Page:Beside the Fire - Douglas Hyde.djvu/226

 164 One night the bishop was in his chamber asleep, when one of the hags of the long tooth opened the door and came in. When the bishop wakened up he saw the hag standing by the side of his bed. He was so much afraid he was not able to speak a word until the hag spoke and said to him: "Let there be no fear on you; I did not come to do you harm, but to give you advice. You promised the people of Loch Glynn that you would come to banish the hags of the long tooth out of the wood of Driminuch. If you come you will never go back alive."

His talk came to the bishop, and he said: "I cannot break my word."

"We have only a year and a day to be in the wood," said the hag, "and you can put off the people until then."

"Why are ye in the woods as ye are?" says the bishop.

"Our brother killed us," said the hag, "and when we went before the arch-judge, there was judgment passed on us, we to be as we are two hundred years. We have a castle under the lake, and be in it every night. We are suffering for the crime our father did." Then she told him the crime the father did.

"Hard is your case," said the bishop, "but we must put up with the will of the arch-judge, and I shall not trouble ye."

"You will get an account, when we are gone from the wood," said the hag. Then she went from him.

In the morning, the day on the morrow, the bishop came to Loch Glynn. He sent out notice and gathered the people. Then he said to them: "It is the will of the arch-king that the power of enchantment be not banished for another year and a day, and ye must keep out of the wood until then. It is a great wonder to me that ye never saw the hags of enchantment till the hunters