The Legend Of Knockgrafton
THERE was once a poor man who lived in
the fertile glen of Aherlow, at the foot of the gloomy Galtee mountains, and
he had a great hump on his back: he looked just as if his body had been rolled
up and placed upon his shoulders; and his bead was pressed down with the
weight so much that his chin, when he was sitting, used to rest upon his knees
for support. The country people were rather shy of meeting him in any lonesome
place, for though, poor creature, he was as harm-less and as inoffensive as a
new-born infant, yet his deformity was so great that he scarcely appeared to
be a human creature, and some ill-minded persons had set strange stories about
him afloat. He was said to have a great knowledge of herbs and charms ; but
certain it was that he had a mighty skilful hand in plaiting straw and rushes
into hats and baskets, which was the way he made his livelihood.
Lusmore, for that was the nickname put upon him by reason of
his always wearing a sprig of the fairy cap, or lusmore (the foxglove), in his
little Straw hat, would ever get a higher penny for his plaited work than any
one else, and perhaps that was the reason why some one, out of envy, had
circulated the strange stories about him. Be that as it may, it happened that
he was returning one evening from the pretty town of Cahir towards Cappagh,
and as little Lusmore walked very slowly, on account of the great hump upon
his back, it was quite dark when he came to the old moat of Knockgrafton,
which stood on the right-band side of his road. Tired and weary was he, and
noways comfortable in his own mind at thinking how much farther he had to
travel, and that he should be walking all the night ; so he sat down under the
moat to rest himself and began looking mournfully enough upon the moon.
Presently there rose a wild strain of unearthly melody upon
the ear of little Lusmore; he listened, and he thought that he had never heard
such ravishing music before. It was like the sound of many voices, each
mingling and blending with the other so strangely that they seemed to be one,
though all singing different strains, and the words of the song were these -
Da Luan, Da Moti, Da Luan, Da Mort, Da Luan, Da Mort;
when there would be a moment's pause, and then the round of
melody went on again.
Lusmore listened attentively, scarcely drawing his breath lest
he might lose the slightest note. He now plainly perceived that the singing
was within the moat ; and though at first it had charmed him so much, he began
to get tired of hearing the same round sung over and over so often without any
change; so availing himself of the pause when the "Da Luan, Da Mon, "had
been sung three times, he took up the tune, and raised it with the words augus
Da Cadine, and then went on singing with the voices in side of the moat, Da
Luan, Da Mort, finishing the melody, when the pause again came, with augus
Da Cadine.
The fairies within Knockgrafton, for the song was a fairy
melody, when they heard this addition to the tune, were SO much delighted
that, with instant resolve, it was determined to bring the mortal among them,
whose musical skill so far exceeded theirs, and little Lusmore was conveyed
into their company with the eddying speed of a whirlwind.
Glorious to behold was the sight that burst upon him as he
came down through the moat, twirling round and round, with the lightness of a
straw, to the sweetest music that kept time to his motion. The greatest honour
was then paid him, for he was put above all the musicians, and he had servants
tending upon him, and everything to his heart's content, and a hearty welcome
to all ; and, in short, he was made as much of as if he had been the first man
in the land.
Presently Lusmore saw a great consultation going forward among
the fairies, and, notwithstanding all their civility, he felt very much
frightened, until one stepping out from the rest came up to him and said,
"Lusmore Lusmore!
Doubt not, nor deplore,
For the hump which you bore
On your back is no more;
Look down on the floor,
And view it, Lusmore !"
When these words were said, poor little Lusmore felt himself
so light, and so happy, that he thought he could have bounded at one jump over
the moon, like the cow in the history of the cat and the fiddle ; and he saw,
with inexpressible pleasure, his hump tumble down upon the ground from his
shoulders. He then tried to lift up his head, and he did so with becoming
caution, fearing that he might knock it against the ceiling of the grand hall,
where he was; he looked round and round again with greatest wonder and delight
upon everything, which appeared more and more beautiful ; and, overpowered at
beholding such a resplendent scene, his head grew dizzy, and his eyesight
became dim. At last he fell into a sound sleep, and when he awoke he found
that it was broad daylight, the sun shining brightly, and the birds singing
sweetly ; and that he was lying just at the foot of the moat of Knockgrafton,
with the cows and sheep grazing peacefully round about him. The first thing
Lusmore did, after saying his prayers, was to put his hand behind to feel for
his hump, but no sign of one was there on his back, and he looked at himself
with great pride, for he had now become a well-shaped dapper little fellow,
and more than that, found himself in a full suit of new clothes, which he
concluded the fairies had made for him.
