ill-side above him smiled gaily.

A small, narrow road cut at right angles into his path, and as he
approached this he heard the bustle and movement of a host, the trample
of feet, the rolling and creaking of wheels, and the long unwearied
drone of voices. In a few minutes he came abreast of this small road,
and saw an ass and cart piled with pots and pans, and walking beside
this there were two men and a woman. The men and the woman were talking
together loudly, even fiercely, and the ass was drawing his cart along
the road without requiring assistance or direction. While there was a
road he walked on it: when he might come to a cross road he would turn
to the right: when a man said "whoh" he would stop: when he said "hike"
he would go backwards, and when he said "yep" he would go on again. That
was life, and if one questioned it, one was hit with a stick, or a boot,
or a lump of rock: if one continued walking nothing happened, and that
was happiness.

The Philosopher saluted this cavalcade.

"God be with you," said he.

"God and Mary be with you," said the first man.

"God, and Mary, and Patrick be with you," said the second man.

"God, and Mary, and Patrick, and Brigid be with you," said the woman.

The ass, however, did not say a thing. As the word "whoh" had not
entered into the conversation he knew it was none of his business, and
so he turned to the right on the new path and continued his journey.

"Where are you going to, stranger," said the first man.

"I am going to visit Angus Og," replied the Philosopher.

The man gave him a quick look.

"Well," said he, "that's the queerest story I ever heard. Listen here,"
he called to the others, "this man is looking for Angus Og."

The other man and woman came closer.

"What would you be wanting with Angus Og, Mister Honey?" said the woman.

"Oh," replied the Philosopher, "it's a particular thing, a family
matter."

There was silence for a few minutes, and they all stepped onwards behind
the ass and cart.

"How do you know where to look for himself?" said the first man again:
"maybe you got the place where he lives written down in an old book or
on a carved stone?"

"Or did you find the staff of Amergin or of Ossian in a bog and it
written from the top to the bottom with signs?" said the second man.

"No," said the Philosopher, "it isn't that way you'd go visiting a god.
What you do is, you go out from your house and walk straight away in
any direct