If we knew where to find
deserving
poor,
We would give alms.
We would give alms.
Yeats
MAIRE.
Praise be the saints! [_After a pause. _
Why did the house dog bay?
SHEMUS.
He heard me coming and smelt food--what else?
TEIG.
We will not starve awhile.
SHEMUS.
What food is within?
TEIG.
There is a bag half full of meal, a pan
Half full of milk.
SHEMUS.
And we have one old hen.
TEIG.
The bogwood were less hard.
MAIRE.
Before you came
She made a great noise in the hencoop, Shemus.
What fluttered in the window?
TEIG.
Two horned owls
Have blinked and fluttered on the window sill
From when the dog began to bay.
SHEMUS.
Hush, hush.
[_He fits an arrow to the crossbow, and goes towards
the door. A sudden burst of music without. _
They are off again: ladies or gentlemen
Travel in the woods with tympan and with harp.
Teig, put the wolf upon the biggest hook
And shut the door.
[_TEIG goes into the cupboard with the wolf: returns
and fastens the door behind him. _
Sit on the creepy stool
And call up a whey face and a crying voice,
And let your head be bowed upon your knees.
[_He opens the door of the cabin. _
Come in, your honours: a full score of evenings
This threshold worn away by many a foot
Has been passed only by the snails and birds
And by our own poor hunger-shaken feet.
[_The COUNTESS CATHLEEN, ALEEL, who carries a small
square harp, OONA, and a little group of fantastically
dressed musicians come in. _
CATHLEEN.
Are you so hungry?
TEIG.
[_From beside the fire. _]
Lady, I fell but now,
And lay upon the threshold like a log.
I have not tasted a crust for these four days.
[_The COUNTESS CATHLEEN empties her purse on to the
table. _
CATHLEEN.
Had I more money I would give it you,
But we have passed by many cabins to-day;
And if you come to-morrow to my house
You shall have twice the sum. I am the owner
Of a long empty castle in these woods.
MAIRE.
Then you are Countess Cathleen: you and yours
Are ever welcome under my poor thatch.
Will you sit down and warm you by the sods?
CATHLEEN.
We must find out this castle in the wood
Before the chill o' the night.
[_The musicians begin to tune their instruments. _
Do not blame me,
Good woman, for the tympan and the harp:
I was bid fly the terror of the times
And wrap me round with music and sweet song
Or else pine to my grave. I have lost my way;
Aleel, the poet, who should know these woods,
Because we met him on their border but now
Wandering and singing like the foam of the sea,
Is so wrapped up in dreams of terrors to come
That he can give no help.
MAIRE.
[_Going to the door with her. _]
You're almost there.
There is a trodden way among the hazels
That brings your servants to their marketing.
ALEEL.
When we are gone draw to the door and the bolt,
For, till we lost them half an hour ago,
Two gray horned owls hooted above our heads
Of terrors to come. Tympan and harp awake!
For though the world drift from us like a sigh,
Music is master of all under the moon;
And play 'The Wind that blows by Cummen Strand. '
[_Music. _
[_Sings. _]
_Impetuous heart, be still, be still:
Your sorrowful love may never be told;
Cover it up with a lonely tune.
He who could bend all things to His will
Has covered the door of the infinite fold
With the pale stars and the wandering moon. _
[_While he is singing the COUNTESS CATHLEEN, OONA, and
the musicians go out. _
ALEEL.
Shut to the door and shut the woods away,
For, till they had vanished in the thick of the leaves,
Two gray horned owls hooted above our heads.
[_He goes out. _
MAIRE.
[_Bolting the door. _]
When wealthy and wise folk wander from their peace
And fear wood things, poor folk may draw the bolt
And pray before the fire.
[_SHEMUS counts out the money, and rings a piece upon
the table. _
SHEMUS.
The Mother of God,
Hushed by the waving of the immortal wings,
Has dropped in a doze and cannot hear the poor:
I passed by Margaret Nolan's; for nine days
Her mouth was green with dock and dandelion;
And now they wake her.
MAIRE.
I will go the next;
Our parents' cabins bordered the same field.
SHEMUS.
God, and the Mother of God, have dropped asleep,
For they are weary of the prayers and candles;
But Satan pours the famine from his bag,
And I am mindful to go pray to him
To cover all this table with red gold.
Teig, will you dare me to it?
TEIG.
Not I, father.
MAIRE.
O Shemus, hush, maybe your mind might pray
In spite o' the mouth.
SHEMUS.
Two crowns and twenty pennies.
MAIRE.
Is yonder quicken wood?
SHEMUS.
[_Picking the bough from the table. _]
He swayed about,
And so I tied him to a quicken bough
And slung him from my shoulder.
MAIRE.
[_Taking the bough from him. _]
Shemus! Shemus!
What, would you burn the blessed quicken wood?
