Goll mac Morna

“ Fionn sat in the Chief Captain's seat in the middle of the fort; and facing him, in the place of honour, he placed the mirthful Goll mac Morna; and from these, ranging on either side, the nobles of the Fianna took each the place that fitted his degree and patrimony.
After good eating, good conversation, and after good conversation, sleep—that is the order of a banquet: so when each person had been served with food to the limit of desire the butlers carried in shining and jewelled drinking-horns, each having its tide of smooth, heady liquor. ”

“ He will rove unless you tie him to a post, and he will whistle then.
The sons of Morna came, but there were only two grim women living in a lonely hut to greet them. We may be sure they were well greeted. One can imagine Goll's merry stare taking in all that could be seen; Conán's grim eye raking the women's faces while his tongue raked them again; the Rough mac Morna shouldering here and there in the house and about it, with maybe a hatchet in his hand, and Art Og coursing farther afield and vowing that if the cub was there he would find him.
CHAPTER VI
But Fionn was gone. ”

“ The lesser gentlemen looked under their brows at the greater champions, and these peered furtively at the greatest of all. Art og mac Morna of the Hard Strokes fell to biting his fingers, Cona’n the Swearer and Garra mac Morna grumbled irritably to each other and at their neighbours, even Caelte, the son of Rona’n, looked down into his own lap, and Goll Mor sipped at his wine without any twinkle in his eye. A horrid embarrassment came into the great hall, and as the High King stood in that palpitating silence his noble face changed from kindly to grave and from that to a terrible sternness. ”

“ At this time Goll son of Morna was the captain of the Fianna of Erin, but Finn, being come to man's estate, wished to take the place of his father Cumhal. So he went to Tara, and during the Great Assembly, when no man might raise his hand against any other in the precincts of Tara, he sat down among the king's warriors and the Fianna. ”

“ When he saw a peaceful man he insulted him, and when he met a man who was not peaceful he insulted him. There was Garra Duv mac Morna, and savage Art Og, who cared as little for their own skins as they did for the next man's, and Garra must have been rough indeed to have earned in that clan the name of the Rough mac Morna. ”

“ Goll, son of Morna, slew Cumhal, and they spoiled him of the Treasure Bag of the Fianna, which was a bag made of a crane's skin and having in it jewels of great price, and magic weapons, and strange things that had come down from far-off days when the Fairy Folk and mortal men battled for the lordship of Ireland. The Bag with its treasures was given to Lia, the chief of Luachar in Connacht, who had the keeping of it before, for he was the treasurer of Cumhal, and he was the first man who had wounded Cumhal in the battle when he fell. ”

“ John MacNeill (Irish Texts Soc, vii., 1908) , pp. 23 and 121. Goll was leader of the Connaught Fians and was opposed to Fionn, the chief of the Leinster warriors. He is described as a man of lofty disposition and great valour. In this poem he is standing, driven to bay by his enemies, on a bare rocky promontory, his wife only beside him, cut off from all hope of escape. Few poems relating to Goll remain in Ireland, but a good many survive in the Western Highlands of Scotland.
"Youth and Age." ”

“ It was early morning, and Goll mac Morn a stood at the doorway of his house at Ben Edar the place we now call the Hill of Howth and looked over the sea. He was surprised to see a number of ships in the harbour, for overnight there had been none.
"It is unlucky so many of the Fianna are away at the present time," he said to Caeilté, "for I think these ships do not belong to any friends of ours. Will you send some one to discover whether they come in peace or in war?
"I'll go myself," said Caeilté at once, and taking a curragh rowed out to the ships. ”

“ And when Conan heard of the death of Goll his brother, there was great anger on him, and he went to Garraidh, and asked him to go with him to Finn to ask satisfaction for Goll. "I am not willing to go," said Garraidh, "since we could get no satisfaction for the great son of Morna." "Whether you have a mind to go or not, I will go," said Conan; "and I will make an end of every man I meet with, for the sake of yellow-haired Goll; I will have the life of Oisin, Finn's great son, and of Osgar and of Caoilte and of Daire of the Songs ”

