Connla of the Golden Hair was the son of Conn the Hundred-fighter. One
day as he stood with his father on the royal Hill of Usna, he saw a
lady a little way off, very beautiful, and dressed in strange attire.
She approached the spot where he stood; and when she was near, he
spoke to her, and asked who she was, and from what place she had come.
The lady replied: "I have come from the Land of the Living--a land
where there is neither death nor old age, nor any breach of law.
The inhabitants of earth call us Aes-shee, for we have our dwellings
within large, pleasant, green hills. We pass our time very pleasantly
in feasting and harmless amusements, never growing old; and we have no
quarrels or contentions."
The King and his company marveled very much; for though they heard
this conversation, no one saw the lady except Connla alone.
"Who is this thou art talking to, my son?" said the King.
And anon she answered for the youth: "Connla is speaking with a
lovely, noble-born young lady, who will never die, and who will never
grow old. I love Connla of the Golden Hair, and I have come to bring
him with me to Moy-mell, the plain of never-ending pleasure. On the
day that he comes with me he shall be made King, and he shall reign
for ever in Fairyland, without weeping and without sorrow. Come with
me, O gentle Connla of the ruddy cheek, the fair, freckled neck, and
the golden hair! Come with me, beloved Connla, and thou shalt retain
the comeliness and dignity of thy form, free from the wrinkles of old
age, till the awful day of judgment."
"Thy flowing golden hair, thy comely face,
Thy all majestic form of peerless grace,
That show thee sprung from Conn's exalted race."
King Conn the Hundred-fighter being much troubled, called then on
his druid Coran, to put forth his power against the witchery of the
banshee: "O Coran of the mystic arts and of the mighty incantations,
here is a contest such as I have never been engaged in since I was
made King at Tara--a contest with an invisible lady, who is beguiling
my son to Fairyland by her baleful charms. Her cunning is beyond my
skill, and I am not able to withstand her power; and if thou, Coran,
help not, my son will be taken away from me by the wiles and witchery
of a woman from the fairy hills."
Coran the druid then came forward, and began to chant against the
voice of the lady. And his power was greater than hers for that time,
so that she was forced to retire.
As she was going away she threw an apple to Connla, who straightway
lost sight of her; and the King and his people no longer heard her
voice.
The King and the Prince returned with their company to the palace; and
Connla remained for a whole month without tasting food or drink except
the apple. And though he ate of it each day, it was never lessened,
but was as whole and perfect in the end as at the beginning. Moreover,
when they offered him aught else to eat or drink he refused it; for
while he had his apple he did not deem any other food worthy to be
tasted. And he began to be very moody and sorrowful, thinking of the
lovely fairy maiden.
At the end of the month, as Connla stood by his father's side among
the nobles, on the Plain of Arcomin, he saw the lady approaching him
from the west. And when she had come near, she addressed him in
this manner: "A glorious seat, indeed, has Connla among wretched,
short-lived mortals, awaiting the dreadful stroke of death! But now,
the ever-youthful people of Moy-mell, who never feel age, and who fear
not death, seeing thee day by day among thy friends, in the assemblies
of thy fatherland, love thee with a strange love, and they will make
thee King over them if thou wilt come with me."
When the King heard the words of the lady, he commanded his people to
call the druid again to him, saying, "Bring my druid Coran to me;
for I see that the fairy lady has this day regained the power of her
voice."
At this the lady said: "Valiant Conn, fighter of a hundred, the faith
of the druids has come to little honor among the upright, mighty,
numberless people of this land. When the righteous law shall be
restored, it will seal up the lips of the false black demon; and his
druids shall no longer have power to work their guileful spells."
Now the King observed, and marveled greatly, that whenever the lady
was present his son never spoke one word to any one, even though they
addressed him many times. And when the lady had ceased to speak, the
King said: "Connla, my son, has thy mind been moved by the words of
the lady?"
Connla spake then, and replied, "Father, I am very unhappy; for though
I love my people beyond all, I am filled with sadness on account of
this lady!"
When Connla had said this, the maiden again addressed him, and chanted
these words in a very sweet voice:
"A land of youth, a land of rest,
A land from sorrow free;
It lies far off in the golden west,
On the verge of the azure sea.
A swift canoe of crystal bright,
That never met mortal view--
We shall reach the land ere fall of night,
In that strong and swift canoe;
We shall reach the strand
Of that sunny land,
From druids and demons free;
The land of rest
In the golden west,
On the verge of the azure sea!
"A pleasant land of winding vales, bright streams, and verdurous plains,
Where summer all the live-long year in changeless splendor reigns;
A peaceful land of calm delight, of everlasting bloom;
Old age and death we never know, no sickness, care, or gloom;
The land of youth,
Of love and truth,
From pain and sorrow free,
The land of rest,
In the golden west,
On the verge of the azure sea!
"There are strange delights for mortal men in that island of the west;
The sun comes down each evening in its lovely vales to rest;
And though far and dim
On the ocean's rim
It seems to mortal view,
We shall reach its halls
Ere the evening falls,
In my strong and swift canoe;
And evermore
That verdant shore
Our happy home shall be;
The land of rest,
In the golden west,
On the verge of the azure sea!
"It will guard thee, gentle Connla of the flowing golden hair,
It will guard thee from the druids, from the demons of the air,
My crystal boat will guard thee, till we reach that western shore,
When thou and I in joy and love shall live for evermore:
From the druid's incantation,
From his black and deadly snare,
From the withering imprecation
Of the demon of the air,
"It will guard thee, gentle Connla of the flowing golden hair;
My crystal boat shall guard thee, till we reach that silver strand
Where thou shalt reign in endless joy, the King of the Fairyland!"
When the maiden had ended her chant, Connla suddenly walked away
from his father's side, and sprang into the curragh, the gleaming,
straight-gliding, strong, crystal canoe. The King and his people saw
them afar off, and dimly moving away over the bright sea towards the
sunset. They gazed sadly after them, till they lost sight of the canoe
over the utmost verge; and no one can tell whither they went, for
Connla was never again seen in his native land.
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