in marriage to any save a battle champion; and that stripling there has
never struck his spear against a warrior's shield."
A murmur of approbation rose from the jealous princes, and Congal, the
bravest of them all, stepped out from the ranks, and said:
"The Druid speaks the truth, O king! That stripling has never faced a
battle champion yet, and, speaking for all the nobles of your land, I
challenge him to fight any one of us; and as he is young and unused to
arms, we are willing that the youngest and least experienced amongst us
should be set against him."
When Congal had spoken, the nobles, in approval of his words, struck
their shields with their swords, and the brazen sound ascended to the
skies.
The face of the princess, blushing a moment before like a rose, became
as white as a lily; but the color returned to her cheeks when she heard
Enda's voice ringing loud and clear.
"It is true, O king!" said he, "that I have never used my spear in
battle yet. The Prince Congal has challenged me to meet the youngest and
least experienced of the chiefs of Erin. I have risked my life already
for your daughter's sake. I would face death a thousand times for the
chance of winning her for my bride; but I would scorn to claim her hand
if I dared not meet the boldest battle champion of the nobles of Erin,
and here before you, O king, and bards, Druids, and nobles, and chiefs
of Erin, and here, in the presence of the Lady Mave, I challenge the
boldest of them all."
The king's eyes flashed with joy as he listened to the brave words of
Enda.
"It is well," said the king; "the contest shall take place to-morrow on
the lawn outside our palace gates; but before our assembly dissolves I
call on you, nobles and chiefs of Erin, to name your boldest champion."
Loud cries of "Congal! Congal!" answered the king's speech.
"Are you willing, Congal?" asked the king.
"Willing, O king!" answered Congal.
"It is well," said the king. "We shall all meet again to-night in our
banquet-hall."
And the king, with the Princess Mave on his arm, attended by his bards
and Druids, entered the palace, and the chiefs and nobles went their
several ways.
At the feast that night the princess sat beside the king, and Enda
beside the princess, and the bards and Druids, nobles and chiefs, took
their places in due order. And the bards sang songs of love and battle,
and never merrier hours were spent than those which passed away that
night in the banquet-hall of Erin's king.
When the feast was over Enda retired to his apartment to spend the night
dreaming of the Princess Mave, and Congal went to his quarters; but not
to sleep or dream, for the Druid who had provoked the contest came to
him bringing his golden wand, and all night long the Druid was weaving
spells to charm the shield and spear and helmet of Congal, to make them
invulnerable in the battle of the morrow.
But while Enda lay dreaming of the Princess Mave, the little fairy woman
who gave him the water-dress, and crystal helmet, and shining spear on
the banks of the Boyne, slid into his room, and she placed beside his
couch a silver helmet and a silver shield. And she rubbed the helmet,
and the shield, and the blue blade and haft of his spear with the juice
of the red rowan berries, and she let a drop fall upon his face and
hands, and then she slid out as silently as she came.
When the morning broke, Enda sprang from his couch, and he could hardly
believe his eyes when he saw the silver shield and helmet. At the sight
of them he longed for the hour of battle, and he watched with eager gaze
the sun climbing the sky; and, after hours of suspense, he heard the
trumpet's sound and the clangor of the hollow shields, struck by the
hard-pointed spears.
Putting on the helmet, and fastening the shield upon his left arm, and
taking the spear in his right hand, he stepped out bravely to the fight.
The edge of the lawn before the palace gates was ringed by the princes,
nobles, and chiefs of Erin. And the palace walls were thronged by all
the beauties of the Court and all the noble ladies of the land. And on
his throne, surrounded by his Druids, his brehons, and his bards, was
the king of Erin, and at his feet sat the lovely Lady Mave.
As Enda stepped out upon the lawn, he saw Congal advancing from the
ranks of the nobles, and the two champions approached each other until
they met right in front of the throne.
Then both turned towards the throne, and bowed to the king and the
Princess Mave; and then facing each other again, they retired a space,
and when their spears were poised, ready for battle, the king gave the
signal, which was answered by the clang of stricken shields, and Congal
and Enda launched their gleaming spears. They flashed like lightning
in the sunlit air, and in a second Congal's had broken against Enda's
shield; but Enda's, piercing Congal's helmet, hurled him senseless on
the plain.
