Celtic Tales
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Louey Chisholm >> Celtic Tales
Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Clare Elliott, Brendan Lane,
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
CELTIC TALES
TOLD TO THE CHILDREN
BY
LOUEY CHISHOLM
WITH PICTURES BY
KATHARINE CAMERON
TO CHRISTOPHER
NOTE
This little book was written after several variants of the Tales had been
read:--'Old Celtic Romances,' by Dr. Joyce; 'Reliquae Celticae,' by Dr.
Cameron; 'The Pursuit after Diarmud O'Duibhne and Grainne the daughter of
Cormac Mac Airt,' by Standish Hayes O'Grady; 'The Three Sorrows of
Story-telling,' by Dr. Douglas Hyde; 'The Laughter of Peterkin,' by Fiona
Macleod, and other translations and retellings.
L.C.
ABOUT THIS BOOK
One of my friends tells me that you, little reader, will not like these
old, old tales; another says they are too sad for you, and yet another
asks what the stories are meant to teach.
Now I, for my part, think you will like these Celtic Tales very much
indeed. It is true they are sad, but you do not always want to be amused.
And I have not told the stories for the sake of anything they may teach,
but because of their sheer beauty, and I expect you to enjoy them as
hundreds and hundreds of Irish and Scottish children have already enjoyed
them--without knowing or wondering why.
LOUEY CHISHOLM.
LIST OF STORIES
The Star-Eyed Deirdre
The Four White Swans
Dermat and Grania
LIST OF PICTURES
THE STAR-EYED DEIRDRE
'Art thou indeed Deirdre?'
Thence ofttimes in the young summer would they sail southward
The Hedge of Spears
THE FOUR WHITE SWANS
As she touched Aed, Fiacra, and Conn, the three brothers were as the maid
They would swim far out into a dim grey wilderness of waters
It was Saint Kemoc
DERMAT AND GRANIA
Dermat
Grania
THE STAR-EYED DEIRDRE
In olden days, when many Kings reigned throughout the Green Island of
Erin, none was greater than the great Concobar. So fair was his realm that
poets sang its beauty, and such the wonder of his palace that the sweetest
songs of Erin were of its loveliness.
In a castle of this fair realm dwelt Felim, a warrior and harper dear unto
the King. And it was told him that Concobar with his chief lords would
visit the castle.
Then Felim made a feast, and there was great rejoicing, and all men were
glad.
But in the midst of the feast an old magician, who was of those that had
come with the King, stood up before the great gathering. Long and white
was the hair that fell upon his bent shoulders, black were the eyes that
gazed into space from beneath his shaggy eyebrows.
'Speak,' said the King to the old man, 'speak, and tell us that thou
seest, for well we know thou piercest the veil that hideth from us the
secrets of the morrow.'
Silently and with great awe did all the company look at the wise old man,
for those things that he had already foretold had they not come to pass?
The magician, also silent, looked from the face of one to the face of
another, but when his eyes fell on Concobar, the King, long did they dwell
there, and when he lifted them, on Felim did they rest.
Then the Wise Man spake:
'This night, O Felim the Harper, shall a girl-babe be born to thee within
these castle walls. Loveliest among the lovely shall thy star-eyed
daughter be; no harp-strings shall yield such music as her voice, no fairy
strains pour forth such wonder-stirring sound. Yet, O Felim, in days to
come, because of this fair child shall great sorrow come upon our King
Concobar and upon all his realm. In those days shall Erin's chief glory
perish, for if the House of the Red Branch fall, who shall stand?'
Then did a cry of fear burst from those gathered to the feast, and leaping
to their feet, each man laid his hand upon his sword, for the word that
the wise man had spoken would it not come to pass?
'Let our swords be in readiness,' they cried, 'to kill the babe that shall
be born this night, for better far is it that one child perish than that
the blood of a nation be spilt.'
