THE PURSUIT OF DIARMID

_THE PURSUIT OF DIARMID_

Fionn, the son of Cumhaill, rose early from his bed and went and sat

upon the clearing of grass that stretched at the foot of the hill of

Allen, where was the favourite palace of the Irish Kings of Leinster.

He had stolen out alone, while his attendants were sleeping, but soon

he was missed and two of his men followed him to the green plain.

'Why have you risen so early?' said Ossian as he came up.

'Since my wife died,' answered Fionn, 'little sleep has come to me,

and better I like to be sitting by the hill-side than to toss

restlessly between walls.'

'Why did you not tell us?' answered Ossian, 'for there is not a girl

in the whole land of Erin whom we would not have brought you by fair

means or foul.'

Dearing, who had till now kept silence, then spoke. 'I myself know of

a wife who would be a fitting mate even for Fionn, son of

Cumhaill--Grania, the daughter of Cormac, who is fairer of speech and

form than the daughters of other men.'

Fionn looked up quickly at Dearing's words.

'There has been strife for long between me and Cormac,' said he, 'and

it is not seemly that I should ask anything of him which might be

refused. Therefore go you and Ossian and, as from yourselves, see if

this marriage pleases him. It were better that he should refuse you,

rather than me.'

'Farewell then,' said Ossian, 'but let no man know of our journey till

we come back again.'

So the two went their ways, and found Cormac, King of Erin, holding a

great council on a wide plain, with the chiefs and the great nobles

gathered before him. He welcomed Ossian and Dearing with courtesy, and

as he felt sure they bore some message, he bade the council meet again

on the morrow. When the nobles and chiefs had betaken themselves to

their homes, Ossian told the King of Erin that they had come to know

his thoughts as to a marriage between his daughter and Fionn, son of

Cumhaill.

'There is not the son of a king or of a great prince, a hero or a

champion in the whole of Erin,' answered Cormac, 'whom my daughter has

not refused to wed, and it is I whom all hold guilty for it, though it

is none of my doing. Therefore betake yourselves to my daughter, and

she will speak for herself. It is better that you be displeased with

her than with me.'

Thereupon Ossian and Dearing were led by the King to the dwelling of

the women, and they found Grania lying on a high couch. 'Here, O

Grania,' said the King, 'are two of the men of Fionn, the son of

Cumhaill, and they have come to ask you as wife for him. What is your

answer?'

'If he be a fitting son-in-law for you, why should he not be a fitting

husband for me?' said Grania. And at her words, her father ordered a

banquet to be made in the palace for Ossian and Dearing, and sent them

back to Fionn with a message summoning him to a tryst in a fortnight's

time.

When Ossian and Dearing were returned into Kildare, they found Fionn

and his men, the Fenians, on the hill of Allen, and they told them

their tale from the beginning to end. And the heart of Fionn grew

light as he heard it, and the fortnight of waiting stretched long

before him. But everything wears away at last, and so did those

fifteen days; and on the last, Fionn assembled seven battalions of his

Fenians from wherever they might be, and they set forth in troops

for the great plain where Cormac, King of Erin, had given them tryst.

[Illustration: GRANIA QUESTIONS THE DRUID]

The King had made ready a splendid feast, and welcomed the new-comers

gladly, and they ate and drank together. When the feast was over the

Druid Derry sang songs before Grania, and she, knowing he was a man of

wisdom, asked him why Fionn had come thither. 'If you know not that,'

said the Druid, 'it is no wonder that I know it not.'

'I wish to learn it from you,' answered Grania.

'Well then,' replied the Druid, 'it is to ask you for wife that he is

come.'

'I marvel,' said Grania, 'that it is not for Ossian that he asks me.

For my father himself is not as old as Fionn. But tell me, I pray you,

who is that softly spoken man with the curling black hair and ruddy

countenance, that sits on the left hand of Ossian, the son of Fionn?'

'That is Diarmid, son of Dowd, the best lover in the whole world.'