The nobles and chiefs could hardly realize that in that single second
their boldest champion was overthrown; but when they saw him stretched
motionless on the grassy sward, from out their ranks six warriors
advanced to where the chieftain lay, and sadly they bore him away upon
their battle-shields, and Enda remained victor upon the field.
And then the king's voice rang out clear as the sound of a trumpet in
the still morning:
"Bards and brehons, princes and nobles, and chiefs of Erin, Enda has
proved himself a battle champion, and who amongst you now will dare
gainsay his right to claim my daughter for his bride?"
And no answer came.
But when he summoned Enda to his throne, and placed the lady's hand in
his, a cheer arose from the great assembly, that proved that jealousy
was extinguished in all hearts, and that all believed that Enda was
worthy of the winsome bride; and never since that day, although a
thousand years have passed, was there in all the world a brighter and
gayer wedding than the wedding of Enda and the Princess Mave.
THE ENCHANTED CAVE
A long, long time ago, Prince Cuglas,[4] master of the hounds to the
high King of Erin, set out from Tara to the chase. As he was leaving the
palace the light mists were drifting away from the hill-tops, and the
rays of the morning sun were falling aslant on the _grinan_ or sunny
bower of the Princess Ailinn. Glancing towards it the prince doffed his
plumed and jeweled hunting-cap, and the princess answered his salute
by a wave of her little hand, that was as white as a wild rose in the
hedges in June, and leaning from her bower, she watched the huntsman
until his tossing plumes were hidden by the green waving branches of
the woods.
The Princess Ailinn was over head and ears in love with Cuglas, and
Cuglas was over head and ears in love with the Princess Ailinn, and he
believed that never was summer morning half as bright, or as sweet, or
as fair as she. The glimpse which he had just caught of her filled his
heart with delight, and almost put all thought of hunting out of his
head, when suddenly the tuneful cries of the hounds, answered by a
hundred echoes from the groves, broke upon his ear.
The dogs had started a dappled deer that bounded away through the
forest. The prince, spurring his gallant steed, pushed on in eager
pursuit.
On through the forest sped the deer, through soft, green, secret ways
and flowery dells, then out from the forest, up heathery hills, and over
long stretches of moorland, and across brown rushing streams, sometimes
in view of the hounds, sometimes lost to sight, but always ahead of
them.
All day long the chase continued, and at last, when the sun was sinking,
the dogs were close upon the panting deer, and the prince believed he
was about to secure his game, when the deer suddenly disappeared through
the mouth of a cave which opened before him. The dogs followed at his
heels, and the prince endeavored to rein in his steed, but the impetuous
animal bore him on, and soon was clattering over the stony floor of the
cave in perfect darkness. Cuglas could hear ahead of him the cries of
the hounds growing fainter and fainter, as they increased the distance
between them and him. Then the cries ceased altogether, and the only
sound the prince heard was the noise of his horse's hoofs sounding in
the hollow cave. Once more he endeavored to check his career, but the
reins broke in his hands, and in that instant the prince felt the horse
had taken a plunge into a gulf, and was sinking down and down, as a
stone cast from the summit of a cliff sinks down to the sea. At last the
horse struck the ground again, and the prince was almost thrown out of
his saddle, but he succeeded in regaining his seat. Then on through
the darkness galloped the steed, and when he came into the light the
prince's eyes were for some time unable to bear it. But when he got used
to the brightness he saw he was galloping over a grassy plain, and in
the distance he perceived the hounds rushing towards a wood faintly
visible through a luminous summer haze. The prince galloped on, and as
he approached the wood he saw coming towards him a comely champion,
wearing a shining brown cloak, fastened by a bright bronze spear-like
brooch, and bearing a white hazel wand in one hand, and a single-edged
sword with a hilt made from the tooth of a sea-horse in the other;[5]
and the prince knew by the dress of the champion, and by his wand and
sword, that he was a royal herald. As the herald came close to him the
prince's steed stopped of his own accord.
