Free Wars of the Irish Kings by David W. McCullough Page A

yore,
    “I can explain that poem,” said Finn. “The mansion you saw is Bruga of the Boyne, the palace of Angus, son of the Dagda, which is open to all who wish to partake of its feasts and its enjoyments. It cannot be burned by fire, or drowned by water, or spoiled by robbers, on account of the great power of its lord and master; for there is not now, and there never was, and there never shall be, in Erin, a man more skilled in magic arts than Angus of the Bruga.”
    “That is the sense of my poem,” said the stranger; “and now listen to this other, and explain it to me if thou canst.” It began—
    I saw to the south a bright-faced queen,
With couch of crystal and robe of green;
    “I understand the sense of that poem also,” said Finn. “The queen you saw is the river Boyne, which flows by the south side of the palace of Bruga. Her couch of crystal is the sandy bed of the river; and her robe of green the grassy plain of Bregia, through which it flows. Her children, which you can see through her skin, are the speckled salmon, the lively, pretty trout, and all the other fish that swim in the clear water of the river. The river flows slowly indeed; but its waters traverse the whole world in seven years, which is more than the swiftest steed can do.”
    “These are my poems,” said the champion; “and thou hast truly explained their meaning.”
    “And now,” said Finn, “as I have listened to thy poetry and explained it, tell us, I pray thee, who thou art and whence thou hast come; for I marvelmuch that so noble a champion should live in any of the five provinces of Erin without being known to me and my companions.”
    Then Conan Mail spoke. “Thou art, O king, the wisest and most far-seeing of the Fena, and thou hast unravelled and explained the hard poetical puzzles of this champion. Yet, on the present occasion, thou knowest not a friend from a foe; for this man is Midac, whom thou didst bring up with much honour in thine own house, and afterwards made rich, but who is now thy bitter enemy, and the enemy of all the Fena. Here he has lived for fourteen years, without fellowship or communication with his former companions. And though he is enrolled in the order of the Fena, he has never, during all that time, invited thee to a banquet, or come to see any of his old friends, or given food or entertainment to any of the Fena, either master or man.”
    Midac answered, “If Finn and the Fena have not feasted with me, that is none of my fault; for my house has never been without a banquet fit for either king or chief; but you never came to partake of it. I did not, indeed, send you an invitation; but that you should not have waited for, seeing that I was one of the Fena, and that I was brought up in your own household. Howbeit, let that pass. I have now a feast ready, in all respects worthy of a king; and I put you under gesa that you and the chiefs that are here with you, come this night to partake of it. I have two palaces, and in each there is a banquet. One is the Palace of the Island, which stands on the sea; and the other is the Palace of the Quicken Trees, which is a little way off from this hill; and it is to this that I wish you to come.”
    Finn consented; and Midac, after he had pointed out the way to the Palace of the Quicken Trees, left them, saying he would go before, that he might have things in readiness when they should arrive.
FINN IS ENTRAPPED BY MIDAC, AND HELD BY ENCHANTMENT
IN THE PALACE OF THE QUICKEN TREES
    Finn now held council with his companions, and they agreed that the king’s son, Oisin, and five other chiefs, with their followers, should tarry on the hill till the hunting party returned, while Finn went to the palace with the rest.
    And it was arranged that Finn should send back word immediately to the party on the hill, how he fared; and that Oisin and the others were to follow him to the palace when the hunting party had returned.
    Those that remained with Oisin were Dermat