Celtic Fairy Tales | Page 8

priest's house, and the sun was
just rising when they came to the door. Guleesh beat it hard, and as

early as it was the priest was up, and opened the door himself. He
wondered when he saw Guleesh and the girl, for he was certain that it
was coming wanting to be married they were.
"Guleesh, Guleesh, isn't it the nice boy you are that you can't wait till
ten o'clock or till twelve, but that you must be coming to me at this
hour, looking for marriage, you and your sweetheart? You ought to
know that I can't marry you at such a time, or, at all events, can't marry
you lawfully. But ubbubboo!" said he, suddenly, as he looked again at
the young girl, "in the name of God, who have you here? Who is she, or
how did you get her?"
"Father," said Guleesh, "you can marry me, or anybody else, if you
wish; but it's not looking for marriage I came to you now, but to ask
you, if you please, to give a lodging in your house to this young lady."
The priest looked at him as though he had ten heads on him; but
without putting any other question to him, he desired him to come in,
himself and the maiden, and when they came in, he shut the door,
brought them into the parlour, and put them sitting.
"Now, Guleesh," said he, "tell me truly who is this young lady, and
whether you're out of your senses really, or are only making a joke of
me."
"I'm not telling a word of lie, nor making a joke of you," said Guleesh;
"but it was from the palace of the king of France I carried off this lady,
and she is the daughter of the king of France."
He began his story then, and told the whole to the priest, and the priest
was so much surprised that he could not help calling out at times, or
clapping his hands together.
When Guleesh said from what he saw he thought the girl was not
satisfied with the marriage that was going to take place in the palace
before he and the sheehogues broke it up, there came a red blush into
the girl's cheek, and he was more certain than ever that she had sooner
be as she was--badly as she was--than be the married wife of the man

she hated. When Guleesh said that he would be very thankful to the
priest if he would keep her in his own house, the kind man said he
would do that as long as Guleesh pleased, but that he did not know
what they ought to do with her, because they had no means of sending
her back to her father again.
Guleesh answered that he was uneasy about the same thing, and that he
saw nothing to do but to keep quiet until they should find some
opportunity of doing something better. They made it up then between
themselves that the priest should let on that it was his brother's daughter
he had, who was come on a visit to him from another county, and that
he should tell everybody that she was dumb, and do his best to keep
every one away from her. They told the young girl what it was they
intended to do, and she showed by her eyes that she was obliged to
them.
Guleesh went home then, and when his people asked him where he had
been, he said that he had been asleep at the foot of the ditch, and had
passed the night there.
There was great wonderment on the priest's neighbours at the girl who
came so suddenly to his house without any one knowing where she was
from, or what business she had there. Some of the people said that
everything was not as it ought to be, and others, that Guleesh was not
like the same man that was in it before, and that it was a great story,
how he was drawing every day to the priest's house, and that the priest
had a wish and a respect for him, a thing they could not clear up at all.
That was true for them, indeed, for it was seldom the day went by but
Guleesh would go to the priest's house, and have a talk with him, and as
often as he would come he used to hope to find the young lady well
again, and with leave to speak; but, alas! she remained dumb and silent,
without relief or cure. Since she had no other means of talking, she
carried on a sort of conversation between herself and himself, by
moving her hand and fingers, winking her eyes, opening and shutting
her