"You are welcome, Cuglas," said the herald, "and I have been sent by the
Princess Crede to greet you and to lead you to her court, where you have
been so long expected."
"I know not how this may be," said Cuglas.
"How it has come about I shall tell you as we go along," said the
herald. "The Princess Crede is the Queen of the Floating Island. And it
chanced, once upon a day, when she was visiting her fairy kinsmen, who
dwell in one of the pleasant hills that lie near Tara, she saw you with
the high king and princes and nobles of Erin following the chase. And
seeing you her heart went out to you, and wishing to bring you to her
court, she sent one of her nymphs, in the form of a deer, to lure you
on through the cave, which is the entrance to this land."
"I am deeply honored by the preference shown me by the princess," said
Cuglas, "but I may not tarry in her court; for above in Erin there is
the Lady Ailinn, the loveliest of all the ladies who grace the royal
palace, and before the princes and chiefs of Erin she has promised to
be my bride."
"Of that I know not," said the herald; "but a true champion, like you,
cannot, I know, refuse to come with me to the court of the Princess
Crede."
As the herald had said these words the prince and he were on the verge
of the wood, and they entered upon a mossy pathway that broadened out as
they advanced until it was as wide as one of the great roads of Erin.
Before they had gone very far the prince heard the tinkling of silver
bells in the distance, and almost as soon as he heard them he saw
coming up towards him a troop of warriors on coal black steeds. All the
warriors wore helmets of shining silver, and cloaks of blue silk. And
on the horses' breasts were crescents of silver, on which were hung tiny
silver bells, shaking out music with the motion of the horses. As the
prince approached the champions they lowered their spears, and dividing
in two lines the prince and the herald passed between the ranks, and the
champions, forming again, followed on behind the prince.
At last they passed through the wood, and they found themselves on a
green plain, speckled with flowers, and they had not gone far when the
prince saw coming towards him a hundred champions on snow-white steeds,
and around the breast of the steeds were crescents of gold, from which
were hanging little golden bells.[6] The warriors all wore golden
helmets, and the shafts of their shining spears were of gold, and golden
sandals on their feet, and yellow silken mantles fell down over their
shoulders. And when the prince came near them they lowered their lances,
and then they turned their horses' heads around and marched before him.
And it was not long until above the pleasant jingle of the bells the
prince heard the measured strains of music, and he saw coming towards
him a band of harpers, dressed in green and gold, and when the harpers
had saluted the prince they marched in front of the cavalcade, playing
all the time, and it was not long until they came to a stream that ran
like a blue riband around the foot of a green hill, on the top of which
was a sparkling palace; the stream was crossed by a golden bridge, so
narrow that the horsemen had to go two-by-two. The herald asked the
prince to halt and to allow all the champions to go before him; and the
cavalcade ascended the hill, the sunlight brightly glancing on helmet
and on lance, and when it reached the palace the horsemen filed around
the walls.
When at length the prince and herald crossed the bridge and began
to climb the hill, the prince thought he felt the ground moving under
them, and on looking back he could see no sign of the golden bridge,
and the blue stream had already become as wide as a great river, and
was becoming wider every second.
"You are on the floating island now," said the herald, "and before you
is the palace of the Princess Crede."
At that moment the queen came out through the palace door, and the
prince was so dazzled by her beauty, that only for the golden bracelet
he wore upon his right arm, under the sleeve of his silken tunic, he
might almost have forgotten the Princess Ailinn. This bracelet was made
by the dwarfs who dwell in the heart of the Scandinavian Mountains, and
was sent with other costly presents by the King of Scandinavia to the
King of Erin, and he gave it to the princess, and it was the virtue of
this bracelet, that whoever was wearing it could not forget the person
who gave it to him, and it could never be loosened from the arm by any
art or magic spell; but if the wearer, even for a single moment, liked
anyone better than the person who gave it to him, that very moment the
bracelet fell off from the arm and could never again be fastened on. And
when the princess promised her hand in marriage to the Prince Cuglas,
she closed the bracelet on his arm.
The fairy queen knew nothing about the bracelet, and she hoped that
before the prince was long in the floating island he would forget all
about the princess.