And Felim spake: 'Great sorrow is mine that fear of the child who shall be
born this night should be upon you. Therefore, if it please the King, let
my daughter die, and so may peace yet reign in the realm. For dear as
would be a child to my wife and to me, dearer yet is the common weal.'
But the answer of King Concobar came not for a time. His soul was filled
with desire to see the star-eyed maiden and to hear the wonder of her
voice. Still was the hand of each upon his sword when the King spake.
'Put far from thee, O Felim, the will to do this thing. Bend not thy mind
to the death of thine own child. And ye, my people, sheathe your swords.
Let the babe live. I, Concobar, will be her guardian, and if ill befall,
let it be upon me, your King.'
At these words arose a Prince.
'It would be well, O King, but for the word spoken by the Wise Man, for
hath he not said, "Because of this fair child shall great sorrow come upon
the King Concobar"? If we let the babe live, then must thy people see thee
in sore distress, for the word that the Wise Man speaketh, shall it not
come to pass?'
'Of that am I not unmindful. Deep within the forest, beyond the Moor of
Loneliness, shall her childish days be spent. Gently tended shall she be,
but the eye of man shall not behold her, and solitary shall she live as
some unmated bird in distant wilderness.'
Then with one accord did the people cry, 'Wilt thou indeed be guardian to
this child, knowing the ill that the Wise Man hath foretold?'
'Yea, truly will I be guardian to the child, and when she be a woman then
shall she be my wedded wife. And if with the maiden come sorrow, then be
that sorrow upon me, and not upon the land.'
'What sayest thou, O Felim the Harper?' cried the people.
'It were better to slay the child than to let that come which hath been
foretold.'
'And what sayest thou, O Wise Man?'
'That which shall come, shall come.'
At the same moment there entered the hall a servant of Felim, and loudly
did he proclaim that the girl-babe, who had been foretold, was born.
'Right beautiful and strong is the child, most fair to look upon.'
'And Deirdre shall her name be,' said the Wise Man, 'Deirdre the
Star-eyed.'
And because of the words that the King Concobar had spoken, the life of
the babe was spared, and when the days of feasting were past, Concobar
returned to his palace, and with him he took the infant child and her
mother. Yet after a month he bade the mother return to Felim her husband,
but the babe Deirdre he kept.
And deep within the forest, beyond the Moor of Loneliness, did the King
command that a cottage be built, and when Deirdre was one year, thither
was she sent with a trusted nurse. But on the trees of the forest and
throughout the land was proclaimed the order of the King Concobar, that
whosoever should hunt, or for other purpose enter the wood, death should
be his portion.
Once each week did the King visit the fair babe, and daily were stores of
food and milk brought to the lone dwelling. And Deirdre each year grew
more fair, but none beheld her beauty, save her nurse, her tutor, and
Lavarcam.
This Lavarcam was a woman well trusted of the King, and she alone went to
and fro between the palace and the cottage. It was she who told to Deirdre
the old tales of knights and ladies, of dragons and of fairies that dwelt
in the Enchanted Land.
When Deirdre was seven years old the King no longer came every week to the
forest, but twice in the year only, and that as the Spring put forth her
first green shoots, and again when Autumn gleaned her harvest of gold.
And when another seven years had sped, then came not the King thither,
either when the earth was green or golden, nor in the blue summer nor the
hoary winter, but from Lavarcam he heard that it was well with the maid.
One white winter's morning Deirdre looked from her window, and saw lying
in the snow a calf. It had been killed by her nurse to provide food for
the little household, and its bright red blood dyed the thick-lying snow.
As Deirdre watched the flow of the scarlet stream, a raven, black as
night, flew down and drank of the warm blood. Then Deirdre smiled.
'Where are thy thoughts, fair child?' asked Lavarcam, entering the room.
'Only did I think,' said Deirdre, 'that if a youth could be found whose
skin was white as snow, his cheek crimson as that pool of blood, and his
hair black as the raven's wing, him could I love right gladly.'
