ErtHON LIA PHAII ; dinnamoni) elfast EOCHAID THE HfiREMHON ; OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. Yours faithfully, ALFRED MORRIS. EOCHAID THE HEREMHON; OR, THE ROMANCEOFTHE LIA PHAIL. By the Laic ALFRED MORRIS. Edited and Compiled b\ REV. DENIS HANAN, D.D. LONDON : ROBERT BANKS & SON, RACQUET COURT, FLEET STREET, K.C. I I) O O . CONTENTS. PAGE Editor's Preface vii Author's Preface CHAl'TKK I. Talipanlies CHAl'TKK II. The Palace of the Jew's Daughters CHAPTER III. The Ard-Righ, or the Arch-King ... ... ... 39 CHAPTKR IV. An Invitation to a Feast ... ... ... ... 51 CHAPTKR V. The Escape from Tahpanhes ... ... ... ... 66 CHAPTKR VI. The Pillar of Witness 83 CHAPTKR VII. The Middle Passage ... ... ... ... ... 95 CHAPTKR VIII. The King in Council ... ... ... ... ... 109 CHAPTKR IX. The Shadow of the Coming Event ... ... ... 133 2060781 Vi CONTENTS. PAGE CHAPTKR X. The King's Daughters' Reception ... ... ... 144 CHAPTKK XI. Jacob's Stone... ... ... ... I5 ( ) CHAPTKR XII. The Hand of God ... ... ... ... ... 171 CHAPTKR XIII. A Change of National Faith ... ... ... ... 1 86 CHAPTKK XIV. The Desecration of Baal ... ... ... ... 204 CHAPTER XV. A Proposal for an Alliance ... ... ... ... 220 CHAPTKK XVI. A Bitter Disappointment ... ... ... ... 236 CHAPTKR XVII. The Siege of Tara ... ... ... ... ... 250 CHAPTKR XVIII. A Willing Sacrifice ... ... ... ... ... 266 CHAPTKR XIX. The Raising of the Siege of Tara ... ... ... 289 CHAPTKK XX. Death and Mystery ... ... ... ... ... 305 APPKXDIX ... ... ... ... ... ... 1^ EDITOR'S PREFACE. THE historical romance claims a place in literature which is not often recognised by the mere reader of fiction. As in the case of the ordinary novel, if good, it must have an interesting plot, and must manifest an insight into character, and the power of denning clearly localities and scenes ; but beyond this it endeavours to popularise true conceptions of historic facts, and of the varying motives that led up to them. There have been historians whose inaccuracy has made them novelists. There have been novelists whose accuracy has made them historians, and this without diminishing from their histrionic power. In the great drama of national life, and the history of the ages, one of the most extraordinary possibilities that imagination could invent, has been made the subject of prediction, and of inspired prediction. It is this which makes it possible, and at the same time fitting, to unite in an historical novel, the element of religious thought. The object of the author has been to popularise this most important part of the mystery of the world's history. He has entered upon a domain which has hitherto been untrodden. The reader of light fiction will here be transported into exciting scenes. The more thoughtful reader will find underneath the story the basis of fact. The historian will not fail to estimate viii EDITOR'S PREFACE. the value of the records given in the Appendix ; and the more serious reader will find a deeper purpose still. The author of this work died leaving it unfinished. The writer of this Preface has prepared it for publication. He has not altered the story, or interfered with the style. He has filled in some blanks, and added a few notes, and generally revised for the Press. It is his belief and hope that the merits of the story will cause it to be accepted by the public, and that that acceptance will fulfil the author's desire, namely, the awakening of an interest in the marvellous romance of our own national history. DENIS HANAN. The Rectory, Tipperary, nth July, 1896. AUTHOR'S PREFACE. "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a law-giver from between his feet until Shiloh come, and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be." Gen. xlix. 10. " Thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee ; thy throne shall be established for ever." 2 Sam. vii. 16. " For thus saith the Lord, David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the House of Israel." Jer. xxxiii. 17. THESE clear and definite promises to David and his seed, pronounced by the mouths of Jacob, Nathan, and Jeremiah, respectively, have, by their apparent stultifica- tion, through the seeming destruction of David's direct line in the persons of Zedekiah and his sons, puzzled, and still exercise the minds of many faithful believers in the literal truth of God's sure Word. So many of the prophecies concerning the Houses of Israel and Judah, and the royal line of David, have obviously received their literal fulfilment, that those who at all believe in the Divine origin and inspiration of prophecy must needs look for the literal fulfilment of those still unfulfilled, or be in danger of shattering their faith in the Divine inspiration of God's prophets altogether. Such prophetic forecasts as the splitting up See also 2 Sam. ii. i 7, v. i 5, xxiii. 5 ; i Chron. xvii. u 25 ; 2 Chron. xiii. 5 ; Psa. Ixxxix. 20 37 ; Isa. xxxvii. 31, 32 ; i Chron. xxviii., xxix. i 25 ; i Kings ii. I 4, iii. i 15, ix. i 9 ; Psa. cxxxii. ii 13. X PREFACE. of Israel into distinct and separate kingdoms at the death of Solomon ; the destruction of the kingdom of Israel (or Samaria), by Shalmaneser ; the destruction of the kingdom of Judah, and the carrying away of the Jews captive to Babylon, by Nebuchadnezzar ; the des- truction of Babylon and there-building of Jerusalem tasks allotted by Isaiah to Cyrus, the Persian, by name, at least 162 years before the event, and 126 years before the birth of -Cyrus himself; the coming of Christ, His rejection by the Jews, His acceptance on the other hand by the " Lost Sheep of the House of Israel ; " the de- struction of Jerusalem by Titus, and many other notorious historical events, have been literally and minutely ful- filled beyond the possibility of question. If, therefore, these prophecies have received material fulfilment and they have those who believe in the Divine inspiration of God's prophets must and do look for the material ful- filment of those prophecies, susceptible of an obviously material interpretation, which are still notoriously un- fulfilled. The promised infrangibility of the royal line of David is either the sure Word of God or it is not ; and it con- stitutes one of the apparently unfulfilled prophecies, which admit only of a material interpretation. The true believer must believe that a sovereign, a lineal descendant of David, is actually at this moment ruling somewhere on a material mundane throne over Israel. Either this must be so or the sure Word of God has failed, which cannot for a moment be entertained. There are many who believe that the key to this apparent mystery may be found in the mission entrusted by the Almighty to the prophet Jeremiah : " See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, to pull down, and to PREFACE. XI destroy, and to throw down, to build and to plant." Jer. i. 10. The author is not unaware that the following story, which he purposes to put before his fellow-countrymen in the guise of an historical romance, runs perilously near the verge of those subjects which many among them regard as too sacred to be made the subject of secular history; but, bearing in mind the fact that all the secular historians of the ancient world wrote of sub- jects which are also treated at large in the Bible, remem- bering that the Founder of the Christian faith never Himself sought to separate His secular and human life from His divine and sacred mission, it may well be forgiven if a prophetic figure of the Bible be depicted also in his readily conceivable secular character; if, haply, the germ of a great truth may thereby be suggested, and public thought be more keenly directed to beliefs which, altogether unstrained, entirely con- sistent with Bible truth, in no way adverse to re- vealed Christianity, thousands and tens of thousands of British men and women have already earnestly embraced. In the year 586 B.C. Jerusalem, after a two years' siege, fell a prey reduced by famine to the armies of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. On the night of the ninth day of the fourth month of that year one of the posterns of the town was opened by the leaders among the Jews, who fled with Zedekiah, the king, his children, wives and household. They were overtaken and overcome by the enemy on the plains of Jericho and carried before Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah, in Hamath, who upbraided Zedekiah with his perfidy and ingratitude. The king of Judah's sons and wives were slain before his face, by the conqueror's orders; his eyes were put out and he was sent, loaded with chains, a Xll PREFACE. prisoner to Babylon, where he died. Herein was ful- filled the prophecy of Jeremiah (chap. xxiv. 8, xxviii. 12) and also Ezekiel (chap. xii. 12), who had foretold that Zedekiah would be carried captive to Babylon, but should never see that city, although he should die there. From this moment the direct kingly line of David dis- appears from history, but cannot, in view of the clear and definite prophecies to the contrary, have disappeared from the world. The chain of evidence is known and admitted to exist, one link only is wanting. The Jews, still travailing under the prophetic curses, are plainly discernible ; Israel, God's chosen people, still exists somewhere on the earth, a concrete nation we may not doubt it; David's throne flourishes still in accord- ance with the sure and immutable Word of God. The object of this little work is to suggest the missing link and to demonstrate that it is not, humanly and physi- cally speaking, impossible that the direct line of David and his throne should have been transmitted down in a clearly traceable succession to the days in which we live. That Jeremiah was fully alive to that portion of his mission which related to " planting and building " is sufficiently evident from the promise he held out to the remnant of the Jews under Johanan, the son of Kereah, while they were still abiding at Chimham, by Bethle- hem, in order that they might be conveniently situated for passing into Egypt, with a view of avoiding the wrath of Nebuchadnezzar, which they feared as a consequence of the murder by Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, of Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land of Judea, and before that fatal step had been finally decided upon, where he thus, in the name of the Almighty, adjures them: "If ye will still abide in this PREFACE. Kill land, then will I build you and not pull you down, and I will plant you and not pluck you up; for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you " (Jer. xlii. 10). Baffled by their fatal and obstinate determination to take refuge in Egypt, it is natural to suppose Jeremiah looking out for another opportunity of carrying out his beneficent mission "to build and to plant." Where did he find it ? The sacred history is silent. EOCHAID THE HEREMHON; OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. CHAPTER I. TAHPANHES. " But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all nations, whither they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah. " Even men, and women, and children, and the king's daughters, and every person that Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah. " So they came into the land of Egypt : for they obeyed not the voice of the Lord : thus came they even to Tahpanhes." Jeremiah xliii. 5 7. THE city of Tahpanhes, in Lower Egypt, of which only fragmentary, and almost completely buried ruins, now remain, was built by Asychis, an Egyptian King of the twentieth dynasty of Manetho, in honour of his wife Tahpenes, sister of Mahetabel and daughter of Matred (Gen. xxxvi. 39) about the year 1010 B.C. This was the Egyptian King with whom King Solomon formed an alliance, having wedded his daughter about the year 1013 B.C. The foundation of this ancient, and at one time, very important city, is therefore contemporaneous with the building of the Temple at Jerusalem. l6 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; Our story opens at the time of the full moon of the month of January 582 B.C.,* about four years after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, and some three years after the flight into Egypt of the remnant of the Jews under Johanan the son of Kareah. The majority of the Jewish immigrants had settled, by con- sent of Vaphris, King of Egypt, known in Scripture by the name of Pharoah Hophra, in the city Tahpanhes, though some had taken up their abode in the cities of Migdol and Nahh in the same district of Lower Egypt. These Jews had found the religion of the Egyptians quite comformable to their predilections and prejudices, they themselves having, while resident in Jerusalem, practised the Egyptian idolatries and worshipped Isis, the Queen of Heaven ; the unpardonable sin, in respect of which the punishment of national conquest, dis- persion and slavery was inflicted upon them by the Almighty. Like most of the ancient cities of Egypt, Tahpanhes had been laid out, designed and constructed on a vast and grandiose scale. The ponderous and imposing style of the old Egyptian architecture had been followed in the construction of the great central square of the city and of the vast edifices of which it consisted ; a style which, in spite of some moderniza- tion, presented general characteristics very similar to those of Memphis and of the still older Thebes. The great central square or place, took the form of a parallelogram lying nearly north and south, about 300 yards in length by 200 in width. On the north side of the central square was situated the palace of Vaphris, spoken of in the forty-third chapter of Jeremiah as "Pharoah's house at Tahpanhes." This building, of considerable extent, occupied the whole of the north * See Note A, Appendix. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. ' 17 side, stretching backwards for a distance of many hundred feet, with its annexes and enclosed gardens. In the centre of the western side of the square stood the vast temple of Osiris, approached by a flight of many granite steps, and opposite thereto, on the eastern side, arose a similar fane dedicated to Isis, the wife of Osiris, and undoubtedly the goddess alluded to in Scripture as the " Queen of Heaven." Flanking the temples on both sides of the square were the private residences of the priests and of Pharoah's officers, the south side, opposite the palace, being occupied by similar dwellings, or palaces, one of which had been allocated by Pharoah to Jeremiah, as a residence for himself and the daughters of Zedekiah, his wards by the will of the Egyptian King, who had also entrusted him with the spiritual govern- ment, at any rate, of the Jewish colony settled in the city. The hour was drawing on towards midnight ; in the southern sky hung the full moon, lustrous in the limpid Egyptian night air, bathing with silver light the vast and rugged facades of the palace of Pharoah Hophra and delineating with outlines of glowing light the ponderous darkness of the great temples of Osiris and of Isis, facing one another on the east and west sides respectively. The square was crowded with the inhabi- tants of both sexes, and all ages, assembled to celebrate the mysteries of Isis, which were to reach their culmi- nating point on that night. Disposed in picturesque groups, their generally white clothing strongly illumined by a moonlight almost as bright as the light of day, anxiously awaiting the procession in honour of the Queen of Heaven, then being organised within the great fane dedicated to her worship ; talking, laughing, and chaffing as human crowds, in all countries and all l8 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; ages of the world have been wont to do, the assembled people awaited patiently the great annual show, intelli- gently arranged by an astute priesthood to impose on the imagination of the ignorant, and stimulate the philosophic intelligence of the wealthier and better informed among the people, who were in those ages known as the " initiated ; " to whom the deeper spiritual meaning of the function had been revealed and ex- plained. Suddenly the vast portals of the great temple of Isis were thrown open, displaying an almost fairy -like vision, illumined by the lurid glare of countless torches within the fane, contrasting most wonderfully with the cold bright moonlight out of doors. A clash of barbaric music broke at the same moment on the ears of the waiting multitude, who crowded eagerly towards the entrance of the temple to see the procession emerge into the moonlit square. The sight of the great crowd of priests and functionaries gathered within the fane, swaying in the complex evolutions that had already commenced, with a view of discharging in due order the great procession into the grand central place of the city; a crowd in multifarious and variously coloured costumes, illumined by the light of the torches, and backed up by the great altar and the grand image of the Queen of Heaven herself, towering full fifty feet from the level of the temple floor, but always draped with some soft black material, aroused the enthusiasm of the surging crowd without, " Great is Isis of Tahpanhes ! " " Great is the Queen of Heaven ! " burst from thousands of throats. Some fell upon their knees on the great granite flags of the square, others raised their hands to heaven and greeted the full moon with fervent ejaculations, others, again, commenced to dance and whirl around, OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 19 tearing their garments and apostrophising the goddess in all extravagant terms of endearment and devotion, all shouted at the top of their voice, and for some minutes the martial clang of the brazen instruments was drowned by the wild and unrestrained enthusiasm of the mob. As the babel of sounds and motion gradually subsided, rather by reason of the commencing exhaustion of the worshippers than by any diminution of the prevailing excitement, a combination of clear and silvery clarion notes, resembling a point of war, made itself heard above the din. The signal was evidently well understood by the assembled people, who im- mediately raised shouts of, " Make way ! Make way ! ! Make way for the great goddess and her votaries ! Make way ! Make way ! ! " and the crowd, dividing of its own accord, left a broad passage-way across the square from the gates of the temple of Isis to those of the still larger fane of Osiris that frowned in sombre severity on the opposite side of the great space, its black and heavy shadows barely relieved by the splashes of liquid light shed upon its upper outlines and projections by the rays of the refulgent moon. Then from either side of the great portals, crowded with musicians bearing glittering and fantastic trumpets and instruments, some of larger some of smaller size, thei e emerged a thin line of torch bearers, marching double file at distances of three or four paces one behind the other, who quickly, though without undue haste, proceeded on in an unbroken succession, till their ranks lined the passage way between the crowds from one temple to the other. This evolution, which occupied some minutes, being fully completed, the musicians struck up a march in slow time and to the blare of trumpets and the screech of pipes and hum of sack-buts, began to descend 20 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON J in regular and orderly progression the deep flight of granite steps leading from the temple to the street, and inarching on between the lines of torch-bearers pro- ceeded to lead the procession across the square. The weird effect of moonlight and torch-light combined on the scarlet and white robes of the musicians lent an indescribable charm to the scene. Behind the musicians followed some two hundred of the fairest and noblest maidens of the city, clad in seagreen robes, so cut and arranged that the bare breast of each, in all its youthful charm, remained exposed on the left side, while the robes, cinctured at the waist with broad bands of gold, was so disposed that, as they moved, a glimpse was offered to the beholder of the graceful curves of the right limb, from below the hip to the sandalled feet. Each girl carried, resting on the left hip and supported with the left hand, a large flat basket full of the sweetest cut flowers, which they scattered freely on the roadway as, ten abreast, they followed in the footsteps of the musicians. After the flower maidens came a hundred youthful acolites, in robes of purple, with green sashes round their waists and green turbans on their heads, marching five abreast and swaying censers filled with sweet incense, that spread its languid perfume among the admiring crow r d as they proceeded upon their way. Next came the priests who presided over the mysteries, walking two and two in white linen garments, girt about their breasts with bands of gold, and hanging down to their feet. The first two carried in their hands, the one a burning lamp, placed in a little boat of gold, the other two little altars. Of the second two, the one carried a palm branch, foliated curiously with gold in his right hand and a Mercurial caduceus in the left ; while the second held aloft a little palm tree, and a golden vessel, made OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 21 round like a pap, which contained the sacred milk. Of the third pair, one carried the golden van and the other the amphora. Then followed the symbolical figures of the gods, each borne aloft on the shoulders of four priests ; the Anubis, with human feet and hands, and a dog's head, holding a caduceus in his left hand and a palm branch in his right. The image of the sacred cow followed next, lifted up in an erect posture ; then the image of the Apis, and last the high priest walking under a golden canopy, borne above him by four negroes naked except for their loin-cloth, who carried in his bosom a small image of the supreme deity of the occasion, Isis herself, the form of which was not sun, nor was like either bird, or beast, or human shape. Last of all was carried the sacred golden urn on which the figures of the Egyptian deities were engraved, and the chest wherein were laid the secrets of the mysteries. A double row of torch-bearers marched on either side of the priests and behind them came twenty stalwart matrons, clad in scarlet and white, bearing on their heads great baskets filled with ears of different kinds of corn, as well as fruits and vegetables. The procession was concluded by a large number of men and women of the first quality and of all ranks, professions, and ages, who had that day been initiated ; marshalled by priests and clad in white linen garments, carrying garlands of flowers, preceded by a chorus of singers, and others playing on pipes and gold and silver sistrums.* As the high priest, bearing the sacred image, placed his foot upon the granite pavement of the public thoroughfare, the surrounding crowd fell prone on the ground, covering their eyes with hands and making a sound of moaning and lamentation, and this continued as he See the eleventh book of the " Metamorphosis " of Apuleius. 22 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; passed along through the whole length of the route of the procession. When the musicians who headed the procession had nearly reached the temple of Osiris, on the other side of the square, they suddenly ceased their martial march, and struck up a plaintive and almost moaning air which they continued until, on reaching the foot of the temple steps, they turned to the right, accompanied by the lines of torch-bearers, who had hitherto kept the route and, having passed the precincts of the fane of Osiris, they again reverted to their martial strains. When the high priest, bearing the sacred image, reached the foot of the steps leading to the temple of Osiris, the procession halted while he threw himself upon his face, giving vent to sounds of lamentation and sorrow. After a few minutes he slowly arose and the procession went upon its way, past the king's palace and on out of the great square at the north-east corner, slowly defiling through the principal thoroughfares of the town and ultimately returning, about three o'clock in the morning, to the temple of Isis, where it broke up and dispersed, the sacred images being carried back with great ceremonies into the building, where they were replaced on their several pedestals, until next year's celebration should bring them again into the streets. The excitement and enthusiasm among the people continued long after the procession was concluded, and day was breaking when the last of the crowd retired from the square to seek their homes, make their ablu- tions and prepare for the three days' feast that was to follow the celebration of the mysteries of Isis: feasting generally characterised by much excess and licentious- ness. It was about the first hour of the day after the mid- OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 23 night procession in honour of the goddess that two men attired in the then recognised garb of the Jews, with flowing gabardine and turbanned heads, might have been observed walking to and fro in the inner court of a large and palatial edifice in Tahpanhes standing on that side, or end, of the central square which faced the royal palace, engaged in earnest converse. The elder of the two, a man about sixty-five years of age, of a stately presence, above the middle height, but spare and almost ascetic of figure, possessed one of those remark- able faces which impress the beholder with an irresistible conviction of character and power. Yet this man's face was distinguished by extreme benevolence and gentle- ness of expression, while the keen, but not hard, grey eyes and the firm, though exceptionally sweet, lines of the mouth denoted a fund of latent energy which in a time of emergency might be expected to develop into almost fiery activity. His companion was a dark and extremely handsome Jew, of about forty years of age, whose curling black beard and moustache veiled to some extent the facial expression of a countenance which, if it consorted with a bright and vivacious eye, should have been a frank and pleasing one enough. In his hand the younger man held a scroll, and at his waistband he carried materials for writing. " I tell thee, Baruch," said the elder man, "my soul is sorrowful within me. This people is a stiffnecked people. I moved purposely among the crowds this night, and I saw there were nearly as many of our people as of the Egyptians prostrating themselves before the accursed idol. Not for the first time in the his- tory of our race have God's chosen people forgotten God, and it was for this sin that the Lord chastised them and brought destruction upon Zedekiah and those 24 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; sweet youths, his sons. Truly, the ways of the Lord are wonderful in our eyes, Baruch, and His judgments are hard to be understood. All these miseries have befallen our people, and yet their hearts are not turned to their God." " In truth, good father," rejoined the younger man, "thou sayest well that our people, since their settle- ment in Egypt, have indeed gone more and more astray after false gods. The sober ceremonial of our ancient and true faith catcheth not the imagination like the gorgeous cult of this Egyptian priesthood, and, unless the Lord in His mercy bring the holy ark of the taber- nacle hither, and commission thee to rebuild His temple in this land, I doubt me if it may indeed be possible to wean these sheep lost in the wilderness from the vain imaginations of a pleasing though deceptive idolatry." " Thou speakest vanity, Baruch; knowest thou not that the temple must be rebuilded, and will be rebuilded, in Jerusalem, and only in Jerusalem; but the time is not yet. And, for the ark of the covenant, the Lord bid me hide it in a place of safety, and thou knowest where I have hidden it; but I cannot think that it is to rest alway there, and of a truth I know not yet its destiny; but I know of a surety that it shall not come to this place, or to any city in this land of Egypt. The curse of the Lord is upon this place and upon this people; but I would I knew where it is His will that I should com- plete my task, to build and to plant, Baruch, to build and to plant, but not here, oh ! not here." "Then, if not here, my father, why tarry we further in this place ? " "Because, my son, the Lord hath not yet pointed out the way we are to go. I would fain persuade this remnant of Judah to go back to the land of our fathers, OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 25 but as they, when wandering in the desert with our father Moses, hankered still for the flesh-pots of Egypt, so, I fear me, will this poor remnant refuse to leave this land again in this our day. But once more I must plead with them, and if they will harden their hearts still, and still refuse to be builded and planted in the old land, then must I pray the Lord to show me where the tender twig of the topmost bough of the high cedar shall be planted, that it may grow to be the great tree that the Lord has promised. But come thou in, Baruch, we must speak more narrowly of these things." Turning to the left, and raising the heavy curtain that closed the entrance to the dwelling, the pair disappeared into the house. 26 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; CHAPTER II. THE PALACE OF THE JEW'S DAUGHTERS. " Thus saith the Lord God ; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it : I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent." Ezek. xvii. 22. COMPARATIVELY recent excavations on the site of the ancient city of Tahpanhes have laid bare the traces of an important and even palatial dwelling, known to this day to the Arabs as the palace of the Jew's daughters. It was in the courtyard of this palace that the two noble Jews, introduced to the reader in the last chapter, had held the conversation there indicated, and it was to the inner chambers of this house that they retired ; thither, then, let us follow them. The heavy curtain that closed the massive entry to the dwelling fell again behind the two men who pro- ceeded to cross the large and dimly-lighted vestibule of the house. This vestibule was about forty to fifty feet in length and about thirty feet wide, the flat roof, sup- ported by heavy columns of the design familiar to all students of Egyptian architecture. In the centre was a tank, or bath, of an oval shape, about ten feet by seven, planted about with flowers that spread their langorous odour through the chamber, the floor being paved with black and white marble in a symmetrical and elaborate pattern ; on which bright-coloured rugs were so disposed as to render it almost unnecessary for the inhabitants to walk at all upon the pavement. At the upper end of OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 27 the apartment stood, or reclined upon divans, six or eight negro attendants, lightly clothed in white linen garments with a description of white turban, or cap, upon the head somewhat similar in shape to the head- dress of the modern Parsee. As the elder man, with his companion, entered the vestibule, these attendants fell at once into a respectful attitude of attention and ranged themselves in line on either side of the passage leading to the private apartments beyond. To the chief of these attendants the older man ad- dressed himself in passing, with an enquiry whether the princesses had yet partaken of the morning meal. "I know not, my lord," replied the negro, "but I will go enquire of the eunuch guard of the women's apartments." "Do so," rejoined his lord, "and bring me word to the refectory, whither we now repair." So saying the two companions, turning to the right, raised the curtain of a door of communication on that side of the vestibule, and entered a large but comfortably appointed chamber, in the centre of which was a marble dais, or table, some fourteen or sixteen feet in length, and six in width, surrounded with a marble divan about three feet wide, furnished with cushions on which guests reclined while eating. The table was furnished with material for a simple but ample refection, to which Baruch and his patron forthwith addressed themselves. While thus occupied, the elder man enquired thus of his companion : "Tell me, Baruch, my son, came there not this day an express from Tyre from mine ancient gossip, Isaac, the son of Melchisedich, the merchant adventurer?" "Of a truth there did, my father, and I brought the scroll to shew thee even now in the outer court, but thy thoughts turned on other matters. Here it is, and 2b EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; strange are the news he sendeth, which he saith he hath received from the masters of his ships, but now returned from the Isles of the north-west." "Let me see what Isaac hath written, my son," said the elder man, taking the scroll in his hand and pro- ceeding to read it at his leisure. " These be strange tidings," he continued, as he read the letter, "his ships driven away by the civil feuds and wars of the fierce and wild people of the western island. I mind me that Isaac, when last I saw him in Jerusalem, before the un- happy siege which has left us desolate, did tell me a strange story about the fierce people that inhabit the north-eastern portion of that far island. He said that they claim to be of the Israelitish tribe of Dan, that their fathers fled thither in their ships when Shalmaneser, the Assyrian, desolated Sarnaria and the land of Israel, about an hundred and forty years ago, when he carried the Israelites away captive to Halah and Habor by the river Gozan and to the cities of Media. He told me also, I remember, that they are known in that land, to this day, as Tuatha de Danaan*, that their language hath much similitude with our glorious Hebrew tongue, and they have carried with them and still continue the worship of Baal ; the besetting sin, as thou knowest, of the stiff-necked tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, for the which the Lord God of Israel gave them over for a prey to the devastating armies of the Assyrian bull. Still, if they be of the tribe of Dan, then are they of a surety children of Israel and inheritors of the immutable blessings of Jehovah ; for what saith our predecessor, the blessed prophet Isaiah? 'But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not : for I have redeemed thee, I * The tribe of Dan. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 2Q have called thee by thy name ; thou art Mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee ; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee ; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned ; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour : I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou wast precious in My sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee : therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. Fear not : for I am with thee : I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west ; I will say to the north, Give up ; and to the south, Keep not back : bring My sons from far, and My daughters from the end of the earth ; even every one that is called by My name, for I have created him for My glory, I have formed him ; yea, I have made him.' " As the old man repeated from memory these stirring words from the sacred writings of his race, in a clear and sonorous voice, his eyes raised and hands uplifted in an attitude of rapt inspiration, his expressive and venerable face glowing with a light, not altogether of this world, his companion, visibly impressed, bowed his head before the grand old figure, as before one who speaks words of import higher than any mere human voice can lend. After a pause, when the last speaker had resumed his ordinary aspect, Baruch ventured to address him. " But, my father, if haply these words of the great prophet were spoken before the punishment fell upon the children of the ten tribes, may it not well be that God in His anger thought fit to cancel the blessings that formerly in His mercy He had bestowed." "Nay, my son, that cannot be. The blessed Isaiah wrote these things in the last years of his life, after that 30 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; the tribes had been carried away captive by Shalmaneser the Assyrian; besides, the blessing of the Lord God upon Jacob and his seed was for ever ; and though God will not let us go, and has not let us go, unpunished, the blessing has not been cancelled, and I myself, by my poor mouth, have more than once been called upon to testify that God's blessing will rest upon Israel even unto the end." " But thinkest thou not, my father, that these fierce tribes in these islands of the west, with their eternal and cruel feuds, will destroy one another from off the face of the earth ? " "That I cannot yet tell, my son ; the Lord hath not yet opened mine eyes to that. True it is that, for His own great and inscrutable purposes, the God of Jacob hath made His people a fierce people ; but I gather from this scroll that the present feud in this distant land hath arisen from the election of a supreme king of the country. It appeareth that there be five independent kingdoms in the island ; that Eochaid, king of the Tuatha de Danaan, hath been elected in secret council to be Pentarch, but that the king of another province hath refused to recognise the election, and that another king hath joined himself to him to resist Eochaid's authority, and that the latter hath gathered an army to enforce his right. There may be more of the hand of God in this than thou and I can see at present. But if this Eochaid be an Israelite of the tribe of Dan, and the God of Jacob do cause him to prevail against the Gentile kings that have risen up against him, it may be that the Lord will open our eyes to see His finger pointing the way that we should go. But here cometh Amenoph, from the women's apartments ; let us hear what message he hath for us." OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 3! "My lord," said the servant, with an obeisance, "I am to tell thee that the princesses have risen and bathed and eaten bread, and await my lord's pleasure in the royal divan." ' ; Come, then, Baruch, let us go speak with the royal maidens, as is our daily custom. Their sweet patience under the misfortunes with which God hath visited their house, should soften our hearts to them in their orphan state, and teach us to seek to lighten as we may the heavy burden of their young lives. Come, Baruch, let us go." With these words the prophet, for such he was, arose from the table and left the apartment, followed by Baruch, and the two, crossing the vestibule, entered the passage leading to the women's apartments. At the end of this corridor, from which several smaller apartments opened on either hand, was a. portal, closed with a light and extremely elegant and beautiful screen, or grille, in masterly brass work, burnished and bright as gold, before the closed gate of which stood, on either side, a brawny negro guard. As their footsteps were heard approaching, a venerable and stately eunuch, to whom the guardianship of these apartments was entrusted, emerged from a small porter's lodge within the brazen trellis and, bowing low, proceeded to unchain and open the brazen gate for the admission of the prophet and his secretary, which was straightway closed and secured behind them. The eunuch attendant, who was richly dressed and heavily armed, according to the prevailing custom of the age, followed the two men as they proceeded to enter the hall, or vestibule, of the women's apartments, the entrance to which, like all other entrances about the palace, was closed with heavy curtains of rich material. Crossing this vestibule, which 32 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; was furnished with a beautiful marble fountain and embellished with numerous earthenware vessels con- taining growing palms and exquisite flowers of varied hue and delightful perfume, the lord of the palace and his attendant passed on into the women's divan, or living- room. A more charming picture than was presented by this beautiful apartment, its inmates and furniture, it would be difficult to imagine. Extending the whole length of the back of the palace, it was probably from 80 to 100 feet in length and from 30 to 40 in depth. The side opposite the entrance, as well as the two ends, con- sisted of exquisitely proportioned openings, or windows, rising from about a foot above the floor to within a short distance of the richly ornamented ceiling, each opening separated from its neighbour by a pair of beautifully proportioned columns of pure white marble, in the Egyptian fashion, with elaborate devices in scarlet and gold. Each opening was defended by a beautifully foliated grating in burnished brass, as well as by heavy and rich draperies, so arranged as to be withdrawn by day as was now the case and to shut out the night air after dark. Each grating was provided with a gate, which, when opened as many were at the moment of which we are speaking gave egress from the apartment into the beautifully appointed garden of the palace, covering an acre or more of ground, enclosed by walls and a closely-planted row of cyprus trees, charmingly laid out, and rich with ample store of flowers and flowering shrubs, stretching down to the banks of a broad stream, beyond which could be seen the flat but pleasing landscape of the surrounding country, dotted with grazing cattle, and relieved here and there with the cabins of the herdsmen. This vast apartment was well provided with such OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 33 furniture as the customs of the times admitted and required : low divans covered with luxurious cushions, strangely-constructed chairs or lounges similarly pro- vided, beautiful palms and blooming flowers, elegantly interspersed with bronze and marble ornaments of various kinds and uses, the ornamental marble floor almost hidden with thick-pile rugs of gorgeous design and colour. On a low divan placed a little to the left of the entrance, about the middle of the apartment, and so disposed as to permit its occupants a view of the sunlit gardens beyond, reclined upon silken cushions two young girls of extreme, though somewhat dissimilar beauty. The elder of the two, a very lovely maiden of about sixteen, was of a relatively fail 1 though somewhat pale complexion, with dark auburn hair, approaching chestnut in colour, admirably moulded features, and large purple-grey eyes. Her attitude and expression conveyed a deep sense of repose, amiability of disposition and sweetness of character, which were evidently her distinguishing qualities of heart and mind. The younger of the two, though bearing strong resemblance in features to the other, was dark, with black and wavy hair, dark eyes, and a skin almost approaching olive, with a rich mantling of colour on the cheeks, and a vivacity of expression and manner which might well imply a certain impatience of control and desire to rule. This latter maiden seemed to be about fourteen, or, perhaps, a little more, and as the men entered the apartment she was in the act of turning away from her companion with a pretty pouting expression, which seemed to suggest that some gentle reproof, or sisterly advice, had rather grated on her impatient young soul. Both sisters were elegantly draped according to the fashion and custom of the age and country, a fashion 34 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; which exposed more of rounded limb and shapely curve than our modern ideas would altogether approve. Grouped about the divan on which the sisters for so they were reclined, were some eight or ten maidens, some of Egyptian and some of Jewish nationality, the constant attendants and companions of the two young princesses, some engaged in needlework, some in spinning, and some in such little personal attentions as smoothing cushions and waving fans. As the Jewish prophet approached the divan the two girls rose to meet him, the elder bowed herself with reverence before him, and would have knelt, but he raised her with his left hand, and, placing his right hand upon her beautiful head, he said with solemn earnestness: " May the Lord God of Israel bless and keep thee, my daughter, and restore through thee the throne of my lord, thy father, Zedekiah the king." " And hast thou no blessing, then, for me, oh ! father Jeremiah ? " said the younger girl. " It is alway through my sister, Tamar, that thou wouldst restore the throne of our father; but why may not I hope to be the instrument of our God ? What if Tamar be a year and some few moons older than I, I trow I could wield a sceptre better than she. She is too soft and yielding ; a ruler must be made of sterner stuff, and thou knowest I have a stronger will than she." " Nay, sweet Sara, I know not but that thou also shalt be an instrument in the hand of our God; but thy sister is the elder, and in the house of David, thy father, the sceptre hath ever been the birthright of the firstborn; but this only I know, that whatsoever seemeth good in His sight, that will He do; and, for the rest, I would OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 35 pray thee, sweet Sara, to bethink thee less of sceptres nd of thrones and more of learning and knowledge ; for these be power, and wisdom is a crown which none can take away." "Nay, and thou begin to chide, father, I have done. Thou knowest I love thee well, though I may some- times chafe a little at the curb, as I have seen a noble horse chafe when a nobler rider doth restrain him ; but for learning, Miriam here will tell thee that I am diligent in conning these musty old Hebrew scrolls that thou sayest I must learn to read; and, cousin Baruch, he knoweth that I strive hard to learn all the wisdom and the tiresome figuring which thou hast commissioned him to teach me. My sister is an apter pupil than I, because my heart is in the garden, or by the riverside, when it should be on my book; but I long for an active life, my father ; this apartment tires me to death, and I sometimes think I was meant to be a boy, and to become a warrior, like my fathers, rather than to sit in a divan and broider on satin with a golden thread." "Truly, my child," rejoined the prophet, "thou hast almost more than were necessary of the haughty spirit of thy royal race, while thy sister Tamar hath the gentler and more timid nature of Rachel, the best beloved of our father Jacob. But fear not; God in His own good time, and His own wise way, will find thee a work to do for His glory, if only thou hast faith and trust in Him." With a little rebellious pout the wilful and beautiful child turned towards Baruch, and plucking him by the sleeve, said, "Come, cousin Baruch, let us away to the garden, and I will show thee the fishpond that Hassan, the gardener, hath made for me; there be already many 36 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; lovely fishes therein. Come, Miriam, come thou with us, lest my sister chide for that I walk in the garden alone with Baruch. Thou art my good, kind cousin, art thou not, Baruch ? And why I should not visit my fishpond alone with thee in good troth I know not; but Tamar says it is not fitting, and that well-born women of my race are always circumspect, whatever that may mean: so come thou, Miriam, and we will run away for a time from father Jeremiah and my sister." " Verily, sweet princess," remarked Baruch, as he accompanied the high-spirited child and her attendant to the garden, "I am well pleased that thou hast brought thy servant, Miriam, with thee, for father Jere- miah would be wrath with me if I presumed to walk alone in the garden with a royal princess of the house of David." " I cannot understand why all this ceremony should be needed, but I think thee wise, Baruch, and I am quite sure thou art honest; so, if thou sayest it, I will believe thee." And so, prattling on in the pure and lucid innocence of her childish heart, the royal maiden tripped away to show her friend and instructor, Baruch, the new fishpond that Hassan, the gardener, had built for her at the riverside. Tamar, the elder sister, stood leaning against the grating of an open window, watching Sara, as with proud but grateful haste she almost dragged Baruch along the garden walks; for she was tenderly attached to the wayward child, who often unconsciously wounded her softer sister's tender susceptibilities, though without any real intention of causing pain. And as she stood, her thoughts riveted, as they so often did, to her blinded and afflicted father at Babylon, and, with a tear trembling on her long eyelash, she turned to Jeremiah, OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 37 her guardian, with an enquiry as to whether he had lately had any news of her father, King Zedekiah. "Truly, there was a short scroll from that blessed youth, Daniel, some three or four weeks back, in which he wrote that the king, thy father, suffereth much from the rigour of his imprisonment, which seemeth the more unnecessary since his cruel captor hath destroyed his eyesight. I fear me much that his health will not long withstand the strain of his manifold miseries; but he is in God's hands, sweet Tamar, and so be we too, and we must brace ourselves for the great work He hath ap- pointed for us." "What thinkest thou to do, then, my father? " " For the present nothing, my daughter. God hath not yet pointed out the way; but this we know, that it is not His will that we should abide long in this land of Egypt. Yet I know not yet the road we are called upon to go." " Thou wilt always find thine handmaiden willing to be guided by thee, my father, though I confess to thee I have no ambition to do great things like my sister Sara. I sometimes wish it had pleased God to make her the elder, and me the younger. She seems created to make a place in the world, while I long rather for peace and quiet." "God knoweth best, my daughter, and He will do with us what seemeth right in His eyes." "Even so, my father, and I try, oh ! so hard, to be content and, in truth, I will alway be guided by thee, for do I not know that thou art called to do His will." At this juncture Sara, with her maid and Baruch, returned from the garden full of gaiety and laughter, carrying in her hand a spherical crystal bowl of water, 38 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; in which she had placed a few tiny fishes from the fish- pond, and her girlish face rippled with delight as she watched the gravely vacant expression of the fish mag- nified and distorted by the crystal. Tamar then took her harp, and, playing a few chords, sang in a full and sweet soprano a soft and plaintive Hebrew song, and Sara, not to be outdone, played a strong and stirring march-air on a dulcimer, an instru- ment somewhat resembling a modern zither; and so, after some further conversation, Jeremiah and Baruch took leave of the princesses, and, quitting the divan, returned to their own domain in the other part of the palace. