IfoundthestoryoftheCountessCathleeninwhatprofessedtobeacollectionofIrishfolk?loreinanIrishnewspapersomeyearsago.Iwrotetothecompiler，askingaboutitssource，butgotnoanswer，buthavesinceheardthatitwastranslatedfromLesMatin`eesdeTimoth`eTrimmagoodmanyyearsago，andhasbeendriftingabouttheIrishpresseversince.L`eoLesp`esgivesitasanIrishstory，andthoughtheeditorofFolklorehaskindlyadvertisedforinformation，theonlyChristianvariantIknowofisaDonegaltale，givenbyMr.LarminieinhisWestIrishFolkTalesandRomances，ofawomanwhogoestohellfortenyearstosaveherhusband，andstaysthereanotherten，havingbeengrantedpermissiontocarryawayasmanysoulsascouldclingtoherskirt.L`eoLesp`esmayhaveaddedafewdetails，butIhavenodoubtoftheessentialantiquityofwhatseemstomethemostimpressiveformofoneofthesupremeparablesoftheworld.TheparablecametotheGreeksinthesacrificeofAlcestis，buthersacrificewaslessoverwhelming，lessapparentlyirremediable.L`eoLesp`estellsthestoryasfollows:??
Cequejevaisvousdireestunr`ecitducar`emeIrlandais.Leboiteux，laveugle，leparalytiquedesruesdeDublinoudeLimerick，vouslediraientmieuxquemoi，cherlecteur，sivousalliezleleurdemander，un
sixpensedargent`alamain.?Ilnestpasunejeunefillecatholique`alaquelleonneFaitapprispendantles
joursdepr`eparation`alacommunionsainte，pasunbergerdesbordsdelaBlackwaterquinelepuisseredire`alaveill`ee.
Ilyabienlongtempsquilapparuttout?`a?coupdanslavielleIrlandedeuxmarchandsinconnusdont
personnenavaitouiparler，etquiparlaientn`eanmoinsaveclaplusgrandeperfectionlalanguedupays.Leurscheveux`etaientnoirsetferr`esavecdeloretleursrobesdunegrandemagnificence.
Tousdeuxsemblaientavoirlem`emeage;ilsparaissaient`etredeshommesdecinquanteans，carleurbarbegrisormaitunpeu.
Or，`acette`epoque，commeaujourdhui，lIrlande`etaitpauvre，carlesoleilavait`et`erare，etdesr`ecoltespresquenulles.Lesindigentsnesavaient`aquelsaintesevouer，etlamis`eredevenaideplusenplusterrible.
Danslh`otellerieo`udescendirentlesmarchandsfastueuxonchercha`ap`en`etrerleursdesseins:maisccfut
envain，ilsdemeur`erentsilencieuxetdiscrets.
Etpendantquilsdemeur`erentdanslh`otellerie，ilsne
cess`erentdecompteretderecompterdessacsdepi`ecesdor，dontlaviveclart`esapercevait`atraversles
vitresduis.
Gentlemen，leurditlh`otesseunjour，do`uvientquevous`etessiopulents，etque，venuspoursecourirla
mis`ere
publique，vousnefassiezpasdebonnesoeuvres?
?Belleh`otesse，r`eponditlundeux，nousnavonspasvouluallerau?devantdinfortuneshonorables，dansla
crainted`etretromp`espardesmis`eresfictives:queladouleurfrappe`alaporte，nousouvrirons.
Lelendemain，quandonsutquilexistaitdeuxopulents
`etrangerspr`ets`aprodiguerlor，lafouleassi`egealeuris;maislesfiguresdesgensquiensortaient
`etaientbiendiverses.Lesunsavaientlafiert`edansleregard，lesautresportaientlahonteaufront.Lesdeux
trafiquantsachetaientdes`amespourled`emon.L`amedunvieillardvalaitvingtpi`ecesdor，pasunpenny
deplus;carSatanavaiteuletempsdyformerhypoth`eque.L`amedune`pouseenvalaitcinquantequand
elle`etaitjolie，oucentquandelle`etaitlaide.L`Amedunejeunefillesepayaitdesprixfous:lesfleursles
plusbellesetlespluspuressontlesplusch`eres.
