very one
leaves their secret with her. And it was she outran you coming from the
east," he said, "and not this other girl that was drinking and making
merry here in the hall." "What is her name?" said Finn. "Etain of the
Fair Hair," he said; "a daughter of my own, and a darling of the Tuatha
de Danaan. And it is the way with her, she has a lover of the men of the
Fianna." "That is well," said Finn; "and who is that lover?" "It is
Osgar, son of Oisin," said Aedh; "and it is she herself sent her
messenger for you," he said, "in her own shape, to Slieve Crot in the
south. And the son of the High King of Ireland has offered a great
bride-price to the Men of Dea for her," he said, "three hundreds of the
land nearest to Bregia and to Midhe, and to put himself and his weight
of gold into a balance, and to give it all to her. But we did not take
it," he said, "since she had no mind or wish for it herself, and so we
made no dealing or agreement about her." "Well," said Finn, "and what
conditions will you ask of Osgar?" "Never to leave me for anything at
all but my own fault," said the girl. "I will make that agreement with
you indeed," said Osgar. "Give me sureties for it," said she; "give me
the sureties of Goll for the sons of Morna, and of Finn, son of Cumhal,
for the Fianna of Ireland."

So they gave those sureties, and the wedding-feast was made, and they
stopped there for twenty nights. And at the end of that time Osgar asked
Finn where would he bring his wife. "Bring her to wide Almhuin for the
first seven years," said Finn.

But a while after that, in a great battle at Beinn Edair, Osgar got so
heavy a wound that Finn and the Fianna were as if they had lost their
wits. And when Etain of the Fair Hair came to the bed where Osgar was
lying, and saw the way he was, and that the great kinglike shape he had
was gone from him, greyness and darkness came on her, and she raised
pitiful cries, and she went to her bed and her heart broke in her like a
nut; and she died of grief for her husband and her first love.

But it was not at that time Osgar got his death, but afterwards in the
battle of Gabhra.

BOOK SIX: DIARMUID.

CHAPTER I. BIRTH OF DIARMUID

Diarmuid, now, was son of Bonn, son of Duibhne of the Fianna, and his
mother was Crochnuit, that was near in blood to Finn. And at the time he
was born, Bonn was banished from the Fianna because of some quarrel they
had with him, and Angus Og took the child from him t