'It is a goodly company,' said Grania, and ordered her lady to bring

her the golden goblet chased with jewels. When it was brought she

filled it up with the drink of nine times nine men, then bade her

handmaid carry it to Fionn and say that she had sent it to him, and

that he was to drink from it. Fionn took the goblet with joy, but no

sooner had he drunk than he fell down into a deep slumber; and the

same thing befel also Cormac, and Cormac's wife, and as many as drank

of the goblet sent by Grania.

When all were sleeping soundly, she rose softly and said to Ossian, 'I

marvel that Fionn should ask such a wife as I, for it were fitter that

he should give me a husband of my own age than a man older than my

father.'

'Say not so, O Grania,' answered Ossian, 'for if Fionn were to hear

you, he would not have you, neither should I dare to ask for you.'

'Then you will not listen to word of marriage from me?' asked Grania.

'I will not,' answered Ossian, 'for I must not lay my hand on what

Fionn has looked on.'

Then Grania turned her face to Diarmid Dowd and what she said was,

'Will you receive courtship from me, O Son of Dowd, since Ossian will

not receive it?'

'I will not,' answered Diarmid, 'for whatever woman is betrothed to

Fionn, I may not take her.'

'I will put you under bonds of destruction, O Diarmid,' said Grania,

'if you take me not out of this house to-night.'

'Those are indeed evil bonds,' answered Diarmid, 'and wherefore have

you laid them on me, seeing there is no man less worthy to be loved by

you than myself?'

'Not so, O son of Dowd,' said Grania, 'and I will tell you wherefore.'

'One day the King of Erin held a muster on the great plain of Tara,

and Fionn and his seven battalions were there. And a goaling match was

played, and all took part, save only the King, and Fionn, and myself

and you, O Diarmid. We watched till the game was going against the men

of the kingdom of Erin, then you rose, and, taking the pole of the man

who was standing by, threw him to the ground, and, joining the others,

did thrice win the goal from the warriors of Tara. And I turned the

light of my eyes upon you that day, and I never gave that love to any

other from that time to this, and will not for ever. So to-night we

will pass through my wicket-gate, and take heed you follow me.'

After she had spoken, Diarmid turned to Ossian and his companions.

'What shall I do, O Ossian, with the bonds that have been laid on me?'

'Follow Grania,' said Ossian, 'and keep away from the wiles of Fionn.'

'Is that the counsel of you all to me?' asked Diarmid.

'It is the counsel of us all,' said they.

Then Diarmid bade them farewell, and went to the top of the Fort, and

put the shafts of his two javelins under him, and rose like a bird

into the air, and found himself on the plain where Grania met him. 'I

trow, O Grania,' said he, 'this is an evil course upon which you are

come, for I know not to which corner of Erin I can take you. Return to

the town, and Fionn will never harm you.'

'I will never go back,' answered Grania, 'and nothing save death shall

part us.'

'Then go forward,' said Diarmid.

The town was a mile behind them when Grania stopped. 'I am weary, son

of O'Dowd.'

'It is a good time to weary, Grania, for your father's house is still

nigh at hand, and I give you my word as a warrior that I will never

carry you or any woman.'

'You need not do that,' answered Grania, 'for my father's horses are

in a fenced meadow by themselves, and have chariots behind them. Go

and bring two horses and a chariot, and I will wait for you here.'

And Diarmid did what Grania bade him, and he brought two of the

horses, and they journeyed together as far as Athlone.

'It is the easier for Fionn to follow our track,' said Diarmid at

last, 'now we have the horses.'

'Then leave them,' cried Grania, 'one on each side of the stream, and

we will travel on foot.' So they went on till they reached Galway, and

there Diarmid cut down a grove, and made a palisade with seven doors

of wattles, and gathered together the tops of the birch trees and soft

rushes for a bed for Grania.

* * * * *

When Fionn and all that were in Tara awoke and found that Diarmid and

Grania were not among them, a burning rage seized upon Fionn. At once

he sent out trackers before him, and he followed them himself with

his men, till they reached the land of Connaught. 'Ah, well I know

where Grania and Diarmid shall be sought,' cried Fionn. And Ossian and

Dearing heard him, and said to each other, 'We must send Diarmid a

warning, lest he should be taken. Look where Bran is, the hound of

Fionn, and he shall take it, for he does not love Fionn better than he

loves Diarmid, so, Oscar, tell him to go to Diarmid who is in Derry.'