“ In this story Finn mac Cúmhail or Cool [10] at a great feast in his fort at Allen asks Goll about some tribute which he claimed, and is dissatisfied at the answer of Goll, who may be called the Ajax of the Fenians. After that there arose a quarrel at the feast, the rise of which is thus graphically pourtrayed—
"'Goll,' said Finn, 'you have acknowledged in that speech that you came from the city of Beirbhé to the battle of Cnoca, and that you slew my father there, and it is a bold and disobedient thing of you to tell me that,' said Finn. ”

“ Conan mac Morna, hiding still behind Oisin and Oscur, could not restrain his tongue when he heard Gael's speech.
"Undoubtedly you have heard of us—who has not?" he proudly asked. "But in all our forays and wanderings we have never heard any man speak of you, nor do I, for one, believe a word of what you have said. ”

“ And thus they fought, and Aildé fell, and Eragon defied
An equal band to equal fight, for great had grown his pride.
Then paused and pondered Fionn long, and doubted whom to ask
To lead in such a venture great, and dare so grave a task.
But Goll, the son of Morna, named at Fionn's call, went forth
And matched with equal force, back drove the boasters of the North.
And yet again a band as strong was overcome and made
To own our heroes' swords were best, when man to man arrayed;
But Eragon in fury cried his men should conquer yet. ”

“ It was a long fight. It was a hard and a tricky fight, and Goll won it by bravery and strategy and great good luck; for with one shrewd slice of his blade he carved two of these mighty termagants into equal halves, so that there were noses and whiskers to his right hand and knees and toes to his left: and that stroke was known afterwards as one of the three great sword-strokes of Ireland. The third hag,
They stood outside, filled with savagery and terror. ”

“ The king and his son also agreed, and the decision was imparted to the Fianna.
"One must abide by a judgement," said Fionn.
"Do you abide by it?" Goll demanded.
"I do," said Fionn.
Goll and Fionn then kissed each other, and thus peace was made. For, notwithstanding the endless bicker of these two heroes, they loved each other well.
Yet, now that the years have gone by, I think the fault lay with Goll and not with Fionn, and that the judgement given did not consider everything. For at that table Goll should not have given greater gifts than his master and host did. ”

“ Steel was so long in coming. But at last there was a rustle in the conservatory, and a slender figure in a big hat stood for an instant on the threshold.
That was Morna's first impression of the new mistress of Normanthorpe, and it was never erased from her mind; a slender silhouette in an enormous hat, the light all behind her, the pilastered doorway for a frame, a gay background of hothouse flowers, and in the figure itself a nervous hesitancy which struck an immediate chord of sympathy in Morna. She also was shy; the touch of imperfect nature was mutually discernible and discerned ”

“ The uncanny, misbehaved, and outrageous harridans advanced then to meet the son of Morna, and when he saw these three Goll whipped the sword from his thigh, swung his buckler round, and got to them in ten great leaps.
Silence fell on the world during that conflict. The wind went down; the clouds stood still; the old hill itself held its breath; the warriors within ceased to be men and became each an ear; and the dogs sat in a vast circle round the combatants, with their heads all to one side, their noses poked forward, their mouths half open, and their tails forgotten. ”

“ Gall, son of Morna, the hero of Connaught (one of the few distinguished men of Belgic origin whom we hear of through the Milesian bards) , flourished a generation earlier than Finn, and might fairly compete with him in celebrity, if he had only had an Ossian to sing his praises.
The political boundaries of different tribes expanded or contracted with their good or ill fortune in battle. Immigration often followed defeat, so that a clan, or its offshoot is found at one period on one part of the map and again on another. ”

“ When she saw Blackett she asked him what he thought about it.
"Why hasn't the Captain come with him? It's all moonshine his staying on the Sea-mew to see [90] to repairs in the engine room. Mac's quite good enough for that job," she said.
"It's none of your business, anyway," said Brant; "and as for McTavish, you're prejudiced in his favor—I shouldn't wonder if you aren't Sarah McTavish some day."
"Nonsense, Brant! I've had one dose of married life; I don't want to try it again," she said.
"Give the poor man a chance; he's only one thing against him," said the trainer. ”

