Ferdia

“ There was no cheerfulness, or happiness, or even melancholy pleasure among the inmates of Ferdia's camp that night: they were all cheerless, and sorrowful, and low in spirit; for they knew that whenever those two champions, those two slayers of hundreds met, one of the two must fall in that place, or that both of them should fall: and if one only was to fall they were sure that that one would be their own master; for it was not easy for any man to combat and fight with Cuchulain on the Tain bo Cuailnge. ”

“ Thus they remained that night, but early in the morning they arose, and repaired to the Ford of Combat. "What weapons shall we turn to to-day, O Ferdia?" said Cuchulain. "Thou hast the choice of weapons until the night," answered Ferdia, "because it is I who had my choice of them in the day that is past." ”

“ Ferdia replied, “though together we have learned the secrets of knowledge, and though I have listened now to thy recital of our bonds of fellowship, it is from me that thy first wounds shall come; think not upon our old comradeship, O Hound, for it shall not profit thee; O Hound, it shall not profit thee. We lose our time in this wise; let us choose our weapons and begin. What arms shall we use to-day, O Cuchulain?”
“It is thine to choose our arms to-day, for it was thou who first didst reach the ford.”
“Dost thou remember,” said Ferdia, “the missile weapons we used to practise with Scáth?” ”

“ Pronounced Kell-ny.
"O my friend Ferdia!" said Cuchulain, "it was not right for thee to have come to the combat and the fight with me, at the instigation and the meddling of Ailill and Maev: none of those who came before thee have gained for themselves victory or success, and they all fell at my hand; neither shalt thou win victory or success from this battle, by me shalt thou fall." And it was in this manner that he was speaking, and he recited these words, and Ferdia hearkened to him:
Come not near, thou powerful man! ”

“ Well matched these two would be, if they were to fight together.” And all the men of war said, “It is a good thought; Ferdia shall go.”
So messengers were sent to Ferdia to bring him to Meave, for she said she would see him herself, to persuade him with her own mouth to go against his comrade. But when the heralds came to the tent of Ferdia, he knew well enough for what purpose they had come, and he refused to see them, neither would he go with them to Meave. ”

“ Till midday they fought with spears, and none could gain any advantage over the other. Then Cuchulain drew his sword and sought to smite Ferdia over the rim of his shield; but the giant Firbolg flung him off. Thrice Cuchulain leaped high into the air, seeking to strike Ferdia over his shield, but each time as he descended Ferdia caught him upon the shield and flung him off like a little child into the Ford. And Laeg mocked him, crying: “He casts thee off as a river flings [pg 220] its foam, he grinds thee as a millstone grinds a corn of wheat; thou elf, never call thyself a warrior.” ”

“ As for Ferdia, through the first part of the night, he slept heavily, being overcome with the liquor he had taken, and the fatigues of the day; but towards the middle of the night, he awoke from his slumber, and remembered the combat on the morrow, and anxiety and heavy care began to weigh him down; fear of Cuchulain on the one hand, and sorrow that he had promised to do combat with his friend, and fear of losing Finnabar and Meave’s great promises on the other; and he tossed about, and could sleep no longer. So he arose and called his charioteer, and said, “Yoke me my horses, and come with me ”

“ On the arch-slope of his back he slung his massive, fine-buffalo shield 3of a warrior,3 whereon were fifty bosses, wherein a boar could be shown in each of its bosses, apart from the great central boss of red gold. Ferdiad performed divers, brilliant, manifold, marvellous feats on high that day, unlearned from any one before, neither from foster-mother nor from foster-father, neither from Scathach nor from Uathach nor from Aifè, but he found them of himself that day in the face of Cuchulain. ”

“ No conclusion can thus, I think, be drawn from the fact that the details of the actual combat are so bald and meagre in the only extant text of the older redaction.
[FN#67] This is the spelling in Y. B. L. In L.L. the name appears as one word, "Ferdiad"; usually scanned as a dissyllable—though occasionally as a trisyllable. The spelling Ferdia is the conventional one sanctioned by the usage of Ferguson, Aubrey de Vere, and others; the scansion of the word as a trisyllable is on the same authority. ”

