Marid, to the time of Comgall of Bangor.[16]
Now on one occasion, Comgall sent Beoc, the son[102] of Indli, from Bangor to Rome, to talk with Gregory[LXIV.] concerning some matters of order and rule. And when Beoc's curragh[17] was sailing over the sea, he and his crew heard sweet singing in the waters beneath them, as it were the chanting of angels.
And Beoc, having listened for a while, looked down into the water, and asked what the chant was for, and who it was that sang. And Liban answered, "I am Liban, the daughter of Ecca, son of Marid; and it is I who sang the chant thou hast heard."
"Why art thou here?" asked Beoc.
And she replied, "Lo, I have lived for three hundred years beneath the sea; and I have come hither to fix a day and a place of meeting with thee. I shall now go westward; and I beseech thee, for the sake of the holy men of Dalaradia,[LXV.] to come to Inver Ollarba[LXVI.] to meet me, on this same day at the end of a year. Say also to Comgall and to the other holy men of Bangor, all that I say to thee. Come with thy boats and thy fishing-nets, and thou shalt take me from the waters in which I have lived."
"I shall not grant thee the boon thou askest," said Beoc, "unless thou give me a reward." "What reward dost thou seek?" asked Liban.
[103]
"That thou be buried in one grave with me in my own monastery," answered Beoc. "That shall be granted to thee," said Liban.
Beoc then went on his way to Rome. And when he had returned, he related to Comgall and to the other saints of the monastery at
Bangor, the story of the mermaid. And now the end of the year was nigh.
Then they made ready their nets, and on the day appointed they went in their boats to Inver Ollarba, a goodly company of the saints of Erin. And Liban was caught in the net of Fergus of Miluc:[LXVII.] and her head and shoulders were those of a maiden, but she had the body of a fish.
Now the boat in which she was brought to land was kept half full of sea water, in which she remained swimming about. And many
34
came to see her; and all were filled with wonder when they saw her strange shape and heard her story.
Among the rest came the chief of the tribe of Hua-Conang, wearing a purple cloak; and she kept gazing at him earnestly. The young chief, seeing this, said to her--
"Dost thou wish to have this cloak? If so, I will give it to thee willingly."
But she answered, "Not so: I desire not thy cloak. But it brings to my mind my father Ecca;[104] for on the day he was drowned, he wore a cloak of purple like thine. But may good luck be on thee for thy gentleness, and on him who shall come after thee in thy place; and in every assembly where thy successor sits, may he be known to all without inquiry."
After that there came up a large-bodied, dark-visaged, fierce hero, and killed her lap-dog. Whereupon she was grieved; and she told
him that the heroism of himself and his tribe should be stained by the baseness of their minds, and that they should not be able to
defend themselves against injuries till they should do penance, by fasting, for her sake.
Then the warrior repented what he had done, and humbled himself before her.
And now there arose a contention about her, as to whom she should belong. Comgall said she was his, forasmuch as she was caught in his territory. But Fergus urged that she belonged to him by right, as it was in his net she was taken. And Beoc said he had the best right of all to her, on account of the promise she had made to him.
And as no one could settle the dispute, these three saints fasted and prayed that God would give a judgment between them, to show
who should own Liban.
And an angel said to one of the company, "Two wild oxen will come hither to-morrow from Carn-Arenn, that is to say, from the grave-mound of Liban's sister, Ariu. Yoke a chariot to them, and place the mermaid in it; and into whatsoever territory they shall bring her, she shall remain with the owner thereof."
[105]
The oxen came on the morrow, as the angel had foretold. And when they were yoked, and when Liban was placed in the chariot,
they brought her straightway to Beoc's church, namely to Tec-Da-Beoc.
Then the saints gave her a choice--either to die immediately after baptism, and go to heaven; or to live on earth as long as she had lived in the sea, and then to go to heaven after these long ages. And the choice she took was to die immediately. Whereupon Comgall baptised her; and he gave her the name of Murgen, that is, "Sea-born," or Murgelt, that is "Mermaid."
And she is counted among the holy virgins, and held in honour and reverence, as God ordained for her in heaven; and wonders and miracles are performed through her means at Tec-Da-Beoc.
[106]
CONNLA OF THE GOLDEN HAIR, AND THE FAIRY MAIDEN.
Connla of the Golden Hair was the son of Conn the Hundred-fighter.[18] One day as he stood with his father on the royal Hill of Usna,[LXVIII.] 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[19]--a land where there is neither death nor old age, nor any breach of law. The inhabitants of earth call us Aes-shee,[19] 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 marvelled 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. [107]
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,[19] 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 tall 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,[3] Coran, to put forth his power against the witchery
of the banshee[19]--
"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."
[108]
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.
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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