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 39 CHAPTER III. THE ARD-RIGH, OR THE ARCH-KING. " Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?" Psa. ii. i. SOME time in the year 583 B.C. probably in the early summer the father of Eochaid, who was king of the Tuatha de Danaan, an Irish tribe of acknowledged Eastern origin, which inhabited that part of Ireland now known as the province of Ulster, had been gathered to his father's, and his son, Eochaid, then probably about twenty-two or twenty-three years of age, had succeeded to the crown of Ulster. His father had also worn, by election of the independent kings of Ireland, the diadem of Ard-Righ, or Arch-King, who exercised a sort of suzerainty over the other four kings of the country, and was therefore Pentarch of Ireland, or nominal chief of the five independent Irish chiefs, or kings, who reigned over the five Irish kingdoms, or provinces, now known as Ulster, Meath, Leinster, Munster, and Connaught respectively. By his death this office of honour, if not of profit, had become vacant, and in the month of August of that year a solemn, though secret council, of the five reigning kings of Ireland had met at Cathair Crofuin the ancient name of Tara to elect a Pentarch from among their number as successor to the deceased Ard-Righ. The claims of Eochaid to succeed to the coveted dignity had been advanced by Eochaid himself on the ground of heredity, and these claims had been pressed 40 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; by the kings of Meath and Connaught, who, as Eochaid's immediate neighbours, probably thought their own independence would be best secured by friendship and alliance with the Tuatha de Danaan ; not only the most civilised and intelligent, but also the most successful in war of all the Irish tribes at that time. Hiromaid, king of Leinster, however, a man of advanced years, and of a great reputation for wisdom and power of government, utterly repudiated the principle of heredity as applied to the office of Pentarch an attitude which would certainly appear to be justified by the fact that the kings were then and there assembled for the purpose of the election of the Ard-Righ ; which Hiromaid very justly represented would seem to be a work of supererogation if the principle of heredity were to operate in the matter. Eichael, king of Munster, supported the views of Hiromaid, and proposed this latter for election ; probably for diplomatic reasons very similar to those by which the kings of Meath and Connaught had been actuated, namely, that his territory lying to the south of Leinster and adjoining that province, while, quite cut off from the north-eastern province of Ulster, made it more convenient for him to be in alliance with Hiromaid than with Eochaid. The dispute as might well be expected in such times and circumstances waxed warm, and if it had not been wisely provided that the kings should meet alone, except for the presence of a clerk or registrar, and unarmed, doubtless blood would have been shed. The kings of Meath and Connaught were unwavering in their support of the claims of Eochaid, and as the council was thus divided three to two in the latter's favour, Hiromaid withdrew in high displeasure, and, repudiating the decision arrived at, gathered his followers together and left the royal burgh in dudgeon OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 41 on an immediate return to his own dominions ; refusing Eochaid's courteous invitation to remain and partake of Ulster hospitality during the festivities which were destined to accompany the proclamation of the decision of the council. Eichael, however, while dissenting from the decision arrived at by the Council, did not think it presently prudent to withdraw from the fortress of Crofuin, but determined rather to remain and watch the proceedings, with a view to reporting to Hiromaid, his friend and ally, the subsequent events on the occasion. On the ensuing day a great state function was orga- nised at Cathair Crofuin for the purpose of proclaiming Eochaid Ard-Righ of all Ireland, at which the followers of the kings of Meath, Connaught, and Munster assisted those of Hiromaid, king of Leinster, having already departed, as indicated above, in the course of the pre- ceding day. The celebration commenced by an imposing religious ceremony at break of day in the temple of Baal at Crofuin ; for such was the then acknowledged religion of the Irish population at large ; and the Tuatha de Danaan, although their faith was to some extent an admixture of the worship of the true God with that of Baal, which had been the besetting sin of their ancestors in the land of Palestine from whence they came, had found it in the lapse of time in many ways expedient to assimilate their religious faiths to that of the Canaanites, or Phoenicians, of whom the bulk of the population of the country consisted. As is well known the worship of Baal involved the cruel and horrible practice of human sacrifice, and this revolting element was not wanting in the celebrations prescribed on an occasion like that under consideration. The Temple of Baal, at Cathair Crofuin, was of the D 42 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; rude and primitive kind which, for many centuries, pre- vailed not only in Ireland, the nursery of British civilisation, but in the larger neighbouring island, now known as Great Britain, also, so far as it was populated at all. The Druidical form of worship then, and for long afterwards prevailing, can hardly be distinguished, as to its forms and ceremonies, from the old Oriental worship of Baal ; and, at the time of which we now write, no reforming influence had been felt even in Ireland, although, as we shall presently see, great changes ensued in that country shortly afterwards, although those changes only indirectly affected the religious worship of the population of Great Britain itself. At any rate, in the year 583 B. c. , Baal-worship, in all its naked and hideous idolatry, prevailed practi- cally undisputed in Ireland, as it did in Wales and for many centuries afterwards in England. Of Scotland it is more difficult to speak, as the question as to whether Scotland at that period boasted any population at all is a very open one ; at any rate, no records remain either of its population or of their manners and customs, whether civil or religious, earlier than the time of the Roman occupation. As we were suggesting, the temple of Baal at Crofuin was of the primitive Druidical form, of which some individual specimens have been per- petuated to our own day. A large circle of huge monoliths, embedded erect in the earth, enclosed a space some 150 feet in diameter, within which a huge flat granite boulder, supported on these vast uprights, constituted the sacrificial altar: erected at about one-third of the diameter from the eastern ruin of the circle ; so that the worshippers within the sacred enclosure looking, as they would naturally do, towards the altar, stood with their faces to the east. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 43 Within this rude temple of Baal might have been seen a full half-hour before sunrise, on this important occasion, practically the whole population of the royal settlement men, women, and children ranged seated on the turf in rows in such a manner that no unoccupied space or avenue remained from the western gate of the ring of monoliths up to the altar itself. Immediately in front of the altar the bards, to the number of nearly twenty, had taken up a position ; each with a small portable harp or lyre, and led by an old chief-bard, whose long white hair and flowing beard marked him out as the venerable and dignified head of his Order. On either side of the bards stood a group of Ouates, or inferior priests or Druids, whose functions were to sacrifice, practice divination, and contemplate the nature of things. Pending the arrival of the royal procession, one or other of the attendant bards sang a short lay to the accompaniment of his instrument, laudatory of the nobility, bravery, and patriotism of the Ard-Righ-elect. On the altar itself preparation had been made for kindling fire, about half a cord of billets being sym- metrically arranged upon a foundation of dry faggots. At either end of and upon the flat stone which formed the altar, stood two Ouates, or inferior Druids, whose duty it would presently be to lay the sacrifice upon the wood and kindle the flame. Behind the altar, between it and the eastern boundary of the enclosure, was an earthen mound some eight or ten feet in height, having a flat surface some thirty feet in diameter. Upon this had been placed a rough imitation, in stout wickerwork, of a human figure in a sitting posture, some fifteen feet in height, the base of which for a height of six or seven feet was hidden by the faggots and billets of wood which had been heaped 44 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; up in great quantities around it. From within this temporary cage proceeded a confused sound of human lamentations and distress, for, in accordance with the hideous Druidical customs, some six or seven unhappy wretches, condemned to death for various crimes, were confined within it, sentenced to be thus executed by burning in honour of the god and of the important national function to be celebrated that day.* Under ordinary circumstances, the priests would have been satisfied with this holocaust of criminals, but on an occasion so auspicious, they had insisted on an addition to the customary sacrifice, by offering up a youthful chieftain of a neighbouring tribe of wild caterans, who had not long before been taken prisoner in a skirmish by Eochaid himself. This latter, a youth of noble instincts, though, of course, deeply imbued with the current superstitions of this age, had pleaded hard with the chief Druid for the omission of this barbarous addi- tion to a ceremony already likely to be sufficiently revolting in its details ; but in vain. The Druids declar- ing that by divination they had discovered that this sacrifice was absolutely necessary to appease the blood- thirsty idol and to establish the reign, then to be inaugurated, on a safe and permanent basis. Although the bold and generous warrior- heart of Eochaid was deeply grieved, he conceived himself obliged to yield to the demands of a priesthood on whose attitude towards himself, and influence over the wild and ignorant people, the stability of his throne so greatly depended. A sound of approaching music, rough and rude in character, but inspiriting in its martial strain, now made itself heard, and the assembled multitude started to their feet, gazing anxiously towards the western entrance Caesar, Lib. vi. c. 15. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 45 of the temple, through which the royal procession must approach. The musicians were the first to appear upon the scene, marching in slow and stately step up the avenue towards the altar, on reaching which they divided into two bodies, ranging themselves on either side. Following the musicians came a body of twenty or thirty Ouates, naked except a loin cloth, each armed with a formidable knife, who danced a wild and ferocious measure to the music, scratching and punctur- ing their breasts and limbs from time to time with the weapons which they carried, until they arrived covered with blood and well-nigh exhausted at the altar, behind which they retired. After the minor Druids came a band of young women with flowing hair, their bodies stained dark, like Ethiopians, with some vegetable stain.* These young women played a part in Druidi- cal ceremonies similar to that of vestals in the mythologies of Southern Europe ; they were provided with timbrels which they rattled and struck in accord with the music, dancing gracefully backwards and prostrating themselves from time to time in a body before the Ard-Righ-elect, who followed after them in the procession. On reaching the altar they, too, ranged themselves in two bodies on either side. Then followed Eochaid in his royal robes, walking alone with proud and stately mien. The young monarch was something over six feet in height, strongly and sym- metrically built, his head remarkably well set upon his broad and manly shoulders, a skin naturally fair but much tanned from exposure, frank blue eyes, and curling, golden brown hair, his features generally expressing a not ungenerous disposition, while indicating a haughty and somewhat fierce temperament, the almost Pliny, Lib. xxii. c. 2. 46 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; necessary accompaniments of a successful ruler of men in those wild times. His dress consisted of a tunic of white woollen cloth, cinctured at the waist with a broad band of gold, and reaching nearly to the knee. On his powerful shoulders hung a purple mantle of rich Tyrian silk secured by a golden clasp across the breast, around his throat he wore a heavy torques of twisted gold wire, of rich and curious workmanship, which, spreading towards the bottom, rested collar-fashion on his chest and shoulders. This ornament may have weighed from twenty to thirty ounces. Heavy bracelets on his bare arms, elaborately strapped sandals on his otherwise bare legs and feet, a huge gold signet-ring on the forefinger of his left hand, and a short sword at his left side, completed his regal attire ; and, indeed, it must be admitted that, for the rude and uncultivated age in which he reigned, he looked then, and always, every inch a king. Two pages, in white tunics and bare- headed, bore his train behind him, and at either side an adult attendant, one with bronze helmet and battle-axe, the other bearing his breast and hack armour, and the greaves for thigh and upper arm, performed the office of squires of the body. Behind Eochaid, the hero of the day, came the three kings of Meath, Munster, and Connaught, walking abreast, in royal robes, and each attended by the squires of his body carrying armour. On either side of the kings, at a respectful distance, as well as behind them, walked a body-guard of the fierce and warlike nobles of the respective kingdoms. When the king reached the altar, they mounted a low eminence, or dais, facing it a little to the right, the military followers taking up a position behind them. Following the kings came the chief Druid walking OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 47 alone with his nine colleagues, proceeding three and three behind him. These Druids were all men advanced in years, dressed in long flowing white linen robes, without ornament of any kind, venerable with their white or steel-gray hair and beards, each carrying in his left hand a branch of the Uile-iceadh, and in his right a small golden sickle. On reaching the altar the Druids took up their position on a similar eminence a little to the left of it. The procession was closed by a rude but gaily decorated wain, drawn by two white bullocks with gilded horns, decked with flowers and misletoe. In the wain was seated the prisoner-victim, clothed in white linen and wreathed with flowers, bound hand and foot, and guarded on either side by a file of stalwart pikemen. Pale, but with a calm and determined mien, the young chief sat, looking straight before him with an abstracted gaze, refusing to exhibit either fear of the death he knew to be imminent, or any interest whatever in the ghastly proceedings. On reaching the high altar, the wain was halted between the dais of the Druids on the one hand, and that of the kings on the other. The people crowded into the avenue behind the advancing wain, and in a few minutes the whole space in front of the altar was filled by the surging and excited crowd. The celebrations commenced with the formal corona- tion of Eochaid, which was preceded by an oration of the chief-bard, recounting in the poetic imagery of the age and people, the gallant deeds of his ancestors, as well as the prowess he himself had on more than one occasion exhibited ; into this oration, or lay, the old bard, who was himself a living repository of all the notorious events of the past history of his country, was careful to weave many incidents reflecting glory on the 48 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; kings of Meath, Connaught and' Minister, but of the deeds of the king of Leinster, who had gone forth in dudgeon on the preceding day the artful old man was diplomatically silent. He spoke in dark language of those who, consumed with jealousy, might be found weighing their private grievances, or personal interests, against the public advantage, and warned his listeners that only by unity and harmony could the peace and prosperity of the country be secured, ending by adjuring all to combine to support the authority of the newly- elected Pentarch, and so consolidate the national resources against foreign foes as well as against treason from within. The vast majority of those present listened with delighted acquiescence to the flowing periods in which the ancient courtier clothed a good share of practical common sense, and, when he had finished, loud shouts were raised of " Long live the Ard-Righ " " Long live Eochaid the Pentarch." The chief Druid then stept down from his dais, holding in his right hand a small vessel filled with the oil of anointing, and in his left the royal fillet, or diadem, consisting of a plain chaplet of solid gold for the head, about two inches wide in the front, and about half-an- inch wide at the back, and graduated off so as to form a sort of modest crown. The wider front was ornamented with one fine emerald about the size of a hazel nut, the only gem the diadem contained. Handing this regal emblem to the king of Connaught, the elder of the three tributary kings then present, he approached the Pentarch- elect and administered to him the oath in the form then accepted, after which he poured upon his head a few drops of the unguent, at the same time calling down upon him the blessing of the gods. Thereupon the OK, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 49 three tributary kings, each touching the diadem with the right hand, placed it on the brow of Eochaid, at the same time swearing allegiance to him as Ard-Righ. This ceremony was received by the multitude with shouts of acclamation ; and when these had subsided, the religious ceremonies commenced. As these ceremonies involved murder and homicide, we prefer to leave them to the imagination of our readers, whom we would spare the barbarous details that, in those uncivilised times, must necessarily have attended the hideous functions of human sacrifice, and will content ourselves with chronicling the fact that, these ceremonies ended, the procession of musicians, Druids and kings was re-formed, and the principal actors in this picturesque, but tragical drama having retired to the palace, the multitude dis- persed to commence the festivities by which such an occasion was naturally signalised. Oxen and sheep were slaughtered and prepared for roasting, numberless skins and jars of mead were broached ; all the people were, on this day, the guests of the newly-anointed Pentarch, and, as might in such rude times be anticipated, the festivities were marked by a license which would not meet the approval of the average Briton of to-day. The king entertained his tributary princes and their retainers, as well as his own nobles and followers, in the vast hall of the palace of Cathair Crofuin. Seated at the dais table with his kingly and noble guests, the lower part of the hall crowded with the inferior nobility and retainers, a rude hospitality was carried to extremes ; vast joints of boiled and roasted flesh, scores of poultry and of game, were placed upon the boards, and attacked by the guests, each with his own knife, or short sword, without ceremony, or even, from a modern point of view, 5O EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; common decency ; rivers of mead flowed to satisfy the thirst of the rude guests. The conversation and laughter, always coarse and loud, from time to time threatened to degenerate into downright brawling which was, how- ever, averted by the diplomatic intervention of the bards, who, when such necessities arose, begged to be allowed to sing or recite some lay or legend which, flattering the rude valour, and soothing the vanity of some incensed thane, or master of a troop of wild kernes, gave time for reconciliation and the restoration of a rude harmony. All the day and far into the night the festivities continued, and we refrain from any detailed account of the condition of the majority of the guests, when Eochaid, rising from his chair of state, courteously accompanied his royal guests to their respective places of repose. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 51 CHAPTER IV. AN INVITATION TO A FEAST. " And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight : and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword." Lev. xxvi. 8. THE revelry of Eochaid and of his tributaries was renewed on the next day, and again upon the third ; the morning hours being spent in hunting, hawking, and such military trials of skill as were customary to the age, the afternoons and evenings being given over to barbaric feasting and minstrelsy. In spite of the inflammable temperaments of the wild guests of king Eochaid, whose lives were spent in feuds and warfare, and of the dangers presented by a daily repeated revel which invariably passed the bounds of sobriety, nothing of a regrettable character occurred until the evening of the third day, when the king of Connaught, inflamed with liquor, began to rally Eichael, king of Munster, on his want of consistency in voting against Eochaid at the council of election, and afterwards acquiescing in its results and swearing allegiance to the new Pentarch. Eochaid had, in the course of the evening, succeeded more than once in diverting the half-drunken taunts of the king of Connaught into other and less dangerous channels ; but, as the feast proceeded, and the latter continued to obscure his judgment more and more with heavy draughts of mead, a remark from Eichael to the effect that it was his intention on the morrow to proceed to visit his friend and neighbour Hiromaid, king of 52 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; Leinster, on his way back to his own dominions. The king of Connaught, no longer sober enough to be re- strained, broke in with : " To hatch treason forsooth against the Ard-Righ, I warrant me. Saving thy newfledged majesty, cousin Eochaid, thou art but a foolish boy if thou lettest this time-server go forth from hence to breed a disturbance in the land. By the great God Bel, I like better the honest opposition of the king of Leinster, who hates thee and me and hath the courage, aye ! and the honesty to show it, than the double-dealing of my two- faced cousin of Munster, who feasts at thy board and pledges thee in thine own golden goblet, the while he nurses in his heart thoughts of treason and rebellion." " Thou liest in thy throat, thou foul-mouthed drunkard, thou," cried Eichael, enraged, and springing to his feet, "and were it not that thou and I sit at the hospitable board of our suzerain I would make thee swallow thy lie while it is yet hot upon thy lips." The king of Connaught rose also, and, but for the prompt interposition of Eochaid, the two would instantly have sprung upon one another. " Peace, peace, I charge thee, cousin of Connaught," cried Eochaid, interposing between the parties, " and thou, cousin Eichael, be assured I trust thee not the less because our friend here is of too suspicious a nature. Thou hast sworn allegiance, and I respect thy oath, nor will I readily believe that thou wilt prove foresworn." "The more fool thou," muttered Connaught, sulkily, throwing himself back into his seat; "thou hast sure dungeons here in Crofuin, and ' Fast bind safe find ' is a good motto, I ween." "Nay, nay, I tell thee," answered Eochaid, "cousin Eichael is not only my sworn ally but mine honoured OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 53 guest, and he shall go forth free as air, as he came." This disturbance at the dais-table had already attracted the attention of the respective followers of the assembled princes who, without having caught the purport of the dispute, had gathered from the gestures and looks of the kings of Munster and of Connaught, that some ill-will had been engendered, began to eye each other with Hashing and angry looks, many rising to secure the weapons which had been laid aside, with the exception of the short swords and hunting knives which served them in the repast. Observing this and fearing a disturbance which, if once begun, would assuredly lead to shedding of blood, to the disgrace of his hospitality and the danger of his popularity and ascendancy, Eochaid sprang to his feet and, with his golden goblet held aloft, thus addressed the assembly : " Cousins, and good friends all, the night is drawing to its close, the festival that has signalised my election as Ard-Righ of this realm is near its end, and I would fain, before we part, drink to the health and prosperity of all who have honoured my poor castle by their presence. Cousin of Meath thou, I know, art a true and prudent friend, and thy people are as my people, one in interest and one in thought. Cousin of Connaught, well I know that thou and thy people love me well, and that, as we have fought side by side, so may we sleep in peace side by side. Cousin of Munster, though strangers hitherto, thou earnest here as a friend, and I have been rejoiced to meet thee and thy people at my board. I gladly accept thy proffered friendship, and as thou earnest into my kingdom so shalt thou depart from it, and on thy return to thy dominions thou hast nothing to fear from Eochaid the Pentarch. To my own trusted nobles and loyal subjects I have nothing to 54 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; offer but heartfelt thanks for past love and duty, and earnest prayers for similar support in times to come. May the gods protect our island home ! " With these words he drank off the contents of his goblet, while the assembled multitude cheered and shouted, " Long live the Ard - Righ ! Long live Eochaid ! " The Pentarch having thus adroitly averted the threatened storm, then led the way from the banqueting-hall to the private apartments, followed by the tributary kings and the officers of his household, while the other guests soon after followed their example. On the following morning the courtyard of Eochaid's royal rath was crowded with the retainers of the tributary kings preparing for departure, and a lively scene it presented, with the grooming and saddling of war-horses, the preparation of chariots, and the burnishing of arms and armour under a bright and sunny sky, flicked with fleecy clouds. The king of Connaught and his followers were the first to depart, and after a ceremonious leave-taking at the gateway with Eochaid and the nobles of his house- hold, the king mounted his war-chariot, and escorted by his mounted followers, moved slowly out of the enclosure and through the stockade that guarded the wide moat which surrounded the turf-clothed mounds that constituted the walls of this once celebrated fortress at the time of which we write. About fifty half-clothed kernes, armed with pikes, and headed by six pipers, who played upon their bagpipes the screaming war tune of the men of Connaught, formed the van of the procession, and an equal number of archers of the same wild and ferocious aspect, with their bare and bronzed limbs, matted hair and shaggy brows and beards, fell in as a rear-guard behind the horsemen; and OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 55 thus proceeding to the westward at a sharp trot, the Connaught men soon disappeared in the woods of the undulating countryside, and only the skirl of the pipes was for a time wafted back on the westerly breeze to indicate their whereabouts. The kings of Meath and Munster had arranged to journey together, as for some twenty or thirty miles their roads lay in the same southerly direction. The two kings, mounted on their small but sturdy war- horses, rode away side by side, escorted by their mounted followers, the infantry men of Meath acting as a van and those of Munster as a rearguard. These also marched to the accompaniment of skirling pipes, which, as the two sets of pipers played each their own national air, constituted a discord that must needs have been painful to our modern ears, but caused apparently no inconvenience to the rough warriors who marched forth under the inspiration of this primitive music. As they left, the followers of Eochaid, drawn up in the enclosure, raised a hearty parting cheer ; and the banner, representing a brazen serpent on an azure ground, the ensign of the Tuatha de Danaan, was hoisted on the ramparts, and floated lazily in the gentle breeze. We need not follow in any detail the movements of these two kings, one of whom was undoubtedly sincerely attached to the new Pentarch. Suffice it to say that Eichael of Munster, after enjoying with his people, for the space of two days, the hospitality of the king of Meath in his capital, proceeded onward to the encampment of Hiromaid, king of Leinster, on the banks of the Liffey, by whom he was received with open arms, and with whom he spent some days in consultation as to their future course. Eichael found the king of Leinster still full of 56 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; resentment at the election of Eochaid to a dignity which he had coveted for himself, and to which he still considered that his age and experience gave him the better title. Having himself acquiesced in the result of the election, and, by his attendance at the ceremony of coronation, having to all intents and purposes given in his adhesion and sworn allegiance to Eochaid, the king of Munster, though not more scrupulous than the semi- barbaric chieftains of that rude age generally were, found himself in some embarrassment between his sworn allegiance to Eochaid on the one hand, and the necessity of maintaining friendly relations with his powerful neighbour Leinster on the other. He employed, therefore, such arguments as he could com- mand to dissuade Hiromaid from proceeding to extremes as against the newly-elected Pentarch, pointing out to him that the latter was assured of the active support of the kings of Meath and Connaught, whose interests must necessarily lie in conciliating the fierce and conquering Tuatha de Danaan; while he himself was debarred, at any rate for the present, from giving any open and active support to the incensed and revengeful king of Leinster. The latter would, however, listen to no dissuasions that Eichael could bring to bear, and failed not to make it clear to the king of Munster that abstention on his part from taking part in his designs would be regarded as an unfriendly attitude, to be requited against him on the first convenient opportunity. The result of their counsels was that the king of Leinster should openly challenge the right of Eochaid to the Pentarchy, and proceed forthwith to organise a hostile expedition against him ; Eichael, for his part, while abstaining from stultifying his recent oath of allegiance by joining himself to Hiromaid, should use OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 57 the unfriendly attitude of the king of Connaught at Eochaid's coronation festivities as an excuse for picking a quarrel with his detractor, and should render indirect assistance to the king of Leinster by a well-timed invasion of Connaught on the west, and so divert the king of that country from rendering Eochaid any assistance in resisting the proposed attack of the king of Leinster on the south. The two conspirators having arranged the time and details of their respective operations to their satisfaction, Eichael took his leave of Hiromaid, and proceeded on his return to the seat of his government at the Rock of Cashel. In the meantime Eochaid had found himself con- strained shortly after the ceremony of his inauguration to march northward with a hastily collected force of about a thousand infantry and two hundred cavalry to accommodate a feud that had broken out, and threatened to disturb the peace of Ulster, between the chieftains of Lurgan and Antrim, who had already launched out into sanguinary hostilities in relation to the control of the fisheries of Lough Neagh. Accommodation of a dispute by a liege lord in those days usually meant the siding of the royal forces with the disputant whose power was most essential or most threatening to the king, as the case might be. Eochaid having satisfied himself that the justice of the case and the interest of the realm lay on the side of the chief of Antrim in this dispute, throw- ing the weight of his authority and of his arms into that scale, was engaged for some weeks in endeavouring to convince the lord of Lurgan bya devastating warfare that the lord of Antrim was undoubtedly in the right. The former had been defeated several times in the open field, and had now taken refuge with the remainder of his followers in the fortified rath of Lurgan, to which E 58 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; the troops of the king and of the Antrim chieftain were preparing to lay siege, until such time as the other dis- putant should be entirely persuaded of the folly and futility of his pretentions. It was while thus engaged in the end of the month of September that a courier arrived at king Eochaid's encampment and demanded admission to the royal presence. The king was engaged in entertaining the lord of Antrim and some of his noble followers at supper, but nevertheless, in view of the urgency of the messen- ger, gave orders that he should forthwith be admitted to his tent. " How now, O'Byrne ? " quoth the king, when the messenger entered the royal presence. ' ' What news bringest thou in such hot haste that may not keep till the morrow ? Are my kernes in Armagh in revolt ? Thou lookest grave, man; speak ! we incline our royal ear to thee. " " Of a surety, my lord king, the news is grave enough; thy Armagh kernes are not in the revolt, but the king of Leinster is." " By the immortal gods, thou knave, what meanest thou ? Is he in armed revolt ? " "Yea, my good lord, he hath suddenly entered the neighbouring kingdom of Meath with an overwhelming force, some say, well nigh thirty thousand men and four hundred chariots with horsemen innumerable. He sur- prised thy ally the king, who hath fled before him, with such small force as could hastily be gathered, and now lieth in leaguer two miles to the southward of thy fort of Crofuin. The king of Leinster, when I left to come to thee, lay only a day or two's march away with all his force." " Antrim, I must away at break of day," said the king, OK, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 59 " and thou and thy force must come, too. We must perforce settle this matter with thine enemy of Lurgan. Send a flag of truce with a safe-conduct to him to come hither, and an intimation that thou art willing to com- pound on honourable terms with him. If Hiromaid cometh with such a force as this fellow speaketh of, we shall need every sword-arm that can be gathered. Lord Chamberlain, arrange thou forthwith to send the brazen serpent through all the countryside; we must gather the kernes from on every hand. The place of meeting is at Crofuin as soon as may be." Within a couple of hours, by the king's personal medi- ation, the quarrels of Antrim and Lurgan were appeased, and order had been given for the camp to be raised at break of day, and a forced march southwards to be immediately commenced; for Eochaid was extremely anxious to prevent the capture of his fortress, an event which, he knew well, would destroy his prestige as Ard- Righ in the eyes of his own people, and not improbably involve his ultimate defeat; although, if time could be gained, he doubted not at all that he could raise a force in Ulster strong enough to crush the king of Leinster, powerful as his army was represented to be. At about the time that Eochaid's small force, which did not amount altogether to two thousand men, was starting on its forced march to Crofuin, a distance of about forty-five miles, the outposts of the force under the king of Meath which, as the messenger reported, had taken up leaguer a mile or two south of the fortress of Crofuin, reported to the main body that the vanguard of the army of Leinster had appeared at a distance of four or five miles. The king of Meath, with the few nobles who accompanied him, set forth at once to reconnoitre, and in a very short time were completely 60 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; satisfied that it would be idle for them, with their small body of fifteen or sixteen hundred hastily collected and ill-provided troops, to venture any attempt to check the hostile advance in the open. It was, therefore, decided to withdraw within the fortress, to call in the inhabit- ants of the few mud cabins and huts which constituted the town of Crofuin without the rath, and to collect such provisions as might 3 et be secured and prepare to defend the citadel, which, for the times, was a fairly strong position until Eochaid could arrive with the expected aid. This was immediately carried out, and before sun- down the army of Leinster had occupied all the posi- tions south of the fortress and had established their headquarters on the field where the troops of Meath had leaguered the night before. To the west of the main hill of Crofuin lay at that time a morass, some mile or more in width, trending southward and westwards for a distance of two or three miles, which was practicable for those who knew the safe footways across it, but would prove a serious entanglement to any large body of troops. To the east lay the second low hill of Crofuin, smaller than that on which the fortress stood, but which was also entrenched and held by a small garrison. A subterranean passage had been laboriously tunnelled from one fortress to the other, between two and three hundred yards in length. As the evening darkened into night innumerable watch-fires indicated to the besieged the great extent of the hostile encampment and the bravest of the defenders recognised that the assault which must be expected on the morrow would tax all their resources to the utmost. The king of Leinster and his officers had, as far as possible, reconnoitred the ground in the evening on OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 6l arrival, and had formed their plan of attack. The centre, composed of some sixteen to twenty thousand infantry, were massed in front of the fortified hills ; the right wing had orders, as soon as it was light, to turn the flank of the enemy to the eastward, and so get round to the rear, the left wing were ordered at the same time to pass round the southern end of the morass, and skirting its western border to effect a similar movement on the western side. About three o'clock in the morning, Eochaid with his small force arrived within a mile or so of the fortress, tired, but not exhausted, with an uninterrupted march of forty- five miles ; they would no doubt gladly have taken some rest, but their leader, fully aware that his only chance of success against the hordes of the king of Leinster lay in a sudden and unexpected blow, halted his troops, and, taking them into his confidence, ex- plained his plans to them. Thoroughly familiar with all the military possibilities of the position, Eochaid had no difficulty in anticipating the probable evolu- tions of the coming day. About two hundred of his archers, residents of Crofuin, and thoroughly ac- quainted with every feature of the country, were told off to pass along the western border of the morass and take ambush in the dwarf bushes that fringed its margin. The remainder of his force was divided into two bodies one about twelve hundred and the other about six hundred strong. The larger of these was formed up in a wedge-shaped phalanx behind the larger hill of Crofuin ; the other, in similar formation, took up a position behind the smaller hill. The apex of the triangle was in each case formed of chariots, the scythes upon their axles being destined to cut a way for the phalanx into the heart of the enemy's masses of infantry. 62 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; Within the chariots at the apex was massed the small force of mounted men at arms the force possessed, behind them came the sturdy spearmen, each armed with a pike and a short sword at his girdle, and the hypothenuse of each triangle was composed of archers, who carried swords as well as bows and barbed arrows. The orders given to the men in ambush were to await the onward march of the left wing and harass them from the shelter of the morass ; every path through which was familiar to every one of the Crofuin men. Eochaid himself took the command of the larger wedge-shaped phalanx and committed the other to the charge of the lord of Antrim, with instructions to break the mass of the right wing so soon as it cleared the eastern hill, while f.he main phalanx would, as soon as it should be light enough, advance between the two hills and endeavour to break the centre. Of course these operations could not be carried out without at- tracting the attention of the garrison, who at first supposed that the army of Leinster had effected a flank movement during the night and gained a position in their rear. Eochaid soon found means, however, to communicate the facts to them, and it was understood that if the attack on the centre needed support, the men of Meath should make a sortie to their assistance. As soon as day broke the besieged, from their elevated position, commanded a clear view of every movement of the enemy and were enabled to indicate to Eochaid the moment for attack. The left wing of the army of Leinster was first seen in motion executing a flank movement to clear the southern end of the morass. Half-an-hour later the right wing began the manoeuvres necessary to attain the object in view, and just as the sun rose above the OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 63 horizon, the vast and serried masses of the centre began to move upon the fortress. At the same moment Eochaid gave the order to advance at the double, and no sooner did the chariots, which formed the head of his column, open out into the ground between the two hills, than their appearance very evidently astonished and disconcerted the leading columns of the enemy. It was now, however, too late for any alteration in the plan of attack, the head columns of the Leinster men, driven on by the advancing masses behind, broke into a run which somewhat disturbed their order. The charioteers of Eochaid's phalanx shouting, "A Danaan ! A Danaan ! " lashed their horses to a gallop ; the advancing Leinster men replied with "A Firboly, A Firboly ; " when, with shouts that filled the air, the two bodies met ; the chariots cutting deep into the ranks of the besiegers, then opening out into double line, made way for the horsemen and pikemen to deploy and carry the attack right and left, right into the heart of the enemy's columns. At first it seemed that the small force of Ulstermen would be swallowed up and overwhelmed ; but at this moment the gates of the fortress were swung open, and a body of about hundred horsemen rushed out to the conflict, followed by several hundred pikemen and archers on foot. The Leinster men were em- barrassed by their own numbers, the centre was com- pletely cut in two, and when Eochaid, coming face to face with the king of Leinster, smote him a mighty blow with his battleaxe, cleaving head and helmet to the gorget, panic seized on the attacking party, they broke into the utmost disorder ; overrunning and trampling one another down in their haste to escape, and the panic quickly became a complete rout. Lord Antrim's attack upon the right wing, equally unexpected, and therefore 64 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; alarming, met with much the same success ; and when retreating they saw the centre broken and in great dis- order, they also turned and fled and the whole army completely demoralized, took to flight, pursued, and harassed for miles by the few hundred horsemen in Eochaid's army. The left wing seeing the centre and right in full flight, never got so far as the ambush of archers, but turned-tail and made common cause with the retreating main body. The victory was complete, the Leinster men having lost their king and leader, never thought of rallying, but spread over the whole country, hurrying southward to escape the onslaught of the little groups of Meath and Ulster horsemen, who pursued them with heavy slaughter till their horses were exhausted. King Eochaid caused the dead body of Hiromaid to be carried into the fortress and committed to honourable burial, and ample supply of provisions being served out to the troops whose losses were very trifling, the evening was spent in feasting and rejoicing over the great victory that day achieved by about three thousand men over ten times their number. That evening a messenger from the king of Connaught brought tidings of the invasion of his territory by the king of Munster, who had entered what is now County Clare, crossing the Shannon at Limerick and advancing towards Galway, Eochaid set up his standard on the field of Crofuin, determined to await the gathering of the clans, which occupied a week or ten days. At the end of that time, twenty-five thousand fighting men had assembled, and leaving an ample garrison for the defence of Crofuin, and despatching six or seven thousand of his troops, under the leadership of the king of Meath, to drive the remnant of the Leinster men back into their OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 65 own province, he set out with an army of about fifteen thousand men to the assistance of the king of Connaught ; passing through the district now known as Westmeath and King's County, crossed the Shannon north of Porturnna, and skirting the shores of Lough Derg, established himself in the south-east corner of Clare, thus cutting off the retreat of the king of Munster, who was soon compelled to make terms. Thus, in the autumn of 583 B.C., Eochaid established on a firm basis his authority as Pentarch of all Ireland ; probably the first of his rank whose arch-kingship had ever been more than an empty name. It was, doubtless, the exaggerated rumours of this short but sharp, and com- plete conquest, that had frightened away, for a time, the traders of Tyre, who had brought back to the mer- chant adventurer Isaac, the son of Melchisedic, the news of internal feuds in the island of the north-west ; which he in time had written of to Jeremiah at Tahpanhes, to which city we must now again transfer the scene of our story. 66 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; CHAPTER V. "THE ESCAPE FROM TAHPANHES." " And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord ; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts." Isa. xix. 4. NEARLY three months had elapsecTsince the celebration of the mysteries of Isis, at Tahpanhes, in January of the year 582 B.C., with which our story opened and the period of the feast of unleavened bread was at hand. No doubt can be entertained that, during the reigns of the later kings of Judah at Jerusalem, the Jews had gradually, as a people, given themselves up to the same worship of false gods which had proved the besetting sin of the tribes under the kings of Israel ; in punishment whereof the Almighty in His wrath had delivered them over into the hands of the king of Assyria about 140 years before a similar judgment fell upon Judah, in the conquest of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. In spite, nevertheless, of the defection of the bulk of the people of Judea to idolatry, the celebration of the principal feasts of Israel had been continued, and is indeed con- tinued by the dispersed Jews down to this day ; while abandoned by deported Israel. Indeed, if the old Israelitish ceremonial had been perpetuated by the ten tribes, as it has been by the Jews, it is reasonably evi- dent that the ten tribes would never have been lost at all. There is a general consensus of learned opinion that, even in the days of their lowest idolatrous degrada- tion, the Jews never abandoned altogether the forms of the true worship inculcated by Moses, established by OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 67 Aaron and perpetuated by the tribe of Levi. No sur- prise need, therefore, be felt at the spectacle of the remnant of Judah that fled into Egypt, taking an active part in the mysteries of Isis, at Tahpanhes, in the month of January, and still celebrating, with how much hypo- crisy it is bootless to enquire, the feast of unleavened bread in the month of April following. On the eve of the feast, Baruch, the Scribe, who had paid his usual daily visit to the princesses in their magnificent apartment in the palace of the Jew's daughters, might have been seen, about the hour of noon, leaving the women's quarter in company with the chief eunuch. His air and countenance betrayed some anxiety, for Jeremiah had for some days past withdrawn himself from the society of the members of his house- hold, and had remained entirely secluded in his private apartment, abstaining both from food and drink. " Hast thou seen our master, the noble Jeremiah ? " enquired the eunuch. "Nay," answered Baruch, "I have not seen him these three days, neither will he draw the bolt of his chamber, though I have prayed him to admit me and to suffer me to order some sustenance to be brought to him." "Whatsayeth he then when thou communest with him ? " rejoined the eunuch. " He doth answer when I call to him thus : * Leave me in peace, good Baruch, I hunger not, neither do I thirst, and must hold no conversation \vith any man, nor eat meat, until I have spoken to the people at the feast of unleavened bread ; for the spirit of the Almighty is upon me.' " " Will he not faint, thinkest thou, for want of food ? " anxiously enquired the old and faithful attendant. 68 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; "Nay, I think not," replied Baruch, " it has always been thus with him when the spirit of prophecy is upon him, but when he hath delivered to the people that which he is commissioned to say, I fear me he may break down, and I am anxious for the morrow. Some great crisis of our fate is at hand, and I shall be glad when the first day of the feast is come and gone; though I tremble, too, for what may be coming after." " Can I do nothing to help at this time ? " " Nay, nothing, mine ancient friend, nothing. Nor I, nor any man. To watch and to pray is all that can be done. I go forth now to see that the chief priest hath made his preparations for to-morrow. " With these words Baruch parted from the old servant, who returned to his charge, and crossing the outer vestibule, lifted the curtain and disappeared out into the great square on his mission. The Jews in Tahpanhes had no temple, but, by the permission of the officers of Pharoah Hophra, they had erected a tent, or tabernacle, in rude imitation of the structure erected by Moses at Sinai, in a disused brick- field adjoining the house which had been assigned by the king of Egypt to Jeremiah as a residence for himself and the king's daughters. Here the solemn convocation appointed for the next day was to take place, and here an altar had been built for the customary sacrifices but, owing to the idolatrous falling away of the Jews in Tahpanhes, this altar was used only on occasions of great feasts. On the following morning from an early hour the Jews began to assemble in the brickfield opposite to the king's palace ; the chief priest and his assistants were in attendance in full vestures and some, but by no means all the worshippers brought burnt-offerings with OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 69 them, as the Mosaic law prescribed, and all day long the smoke from the altar rose in a heavy cloud in the still warm air of an Egyptian April day. By about ten o'clock many thousand Jewish men and women had assembled before the altar ; some of them assisted at the devotional exercises of the occasion with a show of piety, but the majority appeared to be indifferent, if not indeed defiant, in their attitude. A considerable number of the Egyptian population of the town, among whom many priests of Osiris and Isis might be observed, impelled by that curi- osity which moves all men in all ages to assemble and gaze at any novelty, fringed the crowd of assembled Jews. It was about this hour that the prophet Jeremiah suddenly appeared upon the scene. Issuing from his adjoining house, followed by a small knot of attendants, amongst whom might have been observed Baruch the Scribe, still wearing a look of deep anxiety, the prophet walked with a firm and rather rapid step towards the assembly. His head was held erect, his right arm somewhat extended, his eyes, which gleamed with a bright fire of half suppressed excitement, looking in- tently straight before him, his flowing beard and robes produced a startling impression on those who noticed his approach, causing them at once to move aside and make a pathway for this noble figure, hurrying towards the altar of his God. On reaching a point a few paces distant from the altar, at which the officiating priests stood in attendance, the prophet fell upon his knees, buried his face in his hands and became a prey to a visible emotion, the evidences of which silenced every whisper of the assembled multitude and for several minutes stillness reigned, broken only by the stifled sobs of the servant of God, wrestling in earnest prayer before the altar. 