"You are welcome, Cuglas," said the queen, as she held out her hand, and
Cuglas, having thanked her for her welcome, they entered the palace
together.
"You must be weary after your long journey," said the queen. "My page
will lead you to your apartments, where a bath of the cool blue waters
of the lake has been made ready for you, and when you have taken your
bath the pages will lead you to the banquet hall, where the feast is
spread."
At the feast the prince was seated beside the queen, and she talked to
him of all the pleasures that were in store for him in fairyland, where
pain, and sickness, and sorrow, and old age, are unknown, and where
every rosy hour that flies is brighter than the one that has fled before
it. And when the feast was ended the queen opened the dance with the
prince, and it was not until the moon was high above the floating island
that the prince retired to rest.
He was so tired after his journey and the dancing that he fell into
a sound sleep. When he awoke the next morning the sun was shining
brightly, and he heard outside the palace the jingle of bells and the
music of baying hounds, and his heart was stirred by memories of the
many pleasant days on which he had led the chase over the plains and
through the green woods of Tara.
He looked out through the window, and he saw all the fairy champions
mounted on their steeds ready for the chase, and at their head the fairy
queen. And at that moment the pages came to say the queen wished to know
if he would join them, and the prince went out and found his steed ready
saddled and bridled, and they spent the day hunting in the forest that
stretched away for miles behind the palace, and the night in feasting
and dancing.
When the prince awoke the following morning he was summoned by the pages
to the presence of the queen. The prince found the queen on the lawn
outside the palace surrounded by her court.
"We shall go on the lake to-day, Cuglas," said the queen, and taking his
arm she led him along the water's edge, all the courtiers following.
[Illustration: "The queen wished to know if he would join them"]
When she was close to the water she waved her wand, and in a second a
thousand boats, shining like glass, shot up from beneath the lake and
set their bows against the bank. The queen and Cuglas stepped into one,
and when they were seated two fairy harpers took their places in the
prow. All the other boats were soon thronged by fairies, and then the
queen waved her wand again, and an awning of purple silk rose over the
boat, and silken awnings of various colors over the others, and the
royal boat moved off from the bank followed by all the rest, and in
every boat sat a harper with a golden harp, and when the queen waved her
wand for the third time, the harpers struck the trembling chords, and to
the sound of the delightful music the boats glided over the sunlit lake.
And on they went until they approached the mouth of a gentle river
sliding down between banks clad with trees. Up the river, close to the
bank and under the drooping trees, they sailed, and when they came to
a bend in the river, from which the lake could be no longer seen, they
pushed their prows in against the bank, and the queen and Cuglas, and
all the party, left the boats and went on under the trees until they
came to a mossy glade.
Then the queen waved her wand, and silken couches were spread under the
trees, and she and Cuglas sat on one apart from the others, and the
courtiers took their places in proper order.
And the queen waved her wand again, and wind shook the trees above them,
and the most luscious fruit that was ever tasted fell down into their
hands; and when the feast was over there was dancing in the glades to
the music of the harps, and when they were tired dancing they set out
for the boats, and the moon was rising above the trees as they sailed
away over the lake, and it was not long until they reached the bank
below the fairy palace.
Well, between hunting in the forest, and sailing over the lake, and
dancing in the greenwood glade and in the banquet hall, the days passed,
but all the time the prince was thinking of the Princess Ailinn, and one
moonlit night, when he was lying awake on his couch thinking of her, a
shadow was suddenly cast on the floor.
The prince looked towards the window, and what should he see sitting
on the sill outside but a little woman tapping the pane with a golden
bodkin.
The prince jumped from his couch and opened the window, and the little
woman floated on the moonbeams into the room and sat down on the floor.
"You are thinking of the Princess Ailinn," said the little woman.
"I never think of anyone else," said the prince.
"I know that," said the little woman, "and it's because of your love for
each other, and because her mother was a friend to me in the days gone
by, that I have come here to try and help you; but there is not much
time for talking, the night advances. At the bank below a boat awaits
you. Step into it and it will lead you to the mainland, and when you
reach it you will find before you a path that will take you to the green
fields of Erin and the plains of Tara. I know you will have to face
danger. I know not what kind of danger; but whatever it may be do not
draw your sword before you tread upon the mainland, for if you do you
shall never reach it, and the boat will come back again to the floating
island; and now go and may luck go with you;" and saying this the little
woman climbed up the moonbeams and disappeared.
