Legendary fictions of the Irish Celts

playing ;
Ossianic and other Early Legends. 253
but the blood was galloping through their veins
like mad. Every one that had room drew his sword, and
waved it over his head (and such a clatter as these swords
made striking one another !), and every one cried out the
war-cry of his own chief or king. This wouldn't do at all
for a continuance ; so he changed his hand, and made
such music as angels do when they are welcoming good
souls to heaven. Every one shut their eyes and leaned
back, and hoped that the beautiful tune would never
come to an end.
But it was forced to come to an end, and the harper
let his arms fall on his knees, and every one sighed and
groaned for being brought back to the world again. You
may depend that Craftine was praised, and gold and
silver was thrown in showers to him. Then the harpers
of Leinster, Munster, Connaught, and Ulster tried their
hands, and, sure enough, fine music flew out from under
these hands ; but all did not come within miles of Craftine's.
So when they stopped, says the king to his harper,
" Give us one tune more to finish decently, and put all
that we invited in good humour for their dinner. I'm
afraid if you go on in this way the King of Greece or the
Emperor of Moroco will be sending for you one of
these days." " By your hand, my king," says Craftine,
*' I'm afeard of the same harp. It wasn't my fingers at
all that struck out that music ; it was the music that
stirred my fingers. There's some pishrogue on the in-
strument, and I'm in dread it will play us some trick."
" Oh, trick be hanged !
" says the king ; " play away."
" Well," says the other, " I must obey your majesty—why
shouldn't I % Here goes !
"
Well, his fingers hardly touched the strings, when they
felt like sand-paper that was powdered with nettle-tops,
and out they roared as if thunder was breaking over the
roof, and a thousand men were smashing stones. Every
one was going to stop his ears, but a loud voice began to
shout out from the strings that were keeping hold of