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

Liamhain 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 Coban 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, her 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. Those are the chief leaders of the Tuatha de Danaan that

come to destroy our hill every year."

 

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: "These 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 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," said

Lugaidh'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

Bonn, 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."

 

Then Aedh and Flann, 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 shoulders

and they brought him away with them to the ford of the Slaine in the

great plain of Leinster, where the most of the Fianna were at that time;

and a Druid mist rose up about them that they could not be seen.

 

And they went up on a little hill over the ford, and they saw before

them four young men having crimson fringed cloaks and swords with gold

hilts, and four good hunting hounds along with them. And the young man

could not see them because of the mist, but Caoilte saw they were his

own two sons, Colla and Faolan, and two other young men of the Fianna,

and he could hear them talking together, and saying it was a year now

that Finn, son of Cumhal, was gone from them. "And what will the Fianna

of Ireland do from this out," said one of them, "without their lord and

their leader?" "There is nothing for them to do," said another, "but to

go to Teamhair and to break up there, or to find another leader for

themselves." And there was heavy sorrow on them for the loss of their

lord; and it was grief to Caoilte to be looking at them.

 

And he and the two sons of Midhir went back then by the Lake of the Two

Birds to Slieve-nam Ban, and they went into the hill.

 

And Finn and Donn gave a great welcome to Luibra, the physician, and

they showed him their two comrades that were lying in their wounds.

"Those men are brothers to me," said Donn, "and tell me how can they be

cured?" Luibra looked then at their wounds, and he said: "They can be

cured if I get a good reward." "You will get that indeed," said Caoilte;

"and tell me now," he said, "how long will it take to cure them?" "It

will take nine days," said Luibra. "It is a good reward you will get,"

said Caoilte, "and this is what it is, your own life to be left to you.

But if these young men are not healed," he said, "it is my own hand will

strike off your head."

 

And within nine days the physician had done a cure on them, and they

were as well and as sound as before.

 

And it was after that time the High King sent a messenger to bring the

Fianna to the Feast of Teamhair. And they all gathered to it, men and

women, boys and heroes and musicians. And Goll, son of Morna, was

sitting at the feast beside the king. "It is a great loss you have had,

Fianna of Ireland," said the king, "losing your lord and your leader,

Finn, son of Cumhal." "It is a great loss indeed," said Goll.

 

"There has no greater loss fallen on Ireland since the loss of Lugh, son

of Ethne," said the king. "What orders will you give to the Fianna now,

king?" said Goll. "To yourself, Goll," said the king, "I will give the

right of hunting over all Ireland till we know if the loss of Finn is

lasting." "I will not take Finn's place," said Goll, "till he has been

wanting to us through the length of three years, and till no person in

Ireland has any hope of seeing him again."

 

Then Ailbe of the Freckled Face said to the king: "What should these

seventeen queens belonging to Finn's household do?" "Let a safe, secret

sunny house be given to every one of them," said the king; "and let her

stop there and her women with her, and let provision be given to her for

a month and a quarter and a year till we have knowledge if Finn is alive

or dead."

 

Then the king stood up, and a smooth drinking-horn in his hand, and he

said: "It would be a good thing, men of Ireland, if any one among you

could get us news of Finn in hills or in secret places, or in rivers or

invers, or in any house of the Sidhe in Ireland or in Alban."

 

With that Berngal, the cow-owner from the borders of Slieve Fuad, that

was divider to the King of Ireland, said: "The day Finn came out from

the north, following after a deer of the Sidhe, and his five comrades

with him, he put a sharp spear having a shining head in my hand, and a

hound's collar along with it, and he bade me to keep them till he would

meet me again in the same place." Berngal showed the spear and the

collar then to the king and to Goll, and they looked at them and the

king said: "It is a great loss to the men of Ireland the man is that

owned this collar and this spear. And were his hounds along with him?"

he said. "They were," said Berngal; "Bran and Sceolan were with Finn,

and Breac and Lainbhui with Caoilte, and Conuall and Comrith with

Lugaidh's Son."

 

The High King called then for Fergus of the True Lips, and he said: "Do

you know how long is Finn away from us?" "I know that well," said

Fergus; "it is a month and a quarter and a year since we lost him. And

indeed it is a great loss he is to the Fianna of Ireland," he

said, "himself and the men that were with him." "It is a great loss

indeed," said the king, "and I have no hope at all of finding those six

that were the best men of Ireland or of Alban."

 

And then he called to Cithruadh, the Druid, and he said: "It is much

riches and many treasures Finn gave you, and tell us now is he living or

is he dead?" "He is living," said Cithruadh then. "But as to where he

is, I will give no news of that," he said, "for he himself would not

like me to give news of it." There was great joy among them when they

heard that, for everything Cithruadh had ever foretold had come true.

"Tell us when will he come back?" said the king. "Before the Feast of

Teamhair is over," said the Druid, "you will see the Leader of the

Fianna drinking at it."

 

And as to Finn and his