Pendantcetemps，ilexistaitdanslavilleunangedebeaut`e，lacomtesseKettyOConnor.Elle`etaitlidoledu
peuple，etlaprovidencedesindigents.D`esquelleeutapprisquedes
m`ecr`eantsprofitaientdelamis`erepubliquepourd`eroberdescoeurs`aDieu，ellefitappelerson
majordome.
MasterPatrick，luiditelle，combienai?jedepi`ecesdordansmoncoffre??
Centmille.?
Combiendebijoux??
Pourautantdargent.?
Combiendech`ateaux，deboisetdeterres??
Pourledoubledecessommes.?
Ehbien!Patrick，vendeztoutccquinestpasoretapportez?menlemontant.jeneveuxgarder`amoi
quececasteletlechampsquilentoure.
?
Deuxjoursapr`es，lesordresdelapieuseKetty`etaient
ex`ecuesetletr`esor`etaitdistribu`eauxpauvresaufuret`amesuredeleursbesoins.
Cecinefaisaitpaslecompte，ditlatradition，des
commisvoyageursdumalinesprit，quinetrouvaientplusd`ames`aacheter.
Aidesparunvaletinfame，ilsp`en`etr`erentdanslaretraitedelanobledameetluid`erob`erentlerestedeson
tr`esor...envainlutta?t?elledetoutessesforcespoursauverlecontenudesoncoffre，leslarronsdiaboliques
furentlesplusforts.SiKettyavaiteulesmoyensdefaireunsignedecroix，ajoutelal`egendeIrlandaise，elle
leseutmisenfuite，maissesmains`etaientcaptives?Lelarcinfuteffectu`e.
Alorslespauvressollicit`erent
envainpr`esdeKettyd`epouill`ee，ellenepouvaitplus
secourirleurmis`ere;?ellelesabandonnait`alatentation.Pourtantilnyavaitplusquehuitjours`apasser
pourquelesgrainsetlesfourragesarrivassentenabondancedespays
dOrient.Mais，huitjours，c`etaitunsi`ecle:huitjoursn`ecessitaientunesommeimmensepoursubveniraux
exigencesdeladisette，etlespauvresallaientouexpirerdanslesangoissesdelafaim，ou，reniantlessaintes
maximesdelEvangile，
vendre`avilprixleur`ame，leplusbeaupr`esentdela
munificenceduSeigneurtoutpuissant.
EtKettynavaitplusuneobole，carelleavaitabandonn`esonch`ateauxauxmalheureux.
Ellepassadouzeheuresdansleslarmesetledeuil，arrachantsescheveuxcouleurdesoleiletmeurtrissantson
seincouleurdulis:puiselleselevar`esolue，anim`eeparunvifsentimentded`esespoir.
Elleserenditchezlesmarchandsd`ames.
Quevoulez?vous?direntils.?
Vousachetezdes`ames??
Oui，unpeumalgr`evous，nestcepas，sainteauxyeuxdesapbir??
Aujourdhuijeviensvousproposerunmarch`e，repritelle.?
Lequel??
Jaiune`ame`avendre;maiselleestch`ere.?
Quimportesielleestpr`ecieuse?L`ame，commelediamant，sappr`ecie`asablancheur.?
Cestlamienne，ditKetty.?
Lesdeuxenvoy`esdeSatantressaillirent，Leursgriffes
sallong`erentsousleursgantsdecuir;leursyeuxgris
`etincel`erent:??l`ame，pure，immacul`ee，virginaledeKettyc`etaituneacquisitioninappr`eciable.
Gentilledame，combienvoulez?vouz??
