PR 
 
 5904 
 
 05 
 
 1907a 
 
 MAIN 
 
 UC-NRLF 
 
 C 5 5Efl flfib 
 
THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 GIFT OF 
 
 Kenneth Macgowan 
 
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 I 
 
 
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 . ON BAILE'S STRAND 
 
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 W. B. YEATS 
 
 1 ft 
 
 Tfcalflr^ h/'0 
 
 BY 
 
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 London : A. H. BULLEN, 
 
 
 MCMVII 
 
 
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 "■ 3 *^ r ^. 
 
 Sfo4 
 
 ' 0>-N STAC*. 
 
 ON BAILE'S STRAND 
 
 Cuchulain, the King of Muirthemnc. 
 
 Conchubar, the High King of Ulad. 
 
 Daire, a King. 
 
 Fintain, a blind man. 
 
 Barach, a fool. 
 
 A Young Man. 
 
 Young Kings and old Kings. 
 Scene. A great ball at Dundealgan ; not" Cuchu- 
 lain s great ancient house" but an assembly house nearer 
 to the sea. A big door at the back, and through the door 
 misty light as of sea mist. There are many chairs on 
 either side raised one above another, tier above tier. 
 One of these chairs, which is turned towards the front 
 of the stage, is bigger than the others. An elaborate 
 cloal^ lies on a chair at the other side. Somewhere at 
 the back^ there is a table with flagons of ale upon it and 
 drinking horns. There is a small door at one side of 
 the hall. A Fool and Blind Man come in through 
 the door at the bac\. They wear patched and ragged 
 clothes, and the Blind Man leans upon a staff. 
 
 Fool. What a clever man you are, though you 
 are blind ! There's nobody with two eyes in his 
 head that is as clever as you are. Who but you 
 could have thought that the henwife sleeps every 
 day a little at noon ! I would never be able to 
 steal anything if you didn't tell me where to look 
 
 5WWV"R 
 
 f.xmumtum m . , ,, 
 

 
 for it And what a good cook you are ! You 
 ake the fowl out of my hands after I have stol" 
 t and you pluck ,t, and put it into the big pot 
 3t ?*** there > ^d I can go out and run races 
 with the witches at the edge of the wave and g 
 an appetite ; and when I've got it there's th, F 
 waiting inside for me done to the'turn 1 ^ 
 
 BhndMan. \JVh is feeli abom 
 Done to the turn. ^ J 
 
 Fool. [Putting his arm round Blind Man's neckl 
 Come now, I'll have a leg and you'll have S 
 and we'll draw lots for the wish-bone. I'll be nraif 
 >ng you-I'„ be praising you while we'r eS 
 it-for your good plans and for your good cook 
 
 z co^ 8 nobody in . the ^*£Sss 
 
 man. Come come-wa.t a minute-I shouldn't 
 
 ?o a r V me H T *ff - P* m S ° me ** -k 
 for me, and I wouldn't let them find me Don't 
 
 ell it to any body, Blind Man. There are some 
 
 hat follow me: Boann herself out of the Zl 
 
 and Fand out of the deep sea-witches thev Ire 
 
 and they come by in the wind and the/cl' 
 
 ' G,ve a k lss , Fool, give a kiss I '' Tha^whTt 
 
 hey cry. That's wide enough ; all the w i"h e 
 
 can come ,n now. I wouldn't have them b at a 
 
 the door and say, « Where is the Fool ? Why hi 
 
 th7b KM ^ ? thC d °° r? " Ma ^ be *«»K5 
 the bubbling of a pot and come in and sit on S 
 
 ground-but we won't give them any of he fowl 
 
 tT:r e t mgobacktothesea ' ieti g ob!ct 
 
 Blind Man. [Feeling legs of chair w ith his hands 1 
 4 
 
 Ah ! [Then in a louder voice as he feels the back 
 of it.] Ah — ah 
 
 Fool. Why do you say " ah — ah " ? 
 
 Blind Man. I know the big chair. It is to-day 
 the High King Conchubar is coming. They have 
 brought out his chair. He is going to be Cuchulain's 
 master in earnest from this day out. It is that he's 
 coming for. 
 
 Fool. He must be a great man to be Cuchulain's 
 master. 
 
 Blind Man. So he is. He is a great man. He 
 is over all the rest of the kings of Ireland. 
 
 Fool. Cuchulain's master ! I thought Cuchulain 
 could do anything he liked. 
 
 Blind Man. So he did, so he did ; but he ran too 
 wild, and Conchubar is coming to-day to put an 
 oath upon him that will stop his rambling and 
 make him as biddable as a house dog and keep 
 him always at his hand. He will sit in this chair 
 and put the oath upon him. [He sits in chair. 
 
 Fool. How will he do that ? 
 
 Blind Man. You have no wits to understand 
 such things. He will sit up in this chair, and he'll 
 say, " Take the oath, Cuchulain ; I bid you take 
 the oath. Do as I tell you. What are your wits 
 compared with mine ? And what are your riches 
 compared with mine ? And what sons have you 
 to pay your debts and to put a stone over you when 
 you die ? Take the oath, I tell you ; take a strong 
 oath." 
 
 Fool. [Crumpling himself up and whining.'] I will 
 not — I'll take no oath — I want my dinner. 
 
 S 
 
 1 !.»iH>«--' 
 
 ^W*j*fttfWM^S^JRS^K : 
 
■--■tl 1. 
 
 Blind Man. Hush ! hush ! It is not done yet. 
 tool. You said it was done to a turn 
 **W : Jte, Did I, now ! Well, it' might be 
 done and not done. The wings might be white, 
 but the legs might be red ; the flesh might stick 
 hard to the bones and not come away in the teeth 
 ... but believe me, Fool, it will be well done 
 before you put your teeth in it. 
 
 Fool .My teeth are growing long with the hunger. 
 Bhnd Man I'll tell you a story. The kings 
 have story tellers while they are waiting for their 
 dinner. I will tell you a story with a fight in it 
 a story with a champion in it, and a ship and a 
 queen s son that has his mind set on killing some- 
 body that you and I know. 
 
