The Complete Works. William Butler Yeats
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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.
STEWARD.
And tell the strangest story
The mouth of man has uttered.
CATHLEEN.
More food taken;
Yet learned theologians have laid down
That he who has no food, offending no way,
May take his meat and bread from too-full larders.
FIRST PEASANT.
We come to make amends for robbery.
I stole five hundred apples from your trees,
And laid them in a hole; and my friend here
Last night stole two large mountain sheep of yours
And hung them on a beam under his thatch.
SECOND PEASANT.
His words are true.
FIRST PEASANT.
Since then our luck has changed.
As I came down the lane by Tubber-vanach
I fell on Shemus Rua and his son,
And they led me where two great gentlemen
Buy souls for money, and they bought my soul.
I told my friend here—my friend also trafficked.
SECOND PEASANT.
His words are true.
FIRST PEASANT.
Now people throng to sell,
Noisy as seagulls tearing a dead fish.
There soon will be no man or woman’s soul
Unbargained for in fivescore baronies.
SECOND PEASANT.
His words are true.
FIRST PEASANT.
When we had sold we talked,
And having no more comfortable life
Than this that makes us warm—our souls being bartered
For all this money—
SECOND PEASANT.
And this money here.
[They bring handfuls of money from their pockets. CATHLEEN starts up.
FIRST PEASANT.
And fearing much to hang for robbery,
We come to pay you for the sheep and fruit.
How do you price them?
CATHLEEN.
Gather up your money.
Think you that I would touch the demons’ gold?
Begone, give twice, thrice, twenty times their money,
And buy your souls again. I will pay all.
FIRST PEASANT.
We will not buy our souls again: a soul
But keeps the flesh out of its merriment.
We shall be merry and drunk from moon to moon.
Keep from our way. Let no one stop our way.
[They go.
CATHLEEN [to servant].
Follow and bring them here again—beseech them.
[The SERVANT goes.
[To STEWARD.]
Steward, you know the secrets of this house.
How much have I in gold?
STEWARD.
A hundred thousand.
CATHLEEN.
How much have I in castles?
STEWARD.
As much more.
CATHLEEN.
How much have I in pastures?
STEWARD.
As much more.
CATHLEEN.
How much have I in forests?
STEWARD.
As much more.
CATHLEEN.
Keeping this house alone, sell all I have;
Go to some distant country and come again
With many herds of cows and ships of grain.
STEWARD.
God’s blessing light upon your ladyship;
You will have saved the land.
CATHLEEN.
Make no delay.
[He goes.
[Enter SERVANT.]
How did you thrive? Say quickly. You are pale.
SERVANT.
Their eyes burn like the eyes of birds of prey:
I did not dare go near.
CATHLEEN.
God pity them!
Bring all the old and ailing to this house,
For I will have no sorrow of my own
From this day onward.
[The SERVANT goes out. Some of the musicians follow