And Oscar told that to Bran, and Bran understood, and stole round to

the back part of the army where Fionn might not see him; then he

bounded away to Derry and thrust his head into Diarmid's bosom as he

lay asleep.

At that Diarmid awoke and sprang up and woke Grania, and told her that

Bran had come, which was a token that Fionn himself was coming. 'Fly

then,' said Grania; but Diarmid would not fly. 'He may take me now,'

said he, 'seeing he must take me some time.' At his words Grania shook

with fear, and Bran departed.

All this while the friends of Diarmid took counsel together, and they

dreaded lest Bran had not found them, and they resolved to give them

another warning. So they bade the henchman Feargus to give three

shouts, for every shout could be heard over three counties. And

Diarmid heard them, and awoke Grania, and told her that it was a

warning they had sent him of Fionn. 'Then take that warning,' said

she. 'I will not,' answered Diarmid, 'but will stay in this wood till

Fionn comes.' And Grania trembled when she heard him.

By-and-by the trackers came back to Fionn with news that they had seen

Diarmid and Grania, and though Ossian and Diarmid's friends tried to

persuade Fionn that the men had been mistaken, Fionn was not to be

deceived. 'Well did I know the meaning of the three shouts of Feargus,

and why you sent Bran, my own hound, away. But it shall profit him

nothing, for Diarmid shall not leave Derry till he has paid me for

every slight he has put upon me.'

'Great foolishness it is of you, O Fionn,' said Oscar, 'to think that

Diarmid would stay in this plain waiting to have his head taken from

him.'

'Who else would have cut down the trees, and have made a palisade of

them, and cut seven doors in it? Speak, O Diarmid, is the truth with

me or with Oscar?'

'With you, O Fionn,' said Diarmid, 'and truly I and Grania are here.'

When he heard this, Fionn bade his men surround Diarmid and take him,

and Diarmid rose up and kissed Grania three times in presence of Fionn

and his men, and Fionn, seeing that, swore that Diarmid should pay for

those kisses with his head.

But Angus, the foster-father of Diarmid, knew in what straits his

foster-son was, and he stole secretly to the place where Diarmid was

hidden with Grania, and asked him what he had done to bring his head

into such danger. 'This,' said Diarmid; 'Grania, the daughter of

Cormac, King of Erin, has fled with me against my will to escape

marriage with Fionn.'

'Then let one of you come under my mantle,' answered Angus, 'and I

will carry you out of your prison.'

'Take Grania,' answered Diarmid. 'If I live, then will I follow you,

but if not, carry her to her father, and let him deal with her as

seems good.'

After that Angus put Grania under his mantle and they went their ways,

and neither Fionn nor his Fenians knew of it.

When Angus and Grania had left him, Diarmid girded his arms upon him,

and standing at one of the seven wattled doors, asked who stood

behind. 'No foe to you,' answered a voice, 'but Ossian, the son of

Fionn, and Oscar, the son of Ossian, and others who are your friends.

Come out, and none will do you hurt.'

'I will not open the door until I find out where Fionn himself is.'

And so it befel at six of the doors, and Diarmid would not open them,

lest his friends should come under the wrath of Fionn. But as he drew

near the seventh, and put his question, the answer came loud: 'Here

are Fionn, the son of Cumhaill, and four hundred of his servants, and

we bear you no love, and if you come out we will tear your bones in

sunder.'

'I pledge my word,' said Diarmid, 'that yours is the first door by

which I will pass,' and he rose into the air on the shafts of his

javelins, with a bound as light as a bird's, and went far beyond Fionn

and his people, and they knew nothing of it. Then he looked back and

shouted that he had got the better of them, and followed after the

track of Angus and Grania.