A spell to ward off demons and ill faeries.
You know not what the owls were that peeped in,
For evil wonders live in this old wood,
And they can show in what shape please them best.
And we have had no milk to leave of nights
To keep our own good people kind to us.
And Aleel, who has talked with the great Sidhe,
Is full of terrors to come.
[_She lays the bough on a chair. _
SHEMUS.
I would eat my supper
With no less mirth if squatting by the hearth
Were dulacaun or demon of the pit
Clawing its knees, its hoof among the ashes.
[_He rings another piece of money. A sound of footsteps
outside the door. _
MAIRE.
Who knows what evil you have brought to us?
I fear the wood things, Shemus.
[_A knock at the door. _
Do not open.
SHEMUS.
A crown and twenty pennies are not enough
To stop the hole that lets the famine in.
[_The little shrine falls. _
MAIRE.
Look! look!
SHEMUS.
[_Crushing it underfoot. _]
The Mother of God has dropped asleep,
And all her household things have gone to wrack.
MAIRE.
O Mary, Mother of God, be pitiful!
[_SHEMUS opens the door. TWO MERCHANTS stand without.
They have bands of gold round their foreheads, and each
carries a bag upon his shoulder. _
FIRST MERCHANT.
Have you food here?
SHEMUS.
For those who can pay well.
SECOND MERCHANT.
We are rich merchants seeking merchandise.
SHEMUS.
Come in, your honours.
MAIRE.
No, do not come in:
We have no food, not even for ourselves.
FIRST MERCHANT.
There is a wolf on the big hook in the cupboard.
[_They enter. _
SHEMUS.
Forgive her: she is not used to quality,
And is half crazed with being much alone.
How did you know I had taken a young wolf?
Fine wholesome food, though maybe somewhat strong.
[_The SECOND MERCHANT sits down by the fire and begins
rubbing his hands. The FIRST MERCHANT stands looking at
the quicken bough on the chair. _
FIRST MERCHANT.
I would rest here: the night is somewhat chilly,
And my feet footsore going up and down
From land to land and nation unto nation:
The fire burns dimly; feed it with this bough.
[_SHEMUS throws the bough into the fire. The FIRST
MERCHANT sits down on the chair. The MERCHANTS' chairs
are on each side of the fire. The table is between
them. Each lays his bag before him on the table. The
night has closed in somewhat, and the main light comes
from the fire. _
MAIRE.
What have you in the bags?
SHEMUS.
Don't mind her, sir:
Women grow curious and feather-thoughted
Through being in each other's company
More than is good for them.
FIRST MERCHANT.
Our bags are full
Of golden pieces to buy merchandise.
[_They pour gold pieces on to the table out of their
bags. It is covered with the gold pieces. They shine in
the firelight. MAIRE goes to the door of pantry, and
watches the MERCHANTS, muttering to herself. _
TEIG.
These are great gentlemen.
FIRST MERCHANT.
[_Taking a stone bottle out of his bag. _]
Come to the fire,
Here is the headiest wine you ever tasted.
SECOND MERCHANT.
Wine that can hush asleep the petty war
Of good and evil, and awake instead
A scented flame flickering above that peace
The bird of prey knows well in his deep heart.
SHEMUS.
[_Bringing drinking-cups. _]
I do not understand you, but your wine
Sets me athirst: its praise made your eyes lighten.
I am thirsting for it.
FIRST MERCHANT.
Ay, come drink and drink,
I bless all mortals who drink long and deep.
My curse upon the salt-strewn road of monks.
[_TEIG and SHEMUS sit down at the table and drink. _]
TEIG.
You must have seen rare sights and done rare things.
FIRST MERCHANT.
What think you of the master whom we serve?
SHEMUS.
I have grown weary of my days in the world
Because I do not serve him.
FIRST MERCHANT.
More of this
When we have eaten, for we love right well
A merry meal, a warm and leaping fire
And easy hearts.
SHEMUS.
Come, Maire, and cook the wolf.
MAIRE.
I will not cook for you.
SHEMUS.
Maire is mad.
[_TEIG and SHEMUS stand up and stagger about. _
SHEMUS.
That wine is the suddenest wine man ever tasted.
MAIRE.
I will not cook for you: you are not human:
Before you came two horned owls looked at us;
The dog bayed, and the tongue of Shemus maddened.
When you came in the Virgin's blessed shrine
Fell from its nail, and when you sat down here
You poured out wine as the wood sidheogs do
When they'd entice a soul out of the world.
Why did you come to us? Was not death near?
FIRST MERCHANT.
We are two merchants.
MAIRE.
If you be not demons,
Go and give alms among the starving poor,
You seem more rich than any under the moon.
FIRST MERCHANT.
If we knew where to find deserving poor,
We would give alms.
MAIRE.
Then ask of Father John.
FIRST MERCHANT.
