The fairies, as we know, are greatly attracted by the beauty of mortal
women, and Finvarra the king employs his numerous sprites to find out
and carry off when possible the prettiest girls and brides in the
country. These are spirited away by enchantment to his fairy palace at
Knockma in Tuam, where they remain under a fairy spell, forgetting all
about the earthly life and soothed to passive enjoyment, as in a sweet
dream, by the soft low melody of the fairy music, which has the power
to lull the hearer into a trance of ecstasy.
There was once a great lord in that part of the country who had a
beautiful wife called Ethna, the loveliest bride in all the land. And
her husband was so proud of her that day after day he had festivals
in her honour; and from morning till night his castle was filled with
lords and ladies, and nothing but music and dancing and feasting and
hunting and pleasure was thought of.
One evening while the feast was merriest, and Ethna floated through
the dance in her robe of silver gossamer clasped with jewels, more
bright and beautiful than the stars in heaven, she suddenly let go the
hand of her partner and sank to the floor in a faint.
They carried her to her room, where she lay long quite insensible; but
towards the morning she woke up and declared that she had passed the
night in a beautiful palace, and was so happy that she longed to sleep
again and go there in her dreams. And they watched by her all day,
but when the shades of evening fell dark on the castle, low music was
heard at her window, and Ethna again fell into a deep trance from which
nothing could rouse her.
Then her old nurse was set to watch her; but the woman grew weary in
the silence and fell asleep, and never awoke till the sun had risen.
And when she looked towards the bed, she saw to her horror that the
young bride had disappeared. The whole household was roused up at once,
and search made everywhere, but no trace of her could be found in all
the castle, nor in the gardens, nor in the park. Her husband sent
messengers in every direction, but to no purpose—no one had seen her;
no sign of her could be found, living or dead.
Then the young lord mounted his swiftest steed and galloped right off
to Knockma, to question Finvarra, the fairy king, if he could give
any tidings of the bride, or direct him where to search for her; for
he and Finvarra were friends, and many a good keg of Spanish wine had
been left outside the window of the castle at night for the fairies to
carry away, by order of the young lord. But he little dreamed now that
Finvarra himself was the traitor; so he galloped on like mad till he
reached Knockma, the hill of the fairies.
And as he stopped to rest his horse by the fairy rath, he heard voices
in the air above him, and one said—
“Right glad is Finvarra now, for he has the beautiful bride in his
palace at last; and never more will she see her husband’s face.”
“Yet,” answered another, “if he dig down through the hill to the centre
of the earth, he would find his bride; but the work is hard and the way
is difficult, and Finvarra has more power than any mortal man.”
“That is yet to be seen,” exclaimed the young lord. “Neither fairy,
nor devil, nor Finvarra himself shall stand between me and my fair
young wife;” and on the instant he sent word by his servants to gather
together all the workmen and labourers of the country round with their
spades and pickaxes, to dig through the hill till they came to the
fairy palace.
And the workmen came, a great crowd of them, and they dug through the
hill all that day till a great deep trench was made down to the very
centre. Then at sunset they left off for the night; but next morning
when they assembled again to continue their work, behold, all the clay
was put back again into the trench, and the hill looked as if never a
spade had touched it—for so Finvarra had ordered; and he was powerful
over earth and air and sea.
But the young lord had a brave heart, and he made the men go on with
the work; and the trench was dug again, wide and deep into the centre
of the hill. And this went on for three days, but always with the same
result, for the clay was put back again each night and the hill looked
the same as before, and they were no nearer to the fairy palace.
Then the young lord was ready to die for rage and grief, but suddenly
he heard a voice near him like a whisper in the air, and the words it
said were these—
“Sprinkle the earth you have dug up with salt, and your work will be
safe.”
On this new life came into his heart, and he sent word through all the
country to gather salt from the people; and the clay was sprinkled with
it that night, when the men had left off their work at the hill.
Next morning they all rose up early in great anxiety to see what had
happened, and there to their great joy was the trench all safe, just as
they had left it, and all the earth round it was untouched.
Then the young lord knew he had power over Finvarra, and he bade the
men work on with a good heart, for they would soon reach the fairy
palace now in the centre of the hill. So by the next day a great glen
was cut right through deep down to the middle of the earth, and they
could hear the fairy music if they put their ear close to the ground,
and voices were heard round them in the air.
“See now,” said one, “Finvarra is sad, for if one of those mortal men
strike a blow on the fairy palace with their spades, it will crumble to
dust, and fade away like the mist.”
“Then let Finvarra give up the bride,” said another, “and we shall be
safe.”
On which the voice of Finvarra himself was heard, clear like the note
of a silver bugle through the hill.
“Stop your work,” he said. “Oh, men of earth, lay down your spades, and
at sunset the bride shall be given back to her husband. I, Finvarra,
have spoken.”
Then the young lord bade them stop the work, and lay down their spades
till the sun went down. And at sunset he mounted his great chestnut
steed and rode to the head of the glen, and watched and waited; and
just as the red light flushed all the sky, he saw his wife coming along
the path in her robe of silver gossamer, more beautiful than ever; and
he sprang from the saddle and lifted her up before him, and rode away
like the storm wind back to the castle. And there they laid Ethna on
her bed; but she closed her eyes and spake no word. So day after day
passed, and still she never spake or smiled, but seemed like one in a
trance.
And great sorrow fell upon every one, for they feared she had eaten of
the fairy food, and that the enchantment would never be broken. So her
husband was very miserable. But one evening as he was riding home late,
he heard voices in the air, and one of them said—
“It is now a year and a day since the young lord brought home his
beautiful wife from Finvarra; but what good is she to him? She is
speechless and like one dead; for her spirit is with the fairies though
her form is there beside him.”