He found them warm in a hut with a fire in it, watching a wild boar

roasting on a spit, and Grania's soul almost left her body for joy at

seeing Diarmid. They told their stories before the fire, and when

morning broke Angus rose and said to Diarmid, 'I must now depart, O

son of O'Dowd, and this counsel I leave you. Go not into a tree having

but one trunk, when you fly before Fionn. And go not to a cave of the

earth having only one door, or to an island which can only be reached

by one channel. And in whatever place you cook your meal, there eat it

not; and in whatever place you eat, there lie not; and in whatever

place you lie down to sleep, there rise not on the morrow.' So saying,

he bade them farewell, and went his way.

The next day Diarmid and Grania journeyed up the Shannon, and they

killed a salmon, and crossed the river to eat it, as Angus had told

them. Soon they met a youth called Muadan, who wished to take service

with them; and he was strong, and carried them over the rivers across

their path. When evening came they found a cave, where Muadan spread

out soft rushes and birch twigs for Diarmid and Grania to lie on, and

as soon as they were asleep he stole into the next wood, and broke a

long straight rod from a tree, and put a hair line and a hook upon

it, and a holly berry on the rod, and fished in the stream. In three

casts he had taken three fish. That night they ate a good supper, and

while Diarmid and Grania slept, Muadan kept watch for them.

At dawn Diarmid woke Grania and told her to watch while Muadan slept,

as he was going to climb a hill near by, and see where they had best

go.

He soon stood on the top and looked round about him. In front of him

was a great company of ships bearing towards him out of the west. They

landed at the foot of the hill where Diarmid stood, and he swiftly ran

down to meet them and to ask of what country they were.

'We are three royal chiefs,' said they, 'and are sent by Fionn to take

an enemy of his whom he has outlawed, called Diarmid O'Dowd. And with

us are three fierce hounds whom we will loose upon his track. Fire

burns them not, nor water drowns them, nor weapons wound them, and of

us there are two thousand men. Moreover, tell us who you yourself are,

and if you have any tidings of the son of O'Dowd.'

'I am but a warrior walking the world with the strength of my arm and

the blade of my sword. But I warn you, you will have no common man to

deal with if you meet Diarmid, whom but yesterday I saw.'

'Well, no one has been found yet,' said they.

'Is there wine in your ships?' asked Diarmid.

'There is,' answered they.

'If you would bring a tun of it here, I would do a trick for you.' So

the wine was sent for, and Diarmid raised the cask up and drank from

it, and took it up to the top of the hill and stood on it, and it

glided with him to the bottom. And that trick he did thrice, standing

on the tun as it came and went. But the strangers only scoffed, and

they told him they could do a much better trick than that, and one of

them jumped on the tun. Then, before it could move, Diarmid gave the

tun a kick, and the young man fell, and the tun rolled over and

crushed him. And in like manner he did to many more, and the rest fled

back to their ships.

The next morning they came to Diarmid where he stood on the hill, and

he asked if they would like him to show them any more tricks, but they

said they would rather hear some news of Diarmid first. 'I have seen a

man who met him to-day,' answered Diarmid, and thereupon he laid his

weapons on the ground and bounded upwards upon his javelin, coming

down lightly beyond the host.

'If you call that a feat, then you have never seen a feat,' said a

young warrior of the green Fenians--for so were they called from the

colour of their armour. And he rose in like manner on his javelin and

came down heavily on it, and it pierced his heart. Diarmid drew out

the javelin, and another man took it and tried to do the same thing,

and he also was slain, and so to the number of fifty. And they went to

their ships while Diarmid returned to Muadan and Grania.

As soon as Diarmid awoke he went to the forest and cut two forked

poles, which he took to the hill and placed upright, and he balanced

the sword of Angus across the top. Then he rose lightly over and came

down safely over it. 'Is there any man among you who can do that?'

asked he of the men who had come up from their ships.

'That is a foolish question,' answered one, 'for no man ever did a

feat in Erin which one of us could not do,' and he arose and leapt

over the sword, but his foot caught in it, and he was cut in half.

After that others tried, but none jumped that sword and lived. 'Have

you any tidings of the son of O'Dowd?' asked the rest at last.

'I have seen him that saw him to-day,' answered Diarmid. 'I will seek

tidings of him to-night.' And he returned to Grania.