Then Lavarcam spake: 'Such a man have I seen, and one only.'
'His name, Lavarcam, his name?' cried Deirdre. 'Whence comes he, and
wherefrom he be found?'
'The fairest of three fair brothers is this Nathos, the son of Usna, and
now is he with Concobar the King.'
And Deirdre would thereafter think of none but Nathos, and Lavarcam was
much troubled because of the words that she had spoken. And when Deirdre
longed grievously by day and night to see this Nathos of whom she had
heard, Lavarcam thought of a plan whereby she might end the maiden's
dream.
One day, as she came from the palace of the King, she met on the Moor of
Loneliness a swineherd and two shepherd lads. And well though she knew
that none might enter the forest, she led them to a well in its leafy
depths. Then said this woman trusted of the King, 'Wait here by this well
until the jay cry and the hill-fox bark. Then move slowly on your way, but
speak to none whom ye may meet, and when ye leave the wood let not your
lips tell those things ye shall have seen and heard.'
With these words Lavarcam left the three men, and entered the cottage.
'Come, Deirdre,' she cried, 'the crisp snow glistens in the sunshine. Let
us wander forth.'
And Deirdre came, and dreamily she trod where Lavarcam led. Of a sudden
the older woman left her side, and bent as though she would gather a
woodland flower. At the same moment was heard the cry of the jay and the
bark of the hill-fox. Then came Lavarcam to the maiden's side.
'Passing strange is it,' said Deirdre, 'to hear the jay cry and the
hill-fox bark while yet the snow lies thick.'
'Heed not strange sounds, fair Deirdre, but cast thine eyes toward yonder
well.'
And as Deirdre gazed she saw, as in a dream, the forms of three men come
slowly through the forest.
'These, Deirdre, are men,' said Lavarcam.
'Yet seem they not as the men I have seen ride by across the Moor of
Loneliness, for they were fair to look upon, but mine eyes have no
pleasure in beholding these strange forms.'
'Yet you look upon Nathos, for these men are none other than the three
sons of Usna.'
Deirdre started. 'Idle are your words, false Lavarcam. Yonder walks not a
man with skin white as snow, with cheek crimson as blood, nor with hair
black as the raven's wing. You lie!' And the maid made haste, and she
reached the men, and stood before them.
Amazed at her exceeding beauty, they gazed in silence. 'Tell me if ye be
the sons of Usna. Speak!'
But in wonder at the loveliness of the maiden, and in fear of the anger of
Lavarcam, the men were dumb.
'Speak!' she again cried. 'If indeed ye be Nathos and his brothers, then
truly hath Concobar the King my pity.'
At these words the swineherd could no longer keep silence.
'It is thy exceeding beauty that telleth us that thou art that Deirdre
whom the King hideth in this forest. Why mock us by asking if we are the
fairest of Concobar's nobles? Clearly canst thou see we are but men of the
hills, I a poor swineherd, and these men shepherds.'
'Then wilt thou, swineherd, for truly do I believe thy words, get thee to
the sons of Usna, and say to Nathos the eldest, that in the forest beyond
the Moor of Loneliness, Deirdre awaits his coming. Tell him that
to-morrow, an hour before the setting of the sun, he will find her by this
well.'
'If it be known that I so break the law of the King, I die, yet will I go
right gladly.'
Then Deirdre left the men, and walked slowly after Lavarcam. And Lavarcam
would fain have known what Deirdre had told the swineherd, but the girl
told her nought, and was in a dream all that day and all the morrow.
It was in the wane of the morrow that Lavarcam went forth to take counsel
of the King. And Deirdre ran with great speed to the well, but no man was
there, and she waited long, but none came.
While Deirdre waited by the well, Lavarcam came near to the King's palace.
And lo! there, on the ground before her, lay the dead body of the
swineherd. Thus was it made known to Lavarcam that in some wise Concobar
the King had heard that the swineherd had spoken with Deirdre.
