Standish O'Grady; selected essays and passages

IRISH BARDIC HISTORY lOQ
Fail, honoured widely by the Gaeil, and their fame is
among the tribute-paying peoples this day. Came Fion,
the son of Cool, the serpent-slayer, whose hair was like
silver ; huge Oscar of the gentle heart, Kayilta Mac Ronan,
Diarmait, dusky-haired, pearl-toothed, with light laughter
and fearless heart ; bald Conan, corpulent, laughter-
moving ; and Ossian, the warrior-bard. All the blessed
Shee throughout Erin came that night to honour the
Hound of Murthemney, and Cuculain saw them all
plainly, face to face, as a man speaking with his friend,
benign countenances and venerable, high hearts made
pure and noble by death, out of Fairy Land, where they
dwell in bHss, controlling and correcting the minds of the
Gaeil. And as when to a child weeping in the night, his
parents appear with soothing hands and words, so above
the mighty Cuculain appeared the blessed Shee, speaking
words of comfort and of praise, and Cuculain conversed
with the Tuatha De Danan, being noble of heart like
themselves. And Laeg saw them not, but he felt the
awful presence, and crouched back among the shadows,
veiling his eyes with his hands, for he feared lest he should
be smitten with blindness or struck suddenly dead, seeing
with his eyes the Blessed Shee. But after this, Cuculain
fell into a deep sleep, without a dream, that lasted for the
space of a day and a night.