When the sun rose Diarmid put on his coat of mail which no sword could

pierce, and girded on the sword of Angus, and took his two javelins,

whose stroke none could cure. Grania trembled at this brave sight, but

Diarmid soothed her fears, and went off to meet the Fenians.

'What tidings of the son of O'Dowd?' said they. 'Show us where he is,

that we may take his head to Fionn.'

'The body and life of Diarmid are under my protection, and I will not

betray him.'

'Then we will take your head, as Fionn is your enemy,' said they.

'Take it if you can,' answered Diarmid, and he drew his sword and

struck at the head of the man next him, and it rolled away from the

body. Then he rushed on the host, and slew them right and left, and

none lived to tell the tale but the three green chiefs and a few men

who went back to their ships. And they returned the next morning and

renewed the fight, but Diarmid vanquished them, and binding them fast,

left them where they were. For he knew that there were only four men

in the world that could loose them.

After this Diarmid called to Grania and Muadan to come with him, and

they travelled till Grania grew weary, and Muadan carried her on his

back to the foot of a great mountain. And there they rested on the

bank of the stream.

Meanwhile the few men who had been left alive abandoned their ship,

and sought the three chiefs who were lying bound on the hill. They

tried to loosen the bands of the captives, but only drew them tighter.

Soon they saw the witch-messenger of Fionn coming over the tops of the

hills skimming from one to the other as lightly as a swallow.

'Who has made this great slaughter?' said she.

'Who are you that ask?' said they.

'I am Deirdre, the witch-messenger of Fionn, and he has sent me to

look for you.'

'We know not who the man was,' answered they, 'but his hair was black

and curly, and his countenance ruddy. And he has bound our three

chiefs, so that we cannot loose them.'

'It was Diarmid himself,' said she; 'so loosen your hounds on his

track, and I will send Fionn and his Fenians to help you.'

The men went down to their ships, and brought out their hounds, and

loosened them on the track of Diarmid. The hounds made straight for

the door of the cave, and the men followed them; and the hounds left

the cave, and set forth westwards.

But Diarmid knew not of their coming till he saw silken banners

waving, and three mighty warriors marching at the head. And he was

filled with hatred of them, and went his ways, and Muadan took Grania

on his back and bore her a mile along the mountain.

It was not long before they heard the hound coming, and Muadan bade

Diarmid follow Grania, and he would keep the hound at bay. And when he

had slain the hound, he departed after Diarmid and Grania.

Then the second hound was loosened, and Diarmid waited till he came

close, so that he could take sure aim; and he cast his javelin into

the hound and it fell dead like its fellow, and having drawn his

javelin, he followed after Grania.

They had not gone much farther before the third hound was upon them.

He bounded straight over the head of Diarmid, and would have seized

Grania, but Diarmid took hold of his two hind legs, and swung him so

fiercely against a rock that he was slain on the spot. And when that

was done, Diarmid put on his arms, and slipped his little finger into

the silken string of the javelin, and cast it straight at a youth in a

green mantle that had outstripped his fellows, and slew him; and so to

the rest, while Deirdre, the witch, wheeled and hovered about them

all.

Now when news of the green Fenians that were bound by Diarmid reached

Fionn he summoned his men, and they took the shortest ways till they

reached the hill of slaughter. Then Fionn spoke, and what he said was,

'O Ossian, loose the three chiefs for me.'

'I will not,' replied Ossian, 'for Diarmid bound me not to loose any

warrior that he should bind.'

'O Oscar, loose them,' said Fionn.

'Nay,' answered Oscar, 'rather would I place more bands upon them.'

And so said the other two, and, before their eyes, the chiefs died of

their bondage. So Fionn ordered their graves to be dug, and their flag

laid upon their stone, and the heart of Fionn was heavy.

He raised his head and saw drawing near Deirdre, the witch, her legs

trembling, her tongue raving, and her eyes dropping out of her head.

'I have great and evil tidings for you,' said she, and she told him of

all the slaughter Diarmid had made, and how she herself had hardly

escaped.

'Whither went the son of O'Dowd?' asked Fionn.

'I know not,' said she. At that Fionn and his Fenians departed, and

wandered far before they could hear news of Diarmid.