 Fool Who is that ? Who is he coming to kill ? 
 Blind Man. Wait, now, till you hear. When 
 you were stealing the fowl I was lying in a hole in 
 the sand, and I heard three men coming with a 
 shuffling sort of noise. They were wounded and 
 groaning. 
 
 Fool. Go on, tell me about the fight 
 Blind Man. There had been a fight, a great 
 fight, a tremendous great fight. A young man had 
 landed on the shore, the guardians of the shore 
 had asked his name and he had refused to tell it 
 and he had killed one and others had run away. * 
 Fool. That's enough. Come on, now, to the fowl. 
 I wish it was bigger. I wish it was as big as a goose 
 Bhnd Man. Hush! I haven't told you S I 
 know who that young man is. I heard the men who 
 were running away say he had red hair, that he came 
 
 6 
 
 from Aoife's country, that he was coming to kill 
 Cuchulain. 
 
 Fool. Nobody could do that. 
 • [To a tune.] 
 Cuchulain has killed kings, 
 Kings and sons of kings, 
 Dragons out of the water, 
 And witches out of the air, 
 Bccanachs and Bananachs and people of the woods. 
 Blind Man. Hush ! hush ! 
 Fool. [Still singing] 
 
 Witches that steal the milk, 
 Fomor that steal the children, 
 Hags that have heads like hares, 
 Hares that have .claws like witches, 
 All riding a cock-horse. 
 [Spoken.] 
 Out of the very bottom of the bitter black North. 
 Blind Man. Hush, I say ! 
 
 Fool. Does Cuchulain know that he is coming to 
 kill him ? 
 
 Blind Man. How would he know that with his 
 head in the clouds ? He doesn't care for common 
 fighting. Why would he put himself out, and 
 nobody in it but that young man ? Now, if it 
 were a white fawn that might turn into a queen 
 before morning — 
 
 Fool. Come to the fowl. I wish it was as big as a 
 
 pig. A fowl with goose-grease and pig's crackling. 
 
 Blind Man. No hurry, no hurry. I know whose 
 
 son it is. 1 wouldn't tell anybody else, but I will 
 
 tell you. A secret is better to you than your dinner. 
 
 7 
 
 _..._. : _^„ „ . ._„, r ..^ _„— 
 
You like being told secrets. 
 Fool. Tell me the secret. 
 
 Blind Man. That young man is Aoife's son. . . 
 I am sure it is Aoife's son ; it is borne in upon 
 me that it is Aoife's son. You have often heard 
 me talking of Aoife, the great woman fighter 
 Cuchulain got the mastery over in the North ? 
 
 Fool. I know, I know. She is one of those cross 
 queens that live in hungry Scotland. 
 
 Blind Man. I am sure it is her son. I was in 
 Aoife's country for a long time. 
 
 Fool. That was before you were blinded for 
 putting a curse upon the wind. 
 
 Blind Man. There was a boy in her house that 
 had her own red colour on him, and everybody 
 said he was to be brought up to kill Cuchulain, 
 that she hated Cuchulain. She used to put a 
 helmet on a pillar stone and call it Cuchulain and 
 set him casting at it. . . . There is a step outside 
 — Cuchulain's step. 
 
 [Cuchulain passes by in the mist outside the big 
 door. 
 Fool. Where is Cuchulain going ? 
 Blind Man. He is going to meet Conchubar, 
 that has bidden him to take the oath. 
 
 Fool. Ah 1 an oath, Blind Man. . . . How can 
 I remember so many things at once ? Who is 
 going to take an oath ? 
 
 Blind Man. Cuchulain is going to take an oath 
 to Conchubar, who is High King. 
 
 Fool. What a mix-up you make of everything, 
 Blind Man ! You were telling me one story, and 
 
 now you are telling me another story. How can 
 I understand things, when they begin to happen, 
 if you mix up everything at the beginning ?— 
 Wait till I settle it out. [Takes off shoes.] There 
 now, there's Cuchulain, and there is the young 
 man that is coming to kill him, and Cuchulain 
 doesn't know. But where's Conchubar ? [Takes 
 bag from side.] That's Conchubar with all his 
 riches. — Cuchulain — Conchubar — the Young 
 Man.— And where's Aoife ? [Throws up cap.] 
 There is Aoife, high up on the mountains in high 
 hungry Scotland. [Begins putting on shoes.] May- 
 be it's not true after all. Maybe it was your 
 own making up. It's many a time you cheated 
 me before with your lies. Come to the cooking- 
 pot, my stomach is pinched and rusty. Would 
 you have it be creaking like a gate ? 
 
 Blind Man. I tell you it's true. And more than 
 that is true. If you listen to what I say you'll 
 forget your stomach. 
 Fool. I won't ! 
 
 Blind Man. Listen. I know who the young 
 
 man's father is, but 1 won't say ; I would be afraid to 
 
 say. ... Ah, Fool, you would forget everything 
 
 if you could know who the young man's father is ! 
 
 Fool. Who is it ? Tell me now, quick, or I'll 
 
 shake you. Come, out with it, or I'll shake you ! 
 
 [A murmer of voices in the distance. 
 
 Blind Man. Wait, wait, there's somebody 
 
 coming. ... It is Cuchulain is coming. He's 
 
 coming back with the High King. Go and ask 
 
 Cuchulain. He'll tell you. It's little you'll care 
 
 9 
 
 ) 
 
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 ffmflWaBMB W " WJ-* "y? - ? 
 