Centcinquantemille`ecusdor.?
Cestfait，direntlesmarchands:etilstendirent`aKettyunparchemincachet`edenoir，quellesigna
enfrissonnant.
?
Lasommeluifutcompt`ee.
Desquellefutrentr`ee，elleditaumajordome:
Tenez，distribuezceci.Aveclasommequejevousdonnelespauvresattendrontlahuitaine
n`ecessaireetpasunedeleurs`amesneseralivr`eeaud`emon.
?
Puisellesenfermaetrecommandaquonnevintpaslad`eranger.
Troisjourssepass`erent;ellenappelapas;ellenesortitpas.
Quandonouvritsaporte，onlatrouvaraideetfroide:elle`etaitmortededouleur.
Maislaventedecette`amesiadorabledanssacharit`efutd`eclar`eenulleparleSeigneur:carelleavait
sauv`esesconcitoyensdelamorte`eternelle.
Apr`eslahuitaine，desvaisseauxnombreuxamen`erentlIrlandeaffam`eedimmensesprovisionsdegrains.
Lafaminen`etaitpluspossible.Quantauxmarchands，ils
disparurentdeleurh`otellerie，sansquons`utjamaiscequils`etaientdevenus.
Toutefois，lesp`echeursdelaBlackwaterpr`etendentquilssontenchain`esdansuneprisonsouterrainepar
ordredeLuciferjusquaumomento`uilspourrontlivrerl`amedeKettyquileura`echapp`e.jevousdisla
l`egendetellequejelasais.
?Maislespauvreslontracont`ed`ageen`ageetlesenfantsdeCorketdeDublinchantentencorelaballade
dontvoicilesdernierscouplets:?
Poursauverlespauvresquelleaime
Kettydonna
Sonesprit，sacroyancem`eme
Satanpaya
Cette`ameaud`evoumentsublime，
En`ecusdor，
Disonspourrachetersoncrime，
Confiteor.
Maislangequisefitcoupable
Parcharit`e
Aus`ejourdamourineffable
Estremont`e.
Satanvaincuneutpasdeprise
Surcecoeurdor;
Chantonssouslanefdel`eglise，
Confiteor.
Nestcepasquecer`ecit，n`edelimaginationdespo`etescatholiquesdelaverteErin，estuneV`eritabler`ecit
decar`eme?
TheCountessCathleenwasactedinDublinin1899，withMr.MarcusSt.JohnandMr.TrevorLoweasthe
FirstandSecondDemon，Mr.ValentineGraceasShemusRua，MasterCharlesSeftonasTeig，MadameSan
CarolaasMary，MissFlorenceFarrasAleel，MissAnnaMatherasOona，Mr.CharlesHolmesasthe
Herdsman，Mr.JackWilcoxastheGardener，Mr.WalfordasaPeasant，MissDorothyPagetasaSpirit，Miss
M.KellyasaPeasantWoman，Mr.T.E.WilkinsonasaServant，andMissMayWhittyasTheCountess
Kathleen.Theyhadtofaceaveryvehementoppositionstirredupbyapoliticianandanewspaper，theone
accusingmeina
pamphlet，theotherinlongarticlesdayafterday，ofblasphemybecauseofthelanguageofthedemonsorof
ShemusRua，andbecauseImadeawomansellhersoulandyetescapedamnation，andofalackofpatriotism
becauseImadeIrishmenandwomen，who，itseems，neverdidsuchathing，selltheirs.The
politicianorthenewspaperpersuadedsomefortyCatholic
studentstosignaprotestagainsttheplay，andaCardinal，whoavowedthathehadnotreadit，tomake
another，andboth
politicianandnewspapermadesuchobviousappealstothe
audiencetobreakthepeace，thatascoreorsoofpoliceweresenttothetheatretoseethattheydidnot.Ihad，
however，noreasontoregrettheresult，forthestalls，containingalmostallthatwasdistinguishedinDublin，
andagalleryofartisansalikeinsistedonthefreedomofliterature.