On the road that led to the county of Galway, Fionn saw fifty stout

warriors coming towards him. 'I know not who they are,' said Fionn,

'yet I think they are enemies of mine'; and, indeed, this proved to be

so, for the leaders of the company told Fionn that his father and

their fathers had fought in battle. 'Then you must give me payment for

the death of my father,' said Fionn, 'and in return you shall have

power among the Fenians.'

'But we have neither silver, nor gold, nor herds, O Fionn,' answered

the two young men.

'I want none of these,' replied Fionn; 'the payment I ask is but the

head of a warrior, or a handful of berries from the magic tree of

Dooros.'

'Take counsel from me,' cried Ossian, 'for it is no light matter to

bring to Fionn that which he asks of you. The head is the head of

Diarmid, son of Dowd, and if there were two thousand of you instead of

fifty, Diarmid would not let it go.'

'And what are the berries that Fionn asks of us?' said they.

'Those berries would never have been heard of but for the jealousy of

two women of different tribes, each of whom swore that her husband

could hurl a pole farther than the other. So all the rest of the

tribes came out to take part in the goaling match, and the game lasted

long, and neither won a goal. At last the tribe of the Tuatha De

Denann saw that the Fenians were stronger than they, and they went

away bearing their provisions with them--nuts, and apples, and

fragrant berries. And as they passed near the river Moy one of the

berries fell, and turned into a quicken tree. No disease or sickness

can touch anyone who eats three of its berries, and were he a hundred

years old, the eater of them shall become no more than thirty.

'Since those days the tribe has set a guard over it. He is a crooked

giant, with an eye in the midst of his forehead. No weapon can wound

him, and he can only die of three strokes from his own iron club. At

night he sleeps on the top of the tree, and by day watches at the

foot. Around him is a wilderness, and the Fenians dare not hunt there,

for fear of that terrible one. These are the berries which Fionn asks

of you.'

But Aod, the son of Andala, spoke and declared that he would rather

die seeking those berries than return to his own land with his head

bowed in shame. So he and Angus his cousin took farewell of Ossian and

went their ways, and as they drew near the forest they came on the

track of Diarmid; and they followed to the tent, where they found him

with Grania. 'Who are you?' asked Diarmid.

[Illustration: Diarmid Seizes The Giant's Club]

'We are Aod and Angus of the Clan Moirna,' said Aod, 'and it is

your head that we seek, Diarmid, son of O'Dowd. For Fionn will either

have that, or a handful of berries from the quicken tree.'

'Neither task is easy,' answered Diarmid, 'and woe to him that falls

under the power of Fionn. He it was who slew your father, and surely

that is payment enough. And whichever of those things you take him,

you shall never have peace.'

'What berries are those that Fionn wants?' asked Grania, 'and why

cannot they be got for him?' Then Diarmid told her the story, and how

the country round was laid waste. 'But when Fionn put me under his

ban,' continued he, 'the giant gave me leave to hunt there if I would,

but forbade me to touch the berries. And now, O children of Moirna,

will you fight me or seek the berries?'

'We will fight you first,' said they.

They fought long and well, but Diarmid got the better of them both,

and bound them on the spot where they fell. 'You struck valiantly,'

said Grania to Diarmid, 'but I vow that even if the children of Moirna

go not after those berries, I will never rest in my bed till I have

eaten them.'

'Force me not to break faith with the giant,' answered Diarmid, 'for

he would not give them me more readily for that.'

'Loose our bonds,' said the children of Moirna, 'and we will go with

you, and give ourselves for your sake.'

'Not so,' answered Diarmid, 'for the sight of him might kill you.'

'Then let us go to watch you fight, before you cut off our heads.' And

Diarmid did so.

They found the giant asleep before the tree, and Diarmid pushed him

with his foot.

The giant raised his head and looked at him: 'Are you fain to break

peace, O Diarmid?'

'Not I,' answered he, 'but Grania my wife is ill, and she longs for

the taste of your berries, and it is to get a handful of them that I

am now come.'

'If she should die,' said the giant, 'she should have none.'

'I may not do you treachery,' replied Diarmid, 'therefore I tell you I

will have them by fair means or foul.'