Therefore Lavarcam went not to the palace, but turned aside to the camp of
the sons of Usna. And Nathos came out to her, and she told him of the
loneliness of the fair Deirdre and of her longing to see him.
Then said Nathos, 'But it may not be yet awhile, for Concobar found that
the fair Deirdre had spoken with the swineherd, and for that cause lies he
yonder, a dead man.'
'Yet tarry not long, for if thou wouldst hunt in the forest, beyond the
well, then surely wouldst thou see Deirdre the Star-eyed, and none should
know.'
Seven days passed, and Deirdre roamed in the wood dreaming her dream, when
of a sudden there came an unknown sound. Ah, could it be the hunting-horn
of which Lavarcam had spoken in her tales of chase? The maiden paused. The
horn ceased. Nathos had left the hunt and wandered through the glade.
There, against a background of blue haze, encircled by a network of
blossoming blackthorn, shone forth the fairest vision mortal eye had
beheld.
Speech tarried as Nathos gazed spell-bound.
At length the maiden questioned, 'Nathos, son of Usna, what wouldst thou?'
'Strange is it that thou shouldst know my name, most fair. No mortal art
thou. Fain would I enter yonder cottage, did I but dare, and speak with
the daughter of Felim the Harper. Yet it is death should the King know of
my desire.'
'I am that Deirdre whom thou seekest, and if I be fair in thine eyes, it
pleaseth me well. It is for thee I have watched long, for is not thy skin
white as snow, thy cheek crimson as blood, and thy hair black as the
raven's wing? Lonely are my days in this place, where none dwells save my
nurse, my tutor, and Lavarcam.'
Never did harp-strings yield such music as her voice, never did fairy
strains pour forth such wonder-stirring sound.
'Art thou indeed Deirdre the Star-eyed, and is it that King Concobar
keepeth thee here like some caged bird?'
[Illustration: 'Art thou indeed Deirdre?']
'I am Deirdre, and it is the King's will that I wander not forth from
yonder cottage but by the side of Lavarcam. Ill would it please him that I
should thus roam the forest alone.'
'I love thee, Deirdre, and I would serve thee ever.'
'I love thee, Nathos, and I would that I might be ever by thy side. Let me
flee with thee from this place.'
Nathos knit his brows in thought. 'Fair one, if we are seen as we leave
the forest, then is it death to us both; and if we are not seen, still is
it death, for when it is known of the King that Deirdre is fled, then will
the land be searched until she be found, and then shall we die.'
'But, Nathos, Concobar is not King in the land of Alba. Let us flee from
Erin, and there in thine own land shall we surely find safety.'
'Thou speakest well, brave Deirdre. If a host be sent from Concobar to
Alba, then shall it be met by a host of mine own land. And a fair land it
is. Scented with pine and seaweed are its shores, blue as thine eyes are
its waters, and of its setting sun the glory cannot be told.'
'Let us go forth,' said Deirdre.
'Then let it be now and without delay, or it may never be,' and as Nathos
uttered these words Deirdre saw a strange look in his eyes, and in a
moment he had flung his javelin among the bracken but a few paces apart.
'What beast wouldst thou slay?' cried Deirdre, affrighted.
'It was no beast,' said Nathos, 'but yonder among the bracken lieth a dead
man, if my javelin missed not its mark.'
In fear and wonder Deirdre ran to the spot. No man lay there, but she saw
on the bracken the form of a crouching man. She saw, too, the tracks that
marked his escape.
Nathos followed her, and stooped to take his javelin from the ground. And
there, beside it, lay a wooden-hilted knife.
'It is as I thought,' he said. 'This knife is used but by the hillmen who
are in bondage to Concobar. The King seeketh my life. Go thou, then, back
to thy lonely cottage, and await that day when he shall make thee his
Queen.'
'Ask me not to turn from following thee, O Nathos, for thy way must be
mine, this day and ever.'