We know the evils of mere charity,
And have been planning out a wiser way.
Let each man bring one piece of merchandise.
MAIRE.
And have the starving any merchandise?
FIRST MERCHANT.
We do but ask what each man has.
MAIRE.
Merchants,
Their swine and cattle, fields and implements,
Are sold and gone.
FIRST MERCHANT.
They have not sold all yet.
MAIRE.
What have they?
FIRST MERCHANT.
They have still their souls.
[_MAIRE shrieks. He beckons to TEIG and SHEMUS. _
Come hither.
See you these little golden heaps? Each one
Is payment for a soul. From charity
We give so great a price for those poor flames.
Say to all men we buy men's souls--away.
[_They do not stir. _
This pile is for you and this one here for you.
MAIRE.
Shemus and Teig, Teig--
TEIG.
Out of the way.
[_SHEMUS and TEIG take the money. _
FIRST MERCHANT.
Cry out at cross-roads and at chapel doors
And market-places that we buy men's souls,
Giving so great a price that men may live
In mirth and ease until the famine ends.
[_TEIG and SHEMUS go out. _
MAIRE [_kneeling_].
Destroyers of souls, may God destroy you quickly!
FIRST MERCHANT.
No curse can overthrow the immortal demons.
MAIRE.
You shall at last dry like dry leaves, and hang
Nailed like dead vermin to the doors of God.
FIRST MERCHANT.
You shall be ours. This famine shall not cease.
You shall eat grass, and dock, and dandelion,
And fail till this stone threshold seem a wall,
And when your hands can scarcely drag your body
We shall be near you.
[_To SECOND MERCHANT. _
Bring the meal out.
[_The SECOND MERCHANT brings the bag of meal from the
pantry. _
Burn it. [_MAIRE faints. _
Now she has swooned, our faces go unscratched;
Bring me the gray hen, too.
_The SECOND MERCHANT goes out through the door and
returns with the hen strangled. He flings it on the
floor. While he is away the FIRST MERCHANT makes up
the fire. The FIRST MERCHANT then fetches the pan of
milk from the pantry, and spills it on the ground. He
returns, and brings out the wolf, and throws it down by
the hen. _
These need much burning.
This stool and this chair here will make good fuel.
[_He begins breaking the chair. _
My master will break up the sun and moon
And quench the stars in the ancestral night
And overturn the thrones of God and the angels.
ACT II.
_A great hall in the castle of the COUNTESS CATHLEEN.
There is a large window at the farther end, through
which the forest is visible. The wall to the right
juts out slightly, cutting off an angle of the room. A
flight of stone steps leads up to a small arched door
in the jutting wall. Through the door can be seen a
little oratory. The hall is hung with ancient tapestry,
representing the loves and wars and huntings of the
Fenian and Red Branch heroes. There are doors to the
right and left. On the left side OONA sits, as if
asleep, beside a spinning-wheel. The COUNTESS CATHLEEN
stands farther back and more to the right, close to
a group of the musicians, still in their fantastic
dresses, who are playing a merry tune. _
CATHLEEN.
Be silent, I am tired of tympan and harp,
And tired of music that but cries 'Sleep, sleep,'
Till joy and sorrow and hope and terror are gone.
[_The COUNTESS CATHLEEN goes over to OONA. _
You were asleep?
OONA.
No, child, I was but thinking
Why you have grown so sad.
CATHLEEN.
The famine frets me.
OONA.
I have lived now near ninety winters, child,
And I have known three things no doctor cures--
Love, loneliness, and famine; nor found refuge
Other than growing old and full of sleep.
See you where Oisin and young Niamh ride
Wrapped in each other's arms, and where the Fenians
Follow their hounds along the fields of tapestry;
How merry they lived once, yet men died then.
Sit down by me, and I will chaunt the song
About the Danaan nations in their raths
That Aleel sang for you by the great door
Before we lost him in the shadow of leaves.
CATHLEEN.
No, sing the song he sang in the dim light,
When we first found him in the shadow of leaves,
About King Fergus in his brazen car
Driving with troops of dancers through the woods.
[_She crouches down on the floor, and lays her head on
OONA'S knees. _
OONA.
Dear heart, make a soft cradle of old tales,
And songs, and music: wherefore should you sadden
For wrongs you cannot hinder? The great God
Smiling condemns the lost: be mirthful: He
Bids youth be merry and old age be wise.
CATHLEEN.
Tympan and harp awaken wandering dreams.
A VOICE [_without_].
You may not see the Countess.
ANOTHER VOICE.
I must see her.
[_Sound of a short struggle. A SERVANT enters from door
to R. _
SERVANT.
The gardener is resolved to speak with you.
I cannot stay him.
CATHLEEN.
You may come, Maurteen.
[_The GARDENER, an old man, comes in from the R. , and
the SERVANT goes out. _
GARDENER.