Lj ""'--~l ■!■•«■ | ld _±_ 
 
 
 ITlTJfftr-ir- ^'j'-ffiftft 
 
 
 was nI"f aS . ""• CuchuIai » will know. He 
 side'} Bu " T m ' • ^^ ^^ • ^ « 
 
 afraid rr n °' W ° nt ask him - ! wouJ d be 
 
 arra,d [Grfy ^ t0Wards door 
 
 Yes wl, ask hi What harm <P£j 
 
 The blmd man sa.d I was to ask hi m .-r G jL ,„ 
 
 He m.ght k,U me.-l have but killed hens and 
 geese and p Ig , He has killed kings. rZs up 
 again almost to door at back.] Who savsV 
 ^aid P IVn not afraid; I'J J ow d" \l 
 askhm, -No, no, Cuchulain, V m not £ ™ 
 ask you. [*Hw* v *.Ar» J *fcj g g 
 
 He has killed kings, 
 
 Kings and the sons of kings 
 
 Dragons out of the water, 
 
 And witches out of the air 
 Bocanachs and Bananachs and people of the wood 
 
 1 sid r e U VX\ ^"*%*J1 
 
 ^•Cuchuk.^Conchubar^d^ 
 
 the big door at the back. While they are still 
 outside Cuchulain's W « heardiaisUt 
 anger. He is a dark man, something over forty 
 year < of 'age Conchubar * much older, though 
 not feeble-looking. & 
 
 CUCbU ltr^7 aK ' haVC kil ' ed ™ »i*ou, 
 
 your bidding, 
 
 And have rewarded others at my own pleasure, 
 
 io 
 
 Because of half a score of trifling things, 
 
 You lay this oath upon me ; and now — and now 
 
 You add another pebble to the heap, 
 
 And I must be your man, wellnigh your bondsman, 
 
 Because a youngster out of Aoife's country 
 
 Has found the shore ill guarded. 
 
 Conchubar. He came to land 
 
 While you were somewhere out of sight and 
 
 hearing ; 
 Hunting or dancing with your wild companions. 
 
 Cuchulain. He can be driven out. I'll not be 
 bound. 
 I'll dance or hunt, or quarrel or make love, 
 Wherever or whenever I've a mind to. 
 If time had not put water in your blood 
 You never would have thought it. 
 
 Conchubar. I would leave 
 
 A strong and settled country to my children. 
 
 Cuchulain. And I must be obedient in all things; 
 Give up my will to yours, go where you please, 
 Come where you will, sit at the council-board 
 Among the unshapely bodies of old men! 
 I, whose mere name has kept this country safe, 
 I, that in early days have driven out 
 Maeve of Cruachan and the northern pirates, 
 The hundred kings of Sorcha and the kings 
 Out of the Garden in the East of the World ! 
 Must I that held you on the throne, when all 
 Had pulled you from it, swear obedience 
 As if I were some cattle-raising king ? 
 Are my shins speckled with the heat of the fire, 
 Or have my hands no skill but to make figures 
 
 1 1 
 
. HiH 
 
 
 Upon the ashes with a stick ? Am I 
 
 So slack and idle that I need a whip 
 
 Before 1 serve you ? 
 
 Conchubar No, no whip, Cuchulain. 
 
 But every day my children come and say : 
 
 I his man is growing harder to endure 
 How can we be at safety with this man, 
 
 1 hat nobody can buy or bid or bind ? 
 
 We shall be at his mercy when you are gone. 
 
 He burns the earth as if it were a fire, 
 
 And time can never touch him." 
 
 Cuchulain. a. • ... 
 
 n r And so the tale 
 
 (jrows fine r yet, and I am to obey 
 Whatever child you set upon the throne 
 As if it were yourself! 
 
 Conchubar. Most certainly. 
 
 I am High King, my son shall be High Kin e - 
 And you, for all the wildness of your blood 
 And though your father came out of the sun 
 Are but a little king, and weigh but light 
 In anything that touches government, 
 If put into the balance with my children 
 
 Cuchulain. It's well that we should sneak our 
 minds out plainly, 
 For when we die we shall be spoken of 
 In many countries. We in our young days 
 Have seen the heavens like a burning cloud 
 Brooding upon the world, and being more 
 Than men can be, now that cloud's lifted up; 
 We should be the more truthful, Conchubar 
 I do not like your children. They have no pith 
 No marrow in their bones, and will lie soft 
 
 12 
 
 Where you and I lie hard. 
 
 Conchubar. You rail at them 
 
 Because you have no children of your own. 
 
 Cuchulain. I think myself most lucky that I leave 
 No pallid ghost or mockery of a man 
 To drift and mutter in the corridors 
 Where I have laughed and sung. 
 
 Conchubar. That is not true, 
 
 For all your boasting of the truth between us, 
 For there is none that having house and lands, 
 That have been in the one family, 
 And called by the one name for centuries, 
 But is made miserable if he know 
 They are to pass into a stranger's keeping, 
 As yours will pass. 
 
 Cuchulain. The most of men feel that ; 
 
 But you and I leave names upon the harp. 
 
 Conchubar. You play with arguments as lawyers 
 do, 
 And put no heart in them. 1 know your thoughts, 
 For we have slept under the one cloak and drunk 
 From the one wine cup. 1 know you to the bone. 
 I have heard you cry — aye, in your very sleep — 
 " I have no son ! " and with such bitterness 
 That I have gone upon my knees and prayed 
 That it might be amended. 
 
 Cuchulain. For you thought 
 
 That I should be as biddable as others 
 Had I their reason for it ; but that's not true, 
 For I would need a weightier argument 
 Than one that marred me in the copying, 
 As I have that clean hawk out of the air, 
 
 '3 
 
 JiHWJjWia 
 
 ^mmm 
 
That as men say begot this body of mine 
 
 Upon a mortal woman. 
 
 Conchubar. Now as eyer 
 
 Jou mock at every measurable hope, 
 And would have nothing or impossible things 
 Wha eye has ever looked upon the child g 
 
 Would satisfy a mind like that? 
 
 Cuchulain. T ... 
 
 %. , 1 would leave 
 
 house and name to none that would not face 
 Even myself in battle. '" not face 
 
 C^W Being swift of foot, 
 
 And making light of every common chance 
 You should have overtaken on the hills 
 Some daughter of the air, or on the shore 
 A daughter of the Country-under-Wave. 
 Cuchulain. I am not blasphemous. 
 Conchubar. v 
 
 Our queens, and wou.d „„ t call a S/^T 
 If one of them had borne him. 
 Cuchulain. t t. 
 