Aftertheperformancein1899IaddedthelovescenebetweenAleelandtheCountess，andinthisnewform
theplaywasrevivedinNewYorkbyMissWycherleyaswellasbeingplayedagooddealinEnglandand
Americabyamateurs.NowatlastIhavemadeacompleterevisiontomakeitsuitableforperformanceatthe
AbbeyTheatre.Thefirsttwoscenesarealmostwhollynew，andthroughouttheplayIhaveaddedorleftout
suchpassagesasastageexperienceofsomeyearsshowedmeencumberedtheaction;theplayinitsfirstform
havingbeenwrittenbeforeIknewanythingofthetheatre.Ihavelefttheoldend，however，intheversion
printedinthebodyofthisbook，becausethechangefordramaticpurposeshasbeenmadefornobetterreason
thanthataudiences??evenattheAbbeyTheatre??arealmostignorantofIrishmythoyorbecausea
shallowstagemadetheelaboratevisionofarmedangelsuponamountain?sideimpossible.Thenewendis
particularlysuitedtotheAbbeystage，wherethestageplatformcanbebroughtoutinfrontoftheprosceniurn
andhaveaflightofstepsatonesideupwhichtheAngelcomes，crossingtowardsthebackofthestageatthe
oppositeside.Theprincipallightingisfromtwoarclightsinthebalconywhichthrowtheirlightsintothe
facesoftheplayers，makingfootlights
unnecessary.TheroomatShemusRuashouseissuggestedbyagreatgreycurtain?acolourwhichbecomes
fullofrichtintsunderthestreamoflightfromthearcs.Thetwoormorearchesinthethirdscenepermitthe
useofagauze.Theshortfrontscenebeforethelastisjustlongenoughwhenplayedwith
incidentalmusictoallowthescenesetbehindittobechanged.Theplaywhenplayedwithoutintervalinthis
waylastsalittleoveranhour.
TheplaywasperformedattheAbbeyTheatreforthefirsttimeonDecember14，1911，MissMaireONeill
takingthepart
oftheCountess，andthelastscenefromthegoingoutoftheMerchantswasasfollows:?
(MERCHANTSrushout.ALEELcrawlsintothemiddleoftheroom;thetwilighthasfallenandgradually
darkensasthescenegoeson.)
ALEEL.Theyrerisingup?theyrerisingthroughtheearth，
FatAsmodelandgiddyBelial，
Andallthefiends.Nowtheyleapintheair.
ButwhydoesHellsgatecreakso?Roundandround，
Hitherandhither，toandfrotheyrerunning.
Hemovesaboutasthoughtheairwasfullofspirits.
OONAenters.)
Crouchdown，oldheron，outoftheblindstorm.
OONA.WhereistheCountessCathleen?Allthisday
Hereyeswerefulloftears，andwhenforamoment
Herhandwaslaiduponmyhand，ittrembled.
AndnowIdonotknowwheresheisgone.
ALEEL.Cathleenhaschosenotherfriendsthanus，
Andtheyarerisingthroughthehollowworld.
Demonsareout，oldheron.
OONA.Godguardhersoul.
ALEEL.Shesbartereditawaythisveryhour，
Asthoughwetwowereneverintheworld.
(Hekneelsbesideher，butdoesnotseemtohearherwords.ThePEASANTSreturn.Theycarrythe
COUNTESSCATHLEENandlayheruponthegroundbeforeOONAandALEEL.Sheliesthereasifdead.)
OONA.O，thatsomanypitchersofroughclay
Shouldprosperandtheporcelainbreakintwo!
(ShekissesthehandsOfCATHLEEN.)
APEASANT.Wewereunderthetreewherethepathturns
Whenshegrewpaleasdeathandfaintedaway.