The giant having heard that, stood up and dealt Diarmid three mighty

strokes with his club, so that he staggered. Then, flinging down his

weapons, he sprang upon the giant and grasped the club between his

hands, hurling the giant to the ground by the weight of his body.

Without giving him time to rise, Diarmid struck three blows with the

club at the giant's head and he died without a word.

Aod and Angus had watched the combat, and now came forth. 'Bury the

giant under the brushwood of the forest,' said Diarmid, 'so that

Grania may not see him, and then go and bring her to me, for I am very

weary.'

And the young men did so. 'There, Grania, are the berries you asked

for,' said Diarmid when she came, but she swore that she would not

taste a berry except he plucked it for her. So he plucked the berries

for her and for the children of Moirna, and they ate their fill of

them. 'Now go,' said he, 'take as many berries as you can to Fionn,

and tell him that it was you who slew the giant.' And they gave thanks

to Diarmid and left him, and he and Grania went to sleep on the top of

the tree where the sweetest berries grew.

The children of Moirna reached Fionn, and bowed before him. 'We have

slain the giant,' said they, 'and have brought you the berries, and

now we shall have peace for the death of our father.' Fionn took the

berries into his hand, and stooped down and smelt them. 'I swear,' he

cried, 'that it was Diarmid O'Dowd who gathered these berries, and

full sure I am that it was he who slew the giant. I will follow him

to the quicken tree, and it shall profit you nothing to have brought

the berries to me.'

With seven battalions of his Fenians, he marched along Diarmid's track

till he reached the foot of the quicken tree, and finding the berries

with no watch on them, they ate their fill. The sun was hot, and Fionn

said he would stay at the foot of the tree till it grew cooler, as

well he knew that Diarmid was at the top. 'You judge foolishly,'

answered Ossian, 'to think that Diarmid would stay up there when he

knows that you are bent on his death.'

In spite of the heat and his long march, Fionn could not sleep, and

called for a chess-board, and bade Ossian play with him. Fionn was the

most skilled, and at length he said, 'There is but one move that can

save you the game, O Ossian, and I dare all that are by to show you

that move.' And in the top of the tree Diarmid heard him, and said, 'O

Ossian, why am I not there to show you?'

'It is worse for you to be here in the power of Fionn, than for Ossian

to lack that move,' answered Grania.

But Diarmid plucked one of the berries, and aimed it at the man which

should be moved, and Ossian moved it, and turned the game against

Fionn. And so he did a second time, and a third, when Ossian was in

straits, and he won the game and the Fenians sent up a great shout.

'I marvel not at your winning, O Ossian, seeing that Oscar is doing

his best for you, and that the skilled knowledge of Dearing, and the

prompting of Diarmid, are all with you.'

'Now your eyes must be blinded, O Fionn, to think that Diarmid would

stay in that tree when you are beneath him.'

'Which of us has the truth on his side, O Diarmid?' said Fionn,

looking up.

'Never did you err in your wisdom, O Fionn,' answered Diarmid, 'and

truly, I and Grania are here.' Then, in presence of them all, he

kissed Grania three times. 'Thou shalt give thy head for those three

kisses,' said Fionn.

So Fionn and the four hundred that were with him surrounded the

quicken tree, and he bade them on pain of death not to let Diarmid

pass through them. Further, he promised to whichever man should go up

the tree and fetch down Diarmid, he would give him arms and armour,

and whatever place his father held among the Fenians. But Angus heard

what Fionn said, and being somewhat of a wizard, came to Diarmid's

help, without being seen of the Fenians. And one man after another

rolled down the tree.

Howbeit, both Diarmid and Angus felt that this was no place for

Grania, and Angus said he would take her with him.

'Take her,' answered Diarmid; 'if I be alive this evening I will

follow you. If not, send Grania to her father at Tara.' And with that

Angus bade farewell to Diarmid, and flung his magic mantle over

himself and Grania, and they passed out and no man knew aught of them

till they reached the river Boyne.