 /~ l i L ftave °ot said it 
 
 Toat '^ ' remCmber " W h -4'ou 
 
 lYscn n H the ) Ie r S ?n y ° Ur bl ° 0d ' that *«* was one 
 In S otland, where you had learned the trade of Z 
 
 That had a stone-pale cheek and red-brown h2 
 
 And that although you had loved other wl en ' 
 
 You d sooner that fierce woman of the camp 
 
 CuT, " S v tHan any qUeen amo «g them. 
 CkfeW You call her a fierce woman of the 
 camp ; lilc 
 
 You'd a hi ng HVed am ° ng tHe ^''""-g-wheels, 
 You d have no woman near that would not say, 
 
 '4 
 
 "Ah, how wise! " "What will you have for supper?" 
 "What shall I wear that I may please you, sir?" 
 And keep that humming through the day and night 
 Forever. A fierce woman of the camp ! — 
 But I am getting angry about nothing. 
 You have never seen her. Ah, Conchubar, had 
 
 you seen her, 
 With that high, laughing, turbulent head of hers 
 Thrown backward, and the bow-string at her ear, 
 Or sitting at the fire with those grave eyes 
 Full of good counsel as it were with wine, 
 Or when love ran through all the lineaments 
 Of her wild body — although she had no child, 
 None other had all beauty, queen or lover, 
 Or was so fitted to give birth to kings. 
 
 Conchubar. There's nothing I can say but drifts 
 you farther 
 From the one weighty matter. That very woman — 
 For I know well that you are praising Aoife — 
 Now hates you, and will leave no subtilty 
 Unknotted that might run into a noose 
 About your throat, no army in idleness 
 That might bring ruin on this land you serve. 
 
 Cuchulain. No wonder in that — no wonder at' 
 all in that. 
 I never have known love but as a kiss ■ 
 In the mid-battle, and a difficult truce 
 Of oil and water, candles and dark night, 
 Hillside and hollow, the hot-footed sun, 
 And the cold sliding, slippery-footed moon — 
 A brief forgiveness between opposites 
 That have been hatreds for three times the age 
 
 •5 
 
 ^<*W^i*^t ^iU b wmv m * *H * m^^ 
 
-.jj.-.i>i»>>»ii<if>-;>rti-,ilij->ji- _ 
 
 
 Of this long-'stnhVeU a 
 
 Are every dav m„ , n the w *Jls 
 
 OM counselors Ctt^ST ^ there - 
 A'^ younger kings tn ?d ^ Wl ' th me 
 T »at follow in your tu' r^ 8 ** flayers 
 Are held there by the o7 ' ^ aJ1 thes « 
 W * ^u be bound into T?" 7 ' 
 
 Y °u are but half a Jtf„ e a „H , i. ^ a " d **■' 
 1 «eed your nuW 3* ? ' but ha,f - 
 
 { ° UtSide the d °°r in tbe bke U y, t , , 
 
 — tree WO me» twojf' *"**& '*■ 
 W '/ fire. Th eZf w T° m *"* " *-* 
 
 **?*. [Gotng near to the door.] 
 
 H ™ks that have foS" 88 ° f a h, > h "est, 
 
 fnd looked upon tnT u e n d r,r theaiV 
 And sail upon the w.nd" ' ^ ° Ut * thi, 
 
 Would have me take an *?u "^ This ^ 
 
 ** *** listen^hi a tune°f ° * *°- 
 Iw ^-oreofi, £5^----% 
 
 . 16 
 
 And set the horses to the chariot-pole, 
 
 And send a messenger to the harp-players. 
 
 We'll find a level place among the woods 
 
 And dance awhile. 
 I 
 
 A Young King. Cuchulain, take the oath. 
 
 There is none here that would not have you take it. 
 
 Cuchulain. You'd have me take it ? Are you of 
 one mind ? 
 
 The Kings. All, all, all, all ! 
 
 A King. Do what the High King bids you. 
 
 Conchubar. There is not one but dreads this tur- 
 bulence, 
 Now that they are settled men. 
 
 Cuchulain. Are you so changed, 
 
 Or have I grown more dangerous of late ? 
 But that's not it. 1 understand it all. 
 It's you that have changed. You've wives and 
 
 children now, 
 And for that reason cannot follow one 
 That lives like a bird's fight from tree to tree — 
 It's time the years put water in my blood 
 And drowned the wildness of it, for all's changed, 
 But that unchanged. — I'll take what oath you will : 
 The moon, the sun, the water, light, or air, 
 I do not care how binding. 
 
 Conchubar. \_Who has seated himself in his great 
 chair.] On this fire 
 
 That has been lighted from your hearth and mine, 
 The older men shall be my witnesses, 
 The younger yours. The holders of the fire 
 Shall purify the thresholds of the house 
 With waving fire, and shut the outer door, 
 
 17 B 
 
 , 
 
 HIM 
 
 "WJW« n« '-. 
 
I 
 
 
 I 
 
 T°bw rtew ,t h : s " o f --hec Id ,„. makers 
 
 That the wiJd wJ|| n r C °nsidering 
 
 '« «■* ^Pe-eha^"™" '--ildo, S 
 
 «■■* Sir house 
 
 Barnes wJierv>v,T, 
 
 ^eth r esh^7, haSkn0Wn 
 
 Gat ^r on the wL d L h r hSt0ne > 
 Women none lu- dnVe 
 
 For they are but tV"" 1 thHve > 
 One J f wl "rfm ff wind 
 
 Out of memo d min | Wmd > 
 
 P'a«ed,„ theru „ m . X 
 
 ° r ' fcr ■■» shapes ,L W 
 "Ky would thank riTZ ■ Ve > 
 U «i' he had died 'f ""° hound * 
 Though the chl„ wounds . 
 
