nn then bade him measure its
length with his foot. A bristle pierced his heel, and he fell down in
agony, beseeching Fionn to bring him water in his hand, for if he did
this he would heal him. In spite of repeated appeals, Fionn, after
bringing the water, let it drip from his hands. Diarmaid's brave soul
passed away, and on Fionn's character this dire blot was fixed for
ever.[512]

Other tales relate how several of the Fians were spirited away to the
Land beyond the Seas, how they were rescued, how Diarmaid went to Land
under Waves, and how Fionn and his men were entrapped in a Fairy Palace.
Of greater importance are those which tell the end of the Fian band.
This, according to the annalists, was the result of their exactions and
demands. Fionn was told by his wife, a wise woman, never to drink out of
a horn, but coming one day thirsty to a well, he forgot this tabu, and
so brought the end near. He encountered the sons of Uirgrenn, whom he
had slain, and in the fight with them he fell.[513] Soon after were
fought several battles, culminating in that of Gabhra in which all but a
few Fians perished. Among the survivors were Oisin and Caoilte, who
lingered on until the coming of S. Patrick. Caoilte remained on earth,
but Oisin, whose mother was of the _sid_ folk, went to fairyland for a
time, ultimately returning and joining S. Patrick's company.[514] But a
different version is given in the eighteenth century poem of Michael
Comyn, undoubtedly based on popular tales. Oisin met the Queen of Tir na
n-Og and went with her to fairyland, where time passed as a dream until
one day he stood on a stone against which she had warned him. He saw his
native land and was filled with home-sickness. The queen tried to
dissuade him, but in vain. Then she gave him a horse, warning him not to
set foot on Irish soil. He came to Ireland; and found it all changed.
Some puny people were trying in vain to raise a great stone, and begged
the huge stranger to help them. He sprang from his horse and flung the
stone from its resting-place. But when he turned, his horse was gone,
and he had become a decrepit old man. Soon after he met S. Patrick and
related the tale to him.

Of most of the tales preserved in twelfth to fifteenth century MSS. it
may be said that in essence they come down to us from a remote
antiquity, like stars pulsing their clear light out of the hidden depths
of space. Many of them exist as folk-tales, often wild and weird in
for