70 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; Suddenly he rose to his feet, and with a deprecating gesture to the chief priest, he turned and faced the assembled people. His countenance, still wet with the tears he had shed, bore an expression of sorrow, tempered by a holy exultation, which lent to his strong but benevolent countenance every appearance of inspira- tion. Drawn to his full height, his hand extended to enjoin attention, the habitual appearance of asceticism heightened by his recent fasting, he proceeded in clear and authoritative words to speak as follows : " Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel : Ye have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities of Judah ; and behold this day they are a desolation, and no man dwelleth therein, because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke Me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, and to serve other gods, whom they knew not, neither they, ye, nor your fathers. Howbeit I sent unto you all My servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate. "But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense unto other gods. Wherefore My fury and Mine anger was poured forth, and was kindled on the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem ; and they are wasted and desolate, as at this day. "Therefore now thus saith the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel ; Wherefore commit ye this great evil against your souls, to cut off from you man and woman, child and suckling, out of Judah, to leave you none to remain; in that ye provoke Me unto wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense unto other gods in the land of Egypt, whither ye be gone to dwell, OK, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 71 that ye might cut yourselves off, and that ye might be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? ' ' Have ye forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they have committed in the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem ? They are not humbled even unto this day, neither have they feared nor walked in My law, nor in My statutes, that I set before you and before your fathers. "Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel : Behold, I will set My face against you for evil, and to cut off all Judah. And I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to dwell there, and they shall all be consumed, and fall in the land of Egypt ; they shall even be consumed by the sword and by the famine : they shall die, from the least even to the greatest, by the sword and by the famine : and they shall be an execration, and an astonishment, a curse, and a reproach. For I will punish them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence ; so that none of the remnant of Judah, which are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall escape or remain, that they should return unto the land of Judah, to the which they have a desire to return to dwell there : for none shall return but such as shall escape. " Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, 72 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; "As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee ; but we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem : for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine." Then also the women lifted up their voices, saying : " When we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men ? " Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people which had given him that answer : " The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye, and your fathers, your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the Lord remember them, and came it not into His mind ? So that the Lord could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations that ye have committed ; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day. Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the Lord, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, nor walked in His law, nor in His statutes, nor in His testi- monies ; therefore this evil has happened unto you, as at this day. OK, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 73 "Moreover, Jeremiah said unto all people, and all the women : " Hear the word of the Lord, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt : Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her : ye will surely accomplish your vows, and surely per- form your vows. Therefore hear ye the word of the Lord, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt ; Behold, I have sworn by My great name, saith the Lord, that My name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah, and all the land of Egypt, saying, The Lord God liveth. Behold, I will watch over them for evil and not for good : and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them. Yet a small number that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose words shall stand, Mine, or theirs. And this shall be a sign unto you, saith the Lord, that I will punish you in this place, that ye may know that My words shall surely stand against you for evil : Thus saith the Lord ; Behold, I will give Pharoah-hophra, king of Egypt, into the hand of them that seek his life ; as I gave Zedekiah, king of Judah, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, his enemy, that sought his life." * At these words murmurs arose among the assembled multitude, and not a few of the Egyptians, who had See Jeremiah xliv. F 74 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; listened to the denunciations of the prophet, began to say that he talked treason against their king, Vaphris, who had befriended him and his people, who had taken refuge in the cities of Pathros. These words were taken up by the majority of the Jews present, who began to be afraid that when the king of Egypt should hear of what had been done that day in Tahpenhes, that he would visit upon them the doom that their prophet had just pronounced against him, and a great tumult arose among the people. When the inspired man of God saw this he took certain large stones, similar to those of which the altar had been built, which lay close at hand, and buried them in the clay on the spot where he had been standing, and, again addressing the multitude, in a clear and loud voice, he said : "Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, My servant, and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid ; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them. And when he cometh, he shall smite the land of Egypt, and deliver such as are for death to death ; and such as are for captivity to captivity, and such as are for the sword to the sword. And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them, and carry them away captives ; and he shall array himself in the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garment ; and he shall go forth from thence in peace. He shall break also the images of Beth-shemish, that is in the land of Egypt ; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall he burn with fire."* When the Egyptians present heard these words, they redoubled their outcry against the prophet, saying : See Jeremiah, chap, xliii. 9 13. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 75 " He speaketh treason against our king, and blasphemeth our gods ; bear him away to the judge, that he may be judged." The Jews, beginning now to be seriously alarmed for the consequences to themselves of the denunciations of Jeremiah, which had evidently created a very deep im- pression on the Egyptian population, among whom they dwelt, began loudly to repudiate him, denouncing him as a madman whose wild and foolish words must not be taken seriously, and declaring that, after the seven days of the feast should be accomplished, they themselves would arraign him before the tribunal. The Egyptians were for a time appeased by this repudiation, and per- mitted Jeremiah with his followers and attendants to return to his house close by, greeting him, however, as he passed with those marks of popular disapproval which are not confined to any one race or any one age. After the departure of Jeremiah some of the elders among the Jews approached the chief-priest and pro- posed to him that they should dig up the stones buried by the prophet in the clay, and cast them into the neigh- bouring stream, in order that the Egyptians might thus be convinced that the body of the Jews attached no im- portance to the denunciations against Egypt to which they had all so recently listened. But the priests would not permit the stones to be touched, saying, " Lest, per- chance, a worse thing happen to us." When the prophet and Baruch had re-entered the house, they dis- missed their attendants and proceeded at once to take council together apart, concerning the new situation that had, that morning, been created by the utter- ances of the former at the solemn convocation. They had no sooner entered the refectory, than Baruch observed that the mental excitement under which 7& EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; Jeremiah had been labouring had passed away, and re- action had set in, for he was now deadly pale, and seemed about to faint as his secretary assisted him to the divan upon which he fell rather than seated himself. Having persuaded his revered and venerable friend to swallow a few drops of wine, and having chafed his hands for some time, the alarmed disciple was rejoiced to observe some symptoms of revival, and a gradual return to his customary aspect of calm and benevolent repose. " Oh ! my father," he exclaimed, " What is this thing that thou hast done ? Thou hast stirred up against us not only the wrath of our own people, but that of the Egyptians as well, and, I fear me, they will seek thy life to destroy thee." " Have no care for that, my son," rejoined the prophet. " The Lord of Hosts, who put into my mouth the heavy words that I have spoken, and which have wounded my spirit sorely to pronounce, He will protect us, for my mission is not yet accomplished. Half, only, of my work is done ; I have rooted out and pulled down, and destroyed and thrown down, as the Lord has commanded me, and now it is my happier mission to plant and to build." "But where, oh my father, where wilt thou plant and build ? " "As God shall direct, my son, but as yet I know not where. Still it is plain we may not longer tarry in this place. The king of Egypt will, doubtless, be full of wrath, when he heareth of the destruction I have con- strained to prophesy against him and his kingdom. We must flee from hence, and that quickly. Go thou and tell Haroun, the eunuch, that we will eat the appointed feast with the king's daughters in their apartments, and return hither, that we may arrange for instant departure." OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 77 Baruch hastened away to execute the commission thus received, while the prophet moistened his lips again with a little wine from the cup that his secretary had filled for him but now. On his return the disciple found his venerable friend sunk in deep reflection, from which he hesitated for some time to arouse him. After a short interval of profound meditation, Jeremiah raised his head, and thus addressed the scribe : " My son, rather more than a thousand years ago this very night, our fathers went up under guidance of the blessed Moses out of the land of Egypt. This night must our little band again go up out of this land. Delay were dangerous, perhaps fatal not to me, my son, and not to you ; so long as we are conscienciously doing the work the Almighty has set us to do it matters little when and where we lay down our life but delay might be fatal to the stem of Jesse. To me has been entrusted the care of the tender twig of the topmost branch of the high cedar ; on me rests the deep responsibility of the life and safety of the king's daughters, and we must bear them away out of Egypt before the wrath of Pharoah- hophra has been kindled against me and them. Verily, this Egyptian king has hospitably entertained us, and I am sore grieved that my duty hath constrained me to pronounce the judgment of the Almighty against him ; but God's work goeth before our duty to our neighbour, and worldly wisdom points to immediate flight." " Whither flee we my father ? " "I propose, my son, to journey hence swiftly to Chimham, which is a fenced town; and, if shelter may not be found there, then to Bethlehem. God will Him- self point out the way." " But, my father, would it not be better to make for Babylon, and seek the protection of Nebuchadnezzar 78 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; against Vaphris, who may pursue with chariots and with horsemen ? " "Nay, my son, Nebuchadnezzar is, in a sense, the servant of God, inasmuch as he is an instrument for carrying out His Divine will; but he is a worldly, and a crafty, and a cruel monarch ; did he not slay the sons of Zedekiah before his very eyes ? I may not trust to his tender mercies these delicate scions of the kingly house of David. It were too great a temptation to his boundless ambition to place these unhappy orphans in his power." " Tis well, my father; what wouldst thou have me to do?" "Go thou, Baruch, secretly to Abraham, the son of Aminadab, that dwelleth by the riverside. He is a pious and devout Jew, who hath never bent the knee to false gods, and may be entirely trusted. Tell him that Jeremiah, the servant of the Lord, hath been warned of God to flee this night out of Egypt. He hath fleet camels and horses. Let him gather them after dark this night at the foot of Asychis, to the west of the city, on the southern side of the river, with his own house- hold and such others as he can surely trust. Let his beasts be loaded with the tents and gear needful for long travel, and store of provision, for which thou shalt pay him fifty shekels of silver. We will go down in our wherries to the ford, an hour after midnight, when the feast of the passover hath been eaten. Let the house- holds of those who travel with us do likewise, and let every man take his weapons and his store of money with him, and let the women and the maidens attire them- selves and wear also their jewels of silver and of gold. Tell him to be prompt and to be secret, that the multi- tude have no knowledge of our plans, lest they seek to OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 79 hinder us. Before the second hour after midnight we must be upon our road, that we may be well away from the city before the morning light betray us." " I go, my father; give me thy blessing that my doings may prosper." "May the Lord God of Israel bless thee and keep thee, my son, and make all that thou doest to prosper for His honour and glory. Come thou back hither before sunset that we may arrange all that is needful for our journey. Go, and the Lord be with thee." Baruch, bowing himself reverentially before his superior, withdrew from the apartment to fulfil the commission entrusted to him ; while the venerable prophet pro- ceeded to instruct his servants to prepare the pavilion of the princesses and their wardrobes for a journey which he proposed to undertake on the morrow. A few minutes before midnight all the Jewish members of the prophet's household assembled in the divan of the princesses. The Egyptians of the household, to whom the ceremonial of the Jews was an abomination, had long since retired to rest, with the exception of Haraun, the eunuch, who never on any pretext left his post of duty as guardian of the premises. A long table on trusties had been prepared, on which was served the lamb roasted whole, with the accompaniments proper to the occasion the bitter herbs and the unleavened bread. All the guests stood around the board, their loins girded, sandals on their feet and staves in their hands, the women being attired for a journey. A blessing was prayed upon the feast by Jeremiah, who concluded somewhat in these terms : "Since this Thy feast was established by Thee, O Lord, through Thy servant Moses, as an ordinance for ever, to celebrate the miraculous deliverance of Thy people from the house of 80 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; bondage in the land of Egypt ; bless now, we beseech Thee, the projects of Thy servants assembled in this city this night, who are minded again to escape from the bondage of sin and idolatry in this land, and bring them in safety to the haven of peace and rest that Thou hast prepared for them in the land of their fathers." Pronounced in Hebrew, with which Haraun, the eunuch, was but very imperfectly acquainted, the full meaning escaped him, but his suspicions were awakened that something more was on foot than the celebrating the Jewish feast. Jeremiah observing this, gave a signal to Baruch, who, with two or three others, placed them- selves immediately behind the Egyptian, to prevent him from escaping and raising an alarm. The prophet then proceeded to take him into his confidence, explaining their projected flight, and offering him the choice of accompanying them on their journey, or of being gagged and bound, and left in the pavilion, to be released by his fellow servants in the morning. The old eunuch reflected for a moment, and probably considering that, when the king's officers should dis- cover the escape of Jeremiah and the princesses, he was likely enough to pay with his head for his share in the transaction, however involuntary, he spoke as follows : " My lord, what has thy servant done that he should not be trusted by thee. Of a surety my royal charges have won mine old heart, and I will go with them wheresoever my lord wills, and will defend them against every evil." This offer was gladly accepted by Jeremiah, who proceeded to explain to him that by the law of Israel he must share the Paschal feast, being present, and called upon him to swear to observe silence and secrecy until they were clear of the city. This he OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 8l readily consented to do, and, standing at the board, they consumed in haste and silence the food prepared for them. When the meal was concluded a great brazier filled with glowing charcoal was borne into the garden, the remnants of the feasts were reverently laid by Jeremiah on the brazier with his own hand, and kneel- ing down, all devoutly engaged in silent prayer until they were consumed with fire. The ashes were then spilled upon the ground, and the whole party proceeded through the gardens, silently, and in darkness to the riverside ; the prophet leading the elder princess and Baruch the younger. At the river steps lay three or four wherries already laden with the baggage that had been prepared in the afternoon, and loaded up after dark. In these the whole party seated themselves, and in perfect silence, and with muffled oars, the wherries were slowly propelled along the surface of the stream in a westerly direction towards the ford of Asychis. In passing the houses of the city, which abutted on the river, watch-dogs more than once gave the alarm, and once a lattice opened, and a man peered out into the darkness, and enquired who went abroad at this untimely hour. Apparently, however, he concluded that the watchers were probably fisher-folk, proceeding thus early to some distant fishing station on the river ; for, with a yawn, he closed the lattice, and they saw him no more. About an hour after midnight the boats were beached at the ford, where alighting, the household of Jeremiah were received by Abraham, the son of Aminadab, and some others, who, at his instance, had decided upon sharing the flight of the prophet and of his charges. A large number of camels and horses were here assembled, most of them already provided with riders, male and female, and loaded with goods. Abraham informed the prophet 82 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; that he had despatched the bulk of his flocks and herds in charge of herdsmen soon after dark, in order that they might get well on their way before the more rapidly travelling caravan needed to set out. The camels and horses provided for the household of Jeremiah were then brought forward and rapidly loaded, and mounted by their riders. Thirty or forty horsemen started forward as an advance guard, the women and the baggage camels, suitably attended, formed the centre of the cavalcade, and another body of horsemen brought up the rear. The ford was situated more than a mile from the nearest houses of the city, and, operations being conducted as silently as possible, all was happily con- cluded, and the caravan set out with a good three hours before it, ere the dawn should gild the plain with light enough to enable their movements to be discerned. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 83 CHAPTER VI. THE PILLAR OF WITNESS. " It was also contained in the same writing that the prophet, being warned of God, commanded the tabernacle and the ark to go with him, as he went forth into the mountain, where Moses climbed up and saw the heritage of God. And when Jeremy came thither, he found an hollow cave, wherein he laid the taber- nacle, and the ark, and the altar of incense : and so stopped the door. And some of those that followed him came to mark the way, but they could not find it. Which, when Jeremy perceived, he blamed them, saying : As for that place, it shall be unknown until the time that God gather His people again together, and receive them unto mercy." 2 Maccabees ii. 4 7. PUSHING rapidly forward in a north-easterly direction through the silent plain, with the star-spangled vault of heaven to alone light their path, the fugitives crossed the swamps lying to the north-west of the city of Migdol, and followed the coast road to a settlement since known as Pelusium, intending to skirt the Mediterranean on to the city of Gaza, from whence they could strike across country to Bethlehem. Their object in hugging the coast was to avoid the inconvenience of driving their consider- able flocks and herds across the desert of Shir. About an hour after sunrise the head of the long and somewhat straggling caravan came up with these flocks about five miles from the gates of the town, and as the danger of immediate pursuit seemed no longer imminent, it was decided to halt at the wells of Amenoph close by, where groves of trees offered an agreeable shade from the noon-tide heat. Here our travellers dismounted, their weary beasts were watered at the well, and, being 84 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; hobbled, were turned loose to browse upon such herbage as the neighbourhood afforded, and some preparation being hastily made for the comfort of the princesses and their attendants, attention was devoted to the serving of a meal suited to the circumstances in which they found themselves. After the repast the travellers reclined in the shade of the trees ; the divan of the princesses and their suite being arranged under the sweeping boughs of a lordly cedar ; and here, in Eastern fashion, the time was beguiled in song and story telling, the princesses taking part in the diversion with apparent zest, especially Sara, the younger, whose naturally high spirits were greatly enhanced by the novelty and excitement of unaccustomed travel. "Tell me, darling Tea" (a pet name that she had invented for her elder sister, Tamar); "tell me," she cried, in an interval of the conversation, " is not this far better than moping all day in the women's apartments, to which we are always so jealously confined ? How lovely are these groves and this delightful shade, and the blue sky looking more beautifully blue through the branches of the trees; and look, Tea, is not that gleam- ing brightness between yonder hillocks the sunlight on the distant sea ? How sweet is the breeze that comes from the sea, it positively smells of freedom and space. Oh ! I would like to dwell for ever in such a spot as this, and never go back to the detested Zenana." Happy and beautiful indeed the sweet child looked as with heightened colour and brightening eyes she prattled thus to her elder sister the thoughts that sprang to her lips. The latter regarded her with deep affection, for this sister was now the only treasure left her. Father, and mother, and brothers all bereft ; and, as she thought of their sad fate, a tear sprang to her soft grey eye as OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 85 she bent to plant a kiss on the younger girl's brow, as she replied : "Truly, sweet Sara, it does me good to see thy bright and childish delight ; I wish I, too, could forget, like you, our dear blind father in his Babylonian dungeon ; but the sight of this beautiful free nature reminds me that he can never see such sights again, and fills my heart with sorrow." " Nay, dear Tea, it is less than kind of thee to say that I forget our dear father. I do not forget, but I am two years younger than thou, and I was but a tiny child, so high, when they hurried us away that dreadful night from our father's beautiful home in Jerusalem. I do not forget, sweet sister; but what good does it do to remember. If by being sorrowful myself I could make his burden lighter to bear I would be as sorrowful as ever thou art ; but to me it seemeth that if he knew us to be unhappy his own sorrow would be heavier, and not lighter. I would I were a youth, Tea, and not a maiden, for then I could hope to put on armour and gird myself with a sword, and avenge my father and my brothers on that cruel tyrant in Babylon." " Vengeance is Mine, saith the Lord," broke in the prophet in solemn tones ; " thou knowest not, sweet Sara, what thou speakest. How shall these few sheep that be left in the wilderness suffice to break the mighty power of Nebuchadnezzar in his stronghold at Babylon ? Although thy thought is natural and human enough, dear child, it is vain and ill-timed. Pray God, rather, that He may, in His mercy, guide us all, and me especially, aright, so that in His own good way and His own good time, He may bring us into the haven where He would have us to be." " And so I will, and so I do, my father," rejoined the 86 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; girl ; " but am I never to be merry and never to be happy when the sun shines, and never to be angry when Tea tells me of my father's wrongs ? " " Be as happy and as merry, sweet child, as the day is long, if thou canst ; but put anger out of thy childish heart, for angry glances become not a woman, and leave the avenging of wrongs to thy Father in heaven. But the sun is well past the meridian ; at even we must again be upon our way ; take some rest now, for thou must be tired with thy night-journey, and thy bright young eyes must be closed awhile in slumber, or thy gentle frame will be unable to bear the fatigue of another night-ride." So saying the prophet turned away to give the necessary orders for the continuance of the journey at sundown, and himself to seek some needful repose. An hour or so before night the herdsmen began to gather the flocks and the herds, and to urge the gentle beasts under their charge to resume their slow and wearisome progress, and a few hours later the caravan was re-formed and all set forward, in similar order to that observed in the previous night, on their way into Judea. For ten days and nights the tedious journey was continued, until at daybreak in the eleventh day our party found themselves in view of the city of Gaza, at a distance of some six or seven miles. Here our travellers determined to pitch their camp for a few days, as much to refresh their tired cattle as to take counsel as to their future movements. The immediate danger of pursuit by the emissaries of the king of Egypt seemed to have passed away, and, indeed, it is not unlikely that the politic Egyptian monarch regarded the departure of Jeremiah and his charges from Tahpanhes rather as the OK, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 87 removal of a disturbing element from his dominions, than as a misfortune to be deplored and repaired. Many and anxious consultations were held by the leaders of the expedition as to their future movements. Abraham, the son of Aminadab, and his friends, who had shared the flight from Egypt, were desirous of securing some permanent resettlement, and a reconnoi- tring party was organised to examine the western slopes of the mountains of Judah with a view of pitching upon some depopulated, though naturally fertile, district, where, without displacing existing settlers or incurring troublesome animosities, they might find a suitable and permanent home. Jeremiah, on the other hand, upon deep and anxious reflection, had decided upon retiring to Tyre, as affording a safe present asylum, and an immediate means of escape by sea in case of any attempt on the part of the king of Babylon to secure the persons of the surviving children of his conquered enemy, Zedekiah. With this object in view he despatched messengers on camels to his old friend and correspondent, Isaac, the son of Melchisedic, the merchant adventurer of that great, and then still more or less prosperous port, with a scroll explaining his intentions, and begging his correspondent's co-operation and assistance in securing a suitable refuge there for a time. In the meantime he had determined to push on to Bethlehem, and there await the reply which he had instructed his messengers to bring back to him at that city. After remaining in camp, therefore, for about a week, Jeremiah ordered his tents to be struck and his camels to be loaded, and, taking with him a dozen of the young men as a mounted escort, he and his party set out to EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; cross the mountains of Judah and make the best of their way to Bethlehem, which was reached after ten days of uneventful journeying. On approaching the city our travellers remarked that their arrival being observed by the watch upon the gates, a body of twenty armed horsemen, led by an elderly man on a richly caparisoned steed, came forth from the city to meet them; for in the depopulated and disturbed state of the country, without administrative government, the scouts, remnant of the population, left behind by Nebuchadnezzar to be vine dressers and tillers of the soil, lived in a condition of constant fear from the nomad tribes that roamed the deserted land and levied blackmail on the scattered and defenceless people. When, however, the party from the city learned that the approaching caravan was under the command of the prophet Jeremiah, they were immediately not only satis- fied but delighted; and while the leader and part of his troop remained to do honour to the approaching guest and escort him to the gates, the remainder galloped back to let their neighbours know what a distinguished party was about to honour their city with their pre- sence. While the cavalcade, thus escorted, slowly approached the town, a deserted mansion, whose owner was now a prisoner at Babylon, was hastily prepared for their accommodation ; and when Jeremiah and the king's daughters rode through the gate, they found nearly the whole of the limited population, to the number of two or three hundred, assembled in the main street to receive them, and to greet with enthusiasm the well-known prophet of God and the daughters of the beloved house of David. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 89 While the way-worn travellers were reposing from the fatigues of the journey, the half-dozen or so of the leading inhabitants hastened to prepare such a banquet as their circumstances permitted in honour of those whom they regarded with deep affection and respect, mingled with sympathy for the misfortunes of a house which, for more than four centuries, had ruled over the land and had built up a strange and eventful history destined never to be forgotten while the world endures. Here then the fugitives and outcasts, whose lightest word in happier times would have been a law to the people, found a temporary and friendly refuge; and here, after dismissing his escort with rewards and bles- sings, the prophet determined to abide the return of his messengers from Tyre. Travelling, especially for small parties, was neces- sarily slow and uncertain in those troublous times, and many uneventful but peaceful weeks slipped away, and still the messengers from Tyre had not arrived. It was getting towards the end of the month of July, 582 B.C., and Jeremiah was beginning seriously to think of pro- ceeding without further delay to the fulfilment of his designs, when one morning a syndic of the town waited upon him to say that on opening the gate that morning a travel-stained man had been found without in an almost starving and fainting condition, who, when restoratives had been applied, gave the bystanders to understand that he was the bearer of a scroll for Jere- miah, the prophet of God. Baruch hastened to the gate, and, at once recognising in the man one of the three messengers despatched to Tyre, caused him to be forthwith carried into the house, and after he had been bathed and cared for, he recovered sufficiently to relate how, three weeks before, he and his go EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; companions, returning from Tyre, had been attacked by a marauding band in the district of Samaria, how his two companions and the camels had been seized and borne away by the robbers, he himself having been left for dead on the ground; how, on recovering conscious- ness, he had crawled to the nearest water and had since begged his way down to Bethlehem, where he had arrived the night before and had sunk down exhausted a little way from the gate. The scroll which the messenger brought with him read as follows : " To the noble prince of Israel, Jeremiah, prophet of the Most High God, greeting and faithful service. "Thy servant hath learned with great concern, but- not with surprise, of thy sudden departure from the city of Tahpanhes, and with respectful gratitude of thy determination to come hither, as a proof of thy con- fidence in thy servant. The Phoenician king is at present on very friendly terms with Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and I doubt not that thou and the sweet princesses, thy wards, may safely tarry among us. My poor house is altogether at thy and their disposal, until such time as it may please thee to make other arrangements. A vessel of mine, by name the ' Lion ofjudah,' o fwhich one Ben Ammon, an Egyptian, is master, will call at Joppa some six or seven weeks hence, and I have sent letters to meet him there, instructing him to wait a reasonable time for thee and thine household in that port, and bring thee up here with greater speed and safety than a land journey can afford. "I have this day an argosy arrived from the islands of the North-west, which hath been absent some five or six months, whereby I learn that the troubles I wrote OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. gi to thee of before have been fully appeased. The king of the Danaans hath conquered his enemies and hath fully established his power as Pentarch, and is said to be ruling these wild islanders well and prudently. I pray thee tell the princesses, thy wards, that Isaac, the son of Melchisedic, will be proud to welcome them and do them service in his poor house at Tyre. And so may the God of Israel have thee and have them in His holy keeping." On the receipt of this friendly missive Jeremiah forth- with made up his mind to depart for Joppa, so as to meet at that port his friend Isaac's vessel, the " Lion of Judah," and a week or ten days later found his party again prepared to undertake the fatigues and dangers of a journey. On this occasion the bodyguard was fur- nished by a number of the youths of Bethlehem, who insisted on accompanying the fugitives until they should be safely arrived at Joppa. The caravan left Bethlehem an hour or two before sundown after a friendly and thankful leavetaking from the kind though humble friends whose goodness and consideration had rendered their sojourn in the city so peaceful and so pleasant, and, before darkness had fully settled down, halted before a caravansera, just outside the Joppa gate at Jerusalem. Here Jeremiah and Baruch, the latter bearing a stout pole and a coil of strong rope, separated themselves for a time from the party, and, commending the princesses to the watchful care of their attendants, entered the almost deserted streets of the ruinous city, which still bore on every hand the traces of the devastation to which it had been subjected by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar. The night was already far spent, and the princesses were growing anxious that their guardian and Baruch 92 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; delayed their return, when the stillness of the night was broken by the sound of footsteps approaching from the direction of a breach in the city wall the gate being now closed which had been made by the invaders about 300 yards to the eastward. In a few minutes two figures were seen approaching, staggering under a heavy burden which they carried, slung by ropes to a pole supported on their shoulders. In the darkness the object itself could not be identified, and the watchers, somewhat startled, challenged the two men as they came towards them. " Fear not," whispered the foremost of the bearers, "it is we, be silent and prompt. Bind this stone quickly and safely on a camel and make ready to move forward ; it is time we were on our way." During the next day's halt the princesses were very curious to know why their guardian had been at the trouble of fetching this rugged old stone out of the city of Jerusalem, and Sara, the younger, was especially disposed to rally her old and revered friend on the subject. "Why, my father," she said, "do we burden our march with this old stone ? I am sure I have seen much nicer stones lying about uncared for in the streets both at Tahpanhes and at Bethlehem." "My child," said the prophet, "this old and rugged stone that you are inclined to scoff at is no ordinary stone. Baruch and I have fetched it at the risk of our lives from the ruins of the Temple at Jerusalem. This stone is known among our people as the Pillar of Witness ; some call it the Pillar of Foundation, but it is beyond any doubt the stone on which our father Jacob pillowed his weary head outside the gates of Luz, when the Lord our God made a covenant with him. This is OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 93 the stone which our father Jacob consecrated to the Lord when he called it God's house." " Is it really, my father ; then, of course, I must reverence and cherish it ; but if it be God's house why remove it from its place in the Temple, which thou sayest will one day be rebuilded ? " "Because, my daughter, God hath destroyed His house in Jerusalem until the latter days ; then shall this stone be brought back to Jerusalem and restored to its place of honour in the new Temple. But in the mean- time this stone, as God's house, must be with the seed of David, as a Pillar of Witness. For, is it not written that David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of Israel for ever." " But, my father, the throne of Israel is broken down. Israel, thou sayest, is captive in Assyria and Media, and Judah is captive, alas ! in Babylon ; and David has now no throne upon the earth." "God's ways are not our ways, my daughter," said the prophet, solemnly, and continued, ' ' and now that thy woman's curiosity is satisfied, take thou rest for our journey, for at eventide we must again set forth." This conversation had taken place at the halting place outside Mizpah, and setting out thence on that evening the fugitives passed through Emmaus and Arimathea, and so on to Joppa, which they reached on the morning of the seventh day from Bethlehem. Here Jeremiah, having dismissed his guard from Bethlehem with gifts and greetings for those to whom they were about to return, took up his abode at the inn, to await the ship of Tyre, which was to carry him further on his journey. He caused the stone that he had brought with him from Jerusalem to be carefully packed up in stout linen and placed with his valuables in his own chamber. 94 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; A few days later the " Lion of Judah " arrived at Joppa, and Jeremiah, having arranged matters with the master, Ben Ammon, who, on the strength of letters from his owner, received him with every honour and respect, the party shortly afterwards embarked and, setting sail, the good ship arrived in a very short time at Tyre. Isaac, so soon as the arrival of his ship was made known to him, hurried down to the quay, and in hospitable thoughts intent lost no time in installing his honoured guests in his beautiful and luxurious dwelling ; placing at their disposal everything that his house afforded. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 95 CHAPTER VII. THE MIDDLE PASSAGE. " They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters ; " These see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep. " For He commandeth and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. "They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths : their soul is melted because of trouble. " They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end. " Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and He bringeth them out of their distresses. " He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. " Then are they glad because they are quiet ; so bringeth He them unto their desired haven." Psa. cvii. 23 30. FOR about a year and a half Jeremiah had been, with his charges the young princesses, inmates of the dwelling of Isaac, the merchant of Tyre, when our story again resumes. During that period he had made it his business to gather as much information as possible about the tribe of fierce colonists settled in the province of Ulster, in the distant island of the north-west. From the hardy Tyrian seaman who traded to Kerry and Galway for tin and copper, and to Dundalk Bay and Belfast Lough, for horns, hides, and other commodities, the prophet had learned that Eochaid the Pentarch of the country was establishing his rule more firmly month by month ; that the young monarch had developed great gifts of administration, and by precept and example was encouraging progress and improvement 96 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; among his people, but especially in his own province, in every direction. About the month of March or April of the year 580 B.C., old Isaac, the merchant, returning one day from a meeting of Shipping Guild of the city, of which he was a prominent and influential member, drew Jeremiah aside, and, with a troubled countenance, informed him that at their meeting that day a message had been received from the Royal Palace to the effect that a special envoy had a few days previously arrived from Babylon with messages of great import from Nebuchad- nezzar to the king of Tyre, formulating a series of demands, the immediate compliance with which could alone, it would appear, avert a most disastrous war.* In the course of the negotiations it had transpired that the king of Babylon had conceived some reason to believe that the daughter of king Zedekiah, of Judah, had taken refuge in the city or dominion of Tyre, and had made their surrender to his enemy a sine qua non. The king of Tyre had, therefore, caused proclamations to be made offering a reward to anyone who should disclose the hiding place of the royal princesses, and threatening heavy punishment to those who should con- ceal or harbour them. The poor old Jew was in a great state of trepidation and much divided in his mind between the duties of hospitality and the safety of himself and family. He was not a little relieved, therefore, when Jeremiah him- self suggested that, under the circumstances as he had detailed them, their only hope of escape must be by immediate flight by sea. " But whether wilt thou flee," he anxiously inquired. "True it is that I could send thee and the sweet * See Appendix Note. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 97 princesses, thy wards, by one of my vessels that will shortly sail to the Nile ; but in Egypt thou canst find no safety. To Cyprus also I could send thee by one of my fleet that sails to-morrow for the islands of the North-west, and cause thee to be set ashore there or in Greece ; but thou knowest that the king of Cyprus is closely leagued with our sovereign lord of Tyre ; moreover, he is mean enough to sell thee if he had the chance. The Greeks will not suffer strangers to settle among them unless they unreservedly accept their barbarous idolatry, and, in truth, I am at a loss how to advise thee in this dilemma." "Mine ancient friend," rejoined the prophet, "be not thou anxious in this matter. In the name of the God of Israel thou didst receive us most hospitably in thine house ; in the name of the God of Israel we will go forth again, with dearest thanks to thee, oh ! my brother, for thy goodness and thy loving kindness, and may the God of Abraham requite it unto thee in bless- ings upon thee and thine. I am fully determined what to do. I will sail to-morrow in thy ship, but neither to Cyprus nor to Greece will I go. I am now assured that this Tuatha de Danaan, of whom we have so often spoken, are indeed of the children of Israel and of the tribe of Dan. To the young king Eochaid, who, from all I can learn, is a wise and prudent monarch, will I direct my course, and I will seek from him in the name of Jacob's God that asylum which the land of our fathers is no longer able to afford us, and to pursue us thither will the chariots and the horsemen of Nebu- chadnezzar avail him little. Be thou, therefore, reas- sured, oh ! Isaac, my friend and protector ; this night, under cover of the darkness, will we embark, and to- morrow will we entrust ourselves to the sea and to the protection of the Lord of Hosts." 9 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; "Bethink thee, I pray thee," replied Isaac, "of the great dangers of this voyage, and of the wild and fierce people to whom ye propose to go for refuge. Bethink thee not, I pray thee, of the dangers to me and mine. Perchance I can get thee away to the northward, and thou canst take refuge in the mountains until this peril be overpast." " Nay, not so," said Jeremiah, " to the islands of the North-west will I go, with my precious charges, and there, with the assistance of the God of our fathers, will I perform my mission to build and to plant. For doth not the noble Isaiah say, speaking of the blessed latter day, when sweet peace shall reassert her gentle sway upon all the earth : * And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people ; to it shall the Gentiles seek, and his rest shall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set His hand again, the second time, to recover the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea" * " Nay, mine ancient friend, of a verity I will go forth, and will join myself unto this remnant of Dan in the islands of the sea. I see in all this the hand and the voice of the Most High God." Old Isaac bowed himself reverently, as the man whom he verily believed to be the prophet and mouthpiece of God, thus clearly and definitely declared and justified the course which he had determined to pursue, saying : " Be it as thou sayest, oh ! noble Jeremiah, prophet of the true God ; I go to prepare Ben Ammon, the *Isa. xi. 10, ii. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 99 master of my ship, the ' Lion of Judah,' for thy coming, and bid him make forthwith such preparation, as this, the finest and strongest of my ships, may permit, for the reception and suitable accommodation of the princesses, as well as of thyself and of Baruch, thy friend and servant." With these words old Isaac hurried away, himself to superintend the work that had to be done on board ; while Jeremiah hastened to inform Baruch, and to prepare Tamar and Sara for this sudden change in their circumstances. That evening the sun went down in all the glory of a Mediterranean sunset; ruby and gold, sapphire and amethyst, emerald and topaz were blended in the gorgeous panorama of that setting sun, which not only illumined the heavens with such a blaze of glory as six centuries later inspired the graphic pen of St. John in the island of Patmos, but lit up the massive quays and stately edifices of the magnificent harbour of Tyre the Venice of the ancient world, the greatest seat of commerce and wealth that the older history of those times tells us of; and as the glories of the sunset melted into purples, such as taught the Tyrians the secrets of their marvellous dyes, and the purples, in their turn, melted into warm grays, splashed with pale green and lemon-tinted glories, and night fell, as it has fallen day by day for more than seven thousand years upon the too beautiful world, an anxious party were assembled in the inner chambers of the residence of Isaac, the Jew, awaiting the moment of embarkation. Tamar and Sara were thoughtful, and still somewhat oppressed by the sudden change in their circumstances, and the rather painful anticipation of a long and dangerous voyage by sea, in which few women took part 100 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; in those days. Three Jewish maidens, their devoted -companions and attendants, had volunteered to accom- pany their royal mistresses in this adventurous voyage, but found it difficult, in spite of the stimulation of their personal affection, to brace themselves to an under- taking that struck them as very terrible. Haroun, the eunuch, who also had volunteered, and Baruch and Jeremiah, made up the whole party that were to separate themselves to-morrow from the fair Eastern land of their birth, to undertake unknown perils in almost unknown seas. Jeremiah alone retained the fullest and calmest self- possession. He was engaged in earnest converse with Isaac, the merchant, in reference to a matter of great practical importance. "Nay, but friend Isaac," he was saying; "I would fain buy from thee the cargo of the ' Lion of Judah.' These goods will be of great importance to us when we arrive on that distant island. I pray thee tell me, before my treasure chests are finally closed, what sum I am to pay thee for the goods on board thy ship." "Noble Jeremiah," he replied, "the vessel and her cargo are at the free disposal of the princesses of the house of David, and I am only too glad and too proud to be of service to the daughters of my lawful prince, Zedekiah, whom may the Lord succour. I will not take payment of thee for them ; the silks and cloths, the arms and trinkets, are as nothing; but they will surely be a passport to the favour of Eochaid, and of his wild and fierce people. The good God has greatly prospered my traffic, and I am a man of wealth and substance. I need not thy shekels, good friend, but thou art like to need them in the land whither thou goest. Close thou thy chests, the wain is already at the OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. IOI door to convey thy goods to the ship ; and, after we have broken bread for the last time together, it will be well for ye to make your way on board." " Tis well, Isaac," rejoined the prophet, " I will accept thy munificent gift as a loan unto the Lord, and may He repay thee an hundred-fold the sacrifice that thou makest this day for the children of thy unhappy king." The wain was then loaded with the personal effects of Jeremiah and his people, not forgetting the cherished package containing the " Pillar of Witness," and, under the charge of Haroun, the eunuch, rumbled off, drawn by six strong oxen, to the quay, where the " Lion of Judah" lay. An hour or two later the travellers proceeded by twos and threes to betake themselves on board the merchant's vessel. The proclamation had not yet had time to become generally known, and, as the busy Tyrians were often accustomed to continue to frequent the harbour until a late hour, their being abroad under the bright moonlight attracted no particular attention. The harbour of Tyre, crowded with vessels of various descriptions, offered a pleasing sight in the soft rays of the moon, and Sara, who was accompanied by Baruch and one of the maiden attendants, was full of admiration of the beauty of the scene. Ben Ammon, the captain of the ship, had insisted in giving up, for the use of the princesses and their attendants, his own cabin in the poop, which, though small, was large in proportion to the size of the vessel, which did not exceed ninety tons of burthen ; the cabin had, during the afternoon, been hung with draperies, and made as comfortable as possible for the use of these young and delicate girls. The " Lion of Judah," like all sea-going vessels of that period, was constructed with a lofty prow, and still loftier stern. In the waist of the 102 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; ship benches for rowers were fitted on the deck, and in the 'tween-decks was another row of benches for similar purposes. The vessel was fitted for six sweeps, or oars, in each row, on either side, making twenty-four in all. One strong and heavy mast was stepped about one-third of the whole length of the vessel from the prow. From a long boom, or yard, so arranged as to be capable of being raised or lowered by ropes from the decks, depended the large single square sail, which constituted all the spread of canvas that vessels of that day could boast. On the sail was painted, in Tyrian red, an enormous heraldic lion rampant; and from a flag-post on the poop floated a large silken banner, with the same device in a pale azure ground. The crew of the vessel about thirty-five persons in all were accommodated in the prow of the ship before the mast, and quarters had been hastily improvised in the 'tween-decks for Ben Ammon and his mate, as well as for Jeremiah and Baruch, his secretary ; a bunk having been specially constructed for Haroun, the eunuch, just outside the cabin set apart for the princesses and their attendants. The valuable cargo was stored away in the lower hold, and when our travellers went on board everything was taut and ship- shape, ready for immediate departure on the breaking of the dawn. Three other similar vessels, ranging from forty to seventy tons burthen, made up the fleet of Isaac, the merchant, destined for this voyage, and lay at anchor off the quay also ready for instant departure on the morrow. Isaac himself, who had accompanied his guests on board, proceeded to take a long and affectionate farewell from each and all. This ceremony completed, he climbed back to the quay, and, waving a blessing to all -on board, departed alone to his own house. So soon as OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. IO3 he disappeared Ben Ammon gave orders for the vessel to be hauled out into the basin, to ride at anchor until daybreak should give the signal for departure. This done, all on board disposed themselves to rest. So soon as day broke there was activity on board the fleet of Isaac, the merchant ; the anchor of the "Lion of Judah " was raised and made fast, with the accompani- ment of that rythmical shouting of the sailors which has been common amongst them in all ages ; the deck sweeps were manned and creaked in the rowlocks, as the sailors bent to them with a will ; the great sail was spread and trimmed to catch the south-easterly breeze, and the vessel glided gracefully out of the harbour, followed by the other ships, and, by the time the sun had risen, was already a mile or two out at sea. The princesses and their attendants, awakened by the noise and bustle of departure, had arisen, and, mounting to the platform or deck above their dwelling-place, were viewing with delight the unaccustomed scene of the great and busy city from the sea. Although Sara was in high spirits, and Tamar greatly interested, neither could quite restrain an emotion of sadness, as the Eastern land in which they had been born, and had loved until now, slowly receded from sight, thus cutting them off, as it were, probably for ever, from their blind father in Babylon, and from the people over whom their ancestors had reigned for generations. In a few days, however, these young maidens began to grow more accustomed to their new and strange surroundings on ship-board. The coarse fare, the narrow space, the daily monotony, and even the uncomfortable motion of the ship ceased to cause them inconvenience, and with the happy capacity of youth to accommodate itself to circumstances, their life on board the " Lion of Judah " 104 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; became sufficiently endurable. Jeremiah had provided the girls with an enormous square of azure Tyrian silk, and with thread of gold, and other materials for embroidery, begging them to employ their minds and hands in embroidering a large and rich banner of their kingly tribe, similar to that which floated from the poop of the ship. The perils and dangers of a sea voyage in those primitive times were, of course, infinitely greater than anything of which we have experience in our day. Clumsy and ill-found, compared to modern craft, they were far less fitted to battle with the storm than even a fishing lugger of the present time, and not the least of the dangers of the seas in those days, was the attack of marauding craft, or pirates, from the ports of Greece and Syracuse. More than once suspicious-looking vessels hove in sight, and hung about the little fleet, slowly making its way westward, apparently calculating the chance of being able to overcome and capture it. As Tyrian ships were, however, well-known to be strongly manned by brave and intrepid men, every one of whom was a trained soldier as well as a sailor ; these pirate crafts hesitated to attack a fleet of four vessels and, after a time, sheered off without showing fight. In those days navigation was rarely continued during the hours of darkness, and mariners usually hugged the coasts for the sake of refuge in stress of weather. It will, therefore, not be matter of surprise that Ben Ammon occupied nearly two months in bringing his fleet from Tyre to the outlet of the Mediterranean Sea, now known as the Straits of Gibraltar. During the voyage he had put in three or four times for water and provision, and the month of May was well advanced when the four little vessels sailed boldly out into the OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 105 Atlantic, and set their course northward. When off the mouth of the Tagus a great storm arose, whereby much damage was done to the ships, and infinite suffering caused to the unhappy women passengers. With diffi- culty Ben Ammon got his vessels safely into shelter at a point where the city of Lisbon now stands. It became necessary to careen the ships here in order to caulk and repair the damage caused by the storm. Some time was occupied in this necessary duty, and it was the beginning of June when, after replenishing their water supply and purchasing such stores as the country could afford, Ben Ammon was again ready to put to sea. Painfully hugging the coasts of Portugal, Spain, and France, for they dared not trust their frail craft to sail across the stormy Bay of Biscay ; another month was spent in gaining the island of Ushant. From thence Ben Ammon sailed boldly over to Scilly. Here he left one of his vessels to trade its cargo for tin, silver, and lead, with the inhabitants of the islands and of the adjoining mainland, now known as Cornwall, whence, having watered his vessels, he departed with the other three in the direction of the Irish coast. Arrived off Waterford he sent his other two vessels off to the Shannon to trade with the wild tribes that at that time peopled Clare and Kerry, while he proceeded with the "Lion of Judah" to make for Dundalk Bay, where he proposed to put his passengers and their property ashore as near as possible to Crofuin Lothair, the fortress and capital of Eochaid, king of Ulster. It was on the afternoon of July 24th of the year 580 B.C. that the " Lion of Judah " cast anchor in Dundalk Bay, off a small town, or settlement, known to Ben Ammon as Dan Dalghea ; who here went ashore, pro- vided with presents for the chief of the place, in order 106 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; to ascertain the present whereabouts of Eochaid, and to negotiate for permission to Jeremiah and his party to land. The chief, gratified at the rich presents he had received and hoping to conciliate, and secure as a per- manent resident, the eminent Oriental who was wealthy enough to offer such munificent gifts, hastened with Ben Ammon on board, in order to offer his respects to Jeremiah, and to make him welcome to his little town- ship. Terms were soon arranged to the satisfaction of the chief; two huts were placed at the prophet's dis- posal for his temporary accommodation, and that of his retinue and, on the morrow, steps were taken to land the rich cargo from the ship, and to prepare the cabins made over by the chief for the reception of his family. In less than a week everything was completed, and the women of the party, closely veiled in Eastern fashion, were put ashore in Ben Ammon's boat, where they were joined by Jeremiah, Baruch, and at the special request of the prophet, Ben Ammon allowed four of his best sailors to enlist in Jeremiah's service, and to remain as a body-guard for himself and his charge. Having received for the hands of his owner, Isaac of Tyre, a scroll announcing the safe landing of the party in the island of the north-west, and strongly recommending Ben Ammon to his owner's favourable consideration for his skill and loyalty, the latter returned on board his ship, and setting sail departed to rejoin his colleagues, who had gone to the mouth of the Shannon to trade. The prophet was not long in discovering that the language spoken by the inhabitants of this wild coast, who were of the Tuatha de Danaan, though differing materially from pure Hebrew, was evidently of the same root, not more corrupted than might be expected by some generations of absence from the land of their origin, and OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 107 of association with the aboriginal Firboly population of the country. A very short time sufficed to enable him and Baruch to converse freely with the natives and measures were at once taken to obtain access to Eochaid, the king of the country, who was discovered to be stay- ing at that time at his fort of Crofuin Lothair. Jeremiah, therefore, taking a guide from among the natives, organised a sort of embassy, of which Baruch took charge, accompanied by two of the Tyrian guards. The three richly attired and superbly armed set off with presents and a letter from Jeremiah to the king as follows : "Jeremiah, the servant of the Most High God, unto the high and mighty prince, Eochaid, by the grace of God, king of the Tuatha de Danaan, and Heremhon, Ard-Righ of these realms, greeting and the blessing of the God of Israel. " Oh ! king live for ever ! "Whereas I, Jeremiah, the servant of the living God, have been commissioned of the Almighty, guardian and protector of the two noble princesses, Tamar and Sara, daughters of the high and mighty prince Zedekiah, aforetime king of Judah, in Jerusalem, in the land of Judea ; and "Whereas, by the persecution of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the conqueror of Zedekiah, king of Judah, I have been constrained to flee before the wrath of the said king of Babylon, who sought the lives of the princesses, my wards, to destroy them ; and "Whereas, in the exercise of my discretion, and of my own free will, I have sought refuge in the dominions of the high and mighty prince, Eochaid, in whom I recog- nise a prince of Israel, of the tribe of Dan. Now hear, oh king, the prayer of thy servant, that thou wilt deign 108 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; to extend thy royal and paternal protection to these two royal princesses of the house of David, of the tribe of Judah ; and to grant to them and to me, their guardian, and to Baruch, the son of Neriah, my friend and secretary, and to the servants of my household, liberty, and licence to dwell in thy kingdom ; condescending to show the light of thy royal countenance unto those that thus petition thee for protection, and so may the living God have thee in His holy keeping. "Given at our temporary residence in thy town of Dan Dalghea, in the year of the world 4846. " God save the king." This missive being dispatched by Baruch, on the 2ist day of August, in the year 580 B.C., with in- structions to expound and explain all things that the king might desire to know respecting the sender, and the princesses under his care Jeremiah settled himself at Dan Dalghea to await the result of his mission. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. IOg CHAPTER VIII. THE KING IN COUNCIL. " The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water ; He turneth it whithersoever He will." Prov. xxi. I. THE distance from the head of Dundalk Bay to Cathair Crofuin (now known as Tara) was inconsiderable, and early in the afternoon of the second day, August 22nd, Baruch with his escort arrived within hail of the fortress, and, having summoned the warder in fashion of the age, was permitted to cross the moat and to explain the object of his mission to the officer of the guard. The latter, after examining the papers presented by Baruch, invited him to enter the guard-room, with his people, while he sought out the king's chamberlain, in order that he might obtain instructions as to the admission of the embassy to the royal presence. According to the habits of the period, the king, at this hour of the day, was still lingering at the board with his nobles and dependents. The chamberlain hesitated to approach him at such a moment on a matter of business, and, repairing to the guard-room, explained matters to Baruch, intima- ting that, as soon as the king should have retired to his apartments, he should be informed that a distinguished stranger craved an interview. In the meantime he gave orders that refreshments should be served to the newly- arrived guests in the guard-room, which orders being obeyed he made the strangers welcome to the court, and withdrew to await his opportunity of obtaining audience of his sovereign. 110 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; As the occasion was an ordinary one, the banquet, which had it been special, would have been prolonged till nightfall, was concluded early in the afternoon, by the withdrawal from the dais-table of the king and his immediate retinue, and the chamberlain of the house- hold, following his master to the private apartment whither he had withdrawn, placed in his hands the letter of Jeremiah, informing him at the same time, that the messenger with his retinue awaited his majesty's pleasure in the guard-room of the castle gate. Eochaid took into his hand the missive tied with crimson silk, and sealed with wax, and turning it over seemed somewhat puzzled to make out its meaning. The education even of the higher nobility and of the greatest potentates was at that time almost entirely con- fined to feats of arms and athletic exercises, and the superscription in Hebrew characters was quite illegible to the chief of the Tuatha de Danaan ; to whom the temper of a sword blade, or the qualities of a falcon, would have been easy of determination. "Knowest thou, Maccoial," enquired the king, "in what tongue this superscription is engrossed ? True it is that, to my shame be it spoken, I cannot rightly decipher the written characters of my own native Danaan, but this writing differeth much from that in which our chief Druid is accustomed to inscribe our royal acts in his book of record. Look thou, Maccoial, what language it may be." " Of a truth, my lord, it differeth greatly as thou sayest; but it seemeth to me more like to the characters that I have noticed in the scrolls that Jehusan, the Jewish merchant, who dwelleth beyond the walls, is wont to receive at times by the ships that come from Tarshish. Will it please your majesty that I should OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. Ill send for the venerable Arch-Druid, Erse, to examine the scroll for thee ? " " Nay, not so," replied the king, " if it be a matter for the council, doubtless Erse must be made acquainted with the contents; but I have a mind to learn them first from some independent source. Send for Jehusan, the merchant, and let him come quickly." The chamberlain withdrew to seek the Jewish merchant of Cathair Crofuin, while during his absence, Eochaid seemed almost fascinated by the document he held in his hand, the seals of which he still hesitated to break, as he soliloquised as follows : " Tis passing strange, and yet methinks that some- how my future and that of my kingdom is bound up in the silken thread that surrounds this mysterious scroll. It is not greatly my custom to attach undue importance to omens, but messages thus inscribed on parchment are somewhat rare at our court, where news is generally conveyed by the mouths of couriers and heralds. Besides, the unknown tongue ; what should that portend? I do not mind me to have received a scroll like this before, since my noble father left his honours, and his cares to me, unworthy ; except that which my gossip, the king of Connaught, caused to be sent to me, setting forth the terms and conditions on which he would graciously consent to become my father-in-law. The daughter is fresh and sweet now, but I like not the father overmuch. By the great god Baal ! Maccoial is an age in hunting up that cringing old Jew, I would he would hasten ; I am impatient to read this riddle ; but ah ! here he comes." As he spoke the chamberlain returned, ushering into the royal presence the person whom he had been com- missioned to fetch, and, bowing formally to the king, he 112 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; presented the Jew, saying, " My lord, here is Jehusan, the merchant of the town, whom thou hast commanded to thy presence." The Jew advanced, bareheaded, and bearing in his hand the skull-cap, which he usually wore, in an attitude of deepest humility, and, making a lowly reverence, requested to know in what respect he could pleasure my lord the king. " Draw nigh, my friend," said the king, in a cordial tone; "here is a scroll that has been brought unto us by a strange messenger ; tell me, if thou canst, what is the tongue in which the superscription is engrossed." The Jew took the letter reverentially in his hand, and, glancing at the superscription, replied immediately, " in Hebrew, my lord." " Sayest thou so," rejoined the monarch, "tell me then the purport in our own tongue." Jehusan immediately read out in the language then current in Ulster : "Jeremiah, the servant of the Most High God, unto the high and mighty prince, Eochaid, by the grace of God king of the Tuatha de Danaan, and Heremhon, Ard- Righ of these realms, greeting, and the blessing of the God of Israel." "Jeremiah," repeated the king, "who in the name of wonder is Jeremiah ? We remember not ever to have heard of such a person. Knowest thou ought of him, Maccoial ? " " Nay, my lord, I mind not to have heard the name." "And thou, Jehusan," continued Eochaid, "knowest thou this man who sendeth us this strange embassy." " Of a truth, my lord king," replied the Jew, " Well do I know the name, and, if the writer of this scroll be of a verity Jeremiah, the prophet of God, well do I know the man himself; for, to be open with your majesty it OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LI A PHAIL. 113 was the terrible denunciations of this same prophet Jeremiah against Jerusalem, and against the house of David, which, may God in His mercy continue for ever, that induced thy servant who speaketh, to abandon home and friends in the city of his fathers and to wend his way hither to seek a home in this distant land." "Tellest thou me," said the king, "let us then break the seal of this scroll ? " The king having cut the thread with his dagger and broken the seal, spread the parchment open before him, and, finding the same Hebrew characters within, made a sign to the Jew to approach and read him the con- tents. This Jehusan immediately did, reading out the document with which we are already familiar, while the king and his chamberlain listened attentively. " By the great god Bel," ejaculated the monarch, when the Jew had completed his translation, ''this is the strangest request that I have ever heard. I know no reason why this stranger should not dwell amongst us, but I am sorely puzzled about the royal maidens of whom he speaketh. Knowest thou aught, Jehusan, of this Zedekiah, king of Judah, whom the scroll doth mention ? " " I have often heard, my lord king, that, some years after I left Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Baby- lon, whose tributaries the later kings of Jerusalem were, did take Jehoiachin, king of Judah, captive to Babylon, and did make his uncle, the royal prince Mattaniah, king in his stead, and did change his name to Zedekiah. Latterly rumours have reached me that some six years ago Nebuchadnezzar, on some quarrel about tribute, did lay siege to and capture the city of Jerusalem, slay- ing the wives and sons of Zedekiah, and taking him 114 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; himself a captive to Bab}don, blind and brokenhearted; but of the royal princesses, his daughters, know I nothing." "Maccoial," pursued Eochaid, "this strange scroll is doubtless confirmed in part by what Jehusan, the Jew, doth tell us, and if it concerned this man Jeremiah (prophet or whatever he may be) and his servants only, I should feel free to grant him permission to dwell among us; but when it comes to a question of royal maidens, fugitives as it would appear from their lawful conqueror, it behoves me to lay this matter before the council. Tell thou, therefore, this envoy, Baruch, that the hospitality of my court is open to him, until such time as I shall have consulted my council, whereafter we will give him a formal answer to this strange scroll that he hath brought us." " 'Tis well, my lord, thy commands shall be obeyed," replied the chamberlain, preparing to depart. " Stay, Maccoial," pursued the king; "it will be well these strangers, though hospitably treated, should be kept in a sort in honourable confinement until these matters have been fully considered. See thou to it. And for thee, Jehusan, we are grateful for thy assistance so far, but remember thou that the secrets of kings are a heavy burden to be borne, and be thou secret as the grave in this matter, for, if thou do chatter abroad of those things which thou hast learned in our privy chamber, thou art like enough to taste of the quality of our dun- geons and our prison fare. Go in peace, and be discreet." "My lord king," replied the Jew, "the first lesson that is learnt by a merchant and an exile is to hold his peace. I am silent as the tomb." "'Tis well," rejoined Eochaid, "I will trust thee; farewell, and forget not thy promise." OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 11$ With these words the chamberlain and the Jew quitted the royal apartment, leaving the young king to his reflections. Left alone, Eochaid rose from his seat and began slowly to walk backward and forward in the chamber, his handsome and intelligent head slightly bowed; the left arm thrown across his breast, the right elbow rest- ing in the left hand, while the fingers of the right toyed with and caressed the tawny beard and mous- tache, his whole attitude betokening deep thought. The monarch's private apartment, measured by modern standards, would have struck the observer of to-day as cheerless and comfortless to a degree. Let the reader imagine a rectangular chamber some twenty- five by twenty feet in dimensions, the walls built of toughened clay and wickerwork, unplastered; a barn- like roof constructed of oak rafters, tied transversely at the point where they sprang from the walls with ungainly cross-beams, covered with thatch, having an opening in the centre, protected by a small thatched turret rising some eighteen inches above the main roof, on lighter oaken stunchions morticed in the rafters. This opening, designed to permit the smoke of the winter fire to escape from the apartment, served in the warmer days of August for ventilation only. At the upper end of the chamber a low dais ran across the room some five or six feet in depth, on which was spread a coarse and not over-clean rug, or mat, whereon stood an X-shaped settle, rudely upholstered in crimson cloth, under a canopy of the same material suspended from the gable-shaped wall. In the centre of the room, to the left on entering by the door of rough oak planking, was a heavily mullioned window, in rough stonework, the stone sill of which was about Il6 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; six feet from the floor, provided with small sashes, rilled with little squares of semi-transparent horn set in a framework of lead. A clumsy oaken table and half-a- dozen more X-shaped oaken settles, rather smaller than that upon the dais, and destitute of upholstery, com- pleted the available furniture, if we except an oaken sleeping-bunk, or rude bedstead, fixed against the wall opposite the window, over which hung a canopy of crimson cloth similar to that over the dais-seat. Adding to the poverty and meanness of the provision for the royal comfort the fact that everything in the apartment was more or less disfigured and blackened by the smoke of the winter fire, a fair idea may be formed of the degree of state and luxury that satisfied a Pentarch of Ireland in the sixth century B.C. One element of brightness alone relieved the prevailing appearance of cheerlessness, almost amounting to squalor, which characterised this ancient dwelling-place of a king, and that was supplied by some half-dozen suits of the armour of the age, which hung on various parts of the walls. These suits, each consisting of head -piece, back and breast plates and greaves for the limbs, were evi- dently of Eastern or Grecian manufacture, and were maintained by the king's attendants in a constant condition of cleanliness and brilliancy, flanked by a number of equally well-preserved arms, swords and spears, short and long, bows, arrows, and implements of the chase. The clay floor was spread with fresh rushes, and on these the thoughtful figure of the king passed to and fro. Eochaid was now in his twenty-seventh year, in the pride of early manhood; he appeared to have attained the most exalted position that for him was possible of achievement; he was undisputed sovereign, thanks to OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 117 his own energy, courage, and enterprise, of all Ireland. It is true that from our modern standpoint he was little better than a chieftain of a semi-barbarous, if not a savage, people ; but it must be borne in mind that in those days, at any rate, the means of comparison were few and, though Eochaid had dimly heard of the civili- sation, wealth, and splendour of the great Eastern nations, it was practically impossible for him to realise how essentially different were the conditions of life in those countries from those which obtained among, and satisfied, the people of his own land. That he should have felt and believed himself to be a great potentate was, under the circumstances, sufficiently natural, and if he felt the heart swelling of one in high authority and pride of place, it need cause no surprise to us, however easy it may be for us to estimate the relative unimport- ance of his monarchy. Although uneducated, he pos- sessed far more than average intelligence, althougn an absolutist, by instinct and by birth, he was no vulgar sensualist ; he had a strong, even stern, sense of duty, and every other ambition being already gratified, he aspired now so to improve the condition of his native country as to enhance in that laudable and reasonable manner his own personal importance and the glory of his crown and throne. It may readily be believed that natural instinct may have suggested to him that, in the person of this evidently prominent Hebrew, the gods may possibly have sent to his shores an adviser and counsellor whose assistance might tend to assist him in the much-desired development of his people ; for without being credulous, he was no doubt deeply imbued with the superstition of his day and generation. Some such underlying senti- ment as this may have caused the incident of the morn- Il8 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; ing to make a deeper impression on his mind than in itself it may have seemed to deserve ; certain it is that his thoughts were for the moment entirely engrossed by the petition that had that day reached him ; though he himself probably hardly realised why this event should have taken so strong a hold upon his imagination. "Tis passing strange," he muttered to himself as he paced his chamber, "but I cannot but feel that there is a deeper destiny in this strange event than my unaided wits can fathom. A prophet of that ancient Hebrew people, Jehusan tells me, whose traditions are somehow closely intermingled with those of my own race. If in very deed he be a prophet of the God of Israel his presence here must be by inspiration of that Jehovah whose guiding hand that strange people believe to be ever present in the affairs of the world. The more I reflect the more convinced I am becoming that there is more in this missive that I hold in my hand than mere human eyes can see or even human hearts discern. I will instantly cause my council to be summoned and lay this matter before them." Speaking to himself thus he strode to the door of his apartment, and opening it, called in a loud voice, "What ho ! without there ! " Instantly an attendant presented himself upon the threshold to learn his royal master's pleasure. " Go, find me Maccoial, my chamberlain, and bid him hasten hither ! " As the attendant departed on his mission, the king resumed his thoughtful perambulations. " Perchance," he murmured, "there may lie more still in this strange incident. Royal princesses with him too, daughters of Zedekiah, of the royal line of David. What means their presence in this land, so distant from OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. IIQ the sunny plains of their father's late dominion. Surely, surely, there must be some deep and subtle hidden pur- pose in their presence here ; but whether of the gods or of men I know not. But I must know, and I will, if it be possible." At this moment the chamberlain entered the apart- ment and respectfully solicited the king's commands. "Maccoial," said the monarch impetuously, "I am determined to consult with my council this very day in this strange matter," gently striking with the fingers of his right hand the letter of Jeremiah, which he still held in his left ; "take thou my signet and go summon the Arch-Druid and the rest to meet^me here in an hour's time, and come thou thyself, Maccoial, for thou art slow and prudent in council and wilt curb the fiery impetu- osity of Erse, who is hasty, and like to be jealous of the semi-religious authority of this Hebrew who seeks our amity. Go quickly, good chamberlain, and see that they assemble here an hour from hence, and summon Jehusan to attend in the outer hall in case we need his assistance." Turning away, Eochaid resumed his walk and his thoughtful demeanour. It was evident that this inci- dent had made a very strong impression on the imagi- nation of the young monarch. Before the hour had fully elapsed the councillors of Eochaid began to assemble at the palace, the first to arrive being Erse, the Arch-Druid, in his official white linen garb, girt with his golden cincture of office. As we have already made his acquaintance at the time of the Pentarch's inauguration ceremony, we need not here further specify his personality. His flowing white beard lent a venerable appearance to the hale and hearty patriarch ; erect of stature and something above the 120 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; middle height, with a countenance somewhat florid ; characterised rather by an expression of strength and power than of pure benevolence. He was soon after joined by an old and grizzled warrior, of powerful frame and stern aspect, whose well-knit and muscular figure was as yet unimpaired by advancing years. This war-worn soldier was a nobleman by name Macnamara, whose estate was situated on the northern shores of what is now known as the Belfast Lough ; he had been a trusted adviser of the late king, and now held the posi- tion of general-in-chief, next after the king himself, of the forces of Ulster in time of war. After him there arrived together an aged and learned man, clad in a sable robe trimmed with fur, Fingal by name, who filled the office of chancellor of the kingdom, performing the dual service of finance minister and judicial adviser to the king ; and a swarthy man with curly black hair and great muscular development, Skiol by name, who was, in fact, armourer-in-chief to the king. A personage of an open and cheerful countenance, who by no means disdained himself to work at the anvil, whose skill was quite as necessary to the maintenance of such a power as Eochaid's as priest or soldier, chamber- lain or judge. These were followed a few minutes after by Maccoial, the chamberlain, bringing with him Jehusan, the merchant, in accordance with the king's instructions. The councillors had been assembled but a very little while before an attendant from the royal chamber came to summon them to the presence of the king, and, Erse leading the way, they filed off according to their official rank to lend their services to their royal master, leaving Jehusan alone in the outer hall to abide the summons of the king if wanted. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 121 In anticipation of the assembling of his council, the young king had taken his seat upon the dais provided with special regard to such occasions, and as the councillors entered the apartment each made a grave and formal reverence to their sovereign, which being duly acknowledged by him, they proceeded to take seats at the table previously mentioned. All being seated and the door closed and guarded by two stalwart men-at-arms in the outer porch, the king opened the proceedings thus : " My lords, we have caused you to be summoned in order that we may have your best counsel in respect of a petition which we hold in our hand, brought hither this day by a messenger who appeareth to be a Hebrew from our town of Dan Dalghea. The missive is in the Hebrew tongue. Arch- Druid, canst thou render this scroll into our native Danaan ? " "Yea, good, my lord," replied Erse, " methinks I should be able, having studied in my youth in the Egyptian city of Noph, where the Hebrew tongue is well understanded of the learned priests of Isis." "Take then and read aloud this strange petition," rejoined the king. Erse took the parchment from the king's hand and proceeded to expound its contents to the council. As his version agreed substantially with that already pre- sented to Eochaid by Jehusan, the Jew, earlier in the evening, the former signified his content to the Arch- Druid by a wave of the hand, saying : " And now, my lords, what think ye of this matter ? " And as no one seemed disposed to be the first to express an opinion, the king, addressing Erse, con- tinued : "Come now, my venerable friend, thou art not wont I 122 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; to be backward in council ; thinkest thou we should grant this petition or no ? " Thus directly appealed to the Arch-Druid rose and thus addressed the council. " My lord the king, and you my lords of the council," he began, "to me it seemeth that this matter needs careful weighing. If it were only some merchant adventurer whether Hebrew, Egyptian or Greek who were seeking permission to settle and trade among us, it would be a simple matter enough, more especially if he only claimed to be a mere trader, dealing with ordinary wares ; but, my lord, here is a man who, as it seemeth to me, doth claim some sort of spiritual authority for himself, and hospitality for certain maidens whom he declareth to be of the royal lineage of David. In the first place I would remind my lord the king that our holy religion suffereth no rival, and that the great god Baal, whom we reverence and worship, will surely visit upon king and people any blasphemous attempts to pervert them from his service ; and though I go not so far as to say that this Hebrew, Jeremiah, nourishes any such intentions, I like not the manner of his assumption that he is a ' servant of the Most High God ; ' since no god can be higher than the great god Baal ; but passing by any considerations, for the moment, which may be thought more nearly to concern myself, I would remind my lord the king and this noble council that, upon his own showing, this man harboureth, and doth here seek protection for two alleged princesses who, if they be as he represents, the daughters of Zedekiah, are fugitives from the justice of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, whom even his friend and ally, the king of Tyre, dare not harbour. Of a truth it seemeth to me that to receive them into thy royal favour, oh ! king, is to OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 123 incur the enmity of this powerful monarch, whose chariots and horsemen are said to be as the sand upon the seashore for number, and I know not why your majesty should incur this danger. I have spoken." "And thou hast well spoken, my venerable friend. What thinkest thou, Fingal ; thou art wont to be a cautious guide ; what thinkest thou of the two objections which Erse hath made apparent ? " " My lord," said the Chancellor, " if these maidens are indeed fugitives from the justice of a powerful monarch, it behoves thee to pause ere thou extend to them such hospitality as might arouse the anger and jealousy of that monarch. Yet am I bound to say that so far we have nothing to guide us, and it may possibly be that these maidens are rather fugitives from injustice than from justice. As to the objection of danger to the national religion it is not for me to differ from the Arch-Druid and high priest of Baal." "And thou, Macnamara," continued the king, "what thinkest thou of the military danger, for I ask not thy opinion on the religion question, which but little con- cerns a brave soldier like thee ? " " Of a truth, my lord, I know of no countries outside of that which lies within the seas that circle my native land, but I would fain ask whether the territories of this king so rich in chariots and horsemen lie upon a sea- board or not ? " As a matter of fact no one present had ever heard of Nebuchadnezzar and of Babylon until that moment, except the king and his chamberlain who had talked already with Jehusan. Eochaid therefore proposed that the Jew should ba called in and questioned on this point; which being agreed to, orders were at once given to that effect. Introduced and questioned as to the 124 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; locality of the Babylonian kingdom, Jehusan confessed that he had never himself been in Babylon, but that the territories of Nebuchadnezzar were entirely inland, being bounded on the east by Persia and Media, on the north by Assyria, and on the west towards the sea by the kingdom of Tyre and by the country of the Israelites, and that the Babylonian people, powerful warriors on land, had no maritime experience. "Well, then," said the sturdy warrior, " if that be so, I do not think your majesty need trouble about the chariots and horsemen of this great king, with the name that my poor tongue is unable to speak." For a long time the matter was debated without any definite result being attained and, at last, the Arch-Druid suggested that the case was eminently one to be decided by the oracle and proposed that a human sacrifice should be organised, and a solution sought in the viscera of the victim. "Nay ! " said Eochaid, with a gesture of horror and disgust, "never shall any human life be sacrificed in cold blood for my guidance or advantage. Consult thine oracles and divinations, Arch- Druid, if thou wilt, but let no victim be slain." Erse was disposed to resent this contumacy on the part of his sovereign, and was about to offer a hot rejoinder when he raised his hand, saying : "Enough; we will adjourn this matter until to-morrow forenoon, and in the meantime I will myself speak with this Hebrew messenger. Farewell, and re-assemble here to-morrow two hours before noon." The council therefore broke up and the members, each respectfully saluting the sovereign, departed one by one as they had entered, except Maccoial, the chamber- lain, and the Jewish merchant, whom the king had OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 125 instructed to remain. When the others had retired, Eochaid gave orders to his chamberlain to summon Baruch to his presence, intimating at the same time to the Jew that he might require his services as interpreter. After a short interval, during which the king sat buried in reflection, while the Jew stood at hand in an attitude of respectful and silent attention, the chamber- lain re-appeared, with the announcement that Baruch waited without at the disposal of his majesty. " Let him, then, be admitted," replied the king, and, the door being thrown open, Baruch advanced into the room with an air and gait at once respectful and dignified and, bowing low, halted just within the room, awaiting the order of the king to advance. Baruch was richly attired in a robe of white Tyrian silk, richly embroidered in crimson and blue, loosely girdled at the waist with a thick silken cord of alternate strands of white, crimson and blue, the long ends of which, tassled in similar colours, depended some two feet rather to the left side of the body. The white robe, whereof the embroidered hem descended some inches below the knee, exhibited the black gabardine beneath, which in its turn, reaching to the ankle, disclosed the carefully-sandalled feet. The well-trimmed and curled black hair and beard of the Jew, contrasting with the slightly olive-tinted complexion of a face lighted by piercing black eyes, made up a figure of as handsome a man as the eye could desire to rest upon. The stateli- ness and calm repose of this man's demeanour, far beyond anything to which Eochaid was accustomed even in the noblest of his subjects, evidently rivettedthe king's attention. He half rose from his seat, and then, evidently recollecting himself, resumed his place, saying with a gracious inclination of his head: " Approach, 126 EOCHAID THE HERE-MHON ; noble stranger, and let us hear more at length the object of your visit to our court." Baruch evidently understood the monarch's invitation, for he instantly stepped forward to the edge of the dais and, sinking gracefully on one knee, bowed reverentially, saying: " Let the king live for ever ! " in very passable imitation of the Danaan tongue. "We thank thee," rejoined Eochaid, stretching forth his right hand to raise the Jew from his knees. Baruch respectfully touched the king's hand with his lips, and straightway stood erect before him. "It appears, noble Jew," continued the monarch, "that thou speakest somewhat the language of our people, and yet thou canst hardly of sojourned long among them." "Only one short moon, my lord; but I find so strong a resemblance between the language of this people and mine own native Hebrew, that it is easy for one of my race to acquire the tongue of the Tuatha de Danaan." " Is that so, indeed," rejoined the king; " what sayest thou, Jehusan, who art thyself a Jew ? " " Of a verity, my lord king," said the merchant, " I have never before given the matter a thought. I am not a learned man, as my noble fellow-countryman, who doubtless is, and, coming to this country direct from my native Jerusalem, it struck me not as strange, never having been in any other countries, that the language of this people seemed to me almost like Hebrew, slightly varied; but true it is, now that the matter has been mentioned, that there is a great similarity between the language of thy people and that of my native land." " This is passing strange," ejaculated the king. "How wouldst thou, Baruch, account for this strange simi- larity of language ? " OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 127 "My lord," answered Baruch, ''there is a tradition among our people that when, about 150 years ago, Shal- maneser, king of Assyria, conquered the kingdom of Israel (or Samaria), carrying away our people captive beyond the river Gozan and to the cities of Media, the Israelitish tribe of Dan, inhabiting the sea- coast of our native country, and being from immemorial time a seafaring race, escaped from conquest and captivity in their ships and settled in these remote islands of the west." " Sayest thou," said the king, "what thinkest thou, Jehusan, of this strange tale ? " " As I have already told my lord, the king, I am an unlearned man, and I never heard in my own land of this tradition; but strange it is that we should find in this island, so far from our home, a people known unto themselves as the ' Tuatha de Danaan,' which is neither more nor less than the ' tribe of Dan.' " The king appeared much struck by this strange coin- cidence, and he remained a few moments buried in thought; then, raising his head, he resumed: " We, too, have a tradition, noble stranger, that at about the time thou sayest our fathers came hither from across the sea in ships, and landing at Dan Dalghea, and in other inlets of the sea, conquered the native Firbolys and possessed the land as far as the northern sea, and the great river, and the mountains to the westward. This territory we still possess, and, though doubtless somewhat mingled since in blood with the former inhabitants, the Tuatha de Danaan our fathers were and the Tuatha de Danaan we still remain." " All this is strong confirmation, O king, of the traditions of my people; and if it be true, as I verily believe it is, that this nation is of the tribe of Dan, then art thou, O noble Eochaid, a prince of Israel, and 128 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; thy people of the family of our father Jacob. May the name of the Lord be praised in thee, O king." " Almost thou persuadest me, friend Baruch, that this must be true, and, if true, of great and weighty import. But tell me who is this Jeremiah who sendeth thee to me, and why cometh he hither with these fugitive princesses ? " " The noble Jeremiah, my lord king, is a prophet of the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, appointed from his birth to be a servant of the Most High God. Many and wonderful things hath he fore- told since he was but a stripling, so high. Some of these prophecies have already been only too well ful- filled, and others will, I am well assured, receive their fulfilment in God's good time." "These be great things that thou claimest for thy lord and spiritual superior, good Baruch ; but kings must not be over-credulous, my friend. Canst thou tell me some one thing, that thy master hath foretold, that hath come to pass even as he foretold it ? " "Yea, good, my lord," replied Baruch, without hesi- tation. " From the age of thirteen years, upwards, Jeremiah hath continually foretold the conquest of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and the carrying away captive of my fellow-countrymen to that city. Five years ago these prophecies, which the kings of Judah and their advisers stubbornly refused to believe, were fulfilled to the letter. Zedekiah, the king, and all his princess, and nobles, and chiefmen, are at this hour captive in Babylon, in the hands of Nebu- chadnezzar the king thereof, and, excepting these two maidens, daughters of king Zedekiah, who are with Jeremiah at this day at Dan Dalghea, the line of David has been cut off, and the pride of Judah has been humbled to the dust." OK, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. I2Q As Baruch ceased speaking in a voice almost stifled by emotion, Eochaid, evidently deeply touched, rose from his seat and began slowly to pace up and down, as his custom was when agitated. " What sayest thou, Jehusan ? " inquired the king. " Knowest thou aught of these things ? " "As I told thee, my lord king, but a few hours since, I know Jeremiah well, and I know him to be a true prophet of God, and, as I told thee before, it was fear of the judgments that he foretold that induced me, some nine or ten years since, to leave my people and my native land, when accident, more than design, led me hither." " Of a truth," said the king, "these things fascinate and disturb me more than I could have believed pos- sible. But tell me, Baruch, why cometh this great prophet with his princesses here ? " "That can Jeremiah alone tell thee, oh king. For me, I can only say that my spiritual master is not only commissioned by the Almighty to root out, to pull down, to destroy, and to throw down, the king and kingdom of Judah in Jerusalem, which, to his sorrow and grief hath been done ; but also to plant and to build. The princesses of Judah, committed to his care, seem to him to be the tender twigs of the topmost branches of the tall cedar of Judah, which he is commissioned to plant on a high mountain and eminent, whereby the house of David may again be builded up. Whether here or elsewhere is known only to God, who searcheth out the hearts of men, but, wheresoever the cedar be replanted, there goeth with the seed of David the pillar of witness from the Temple in Jerusalem, which, wherever it shall rest, shall secure the sceptre to the line of Judah for ever." 130 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; " What wonders tellest thou me," said the king ; " I must needs have time to think of all these matters. Go now, I pray thee, good Baruch, and thou too, Jehusan, and take rest. To-morrow, two hours before noon, the council meets me here and then will we discourse further of this business." On the following day the council re-assembled, as arranged, and, after some further discussion, orders were sent for the formal and official reception of Jeremiah's envoy. Accompanied by his two Tyrian guards, who bore the presents of the prophet to the king, Baruch was ushered by the chamberlain into the council chambers. Approaching the dais the Hebrew made his salutations, and signing to his attendants he unfolded to view the gifts he had brought with him, which, in the name of his superior, he begged Eochaid graciously to accept. A beautifully embossed wine-ewer and two goblets, in solid gold, were first displayed upon the dais ; these were accompanied by some magnificent Damascus blades of various sizes and uses, in richly ornamented scabbards ; finally some ten or twelve pieces of the finest Tyrian silk, in various gorgeous hues, completed the rich gift sent by Jeremiah, as was the custom of the age, to the sovereign whose goodwill he sought to obtain. Baruch then begged that Eochaid would be graciously pleased to entrust him with a favourable answer to the petition he had presented. "It is well, noble Baruch," said the king; "return unto him that sent thee and convey to him my thanks for the rich gifts he hath presented, and tell him that not these gifts, but thy report of his nobility and honour, have determined us to grant his request, and to accord to him and his wards, the daughters of Zedekiah, king of OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 131 Judah, to thee, and to his household generally, full liberty and license to dwell in our territories. Tell him, moreover, that, so soon as accommodation for himself and his retinue can be provided in our court of Cathair Crofuin, it is our purpose to invite him to come and to take up his sojourn among us in this place. In the meantime we have ordered that he shall be provided with all necessary provision for his household at Dan Dalghea from our royal domains, and that a guard of honour of twenty men-at-arms shall be placed at his disposal, for the protection of the royal princesses, his wards. We thank thee for the deeply interesting in- formation thou hast given us, and we say farewell, in the hope of shortly seeing thee again at our court." Having made a suitable reply, Baruch and his attendants withdrew from the audience-chamber, and proceeded to make arrangements for their immediate return to Dan Dalghea. So soon as Baruch had withdrawn from the counsel- chamber Eochaid addressed his councillors in these terms : " My lords, we thank you for your attendance and advice. If we have not been able to accept the individual opinions of each one among you, we have acted, we believe, upon the general sense of the council as a whole in this matter. Be that as it may, what we have done, we have done, and so far an end. As for these toys, we will retain the golden ewer and goblets for our royal table, and this Damascus blade for our private use; for the rest, my lords, divide ye them among you as fancy may dictate." So saying, Eochaid left the chamber, and, calling for his horse set off to fly a new cast of falcons that he had purchased a few days before. 