Towards Cappagh he went, stepping out as lightly, and
springing up at every step as if he had been all his life a dancing-master.
Not a creature who met Lusmore knew him without his hump, and he had a great
work to persuade every one that he was the same man - in truth he was not, so
far as outward appearance went.
Of course it was not long before the story of Lusmore's hump
got about, and a great wonder was made of it. Through the country, for miles
round, it was the talk of every one, high and low.
One morning, as Lusmore was sitting contented enough, at his
cabin door, up came an old woman to him, and asked him if he could direct her
to Cappagh.
"I need give you no directions, my good woman," said
Lusmore, "for this is Cappagh ; and whom may you want here?"
"I have come," said the woman, "out of Decie's
country, in the county of Waterford looking after one Lusmore, who, I have
heard tell, had his hump taken off by the fairies for there is a son of a
gossip of mine who has got a hump on him that will be his death ; and maybe if
he could use the same charm as Lusmore, the hump may be taken off him. And now
I have told you the reason of my coming so far 'tis to find out about this
charm, if I can."
Lusmore, who was ever a good-natured little fellow, told the
woman all the particulars, how he had raised the tune for the fairies at
Knockgrafton, how his hump had been removed from his shoulders, and how he had
got a new suit of clothes into the bargain.
The woman thanked him very much, and then went away quite
happy and easy in her own mind. When she came back to her gossip's house, in
the county of Waterford, she told her everything that Lusmore had said, and
they put the little hump-backed man, who was a peevish and cunning creature
from his birth, upon a car, and took him all the way across the country. It
was a long journey, but they did not care for that, so the hump was taken from
off him; and they brought him, just at nightfall, and left him under the old
moat of Knockgrafton.
Jack Madden, for that was the humpy man's name, had not been
sitting there long when he heard the tune going on within the moat much
sweeter than before; for the fairies were singing it the way Lusmore had
settled their music for them, and the song was going on; Da Luan, Da Mort,
Da Luan, Da Mort, Da Luan, Da Mort, augus Da Cadine, without ever
stopping. Jack Madden, who was in a great hurry to get quit of his hump, never
thought of waiting until the fairies had done, or watching for a fit
opportunity to raise the tune higher again than Lusmore had; so having heard
them sing it over seven times without stopping, out he bawls, never minding
the time or the humour of the tune, or how he could bring his words in
properly, "augus Da Cadine, augus Da Hena, "thinking that if one day was
good, two were better; and that if Lusmore had one new suit of clothes given
him, he should have two.
No sooner had the words passed his lips than he was taken up
and whisked into the moat with prodigious force; and the fairies came crowding
round about him with great anger, screeching, and screaming, and roaring out,
"Who spoiled our tune? who spoiled our tune ?" and one stepped up to
him, above all the rest and said:
"Jack Madden! Jack Madden
Your words came so bad in
The tune we felt glad in ;-
This castle you're had in,
That your life we may sadden
Here's two humps for Jack Madden !"
And twenty of the strongest fairies brought Lusmore's hump and
put it down upon poor Jack's back, over his own, where it became fixed as
firmly as if it was nailed on with twelve-penny nails, by the best carpenter
that ever drove one. Out of their castle they then kicked him; and, in the
morning, when Jack Madden's mother and her gossip came to look after their
little man, they found him half dead, lying at the foot of the moat, with the
other hump upon his back. Well to be sure, how they did look at each other !
but they were afraid to say anything, lest a hump might be put upon their own
shoulders. Home they brought the unlucky Jack Madden with them, as downcast in
their hearts and their looks as ever two gossips were; and what through the
weight of his other hump, and the long journey, he died soon after, leaving
they say his heavy curse to any one who would go to listen to fairy tunes
again.