 0'4'dhuraf:r e , but '*m ; 
 
 o° d r th t atcan ~ 
 
 T ^™ade„ utofth f£- 
 
 18 
 
 Of the ungoverned unicorn ; 
 But the man is thrice forlorn, 
 Emptied, ruined, wracked, and lost, 
 That they follow, for at most 
 They will give him kiss for kiss 
 While they murmur "After this 
 Hatred may be sweet to the taste ; " 
 Those wild hands that have embraced 
 All his body can but shove 
 At the burning wheel of love 
 Till the side of hate comes up. 
 Therefore, in this ancient cup 
 May the sword-blades drink their fill 
 Of the home-brew there, until 
 They will have for master none 
 But the threshold and hearthstone. 
 \After "Memory and mind" their words die away 
 to a murmur ■, but are loud again at "Therefore 
 in." The others do not speak when these words 
 are loud. 
 Cuchulain. [Speaking while they are singing.] 
 I'll take and keep this oath, and from this day 
 1 shall be what you please, my nestlings. 
 Yet I had thought you one of those that praised 
 Whatever life could make the pulse run quickly, 
 Even though it were brief, and though you held 
 That a free gift was better than a forced ; 
 But that's all over. — I will keep it, too. 
 I never gave a gift and took it again. 
 If the wild horse should break the chariot-pole 
 It would be punished. Should that be in the 
 oath ? — 
 
 . »9 
 
 • 
 
 «S«BWH»™ 
 
 ^ ■t^u ■'■ i . ■ 
 
 •>?"?Mn j S*^ 
 
•ltiiMii-' *— M 
 
 — M — - ■. ~ I »„ 
 
 [Two of the women still ,;„ • 
 
 itoi & &,»* Jl, W '- » 
 ^ artob bedie , it . n J^», 
 
 are one. 0ne be, "«> as ">ese flames 
 
 With faithful service. 
 
 [The Kings kneel in a semicircle before 1 
 women a^Cuchukii, ,, 7 '*' *• 
 
 ^ Ak* w J % J o thlrd *»«an is at 
 
 That should be more tfJLST f ■'"'"'"« ° nes . 
 Give us the enduring wi ," t "^ °' m ' Wcss . 
 The friendliness of gj £* f ,^««chable hope, 
 
 '«' dearly. Tber, ),' ,, t, { 7*"* <** 
 on the way g ' has ^en loitering 
 
 And that 2Z o :tJ;Z d k CUCh ^"^^ 
 
 _ Young Man «J J r Z"Z°T' **' * 
 '"'«« 1 am of Aoife's a T m ; W ""'"- 
 
 20 
 
 
 ' 4 " : 
 
 [77>£ Kings n«A towards him. Cuchulain throws 
 himself between. 
 Cuchulain. Put up your swords. 
 
 He is but one. Aoife is far away. 
 
 Young Man. I have come alone into the midst of 
 you 
 To weigh this sword against Cuchulain's sword. 
 Conchubar. And are you noble ? for if of common 
 seed 
 You cannot weigh your sword against his sword 
 But in mixed battle. 
 
 Young Man. I am under bonds 
 To tell my name to no man ; but it's noble. 
 Conchubar. But I would know your name, and 
 not your bonds. 
 You cannot speak in the Assembly House 
 If you are not noble. 
 
 First King. Answer the High King 1 
 
 Young Man. I will give no other proof than the 
 hawk gives — 
 That it's no sparrow ! 
 
 [He is silent for a moment, then speaks to all. 
 Yet look upon me, kings. 
 1 too am of that ancient seed, and carry 
 The signs about this body and in these bones. 
 Cuchulain. To have shown the hawk's grey 
 feather is enough, 
 And you speak highly, too. Give me that helmetl 
 I'd thought they had grown weary sending cham- 
 pions. 
 That sword and belt will do. This fighting's 
 welcome. 
 
 21 
 
 -.". .'-'■- - . ■..■■--.'■ ' ■- ' " '" — 1 — ■ " ' ■ '' . ii . : - »' ' ■ " — 
 
The High King there has promised me his wisdom- 
 
 But the hawk's sleepy till its well-beloved 
 
 Cries out amid the acorns, or it has seen 
 
 Its enemy like a speck upon the sun. 
 
 What's wisdom to the hawk, when that clear eye 
 
 Is burning nearer up in the high air! 
 
 [Looks hard at Young Man; then comes down 
 steps and grasps the Young Man by his 
 shoulder. 
 Hither into the light ! [To Conchubar. 
 
 ' The very tint 
 
 Of her that I was speaking of but now. 
 Not a pin's difference. [T o Young Man. 
 
 „ 7 , , You a re from the North, 
 
 Where there are many that have that tint of hair— 
 Red-brown , the light red-brown. Come nearer,boy, 
 *or I would have another look at you 
 There's more likeness_a pale, a stone-pale cheek. 
 What brought you, boy? Have you no fear of 
 death f 
 
 ToungMan. Whether I live or die is in the Gods' 
 hands. 
 
 Cuchulain. That is all words, all words ; a young 
 man s talk. . ' e 
 
 I am their plough, their harrow, their very strength; 
 For he that sin the sun begot this body 
 Upon a mortal woman, and 1 have heard tell 
 It seemed as if he had outrun the moon 
 That he must follow always through waste heaven, 
 He loved so happily. He'll be but slow 
 ro break a tree that was so sweetly planted 
 Let s see that arm ! I'll see it if I like 
 
 
 22 
 
 That arm had a good father and a good mother, 
 But it is not like this. 
 
 Young Man. You are mocking me I 
 
 You think I am not worthy to be fought. 
 But I'll not wrangle but with this talkative knife. 
 
 Cuchulain. Put up your sword; I am not mocking 
 
 you. 
 I'd have you for my friend ; but if it's not 
 Because you have a hot heart and a cold eye, 
 I cannot tell the reason. [To Conchubar]. He has 
 
 got her fierceness, 
 And nobody is as fierce as those pale women. 
 And I will keep him with me, Conchubar, 
 That he may set my memory upon it 
 When the day's fading. 
 
