Matheson Collection > Deirdire; and, The lay of the children of Uisne

DEIRDIRE 37
for you are their names and descent,
all that I saw and heard of them/ said
the hunter ; ' and the appearance and
form of the men on being seen is — the
colour of the raven on their hair, their
skin like the swan of the waves, and
their cheeks like the blood of the
speckled-red fawn, while their strength
and their spring are those of the
salmon of the rapid stream and the
stag of the brindled hill ; and Naoise
has all above the slope of the two
shoulders over the other people of Eirin.'
' However they are,' said the foster-
mother, ' be thou going out of here, and
taking another road, and King
of the moon, and of the sun, truly and
verily small are my own obligations or
delight for thyself or for her who let
thee in.'
The hunter went his way. Shortly
after he left, the man thought to him-
self that Conachar, the king of Ulster,