the fertile glen of Aherlow, at the foot of the gloomy Galtee mountains, and
he had a great hump on his back: he looked just as if his body had been rolled
up and placed upon his shoulders; and his bead was pressed down with the
weight so much that his chin, when he was sitting, used to rest upon his knees
for support. The country people were rather shy of meeting him in any lonesome
place, for though, poor creature, he was as harm-less and as inoffensive as a
new-born infant, yet his deformity was so great that he scarcely appeared to
be a human creature, and some ill-minded persons had set strange stories about
him afloat. He was said to have a great knowledge of herbs and charms ; but
certain it was that he had a mighty skilful hand in plaiting straw and rushes
into hats and baskets, which was the way he made his livelihood.
Lusmore, for that was the nickname put upon him by reason of
his always wearing a sprig of the fairy cap, or lusmore (the foxglove), in his
little Straw hat, would ever get a higher penny for his plaited work than any
one else, and perhaps that was the reason why some one, out of envy, had
circulated the strange stories about him. Be that as it may, it happened that
he was returning one evening from the pretty town of Cahir towards Cappagh,
and as little Lusmore walked very slowly, on account of the great hump upon
his back, it was quite dark when he came to the old moat of Knockgrafton,
which stood on the right-band side of his road. Tired and weary was he, and
noways comfortable in his own mind at thinking how much farther he had to
travel, and that he should be walking all the night ; so he sat down under the
moat to rest himself and began looking mournfully enough upon the moon.
Presently there rose a wild strain of unearthly melody upon
the ear of little Lusmore; he listened, and he thought that he had never heard
such ravishing music before. It was like the sound of many voices, each
mingling and blending with the other so strangely that they seemed to be one,
though all singing different strains, and the words of the song were these -
Da Luan, Da Moti, Da Luan, Da Mort, Da Luan, Da Mort;
when there would be a moment's pause, and then the round of
melody went on again.
Lusmore listened attentively, scarcely drawing his breath lest
he might lose the slightest note. He now plainly perceived that the singing
was within the moat ; and though at first it had charmed him so much, he began
to get tired of hearing the same round sung over and over so often without any
change; so availing himself of the pause when the "Da Luan, Da Mon, "had
been sung three times, he took up the tune, and raised it with the words augus
Da Cadine, and then went on singing with the voices in side of the moat, Da
Luan, Da Mort, finishing the melody, when the pause again came, with augus
Da Cadine.
The fairies within Knockgrafton, for the song was a fairy
melody, when they heard this addition to the tune, were SO much delighted
that, with instant resolve, it was determined to bring the mortal among them,
whose musical skill so far exceeded theirs, and little Lusmore was conveyed
into their company with the eddying speed of a whirlwind.
Glorious to behold was the sight that burst upon him as he
came down through the moat, twirling round and round, with the lightness of a
straw, to the sweetest music that kept time to his motion. The greatest honour
was then paid him, for he was put above all the musicians, and he had servants
tending upon him, and everything to his heart's content, and a hearty welcome
to all ; and, in short, he was made as much of as if he had been the first man
in the land.
Presently Lusmore saw a great consultation going forward among
the fairies, and, notwithstanding all their civility, he felt very much
frightened, until one stepping out from the rest came up to him and said,
"Lusmore Lusmore!
Doubt not, nor deplore,
For the hump which you bore
On your back is no more;
Look down on the floor,
And view it, Lusmore !"
When these words were said, poor little Lusmore felt himself
so light, and so happy, that he thought he could have bounded at one jump over
the moon, like the cow in the history of the cat and the fiddle ; and he saw,
with inexpressible pleasure, his hump tumble down upon the ground from his
shoulders. He then tried to lift up his head, and he did so with becoming
caution, fearing that he might knock it against the ceiling of the grand hall,
where he was; he looked round and round again with greatest wonder and delight
upon everything, which appeared more and more beautiful ; and, overpowered at
beholding such a resplendent scene, his head grew dizzy, and his eyesight
became dim. At last he fell into a sound sleep, and when he awoke he found
that it was broad daylight, the sun shining brightly, and the birds singing
sweetly ; and that he was lying just at the foot of the moat of Knockgrafton,
with the cows and sheep grazing peacefully round about him. The first thing
Lusmore did, after saying his prayers, was to put his hand behind to feel for
his hump, but no sign of one was there on his back, and he looked at himself
with great pride, for he had now become a well-shaped dapper little fellow,
and more than that, found himself in a full suit of new clothes, which he
concluded the fairies had made for him.