 You will stop with us, 
 And we will hunt the deer and the wild bulls ; 
 And, when we have grown weary, light our fires 
 Between the wood and water, or on some mountain 
 Where the shape-changers of the morning come. 
 The High King there would make a mock of me 
 Because I did not take a wife among them. 
 Why do you hang your head ? It's a good life. 
 The head grows prouder in the light of the dawn, 
 And friendship thickens in the murmuring dark, 
 Where the spare hazels meet the wool-white foam. 
 But I can see there's no more need for words, 
 And that you'll be my friend from this day out. 
 Conchubar. He has come hither, not in his own 
 
 name, 
 But in Queen Aoife's name ; and has challenged us 
 In challenging the foremost man of us all. 
 
 *3 
 
 
 
- 
 
 Cuchnlain. Well ™,»I1 u 
 Conchubar We "' " e "' f« matter I 
 
 And that a fancy yJZT^^ does no( »»««■, 
 A whim „f thelXlT h * M * e *> 
 
 Fo r hav,-„ g „ one riteT g ?ar:„ ini '' 
 You cannot think as T A n l you > 
 
 A.h T ,o„h ig h'fc r I in d s r howou,dfc ™ 
 
 Cuchulain. r " 
 
 Re-mortar their ink. v 7 ° Ur ch ildren 
 
 And P ut m : r :;' u t Era**-* 
 
 f« I'd have aomethL too ' " *« *". ^ 
 We'll have this quarrel o° 3, ""***• ***■ 
 
 I had turned coward. C d sa ^ 
 
 Cuchulain. T ., 
 
 That Aoife'll know and J u ** Y ° U S ifts > 
 To have come ^tLlttEffi ""^ 
 
 He came to try me ri, ^ me this - 
 
 He challenged me to battle but If 
 
 Gave me this cloak, and vaSd Jr " " "^^ 
 By women of the Conn* ," h was woven 
 
 O- of the fleet 2B2£r1S^ 
 1 was afraid or tell h 1 ° f te,J he ' 
 No; tell h^l? 1 l-tLdte* 
 °" the north side of S, ^ C1 "° ak 
 
 s 'deofthe house, and was afraid. 
 
 24 
 
 ! 
 
 
 Conchubar. Some witch of the air has troubled 
 
 Cuchulain's mind. 
 Cuchulain. No witchcraft. His head is like a 
 woman's head 
 1 had a fancy for. 
 
 Conchubar. A witch of the air 
 
 Can make a leaf confound us with memories. 
 They ride upon the wind and hurl the spells 
 That make us nothing, out of the invisible wind. 
 They have gone to school to learn the trick of it. 
 Cuchulain. No, no, there's nothing out of com- 
 mon here ; 
 The winds are innocent. That arm-ring, boy ! 
 A King. If I've your leave, I'll take this chal- 
 lenge up. 
 Another King. No, give it me, High King, for 
 that wild Aoife 
 Has carried off my slaves. 
 
 Another King. No, give it me, 
 
 For she has harried me in house and herd. 
 Another King. I claim this fight. 
 Other Kings. [Together.] And I ! and I ! and I ! 
 Cuchulain. Back ! back ! Put up your swords 1 
 put up your swords 1 
 There's none alive that shall accept a challenge 
 I have refused. Laegaire put up your sword ! 
 Young Man. No, let them come ! If they've a 
 mind for it, 
 I'll try it out with any two together. 
 
 Cuchulain. That's spoken as I'd have spoken at 
 your age. 
 But you are in my house. Whatever man 
 
 rr ,r .r7>T?3S'? 
 
 -V^^5s^f?^:;£?£S 
 
Would fight with you shall fight it out with me. 
 They re dumb, they're dumb ? How many of you 
 would meet [Draws J^ 
 
 This mutterer, this old whistler, this sand-piper, 
 This «Jge that's greyer than the tide, this mouse 
 I hat s gnawing at the timbers of the world 
 This this- ? Boy, I would meet them all in arms 
 IM d a son like you. He would avenge me 
 When I have withstood for the last time the men 
 Whose fathers, brothers, sons, and friends I have 
 
 killed 
 Upholding Conchubar, when the four provinces 
 Have gathered with the ravens over them. 
 But I'd need no avenger. You and I 
 Would scatter them like water from a dish 
 
 Toung Man. We'll stand by one another from 
 this out. 
 Here is the ring. 
 
 Cuchulain. No, turn and turn about. 
 
 But my turn's first, because I am the older. 
 Jr. , [Spreading out cloak. 
 
 Nine queens out of the Country-under-Wave 
 Have woven it with the fleeces of the sea, 
 And they were long embroidering at it. Boy 
 If I had fought my father, he'd have killed me 
 As certainly as if I had a son, 
 And fought with him, I should be deadly to him 
 For the old fiery fountains are far off, 
 And every day there is less heat o' the blood 
 Conchubar. [In a loud voice.] No more of that • 
 I will not have this friendship. 
 Cuchulain is my man, and I forbid it. 
 
 26 
 
 He shall not go unfought, for I myself 
 
 Cuchulain. 1 will not have it. 
 
 Conchubar. You lay commands on me ? 
 
 Cuchulain. [Seizing Conchubar.] You shall not 
 
 stir, High King ; I'll hold you there. 
 Conchubar. Witchcraft has maddened you. 
 The Kings. [Shouting.-] Yes, witchcraft ! witchcraft 1 
 First King. Some witch has worked upon your 
 mind, Cuchulain. 
 The head of that young man seemed like a woman s 
 You had a fancy for. Then of a sudden 
 You laid your hands on the High King himself. 
 [He has taken his hands from the High King. 
 He stands as if he were dazed. 
 Cuchulain. And laid my hands on the High King 
 
 himself. 
 Conchubar. Some witch is floating in the air 
 
 above us. 
 Cuchulain. Yes, witchcraft, witchcraft. Witches 
 
 of the air. . 
 
 [To Young Man. 
 
