exonerate Fionn and to let the
blame go where it is merited.

There is, however, this to be added and remembered, that whenever Fionn
was in a tight corner it was Goll that plucked him out of it; and, later
on, when time did his worst on them all and the Fianna were sent to hell
as unbelievers, it was Goll mac Morna who assaulted hell, with a chain
in his great fist and three iron balls swinging from it, and it was
he who attacked the hosts of great devils and brought Fionn and the
Fianna-Finn out with him.

THE CARL OF THE DRAB COAT

CHAPTER I

One day something happened to Fionn, the son of Uail; that is, he
departed from the world of men, and was set wandering in great distress
of mind through Faery. He had days and nights there and adventures
there, and was able to bring back the memory of these.

That, by itself, is wonderful, for there are few people who remember
that they have been to Faery or aught of all that happened to them in
that state.

In truth we do not go to Faery, we become Faery, and in the beating of a
pulse we may live for a year or a thousand years. But when we return
the memory is quickly clouded, and we seem to have had a dream or seen a
vision, although we have verily been in Faery.

It was wonderful, then, that Fionn should have remembered all that
happened to him in that wide-spun moment, but in this tale there is yet
more to marvel at; for not only did Fionn go to Faery, but the great
army which he had marshalled to Ben Edair [The Hill of Howth] were
translated also, and neither he nor they were aware that they had
departed from the world until they came back to it.

Fourteen battles, seven of the reserve and seven of the regular Fianna,
had been taken by the Chief on a great march and manoeuvre. When they
reached Ben Edair it was decided to pitch camp so that the troops
might rest in view of the warlike plan which Fionn had imagined for the
morrow. The camp was chosen, and each squadron and company of the host
were lodged into an appropriate place, so there was no overcrowding and
no halt or interruption of the march; for where a company halted that
was its place of rest, and in that place it hindered no other company,
and was at its own ease.

When this was accomplished the leaders of battalions gathered on a
level, grassy plateau overlooking the sea, where a consultation began
as to the next day's manoeuvres, and during this discussion they looked
often on the wide w