132 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; Erse, the Arch-Druid, looked contemptuously on the rich silks and Damascus blades, and, spurning them with his foot, expressed his determination not to touch any part of the price of the national disgrace incurred, as he said, by the royal decision. The other lords, remarking, with some smiles and side looks, that the Arch-Druid was not wont to be so nice, proceeded to a division of the spoils, each bearing away his share to his own dwelling. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 133 CHAPTER IX. THE SHADOW OF THE COMING EVENT. " He hcweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest : he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it. He hurneth part thereof in the fire ; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied ; yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire ; and the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image : he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me ; for thou art my god." Isa. xliv. 14, 16, 17. OLD Erse, the Arch-Druid, of Cathair Crofuin, left the king's council in dire displeasure and high dudgeon. He had employed all his influence, and all his persuasive eloquence, to prevent the acceptance by the king and council of the petition of this stranger, who announced himself as the servant of the living God, and he had failed. Let us do him the justice to admit that the result of the council was a bitter disappointment to him. The astute and wily priest of Baal knew perfectly well that his hold upon the Pentarch, and upon his people, was based upon ignorance, and the gravest superstition, and he feared that the stranger, whose suit had, that day, been from his point of view, too favourably received, was a man of learning, and wielded influence such as, in the earlier stages of civilisation ; superior knowledge always has commanded, and always will command, an influence which must always prove in exact proportion to the depth of the ignorance on which it is exerted. As arch-priest of Baal, he had, hitherto, held his- sovereign, as well as his fellow-citizens, in the hollow of 134 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; his hand, so to speak. It is not necessary to examine too closely whether old Erse did, or did not, implicitly believe, himself, in the truth and efficacy of the faith that he taught ; he was, at least, as much man of the world as he was priest, and, true or untrue, he knew this, at any rate, that the superstition of his flock was a power to conjure with, and regarded with proportionate suspicion and dislike any possible teaching that might weaken his influence and diminish his personal import- ance as a power in the state. True it was that, since the accession of Eochaid, Erse had on more than one occasion found the young king somewhat recalcitrant, and his indignant refusal at the council to submit the questions under consideration to the usual form of Druidical divination had been felt by the Arch-Druid as another distinct rebuff. The old priest was not so much an unlearned as a narrow and prejudiced man. What he had said of his early studies in Egypt was true enough ; he was perfectly well acquainted with the Hebrew cult, and entirely, even keenly, alive to the strong hold which the grand simplicity of the Israelitish faith was likely to take on most minds ; a hold which could only be counteracted by the blinding influence of gorgeous ceremonial. It may be argued that the Druidical ceremonies, whether gorgeous or not, were simply ghastly, when they were not simply beastly ; and this is true enough ; but in human affairs it must be borne in mind that everything is relative, and that ceremonies that would strike the cultured mind of to-day as either ghastly or beastly, might well prove exciting, if not actually attractive, to the untutored minds of a semi-barbarous people 2500 years ago. Be this as it may, Erse left the council profoundly OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 135 convinced that the time had come for making a determined stand, and firmly resolved to lose no time in organizing a resistance which might prove effectual, should any attempt be made by the newly-arrived prophet from Judea to shake the influence, or endanger the privileges, of the sacred order to which he belonged, and of which he was in his own person the embodiment and the chief. The precise form of Druidical worship is lost in the mists of antiquity, but one thing seems tolerably certain that it was intellectually far in advance of anything that the aboriginal inhabitants of our islands could have, or, at any rate, would have been likely to have, devised for themselves. It was probably introduced by the Phoenicians or Canaanites, who were the first seafaring people to visit these, at that time, remote islands, in search of copper, tin, and lead. The Canaanites were, we know, Baal worshippers and idolaters, and no reasonable doubt can be entertained that Druidism was among the lowest and most degraded of the idolatrous systems that sprang from the Baal-worship of the Eastern world. Leaving the Arch- Druid to devise with his fellow priests and their satellites such schemes of resistance to the approaching danger to their craft which they saw, or thought they saw, in the favourable reception by the king of the petition of Jeremiah, as in their opinion were likely to serve their purpose, let us return for a moment to the temporary dwelling place of the latter at Dan Dalghea. The two cabins placed at Jeremiah's disposal by the old chieftain who had so hospitably received him on arrival, had been converted by the skill and taste of these Orientals into a very passable temporary residence, 136 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; the larger being devoted to the accommodation of the females of the family, the other to that of the males. As the autumn advanced our travellers from Eastern climes had been rather unfavourably impressed by the chill and humid climate of the land of their adoption, so different to that of Palestine and Egypt, where they had hitherto resided ; and they were fain to add somewhat to the raiment to which they had been all their lives accustomed. What had, however, chiefly arrested the attention of the strangers in their new home, and especially of the women, was the freedom of manners among the people, and the absence of restraint in the social and domestic relations of the sexes. Accustomed from their youth upward to the strict seclusion to which their sex had been subjected in the East, the women were at first somewhat shocked, and ended by being rather fascinated, by the freedom with which the men and women of Ireland intermingled in the business and homely pleasures of life. Doubtless the females were accustomed to be relegated to an inferior position in domestic, as in national life, to the males : the most menial drudgery, often, indeed, the heaviest field work, was left entirely by the men to their care, but they went about their daily occupations unveiled, though otherwise decently attired ; and in their hours of leisure men and women walked and talked, laughed, and even danced to the rude music of pipes and drums, together without restraint. Jeremiah had, from the first day of his arrival, set himself to study the manners and customs of the people among whom his lot was now cast and had found, much to his surprise, that, in spite of the local freedom of manners, monogamy and morality prevailed among them in a degree which he, with his Eastern ideas of propriety, at first found it difficult to believe. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 137 The men wore for the most part some tunics, some short skirts, or kilts made from the skins of animals, the women being invariably clothed from throat to knee in blue or brown coarse woollen cloth. The better-to-do, both of men and women, wore in the colder weather sandals, or brogues, of leather, the poorer going bare- foot, while all discarded foot coverings in the warmer season. The chief occupation of the people was that of the herdsman ; cattle, sheep, and goats constituting the tangible form of national wealth, the social position of the individual being determined by the importance of his flocks and herds. A rude agriculture was also to some extent practised, bere being the chief product, vegetables and some inferior kinds of fruit being also rudely cultivated. The keeping of bees was thoroughly understood and largely practised among them, honey entering to a considerable extent into the national dietary, besides being widely employed for the brewing of mead, which constituted the wine of the country and the national drink. The more interesting study to him, however, was a critical examination of such religious beliefs as were entertained among them. He found them intensely superstitious in the small matters of daily life. For instance, the crossing of their path by a hare or coney, a ferret, weasel, or a mole would deter them from the prosecution of their object. Magpies were held by them in special superstitious horror ; eagles, kites, ravens, owls, and various other birds, had each its superstitious signification for them. As the son of a high priest, and himself a priest of Israel, he could not but remember that these creatures were precisely the more prominent of those declared in Leviticus to be unclean. He found them addicted to charms and amulets, to witchcraft K 138 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; and divination. He found that in prayer or other religious observances, they invariably turned to the east, and the Hebrew priest and learned scholar could hardly fail to be reminded of the sixth chapter of the second book of Chronicles and the thirty-eighth verse : " If they return to Thee with all their heart, and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which Thou gavest unto their fathers and toward the city which Thou hast chosen and toward the house which I have built for Thy name : Then hear Thou from the heavens, even from Thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and for- give Thy people which have sinned against Thee." Jeremiah was in fact so much struck by this circum- stance of the people praying toward the Eastern land and city of his birth, that he instituted an enquiry among the people around him to ascertain if possible, the origin of this custom. The only explanation he could get from them was that it was a tradition of their race, and practised by their fathers as far as the memory of the oldest went back. Specifically questioned as to whether the fact of the sun rising in the east had anything to do with this practise, they were unable to say, but they were quite clear that it would be their duty to turn to the east in prayer, whatever might be the position of the sun in the heavens. An examination of their dwellings showed that their rude household idols were invariably placed on the eastern side of their tents and hovels. He elicited further that their creed taught them that Baal, their god, was the one and only god, and that the other minor idols which they worshipped represented the spirits of evil, or devils ; worshipped with a view to conciliation and to abstention from working them evil OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 139 and not in the expectation of securing help or blessings from them. All these things strengthened and confirmed the opinion, based upon tradition, which Jeremiah had long before entertained that these people were of Israelitish origin, and, combined with the strong root of Hebrew in their language, raised that opinion to the height of positive conviction. The more he pondered and reflected the more strongly was it borne in upon him that the finger of God had pointed the way and that here might it, indeed, be his mission to plant and to build. A return on the part of king and people to the old faith and the abandonment of Baal-worship was, of course, a condition precedent, and to this, therefore, Jeremiah invariably determined that his first efforts would be directed. The report of Baruch of his favourable reception at the court of Eochaid and the honours paid him by that monarch in assigning him, and his wards an almost royal guard, had naturally encouraged the prophet to look forward with sanguine expectations to the future, and he awaited, not altogether without impatience, the expected summons to Cathair Crofuin. Many and anxious were the consultations between these two earnest and determined men, and no less deep, and well- considered were their plans for the conversion of Eochaid and his people to the old faith of their ancestors. Not less anxious were the consultations of the Arch- Druid and his subordinates in the priesthood of Baal, who anticipating that this eminent Hebrew would attempt to proselytise the people, were not negligent in countermining the expected attack. Evidently the elements and materials of romantic episodes were 140 EOCHAID THE HEKEMHON ; present in the circumstances of the Ireland of that day and around these episodes the future interest of our story must centre. Naturally the daughters of Zedekiah will be called upon to play prominent parts in the developments that lie before us. Hitherto we have been dealing with cir- cumstances in which the imagination has played a sub- ordinate part ; from this point there is no Bible history to guide us, and the only light that can be thrown upon our path must be looked for in ancient Irish traditions, so obscured in the mist of ages that they can only serve as indications and more or less circumstantial evidence, not of the truth, but of the possibility of the events we are about to record. Irish traditions indicate that during the reign of Eochaid, Pentarch of Ireland, which the most reliable authorities now fix at about the beginning of the sixth century before Christ, a Hebrew prophet, or magician, made his appearance in Ireland, accompanied by two Eastern princesses and by one Brug (? Baruch), his secretary, or lieutenant. That this eminent Oriental obtained an ascendancy in Ireland at that time is evidenced by the fact that the sentiment, or idea, of this individuality has imposed itself so strongly on the Irish mind that his representation has found a place in the dome of the Four Courts at Dublin, in company with Moses, the law-giver of old, Solomon, Lycurgus, Alfred, and others. We refer our readers to the Appendix attached to this work for a more complete exemplifica- tion of the ancient Irish traditions referring to this celebrated individuality, whose identity has never been established ; but who appears in Irish history, hail- ing from Palestine, as law-giver and founder of a faith and of a college of Ollams, or prophets, at that precise OK, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 14 1 period of time when Jeremiah, whose death has never been proved, disappears from Tahpanhes, where he had taken refuge with the remnant of Judah, and the daughters of Zedekiah, after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, in or about the year 586 B.C.* But to return to our story. Three months had elapsed since the visit of Baruch to king Eochaid when a royal messenger arrived at Dan Dalghea with a summons to Jeremiah and his suite to repair forthwith to Cathair Crofuin where it was the will of the sovereign that he should in future reside, and where a set of apartments had been prepared for their accommodation in a part of the royal palace itself. The season of Yuletide bring- ing with it the great Druidical festival of the year was fast approaching and it was the king's express desire that his illustrious guests should be at Cathair on the occasion and take such part therein as the Hebrew prophet in the exercise of his discretion should deem fit. On a bright and frosty morning early in December, Jeremiah set out in obedience to the royal mandate. The journey was made on horseback, for even at that time the rather undersized, but hardy and excellent horses of Ireland, were as plentiful as they were celebrated for their endurance and excellent qualities. The van of the procession consisted of six of the royal guards mounted and armed with spears and short swords. Behind these rode Baruch in gorgeous Eastern apparel, mounted on a beautiful black horse and bearing aloft the embroidered silken banner of Judah, with the lion rampant, which, as mentioned before, had been made by the princesses themselves on their voyage from Palestine. Next followed the two princesses hand- somely attired in Hebrew fashion, their beautiful faces Appendix Note C. 142 EOCHAID THE HEREMHOX ; veiled, except the eyes, attended by the women of their household ; all similarly, though more simply, attired, and also discreetly veiled. On either side of the caval- cade, rode in single file, four armed guards. Behind the women rode Jeremiah himself on a stately bay, clothed in high-priests' vesture over which hung a brown gaberdine reaching to the ankle ; he was in his turn attended by the male servants of his household, all richly dressed and armed in Hebrew fashion ; six more armed guards riding three and three, brought up the rear, and composed altogether an almost regal cavalcade. The residents at Dan Dalghea turned out in full force to witness this departure and to express their good wishes ; for not only Jeremiah and Baruch, but the princesses also had, during their five months' stay in the town, quite endeared themselves to the rude and simple people of the place, by the friendliness of their demeanour and interest they had shown in the humble lives of their neigh- bours, as well as by the substantial gifts which Jeremiah had distributed among them with a lavish hand. The old chieftain, mounted on his roan war-horse, dressed in his tunic of deer-skin and his plumed bonnet, armed as for a military expedition, accompanied the cavalcade to the outskirts of his settlement, where he took a cordial farewell of his late guests ; bowing courteously to the saddle-bow with his hand upon his breast as the princesses rode past him, where he had wheeled his horse from the path, and skilfully executing a demivolte, had brought his charger up on his haunches to allow the cavalcade to pass before him. Once clear of the township the party put their cattle to a gentle trot and passed rapidly out of sight on their road to the royal residence. Some days before the household goods and treasures OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 143 of the princesses had been forwarded to Cathair, under guard, in thirty bullock-wains, the officer in charge being commissioned to apprize the king of the intended departure of the Jewish cavalcade on a fixed date. The arrival of this treasure at the royal camp had created a profound impression, and had much stimulated the curiosity of the people of Cathair, and even of the king himself. 144 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON CHAPTER X. THE KING'S DAUGHTERS' RECEPTION. " Who can find a virtuous woman ? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her. She maketh herself coverings of tapestry ; Her clothing is silk and purple. She openeth her mouth with wisdom ; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed ; her husband also, and he praiseth her." Prov. xxxi. SHORTLY before noon of the second day after leaving Dan Dalghea, the cavalcade of Jeremiah and his party came in sight of the low hills of Cathair Crofuin, follow- ing the same order as on the preceding day. So soon as the watchman at the gate became aware of the small party of horsemen in the distance, whose presence was indicated by the glint of the winter sun on the arms of the horsemen long before the individual figures of the approaching group became discernible, he sounded a call to arms, as he had been instructed to do, and straightway the armed men of the garrison began to pour out of the various buildings within the enclosure, and assembling before the king's residence, were rapidly arranged by their chieftains and officers in the positions assigned to them, and about 1,200 men, some mounted, but mostly on foot, made a not unim- posing array on either side of the rude causeway leading from the barrier at the entrance to the inner enclosure, within which stood the king's palace. Eochaid himself, who at the moment had been en- gaged in his apartment with the royal chamberlain, apprised by the trumpet-call of the approach of the OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 145 expected guests, dismissed Maccoial to see that every- thing was prepared for their reception, and hastily donning, with the assistance of his armour-bearer, a highly-burnished suit of Grecian armour of fluted brass, ordered his war-horse to be caparisoned and his body- guard of the eldest sons of his chieftains to prepare themselves to accompany him, as he rode forth to meet the approaching strangers, who, as Eochaid, preceded by his standard-bearer, and surrounded by his guard, issued from the gateway of the fortress, had arrived within about half-a-mile of the outer walls. So soon as the party of Jeremiah became aware that the king was on his way to meet them, a halt was called, the van- guard left the front and hastened to join their com- panions in the rear; Baruch, with his standard, took up a position behind the females of the cavalcade while Jeremiah, assuming his true position as chieftain and leader, rode to the front, and bringing his horse to a stand a few yards ahead of the princesses, his wards, sat a still and dignified figure awaiting the king's arrival. Eochaid, in his turn, ordering his standard-bearer to the rear rode slowly forward in advance of his squadron of guards, a picture of youthful, though manly grace and dignity; mounted on a magnificent and well- managed grey charger, set off by the heavy Grecian saddle and horse furniture, and the scarlet saddle-cloth embroidered with gold; his armour of burnished brass gleaming in the sun and the fluted Grecian helmet sur- mounting his fresh and handsome countenance with its plume of white horse-hair hanging gracefully down his back, just agitated by the wind of his movement as he rode slowly up. Arrived within about twenty paces of the prophet, Eochaid checked his horse and halted, while Jeremiah, 146 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; dismounting and advancing a few paces, prostrated himself in Eastern fashion before the king, who, leap- ing lightly from the saddle, strode quickly forward, and, seizing the prophet by his two hands, gently raised him from the ground and kissed him reverently on either cheek. Then hand in hand the two men advanced, and Eochaid was duly presented by Jeremiah to Tamar and Sara, the daughters of Zede- kiah, the late king of Jerusalem. The king's gracious obeisance having been gracefully acknowledged by the royal maidens, the two leaders remounted their respec- tive chargers, and the procession re-formed to continue its way to the fortress, led by Eochaid's standard- bearer, carrying aloft the green banner emblazoned with a rude representation of a serpent, followed by the king's bodyguard, behind whom rode Jeremiah and Eochaid, followed by the princesses and the remainder of the party. In this order the cavalcade passed through the entrance of Cathair Crofuin and paced slowly up the causeway amid the acclamations of the troops on either side. Arrived at the entrance of the apartments set apart for their use, the party dismounted, and the king, after bidding all heartily welcome to his dominions, graciously took his leave for the present and handed them over to his chamberlain, who forthwith proceeded to usher them into the building and to place his services at their disposal. Having duly installed them, he took his leave, with the intimation that the king had commissioned him to in- vite all the party to share the royal meal at noon in the great hall of the palace. Jeremiah having begged him to make the excuses of the princesses and their maidens to his master, as it was not the custom of the women of their people to eat and drink in a mixed assemblage, but OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 147 expressing his thankful acceptance of the invitation for himself and the men of his retinue. Half-an-hour later an ample provision of food was sent in from the royal table for the use of the princesses and their attendants, while Jeremiah and Baruch repaired to the royal pre- sence in the hall and were accommodated with places of honour at the royal dai's-table, while the retinue were accommodated among the general retainers of the court. Considerable surprise and some little prejudice was aroused among the natives by the courteous refusal of the Hebrew guests to partake of anything but a little fish and barley bread. The king having graciously but in vain pressed his guests to partake of the flesh abundantly provided at his table, was a little inclined to be aggrieved at their persistent refusal, but was somewhat appeased when Jeremiah promised to explain to his Majesty the reasons of their abstention, which he intimated were con- nected with matters of religious faith, on some more suitable occasion. Leaving the banquet to drag itself out, as in those days was customary, let us exercise our privilege of invisibility to insinuate ourselves into the apartment of the princesses and to try and gather from their conver- sation the impression that the events of the day had made upon them. The young girls, having refreshed themselves some- what after their fatiguing journey from Dan Dalghea, were reposing in the apartment at present set apart for their accommodation, and were conversing in a more or less confidential mood, as sisters well might, of the new found acquaintance, Eochaid, the king, and of the sur- roundings of his court, so far as they had yet had an opportunity of judging. I-} EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; Tamar, who was now in her nineteenth year, had developed into a very beautiful young woman, of the soft and feminine type which had always characterised her as a young girl, something above the middle height, well-built and graceful of limb and carriage; an exquisitely white skin, charming features, rich chestnut hair and blue-grey eyes, combined to form a picture of feminine beauty which might satisfy the most fastidious taste. In disposition thoughtful, considerate, tender, devoted, but not deeply impassioned; her love once won would prove a priceless dower to the man who should be fortunate enough to engage her affections and con- centrate upon himself all the depth and tenderness and earnestness of a character, slow perhaps to be moved to passion, but of a firmness and tenacity which, when once her heart should be fixed, would make it impossible for her to be moved or shaken in her faith and allegiance. Sara, an inch or so shorter than her sister, was in almost every way a contrast to her in appearance and disposition. Short and lithe in figure, though not less graceful than her sister, the younger was a brunette in complexion, with creamy, olive-tinted skin, dark eyes and hair, rich, full lips expressive of a hasty and passionate nature; quick in her movements, vivacious in manner, sensitive and easily moved, but by no means easily diverted from a purpose once conceived; subject to fits of melting tenderness, alternating with moods almost harsh and forbidding, in which she would ex- press her sentiments with a frankness almost amounting to brutality this young and essentially beautiful girl of seventeen, who seemed to the casual observer fully as old as her sister, left a general impression in the mind rather of the lithe and graceful panther than of OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 149 those tamer and, perhaps, more lovable animals who ingratiate themselves in the good graces of men and arouse sentiments of devotion and self-sacrifice rather than the passionate, though fleeting, admiration that the wilder nature can inspire. As might naturally be expected, these young girls were engaged in exchanging their impressions of this new and most important acquaintance, this twenty-seven year old Irish king of a barbarac tribe, with his blue eyes and florid complexion, his tawny moustache and yellow hair, and the splendid physique trained from childhood to martial exercises, and tanned and hardened by a life of outdoor exercise and excitement. " For my part," said Tamar, " I cannot deny that this young king has a certain dignity of bearing and un- trained courtesy of manner. But thou knowest, sweet Sara, that I still mind me well of the courtly and digni- fied majesty and repose of our dear father, and of the refinement of the noble and highly-born men who formed his court at Jerusalem ; and though I will not say that this young king hath not the making in him of a majestic monarch, I cannot as yet compare him favourably with the refined types of our old Hebrew nobility." "Thou art less than fair, dear sister," rejoined the younger girl. " I think he is perfectly lovely. What splendid strength, what powerful but graceful limbs, what proud and independent bearing, and yet how sweetly kind and condescending in his treatment of our dear friend and guardian as well as of ourselves. His clear blue eye, so frank, so free, with such a lurking spark of merriment and fun, and the fine lionlike head and the tawny beard, so strong and manly and yet so fine and silky in texture. Then his full, soft voice, that 150 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON J sounds as though it could so naturally melt to tender- ness, and the graceful courtesy so full at once of gracious consideration and of pride of place. I remember not the notables of my father's court, but I have never seen a man for whom a woman might offer up her life until to-day, and Eochaid, I feel sure, is such a man." "Hush, hush ! my sweet Sara, methinks thou art too forward. It is not seemly to speak like that of a youth whom thou hast but just seen, and that under cere- monious circumstances that make it impossible for thee, or anyone else, to judge of his real character. It is a comely youth, I grant thee, and if he be in very truth as good and loyal as he seemeth to be, a woman might be proud to call him lord ; but it is early times to speak so extravagantly of him ; even if he had shown any dispo- sition to gallantry, which I am bound to say he hath not. His conduct was irreproachable; the courteous host, without familiarity or unseemly levity." " Oh, it is well enough for thee, Tamar, with thy marble heart in a bosom of snow. I do not believe thy gentle blood could be made to course in thy delicate veins more rapidly by any human passion. But I am not of thy cold and frigid nature, and the blood of my fathers warms within me at the sight of this young king, strong-limbed and ruddy of countenance like our father David of old. I say not that I love him ; I trust I know better what becomes the dignity of a king's daughter ; but I say only he is a man whom a woman, king's daughter or not, might be proud to love. I think him perfectly beautiful, and I care not to hide my thought from thee, for are we not sisters, and to whom may I open my heart if not to my sister. " " I am well pleased, dear child, that thou shouldst be frank and open with me, but I have always thought it best OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 151 becomes a girl to keep such thoughts as thou hast ex- pressed locked in her own bosom until the favoured man asks her to tell them. And thou art not wont to be always so impressionable. There is poor Baruch, a comely man and a learned, hath worshipped the ground that thou walkest on ever since thou wert a little girl. The poor man cannot hide his preference for thee, but I never heard thee say a kind word of him." " Oh ! Baruch, indeed, Baruch ! he is a kind, good creature and very handsome, I grant thee that. But a scribe and a priest, Tamar. Thinkest thou that a daughter of David could wed with such an one ? My lord must be a soldier and a hero, a man of war from his youth. I would have my bower ring with the shout of a victorious warrior rather than with the soft and gentle drivel of a booklearned man and a poet. Nay, Baruch is good and kind, and I am grateful to him, but as a lover speak not of him I pray thee. Why ! he is old enough to be my father. " " Nay, dear child, I press not his suit, for he hath made none. True and loyal I arn sure he is, and would not raise his eyes to thee so long as any higher career seemed open to thee, but for all that he cannot hide his devotion altogether, and I am sometimes sorry for him ; but an thou affect him not I would be the last to press thee to be kinder to him than thou art." While this conversation between the sisters had been proceeding in the privacy of their own apartment, the mid-day feast in the hall had been drawing to a close, all the earlier that the abstemiousness of the principal guests had acted as a check on the customary uproar- rious jollity of the occasion ; and about four o'clock the king proposed to Jeremiah that they should break up the feast and should adjourn to wait upon the princesses in their new residence. 152 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; Jeremiah would not have chosen this moment for such a purpose since Eochaid, though less elated than he would have been if some boon companions had sat upon his right and left instead of the two illustrious Hebrews, was somewhat flushed with mead. To conciliate him, however, was the immediate necessity of the moment, and signifying his acquiescence in the proposal, he only begged that Baruch might be sent in advance to prepare the young princesses for the honour that the king pro- posed to pay them. This being assented to, he gave precise instructions in Hebrew to Baruch as to the preparations to be made, on the completion of which the latter was to return and announce the readiness of the princesses to receive the visit of the king. Baruch departed accordingly, and Jeremiah occupied the interval in engagirig Eochaid in conversation, with the object of interfering, to prevent, as far as possible, his adding by fresh libations to the condition of semi- elevation in which the young monarch found himself. It was at the point at which the conversation of the young girls was interrupted in the narrative that Baruch sent the eunuch into their presence to announce his attendance. "How strange, "ejaculated Sara ; "they say, 'Speak of the absent and they will appear,' and lo ! it seemeth true. Shall we see this dear, good man, Tamar ? " "Certainly," replied her sister, "let Baruch ap- proach," and a moment after the latter entered and delivered to the princesses the message of Jeremiah, which was to the effect that they should cause their tirewomen to array them in regal attire, and should repair with their attendants to the common hall of their apartments, and take up a position on the throne therein provided by the foresight of the prophet, with as much OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 153 show of state and ceremony as their circumstances per- mitted. While the princesses, summoning their women, proceeded to their tiring chamber to execute the wishes of the prophet, Baruch retired to complete the necessary arrangements. The hall, which was about 25 feet by 12 in width, was a simple, rough structure, the walls of which were about ten feet high, surmounted by a plain rafter roof covered with thatch and much blackened with smoke. Calling all the male servants of the household together, he in- structed them at once to unpack a number of large curtains of Tyrian silk which had been used as wall hangings at Dan Dalghea. These were hastily hung upon the walls ; others being suspended under the rafters so as to form a kind of tent-like ceiling to the apartment. Heavy Damascus carpets were dragged from one of the wains and spread upon the clay floor. The throne, a low and heavy high-backed chair of unpolished oak, in the seat of which an old and battered grey-black square stone about twenty-four inches by fourteen and eight inches thick was unbedded, was borne by four men to its place against the upper wall of the chamber ; a crimson cushion was spread upon the stone and a low crimson-covered footstool placed in front. Above this throne the embroidered silken standard of the tribe of Judah was fixed against the wall. A hand- some brass brazier with a charcoal fire was placed in the upper corner to the right of the throne, while the corner to the left was ornamented with a large porcelain vase of brilliant hue. Several portable oaken settles up- holstered in crimson were brought in and disposed about and around the throne. These preparations hastily made, the male attendants were ordered to attire themselves in their most elaborate raiment, and, each holding a steel L 154 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; halberd with polished staff of ash, to take up their position as a guard of honour, two at the door, two on each side of the throne, and the rest against either wall in the middle of the chamber. By this time the princesses were ready to take their part in the function, and entering the chamber beauti- fully dressed in silk and cloth of gold and ornamented with the jewels suited to their rank and status as royal maidens, their faces unveiled, their beautiful arms bare and loaded with bracelets. Being conducted to the throne by Baruch they took their places on the wide throne seat side by side, their maidens standing on either hand of them beside the throne. Everything being now suitably disposed, Baruch departed to inform the king that his royal guests were ready to receive his gracious visit. On receiving this announcement Eochaid rose from the table and accompanied by Jeremiah and Baruch as well as by Erse, the Arch-Druid, the chamberlain and some other nobles of the Court, and lighted by torch- bearers, for it was now growing dark, proceeded across the courtyard to the apartments of his guests. He wore his customary white tunic with a golden cinctus, a fall- ing mantle, also of white, and a torque, about his throat and shoulders ; he was bareheaded, his only other jewel an enormous cornelian signet ring on the forefinger of the right hand. Eight or ten torch-bearers first entered and ranged themselves on either side of the room, and as the king crossed the threshold one of the attendants of the princesses cast some grains of incense on the brazier, the laugerous perfume from which soon began to pervade the apartment. In spite of the dim and murky light shed by the torches on the scene, or, perhaps, partly in consequence of it, the effect produced by OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 155 Baruch's arrangements was decidedly imposing. The rich hangings fitfully illumined by the flickering light of the torches, the gorgeous carpets, the rich costumes and glittering arms and jewels produced a highly picturesque, and, in that dim light, luxurious ensemble far beyond anything to which Eochaid was accustomed in his own inner life. At first he was more than a little inclined to resent an assumption of rank and power on the part of these foreign princesses, which was calculated to humble him in the eyes of his own followers, who accom- panied him on the occasion ; the more so as in his heart he had anticipated a simpler and more intimate reception, and he could not but feel that these strangers from the East were more or less successfully keeping him at arm's length. His common sense, however, rightfully told him that there was more dignity to be lost than gained by any outward demonstration of disappointment or dissatisfaction, and, swallowing his feelings, he advanced slowly up the hall and standing before the throne, saluted the two beautiful girls seated thereon with a low in- clination, to which they, simultaneously rising from their seats, responded, while the elder pointing to a seat, said : " May it please the king to be seated in the presence of his handmaidens, who feel deeply honoured by his condescension in thus rendering them the homage of a visit so soon after their arrival in his honourable for- tress." To this the king, muttering something about the condescension being all on their side, responded by moving to a seat in front and a little to the left of the throne, whereupon Tamar, motioning the other guests to do likewise, resumed her seat, and Sara sat down again by her side. "I must congratulate," proceeded Eochaid, so soon 156 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; as all were seated, " I must congratulate you, fair ladies, on having in so incredibly short a time succeeded in preparing, within the precincts of my poor habitation, so magnificent a reception hall, in which to entertain one who had hoped that it was his pleasing duty to entertain you. I mind me not to have seen anything quite so handsome and luxurious at Cathair before." To this remark, which was not altogether without a slight flavour of bitterness, Jeremiah took upon himself to reply. "My lord king," he said, "we Orientals are accustomed to carry with us the means of these small luxuries, more especially when we enter the territories of so brave and distinguished a sovereign as Eochaid, king of Ulster, and Pentarch of Ireland ; and, with my lord the king's permission, it will be a pleasing duty to me to cause to be fitted up for him a similar reception hall, five times more beautiful than that which has been hastily arranged for his entertainment this evening." "My lord," replied Eochaid, "I thank you for your courtesy, and I confess it would not be disagreeable to me to accept your kindly offer, if haply some terms of accommodation can be arranged between us. May I enquire, fair lady," proceeded Eochaid, addressing Tamar, " whose banner and insignia is that which has been fixed above the throne which you grace with your presence ? " "That, my lord king, is the banner and insignia of our tribe, the Lion of Judah ; the cognisance of our father David and of Solomon, his son." "Indeed, and is that truly so?" proceeded the king. " We have a legend among us here that, long, long ago, two kings of that name, father and son, ruled over our people ; but the tradition is lost in the mist of time and we cannot now fix the period. But ' the wisdom of OK, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 157 Solomon ' is a tradition among us, and our bards still tell us that David was a shepherd-lad of great personal strength and prowess, who rose to be king of a mighty people." "That is so, my lord king," replied Tamar ; " David, our ancestor, was the son of Jesse, of the tribe of Judah, and kept his father's flocks in the days of Saul, the first king of Israel. It is told of him that on one occasion he slew, with unarmed hands, a lion, and on another a bear that had attacked his father's flocks. He attracted the attention of king Saul by slaying Goliath, the giant of Gath, a Philistine, with a simple sling and a stone." "Aye," replied the king, "something of that kind is told in our ancient legends, and I mind me of some great queen who, hearing of Solomon's wisdom, came with much treasure to visit him." "True, my lord," rejoined Tamar; "that was the queen of Sheba ; but our kind father and guardian, Jeremiah, the prophet of God, can give my lord, the king, every information about that." "And may I enquire, fair lady," enquired Eochaid, further, " why you prefer to sit on that rough old stone, rather than on some seat better suited to the tender limbs of fair women ? " " Ah ! my good lord, this rough old stone, as you are pleased to call it, is the talisman of our race ; this is the stone on which our father Jacob, the founder of our race, pillowed his head at the gates of Luz, where he found himself belated, when the God of our fathers promised to his descendants an unbroken perpetuity and an unfailing sceptre. It is the ' pillar of witness of our race, and where this stone is, there will the throne of our father David be found for ever.' " "What sayest thou, fair maiden?" said the king, 158 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; springing to his feet, "a talisman securing perpetual sovereignty ? this must be looked to. These be strange things that are heard to-day in our land. Friend guest," he proceeded, turning to Jeremiah, "at daybreak to- morrow we will speak to thee of these matters ; come thou, I pray thee, to our private apartment; it concerns me to know more of these things." Then turning to the princesses, he gallantly kissed their hands ; the elder first, the younger after, and, thanking them for their kind and courteous reception, turned and left the chamber, followed by his attendant lords. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 159 CHAPTER XL JACOB'S STONE. " If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in Mine eyes, saith the Lord ? " Zech. viii. 6. EOCHAID quitted the presence of the princesses of Judah to return to his own apartment a prey to strong and somewhat varied emotions. Young and full of health and the pride of life, he was naturally as susceptible to the soft influence of beautiful women as men of his age always were, and always will be, while the world endures. Ireland has at no period of her history suffered from any lack of beautiful women; and feminine charms were as rife and rich in the Ireland of his day as at the present time ; but the polish and refinement with which civilization gilds the beauty of woman, and enhances by its subtle influences her natural charms and graces, were almost entirely wanting in the rude and rough society of Ireland, six hundred years before the Christian era. With women beautiful of form and feature Eochaid was sufficiently familiar; but never until that day had he met any female endowed with the grace, refinement of voice and manner, and the calm and dignified ease in the presence of a stranger so illustrious as himself, as characterised these two high-born Eastern beauties, bred in the atmosphere of a lordly court ; their pride of race and dignity of bearing chastened, but not subdued, by the misfortunes of which they had been the victims. The charms of the hastily improvised surroundings, the l6o EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; atmosphere of rich and delicate homage, in which he had met them ; poor as these were in themselves, yet so far beyond anything to which he, though a king, had ever been accustomed, or had even dreamed of as either necessary or desirable, threw an additional halo around these beautiful and graceful girls, to which his sensuous and semi-savage nature was calculated to fall an easy victim ; enhancing the moral and physical intoxication which exceptional feminine charms are calculated to exercise on all youthful and sensuous men. These feel- ings were in his case not unmixed with envy, approaching jealousy in its intensity. Here, in his person, was the autocratic Pentarch of all Ireland, extending his hospi- tality to a little band of fugitives from Palestine, wanderers and outcasts in his island home ; supposing and expecting from them a grateful and humble homage; received by his guests with courtesy, it is true, but on a basis of equality, and dignified reserve, which galled, while it fascinated, his wild and untamed spirit. And this was not all. Eochaid, as we have before had occasion to point out, was by no means wanting in generous impulses, his natural nobility of character had led him, on more than one occasion, to set himself in opposition to the cruel and barbarous customs of his people, and his priesthood, and, guided by his inborn abhorrence of wanton and cold-blooded infliction of pain and death, he had, as we have seen, aroused the suspicion, if not the more acrid sentiments, of old Erse, the Arch- Druid, and his crowd of subordinate priests and satellites. Still, though his spirit may have been loftier, and his instincts higher, than those of his day and generation, he shared with his people the superstition and credulity which are the children of ignorance and mental darkness, and he felt greatly disturbed about the OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. l6l mysterious throne-stone, on which he had found these young and delicate women seated ; a talisman, which, if its virtues were such as they seemed to believe, might prove a danger to the stability of his own throne, and the potency of his own sceptre. And after all is it so absolutely certain that the belief in the supernatural qualities of this strange and mys- terious stone may not rather be a faith than a super- stition. This old stone is at this day embedded in the Coronation Seat of the kings of England, in the Abbey of Westminster. It was brought to England from Scone by Edward I., where it had been the enthrone- ment-seat of the kings of Scotland since it had been brought thither from lona, where it had served the same purpose from the first establishment of Scottish monarchy, by Fergus, the son of Earc, king of Ireland. When, in 1328, the Regalia of Scotland, brought from Scone by Edward I., a quarter of a century before, at the same time as the Coronation Stone, were surrendered to Scotland under the treaty of Northampton, the London train-bands rose in arms to prevent the old stone being sent back, too. These Londoners of the fourteenth century must have had some very strong reasons, either of faith or prejudice, to induce them to take up arms for an object of absolutely no intrinsic value whatever; while they parted, without any emotional sentiment at all, with the gold and the jewels of the Scottish regalia. If this rugged old stone was capable of exciting such strong emotions in the people of London, so comparatively recently, is it not possible that Eochaid's sentiments may have been due to something other than superstition ? Be that as it may, as he paced his chamber that night at Tara, lost in thought, and busy with the speculations l62 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; the events of the evening had aroused, he formed the determination to investigate these matters to their foundation, and retired to rest impatient for the dawn. The next morning the king had no sooner risen than he sent his chamberlain to request the immediate attend- ance of the Hebrew prophet, who repaired forthwith to the royal apartment, accompanied by Baruch, who carried with him Jeremiah's well-worn copy of the sacred writings of his race. "Good morrow, noble and reverend sir," exclaimed the prince, when Jeremiah was ushered into his presence ; " I am right glad thou art come, for there are many things on which it is of importance that I should speak with thee. Methinks this, thy companion, is the messenger who brought me the petition from Dan Dalghea. May I ask if he is entirely in thy confidence, for the matters of which we must speak are weighty, and our inmost thoughts must not be confided to the first best ; " and Eochaid looked pointedly at Baruch, pausing for a reply. "This, my lord king," said Jeremiah, indicating Baruch with his hand, "is my second self, my most trusted and beloved secretary and companion, Baruch, the son of Neriah, who hath been my disciple from his youth upward, and from whom I withhold nothing that is in my heart." Baruch bowed low to the prince, as Jeremiah thus favourably presented him ; and Eochaid, with a gracious gesture of welcome, rejoined : " 'Tis well, oh ! noble Hebrew ; and I am well pleased he shall share our confidence. For thee, Maccoial, I pray thee to leave us. In good time, doubtless, thou wilt learn at our council the result of this meeting; for the moment I desire to converse OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 163 alone with these noble strangers ; see thou that none disturb our privacy, on pain of my displeasure." Bowing low, though in some confusion, for the old chamberlain was of an inquisitive disposition, and hoped to have taken part in the conference, Maccoial withdrew, and Eochaid remained alone with Jeremiah and Baruch. Although anxious for this interview, Eochaid was somewhat embarrassed as to how to commence an enquiry, in which he hoped to gain the information he desired without betraying how deep was his interest in the matter in hand. For a time he remained silent and thoughtful, while his companions awaited, in an attitude of respectful attention, the wishes of one whom they both recognised now as their adopted sovereign and lord. " I confess to thee, noble Jeremiah," he at last began, " that I have been deeply impressed by the beauty and grace of the fair ladies, thy wards, who last night afforded me a courteous, though somewhat formal, reception. True it is I am myself unwed, and may, therefore, lack experience of the degree of homage due from fair ladies of high degree to one whose protection, as their lawful sovereign, they have begged and obtained; but it seemed to me that I was yestereen received as an equal, rather than as a sovereign, by the fair dames, who, under thy fatherly care, are seeking adventure in a strange land." " I trust," replied the prophet, " that my lord the king has not found anything unseemly in the conduct of the daughters of Zedekiah, king of Judah, or in the manner of their reception of his gracious visit. Doubt- less, when it may please my lord to command their attendance, as subjects, at his royal court, my wards 164 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; will be found approaching his throne with loyalty and humility ; but I would fain remind my prince that, in their own house, the daughters of Zedekiah, of the direct lineage of David, are supreme, and that there, even kings must be content to be received as the friends, not the masters, of the daughters of a king." " By the great god Baal, my noble friend," retorted the king, with somewhat heightened colour; "thine answer savoureth somewhat of independence. I tell thee, frankly, that when I granted to thee and to thy wards liberty to reside in my dominions, and invited thee to come to my royal stronghold, I did not offer to thee, or to them, the half of my kingdom." "God forbid that any such thought should have entered their heart or mine. For me, I declare myself, and all my people, thy loyal and dutiful subjects, and thus I do thee homage." And so saying, Jeremiah and Baruch both arose, and, prostrating themselves in Eastern fashion before Eochaid, respectfully touched with their lips the border of the mantle which he wore. "'Tis well, noble Hebrews," rejoined the king. " Arise, I pray ye, and resume your former places. I willingly accept your loyal devotion; but it is not of you I am somewhat jealous. I have no fear that ye will aspire to royal honours in my dominions; but these royal dames who claim kingly birth -and kingly honours, and who rnethought assumed yesterday somewhat regal airs, may, with their transcendant beauty and royal graces become dangerous rivals in the affections of my people. Besides, thou knowest, O most noble Jew, that I have but thy word for their royalty." "There is nothing," rejoined the prophet, "that becometh a monarch and a lawgiver more than prudence and foresight. In this casket are the certificates and OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 165 proofs of the royal birth of these maidens, bearing the royal seal of the kings of Judah and that of the high priest of the temple at Jerusalem. These I place in thy royal hands to be Verified by thee at thy good pleasure." " Sayest thou so," replied the king, taking the casket in his hand, "it is well ? These parchments shall be examined and thy straightforwardness in this matter pleaseth me. We will take an early opportunity of summoning the fair ladies, thy wards, to our royal presence, where they may be assured of a kind and courteous reception. I have never seen a maid who so captivated my heart as the elder of thy two princesses. But a king moves cautiously, my friend, where women are concerned, and I will not say more now thereanent; but I will tell thee," proceeded Eochaid, with a half- laugh, "that I could hardly keep my gravity last even- ing when the beauteous Tamar is she not so called ? gravely told me the story of the old stone on which she sate. Why, my Arch-Druid, old Erse hath a whole chamber full of musty old relics and charms, which he saith are very powerful for good or for evil, and, though I speak somewhat lightly of them to thee, it might cost me my crown if I jeered at them before the people." "Of the efficacy of these relics and charms of which thou speakest, my lord, it is not for me to express an opinion; it may be that the God whom I serve may some day see fit to subject them to a test; but, if my lord the king will, I should gladly give him more in detail the history of this stone, which my lord is inclined to com- pare with the relics and charms of the arch-priest of Baal." " I meant not to grieve thee, reverend sir, by flouting at the efficacy of thy talisman. I will not even say that 166 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; I believe not in charms and relics, but I would fain know the history of this, the treasure of the kings of Judah, which their descendants hold in so great a veneration." " Then, may it please my lord the king, this stone on which the daughters of Judah, my wards, were last night seated is a stone made famous by Jacob our father, who was the founder of our race, and who was the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the friend of God. The event which I will relate to my lord happened something more than twelve hundred years ago, and, if my lord will, I will read the account as written by our father and leader, the lawgiver of our race, Moses, the son of Amram, about two hundred years after the event. Thus it stands written in our sacred books." Taking the scroll from Baruch, Jeremiah proceeded to read, in the king's own language, from the Hebrew text before him, as follows: "And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went towards Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place and tarried there all night, because the sun was set, and he took of the stones of that place and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven : and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham, thy father, and the God of Isaac : the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south : and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And behold, I am with thee, OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 167 and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place ! This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Beth-el, but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then shall the Lord be my God : and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house : and of all that Thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto Thee."* The king had listened with great attention while Jere- miah, with his beautiful and expressive voice, had read the history of the origin of the stone from the sacred Scriptures of his people. When the recital was finished he turned to Jeremiah and said : "Of a truth, I am well inclined to believe that the relation thou hast read to me from thy sacred writings is authentic, since thou canst so perfectly account for the writer, who lived near enough to the time to have had good information; but, friend, thou but tellest me of a stone that was consecrated the house of his God by thy forefather Jacob, thou tellest me not how that stone came to thy possession and found its way with thee to Gen. xxviii. 10 22. l68 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; Cathair Crofuin, so far away from the land of Judea, where it had its origin." "True, my lord the king," replied Jeremiah. "But this stone has never been out of the custody of our race. When our father, Jacob, by the direct command of God returned to Bethel, where he had anointed the stone, it is recorded that he set up a pillar, and then having vowed that the pillar-stone should be for him Lagarth, or God's house, he carried it with him in his journey- ings. He brought it to Egypt, and when dying, bequeathed it to his son Joseph. It was brought up out of Egypt by our tribe?, and its history is wonderful, until again, after the conquest of our land, we placed it at Bethel by the pillar, there it remained until the centre of our worship was removed to Jerusalem, and by the command of David, our king, it, and the pillar, were brought to Mount Zion. When king Solomon built the glorious temple it stood in the place where, as the manner was, our kings were crowned, and upon the overthrow of our kingdom, I, as the guardian of king Zedekiah's heirs, brought this symbol of the throne of the Lord hither with them. " I myself, with the assistance of Baruch, here carried the selfsame stone away from the ruins of Solomon's temple at Jerusalem, which Nebuchadnezzar, our conqueror, had torn down, and burnt with fire, three or four years before. " Eochaid, during this recital, had exhibited some symptoms of agitation, and when it was concluded he burst out with, " Of a verity, if this be true, and I say not whether it be or no, but if it be true, then these maidens of thine may harbour some claim to reign over Israel, but that giveth them no claims in this land. Still, I tell thee openly, I like not the presence in my OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 169 kingdom of maidens who claim a right to reign where that stone may be found." "My lord the king, these maidens claim no right to reign ; but their seed may, and will reign, over Israel, or any branch of Israel, so long as that stone shall remain with them." "Be it so," retorted Eochaid, "here is no branch of Israel." "Art thou, my lord, well persuaded of that?" en- quired the prophet, calmly. Eochaid simply started from his seat at this question, so simply and quietly put to him. " What meanest thou ? " he cried. " O ! Eochaid, king of Ulster and Pentarch of Ireland, art thou so sure that thou art not a prince of Israel, or that thy people are not of the tribe of Dan ? " "Great Baal! Tuatha de Dannan, the tribe of Dan ; this is not the first time that I have heard this said, but if it be so, how makest thou me a prince of Israel ; I am of the stock of Heber, the Milesian prince, who conquered this land five hundred years ago." "Be it so, Heber is an Israelitish name, and it is well recorded among us that the Milesians of Spain were originally an Israelitish colony from Dan and Simeon." "By all the gods, I tell thee, Jew, thou drivest me too far. Thou sayest, then, that these princesses have a right to reign, by virtue of descent, over this people ? " " Not so, my lord, they have no such right, and make no such claim ; thou, and thou only, art the king ; but, knowing what I know, and believing what I believe, I would tell thee, that if thou desirest that thy seed should reign in undisturbed perpetual succession, thou shouldst take the daughter of Zedekiah to wife, and raise up seed unto David who, by God's covenant with Jacob, and by M 170 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; virtue of his pillar of witness, are predestined from the beginning, to reign over Israel. What saith our father, Jacob ? ' The sceptre shall not depart from Judah or a law-giver from between his feet until Shiloh come. ' Here, in thy stronghold, are the daughters of Zedekiah, the lineal descendants of David, who, by virtue of the pillar of witness, on which they sit, are the daughters of God's house." " Thou wooest wisely, oh ! priest, for the daughters of thy king, and for me I say nor nay, nor yea ; I am fancy-free, and unbound ; and if thy maiden please me as well, when I shall know her mind better than now I do, as she has done hitherto, and reasons of State should point out the way, well ! more may come of this ad- venture of thine, than at first seemed likely. We will cause these papers thou hast entrusted to us to be veri- fied, and we will make an early opportunity of summon- ing thy wards to our Court ceremonies ; but, for the rest, be secret and be patient. Nothing can be done until the approaching festival be overpast." Accepting this as a dismissal for the present, Jeremiah, not ill-pleased with the result of the interview, which had enabled him at least to insinuate into the mind of Eochaid a thought which he hoped might grow and fructify, took respectful leave of the king, and with Baruch, retired from the audience chamber. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 171 CHAPTER XII. THE HAND OF GOD. "And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that Thou art God in Israel, and that I am Thy servant, and that I have done all these things at Thy word. " Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that Thou art the Lord God, and that Thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. " And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces : and they said, The Lord, He is the God ; the Lord, He is the God." I Kings xviii. 36 39. THE great annual Druidical festival, which it was customary to hold at the period of the December moon, was now close at hand. The great annual or triennial convention ceremony, which began to be held at about the time of which we are treating, and was certainly held shortly after that time, was known anciently in Ireland as Saman, or Samhain. It is beside our present purpose to seek the elucidation of the question as to whether this was the name of the annual festival of the Druids before the days of Eochaid, or whether it was the name given to the festivals of the conventions, which were certainly established in his reign ; for the purposes of our story we may assume that the great December festival of the Druids was known as Saman. Saman commenced by a solemn fast on the sixth day of the new moon. Shortly before midnight it was 172 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; customary for the Druids, Ouates and Bards, to proceed in solemn procession, followed by crowds of the people, to some neighbouring forest or grove, and with many barbarous, and often ghastly, and cruel, ceremonies of divination, to cut the sacred mistletoe. This being followed at dawn of day by the greatest and most important function of sacrificial worship of the year, at the gigantic altar of the monolithic Druidical circle. After the sacrifice the feasting commenced ; lasting as long as inclination indicated, or store of provisions permitted. On the day after Saman, Eochaid proposed to hold a great court function, receiving the prominent chieftains who had assembled at Cathair Crofuin for the great annual festival. Both within and without the fortifica- tions a regular encampment had been formed of the retainers of these notabilities. Among them, and lodged in the royal palace, was Tuathal, king of Connaught, who had come to the festival with his daughter, Lorrha Odhbha, whether with any secret expectation of bringing about an alliance with the Ard-Righ the sequel will show. This lady, whom we shall call for shortness, Lorrha, was of a type of beauty which has found plenty of admirers since the world was. Tall and well-made, of command- ing presence, fair complexion and auburn hair, which an envious person might have otherwise characterised, this princess of Connaught might fairly claim to be a beauty in her way. That at twenty-four years of age so exalted a personage should not yet have found a suitable mate, may have been due to family pride, which may have induced her to treat with contempt any, of less than royal rank, who might aspire to her hand ; or it may have been due to certain rumours which had gained currency, ascribing to the well-formed and regal beauty OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 173 a love of power and command, which might augur ill for the independence of the lucky, or unlucky, wight who should gain the prize of her princely hand. For some days past the assembled and assembling guests had diverted themselves with feats of arms, hunting, hawking, and a daily indulgence in the rough and rude, though hearty and kindly, hospitality of the times. The princesses of Judah had been deeply interested in all that transpired and, accompanied by Jeremiah and Baruch and a few horsemen, had ridden out every day to view and, in a quiet way, to take part in the out-door festivities, retiring invariably for meals to their own special dwelling in the wing of the king's palace. Their Eastern beauty, and the gorgeous Oriental magnificence of their dress, had caused them to be the cynosure of all eyes and treated everywhere with the utmost respect, as the favoured guests of the king, they not'unnaturally aroused a corresponding degree of curiosity and their presence and bearing had been widely, and not always favourably, discussed by the nobles and their dames assembled at Cathair Crofuin for the festival. Among those who were inclined to regard them with the most disfavour were Tuathal, king of Connaught, and his fair daughter Lorrha, who, if the expression, or some equivalent for it, was current in those days, no doubt characterised them to her father, if not to a wider circle, as "forward things." The subordinate king and his child were unable satisfactorily to account to themselves for the presence at Cathair of these beautiful Eastern maidens, and from no one could they gather any infor- mation about them, except that they had recently arrived from the East, were certainly amiable, rich and generous and, it was believed, of high, if not royal, 174 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; ancestry. Their curiosity was rather stimulated than satisfied by these crumbs of information, and desperate efforts were made to pump old Maccoial, king Eochaid's garrulous chamberlain, whose knowledge was probably limited and who, whatever he may have known, was sufficiently alive to the fact that it would be more than his head was worth to chatter of his master's affairs. The interest of our story centres around the religious festival of Saman itself and the royal reception on the day after Saman, and to these matters we will at once address ourselves. It was customary for the king, surrounded by his nobles with such of their women folk as might be minded to do so, to attend the Druidical procession to the forest, and witness the midnight ceremonies of divination and cutting of the uile-iceadh. A great crowd, both male and female, also followed on these occasions, when the prophetic women, in consultation with the Druids, pretended to see into futurity, and predict coming events, by an examination of the quivering flesh of their human victims. A special invitation had been sent to Jeremiah to attend, with such of his household who might desire to do so, the great religious functions of the Saman, as well as a command to himself, Baruch and the princesses to attend the subsequent reception. Knowing the barbarous nature of the midnight pro- ceedings and the inconvenience to delicate women of attending an open-air function at such a time, the prophet had determined to go alone with Baruch ; but had decided that the princesses should accept the king's invitation to view the sacrificial ceremonies of the next day. On the eve of Saman, therefore, about an hour and a half before midnight, the procession started from the enclosure of Cathair Crofuin to go to a forest OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 175 which lay at a distance of about three miles in the groves of which the ceremony was fixed to take place. A band of rude music led the way, and was followed by the Ouates, the bards, and the Druids, marching four abreast ; then followed two milk-white bulls, led by Ouates, and two miserable wretches, convicted of some crime, who had been selected as the human victims, chained and led by Ouates, who forced them forward with heavy blows if they showed any reluctance to pro- ceed. Behind these came Erse, the Arch-Druid, fol- lowed by the prophetic women and other devotees. Next came the king and his nobles, among whose ranks Jeremiah and Baruch had taken up a position ; and these were followed by a great crowd of men and women. Among the nobles only few women were to be found, but Lorrha was of the number, riding beside her father, the king of Connaught. Torch-bearers accompanied the procession, which moved slowly on to its destination in the forest. Arrived at the foot of a gigantic oak, the bards and Ouates formed a circle around it, into which none were admitted but the Druids, the prophetic women, and the victims. The torch-bearers stood around outside the circle, and the people ranged themselves behind them as best they might, a space being reserved for the king and his attendant nobles. By the aid of a ladder, brought for the purpose, old Erse, armed with his golden sickle, climbed up into the tree, and cutting the uile-iceadh which enriched its branches, threw it with great care into a white woollen cloth held to receive it by the Druids below. During this proceeding the bards and Ouates chanted a dirge-like Runic song, praying the gods bless the mistletoe and endow it with all the miraculous qualities which were in those days attributed to it. 176 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; Then followed the sacrifice and divination. First the human victims were slain by the attendant Ouates cutting their throats with sharp knives. The Druids then opened the still quivering bodies and, aided by the prophetic women, examined certain parts for prophetic indications. The bullocks were similarly dealt with and the Druids retired to formulate the interpretation to be drawn from the inspection. The discussion, in which the prophetesses clamorously joined from time to time, was of a prolonged and apparently not altogether unanimous character. The result was then announced to the assembled multitude by the Arch-Druid in the sort of Runic blank verse which was the customary form of all official utterances in those days. It was a long and complicated declamation, carefully so expressed as to suggest rather than to declare conclusions, and we shall not attempt to reproduce it ; but in substance it left this impression on the hearers : " That the coming year would be prosperous for the herdsmen but not advantageous to the cultivator of the soil. That an evil influence was present in the land which might mean danger to the dynasty, but that the king's life was not threatened. The religion of their fathers might be challenged during the coming year by strangers from a far country, but would triumph exceed- ingly ; that there were indications of approaching royal nuptials and of probable internecine warfare, and so on." It will be observed that these predictions were of a nature which, in a climate like that of Ireland, with a bachelor king, and inhabited by a fierce and warlike people, might have been made with reasonable safety without any sacrifice of victims. The allusion to an evil influence in the land which might mean danger to OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 177 the dynasty and the national religion, was, to Jeremiah's mind, so evidently directed against himself and those under his care, that he had no difficulty in satisfying his own mind that it had been carefully arranged before- hand, and had absolutely no connection with any indica- tions observed, or not observed, on the bodies of the victims. The Arch- Druid, in conclusion, pronounced an elabo- rate blessing on the uile-iceadh, which was then care- fully loaded in ox-wains to be distributed at the festival next day. After pronouncing another blessing on the king and the assembled people, and denouncing a curse upon all who opposed or neglected the sacred worship of the gods, the assembly dispersed, and wended its way, as it came, back to Cathair Crofuin. Before dawn the whole settlement was astir in anticipation of, and preparation for, the great religious function of the year. The people assembled rapidly and ranged themselves according to their rank and degree within the magic circle of monoliths ; the wicker-work figure of the god Baal was erected and packed full of its trembling crowd of human victims, and when the sun rose lurid and angry in a stormy sky, an ominous-looking blood-red light was diffused over a scene which, in itself, wild and weird, was rendered infinitely more so by the phenomena of nature. In a previous chapter we have already described at length, in the ceremonies attending the inauguration of Eochaid's reign, a great Druidical function of those early times in Ireland. The order of proceedings on the present occasion was of the same general character and the principal actors came upon the scene at sunrise in a procession similar to that which was then detailed. Jeremiah and Baruch, accompanied by Zedekiah's 178 EOCHAID THE HEKEMHON J daughters and their attendant maidens, walked in this procession among the higher nobility, immediately following the king, and were accommodated with places on the royal dais, which was situated in the van of the assembled people facing the great altar, and about twenty-five feet distant from it. The principal human victim on this occasion was a stripling of some seventeen summers, yellow-haired and blue-eyed, the son of a recalcitrant chief, a feudatory of Tuathal, king of Connaught, by whom he had been captured in battle, and who had handed his prisoner of war over to the Druids to grace by his slaughter on the great altar the savage ceremonies of their Baal worship on this occasion. The poor youth, bound and half naked, sat in the ox- wain in which he had been dragged to the place of his execution, dazed and shivering as much with the cold of an inclement morning as with fear. The Princess Tamar seeing him sitting thus, bound and dejected, enquired of Jeremiah for what purpose he was there ; and learning that he was to be sacrificed on the altar in honour of Baal, she exclaimed horrorstruck, " Oh ! my father, this sin may not be ; surely thou wilt interfere to prevent this horrid crime." To which her venerable protector replied : "Be calm, my daughter, place thy trust in the God of our fathers and join thy prayers to mine that this youth may be saved from death, and the hearts of this people may be turned back from following after Baal." Sara, too, was greatly shocked and her pale face grew more pale, while a hard look spread itself over her beautiful features. Baruch only was silent, making a sign to the maidens to restrain their feelings. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 179 The proceedings then commenced with a long exor- dium to the people by Erse, the Arch-Druid, followed by tedious recitations, all in Runic rhyme, by the chief bards, extolling the glories of Baal and deprecating his wrath and vengeance. These functions, interspersed in the intervals by bursts of barbaric music, occupied a long time, after which the sacred mistletoe collected in the night was divided into small slips by the Druids and distributed by the Ouates and attendant women among the people with much ceremony. About two hours were occupied in these functions, during which time the sky had become completely over- cast with heavy black clouds, whose jagged edges stood out one against another. The strong south-west wind, which had accompanied the dawn, had died completely away; nature was lowering, but profoundly still, and the whole assembled people seemed cowed, and assumed that attitude of expectancy which unconsciously over- spreads the animal world when storrn is in the air. Then old Erse stepped forward to within a few paces of the great altar and gave orders for the sacrifice to proceed. Amid the blare of trumpets and the shrieking of pipes, and the wild dancing of male and female devotees who whirled and screamed and cut themselves with knives, until the blood streamed down their naked bodies, stain- ing the grass with blood-prints as they moved, the four sacrificing Ouates clambered to their places on the altar and the unhappy victim was lifted by others from the ox-wain and handed up to them where they stood on the huge monolith which formed the top of the great altar of sacrifice. Terrified, confused, and at the same time lifted out of herself by the horror and excitement of the scene, the l8o EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; gentle and retiring Tamar, forgetting her natural shy- ness and the terrible danger of what she was about to do, pushed aside those who stood between her and the king, and, falling on her knees before him, with her beautiful hands raised in an attitude of supplication, and her eyes streaming with tears, exclaimed : "Oh, great and mighty prince ! by the glory of the God of Abraham, by Whom all things were created, by the honour of thy father, by the love of thy mother, by the welfare of thy people, by the permanence of thy sceptre, I conjure thee, in the name of the living God, to prevent this great crime. Turn thee, O my lord and king ! turn thee rather to the God of Israel, Who alone is powerful to save, and Who abhors the shedding of blood in His honour, and use thy power and authority to stop this sin against Him." Struck dumb by utter amazement and surprise, those who stood around looked on open-mouthed. Sara, quick to appreciate the great danger her elder sister was incurring, and determined to share whatever might be- fall her, had fallen upon her knees beside her, the atten- dant maidens did the same, and all joined in her supplications. Old Erse, observing that something of a strange and unusual character was occurring, moved slowly up to the foot of the royal dais, the priests and bards crowded around him, the musicians ceased to blow their instruments, the devotees stopped in their demoniac dance, the maidens still knelt before the king, who, greatly embarrassed but not untouched by their supplication, looked on Tamar and her sister with an unusually soft expression of sympathy, almost of tender- ness, shaking his head sorrowfully but without speaking. The unhappy victim, seeing these beautiful girls kneel- OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. l8l ing to the king, and justly concluding that they must be interceding for him, fell also on his knees upon the smooth surface of the altar and stretched out his manacled hands to the king. "Oh, my lord king," resumed Tamar, "be merciful be merciful ! " " I would fain be merciful, sweet maiden," replied the king. " I love not these barbarous customs, which are those of my people rather than mine own; but I dare not stay the sacrifice or disregard the priests of Baal, who are the appointed guardians of the national religion. But thou, O Arch-Druid, thinkest thou not that thou couldst show this clemency which is denied to me, and, in honour of these fair Orientals, who are unaccustomed to our sterner form of worship, remit on this occasion the human sacrifices ? " " Look above thee, great Pentarch," rejoined the Arch-Druid, pointing to the threatening vault of heaven overhead. "Seest thou not that the great god Baal is already angered by this interruption of our solemn cere- monies ? I, as his representative on earth, will not be answerable for the evil that may befall thy crown and people, if worship be curtailed by one iota." " It is enough," replied the king, with a deep sigh. " Let the sacrifice proceed." When Tamar heard these words, a sickening sense of hopelessness possessed her, and no longer able to bear the strain, she fell fainting into her sister's arms. Old Erse, with a smile of triumph and a significant glance at Jeremiah, turned away to resume his place before the altar, his attendant Druids re-arranged them- selves around him, the music re-commenced its bar- barous thunders, the devotees resumed their wild, demoniac dance, and for the moment the Arch-Druid l82 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; failed to observe that the prophet of Judea followed him to his position before the altar and stood in his full canonicals as a high priest of the temple, with vestments and breastplate and mitre by his side. Meanwhile, the sky darkened overhead, and low rumbling peals of dis- tant thunder fell upon the ear. When the Arch-Druid became aware of the presence at his side of the prophet of the God of Israel, he at once grasped the situation. He perceived that the supreme moment had arrived that now, and without delay, the moment of his triumph must be utilised to break the growing influence of this foreign priest once and for all. He signed, therefore, to the musicians to be silent and to the dancers to be still, and turn- ing to face the multitude a movement immediately followed by Jeremiah himself he thus addressed them : "Men of Ireland, this night the sacred divinations prompted us to warn you that the religion of your fathers might be challenged during the coming year by strangers from a far country, Little did we think then that this portent would so soon be fulfilled; but now this very day and hour this Jewish priest, and the women whom he has brought with him to plague our land, have sought to persuade our sovereign lord, the king, to exercise his power and authority to stay the ceremonies of our great religion and to prevent the sacrifice by which alone the great god whom ye wor- ship may be propitiated. Our noble king, as in duty bound, hath refused to stay the hand of the priests of Baal and now let this be a sign between him and me. If the God which he serves be greater than the god which we serve, then let him now stay the sacri- fice ; but if not, and if at our command the great sacrifice to Baal be fully and effectually performed, OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 183 then shall he and you know that our god is the God, and not the Lord whom he serveth." And all the assembled people applauded the words of the Arch-Druid, saying : " It is well; let it be as thou sayest." Then Jeremiah bowed himself before the people in token of his acceptance of this sign or test, and spake nothing. The Arch-Druid turning to the altar, and holding in his hand the smoking censer containing the sacred fire wherewith the fuel on the altar and around the wicker cage should be ignited, gave the signal for the sacrifice. Jeremiah, also turning to the altar, fell upon his knees before all the people, and raising hands and eyes to heaven, prayed silently and earnestly to the God of Israel to give an evidence of His divine will. Mean- while, the heavens darkened more and more, the thunder pealed almost overhead, the clouds assumed a strange copper-coloured tinge, the fuel for the burnt sacrifice began to ignite and the smoke to curl in blue wreaths upward both from the altar and the wicker cage. The officiating Ouate on the altar seized the unhappy victim by the hair ; all men held their breath as the right arm holding the sacrificial knife was raised to strike. At that moment the clouds above were reft, a terribly vivid flash of forked lightning fell, as it seemed, direct upon the altar, instantly followed by the crash of the ensuing thunder, and the great monolith, which formed the great altar, was seen to split into an hundred fragments, and with those upon it, fell thundering to the earth. The Arch-Druid, and many of those that stood around, were cast to the earth by the tremendous shock, and at the same moment the rain began to fall in 184 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; torrents, and almost instantly the sacrificial fires, which had been lighted, were extinguished. The youth, destined for the victim, alone of those who had been upon the altar, sprang to his feet and ran, fettered as he was, to throw himself at the feet of Eochaid. Then Jeremiah rose from his knees and turning to the awestruck multitude, spake, in a loud voice, these words : " Men of Ireland, your high-priest asked a sign of the Lord. Behold, the sign has been given. The victim is here alive, the sacrificing priests are stricken dead with the fire of the Lord, and the sacrificial fires have been quenched by the rain of the Lord, which falleth alike upon the just and upon the unjust." And all the people cried aloud with one voice, " Thy Lord, He is the God," and they fell upon the cage of wickerwork and broke it in pieces and set free the victims it had contained and would have roughly en- treated the priests of Baal, but for the timely inter- ference of the king and of Jeremiah, who, after a time, succeeded in allaying their fury and excitement. The king, himself, had been deeply impressed by this event, and taking the hand of Tamar, who had now recovered consciousness, and raising it reverently to his lips, he said: "From this day, henceforth, I accept the Lord God of Israel to be my God, and thankful I am to put behind the worship which revolted my heart with its cruelty, and confused my mind with its superstition." In the meantime, Jeremiah and Baruch had lifted old Erse from the earth where he had fallen, and found that though much shaken and frightened, the old man still lived, but was, at present, quite blind. The four Ouates, who had been upon the altar, were all killed, but others who had fallen, from shock or fright, recovered by degrees and were led away by their fellows. OK, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 185 Tremendous excitement followed these events, and the crowd continued for some time to pay ovation to the king as well as to Jeremiah, and the members of his household, whom they insisted on accompanying back to their dwelling. At the subsequent feasting which concluded the ceremonies of the day, the only subject discussed was the marvellous interference that had been manifested that day with the annual human sacrifices to Baal. Tuathal, king of Connaught, and his daughter Lorrha, especially the latter, had been very much disconcerted by the events of the morning. The envious Lorrha had openly triumphed at Tamar's discomfiture when suppli- cating the interference of the king, and now could not fail to see that the discomfiture of the Eastern princess was likely to turn to something resembling triumph and a great accession of influence at the Court of Eochaid. She and her father, therefore, affected great sympathy with Erse, and separating themselves from the king's party, bore away the injured Arch-Druid to their own quarters, rather ostentatiously lavishing upon him every kindness and attention. l86 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; CHAPTER XIII. A CHANGE OF NATIONAL FAITH. " Hearken to Me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord ; look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and the hole of the pit whence ye are digged." Isa. li. i. THE exciting incidents of the day of Saman did not fail to engage the almost undivided attention of all classes of the people, and at the banqueting, whether on a noble or a humble scale, which followed, as was customary, the religious festival, hardly anything else was spoken of. Old Erse, the Arch-Druid, mortified and humiliated, as well as blinded by the destruction by lightning of the great altar of Baal, an incident perfectly natural in itself and rendered miraculous only by the moment and occa- sion of its occurrence, was eager to listen to the consola- tion that Tuathal and Lorrha were inclined to afford him. Still, he could not overlook the probable effect on public opinion of the events of the day, and he was at present too much shocked and cast down to be able to see his way to rehabilitate himself and his craft in the eyes of the people. Eochaid, on the contrary, felt something like a sense of relief at the escape of the human victims, and h'is eminently impressionable nature inclined him to regard the natural phenomenon which had effected their rescue as a direct interposition of a Providence greater and more powerful than Baal, which it doubtless was. Thinking over the events of the day, his imagination dwelt more fondly than he would have been willing to admit, on the mental picture, which he could not, and OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 187 hardly even wished to, dispel, of Tamar kneeling at his feet, her beautiful hands upraised in supplication, her soft eyes full of tears and her voice of emotions of pity and anxiety, as she prayed him to exercise his authority to prevent the horrible sacrifice on which the priests of Baal so sternly insisted. In his heart he almost wished that the unhappy victims were still in peril of their lives, that their beautiful and charming intercessor might again assume to him so sweet an attitude of supplication, an act of homage which flattered at once his manhood and his kingly dignity. Jeremiah himself was, of course, keenly alive to the enormous moral import of the miraculous answer to his supplications, and, retiring to his private apartments, re- mained absorbed for the rest of the day in meditation and thankful prayer. Tamar and her sister, deeply touched by the events which had brought about the end they had so anxiously in view the prevention of the human sacrifices called their little household together and, assisted by Baruch, offered up to the God of Israel heartfelt and grateful thanks for His merciful interposition, joining their voices in singing such Psalms of their father David as seemed appropriate to so great and solemn an occasion. The nobles assembled at the court ceremonies dis- cussed with great interest the remarkable event of the morning, and, in spite of the fact that many among them had relatives in the priesthood of Baal, the general impression found expression that it would be impossible to resist the popular enthusiasm for a divinity able to work so great and remarkable a miracle in the sight of all the people. Among the common folk there was a strong conviction that the true Lord of all the earth had manifested Himself l88 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; that day, and the tone of their conversation boded ill for any attempt that might be made by the priesthood in the direction of the rehabilitation of the worship of Baal and of the authority of his priests. Tuathal and his daughter, while diplomatically desirous of cultivating for the present, at any rate the favour of the Arch-Druid, still had an eye to the main business, which had brought them to Cathair on this occasion. The king of Connaught was not insensible to the beauty and refinement of the two Oriental maidens under Jeremiah's care, and entertained more serious doubts as to the result of his mission than had beset him when he set out on his present journey. He foresaw plainly enough that a rebuff from Eochaid, should he proceed so far as to formulate his scheme of an alliance, would bring him into a position of antagonism to his suzerain, which might involve him in practical warfare. His indolent self-indulgence made this prospect suffi- ciently distasteful to him, but he knew full well his daughter's proud, passionate, and revengeful nature, and his own impotence to resist successfully any desire upon which she had set her heart. Frankly it must be con- fessed that it had never occurred to Lorrha to dream of any possible rivalry. Her confidence in her power of attraction left no room for doubt as to her ability to fascinate the imagination, and attract the passionate devotion of any man born of woman, and the adulation of which she had all her life been the object in her father's dominions helped to blind her to the possibility of the defeat of her ambitious desire to become the queen of the Pentarch. In her plans Eochaid himself played no other part than a means to an end. That he might have opinions of his own as to the method of OK, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 189 attaining his own happiness in his own way, never for a moment occurred to her. She therefore urged her father to push matters to a conclusion as soon as possible, thus placing the unhappy old gentleman on the horns of a dilemma, for which he had no liking whatever, feeling, as he did, that to press his daughter's alliance on Eochaid unduly was to court the rebuff which he dreaded, while to abstain from doing so would subject him to the reproaches and ill-temper of Lorrha, which he dreaded even more. A somewhat novel royal function taking the form of a great reception had, as we know, been fixed for the day after Saman. In fulfilment of his promise to the king, the prophet, with the assistance of Baruch and his Eastern ser- vants, had, since the reception of Eochaid by the princesses, devoted himself to the elaborate decoration of the great hall of the king's palace, expressly for the great function on which the latter had set his heart. By a lavish use of the costly fabrics of which, as we know, he had by the good nature of old Isaac, the Jew, brought with him from Tyre, an effect of Eastern beauty and magnificence had been produced in the large but homely, if not positively ugly, building with which the Ard-Righ of Ireland had hitherto been content. Such a decoration would, however, have been wasteful and foolish, without due provision against the all-pervading smoke which saturated and, from our modern point of view, rendered almost un- endurable in winter time the dwellings, even of the wealthiest and most magnificent, in those early days in our Northern clime. Jeremiah had instructed the king's servants in the art of preparing charcoal and had taught Skiol, the IQO EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; king's armourer, how to construct lamps provided with wicks and fed with clarified fat. Several great braziers had also, under his instructions, been con- structed, and the great hall of the palace presented an appearance such as had never before been witnessed in Ireland. Beautiful hangings of Tyrian silk concealed the rough and blackened walls, and were festooned around the small windows, just below the roof, which alone gave light to the sombre and barn-like structure; the blackened beams of the roof had also been elegantly draped with the same costly materials. From each beam depended chains on which were hung the brazen lamps, and four great braziers stood along either side of the hall in which lay great heaps of glowing charcoal. A magnificent canopy and chair of State had been arranged at the upper end of the chamber, and on the dais floor was spread a gorgeous Syrian carpet. The rest of the floor had been cleansed and spread with fresh rushes from the neighbouring marsh. Eochaid's acute sense of barbaric splendour had been much gratified by these very successful efforts to enhance the dignity of his throne, and he was proportionately grateful to the Oriental magician who had thus changed his vast, but rather squalid hall, into a chamber more gorgeous than he or his subjects had ever dreamed of. The usual mid-day meal in the great hall had been suspended while these alterations had been in progress, and none but the king himself, and his chamberlain and other officers of his household, had seen the place since its transfiguration. Early in the morning of the day following the festival, the assembled guests took part, on the invitation of the king, in a great hunting expedition in the forest a few miles distant from Cathair Crofuin. The cavalcade led OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. JQI by the king's huntsmen and his numerous attendants, each of whom was accompanied by two or three hounds in leash, set out soon after dawn. The king himself, suitably dressed for the chase and mounted on a fine bay horse, was the centre of a group of nobles, male and female, among whom Tuathal and his daughter were conspicuous. The princesses Tamar and Sara, accompanied by Baruch, were also members of the party, and rode near the king, who turned from time to time from the blandishments of the charming Lorrha, who had taken her place beside him, to address a few friendly and cordial words to the fair Orientals, who, richly attired and veiled according to the custom of their people, were much interested in the proceedings. On arriving at the spot appointed for the commencement of the sport, the royal party found a great crowd of the commoner folk on foot, who had come out partly to join in the royal sport, and partly to serve as beaters and drivers. No sooner had the party entered the forest than a fine stag was roused from his lair and, bounding away along the forest glades, drew after him the baying hounds and cavaliers headed by the king. The ladies present reined back their horses and left the men to follow the chase. The grey horse of Lorrha, however, excited by the shouting of men, the baying of hounds and the trampling of its fellows, proved restive, and, starting off, bore its rider at full gallop among the crowd of horsemen who surrounded the king. Though certainly not wanting in courage or determination Lorrha found herself quite unable to check the wild career of her fiery grey, and, much to the dismay of the courtiers, her horse rushed through their ranks at full speed and striking heavily against the horse of her father, who rode beside the king, her impetuous courser IQ2 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; cannoned off full against the shoulder of the animal the latter bestrode, and with such violence that both horses were thrown to their knees, that of Lorrha rolling heavily over, narrowly escaped ending his rider's career once for all ; while the king, in spite of all his address as a rider, had the greatest difficulty in keeping his seat. The king's horse, recovering himself from the shock, sprang nimbly to his feet and stood frightened and trembling with excitement, while half a dozen of the younger men, rapidly dismounting, hastened to rescue the fallen princess from her perilous position and to assist her to rearrange the dress which had been sadly upset by her disaster. Fortunately, with the exception of some severe bruises and abrasions, the young lady proved unhurt, but, much humiliated and mortified by this untoward incident, she withdrew as soon as possible from the crowd of horsemen and, accompanied by her father and one or two others, proceeded to make the best of her way back to the palace. During the delay occasioned by this mishap the quarry and the hounds had gone on out of sight and hearing. The king and his attendants hastened on in pursuit. In the meantime another stag, startled by the noise and flurry of the hunt, had broken cover, and some of the younger, and less perfectly trained hounds, had opened on the new scent. The king, who had ridden on in advance of his party, hearing the baying of dogs to the right, and supposing the main body of the hunt to be in that direction had turned off into another forest glade and galloped in the direction of the sounds he had heard, soon becoming separated from his courtiers. The second stag, bearing back towards the point from which the hunt originally started, was after a time brought to bay in a small and shallow lake. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. IQ3 When the king reached the scene he was rather sur- prised to find the quarry up to its hocks in the lake, making a determined stand against the furious onset of six or eight hounds, and not a single human being in sight. Impelled by the ardour of the chase and regardless of the absence of any aid the king rode boldly into the water and, with his short hunting spear, prepared to make a deadly lunge at the stag just behind the shoulder, but at the moment of striking the baited animal bounded suddenly aside and the king's horse, already irritated and made nervous by the accident of a short time before, reared in alarm. The stag seizing his opportunity rushed fiercely upon him, goring and tearing his chest with his antlers and, bearing him backwards, overthrew him heavily on his side, thus pinning the king's left leg between his body and the soft bottom of the lake in such manner that he could not extricate himself. The water was more than a foot deep, and Eochaid was in instant danger of being drowned. Just at this juncture a party of the ladies, who were passing the time in gently riding to and fro in the beautiful glades of the forest, emerged into the clearing where this tragedy was in progress. The two foremost were Tamar and Sara. The latter instantly grasped the situation, her glance had immediately recognised the face of Eochaid painfully supporting himself by the shaft of his hunting spear. " Look, look ! " she cried, "the king ! the king ! " and, spurring her horse forward, she rode quickly to the spot, and disregarding all danger from an onslaught of the infuriated stag, she leaned down from her saddle, seized the bridle of the king's horse, dragging with all her might at its head, in the hope of encouraging it to make an effort to rise. Tamar followed, and, throwing IQ4 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; herself from her horse, seized the king under the arms, and standing knee deep in the water, kept his head above the surface, while trying with all her strength to drag him from his perilous position. The other ladies cried loudly for assistance, some fainted and some fell into hystercs, but none offered to ride into the water to help. " Prick thy steed with thy spear, my lord," cried Sara, " I fear he is nearly done, and I cannot cause him to make an effort to rise." The king, having Tamar now to support him, acted on this advice and the wounded horse, feeling the prick of the spear point, made a frantic effort to rise, thus releasing the king's imprisoned limb. Instantly freeing it he sprang, with Tamar's assistance, to his feet as the horse sank back dead into his original position. "Thanks!" he said, "a thousand thanks! but beware of the infuriated stag, and hasten to the shore, lest he attack you." The advice came none too soon, for the stag, having disabled several of the dogs, was about to make an attack on Tamar, who, being dismounted from her horse, was, with her trailing skirts, almost helpless in the water. Sara rode fearlessly at him, and drawing his attention away from her sister, gave the king the opportunity he sought to drive his spear into the fierce animal's heart. With a bound the stag fell upon his knees, and, rolling over on his side, lay dead. Sara seized the bridle of Tamar's horse, and led him to the shore, while the king, lifting the delicate form of Tamar herself in his powerful arms, carried her to the same point, and helped her to remount her steed. The outcry raised by the women, who had not ventured upon rendering any personal assistance, had by this time attracted the attention of some of the OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. IQ5 beaters and hangers-on of the hunt, who hurried on the scene, obeying the injunctions of Eochaid to recover from the lake the carcasses of the horse and of the stag, and to make arrangements for conveying them to Cathair Crofuin. A horse having been procured for the king's use, he and the princesses rode away together for the same destination. Tamar, generally shy and retiring, was perfectly self-possessed on this occasion, and, though suffering some degree of nervous reaction from the unusual excitement of the events cf the morning, chatted freely and gaily with the sovereign as the three rode side by side, and, followed at a respectful distance by the other assembled horsewomen, set out on their return to the palace. Sara, on the other hand, usually so fearless and so bold, seemed suddenly overcome by a shyness, even awkwardness, quite foreign to her general bearing and demeanour, and coloured deeply whenever the king addressed any remark to her. Eochaid was inclined to draw comparisons between the two charming sisters, unfavourable to the younger, and, while recog- nising, as he could not fail to do, Sara's promptness and resource in initiating measures for his rescue, thought her vapid, and somewhat silly in her demeanour, and devoted most of his attention to Tamar, whose self- possession and common-sense recommended her strongly to his favourable notice. An acute observer of feminine character would probably have guessed the real facts of the case more accurately than Eochaid was able to do, and would have concluded, from the different moods and actions of the maidens, that the elder was in reality perfectly fancy free, while the younger exhibited all the symptoms of a young imagination smitten with that indescribable, but unmistakable, secret attraction, which is the first indication of budding affection in the 196 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; heart of an unsophisticated maiden. In reality, without being aware of it, Sara was falling in love with the king, while Tamar was still unaware of what falling in love meant. The king took a cordial leave of the two young princesses at the door of their own dwelling, and repeating his warmest thanks for their prompt and effective assistance, and expressing the hope that neither would suffer any harm from their adventure, departed to prepare for the mid-day meal, and for the reception which was to follow. At about four o'clock, the newly-decorated hall, more brilliantly lighted and more commodiously warmed than any dwelling in Ireland had ever been before that day, was thrown open to receive the nobles and chieftains who had been summoned to attend. These were arranged by the chamberlain of the king's household, and his assistants, in such manner as to leave room at the dais-end of the great chamber for those in immediate attendance upon royalty. The common people were then permitted to fill up the space still left at the lower end, while many hundreds unable to gain admittance crowded around the great entrance, happy if they could get some coign of vantage from which a glimpse of the gay and brilliant scene within could be obtained. Only the very richest of the nobles and chieftains, some of whom, but not many, were accompanied by their women-folk, were dressed in coloured material, most were either arrayed in more or less clumsy armour, or in the skins which formed the staple dress of the male population in those days. Precious stones were almost unknown among this primitive and semi-barbaric race, gold and silver ornaments were rare, even among the women ; bangles of burnished copper, and even of tin, OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. IQ7 being the most common form of personal adornment. Notwithstanding this, the bright colours of the rich silken hangings from Tyre, the burnished lamps and braziers, the trophies of polished arms and armour, and the unusually brilliant lighting of the vast chamber, which now contained about eight hundred persons, together constituted a spectacle so rich, and so unusual, as deeply to impress the imaginations of this rude, and almost entirely uncultured, crowd, and arouse in their minds feelings of respect for a monarch able to command so gorgeous a hall of audience ; a respect which deepened into something like awe when, with a blare of trumpets, a side door at the upper end of the apartment, leading from the private chambers of the king, was thrown open, and the royal procession entered. The king's chamberlain led the procession, walking backwards and bowing low at every step, ushering in the king himself, stately in a suit of burnished brass armour, over which was thrown a long and graceful mantle, reaching to the ground, made of white cloth, or flannel, edged with scarlet ; the golden torque around his throat, the golden circlet on his brow, and in his hand a war- mace, or club, of bright steel, which might serve as a sceptre, or, in case of need, as an effective weapon of defence. At his entrance the assembled people raised a ringing cheer, and cries of " Long live Eochaid ! Long live the Pentarch ! " resounded through the hall. Bowing his acknowledgments of this cordial reception, the king assumed his place upon the chair of State under the canopy, there to receive the obeisance of his more immediate personal following, as they followed him into the hall. First in rank, and therefore in precedence, came ig8 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; Tuathal, king of Connaught, whose preternaturally grave demeanour, and somewhat uncertain step, seemed to indicate that he had not thought fit to curtail his customary draughts of mead after the mid-day meal. Ushered by the chamberlain to the royal footstool he was about to kneel, when Eochaid rose with dignity, checked the movement, and, kissing him on both cheeks amid the plaudits of the people, motioned him to a seat upon his right hand. He was followed by Jeremiah, in his full pontifical robes as a high-priest of the temple, and Baruch, in a beautiful dress and turban of green silk. These two, between them, supported the old Arch-Druid, Erse, whose bandaged eyes and trembling limbs indicated the need he had of such considerate help. These having duly made obeisance before the king were conducted to settles on the right of the king of Connaught. Had she not been prevented by the unfortunate accident of the morning, the next person in rank and order of precedence should have been Lorrha, the king of Connaught's daughter. She, however, to her infinite chagrin and mortification, had been so bruised and scratched about the face by her fall as to be quite unpresentable on this occasion. The chamberlain next ushered in the princesses Tamar and Sara, richly attired, the former in Tyrian purple, and the latter in amber-coloured silk robes, with heavy mantles of the same material, the train of which was borne by an attendant maiden. Tamar wore in her soft auburn hair a diadem enriched with emeralds, Sara a similar orna- ment studded with diamonds, an appanage of their rank in their own land far exceeding, in lustre and beauty, anything in the way of jewellery ever before seen in Ireland. The exploit of the morning, by which they had contributed so promptly to saving the OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 199 threatened life of the king, had already been retailed, with some exaggeration doubtless, by those who had witnessed it, and their entrance was the signal for a tumultuous greeting on the part of those assembled, who shouted, "Long live the princesses from the ancient land ! Long live the daughters of the Eastern king ! " Tamar blushed deeply, and was almost over- come by this warmth of welcome, but Sara walked majestically on, with an air of only receiving an ovation due to her birth and rank. Conducted to the royal footstool the princesses and their attendants prostrated themselves in Oriental fashion before the king, who, rising from his seat, gallantly extended a hand to each, and raising them to their feet, himself bowed his noble head and tenderly kissed the hand of each, as he led them to seats on his left, and next the throne, the attendant maidens taking up their position each behind her mistress. These evidences of royal favour, which the people understood to imply a public expression of gratitude, led to a renewal of the cheering and shouting that had greeted their first appearance. It was now Tamar's turn to be calm and self-possessed, while Sara, shyly regarding the hand that Eochaid had saluted, turned pale and red by turns, and was quite unable to hide her confusion. Several other of the higher nobility, among whom were a number of Druids and bards in their official robes, having been duly presented to the king, and assigned by the chamberlain standing-room on either side of the throne, the monarch rose, amid profound silence, to address his subjects. "Well-beloved and loving people, knowing, as we well do, your respect and honour for the crown of Ireland, which we, however unworthily, wear at this 200 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; day, as well as your loyalty and devotion to our person, we greet ye and welcome ye heartily to our Court of Cathair Crofuin at the time of this feast of the Saman. "We have departed somewhat from our usual prac- tice in thus summoning ye to meet us in this way, and it is our purpose in future, year by year, to command your presence thus at this season, in order to communi- cate to ye such decrees as we may see fit, from time to time to make and order, as well as to hear from any among ye such petitions, or counsels, as ye may think it meet and fitting to lay at our royal footstool. "The strange events of yestermorn, of which we were all witnesses, have deeply impressed our royal heart, as we feel sure they must have deeply touched yours. For many generations, and beyond the memory of man, this people hath worshipped the great god Baal ; believing that he was all-powerful, and that there was no god like unto him. But after what we witnessed at the ceremonies of his worship at this feast of Saman, can we any longer so believe ? (cries of ' No ! Never again'!) I trow not. We have seen the great altar of Baal dashed to pieces by heavenly fire, and the human sacrifice miraculously saved from death. This must have been the hand of a God greater than Baal, who thus answered the supplications of His servant, who sitteth here at hand ; this Eastern prophet of the God of Israel. "Now, our bards, themselves, tell us that, in days gone by, our fathers came from these Eastern lands, whence cometh this prophet of the God of Israel. It may well be that those our fathers, worshipped in their own land this same God of Israel, and it may well be that, finding the people of this land, whom they con- quered with the sword, to be worshippers of Baal, they OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 2OI fell, unaware, into this idolatry, and forgot the God of their fathers. " Now, therefore, know all ye men of Ireland, and spread it abroad, that we do decree that the worship of Baal, as practised of late in this land, is idolatry, and shall be practised no more, and we decree that in time to come this people shall be turned back from their idolatry to the worship of the true God, the God of Israel, their ancestors, and we hereby declare our belief that the God of Israel is Lord of all the earth. It is also our will and pleasure that Jeremiah, His prophet, shall be his High Priest in Ireland. Thus saith the king. So be it." This declaration was received by the multitude with loud acclamation, and cries of " The God of Israel, He is the Lord ! " Then Jeremiah rose and knelt before the king, and said : " Oh ! king, live for ever ! In the name of the great Jehovah, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, I humbly accept the great and heavy burden thou hast placed upon me, and, subject to my whole and hearty service of the Lord, I swear to be true and loyal to thee and to thy successors, oh, king ! " Then rose up the king of Connaught, and said : " My lord king, this may be well that thou hast decreed, and we, who have witnessed this miraculous intervention, may be persuaded of this truth, but what of those who dwell in other parts of the country ? How shall they be brought to change the faith of their fathers ? Who among us will dare to desecrate the temples of Baal ? " Old Erse rose slowly and painfully from his seat, and, with tottering step, came a few paces forward. The king regarded him with anxiety, expecting an appeal to 202 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; popular passion in behalf of the idolatrous Baal- worship, and he, and all the multitude, were greatly surprised when old Erse stoutly declared : "I will, my lord king; as 1, through my folly, have led the way in adoring Baal and his idols, I will myself set the example of destroying them, in obedience to that wisdom with which I have now been endowed by the true God." Whether the wily old priest was really converted or not, or whether he had been convinced that Baal-worship was too utterly discredited ever to be rehabilitated in his day, we need not now stay to enquire. The effect was electrical. The people positively yelled with enthusiasm, and their acclamations rent the air, being caught up and continued by the crowd outside. The Druids of inferior rank did not dare publicly to range themselves against their chief, as well as against the king, and were either silent or joined in the general acclamation as their hearts, or their reason, dictated. Baalism was, for a long time to come, at any rate, dead in Ireland, and Hebraism had from that moment practically taken its place. The solemn desecration of the Druidical temple of Baal at Cathair Crofuin was decreed for the next day, and the people were enjoined to bring their domestic idols to the enclosure to be burnt with the priestly images. Eochaid, with a view of calming the popular excite- ment, then called upon the chief bard to recite one of those long-worded extempore Runic, or rythmic, eulogies, which formed the delight and chief public amusement of those days. Silence being gradually restored, the bard began. He sang the praises of their forefathers, deftly interweaving telling allusions to their faith before they colonised Ulster ; he sang the praises of the king, and of the chief nobles and tribal leaders OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 203 then present ; he paid a graceful tribute to the courage and presence of mind of the Eastern princesses at the hunt that day. He designated Tamar as Tea Tephi (a word signifying Tamar "endowed with the essence of all sweetness "), droning on until his audience grew weary, and gradually dispersed. During this proceeding the king might have been observed carrying on in an undertone a lively conversa- tion with Tamar. His attempts to interest Sara appeared to fail, as they had done in the morning. Again, when he spoke to her, she was shy and confused, as though restrained by a sort of self-consciousness, which she herself hardly realised. At length the bard ceased, and the king, placing some pieces of silver in his hand, rose, and withdrew by the way that he came, followed in the same order by those who occupied the dais ; and the general public shortly afterwards dispersed to renew the festivities considered proper to the season, in their own way, in their own dwellings. 204 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; CHAPTER XIV. THE DESECRATION OF BAAL. " They are upright as the palm-tree, but speak not : they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them ; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good. The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens." Jeremiah x. 5 n. AFTER the reception, Tuathal, king of Connaught, retired to his apartments to revolve in his mind, as far as his half-bemuddled condition would permit, how he might possibly turn this new religious departure to account in furtherance of his plans for the advancement of his interest and influence by the marriage of his daughter with the Pentarch. His character, at once ambitious, tempered with indolence, and diplomatic, tempered with self-indulgence, rendered him a danger to a weak or simple-minded adversary, no less than it rendered him a danger to himself in controversy with a firm and quick-witted ruler like Eochaid. He was not slow to see in the latter's repudiation of the ancient faith a ready means of sowing dissensions among the people of the country at large against the power and influence of the Pentarch, the more so as the worship of Baal was a more firmly-rooted faith in the South and West of the island than it was among the Danite population of Ulster, and dimmed as his faculties always were of an evening, from his customary deep potations, he imagined that he now saw a clear and easy method of bringing pressure to bear on Eochaid, with a view to the realisation of his matrimonial projects. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 205 He, therefore, on his return,- sent for his daughter Lorrha, and, in a private interview, confided to that astute young woman the thoughts that the occurrences of the last two days had germinated in his mind. His daughter, while entertaining a profound contempt for her father's indolent and self-indulgent nature, was by no means blind to his natural astuteness, and expressed herself as entirely approving of the religious incident being used as a lever for the advancement of her personal interests and ambitions. The accident of the morning, with its accompanying mortification and humiliation, had rather stimulated than weakened her desire for an immediate attempt to be made to secure once for all the object she had in view, a result which would obliterate the memory of her unfortunate gaucherie, and, by placing her in the most exalted position that any Irish princess could reasonably hope to occupy, rehabilitate her in that public opinion, which the ill-concealed smiles and titters of the courtiers that morning had convinced her she had done much to forfeit. For even in those rude days the etiquette wherewith the dignity of monarchy is hedged about, was quite strong enough to subject to a certain opprobium those who, however accidentally, were guilty of having infringed it. The formal and official desecration of the temple of Baal had been fixed for the morrow, and Tuathal and his daughter were quite agreed that their negotiations with the king of Ulster must necessarily be opened before that irrevocable step had been taken, if its danger to the influence of the Pentarch was to serve them at all as a means to the end they had in view. Tuathal, therefore, sent at once for the king's chamberlain, and informed him that he desired a private audience of the 206 EOCHAID THE HEREMHOK ; king early on the next morning, and requested him at once to repair to the royal presence and arrange the matter without delay. This was done, and old Maccoial, on his return, informed the king of Connaught that his master would receive his beloved brother of Connaught at daybreak in private audience, as desired. Tuathal and his fair daughter, therefore, retired to rest with higher anticipations of a successful result to their enterprise than had hitherto possessed them. Eochaid's momentous declaration of his acceptance of the Hebraic deity, in place of Baal-worship, was the one subject of animated debate and conversation during all that evening ; and the whole population seemed deter- mined to turn out on the morrow, to witness the ceremony, actuated fully as much by curiosity as by conviction, for although deeply impressed, as they all undoubtedly were, by the miraculous destruction of the great altar on the day of Saman, not a few nevertheless anticipated the possibility of some counter demonstra- tion on the part of the deity they had all their lives been taught to worship, venerate and fear. The third day of the festival broke bright, clear and sunny ; a typical winter morning, the trees and herbage covered with hoar frost, which glittered like myriads of jewels in the morning sun. The air, crisp and invigorating, seemed to stimulate the spirits of men, like moderate potations of wine, without danger of the reaction which necessarily follows the feeling of gaiety so produced. From earliest dawn the people might be seen trooping from their hovels and shanties, dressed in such gala attire as their habits and circumstances permitted, some bearing spades and mattocks and other their rude implements of tillage, some carrying their household gods of wood and stone to be immolated with the great wooden OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 207 image of Baal, kept in the dwelling of the Druids and Ouates. At day-break the chamberlain conducted the king of Connaught to Eochaid's chamber of audience with all due ceremony and retiring left the two kings to their consultation. Tuathal plunged without delay into his subject in these words : "I greet thee in all honour, my royal brother, and I offer thee my congratulations on the right royal function of yestereen, which surpassed in magnificence any royal ceremony I have hitherto seen ; but I am greatly exercised in my mind at the somewhat sudden decision thou hast taken to abandon the faith of thy fathers, and the worship of the great god Baal. Doubtless, thine own people here in Ulster, may be the more willing to accept this change ; since our bards tell us that they are descended of a people who, not more than six or eight generations ago, came from some part of the Hebraic land ; but thou knowest, my royal brother, that we, in Connaught, as well as our kinsmen in Leinster and Munster, claim descent from an ancient race, whose lathers were worshippers of Baal in that same Eastern land longer ago than the legends of our bards can tell ; and I misdoubt me much whether, in those parts of the island, it will be found easy, even if possible, to cause them to abandon their old faith. I would there- fore suggest to thee that thou shouldest, at least, post- pone the public desecration of the temple of Baal, here at Cathair Crofuin, until, at any rate, we, the kings of other kingdoms in Ireland, shall have had time to sound our priests and people on the subject of this new faith that thou dost propose to adopt." "I thank thee, my good brother of Connaught, from 208 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; the bottom of my heart, that thou dost speak with me in this frank and friendly way, I am not unmindful of the stubborn adherence of all men, of whatever race, to those religious opinions in which they have been born and trained up, and I have hardly expected that thy people and those of the southern provinces will at once, and forthwith, desecrate their temples and embrace the God of Israel ; but for myself I am fully convinced and I think all those, even including thyself, who have been at Cathair Crofuin for this ceremony of Saman must be convinced also that the God of Israel must be the Lord of all the earth. If we be slack and seem doubtful, or hesitate at all, in this matter, then not only thy people, but my people will be doubtful and will hesitate, too ; but if, on the other hand, we proceed calmly, but boldly, to dishonour Baal and to desecrate his temple, and no evil, but rather good, ensues therefrom, then will my people be fixed in their faith ; and yours, my good brother, are more likely to be influenced by example than by mere precept." " That may be, my lord Pentarch, that may well be ; and still it may be more difficult than thou thinkest. The step, too, on which thou hast set thine heart is irrevocable ; still I say not but that if thou take measures of conciliation towards my people of Con- naught, the task of reconciling them to thy apostacy may be easier for me. For instance, my lord, an alliance between us would create a tie, or bond of union, between thy people and my people. I myself am not indisposed to favour this new faith ; my daughter, Lorrha, whom thou knowest, my lord, and who enter- tains for thee all the admiration a virtuous maiden may, told me herself only this very morning that she is much impressed and more than well-inclined to this new OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 20Q religion ; and if my lord the Pentarch, would conde- scend to make his servant's daughter his bride and queen, thy servant would have every interest in using his influence with his people to reconcile them to this proposed change." Eochaid did not fail to catch the implied threat in this last remark, and a frown for a moment clouded his brow. Smoothing it quickly away, he rejoined : " I am flattered, my lord of Connaught, by the honour you propose to me, and by the favourable opinion the fair maiden, your daughter, is pleased to entertain of myself. True it is that the time has come when it behoves to think of wedlock and an heir to the crown, and to thy proposal I say not now yea ! or nay ! but I am minded first to see this change established and to set my land in order before I turn to marriage and to dalliance. I thank thee, nevertheless, and I will at some future time give thy proposal further consideration. In the meantime the ceremony of to-day must go forward, and for thyself, my lord, thou wilt so act in the matter as thy conscience or interest may dictate, by taking part in it, or not, as thou mayest think fit. Commend me, I pray thee, to the fair lady, thy daughter, and convey to her my hope that she hath suffered not from yesterday's little mishap." " Oh ! nothing, my lord king, a mere nothing ; a bruise, or so, nothing more ; her leech and her tire- woman will soon set that to right. Nevertheless, I think it better we get us away presently ; our affairs in Con- naught stand still for lack of our presence. We thank thee, oh ! king, for thy bountiful goodness and hospi- tality, and hope some day to have the opportunity of requiting at our royal court the kindness we have received at thine." 2IO EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; So saying, Tuathal, baffled and disappointed, for he had hoped for a more favourable reception of his pro- posal, bowed low to his suzerain, retiring from the presence with a smile on his face, it is true, but with some bitterness in his heart. An hour later, as the priests and nobles were assembling in the palace yard for the ceremony of the day, Tuathal and his daughter, accompanied by mounted escort and camp equipage, rode away in the morning sun over the western slopes on their return to their own place. Public attention was now entirely concentrated on the function about to take place, and the departure of the king of Connaught attracted less attention than might otherwise have been the case, and the significance of his withdrawal at this particular juncture was not at the moment apparent to the general mass of the people, although exciting some comment among the nobles and the priests of Baal. Shortly after his cavalcade had disappeared beyond the western slopes, the king made his appearance upon the scene, and the procession to the temple was formed. The Druids led the way, leading the war-horse, on which old Erse was, for the occasion, mounted. The bandages were removed from his eyes, which, beginning now to recover from the blinding effect of the lightning flash, were so far restored to their natural functions as no longer to require such protection. In his hand he bore a javelin, and dressed in his sacerdotal robes, with his flowing beard and sandalled feet, he made a suffi- ciently incongruous figure. It was not customary for the priests of Baal to follow warlike exercises or to take part in any military operations, and, unaccustomed as he was to mount on horseback and carry arms, the old man made a less imposing figure than he did when OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 211 exercising his sacerdotal functions on foot. Behind him four Ouates carried on a sort of stretcher the great wooden image of the deity, represented as sitting on a cloud, holding a bundle of darts, suggestive of lightnings, in his right hand, and in his left a ball representing a thunderbolt. Behind the priests rode the king on his charger, and following him a numerous cavalcade of chiefs and nobles, among whom were many noble women. Jere- miah, in his priestly robes, attended by Baruch, rode among them, escorting the princesses and their attendant women ; for natural curiosity had impelled them to come and witness the conclusion of the events so tragically commenced on the day of Saman. On arriving at the southern entrance of the Druidical circle, old Erse rode forward alone to within a few yards of the great monoliths composing the gateway, when, raising the javelin in his right hand, he hurled the spear with such force as he could command against the impenetrable granite, exclaiming : "I defy thee in the name of Jehovah, oh ! Baal, thou false god ; I declare thee caitiff and foresworn and unworthy of the honour and veneration of mankind ! " The crowd, both gentle and simple, looked on at this daring proceeding with awe, fully expecting that some dreadful fate might, perhaps, befall the bold and daring old man. Nothing, however, followed except that the steel spear-head was shattered by contact with the un- unyielding stone. Erse then turned to the attendant priests and said : "Bring hither into the enclosure the image of this false and futile god that we may burn it with fire on the very spot on which so many have been done to death in his honour." 212 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON J Upon this the priests advanced bearing the image and followed the old arch-priest into the enclosure now crowded with people of both sexes and all ages. The king and his nobles entered after them, and the image, in its litter, was deposited on a great heap of wood in front of the ruins of the great altar. Then fire was applied and the great heap began to burn and the flames leaped up and licked the great idol with withering tongues as it stood helpless and stolid in the pyre. Then old Erse turned to the people and said : "Behold, ye people, here have we committed the image of this false god to the fire, and he is blackened by the smoke and scorched with the flames, but no sign from heaven comes to his assistance ; the sun shines on and the breeze whispers gently on your ears, and the wild birds flutter over head as they are wont to do, and seem to approve our actions with their bright and joyous pipe ; draw near, therefore, and cast your idols and your images of false gods into this same fire to be consumed with this false god, who has been equally powerless to help either us or himself in the hour of danger and affliction, and lean ye henceforth on the God of Israel, the Lord of all the earth, who is powerful to save as to destroy." Then the people cried aloud as with one voice : "The God of Israel he is the Lord! The God of Israel he is the Lord ! " and, pressing forward, they boldly cast their household idols into the fire until not one remained. Then Jeremiah came forward and said in a loud voice : "Men of the Tuatha de Danaan, ye have done well in that ye have turned again to the God of your fathers, and have cast your graven images into the fire that they may be consumed ; but will ye now leave one stone standing of this great temple of a false god OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 213 which have witnessed so many cruelties and have ministered to the worship of a lie. Take ye your instruments of tillage and undermine everyone of these great stones and cast them down, and I will show ye how to build on this same site a temple worthy of the God of mercy and justice and truth, and how to offer up to Him the acceptable sacrifice of a repentant and a contrite heart." Then, with loud shouts, the people set to work to undermine and overthrow the great stones of the magic circle, and as every ponderous monolith fell heavily upon the sward, loud shouts of jubilation arose from the multitude until every single stone was overthrown and not one remained standing. Then amid shouts of " God save the king ! God save our lord the Pentarch ! God bless His prophet and priest ! " the procession re-formed and, amidst the acclamations of the people, the king, with Jeremiah and the princesses, accompanied by the chiefs and nobles of his court, returned to Cathair Crofuin, dis- persing in the courtyard of the palace enclosure. On the way Eochaid addressed his conversation chiefly to Tamar, who looked radiant with health and happiness ; for she was deeply gratified that this strange people among whom she had come, as it seemed to her accidentally, to sojourn, had abandoned their idolatry and had accepted the God of her fathers. In reply to an enquiry on the king's part as to whether he might hope that she would condescend to instruct him in the details of her faith, she rejoined, with tears in her eyes, that she would be only too happy to speak with his majesty, whenever he should please, of such matters, according to lier poor knowledge, but that her guardian, or Baruch, would be far more competent to do 214 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; this than she, a maiden, and ill-instructed in the law. When Eochaid, with a meaning look, replied, that his heart told him he could learn more readily from her lips than any priest or prophet of them all, a blush mantled on her lovely face, and her heavily-fringed eyelids hid from view the bright, though tearful eyes, that but now had looked so eagerly in his handsome face. Sara, who rode on the king's other hand, was moody and silent, and his attentions to her sister warmer and more pointed than they have ever been before pierced her bosom like daggers, while the pallor of her face and the compression of her lips denoted that some strong emotions, which she sought to suppress, possessed her. This story is rather concerned with the historical pos- sibilities of the epoch of which it treats than with the purely human incidents common to all epochs ; but we cannot close our eyes to the fact that all the elements of a stirring human romance are fully present. The passionate nature, and hardly restrained self-will, of the younger of the two sisters were, unconsciously to her- self, hurrying her into a mental attitude towards the king of Ulster, fraught with infinite danger to her peace of mind. Fascinated by the personal beauty and noble bearing of this semi-barbarous prince, thoughts, and pos- sibly hopes, which she would have died rather than reveal, least of all to her tender and devoted sister, who alone of those around her could, perhaps in some degree have guided and moulded the strange and unrecognised feel- ings that were stirring her maiden bosom, with the gentle and sympathetic touch of the mother's hand, which Sara, even more than Tamar, had hardly known, or could, at any rate, barely remember. Eochaid, himself, mistaking the shyness of maidenly self-consciousness for coldness, if not absolute dislike, turned most naturally OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 215 to the elder and more sympathetic Tamar, who, fancy- free, was able to converse with him with the freedom and ease which is unrestrained by that deeper sentiment which, once aroused, insensiby affects the conduct and demeanour of a young and inexperienced girl. Sara, on her part, concluding Eochaid's attention to her sister to imply a preference, which, at this early period of their acquaintance, the latter had hardly thought about, and observing the evident pleasure and satisfaction, perfectly innocent as it was, which Tamar experienced from the courtly attention and agreeable conversation of the prince, had already come to regard her sister as a successful rival, and, though nothing could by any possibility obliterate, or even seriously diminish, the deep affection of the younger sister for the elder, the impression thus produced made all confi- dences in such a subject entirely out of the question. All these circumstances together, constituted an un- fortunate condition of affairs, and, as time went on, Sara began to develop the evidences of the painful feel- ings which tormented her spirit. She grew dejected and fretful, impatient of control, and still more im- patient of sympathy. Her health was unfavourably affected, and Tamar was at once puzzled and grieved by the failing appetite of her sister and an irrepressible disposition to give way to tears without apparent reason. At the same time the king's attentions to the lovely Tamar, became every day more marked. Little evi- dences of his royal favour were noticeable every day. He had extended an almost unbounded confidence to Jeremiah ; consulting him upon all State affairs, and in spite of his manifold royal and social duties, he con- trived to spend a part of almost every day in the apartments of the princesses, who, attended by their 2l6 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; women, received him without restraint. At first, Sara had borne her part in these interviews, but latterly she had acquired the habit of retiring so soon as the king arrived, for though secretly delighted with any little courtesy he might show her, she was so agitated by his attentions to her sister, which jealousy persuaded her were warmer and more tender than those extended to herself, that she found it impossible to remain any longer at these interviews. More than once Tamar had been surprised to find her in her own apartments bathed in tears, after these visits, and though lavishing all the tenderness of her sweet nature on her distressed sister, had been puzzled and hurt by the abrupt and fretful manner in which her approaches were on these occasions repulsed. She had more than once thought of speaking to her guardian on the subject, thinking that her sister might, perhaps, extend to his authority a confidence withheld from her sisterly affection ; but she hesitated to trouble him with what might seem to him a trivial, if not a frivolous matter, and had, therefore, as often refrained when on the point of taking such a step. Baruch she would have consulted, but her feminine instinct had for some time past, led her to believe that he was himself very deeply attached to her sister, although fully double her age, and she very naturally felt that, deep as might be his interest in the case, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to take him into her confidence. Jeremiah and Baruch had both separately, and with- out any communication with each other, drawn a truer conclusion from Sara's conduct and behaviour than the more inexperienced Tamar had been able to do. The former felt, no doubt, from what he saw and heard, that the younger of his wards was becoming enamoured of OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 217 the king, but wisel)' concluded that any attempt at interference on his part would be both indelicate and imprudent, and likely to effect more harm than good. Baruch had also truly interpreted the symptoms he had observed in Sara, but, hoping that time might operate in her favour, he was content to be silently watchful, and to wait. These were the domestic complications that were growing up among the principal characters in our historical drama, during the months immediately follow- ing the feast of Saman. Jeremiah had already made advances not only in the favour and confidence of Eochaid himself, but in those of his adopted people. In concert with the king and his advisers, a code of laws, based on the ancient Hebraic law, had been agreed upon. Old Erse and the majority of his subordinates had acquiesced in the new religion, and had entered upon a course of study of the Hebrew law, guided by Jeremiah and Baruch. With the king's assent and under an edict promulgated by him these professors had been constituted a Mur - Ollamin,* or College of Ollams, meaning prophets or priests, of whom Jeremiah had been appointed by the king himself the head, or chief, with the title of Ollam Fola. The king had also determined, in honour of the God of Israel, to change the name of his capital, or residence, from Cathair Crofuin to Tara, from the Hebrew word "Tarah" the law but had delayed the promulgation of the edict until the next feast of Saman. Those Druidical priests, Ouates, and bards, who had felt themselves unable, or unwill- ing, to adopt the new faith had been given to understand that they were at liberty to leave Ulster and settle else- where in Ireland at their pleasure, with an intimation * Appendix, Note D. 2l8 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; that their continued presence would be no longer tolerated in the personal territories of Eochaid. Most of them had betaken themselves to the royal residence of Tuathal, king of Connaught. Jeremiah had taken the earliest opportunity, after the events of Saman to forward scrolls to old Isaac, at Tyre, which he had sent to his old friend, the chief of Dan Dalghea, to be forwarded by Ben Ammon, the captain of the " Lion of Judah," when next his ship should visit the Irish coast. In these scrolls he had re- quested the old Jew merchant to forward to him at the earliest opportunity from Tyre a few skilled artificers in stone, timber, and metal, with a good store of imple- ments and material for the building of a temple and of the necessary accommodation for the newly-created College of Ollams. He had also sent down to the coast in wagons a full cargo of flax, hides, horns and other Irish products, collected by the king's tax-gatherers from the people for this purpose, and in payment of the goods ordered from Tyre. Early in March the vessel had turned up and Jeremiah had sent down Baruch with two ox-wains laden with silver and tin to bargain with the captain for the cargo which he had brought with him. A request had also been forwarded to Isaac to send on six or eight skilled herdsmen familiar with the best methods of breed- ing and improving stock and of tilling the soil for cereal crops. It was about the end of April, and spring was beginning to clothe the sward with blossoms and the trees with foliage, when Baruch returned from his mission to Dan Dalghea, bringing with him a train of ox-wains, loaded with the cargo of the "Lion of Judah," for the whole of which he had treated with Ben Ammon, consisting of Tyrian textiles, OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 2IQ arms, tools and ornaments, which were deposited in Jeremiah's stores at Cathair Crofuin, to be traded from time to time for such Irish produce as would find a ready market at Tyre, when the next convoy of vessels from that port should touch the Irish coast. 220 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; CHAPTER XV. A PROPOSAL FOR AN ALLIANCE. " Behold, thou art fair, my love ; behold, thou art fair ; thou hast doves' eyes within thy locks ; thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead. Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing. Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely." Song of Sol. iv. i, 2, 3. EARLY in the month of May of the same year, 579 B.C., Eochaid had been spending some hours in the society of the Princess Tamar. Every day the attractions of her mind and person were exercising a growing attraction for the bachelor king of Ireland. Every day was forcing more and more upon his attention the abstract necessity, on political grounds, of his taking unto himself a consort, and raising up an heir to the throne, his tenure of which was not rendered less precarious among his semi-savage and ambitious contemporaries, by the element of un- certainty naturally attaching among a barbarous popu- lation to a dynasty unable, as yet, to show a visible successor to the crown. The temptation to the minor kings of the Irish provinces to stretch out their hands to a diadem unsupported in the affections of the people by a living heir was necessarily greater than would be the case if the subjects of the reigning king, predisposed in favour of the hereditary principle, but otherwise in- different as to who might at any given moment sit upon the throne, could see and feel the visible and tangible evidence of dynastic stability implied by the existence of a crown prince. The king's most trusted advisers had OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 221 of late frequently urged upon him the political necessity for an early marriage, not without effect upon his majesty's mind. On this spring day, in his interview with the princess of Judah, the conversation had gone back to the throne-stone of the Oriental princesses, and its almost magical connection with the destinies of the race. From the first, Eochaid, with the natural bent towards superstition which pervaded the whole human race in those early ages even more than is now generally thought to be the case, had conceived a strong desire to make himself master of this miraculous throne-seat, and so to establish his own descendants on an indestructible throne for ever. His conversation on this occasion, added to all the information he had been able to gather on the subject, had greatly stimulated his keen interest in this most ancient relic ; and, as he perambulated his chamber on that afternoon, communing with himself on the question of marriage, he saw plainly enough that only by joining hi? fortunes with these princesses, who alone possessed the needful hereditary claims to the blessings attaching to the marvellous throne-seat, which blessings he so ardently desired to secure for the unborn descendants whom he wished by this means to fix im- mutably on a perpetual throne, could his expectations be realised. His natural inclinations as a man, and his interests as a king pushing him in the same direction, it need cause no surprise if the idea of an alliance with Tamar, the daughter of Zedekiah, began to exercise a powerful influence on his imagination. True, it is, that in the course of his cogitations on this subject, his mind reverted to the proposals laid before him with much official ceremony by Tuathal, king of Conn aught, in the interests of his daughter Lorrha some months ago. 222 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; Although not blind to the political advantages, such as they were, of such reliance as Tuathal hud then proposed, the lady herself in spite of her somewhat florid charms, was personally distinctly repugnant to him and he could hardly recall even mentally the incident in question without a smile. It seemed to him in his present mood that an alliance with the daughter of Zedekiah, the possessor of the miraculous throne-seat, and the inheritor of the blessings promised to the line of David, of which blessings that throne-seat was an out- ward and visible sign, might politically be found to be, at least, as advantageous as that with the daughter of the reigning king of Connaught, and the person of the lady in the latter case was as attractive and fascinating as that of Lorrha was repugnant and unsympathetic. The result of his rumination, therefore, was a deter- mination to call his council together on the morrow, and unfold to them his matrimonial intentions, nomi- nally with a view of listening to their advice in such a momentous matter, though, doubtless, really with an unexpressed, and almost unconscious, intention in his heart to have his own way. On this very afternoon, all unaware as she necessarily was of what might be passing in the mind of the king, Tamar had been more than usually exercised in her mind by the strange, and to her, unaccountable conduct of her sister Sara. After Eochaid's departure from his audience with herself, Tamar had sought out her younger sister, who, following her custom on such occasions, had withdrawn to her private chamber immediately upon The king's arrival. She found her bathed in tears, for which she could or would allege no reason and inclined to resent, almost with fierceness, her sister's tender and well* OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 223 meant endeavours to soothe and pacify her. That some unusually strong passion agitated Sara's inmost soul she could hardly fail to observe; that that passion seemed to be always coincident with the visits of the king of Ireland had struck her more than once, but she had always attributed these attacks to some inexplicable repugnance on the part of her sister to the person and conversation of the king; for it was foreign to her calm and placid temperament to suppose for a moment that a young girl could permit her affections to become absorbed in any man who had never himself made any advances to her. That Eochaid had certainly never made any such advances to her sister Sara, Tamar could not from her own observation for a moment doubt, and it therefore never occurred to her to suspect the real facts of the case. She had often cudgelled her brains to imagine the cause of a line of conduct in her sister which at once grieved and somewhat scandalised her and she was bitterly disappointed at her complete in- ability to attract and fix the confidence which as an elder sister she felt to be her due, and which she was quite unconscious of having done anything to forfeit. " It grieves me to the heart, sweet sister," she said, " that thou wilt not confide in me and tell me the grief which consumes thee, for plain it is to me that thou hast a grief, and a bitter grief, too; and thou knowest, dear Sara, that troubles shared are half repaired, and I would fain be helpful to thee, if thou wouldst let me, but in truth I .cannot even guess the cause of thy passion and thy tears." 