 Why did you ? Who was it set you to this work ? 
 Out I out, 1 say 1 for now it's sword on sword ! 
 Toung Man. But . . . but I did not. 
 Cuchulain. Out, 1 say ! out 1 out 1 
 
 [Young Man goes out followed by Cuchulain. 
 The Kings follow them out with confused cries, 
 and words one can hardly bear because of the 
 noise. Some cry, « Quicker, quicker 1" "Why 
 are you so long at the door ? " We'll be 
 too late 1 " " Have they begun to fight ? 
 and so on ; and one, it may be, " I saw him 
 *7 
 
 WW3F0?£R- 
 
 
 !"J"«-M!J' !.'_.!. 
 
i t 
 
 %ht with Ferdia \ " <tl • 
 
 ra» *w i ha" ,: - " fi """■ 
 
 c, ^ ™r en > * hav e seen, 
 
 taa/ Woman. Who*- j . 
 
 Third Woman. How? Where? 
 
 £»'*W, I" the ashes of the bowl 
 
 Seen* Woman While you were holding it be ." 
 tween your hands ? S e 
 
 Third Woman. Speak quickly ! 
 
 siondwoi:: d c;^:t and b,acken - 
 
 Third Woman ^ g °"f ° Ut to die - 
 
 Second Woman. Who could have though! that 
 one so great as he *» f 
 
 Should meet his end at this unnoted sword ! 
 First Woman. Life drifts between a F™> ,1 
 Blind Man °«ween a tool and a 
 
 To the end and nobody can know his end 
 
 First ^ m0me \^ 0nthethre ^and W ail/ 
 LTT:^° ^ ° Ut > * *■<■ be 
 And knocking at the breast when it's all finished 
 [The women go out. There is a sound of clashTn, 
 
 F„ n i v l u,u £& in g the iJhnd Man. 
 
 fool. You have eafpn ;#■ , l 
 
 eaten it, you have eaten it ! 
 
 28 
 
 ; 
 
 You have left me nothing but the bones ! 
 [He throws Blind Man down by big chair. 
 
 Blind Man. O, that I should have to endure 
 such a plague ! O, I ache all over ! O, I am 
 pulled to pieces ! This is the way you pay me 
 all the good I have done you I 
 
 Fool. You have eaten it ! You have told me 
 lies. I might have known you had eaten it when 
 I saw your slow, sleepy walk. Lie there till the 
 kings come. O, I will tell Conchubar and Cuchu- 
 lain and all the kings about you ! 
 
 Blind Man. What would have happened to you 
 but for me, and you without your wits ? If I did 
 not take care of you, what would you do for food 
 and warmth ? 
 
 Fool. You take care of me ! You stay safe, and 
 send me into every kind of danger. You sent 
 me down the cliff for gull's eggs while you warmed 
 your blind eyes in the sun ; and then you ate all 
 that were good for food. You left me the eggs 
 that were neither egg nor bird. [Blind Man tries 
 to rise ; Fool makes him lie down again.] Keep quiet 
 now, till I shut the door. There is some noise 
 outside — a high vexing noise, so that I can't be 
 listening to myself. [Shuts the big door.'] Why 
 can't they be quiet ! why can't they be quiet 1 
 [Blind Man tries to get away.] Ah ! you would 
 get away, would you ! [Follows Blind Man and 
 brings him back.] Lie there ! lie there ! No, you 
 won't get away ! Lie there till the kings come. 
 I'll tell them aU\ about you. I will tell it all. How 
 you sit warming yourself, when you have made me 
 
 29 
 
 RmnBranof 
 

--■•■■ 
 
 light a fire of sticks, while I sit blowing it with my 
 mouth. Do you not always make me take the 
 windy side of the bush when it blows, and the 
 rainy side when it rains ? 
 
 Blind Man. O, good Fool ! listen to me. Think 
 of the care I have taken of you. 1 have brought 
 you to many a warm hearth, where there was a 
 good welcome for you, but you would not stay 
 there ; you were always wandering about. 
 
 Fool. The last time you brought me in it was 
 not I who wandered away, but you that got put 
 out because you took the crubeen out of the pot 
 when nobody was looking. Keep quiet, now ! 
 
 Cuchulain. [Rushing in.] Witchcraft ! There is 
 no witchcraft on the earth, or among the witches 
 of the air, that these hands cannot break. 
 
 Fool. Listen to me Cuchulain. I left him turn- 
 ing the fowl at the fire. He ate it all, though I 
 had stolen it. He left me nothing but the feathers. 
 Cuchulain. Fill me a horn of ale ! 
 Blind Man. I gave him what he likes best. You 
 do not know how vain this Fool is. He likes" 
 nothing so well as a feather. 
 
 Fool. He left me nothing but the bones and 
 feathers. Nothing but the feathers, though 1 had 
 stolen it. 
 
 Cuchulain. Give me that horn ! Quarrels here 
 too ! [Drinks.'] What is there between you two 
 that is worth a quarrel ? Out with it 1 
 
 Blind Man. Where would he be but for me ? 
 I must be always thinking— thinking to get food 
 for the two of us, and when we've got it, if the 
 
 30 
 
 ' 
 
 nnn is at the full or the tide on the turn, he'll 
 |" vc the rabbit in the snare till it is full of maggots, 
 or" let the trout slip back through his hands into the 
 
 * XaX \h* Fool has begun singing while the Blind 
 Man is speaking. 
 
 [Sings.] 
 When you were an acorn on the tree top, 
 
 Then was I an eagle cock ; 
 Now that you are a withered old block, 
 Still am I an eagle cock. 
 Blind Man. Listen to him now. That's the sort 
 of talk I have to put up with day out, day in. 
 
 [The Fool is putting the feathers into his hair. 
 Cuchulain takes a handful of feathers out of 
 a heap the Fool has on the bench beside him> 
 and out of the Fool's hair, and begins to wipe 
 the blood from his sword with them. 
 Fool. He has taken my feathers to wipe his sword. 
 It is blood that he is wiping from his sword. 
 
 Cuchulain. [Goes up to door at back and throws away 
 feathers] They are standing about his body. They 
 will not awaken him for all his witchcraft. 
 
 Blind Man. It is that young champion that he 
 has killed. He that came out of Aoife's country. 
 