Forgive my working clothes and the dirt on me.
I bring ill words, your ladyship,--too bad
To send with any other.
CATHLEEN.
These bad times,
Can any news be bad or any good?
GARDENER.
A crowd of ugly lean-faced rogues last night--
And may God curse them! --climbed the garden wall.
There is scarce an apple now on twenty trees,
And my asparagus and strawberry beds
Are trampled into clauber, and the boughs
Of peach and plum-trees broken and torn down
For some last fruit that hung there. My dog, too,
My old blind Simon, him who had no tail,
They murdered--God's red anger seize them!
CATHLEEN.
I know how pears and all the tribe of apples
Are daily in your love--how this ill chance
Is sudden doomsday fallen on your year;
So do not say no matter. I but say
I blame the famished season, and not you.
Then be not troubled.
GARDENER.
I thank your ladyship.
CATHLEEN.
What rumours and what portents of the famine?
GARDENER.
The yellow vapour, in whose folds it came,
That creeps along the hedges at nightfall,
Rots all the heart out of my cabbages.
I pray against it.
[_He goes towards the door, then pauses. _
If her ladyship
Would give me an old crossbow, I would watch
Behind a bush and guard the pears of nights
And make a hole in somebody I know of.
CATHLEEN.
They will give you a long draught of ale below.
[_The GARDENER goes out. _
OONA.
What did he say? --he stood on my deaf side.
CATHLEEN.
His apples are all stolen. Pruning time,
And the slow ripening of his pears and apples,
For him is a long, heart-moving history.
OONA.
Now lay your head once more upon my knees.
I will sing how Fergus drove his brazen cars.
[_She chaunts with the thin voice of age. _
_Who will go drive with Fergus now,
And pierce the deep woods' woven shade,
And dance upon the level shore?
Young man, lift up your russet brow,
And lift your tender eyelids, maid,
And brood on hopes and fears no more. _
You have dropped down again into your trouble.
You do not hear me.
CATHLEEN.
Ah, sing on, old Oona,
I hear the horn of Fergus in my heart.
OONA.
I do not know the meaning of the song.
I am too old.
CATHLEEN.
The horn is calling, calling.
OONA.
_And no more turn aside and brood
Upon Love's bitter mystery;
For Fergus rules the brazen cars,
And rules the shadows of the wood,
And the white breast of the dim sea
And all dishevelled wandering stars. _
THE SERVANT'S VOICE [_without_].
The Countess Cathleen must not be disturbed.
ANOTHER VOICE.
Man, I must see her.
CATHLEEN.
Who now wants me, Paudeen?
SERVANT [_from the door_].
A herdsman and his history.
CATHLEEN.
He may come.
[_The HERDSMAN enters from the door to R. _
HERDSMAN.
Forgive this dusty gear: I have come far.
My sheep were taken from the fold last night.
You will be angry: I am not to blame.
But blame these robbing times.
CATHLEEN.
No blame's with you.
I blame the famine.
HERDSMAN.
Kneeling, I give thanks.
When gazing on your face, the poorest, Lady,
Forget their poverty, the rich their care.
CATHLEEN.
What rumours and what portents of the famine?
HERDSMAN.
As I came down the lane by Tubber-vanach
A boy and man sat cross-legged on two stones,
With moving hands and faces famine-thin,
Gabbling to crowds of men and wives and boys
Of how two merchants at a house in the woods
Buy souls for hell, giving so great a price
That men may live through all the dearth in plenty.
The vales are famine-crazy--I am right glad
My home is on the mountain near to God.
[_He turns to go. _
CATHLEEN.
They will give you ale and meat before you go.
You must have risen at dawn to come so far.
Keep your bare mountain--let the world drift by,
The burden of its wrongs rests not on you.
HERDSMAN.
I am content to serve your ladyship.
[_He goes. _
OONA.
What did he say? --he stood on my deaf side.
He seemed to give you word of woful things.
CATHLEEN.
A story born out of the dreaming eyes
And crazy brain and credulous ears of famine.
O, I am sadder than an old air, Oona,
My heart is longing for a deeper peace
Than Fergus found amid his brazen cars:
Would that like Edain my first forebear's daughter,
Who followed once a twilight's piercing tune,
I could go down and dwell among the Sidhe
In their old ever-busy honeyed land.
OONA.
You should not say such things--they bring ill-luck.
CATHLEEN.
The image of young Edain on the arras,
Walking along, one finger lifted up;
And that wild song of the unending dance
Of the dim Danaan nations in their raths,
Young Aleel sang for me by the great door,
Before we lost him in the shadow of leaves,
Have filled me full of all these wicked words.
[_The SERVANT enters hastily, followed by three men.
Two are peasants. _
SERVANT.
The steward of the castle brings two men
To talk with you.