“ You shall be the new mistress of the Casa Gould."
And later on, in the inhabited corner of the palazzo above the vineyards, the marble hills, the pines and olives of Lucca, he also said:
"The name of Gould has been always highly respected in Sulaco. My uncle Harry was chief of the state for some time, and has left a great name among the first families. By this I mean the pure Creole families, who take no part in the miserable farce of governments. Uncle Harry was no adventurer. In Costaguana we Goulds are no adventurers. ”

“ They wished to see what destruction had been wrought by the great being, but it was young Fionn they saw and that redoubtable head swinging by its hair. “What is your demand?” said the Ard-Ri’. “The thing that it is right I should ask,” said Fionn: “the command of the Fianna of Ireland.”
“Make your choice,” said Conn to Goll Mor; “you will leave Ireland, or you will place your hand in the hand of this champion and be his man.”
Goll could do a thing that would be hard for another person, and he could do it so beautifully that he was not diminished by any action. ”

“ Morna, daughter of Cormac, king of Ireland. She was in love with Câthba, youngest son of Torman. Duchômar, out of jealousy, slew his rival, and then asked Morna to be his bride. She replied, “Thou art dark to me, O, Duchômar, and cruel is thine arm to Morna.” She then begged him for his sword, and when “he gave it to her she thrust it into his heart.” Duchômar fell, and begged the maid to pull out the sword that he might die, but when she did so, he seized it from her and plunged it into her side. Whereupon Cuthullin said:
“Peace to the souls of the heroes! ”

“ The staring heads of men blocked the doorway in an instant—mozos from stable, gardeners, nondescript helpers living on crumbs of the munificent house—and Charles Gould beheld all the extent of his domestic establishment even to the gate-keeper. This was a half-paralyzed old man, whose long, white locks fell down to his shoulders—an heirloom taken up by Charles Gould's familial piety. He could remember Henry Gould, an Englishman and Costaguanero of the second generation, chief of the Sulaco province ”

“ Mrs. Gould said, in a tone as if she were repelling an undeserved aspersion. "Viola, the Garibaldino, with whom he has lived for some years, calls him the incorruptible."
"Ah! he belongs to the group of your protégés out there towards the harbor, Mrs. Gould. Muy bien. And Captain Mitchell calls him wonderful. I have heard no end of tales of his strength, his audacity, his fidelity. No end of fine things. H'm! incorruptible? It is indeed a name of honor for the capataz of the cargadores of Sulaco. Incorruptible! Fine, but vague. However, I suppose he's sensible, too. ”

“ Fionn and his companions clamoured to stand before the witch and fight her both on their own account and Coil's. But Goll refused, and only when Fionn used his authority and forbade him to go out that day—saying he did not want to altogether lose his best captain—did Goll relent, and unwillingly agreed that Oscur should take his place.
The witch stared in amazement when she saw that those whom she still believed to be spell-bound were arrayed against her; but a furious anger possessed her when she realized they had escaped from her power. ”

“ Gould whispered "I thought that we—"
"No!" interrupted the doctor. "There is no peace and rest in the development of material interests. They have their law and their justice. But it is founded on expediency, and is inhuman; it is without rectitude, without the continuity and the force that can be found only in a moral principle. Mrs. Gould, the time approaches when all that the Gould Concession stands for shall weigh as heavily upon the people as the barbarism, cruelty, and misrule of a few years back."
"How can you say that, Dr. Monygham?" ”

“ Itha never was herself in Cornwall, her great foundation was Kill-eedy in Limerick, and she was taken as the tutelary saint or patroness of Hy-Conaill, but there were establishments, daughters of the parent house, what the Irish called daltha (i.e. pupil) churches, enjoying much the same rights as the mother house.
Camelford has by some been supposed to be the Gavulford where the last battle was fought between the West Welsh and Athelstan; but there was no reason for his advancing into Cornwall this way, where all was bleak, and by no old road. ”

“ He lived in the presbytery with his cousin, was kindly, affectionately treated by him, and was not a little humored by Morwen, who pitied his condition, forgave his perversity of temper, and was too familiar with ill-humors, experienced during her mother's life, to resent his outbreaks of petulance.
"Go forth, Goronwy," said Howel. "Bid Morgan see that the grave for our dead saint be made ready. They are like to forget their duties to the dead in their care for themselves. ”