The dancers crowded about him,
And many a sweet thing said,
And a young man brought him red wine,
And a young girl white bread.
But Bridget drew him by the sleeve,
Away from the merry bands,
To old men playing at cards
With a twinkling of ancient hands.
The bread and the wine had a doom,
For these were the folk of the air;
He sat and played in a dream
Of her long dim hair.
He played with the merry old men,
And thought not of evil chance,
Until one bore Bridget his bride
Away from the merry dance.
He bore her away in his arms,
The handsomest young man there,
And his neck and his breast and his arms
Were drowned in her long dim hair.
O'Driscoll got up from the grass
And scattered the cards with a cry;
But the old men and the dancers were gone
As a cloud faded into the sky.
He knew now the folk of the air,
And his heart was blackened by dread,
And he ran to the door of his house;
Old women were keening the dead.
And he heard high up in the air
A piper piping away;
And never was piping so sad
And never was piping so gay.
THE RECONCILIATION: A. MARGARET RAMSAY
"The snow has ceased, the wind has hushed,
The moon shines fair and clear,
The night is drawing on apace,
Yet Evan is not here.