 Cuchulain. He thought to have saved himselr 
 with witchcraft. . 
 
 Fool. That blind man there said he would kill 
 you. He came from Aoife's country to kill you. 
 That blind man said they had taught him every 
 kind of weapon that he might do it. But I always 
 knew that you would kill him. 
 
 3i 
 
 ~ . 
 
 ,-, — ■'■ — — BrT "* " 
 
 -' ■ - ■ ■ 
 

-■ ...TM 
 
 * 
 
 th C,^, [ r„^B li „ d M M . ] r ouk „ elvhira| 
 
 Cuchnlain. You were in A n ;f~> 
 
 Blind Man He was a queen's SO n. 
 Biindt"rj Ueen?Wha ">-" ? P*. 
 
 it scaeSr T„ er ; le'r^ r * ^ w - 
 
 rulers there were que™ "" *"""*■ A " *« 
 **■ No, not Scathach. 
 
 re^erwnoitwa, , am not ^ ' «« 
 
 Foo/ - He 'said a while a^o that rh. „ 
 was Aoife's son g e yonn S man 
 
 I™te;e!- She?N0 ' nO!Sh = W »-onwhe„ 
 
 Mm tnT r a Io b „: ndraanthereSaidth « ^°w„ed! 
 
 Cuchulain. I had rather K» I. j t_ 
 woman's son. What Sh I 5\ "T" S ° me ° ther 
 of Alba ? She was an ! m Z ^ ^ ? A SO,dier °«* 
 pale, amorous l man . ^ W ° man - a P roud > 
 
 f f f««- None knew whose son he was 
 Cuchulam. None knew I DJrl , 
 
 listener at doors ? * "* 7 ° U know > old 
 
 3* 
 
 I 
 f 
 
 I 
 
 5//W Man. No, no ; I knew nothing. 
 
 Fool. He said a while ago that he heard Aoife 
 boast that she'd never but the one lover, and he the 
 only man that had overcome her in battle. [Pause. 
 
 Blind Man. Somebody is trembling, Fool ! The 
 bench is shaking. Why are you trembling ? Is 
 Cuchulain going to hurt us ? It was not I who 
 told you, Cuchulain. 
 
 Fool. It is Cuchulain who is trembling. It is 
 Cuchulain who is shaking the bench. 
 
 Blind Man. It is his own son he has slain. 
 
 Cucuhlain. 'Twas they that did it, the pale windy 
 people. 
 Where ? where ? where ? My sword against the 
 
 thunder ! 
 But no, for they have always been my friends ; 
 And though they love to blow a smoking coal 
 Till it's all flame, the wars they blow aflame 
 Are full of glory, and heart-uplifting pride, 
 And not like this. The wars they love awaken 
 Old fingers and the sleepy strings of harps. 
 Who did it, then ? Are you afraid ? speak out ? 
 For 1 have put you under my protection, 
 And will reward you well. Dubthach the Chafer ? 
 He'd an old grudge. No, for he is with Maeve. 
 Laegaire did it ! Why do you not speak ?. 
 What is this house ? [Pause .] Now I remember all. 
 \Comes before Conchubar's chair, and strikes 
 out with his sword as if Conchubar was 
 sitting upon it. 
 'Twas you who did it — you who sat up there 
 With your old rod of kingship, like a magpie 
 
 33 C 
 
 
 — — .iw i « | IJ ..Ktl^M-l ' rJl*... ! 
 


 i 
 
 Numng a stolen spoon. No, not a magpie, 
 
 A maggot that is eating up the earth! 
 
 W? bu ' »' ma 8P ie » for ^^ flown away. 
 Where did he fly to? 
 
 Blind Man. He is outside the door. 
 Luchulam. Outside the door ? 
 f*f^- Between the door and the sea. 
 Jft^F^' C ° nChubar! the -rd 
 
 P* ""f" m ' ' Pause - Fool creeps up to the 
 big door and looks after him 
 
 J*£. K^ iS u g ° ing UP t0 K5ng Conchu bar. They 
 
 S 11 The ^° Ung man - N °' "* hC iS Sta » d - 
 and h, T I ,S a - great Wave goin S to break, 
 and he is looking at it. Ah ! now he is running 
 
 asTh Ve Se3j bUt ^ iS h0ldi " g "P his -or! 
 »ifhe were going ,nto a fight. [Pause.l Well 
 struck! well struck 1 J 
 
 Blind Man. What is he doing now! 
 
 Fool. O I he is fighting the waves. 
 
 Bhnd Man. He sees King Conchubar's crown 
 on every one of them. 
 
 strfckVh?" 6 ' ^ *■ StfUCk at a big one ! H ^as 
 struck the crown off ,t ; he has made the foam fly. 
 There again, another big one ! 7 
 
 Fool. They are shouting and running down to 
 the shore, and the people are running out of the 
 houses. They are all running. S 
 
 Bhnd Man You say they are running out of the 
 houses ? There will be nobody left inlhe houses 
 
 34 
 
 
 Listen, Fool! M „ 
 
 iW. There, he is down ! He is up again. He 
 is going into the deep water. There is a big wave. 
 It has gone over him. I cannot see him now. He 
 has killed kings and giants, but the waves have 
 mastered him, the waves have mastered him ! 
 
 Blind Man. Come here, Fool ! 
 
 Fool. The waves have mastered him. 
 
 Blind Man. Come here ! 
 
 Fool The waves have mastered him. 
 
 Blind Man. Come here, I say! 
 
 Fool. [Coming towards him, but looking backward 
 towards the door.] What is it ? 
 
 Blind Man. There will be nobody in the houses. 
 Come this way ; come quickly ! The ovens will 
 be full. We will put our hands into the ovens. 
 
 ['They go out. 
 
 35 
 
 - - rv* 
 
 ^..... i il-JW^I-^ 
 
 J 
 

 T! " S >"l"P'ar e Head =Pre, h 
 Str "tford-on.^i vonm 
 
 1'HE LIBRARY . 
 HKiyEijSTTY OF CALIFORN 1 '