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

said, "is brown and ruddy and white-toothed, and he

is leading a yellow-spotted hound by a chain of bright bronze." "It is

well you have made your report of them," said Conan, "and I know them by

it; for the man you spoke of first is Finn, son of Cumhal, Head of the

Fianna of Ireland, and Bran in his hand; and the other is Diorraing, and

Sceolan in his hand. And go now quickly and let them in," he said.

 

Finn and Diorraing were brought in then, and they got good attendance,

and their arms were taken from them, and a grand feast was made ready

that pleased them well. And the wife of Conan was at the one side of

Finn, and his daughter, Finndealbh, of the Fair Shape, was at his other

side. And they had a great deal of talk together, and at last, seeing

her so beautiful, the colour of gold on her curled hair, and her eyes as

blue as flowers, and a soft four-cornered cloak fastened at her breast

with a silver pin, he asked her of Conan for his wife. "Leave asking

that, Finn," said Conan, "for your own courage is not greater than the

courage of the man she is promised to." "Who is that?" said Finn. "He is

Fatha, son of the King of Ess Ruadh," said Conan. "Your wounds and your

danger on yourself," said Diorraing; "and it would be right," he said,

"that stammering tongue that gave out those words to be tied and to be

shortened for ever, and a drink of death to be given to you; for if the

whole of the Men of Dea," he said, "could be put into the one body, Finn

would be better than them all." "Leave off, Diorraing," said Finn, "for

it is not fighting I am here, but asking a wife, and I will get her

whether the Men of Dea think good or bad of it." "I will not be making a

quarrel with you," said Conan, "but I put you under bonds as a true

hero to answer me everything I am going to ask you." "I will do that,"

said Finn.

 

With that Conan put questions to Finn as to his birth and his rearing,

and the deeds he had done since he came to the Fianna, and Finn gave

full answers to them all. And at last he said: "Let us go on with this

no longer, but if you have musicians with you, let them be brought to us

now; for it is not my custom," he said, "to be for a single night

without music." "Tell me this first," said Conan, "who was it made the

Dord Fiann, the Mutterer of the Fianna, and when was it made?" "I will

tell you the truth of that," said Finn; "it was made in Ireland by the

three sons of Cearmait Honey-Mouth; and nine men used to be sounding it,

and since it came to me I have fifty men sounding it." "And tell me

this," said Conan, "what is the music pleased you best of all you ever

heard?" "I will tell you that," said Finn; "the time the seven

battalions of the Fianna are gathered in the one place and raise their

spear-shafts over their heads, and the sharp whining of the clear, cold

wind goes through them, that is very sweet to me. And when the

drinking-hall is set out in Almhuin, and the cup-bearers give out the

bright cups to the chief men of the Fianna, that is very sweet to me;

and it is sweet to me to be listening to the voice of the sea-gull and

the heron, and the noise of the waves of Traig Liath, the song of the

three sons of Meardha, the whistle of Lugaidh's Son, and the voice of

the cuckoo in the beginning of summer, and the grunting of the pigs on

the Plain of Eithne, and the shouting of laughter in Doire." And it is

what he said: "The Dord in the green-topped woods, the lasting wash of

the waves against the shore, the noise of the waves at Traig Liath

meeting with the river of the White Trout; the three men that came to

the Fianna, a man of them gentle and a man of them rough, another man of

them ploughing the clouds, they were sweeter than any other thing.

 

"The grey mane of the sea, the time a man cannot follow its track; the

swell that brings the fish to the land, it is sleep-music, its sound is

sweet.

 

"Feargall, son of Fionn, a man that was ready-handed, it is long his

leap was, it is well marked his track is; he never gave a story that did

not do away with secrets; it is his voice was music of sleep to me."

 

And when Finn had answered all the questions so well, Conan said he

would give him his daughter, and that he would have a wedding-feast

ready at the end of a month.

 

They spent the rest of the night then in sleep; but Finn saw a dreadful

vision through his sleep that made him start three times from his bed.

"What makes you start from your bed, Finn?" said Diorraing. "It was the

Tuatha de Danaan I saw," said he, "taking up a quarrel against me, and

making a great slaughter of the Fianna."

 

Now as to the Fianna, they rested at Fotharladh of Moghna that night,

and they were downhearted, having no tidings of Finn. And early on the

morrow two of them, Bran Beag and Bran Mor, rose up and went to

Mac-an-Reith, son of the Ram, that had the gift of true knowledge, and

they asked him where did Finn spend the night. And Mac-an-Reith was

someway unwilling to tell them, but at the last he said it was at the

house of Conan of Ceann Slieve.

 

The two Brans went on then to Conan's house, and Finn made them welcome;

but they blamed him when they heard he was taking a wife, and none of

his people with him. "Bid all the Fianna to come to the feast at the end

of a month," said Conan then. So Finn and Diorraing and the two Brans

went back to where the Fianna were and told them all that had happened,

and they went on to Almhuin.