'Come, then,' and Nathos took her by the hand.
Through the shadowy forest they walked swiftly, until of a sudden he bade
her rest among the bracken. Then went he forward and told his waiting
huntsmen to return by a long and winding path to the castle of the sons of
Usna.
Three days would it thus take them to reach it, and Nathos with Deirdre
would be there on the morrow, if, tarrying not, they walked on through the
dark night. But Concobar's messengers would follow the hounds, thinking so
to capture Nathos.
'By dawn, Deirdre, shall we reach the castle, and there may we rest in
safety one day and one night. Then must we set out for the hills and lochs
of Alba, and with us Ailne and Ardan, for if the King cometh and findeth
me fled, then will he slay my brothers.'
On and on they sped, through the forest, across the Moor of Loneliness, up
the glens and gorges, and over the hills. Above glimmered the pale stars,
around them was the screech and the moan of wakeful bird and beast.
It was not till the dawn broke that they rested on the mountain-side.
There they stayed till the pink stole through the grey, and the sky
gleamed mother-o'-pearl. Then they rose and followed the stream that
trickled to the valley below. And now Nathos was glad.
'Look, Deirdre, yonder stands the castle of the sons of Usna.' And with
that he gave a cry known by the brothers each of the other, and Ailne and
Ardan came forth gladly. But when they stood before Deirdre, so great was
their wonder at her exceeding beauty, that they stood spell-bound and
uttered no word.
Then Nathos spake: 'The fair maiden whom ye behold is none other than
Deirdre, the daughter of Felim the Harper. From this day I hold her as my
wedded wife, and to you she cometh as a sister.'
But when the brothers heard, they were filled with fear, for had not the
King Concobar vowed that this same fair maid should be his Queen? And had
not the Wise Man foretold the sorrow that the daughter of Felim should
bring upon the land?
'I ask none to share the sorrow that may come,' said Nathos. 'To-morrow
Deirdre and I set forth for the bay where our galley is harboured, and if
so be that we gain the shores of Alba, before Concobar overtake us, there,
if he come thither, shall he be met by a host of our own land. Yet, lest
the King should follow me hither, and, finding me not, seek to slay you,
were it not well that ye leave this place?'
Ardan spake: 'Not for fear of that which might come upon us, but for the
love we bear you and our fair sister Deirdre will we never leave thee. If
sorrow come upon thee, let it be upon us also. Are we not the children of
one mother, and if death come, let us face it together like men. Are we
not under a bond that we will stand each by each, even unto death?'
Then said Ailne, 'As Ardan hath spoken, so let it be, for although the
words of the Wise Man come to pass, and sorrow be upon us, yet will we not
henceforth leave thee.'
But when Deirdre heard how the sons of Usna would thus face death for her
sake, she sighed aloud. 'Alas! it is not for me to bring sorrow upon the
land. Let me even now return to the cottage in the forest, and there with
Lavarcam will I live and die, unless it be that Concobar take me thence.'
But Ardan answered: 'For fear of what may befall us, the sons of Usna,
shalt thou never leave us, nor shalt thou go forth from us, but of thine
own free will.'
Early next morning one hundred and fifty men rode with the three sons of
Usna and Deirdre, the wife of Nathos, toward the bay where their black
galley was harboured. It was not till night, when on the high ridge of a
hill, that they looked backward, and there in the far valley below, where
stood the castle of the sons of Usna, they beheld a column of flame.
And Nathos' brow grew dark. 'The fire that ye see in the valley below
devours the castle of the sons of Usna. The hand that lit the fire is none
other than the hand of Concobar the King.'
Then they rode on and rested not until they reached the black galley in
the golden bay. The scent of the sea and the gleam of its blue waters and
dancing waves made them strong and glad and free.
As for Deirdre, who had never beheld the sea and its great wonders, she
laughed with joy and sang a song of the ocean which Lavarcam had taught
her long since and when its meaning was dark.
