Part 20 (1/2)
THE CHANT OF THE FAIRY MAIDEN TO CONNLA OF THE GOLDEN HAIR.
I.
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!
II.
A pleasant land of winding vales, bright streams, and verdurous plains, Where summer all the live-long year, in changeless splendour 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!
III.
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 ever more That verdant sh.o.r.e Our happy home shall be; The land of rest, In the golden west, On the verge of the azure sea!
IV.
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 sh.o.r.e, Where 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 will guard thee, till we reach that silver strand Where thou shalt reign in endless joy, the king of the Fairy-land!
[LXIX.]
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.
FOOTNOTES:
[LXVIII.] Hill of Usna. (See note, page 37.)
[LXIX.] This is an expansion, rather than a translation, of the original, which is very short, and in some places very obscure.
THE VOYAGE OF MAILDUN.
AN ACCOUNT OF THE ADVENTURES OF MAILDUN AND HIS CREW, AND OF THE WONDERFUL THINGS THEY SAW DURING THEIR VOYAGE OF THREE YEARS AND SEVEN MONTHS, IN THEIR CURRAGH,[17] ON THE WESTERN SEA.
CHAPTER I.
MAILDUN'S CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH. HE BEGINS HIS VOYAGE IN QUEST OF THE PLUNDERERS WHO SLEW HIS FATHER.
There was once an ill.u.s.trious man of the tribe of Owenaght[LXX.] of Ninus, Allil Ocar Aga by name, a goodly hero, and lord of his own tribe and territory. One time, when he was in his house unguarded, a fleet of plunderers landed on the coast, and spoiled his territory. The chief fled for refuge to the church of Dooclone; but the spoilers followed him thither, slew him, and burned the church over his head.
Not long after Allil's death, a son was born to him. The child's mother gave him the name of Maildun; and, wis.h.i.+ng to conceal his birth, she brought him to the queen of that country, who was her dear friend. The queen took him to her, and gave out that he was her own child, and he was brought up with the king's sons, slept in the same cradle with them, and was fed from the same breast and from the same cup. He was a very lovely child; and the people who saw him thought it doubtful if there was any other child living at the time equally beautiful.
As he grew up to be a young man, the n.o.ble qualities of his mind gradually unfolded themselves. He was high-spirited and generous, and he loved all sorts of manly exercises. In ball-playing, in running and leaping, in throwing the stone, in chess-playing, in rowing, and in horse-racing, he surpa.s.sed all the youths that came to the king's palace, and won the palm in every contest.
One day, when the young men were at their games, a certain youth among them grew envious of Maildun; and he said, in an angry and haughty tone of voice--
”It is a cause of much shame to us that we have to yield in every game, whether of skill or of strength, whether on land or on water, to an obscure youth, of whom no one can tell who is his father or his mother, or what race or tribe he belongs to.”
On hearing this, Maildun ceased at once from play; for until that moment he believed that he was the son of the king of the Owenaght, and of the queen who had nursed him. And going anon to the queen, he told her what had happened; and he said to her--