Matheson Collection > Fianaigecht

THE CHASE OF SID NA MEAN FINN 63
the valiant f ana of Ireland to us with the trophy of every triumph,
carrying the red burdens of the quarry upon them as they boasted of
every chase, and the leaders of the fian sat down by me upon the
hunting-mound. And the churl gave the fill of the horn to every
leader of ^ana, so that they all became joyous and happy. As
the light of day came there came upon the churl a beautiful
form and shapeliness and radiance, so that there was a delightful
beauty upon him, so that there never came from the rise of the sun
to its setting a man of better mien and aspect than he, both as to
size and . . . and proportion and cheerfulness and wisdom and
speech and he had the demeanour of a high-king, and there
was the charm of a youth in his figure. ' Well now, royal leader of
the/awa,' said GoU, ' who is that fair many-hued unknown warrior near
thee ? ' ' And I said,' said Finn : ' I do not know, for he has not made
himself fully known to me.' ' Now,' said he, ' here is my full name
for Tou. Cronánach from the fairy-hill on Femen am I,- said the
warrior, .... .......
said Finn . . . .all Ireland,
and he stayed a year with me and gave me the horn.^ And five hoops
and though it should be filled with water, it
turns into sweet-tasting, delicious mead .....
when the bearer of the horn ... his mate, so
that
the story of the bora and the cause of my sorrow,' said Finn,
and he made this lay :
' Five rows of studs there were in Finn's horn, it was a good hand
that put them into it, he was a proper man in every way, the hand
that wrought those five.
* It was wrong what the men did, not to wait for fair peace ;
it is worse what has followed from it, each one to slay his comrade.
' Cronánach of the fairy-hill on Femen we found here without
concealment, very sweet W9S the song of the man, 'tis he that brought
the five-studded horn.'
1 1 . Thereupon with great sadness Finn put the horn from him and
1 This hom is not mentioned among those enumerated as in the possession of
Finn in the poem in Agallamh na Senórach, Silva Gadelica, I., p. 97, 2%«
Acallam, ed. Stokes, p. 5.