At sundown the galley came to the shores of Mull, and because the wind
fell they put into a bay, and as they gazed across the waters to the rocky
headlands of Alba, they talked long as to whither they should sail on the
morrow. Should it be to crave protection of the King, or should it be to
where their father's castle had stood before it had been destroyed?
But that night there came a galley from the long island to the north. In
it sailed twenty men with their chief. And with the chief came a
richly-clad stranger, but so hooded that none might look upon his face.
Steadfastly did the stranger gaze upon Deirdre, as the chief urged the
sons of Usna to cross the sea to Alba, and journey inland to the palace of
the King.
'But first come, Nathos, to my high-walled castle,' said the stranger, 'and
bring with thee thy wife and thy brothers.'
'It were not well to come to a man's castle and know not the man's name,'
said Nathos.
'My name is Angus,' answered the stranger.
'Then, Angus, let me behold thy face, for it were not well to come to a
man's castle, having not looked upon the man's face.'
So Angus threw back his hood, and Nathos saw that Deirdre's lips grew
white, as she said, 'Not to-morrow, Angus; but on the morn that follows,
if thou wilt come again, then shalt thou lead us to thy high-walled
castle. This day have we travelled far and would fain rest.'
But Angus turned him again to the sons of Usna and pleaded that they
should linger no longer in the isle. 'To-night may this island be
tempest-swept, to-night may the host of Concobar be upon you, and then
what shall befall this fair one? Bring her rather to my castle, and there
let her rest in safety with my wife and her maidens.'
But as Nathos glanced at Deirdre, he saw that her purpose was firm, and he
said once again the words she had spoken, 'Not tomorrow, Angus; but on the
morn that follows, if thou wilt come again, then shall we come with thee
to thy high-walled castle'
Then Angus, frowning, went with the chief and his men to their galley. And
as they set sail he asked how many men the sons of Usna had with them. But
when it was told him that they numbered one hundred and fifty, he said no
more, for there were but thirty that sailed with the chief, and what could
one man do against five?
It was not until the strangers had gone that Nathos asked Deirdre
wherefore she delayed to visit so great a lord as Angus.
'Thou shalt hear wherefore I went not this day, nor shall go on any day to
come to the castle of him who calleth himself Angus. So he calleth
himself, but in truth he is none other than the King of Alba. In a dream
was it so revealed unto me, when I saw him stand victorious over your dead
body. Nathos, that man would fain steal me from you, and deliver you into
the hands of Concobar.'
'Deirdre hath wisdom,' said Ardan. 'By the morn after to-morrow we must be
far hence, for ere the sun shall rise may not yonder chief be upon us with
thrice the number of our men?'
And Nathos, though he was sore grieved for the weariness of Deirdre, bowed
his head. So they set sail, and through the thick mist of a starless night
their galley silently breasted the unseen waves. But when they came north
of the long island, they bent to their oars, and as they rowed yet
northward Deirdre laughed again for joy, as she listened to the music of
the rowers' strokes.
When dawn glimmered they came to a sea-loch, its waters o'ershadowed by
the sleeping hills. And there they were told that the King of Alba, who
had called himself Angus, had no castle in the west, and had already left
for Dunedin. They heard, too, that the chief who sailed with him to Mull
was no longer a great lord, and that they had nought to fear.
Greatly did the sons of Usna rejoice, for now might they sail south to the
land upon which their father's castle had stood in their boyhood.
But for eight days they lingered by the shores of the sea-loch, and as its
salt breath touched Deirdre's cheeks, she grew yet more fair, and as her
eyes drank in the glory of Western Alba, they shone with a radiance that
dazzled the beholder.
Then when the eighth day was come, they sailed forth and settled close by
the ground on which had stood their boyhood's home. And it was with great
joy that those who dwelt on hill and shore heard of the return of the sons
of Usna, and many gathered around them, doing homage.