When they were safely gone, Diarmid, son of O'Dowd, spoke from the top

of the tree. 'I will go down to you, O Fionn, and to the Fenians, and

will deal slaughter and discomfiture upon you and your people, seeing

that I know your wish is to allow me no escape, but to work my death

after some manner. Moreover, I have no friend who will help or protect

me, since full often have I wrought havoc among the warriors of the

world, for love of you. For there never came on you battle or strait,

but I would plunge into it for your sake, and for that of the Fenians.

Therefore I swear, O Fionn, that thou shalt not get me for nothing.'

'Diarmid speaks truth,' said Oscar. 'Grant him, I pray you, mercy and

forgiveness.'

[Illustration: Diarmid & Grania in the Quicken Tree]

'I will not,' answered Fionn, 'till he has paid for every slight put

upon me.'

'It is a foul shame in thee to say that,' said Oscar, 'and I pledge

the word of a soldier that unless the heavens fall upon me or the

earth opens under my feet, I will not suffer you nor your Fenians to

strike him a single blow, and I will take him under my protection, and

keep him safe in spite of you all. Therefore, O Diarmid, come down out

of the tree, since Fionn will not grant you mercy. 'I will pledge that

no evil will come to you to-day.'

So Diarmid rose, and stood upon the topmost bough of the tree, and

leapt light and birdlike, by the shafts of his spears, and passed out

far beyond Fionn and the Fenians of Erin. And he and Oscar went their

way, and no tidings were heard of them till they reached Grania and

Angus on the banks of the Boyne.

After Diarmid and Oscar had departed, Fionn ordered a ship to be made

ready, and as soon as it was done he marched on board with a thousand

of his warriors and set sail for the north of Scotland. When he

arrived at the harbour nearest the King's palace, he moored his ship

and took the path to the palace, where the King received him kindly,

and gave him food and drink. Then Fionn told the King why he was come.

'And truly you should give me a host,' said he, 'for Diarmid it was

who slew your father and two brothers and many of your men besides.'

'That is so,' answered the King, 'and I will give you my two sons,

with a thousand men to each of them.' Joyful was Fionn to hear this,

and he departed with his company, and nothing was known of them till

they reached the Boyne, where Fionn challenged Diarmid and Angus to

battle.

'What shall I do touching this, O Oscar?' asked Diarmid.

'We will give them battle and slay them all,' answered Oscar.

On the morrow Diarmid and Oscar rose, and put on their armour and went

their way to the place of combat, where they bound the rims of their

shields together, so that they might not be parted in the fight. Next

they proclaimed battle against Fionn, and the Scots said they would

land and fight them first. They rushed together, and Diarmid passed

under them and through them and over them, as a whale would go through

small fish. And all of them fell by Diarmid and Oscar before night

came, while they themselves had neither cut nor wound.

When Fionn saw that great slaughter he and his men put out to sea, and

sailed to the cave where dwelt an old woman, Fionn's nurse. And he

told her his story from the beginning. 'I will go with you,' said she,

'and will practise magic against him.'

They came to the Boyne, and the witch threw magic over Fionn and his

Fenians, so that the men of Erin knew not they were there; and that

day Diarmid was hunting alone, for he had parted from Oscar the day

before. Now the witch knew this, and she flew to where a water-lily

leaf lay with a hole in the middle of it, and as the wind lifted the

leaf from the surface of the water she cast deadly darts at Diarmid

through the hole, and did him great hurt. And every evil that had come

upon him was little compared with that evil. Then he felt that unless

he could strike her through the hole in the leaf she would slay him on

the spot; so he lay down on his back and took his javelin in his hand,

and reached her through the hole, and she fell dead.

After that he cut off her head and carried it with him to Angus.

The next day Diarmid rose early and Angus with him, and they went to

Fionn and asked if he would make peace with Diarmid, and also to

Cormac, King of Erin, with a like question; and they agreed thereto,

and asked Diarmid what terms he wanted. Diarmid demanded several of

the best baronies in Ireland, and he got them, and they blotted out

all Diarmid had done during the sixteen years of his outlawry, and

Cormac gave his other daughter to Fionn that he might let Diarmid be,

and there was peace for many years, and Diarmid prospered mightily,

and had four sons and one daughter.