?" said Finn then. "We will," said the nine

Garbhs of the Fianna, of Slieve Mis, and Slieve Cua, and Slieve Clair,

and Slieve Crot, and Slieve Muice, and Slieve Fuad, and Slieve Atha

Moir, and Dun Sobairce and Dundealgan.

 

And they were not long watching till they saw the King of the Men of

Dregan coming towards them, and they fought a fierce battle; and at the

end of the night there were left standing but three of the Garbhs, and

the King of the Men of Dregan. And they fought till their wits were gone

from them; and those four fell together, sole against sole, and lip

against lip.

 

And the fight went on from day to day, and from week to week, and there

were great losses on both sides. And when Fergus of the Sweet Lips saw

that so many of the Fianna were fallen, he asked no leave but went to

Teamhair of the Kings, where the High King of Ireland was, and he told

him the way it was with Finn and his people. "That is good," said the

High King, "Finn to be