 

And when they were in the drinking-hall at Almhuin that night, they saw

the son of the King of Ireland coming to where they were. "It is a pity

the king's son to have come," said Finn; "for he will not be satisfied

without ordering everything in the hall in his own way." "We will not

take his orders," said Oisin, "but we will leave the half of the hall to

him, and keep the other half ourselves."

 

So they did that; but it happened that in the half of the house that was

given up to the King of Ireland's son, there were sitting two of the Men

of Dea, Failbhe Mor and Failbhe Beag; and it is what they said, that it

is because they were in that side of the hall it was given up. "It is a

pity," said Failbhe Beag, "this shame and this great insult to have been

put on us to-night; and it is likely Finn has a mind to do more than

that again to us," he said, "for he is going to bring away the woman

that is promised to the third best man of the Tuatha de Danaan, and

against the will of her father and mother." And these two went away

early in the morning to Fionnbhar of Magh Feabhail, and told him of the

insults Finn and the Fianna of Ireland had a mind to put on the Tuatha

de Danaan.

 

And when Fionnbhar that was king over the Tuatha de Danaan heard that,

he sent out messengers through the length of Ireland to gather them all

to him. And there came six good battalions to him on the edge of Loch

Derg Dheirc at the end of a month; and it was the same day Conan had the

wedding-feast made ready for Finn and his people.

 

And Finn was at Teamhair Luachra at that time, and when he heard the

feast was ready, he set out to go to it. And it chanced that the most of

the men he had with him at that time were of the sons of Morna. And when

they were on their way, Finn said to Goll, "O Goll," he said, "I never

felt any fear till now going to a feast. And there are but few of my

people with me," he said; "and I know there is no good thing before me,

but the Men of Dea are going to raise a quarrel against me and to kill

my people." "I will defend you against anything they may do," said Goll.

 

They went on then to Conan's house, and there was a welcome before them,

and they were brought into the drinking-hall, and Finn was put in the

place beside the door, and Goll on his right and Finndeilb, of the Fair

Shape, on his left, and all the rest in the places they were used to.

 

And as to Fionnbhar of Magh Feabhail and the Tuatha de Danaan, they put

a Druid mist about themselves and went on, hidden and armed, in sixteen

battalions, to the lawn before Conan's house. "It is little profit we

have being here," they said then, "and Goll being with Finn against us."

"Goll will not protect him this time," said Ethne, the woman-Druid, "for

I will entice Finn out of the house, however well he is watched."

 

She went on to the house then, and took her stand before Finn outside.

"Who is that before me?" she said then. "It is I myself," said Finn. "I

put you under the bonds a true hero never broke," she said, "to come out

to me here." When Finn heard that, he made no delay and went out to her;

and for all there were so many in the house, not one of them took notice

of him going, only Caoilte, and he followed him out. And at the same

time the Tuatha de Danaan let out a flock of blackbirds having fiery

beaks, that pitched on the breasts of all the people in the house, and

burned them and destroyed them, till the young lads and the women and

children of the place ran out on all sides, and the woman of the house,

Conan's wife, was drowned in the river outside the dun.

 

But as to Ethne, the woman-Druid, she asked Finn would he run against

her. "For it is to run a race against you I called you out," she said.

"What length of a race?" said Finn. "From Doire da Torc, the Wood of the

Two Boars, to Ath Mor, the Great Ford," she said. So they set out, but

Finn got first over the ford. And Caoilte was following after them, and

Finn was urging him, and he said: "It is ashamed of your running you

should be, Caoilte, a woman to be going past you." On that Caoilte made

a leap forward, and when he was in front of the witch he turned about

and gave a blow of his sword that made two equal halves of her.

 

"Power and good luck to you, Caoilte!" said Finn; "for though it is many

a good blow you have struck, you never struck a better one than this."

 

They went back then to the lawn before Conan's dun, and there they found

the whole company of the Tuatha de Danaan, that had put the Druid mist

off them. "It seems to me, Caoilte," said Finn, "that we are come into

the middle of our enemies."

 

With that they turned their backs to one another, and they were attacked

on all sides till groans of weakness from the unequal fight were forced

from Finn. And when Goll, that was in the house, heard that, he said:

"It is a pity the Tuatha de Danaan to have enticed Finn and Caoilte away

from us; and let us go to their help and make no delay," he said.

 

Then he rushed out, and all that were there of the Fianna with him, and

Conan of Ceann Slieve and his sons. And great anger came on Goll, that

he looked like a tall mountain under his grey shield in the battle. And

he broke through the Tuatha de Danaan till he reached to Fionnbhar their

leader, and they attacked one another, cutting and wounding, till at the

last Fionnbhar of Magh Feabhail fell by the strokes of Goll. And a great

many others fell in that battle, and there never