Then leaving the heights they rushed down that valley
where, in far later times, Diarmuid hid in a deep cavern his Grania,
and passed the stream where Muadhan, their savage servant, caught fish
for them on a hook baited with a quicken-berry.
where, in far later times, Diarmuid hid in a deep cavern his Grania,
and passed the stream where Muadhan, their savage servant, caught fish
for them on a hook baited with a quicken-berry.
Yeats
No matter how carefully
Dhoya played, each move went against him. At last, leaping back from
the board, he cried, 'I have lost! ' The two spirits were standing
together at the entrance. Dhoya seized his spear, but slowly the
figures began to fade, first a star and then the leaves showed through
their forms. Soon all had vanished away.
Then, understanding his loss, he threw himself on the ground, and
rolling hither and thither, roared like a wild beast. All night long he
lay on the ground, and all the next day till nightfall. He had crumbled
his staff unconsciously between his fingers into small pieces, and now,
full of dull rage, the pointed end of the staff still in his hand,
arose and went forth westward. In a ravine of the northern mountain
he came on the tracks of wild horses. Soon one passed him fearlessly,
knowing nothing of man. He drove the pointed end of the staff deep in
the flank, making a great wound, sending the horse rushing with short
screams down the mountain. Other horses passed him one by one, driven
southward by a cold wind laden with mist, arisen in the night-time.
Towards the end of the ravine stood one black and huge, the leader of
the herd. Dhoya leaped on his back with a loud cry that sent a raven
circling from the neighbouring cliff, and the horse, after vainly
seeking to throw him, rushed off towards the north-west, over the
heights of the mountains where the mists floated. The moon, clear
sometimes of the flying clouds, from low down in the south-east, cast
a pale and mutable light, making their shadow rise before them on
the mists, as though they pursued some colossal demon, sombre on his
black charger.
Then leaving the heights they rushed down that valley
where, in far later times, Diarmuid hid in a deep cavern his Grania,
and passed the stream where Muadhan, their savage servant, caught fish
for them on a hook baited with a quicken-berry. On over the plains,
on northward, mile after mile, the wild gigantic horse leaping cliff
and chasm in his terrible race; on until the mountains of what is now
Donegal rose before them--over these among the clouds, driving rain
blowing in their faces from the sea, Dhoya knowing not whither he went,
or why he rode. On--the stones loosened by the hoofs rumbling down into
the valleys--till far in the distance he saw the sea, a thousand feet
below him; then, fixing his eyes thereon, and using the spear-point as
a goad, he roused his black horse into redoubled speed, until horse and
rider plunged headlong into the Western Sea.
Sometimes the cotters on the mountains of Donegal hear on windy nights
a sudden sound of horses' hoofs, and say to each other, 'There goes
Dhoya. ' And at the same hour men say if any be abroad in the valleys
they see a huge shadow rushing along the mountain.
_Printed by_ A. H. BULLEN, _at The Shakespeare Head Press,
Stratford-on-Avon_.
* * * * *
Transcriber's Notes:
Repeated story titles were removed to avoid redundancy. Obvious
punctuation errors repaired. Varied hyphenation was retained.
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Collected Works in Verse and Prose
of William Butler Yeats, Vol. 7 (of 8), by William Butler Yeats
*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WORKS OF W B YEATS, VOL 7 ***
***** This file should be named 49614-0. txt or 49614-0. zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www. gutenberg.
Dhoya played, each move went against him. At last, leaping back from
the board, he cried, 'I have lost! ' The two spirits were standing
together at the entrance. Dhoya seized his spear, but slowly the
figures began to fade, first a star and then the leaves showed through
their forms. Soon all had vanished away.
Then, understanding his loss, he threw himself on the ground, and
rolling hither and thither, roared like a wild beast. All night long he
lay on the ground, and all the next day till nightfall. He had crumbled
his staff unconsciously between his fingers into small pieces, and now,
full of dull rage, the pointed end of the staff still in his hand,
arose and went forth westward. In a ravine of the northern mountain
he came on the tracks of wild horses. Soon one passed him fearlessly,
knowing nothing of man. He drove the pointed end of the staff deep in
the flank, making a great wound, sending the horse rushing with short
screams down the mountain. Other horses passed him one by one, driven
southward by a cold wind laden with mist, arisen in the night-time.
Towards the end of the ravine stood one black and huge, the leader of
the herd. Dhoya leaped on his back with a loud cry that sent a raven
circling from the neighbouring cliff, and the horse, after vainly
seeking to throw him, rushed off towards the north-west, over the
heights of the mountains where the mists floated. The moon, clear
sometimes of the flying clouds, from low down in the south-east, cast
a pale and mutable light, making their shadow rise before them on
the mists, as though they pursued some colossal demon, sombre on his
black charger.
Then leaving the heights they rushed down that valley
where, in far later times, Diarmuid hid in a deep cavern his Grania,
and passed the stream where Muadhan, their savage servant, caught fish
for them on a hook baited with a quicken-berry. On over the plains,
on northward, mile after mile, the wild gigantic horse leaping cliff
and chasm in his terrible race; on until the mountains of what is now
Donegal rose before them--over these among the clouds, driving rain
blowing in their faces from the sea, Dhoya knowing not whither he went,
or why he rode. On--the stones loosened by the hoofs rumbling down into
the valleys--till far in the distance he saw the sea, a thousand feet
below him; then, fixing his eyes thereon, and using the spear-point as
a goad, he roused his black horse into redoubled speed, until horse and
rider plunged headlong into the Western Sea.
Sometimes the cotters on the mountains of Donegal hear on windy nights
a sudden sound of horses' hoofs, and say to each other, 'There goes
Dhoya. ' And at the same hour men say if any be abroad in the valleys
they see a huge shadow rushing along the mountain.
_Printed by_ A. H. BULLEN, _at The Shakespeare Head Press,
Stratford-on-Avon_.
* * * * *
Transcriber's Notes:
Repeated story titles were removed to avoid redundancy. Obvious
punctuation errors repaired. Varied hyphenation was retained.
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Collected Works in Verse and Prose
of William Butler Yeats, Vol. 7 (of 8), by William Butler Yeats
*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WORKS OF W B YEATS, VOL 7 ***
***** This file should be named 49614-0. txt or 49614-0. zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www. gutenberg.