“ At that Fergus left Ferdiad and Maeve, and went out in his chariot to tell Cuchulain what had happened.
"I give my word," exclaimed Cuchulain, "for my friend to come against me is not my wish!"
"Ferdiad's anger is stirred up," said Fergus, "and he has no fear of you."
"Be quiet," replied Cuchulain, "for I can stand against him anywhere!"
"It will go hard with you getting the better of him," answered Fergus, "for he has the strength of a hundred."
"My word and oath," said Cuchulain, "it is I who will be victorious over Ferdiad." ”

“ Ferdiah said, "for Erin doth not hold This day a champion I could not subdue." And thus betwixt the twain this speech arose, And thus Cuchullin mourned and he replied: CUCHULLIN. O Ferdiah, if it be thou, Certain am I that on thy brow The blush should burn and the shame should rise, Degraded man whom the gods despise, Here at a woman's bidding to wend To fight thy fellow-pupil and friend. ”

“ After another pause Cuchullin spoke:-- "O Laegh, my friend, open Ferdiah now, And from his body the Gaebulg take out, For I without my weapon cannot be." Laegh then approached, and with a strong, sharp knife Opened Ferdiah's body, and drew out The dread Gaebulg. And when Cuchullin saw His bloody weapon lying red beside Ferdiah on the ground, again he thought Of all their past career, and thus he said: CUCHULLIN. Sad is my fate that I should see thee lying, Sad is the fate, Ferdiah, I deplore,-- I with my weapon which thy blood is dyeing, Thou on the ground a mass of streaming gore. ”

“ And the anxiousness of the combat and the battle came upon him. 11But most troubled in spirit was he that he should allow all the treasures to pass from him, and the maiden, by reason of combat with one 231 man. Unless he fought with that one man, he must needs fight with six champions on the morrow. What tormented him more than that was, should he once show himself on the ford to Cuchulain he was certain he would never have power of head or of life ever after. And Ferdiad arose early on the morrow.11 W. 3252. And he charged his charioteer to take his horses and to yoke his chariot. ”

“ Now Cuchulainn had been Ferdiad’s junior and serving-boy in Scathach’s Island, and he begged him by the memory of those old times to go back; but Ferdiad said he could not. They fought all day, and neither had gained any advantage by sunset. So they kissed one another, and each went back to his camp. Ferdiad sent half his food and drink to Cuchulainn, and Cuchulainn sent half his healing herbs and medicines to Ferdiad, and their horses were put in the same stable, and their charioteers slept by the same fire. ”

“ But, Ailill and Medb have prophesied to me that this man will fall by my hand. And since it is for a reward, he shall quickly be torn asunder by me. 1And make ready the arms on the ford against his coming." "Should I turn my face backward," said the gilla; "methinks the poles of yon chariot will pass through the back of my neck." "Too much, my lad," said Ferdiad, "dost thou praise Cuchulain, for not a reward has he given thee for praising,1 but it is time to fetch help." And he spake these words, and the henchman responded:—
Ferdiad:
"'Tis time now to help me ”

“ Cuchulain endured it not, under Ferdiad's attack, with his death-bringing, heavy blows, and his long strokes and his mighty, middle slashes at him.
1Then Cuchulain bethought him of his friends from Faery and of his mighty folk who would come to defend him and of his scholars to protect him, what time he would be hard pressed in the combat. It was then that Dolb and Indolb arrived to help and to succour their friend, namely Cuchulain, 2and one of them went on either side of him and they smote Ferdiad, the three of them, and Ferdiad did not perceive the men from Sid ('the Faery Dwelling') 2. ”

“ Ferdiad gave a thrust of his shield upwards to protect the upper part of his body, though it was help that came too late. The gilla set the Gae Bulga down the stream, and Cuchulain caught it in the fork of his foot, and 2when Ferdiad raised his shield2 Cuchulain threw the Gae Bulga as far as he could cast 3underneath3 at Ferdiad, so that it passed through the strong, thick, iron apron of wrought iron, and broke in three parts the huge, goodly stone the size of a millstone, so that it cut its way through the body's protection into him, till every joint and every limb was filled with its barbs. ”

“ Ferda, son of Damman, chief of a hundred hills in Albion. Ferda was the friend of Cuthullin, general of the Irish forces in the time of king Cormac I. Deuga ́la (spouse of Cairbar) loved the youth, and told her husband if he would not divide the herd she would no longer live with him. Cuthullin, being appointed to make the division, enraged the lady by assigning a snow-white bull to the husband, whereupon Duegala induced her lover to challenge Cuthullin to mortal combat. Most unwillingly the two friends fought, and Ferda fell. “The sunbeam of battle fell—the first of Cuthullin’s friends. ”