Towards Cappagh he went, stepping out as lightly, and
springing up at every step as if he had been all his life a dancing-master.
Not a creature who met Lusmore knew him without his hump, and he had a great
work to persuade every one that he was the same man - in truth he was not, so
far as outward appearance went.
Of course it was not long before the story of Lusmore's hump
got about, and a great wonder was made of it. Through the country, for miles
round, it was the talk of every one, high and low.
One morning, as Lusmore was sitting contented enough, at his
cabin door, up came an old woman to him, and asked him if he could direct her
to Cappagh.
"I need give you no directions, my good woman," said
Lusmore, "for this is Cappagh ; and whom may you want here?"
"I have come," said the woman, "out of Decie's
country, in the county of Waterford looking after one Lusmore, who, I have
heard tell, had his hump taken off by the fairies for there is a son of a
gossip of mine who has got a hump on him that will be his death ; and maybe if
he could use the same charm as Lusmore, the hump may be taken off him. And now
I have told you the reason of my coming so far 'tis to find out about this
charm, if I can."
Lusmore, who was ever a good-natured little fellow, told the
woman all the particulars, how he had raised the tune for the fairies at
Knockgrafton, how his hump had been removed from his shoulders, and how he had
got a new suit of clothes into the bargain.
The woman thanked him very much, and then went away quite
happy and easy in her own mind. When she came back to her gossip's house, in
the county of Waterford, she told her everything that Lusmore had said, and
they put the little hump-backed man, who was a peevish and cunning creature
from his birth, upon a car, and took him all the way across the country. It
was a long journey, but they did not care for that, so the hump was taken from
off him; and they brought him, just at nightfall, and left him under the old
moat of Knockgrafton.
Jack Madden, for that was the humpy man's name, had not been
sitting there long when he heard the tune going on within the moat much
sweeter than before; for the fairies were singing it the way Lusmore had
settled their music for them, and the song was going on; Da Luan, Da Mort,
Da Luan, Da Mort, Da Luan, Da Mort, augus Da Cadine, without ever
stopping. Jack Madden, who was in a great hurry to get quit of his hump, never
thought of waiting until the fairies had done, or watching for a fit
opportunity to raise the tune higher again than Lusmore had; so having heard
them sing it over seven times without stopping, out he bawls, never minding
the time or the humour of the tune, or how he could bring his words in
properly, "augus Da Cadine, augus Da Hena, "thinking that if one day was
good, two were better; and that if Lusmore had one new suit of clothes given
him, he should have two.
No sooner had the words passed his lips than he was taken up
and whisked into the moat with prodigious force; and the fairies came crowding
round about him with great anger, screeching, and screaming, and roaring out,
"Who spoiled our tune? who spoiled our tune ?" and one stepped up to
him, above all the rest and said:
"Jack Madden! Jack Madden
Your words came so bad in
The tune we felt glad in ;-
This castle you're had in,
That your life we may sadden
Here's two humps for Jack Madden !"
And twenty of the strongest fairies brought Lusmore's hump and
put it down upon poor Jack's back, over his own, where it became fixed as
firmly as if it was nailed on with twelve-penny nails, by the best carpenter
that ever drove one. Out of their castle they then kicked him; and, in the
morning, when Jack Madden's mother and her gossip came to look after their
little man, they found him half dead, lying at the foot of the moat, with the
other hump upon his back. Well to be sure, how they did look at each other !
but they were afraid to say anything, lest a hump might be put upon their own
shoulders. Home they brought the unlucky Jack Madden with them, as downcast in
their hearts and their looks as ever two gossips were; and what through the
weight of his other hump, and the long journey, he died soon after, leaving
they say his heavy curse to any one who would go to listen to fairy tunes
again.
