Part 13 (1/2)
Hildegonda, inexorable and unyielding, declared that no dumb Queen should ever reign in Cashel, and commanded her son to retire to a distant province until his relatives had departed.
Murdoch and his spouse lost no time in quitting with their daughter these inhospitable sh.o.r.es. When they once more reached home, they were roused by Hildegonda's insulting behaviour to attempt still more earnestly to unravel the cruel mystery that bound the lips of their beautiful daughter.
In the meantime the hapless Eochy utterly failed to make any deep impression on his cousin's heart. He languished in all the misery of unrequited love, and continually breathed forth his lamentations in odes and poems such as this:--
”What though I be King of the Emerald Isle, And my Court in its Castle with beauty be bright, To me it were brighter by far could the smile Of the one I remember but gladden my sight.
”Ah yes! I remember too faithfully yet That evening and all its enchantment to me, That silvery wreath I shall never forget, That star-spangled Maiden from over the sea.
”I had gazed on the snow-mantled vale as it lay In the silence of morning all spotless and white, And I wished that unchanged the fair prospect would stay To delight me, no sunset, no evening, no night:
”But the evening would come, and with evening a glow So rosy and glorious and delicate shone, Bright Phoebus, I vowed, must be wooing the snow, And I envied the sweet bridal blush he had won.
”I had gazed on the ocean so calm and serene, The breezes seemed hushed to be watching her sleep: I whispered, could mortal imagine a scene More sweet than the peacefully slumbering deep?
”But the sun s.h.i.+ning forth, on a sudden there grew Such a change, every ripple seemed laughing and glad, Such a dazzling and glancing of golden and blue, I wondered it e'er could seem slumbering or sad.
”Sweet, when I had met thee the charms were united, The snow of that morn of that evening the glow On thy cheek and thy brow,--Oh, I would they were plighted To me, as they were 'twixt the sun and the snow!
”And the laughter of ocean I saw in thine eyes, When a light from within had enkindled the flame,-- How I wished I knew what might be worthy the prize Those fair joyous glances for ever to claim!
”Let them boast that the daughters of Erin are bright, Let them sing their wild songs to the maids of Kildare; I'll sing, and I'll sing till they own I am right, There's a maiden in Scotland, a maiden more fair!”
When Miranda received by special messengers these and other similar effusions from the love-sick Eochy, she conjured up before her mind's eye the sandy locks, the unmeaning grey eyes, the ungraceful lounging figure, and the good-natured but facile countenance of the effeminate young Prince. She smiled to herself as she contrasted him with the ideal hero of her imagination, sprung from the well-remembered tales of the dark impetuous sea-kings of the north.
About this time the King and Queen heard of and resolved to consult the oracle at c.u.mbrae for their afflicted daughter. They hoped to gain from the shrine of the far-famed lion some insight into her dark destiny.
After they had offered the richest gifts, and personally invoked its mysterious aid, the oracle returned the following enigmatical answer to their prayers, nor could the utmost entreaties gain from it any further explanation:--
”The Eagle that soared o'er Kyle Akin's swift strait, Hath wooed and hath won the soft dove for his mate; Affliction hath wearied affection to rest, And cold is the heart in that mother's fond breast.
”The strange freaks of fate in one web have entwined, What the Eaglet and maiden alone can unbind; By chequered adventure, and music's soft thrill, The compa.s.s shall aid in deliverance from ill.
Arise and speed northward, the prophet hath spoken, Miranda's long silence by love shall be broken.”
Enquiries were at once set on foot regarding the mysterious ”Eaglet”
mentioned by the oracle. It was discovered that a certain Enchanter of the north named Eudaemon, was sometimes called ”the Tamer of the Golden Eagle,” and was indeed by some supposed to have been reared in an eagle's nest. The hopes of the afflicted parents rose high as they listened to the wondrous tales told of the great Enchanter's power.
A gorgeous galley was forthwith prepared wherein the King and Queen with their daughter embarked, taking with them but a slender retinue, for it was rumoured that the wise man lived secluded from his fellows, and would not brook intrusion. A small flotilla to protect and watch over the royal vessel received orders to hover near, but on no account to come within sight of the wizard's castle, for fear of exciting his displeasure.
The voyage was long and perilous. Autumn had already far advanced.
Equinoctial gales lashed the western sea into swelling billows, so that after struggling with difficulty up the stormy sounds of Mull and Sleat, the galley containing the Princess and her parents, at length became separated from all her convoys and stranded on the western coast of Raasay. The King, Queen, and Princess barely escaped with their lives; their attendants also were saved, but the choice treasures intended to propitiate the Enchanter were carried by mermaidens as spoil to the palace of the sea G.o.ds.
Drenched and peris.h.i.+ng with cold, the unfortunate voyagers were rescued from the bleak sh.o.r.e, and hospitably entertained by the poor islanders, who little imagined that in these storm-beaten mariners they beheld the great King Murdoch, the wise Queen Margaret, and the unfortunate Princess Miranda.
It is true that the Queen, with that prudence and forethought which occasionally guided her smaller actions, had caused her chief dresser to sew their three second-best Crowns into a small package, which was still attached to her belt and concealed by her dress, but with this exception (which seemed of little practical use), nothing remained to mark the exalted station of the royal wanderers.
Great, however, was their satisfaction to find that they were s.h.i.+pwrecked on the _very_ island where the Enchanter of the North had his lonely abode. They made many enquiries concerning him, and heard that his actions were beneficent, and his cures almost certain.
They were, nevertheless, warned by the islanders that nothing more excited his indignation than the presence of many people at his gate.
He had, indeed, been known to refuse aid altogether to their comrades, who, from superst.i.tion or folly, had gone in numbers to beset the Castle entrance.
It was now therefore customary among these simple yet considerate people, to convoy the suppliant within a short distance of Castle Brochel. They then remained waiting on the hill above, while their fellow descended and returned. So universal had this practice become, that a small s.h.i.+eling was gradually thrown together stone upon stone by islanders waiting on different occasions for some friend below; exposed for the time being to all the inclemency of that most variable climate.