The prince left the palace and descended to the lake, and there before
him he saw a glistening boat; he stepped into it, and the boat went on
and on beneath the moon, and at last he saw the mainland, and he could
trace a winding pathway going away from the shore. The sight filled his
heart with joy, but suddenly the milk-white moonshine died away, and
looking up to the sky he saw the moon turning fiery red, and the waters
of the lake, shining like silver a moment before, took a blood-red hue,
and a wind arose that stirred the waters, and they leaped up against the
little boat, tossing it from side to side. While Cuglas was wondering
at the change, he heard a strange, unearthly noise ahead of him, and
a bristling monster, lifting its claws above the water, in a moment
was beside the boat and stuck one of his claws in the left arm of the
prince, and pierced the flesh to the bone. Maddened by the pain the
prince drew his sword and chopped off the monster's claw. The monster
disappeared beneath the lake, and, as it did so, the color of the water
changed, and the silver moonlight shone down from the sky again, but the
boat no longer went on towards the mainland, but sped back towards the
floating island, while forth from the island came a fleet of fairy boats
to meet it, led by the shallop of the fairy queen. The queen greeted the
prince as if she knew not of his attempted flight, and to the music of
the harps the fleet returned to the palace.
The next day passed and the night came, and again the prince was lying
on the couch, thinking of the Princess Ailinn, and again he saw the
shadow on the floor and heard the tapping against the window.
And when he opened it the little woman slid into the room.
"You failed last night," she said, "but I come to give you another
chance. To-morrow the queen must set out on a visit to her fairy
kinsmen, who dwell in the green hill near the plain of Tara; she cannot
take you with her, for if your feet once touched the green grass that
grows in the fruitful fields of Erin, she could never bring you back
again. And so, when you find she has left the palace, go at once into
the banquet hall and look behind the throne, and you will see a small
door let down into the ground. Pull this up and descend the steps which
you will see. Where they lead to I cannot tell. What dangers may be
before you I do not know; but this I know, if you accept anything, no
matter what it is, from anyone you may meet on your way, you shall not
set foot on the soil of Erin."
And having said this the little woman, rising from the floor, floated
out through the window.
The prince returned to his couch, and the next morning, as soon as he
heard the queen had left the palace, he hastened to the banquet hall.
He discovered the door and descended the steps, and he found himself
in a gloomy and lonesome valley. Jagged mountains, black as night, rose
on either side, and huge rocks seemed ready to topple down upon him at
every step. Through broken clouds a watery moon shed a faint, fitful
light, that came and went as the clouds, driven by a moaning wind,
passed over the valley.
Cuglas, nothing daunted, pushed on boldly until a bank of cloud shut out
completely the struggling moon, and closing over the valley covered it
like a pall, leaving him in perfect darkness. At the same moment the
moaning wind died away, and with it died away all sound. The darkness
and the deathlike silence sent an icy chill to the heart of Cuglas. He
held his hand close to his eyes, but he saw it not. He shouted that he
might hear the sound of his own voice, but he heard it not. He stamped
his foot on the rocky ground, but no sound was returned to him. He
rattled his sword in its brazen scabbard, but it gave no answer back
to him. His heart grew colder and colder, when suddenly the cloud above
him was rent in a dozen places, and lightning flashed through the
valley, and the thunder rolled over the echoing mountains. In the lurid
glare of the lightning Cuglas saw a hundred ghostly forms sweeping
towards him, uttering as they came nearer and nearer shrieks so terrible
that the silence of death could more easily be borne. Cuglas turned to
escape, but they hemmed him round, and pressed their clammy hands upon
his face.
With a yell of horror he drew his sword and slashed about him, and that
very moment the forms vanished, the thunder ceased, the dark cloud
passed, and the sun shone out as bright as on a summer day, and then
Cuglas knew the forms he had seen were those of the wild people of the
glen.[7]