CATHLEEN.O!holdme，andholdmetightly，forthestorm
isdraggingmeaway.
(OONAtakesherinherarms.AWOMANbeginstowail.)
PEASANTS.Hush!
PEASANTSHush!
PEASANTWOMEN.Hush!
OTHERPEASANTWOMEN.Hush!
CATHLEEN.(halfrising)Layallthebagsofmoneyinaheap，AndwhenIamgone，oldOona，sharethem
out
Toeverymanandwoman:judge，andgive
Accordingtotheirneeds.
APEASANTWOMAN.Andwillshegive
Enoughtokeepmychildrenthroughthedearth?
ANOTHERPEASANTWOMAN.
O，QueenofHeaven，andallyoublessedsaints，
Letusandoursbelost，soshebeshriven.
CATHLEEN.Benddownyourfaces，OonaandAleel;
Igazeuponthemastheswallowgazes
Uponthenestundertheeave，before
Shewandertheloudwaters.Donotweep
Toogreatawhile，forthereismanyacandle
OntheHighAltarthoughonefall.Aleel，
Whosangaboutthedancersofthewoods，
Thatknownotthehardburdenoftheworld，
Havingbutbreathintheirkindbodies，farewell
Andfarewell，Oona，youwhoplayedwithme
Andboremeinyourarmsaboutthehouse
WhenIwasbutachild?andthereforehappy，
Thereforehappyevenlikethosethatdance.
ThestormisinmyhairandImustgo.
(Shedies.)
OONA.Bringmethelooking?glass.
(AWOMANbringsittoheroutofinnerroom.OONAholdsglassoverthelipsofCATHLEEN.AllisSilent
foramoment，thenshespeaksinahalf?scream.)
O，sheisdead!
APEASANT.Shewasthegreatwhitelilyoftheworld.
APEASANT.Shewasmorebeautifulthanthepalestars.
ANOLDPEASANTWOMAN.ThelittleplantIlovedisbrokenintwo.
(ALEELtakeslooking?glassfromOONAandflingsituponfkoor，sothatitisbrokeninmanypieces.)
ALEEL.Ishatteryouinfragments，fortheface
Thatbrimmedyouupwithbeautyisnomore;
Anddie，dullheart，foryouthatwereamirror
Arebutaballofpassionatedustagain!
Andlevelearthandplumysea，riseup!
Andhaughtysky，falldown!
APEASANTWOMAN.Pullhimuponhisknees，
Hiscurseswillplucklightningonourheads.
ALEEL.Angelsanddevilsclashinthemiddleair，
Andbrazenswordsclanguponbrazenhelms.
Look，look，aspearhasgonethroughBelialseye!
(AwingedANGEL，carryingatorchandasword，entersfromtheR.witheyesfixeduponsomedistantthing.
TheANGELisabouttopassouttotheL.whenALEELspeaks.TheANGELStops
amomentandturns.)
Looknomoreonthehalf?closedgatesofHell，
ButspeaktomewhosemindissmittenofGod，
Thatitmaybenomorewithmortalthings:
Andtellofherwholiesthere.
(TheANGELturnsagainandisabouttogo，butisseizedbyALEEL.)
Tillyouspeak
Youshallnotdriftintoeternity.
ANGEL.Thelightbeatsdown;thegatesofpearlarewide.
Andsheispassingtothefloorofpeace，
AndMaryoftheseventimeswoundedheart
Haskissedherlips，andthelongblessedhair
Hasfallenonherface;theLightofLights
Looksalwaysonthemotive，notthedeed，
TheShadowofShadowsonthedeedalone.
(ALEELreleasestheANGELandkneels.)
OONA.Tellthemwhowalkuponthefloorofpeace，
ThatIwoulddieandgotoherIlove，
Theyearslikegreatblackoxentreadtheworld，
AndGodtheherdsmangoadsthemonbehind，
AndIambrokenbytheirpassingfeet.“)