“ She will cheer you when Hans has gone away and her father is all day in the Forest."
"Yes," said Elsie, "she is indeed a gift from God; and you, Frida, must teach her, as you taught her parents and Anna, the 'way of life.' And O Frida, thou must go down to the Dorf, for all the people there are so eager to see thee once more. And now that thou hast grown a young lady, they all wonder if thou still beest like the woodland child, and wilt care about the like of them, or if perchance thou hast forgotten them." ”

“ Horran, or to Ferdy," said Clarice, turning from the window. "I'll see what I can do."
"Treat Master Ferdy tenderly," warned Mrs. Rebson.
"Oh, yes," replied Miss Baird, indifferently. "Things will come all right, Nanny. Ferdy, after all, is in love with Prudence."
"Another hussy," snapped the nurse.
"A very clever one, then. She would make Ferdy a good wife, and rule him with a rod of iron."
"He doesn't want that, Miss. You can lead him with a silken thread."
"I am quite sure Sarah Dumps can," said Clarice, emphatically. "Ferdy can always be led in the way he wishes to go. No, no!" ”

“ I have told you how necessary it is, that Ferdy should have someone to guide him. While he is unmarried I must be his guide, but when Prudence becomes his wife, I have every hope that she will be able to keep him in order."
"Well, then, I wish you would marry the young scamp as soon as you can," said Ackworth, rather wounded. "It seems to me, Clarice, that you love him more than you do me."
"My dearest, the weakest always require the most love. You are strong, Anthony; you can walk alone. But poor weak Ferdy--"
"Selfish, greedy Ferdy," contradicted Ackworth. ”

“ Frida was a young child, and hardly knew how to answer the troubled mother; but her faith was a simple one, so she answered, "No, Jesus is not here now, but He is in heaven, and He answers us when we pray to Him. Father once read to me the words in Matthew's Gospel—see, here they are—'Ask, and it shall be given you.' Shall we ask Him now?" and kneeling down she prayed in child language, "O Lord Jesus, who dost hear and answer prayer, make little Anna to see as Thou didst the blind men when Thou wert on earth, and oh, comfort poor Elsie!" ”

“ And suddenly Ferdie was dead—and she saw that loop with the dangling ends, and it struck her painfully that she would never again see it round Ferdie’s neck, plum and blue stem to that genial rubicund face with the kind eyes ... Dad was dead ... everybody dies....
Whether she had been vouchsafed a swift keyhole peep at an inevitable future, or if the vision were merely a childish drench of sentiment—whichever it was, it sent Deb straight past grandfather’s sarcastic smile and Aunt Stella’s antagonism, to her knees beside Ferdie’s chair—snuggled up against him—Thank God, he was not dead yet! ”

“ The doctor spoke so bravely and so fiercely that for the moment Anthony and Clarice wavered in their belief of Ferdy's story. They knew well that Ferdy was a supreme liar, and, on the face of it, Sir Daniel Jerce's character had always been above reproach. The doctor saw that he had made an impression, and followed up his advantage, swiftly and vehemently.
"That Ferdinand should accuse me is no surprise," he went on, in a ringing voice. "I have done so much for him, that it is natural he should be ungrateful. I have always found that those I have helped have been my worst enemies. ”

“ As if Ferdy was worth it."
"He must be worth something," said Clarice, dryly, "or you would not wish to marry him."
"Oh, I explained that," retorted Zara, lightly, and dusting one hand with the other. "I explained, if you remember, when I still took you to be Ferdy himself. I am always frank with the boy, and he knows, as you do now, Miss Baird, that I only wish to marry him for--shall we say professional purposes? I like him--oh, yes. He is handsome and very charming, when he chooses. Also he is sure of a certain income, even though it is a small one, and not available for two years. ”

“ I quietly said.
"Sir!" he exclaimed, quickly changing color, and assuming his most frigid expression and manner. But as quickly, and before I could speak, his sad smile and friendly tone returned, and he said,—
"Ah! I see,—Ferdy has been babbling of his visions and his dreams. Yes, the Lady Angelica. 'Very charming,' my uncle granted, 'but very poor; less of the angel and more of the heiress was desirable,' he said,—'less heaven and more land. A decayed family was only a little worse than an obscure one,—a poor knight not a whit more respectable than a rich merchant. ”