'i/)f deurse, thou canst not, dear Tamar, nor do I desire' that thou shouldst. Be satisfied that I blame not thee; it is not aught that thou hast done, or left undone, jthat fills my heart with tears and my soul with bitter- 224 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON J ness. My life is blighted and my spirit seared ere yet I have hardly started in the race. I cannot tell thee my trouble, I hardly know myself what it is, but all I ask is to be left in peace. Thou meanest well, I am sure of it; but thou maddenest me with thy well-meant sympathy. Neither thou nor any mortal woman can help me. I must bear my burden, such as it is, and bear it alone, and if I have a request to thee it is that thou concern not thyself with my affairs." " I understand thee not, sweet Sara. Why shouldst thou meet my sisterly love and solicitude with this rebuff? What have I done to deserve this at thy hands? I would thou couldst take more interest in the life around thee. There is poor Baruch, I am sure he is dying for a smile from thy eyes; he has been a most faithful friend to both of us, and a most patient teacher; he followeth thy very movement with his eyes, just like a faithful and affectionate dog, and in sooth thou treatest him almost worse than a dog." " Poor Baruch ! I am sorry, sweet sister, I am truly sorry; but I cannot help it. I am not ungrateful, but he driveth me mad with his obvious worship. He is old enough to be my father, Tamar; and though I am thankful to him for all that he has done for us, it is preposterous to suppose that I can love him." "Oh! I thought not, and spoke not of love, dear Sara, I did not suppose that is, I know no reason why thou shouldst love him nor any why thou shouldst not, for that matter; but thou mightest be kind and courteous to him, even if thou canst not love him, and, at least, he deserves that much of both of us." "Tis useless to talk to me, Tamar; thou dost not, thou canst not, understand, and I cannot, and will not, OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 225 explain. I pray thee, dear, to leave me. I will be better presently: kiss me, sweet sister, and go, and let me wrestle with my misery in my own way, and unobserved of the eyes of those who seem to me, oh ! so much, so very much, happier than I." This appeal Tamar could not, of course, resist but kissing her sister tenderly, she retired, more puzzled than ever, and determined to consult her guardian in a matter which proved too deep for her unsophisticated soul to grasp. On the following morning the king met his council, and laid before them his matrimonial plans. Tamar had greatly endeared herself by her gentle and sym- pathetic manner to everyone about the royal household, and the members of the council had nothing to object to her being raised to the dignity of queen of Ireland; but one or two ventured to suggest that it would be better the king should take a wife of Irish birth, and one or two noble gentlewomen, including the princess of Con- naught, were mentioned as being in every way eligible. Eochaid, however, cut the matter short by declaring that he was disinclined to link his fate with any female for whom he was unable to feel any sentiment of affec- tion; that his own domestic happiness and peace was a matter of some moment to himself, that he had con- ceived for Tamar, the princess of Judah, a passion with which none of the ladies whose names had been men- tioned had been able to inspire him, least of all the princess Lorrha, that, being now entirely convinced of the truth of the faith of Israel and of the high destiny reserved for the offspring of the kings of Judah of the royal line of David, considerations of State as well as of personal inclination pointed to his proposed union with Tamar as in every way desirable. This being so, 226 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; he had determined to seek the hand of this princess in marriage, unless his council could satisfy him that there existed practical objections to such an alliance it would be useless to recapitulate the claims of other maidens. Inasmuch as his council could not honestly allege any paramount objections on State or other grounds to the realisation of the king's desire, an unanimous approval of his intentions was recorded and the chamberlain was instructed to make on Eochaid's behalf formal application for the hand of his ward, Tamar, the elder daughter of Zedekiah. The fussy old Maccoial was highly delighted with the .mission entrusted to him, and immediately set about making most elaborate preparations to fulfil it with as much circumstance as possible. As a preliminary step he called together all his ancient gossips among his sovereign's entourage in order to recall and review the details of the procedure followed some thirty years before, when the father of Eochaid sought in marriage a daughter of the late king of Meath. On examination, it was found that most of the details of the ceremony then followed were quite inapplicable on the present occasion, for the simple, but sufficient, reason that on that, at that time, the late king of Ulster's embassy had to travel into the next province to seek audience of the intended father-in-law, while, in the present instance, the princess on whom his sovereign had fixed his affec- tions was fatherless, and could be approached at any time by his walking across the palace enclosure. It will not be necessary to tire the reader with the tedious recapitulation of the trifling ceremonies with which the old chamberlain sought to enhance the importance of a mission, the real significance of which lay in its object rather than in the means employed to give effect thereto. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 227 A communication was made by a herald to Jeremiah asking for an audience for the king's chamberlain, who had a message of the first importance to convey on his master's behalf. The prophet having returned a courteous reply to the effect that he would be very pleased to receive the king's official at any time that forenoon that might be convenient to him, the chamber- lain forthwith made ready to repair to the abode of the princesses' guardian, accompanied by such a retinue of heralds and attendants as his fussiness suggested, and the rather meagre ceremonial resources of his master's court permitted. In due time he was to be seen crossing the court-yard, with an air of supreme importance, to fulfil a mission fraught with greater consequences to the future of mankind than he, or any of those concerned, except, perhaps, Jeremiah himself, ever dreamed of. Admitted to the presence of the Ollam Fola, whom he found busily engaged, with Baruch's assistance, in preparing the plans for the proposed new Temple and College of Ollams, the old gentleman was somewhat disconcerted by the business-like and unceremonious nature of his reception, and gravely declining the settle proffered for his accommodation, he proceeded, standing at the head of his motley group of attendants, to address himself to the performance of the matter in hand. "Most noble Jew and holy prophet of the Most High God," he pompously began, "I am commissioned by the high and mighty prince, Eochaid, king of Ulster and Pentarch of all Ireland, to approach thee, as guardian of the noble and high-born princess, Tamar, elder daughter of Zedekiah, sometime king of Jerusalem, in the land of Judea, and to acquaint thee that thy princely ward hath found great favour in the eyes of the king, my master, and that it hath pleased him to desire 228 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; an alliance with the noble princess aforesaid, and that it is his pleasure through me, the chamberlain of his court, to sue for her hand in honourable matrimony if she be willing to link her fortune and her life with his in wedlock. " "My lord chamberlain," replied Jeremiah, "had I known more particularly the object of thy visit I would have made more fitting preparation to receive with greater show of ceremonial dignity a messenger and a message of such grave and serious import, and, more- over, I would have made it my business to sound the feelings of my ward, the noble princess Tamar, in a matter which so nearly concerns her welfare and happiness. For myself, I may tell thee at once, that no wish lies nearer to my heart than to see my well-beloved ward suitably and honourably matched to a noble and loving lord ; but it is not the custom that the hand of a princess of Judah should be disposed of except of her own free-will and consent. If, therefore, it concerns thee greatly to have an answer presently to the gracious message of your royal lord, I will beg of thee to be seated awhile, that I may repair to the presence of the princess Tamar, and learn from her own lips what answer she would herself desire to return to the royal proposals of the king." The chamberlain would have been sorely disconcerted to have been obliged to return to his royal master with- out some definite reply to the message he had brought, and though much disappointed at the absence of ceremony, and, as he conceived, lack of dignity in this interruption of the smooth course of the mission with which he had been entrusted, he signified his assent to the prophet's proposition, much exercised in his mind by the astounding suggestion that it would be necessary OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 22g to consult the personal wishes of the lady, or that she should claim to have any voice in the matter, still more that such a claim should seem to be admitted. Irish marriages in those rude days were conducted on totally different lines, the negotiations being conducted entirely by the bridegroom with his proposed father-in-law, the conditions agreed upon being based on the assumption of the consent of the intended bride as a matter of course. Leaving the old gentleman to his reflections, the guardian went to seek a private interview with his ward. Taking every precaution to avoid any shock to her naturally sensitive feelings, Jeremiah proceeded to explain to Tamar the nature of the proposals of which she was the object. The princess did not attempt to hide from herself, or from her trusted protector, her surprise at a declaration which, although it might have occurred to her as within the range of ultimate possi- bilities, had never seemed to her to be an imminent, still less a present, problem for immediate solution. She admitted to Jeremiah that she admired and liked the man who was now proposing to make her his wife, but that she had never contemplated him as a lover or possible husband, and that she was quite unable to say that she loved him indeed, she was by no means sure that she knew what love meant, but she thought him, for his age and generation, kind, courteous and chivalrous ; she felt no sort of repugnance to him, on the contrary, he rather attracted than repelled her sym- pathies; and if her beloved and trusted guardian thought the alliance one that she ought to consider favourably, and suited to the dignity and honour of her birth and race, she felt that she could conscientiously undertake to make a true and affectionate wife to the noble-minded 230 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; man who had done her the honour to seek her as his affianced bride. Jeremiah was more than satisfied with this frame of mind, which, from his perhaps practical and prosaic, but common-sense point of view, presented greater elements of stability and permanence than the hotter and more gusty passion of youth. He, therefore, told his ward that in his opinion she took a sensible and worthy view of the situation, and that feeling as she did she would not only be justified, but that it would be her plain duty, to acquiesce in a proposal at once consonant with her interest and her honour. Tamar thereupon signified her acceptance of the honour proposed to her by Eochaid, and expressed the desire to pronounce her answer to his emissary with her own lips. Jeremiah, therefore, led her at once into the presence of the lord chamberlain, and, presenting her to him, intimated that she would herself give an answer to the message with which he was charged. When Tamar entered the apartment she was veiled according to Eastern custom, but on being presented to Maccoial, she modestly but deftly removed her veil, disclosing the charming features and bright eyes that had fascinated the wild and uncultured king, and thus addressed his emissary : " My lord, I beg of you to convey to my lord the king, thy master, my grateful acknowledgement of the honour that he has conferred upon his servant, the daughter of Zedekiah, king of Jerusalem, in the pro- posal which he has commissioned thee to convey to me, a proposal as flattering to my princely dignity as it is gratifying to rny personal feelings. Tell him that I will be proud to acknowledge him as my liege lord and loving husband, and will, by the help of the God of OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 23! Israel, be a true and affectionate and loyal wife to him, and hereunto I plight him my troth." Taking off from her ringer a beautiful diamond and emerald ring, she handed it to the old man, saying : "I pray thee, good chamberlain, give thy lord this ring as an earnest of my devotion to his throne and person, and of the truth which I have pledged to him." Old Maccoial, quite overwhelmed with the charm of voice and manner, stumbled on to one knee to receive the ring from her hand, and, deferentially kissing the tips of her ringers, swore allegiance to his gracious lady, the future queen of Ireland. The emissary and his quaint following then withdrew, to convey to Eochaid the result of his mission. Eochaid, more impatient than he would have cared to admit, received with great inward satisfaction the graceful message that the chamberlain brought him, and, pressing the ring the princess had sent him to his lips, made the old man repeat again and again the gracious words of her message. Having sent the old man back with a request that his affianced bride would condescend to receive him that evening, in order that he might thank her in person for the grace she had done him, the king repaired with a light heart and smiling countenance to preside at the mid-day meal in the great hall, according to his daily custom. On leaving the apartment after her interview with the king's chamberlain, Tamar had, of course, nothing more pressing to do than to hasten to tell her sister Sara of the good fortune, as she considered it, which had be- fallen her. She found her sitting listlessly among the maidens in their common reception room, one of whom was crooning a long-winded Eastern song to the accom- paniment of a three-stringed lute. So full was she of 232 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; her news that she could not wait for the conclusion of the song, but, motioning the attendants to retire, and throwing herself on the lounge beside her sister, she passed her arm round her neck, and tenderly kissing her, she said in low tones : " Oh ! my darling sister, I am so happy and I am sure of your sisterly affection and sympathy. What do you think, dearest, has happened ? Well, you will never guess, so I must tell you. Eochaid, the king, has made me an offer of marriage, and I have accepted him ! " "What!" shrieked Sara, starting wildly up; "I cannot believe my ears ; tell me again, Tamar." " Eochaid has asked me to be his wife and I have accepted him." "Eochaid has sought thee in wedlock," Sara ejacu- lated in halting and broken tones, "and thou hast con- sented ? Oh ! my God, help me ! " sighed the pale and trembling girl, at the same moment placing her hand mechanically to her side and falling back lifeless on the pillows in a dead swoon. Tamar, surprised, and still more disturbed and alarmed by the deadly emotion of her sister, gathered her lifeless form in her loving arms, and covering her pale face with kisses, exclaiming, "Oh, Sara, sweet Sara, what have I said, what have I done, to wound you ! Speak, oh ! speak, dear sister. Help ! " she cried, " help ! Come quickly, my darling sister is dying:" The attendant maidens hastened around and pro- ceeded to adopt the customary methods for restoring a fainting girl, which, after a time, met with so much success that Sara opened her eyes with a sigh, exclaim- ing with a dazed expression, " Oh ! where am I, what has happened ; " then casting her eyes on her sister, her OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 233 memory returned and she fell into violent hysterics, moaning and crying in most piteous manner. When Tamar approached, with intention of comforting and pacifying her, Sara motioned her away with her hands, with a gesture of horror and repugnance, which deeply wounded poor Tamar, still most innocently unconscious of the cause of her sister's terrible emotion. " Oh ! take me to my apartment," moaned the sorely tried girl, "take me away, I cannot bear to look upon her ; " and, thinking it best so to put an end to a scene which was becoming painful to all concerned, the attendant women lifted the hysterical girl in their arms and bore her away to her private apartment. Tamar, left alone, was utterly at a loss to comprehend why her sister should exhibit such strange emotion on being informed of the event of the morning. If her pro- posed marriage had involved a permanent separation from her sister, she could have understood her passion to some extent, although to her own more placid and self-con- tained disposition such an exhibition would have seemed greatly exaggerated; but, of course, there was, and could be, no question of that, and poor Tamar, deeply grieved and hurt, was quite unable to understand the cause of her sister's distemper. Herself untouched by passion, she was totally incompetent to realise the depth and breadth of its effects in more susceptible natures; but having no reason to suppose that Eochaid had ever made any advances to her sister which, as a matter of fact, he had not it never occurred to her that Sara should, or could, have conceived, unsolicited, an affec- tion for the man to whom she had just plighted her troth. Completely mystified and deeply grieved, she hastened to inform her guardian of the strange and, to her, un- accountable behaviour of her sister. Q 234 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; Jeremiah was deeply concerned to hear of what had transpired, and, being himself not unskilled in the simple leech-craft of the age, hastened away to offer his ser- vices. Baruch, who since the occurrences of the morning had been in a more than usually cheerful mood, inspired by certain hopes which the affiance and impending mar- riage of Eochaid had aroused in his breast, was again much cast down and depressed by Tamar's recital. Although he would not for the world have betrayed the younger sister to the elder, he had no difficulty in divining the true cause of the former's emotion and discomfiture, and, while he felt some disappointment at the evidence thus afforded of the violence of the attach- ment which she had evidently conceived for the Irish prince, he was not altogether without hope that the very violence of Sara's passion, now that all hope of the realisation of her dreams seemed at an end, might bring about a reaction and prepare her mind to receive by degrees the ideas with which it was the hope and dream of his own life to inspire his lovely fellow- countrywoman. He therefore busied himself in apply- ing such consolations of a common-place character to the fair Tamar, as the circumstances seemed to demand and render necessary, and he was still engaged in conver- sation with her of a friendly and comforting tone; when the prophet returned to say that, after being bled, Sara's passion and excitement had given way to exhaustion, and that she had fallen asleep after swallowing such sedatives as his skill and experience had recommended to him. At the same time, while professing himself unable to explain the cause of this sudden and violent outbreak, he ventured to recommend Tamar to abstain for a time OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 235 -at any rate, from seeking her sister's society, lest the sight of her features, or the well-known sound of her voice, should again arouse the unexplained emotions which she had evidently found it quite impossible to restrain, on the occasion of being informed by her sister of the contemplated change in the circumstances of the latter. 236 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; CHAPTER XVI. A BITTER DISAPPOINTMENT. "Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch. Thou didst say, Woe is me now ! for the Lord hath added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest. And seekest thou great things for thyself ? Seek them not." Jer. xlv. 2, 3, 5- WHEN Sara awoke from the sleep that followed the sedative that had been administered to her, with return- ing consciousness awakened memory reminded her of the blow that had fallen upon her heart, throwing her again into a condition of frantic despair, all the more terrible because it must necessarily be borne in silence. To take anyone least of all her sister into her confidence was manifestly impossible. Day after day for many days the poor girl cried herself into a state of exhaus- tion approaching collapse, until sleep came to her relief, only to bring forgetfulness for a brief interval, to be followed by another fit of weeping and despair. Jere- miah himself became quite alarmed at her condition; he had no doubt in his own mind as to the cause of her trouble, and at length decided that it would be neces- sary for him to exert his authority and make an attempt to bring the unhappy girl to a sense of the folly of her conduct, even though in doing so he had to probe a wound which, if not healed, might prove fatal to her reason, if not her life. This painful duty he performed with paternal tender- ness, though with great firmness and decision. At first the unhappy child was greatly inclined to resent his OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 237 interference in a matter which she had not herself ven- tured to disclose to him, but by degrees her wounded spirit began to experience a sort of consolation in the reflection that her almost unbearable secret was shared by one wise, prudent and discreet as her guardian, whom she dearly loved, though her wild and untamed spirit impelled her to rebel against any exercise of authority. After some days of careful treatment, both medical and moral, Jeremiah had the satisfaction of observing that his patient became more composed, and though still moody and deeply depressed, she gradually began to recover the strength that had been sadly undermined by so prolonged a fit of uncontrolled emotion. Pale, lan- guid, and devoid of all interest in her surroundings and customary occupations, the poor child would sit for hours with a vacant gaze and pained expression that betokened the dreary current of her thought. She was quite unable to bear the idea of any interview with the sister whom she had so tenderly loved, and asked only to be left alone with her own bitter and painful reflections. Meantime, arrangements were in progress for the pub- lic betrothal of Eochaid and Tamar. The former passed a great part of his time in the society of his intended bride, and became every day more and more enamoured of her person, while she on her part began to experience a growing affection for her kingly lover and an increasing pleasure in his society and con- versation. Jeremiah was naturally most anxious to spare his younger ward the pain that the public functions and rejoicings attending the betrothal must necessarily cause her, if subjected to any knowledge of what was going on, and cast about for an opportunity of getting her 238 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; away from Cathair Crofuin for a time, until these cere- monies were concluded. The scrolls that he had sent to Dan Dalghea to await the arrival of the " Lion of Judah " had been duly delivered to the care of captain Ben Ammon, who had sailed with his ship for Tyre some six or seven weeks ago. A vessel could hardly be expected back for some considerable time yet, but he conceived the idea of per- suading Sara to go and take up her residence with the old chieftain at Dan Dalghea, accompanied by two or three of the women, and under the protection of Baruch, on the plea of anxiety not to lose a moment when the ship should arrive. The unhappy child received this suggestion with absolute indifference, declaring that it was nothing to her where she might be, and that if it would please her guardian, for whose kindness to her in her great trouble she was now beginning to feel grateful, that she should take up her residence for a time at Dan Dalghea, she would be quite willing to do so. Baruch was secretly delighted with the proposal, for now that a union of his beloved with the king was quite out of the question, he had determined to try everything in his power to win her goodwill, and hoped by the proposed sojourn with her at the coast to have oppor- tunities he could not hope for at Cathair Crofuin to in- gratiate himself if possible in her good graces. Like all men, he did not realise the difficulty, almost impossibility, of the task he was setting himself, but hugged himself with the hope that, now that the unconscious rivalry of Eochaid was removed, he might have some chance of diverting to himself the sentiments which he well knew that the object of his adoration had entertained ; arguing to himself, like a man, that if Sara could bestow her love unasked upon a man who not only neglected, but OR, .THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 239 was even quite unaware of, the interest he had excited ; now that she must have realised the utter futility of nourishing such a sentiment she would be more inclined to transfer her affection to one ready and anxious to be her willing slave, and worship her sweet person with an adoration and tenderness of which he was himself conscious, and entertained no doubt he could make it plain to her now that he was free to try and do so. So it was decided that this arrangement should be carried out, and the assent of the old chieftain to the plan having been obtained, the cavalcade set out on a lovely morning early in June with every precaution for the comfort and convenience of the interesting invalid. The public betrothal of the royal pair had been fixed to take place with great pomp at the end of June. At Cathair Crofuin itself the impending marriage had aroused universal enthusiasm and had been well received all over Ulster. Embassies had been sent immediately the consent of Tamar and her guardian to the union had been obtained to the courts of Meath, Munster, Leinster, and Connaught, to^announce the match and to offer a courteous and ceremonious invitation to the festival. The kings of Meath and Munster had promptly accepted, he of Leinster, still rankling from his defeat after the accession of Eochaid, had excused himself on the ground of old age and infirmity from undertaking the journey, while the king of Connaught, pushed on to do so no doubt by the jealous and disappointed Lorrha, accused the Pentarch of breach of faith in not comfirm- ing what Tuathal chose to interpret as a promise of alliance with his own family, and threatening if the pro- posed nuptials were proceeded with to take dire revenge for the insult which he pretended had been offered to him in the person of his neglected daughter. 240 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; Eochaid, on receipt of this bombastical and rather im- pertinent message, had sent back word by his ambassador that he was guiltless of any intention to wound or hurt the feelings of his subordinate, or his daughter, that he had only undertaken to consider the honorable proposals which his brother of Connaught had thought fit to submit to him. That he had, in fact, considered them and had come to the conclusion that his own happiness and the interest of his house would be better consulted by forming a suitable matrimonial alliance in another direction. This conciliatory answer had, however, entirely failed of its purpose. Tuathal, in a half-drunken fit of anger, had only blustered and threatened until Eochaid's ambassadors were glad to get away from his court with whole skins. So matters stood when the marriage of the king was celebrated at the end of June of the year 579 B.C. We will leave to our readers to imagine the old Jewish ceremonial which was strictly insisted upon by Jeremiah. The court of the Pentarch strained every nerve to make it as gorgeous and imposing as the resources of civilisa- tion as they then existed in Ireland would permit. The attendant youths and maidens, clad in white raiment, the flowers, the lamps and candlesticks, the incense and the courtly crowd within the great hall, where the marriage took place ; the concourse of men and women outside, cheering themselves hoarse as the king and queen, after the ceremony, appeared at the great entrance to receive their delighted acclamations ; he, in glittering armour of brass, with his mantle of white wollen material, in diadem and torque of gold ; she, veiled in white from head to foot, wearing an Oriental diadem of diamonds, and her dress gleaming with such jewels, the heirlooms of her kingly race, jealously pre- OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 24! served by Jeremiah for this occasion,as had never before been seen in Ireland, or any other western land. Lean- ing on her royal bridegroom's arm, with a bearing of queenly dignity mingled with right womanly tenderness and affection, followed in procession by the assembled nobles walking two and two, the newly-wedded pair perambulated three times the enclosure of the royal fortress, amid the acclamations of the multitude, who fell over one another in their frantic efforts to catch a glimpse of their newly-created queen, and the royal party withdrew to prepare for the great banquet with which the festivities of the day was to be crowned. The feasting and drinking and harping of harps, the long- winded and laudatory effusions of the bards, the barrels of mead and great tubs of wassail freely distributed to all and sundry within the dun; the bonfires, the shouting, the laughter, the joking and the love-making that went on far into the night, were all duly recorded in extravagant Runic rhymes by the chief bard, and the record still exists of the gift by the bridegroom to the bride as a dower, of the hill (or of that part of the hill), upon which her cathair, or dwelling was to stand, and of the change in the name of the hill. When the news of the great doings at Tara, as the residence of the Pentarch was in future to be called, reached Baruch, at Dan Dalghea, his natural delicacy impelled him to abstain from making any allusion to the event in his conversation with Sara, but he took good care to give as minute and particular account of the proceedings as he could to her attendant maidens, con- fident that they would discuss them in her presence and so make her aware of what had taken place. And so it happened. At first Sara was very angry and took her maidens severely to task for their levity in speaking such 242 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; foolish fables of their liege lord and sovereign, but by degrees she became convinced of the truth of these stories. For a day or two she maintained the privacy of her apartment ; but familiarity with misery soon toughens even the tenderest heart, and, after a time, the unhappy girl was able to bear without wincing, the con- versation that went on around her. For Tamar the joys and interests of her new position made time to fly with rapid wings, but he crept on slowly enough at Dan Dalghea, and Sara began to wish that the ship from Tyre would speedily arrive, if only to change the monotony of life and relieve her of the attentions of Baruch, whose efforts to please she so far noticed as to be aware of them ; while they aroused no other responsive sentiments in her than wonder that he should so utterly waste his time, mingled with some slight sense of gratitude for the real kindness and tender thoughtful- ness he lavished upon her day by day. One sultry evening toward the end of July, Sara was sitting in the garden of the old chieftain's enclosure enjoying what little coolness the shades of night were bringing with them. Her maidens busy with some tapestry or other needle work, were sitting not far away, while Baruch lay on the turf at her feet, looking up at her with the expression of a saint adoring a divinity. He had flattered himself that he had observed some softening of her manner towards him during the last few days ; his own passion for her had grown so irresistible during this sojourn at Dan Dalghea with its constant opportunities of basking in her society that he felt he could no longer restrain the burning anxiety to learn his fate. In a low voice, and he had a very soft and in- sinuating voice, like so many of his race, he addressed her thus : OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 243 "Sweet princess, I have seen thee grow up from a little cherub girl child so high to a most lovely and graceful womanhood, and I have worshipped thee all these years. First, as the daughter of my lord king Zedekiah, to whom my duty and allegiance of right belonged, but latterly as the most winsome and delight- ful of thy sex, and I would fain lay at thy beautiful feet all the tenderness and ardour and joyful service of which my nature is capable." " I understand thee not, good Baruch," rejoined the princess, " I have always regarded thee as friend and preceptor, a grave and reverend man, somewhat advanced in years, to whom my duty and respectful affection have been due in return for the many benefits I have received at thy hands. But methinks thou seemest to-night to speak somewhat after the manner of a lover ; though Heaven knows I have not much knowledge of such toys, but thy speech seemeth to betray a tenderness that goes beyond the duty of a monitor and preceptor. Haply I may have misunderstood thee." " 'Tis true, sweet Sara, that I am no longer a youth and thou art a beautiful maiden just budding into lovely womanhood, but thinkest thou the heart is old even before the beard is grey ? I have lived a sober and an arduous life. The misfortunes of my native land have commanded my service and my thought. My heart has never been touched by thoughts of tenderness except such as I have felt for thee. I know nothing of the love of women, but I know that I would give all my life to do thee service, that no task would be too hard, no sacrifice too great to win one approving smile from thee. Is it a sin to love thee so ? " "Ha! ha! ha!" laughed the girl, though the laugh sounded something forced and unnatural, "I prithee 244 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; hold me excused, dear Baruch, but I cannot choose but laugh. To think of the stern teacher and grave moralist, the dreaded instructor of youth as the suitor of a girl, and his pupil too, young enough to be his daughter, tickles my girlish fancy and I cannot choose but laugh." Baruch's heart fell within him. If she had been angry, if his goddess had killed him with a look, or even stormed a little roughly at him, he would have had more hope, but this laughter chilled him to the marrow and seemed to close the gate of paradise in his very face. " I prithee laugh me not to scorn, sweet maiden ; thou wringest my very heart with anguish. I who have loved thee so long and oh ! so patiently, who have hugged in my heart of hearts the hope that some day I might haply win thy love and claim thee for my bride, and so crown my life with an undying glory that would light my path to the end, I who have hoped all this, and dreamed all this, cannot bear to have my tenderest feelings scorned with mirth and laughter. I would rather thou shouldst spurn me with thy pretty foot than scorn my love with jest." " Nay, forgive me, good Baruch, forgive me ; I am indeed not ungrateful for all thou hast done for me ; but what wouldst thou have ; I love thee not, dear man, I love thee not." "Not now, perhaps," pleaded her suitor, "not now, and not yet ; but say thou wilt try to love me ; bid me hope, my darling, my heart's desire. In a month, in six months, in a year give me thy answer, but not now and not so. I will serve ten years for thee, my love, as our father Jacob served for his beloved Rachel, but I prithee say not that I must not hope." "But, good Baruch, I must say so. I love thee not, I cannot love thee, I can never love thee. Be satisfied OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 245 with a daughter's respect and affection, but ask me not to grant thee more." "Perchance, then, sweet Sara, thou lovest another? " Like a wounded hind the pale and delicate girl sprang to her feet, her face and eyes aflame with anger. " How darest thou ? " she cried, "how darest thou to speak so to me. Who art thou, that presumest so to address the daughter of thy king and master ? poor and captive though he be, he is still thy king, and I his daughter. How can a slave like thee dare to question the daughter of his king ? But there, forgive me, good Baruch ; I know not what I say ; thou hast unwittingly struck a dagger into my heart. I meant not what I said ; thou art good and true and faithful, I will believe, but what thou wishest can never, never, be. Go ! I prithee, go and leave me, and so thou lovest me, never speak to me again as thou spoken to-night I cannot, and will not, bear it."" So saying, she seized his hand and hurriedly raising it to her lips, she imprinted one long kiss upon it, and whispering, " Forgive me, good Baruch, but it can never be," she retired weeping into the house. Bewildered, half offended, rebuffed, Baruch stared at the retiring figure with a dull sense at his heart that, whether he quite understood the strange girl who had so strongly captivated him, or not, that all his rose- coloured hopes were dashed for ever, and that painful as it might be, he had no choice but to resign himself to the inevitable fate that had befallen him. He turned away and sought his lodging, with slow and weary step, and head bowed low, feeling that the sunlight had gone as completely out of his life as it had departed from the familiar landscape, on which the darkening shadows of night were rapidly falling. On the following morning Baruch received a message 246 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; from Sara, delivered by her maid, to the effect that she desired at once to return to the care of her guardian at Cathair Crofuin. Preparations were, therefore, at once made for her to be escorted thither, with her maidens and attendants, by a score or so of the old chieftain's men-at-arms. Baruch himself, from a feeling of delicacy, as well, perhaps, from some natural disinclination to see again just at present the girl for whom his love was as vivid as ever, but who had met his advances with such a decided rebuff, remained behind at Dan Dalghea to fulfil the mission for which he had been sent thither. He took the precaution, however, to send to Jeremiah a scroll with a particular account of the occurrence which was the immediate cause of Sara's unexpected return to Tara. Jeremiah was rather inclined to regard the conduct of his secretary as presumptuous, and to resent it accord- ingly; but inasmuch as his presumption had been so effectually checked, and as no harm was done, he did not deem it necessary to add to the poor fellow's humiliation by reproving him at this time while his wound was still fresh, and contented himself with writing him instruc- tions to remain for the present at Dan Dalghea to receive the ship of Tyre immediately on its arrival. Time went on, and the Ollam Fola had completed his designs for the buildings he had in contemplation, until early in September a messenger arrived with the news that the " Lion of Judah " had anchored in the bay, that the artificers so impatiently awaited had arrived with her, and would be sent on to Tara with the implements and appliances of their craft as soon as possible. Jeremiah lost no time in requesting the king to requisition a large number of men to commence, under the instructions of these skilful workers from the great city of the Syrian coast, the necessary building operations. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 247 Eochaid, as deeply interested and enthusiastic for the work as the prophet himself, at once sent forth an edict to his nobles and chieftains requiring them, according to their means, to supply either workmen or provisions, or both, for the execution of the project. When a few days later the strangers arrived at Tara from Dan Dalghea a sufficient number of labourers had already been collected from the immediate neighbourhood to enable the work to be set out, and the preparations for the foundations of the Temple and the College of Ollams to be commenced Baruch returned from Dan Dalghea with the cargo from the " Lion of Judah " in due course, and for many weeks the royal residence was full of life and animation, and busy times prevented both Jeremiah and Baruch from dwelling over much, the latter on his bitter disappointment and the former on the anxiety with which the mental and physical condition of Sara inspired him. So matters went briskly on, and, by the time that the annual feast of Saman arrived, the new temple began to take shape. On this occasion the first convention of Tara, summoned by royal edict, was held. A complete code of civil laws, drawn up by Jeremiah, and approved by the king's council was solemnly promulgated. The change of national faith was proclaimed and confirmed, and in place of the old Druidical ceremonies the Hebraic form of worship was for the first time publicly celebrated. One concession to popular prejudice and superstition had to be conceded. The annual ceremonial gathering of the uile-iceadh was duly carried out on the eve of Saman, and the sprays of green, with their silver berries, duly distributed among the people on the morning of the feast. 248 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; The king, now supported by his graceful queen, held a grand reception on the day following the religious festival, and on the day after that a great tournament and athletic contest took place, the victors in the game receiving their wreaths of conquest from the fair hands of the queen herself. The agricultural experts brought from Tyre were planted at various centres in Ulster, and a sort of schools of agriculture were established where practical instruc- tion in tillage and stock-breeding was imparted freely to all who chose to seek it. Under the auspices of Jeremiah, by the king's authority, new mines for the mining of minerals were opened out in many places, improved methods of mineralogy, never before known or practised in Ireland, were introduced with most valuable results. All over the kingdom of Ulster the benefits of Jeremiah's influence with the king began to be felt. The prophet had been appointed, in addition to his office of Ollam Fola, or High Priest, to that of Jodhan Moran,* Chief Justice, or Righteous Judge. Once in every year it was ordained that he should visit in person certain important centres of population in Ulster, holding a sort of assize to which disputants were invited, and en- couraged to bring their affairs for judgment and settle- ment free of cost. The popularity of Eochaid had been enormously increased by these wise reforms, and if the ancient legends of Ireland are to be believed, a sort of "golden age" set in in that country with the beneficent reign of this monarch, the blessed fruits of which have never, in spite of all the vicissitudes of twenty-five centuries, many of them turbulent and hideously savage, been obliterated from the social and See Appendix Note H. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 249 legal customs of the British people of whom the wild Danites of Ulster seern to have been the pioneers and ancestors. In the meantime, rumours reached Tara from time to time of warlike preparations on the part of Tuathal, king of Connaught, who seemed bent on some retaliation for the slight to which he pretended that he had been sub- jected by Eochaid's marriage with Tamar. The dissatisfaction which had thus been created appears about this time to have led to important events, which for a time jeopardised the flowing tide of beneficial reforms which had been instituted by the king, events which demand a fresh chapter. 250 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; CHAPTER XVII. THE SIEGE OF TARA. "And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel : and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philis- tines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men." i Sam. iv. 2. IN the latter part of March of the year 578 B.C. informa- tion reached the Pentarch that Tuathal, king of Con- naught, had assembled a large force at Sligo, consisting of twelve or fifteen thousand foot and some two thou- sand horse, besides many chariots, for the avowed purpose of invading Ulster by way of Cavan, and avenging the slight which he pretended had been offered him by the marriage of Eochaid. This con- siderable army was led by the king in person, who, the messengers asserted, was accompanied by his daughter and a large number of the most warlike of the Connaught chieftains. Preparations were instantly set on foot to offer a stubborn resistance to any such attempt. The king's emissaries were forthwith despatched to all the then important centres of the north of the province, to gather the chiefs of Ulster with their men-at-arms and meet Eochaid, with his southern levies, at a point now known as Belturbet, at the southern extremity of Lough Erne, to oppose the crossing of the Erne by the forces of Connaught. It was on a bright and sunny morning in the first week of April that Eochaid started from Tara at the head of some five thousand warriors hastily collected in OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 251 Meath, Louth, Cavan and Monaghan to join the levies from the north. His parting from Tamar, the first separation since their union, had been a tender one, for the queen was expecting very shortly to become a mother, and though herself a daughter of a warlike race, could not at the moment forget that the dangers of the campaign, in which in those days kings took a prominent personal part, might deprive her of her handsome and high- spirited consort, whom she had learned to lean upon and to love with all the devotion of which her tender nature was capable. This, however, did not prevent her from herself buckling on the king's spurs at the palace gate or from handing him with her own fair hands the stirrup-cup, which was customary on such occasions, whereof the omission would have been re- garded as a very unfortunate omen. Amid the blare of trumpets, the droning of pipes and the waving of gaily-coloured banners and pennons, the cavalcade set out from the palace enclosure with Eochaid at its head in a suit of fluted brass armour, which glinted brightly in the sunlight as he turned in his saddle to wave a last adieu to his consort with his gauntleted hand, as she stood, proud but cheerful, on the steps of the great entrance. Sara, who had now largely recovered her peace of mind, to outward appearance at any rate, though all her girlish vivacity had disappeared, stood beside her sister, pale and cairn, but dejected-looking, and much thinner than formerly, with one arm lightly resting on her sister's shoulder; and, as they turned to re-enter the building when the last of the gay and martial crowd had swept through the outer gate, she tenderly kissed the cheek of Tamar and was evidently seeking to con- 252 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; sole and encourage her under circumstances which, with however much queenly dignity she might seem to bear herself outwardly, were most naturally calculated to fill her inward soul with forebodings of danger and blood- shed. On the second day from their departure from Tara the main body of Eochaid's contingent reached the rendezvous to find that none of the northern levies had as yet entered an appearance, while the advance guard of the Connaught forces had already crossed the Erne to the Lough Oughter and to the number of about three thousand archers and spearmen had firmly established themselves on the eastern bank of the river. Unless dislodged, it appeared that these would be able to secure the passage of the main body of the enemy. After resting his troops the Pentarch decided to give battle at once to the advance guard of Tuathal's army, the more so as at present he had the numerical advan- tage which he could not hope to maintain for long. He therefore marched his forces southward along the eastern shores of Lough Oughter, having by means of scouts ascertained that the main body of the Connaught men lay encamped some miles to the westward of the lake. As matters turned out, it would have been more prudent to have taken up a strong position at Beltur- bet until his reinforcements arrived, for the king of Connaught would hardly under any circumstance have dared to advance on Tara, leaving a strong force of his enemy in his rear. Eochaid, however, though generally cool and prudent in strategy, was of a bold and martial spirit, and feeling confident of his power to drive Tuathal's advance guard back into the Erne, he proceeded to put his plans in execution without waiting for his northern levies, OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 253 deploying his five thousand men at the southern end of Lough Oughter in a crescent-shaped phalanx, the horns of which pointed to the eastward. In the centre he placed his horse, supported on either flank by such chariots as he commanded, whose scythe-armed wheels were destined to break the line of Tuathal's advance- guard while his horsemen annihilated their half-naked infantry of the centre; the horns of his array of battle being composed of his spearman with a double-front rank of archers to harass the enemy with their flights of arrows while the spearmen advanced to the charge. By the time these manoeuvres were completed it was four o'clock in the afternoon, and the sun was already declining to the westward and shining brightly in the faces of his soldiers gave a distinct advantage to his opponents. Tuathal, meantime, whose scouting seems to have been admirably done, was aware of Eochaid's march southward before the latter's rearguard had cleared the head of Lough Oughter. Rapidly marching some six thousand footmen and archers and about a thousand of his horsemen to the head of Lough Oughter, he forded the Erne at that point and, by the time that Eochaid's army were beginning to deploy and take up their battle array, the Connaughters were quickly following their footsteps along the eastern shores of the lake. Under cover of the woods that at that time clothed the shores of the Lough, Tuathal's army was enabled to approach unobserved of their adversaries. Just at the moment that Eochaid commenced his onslaught the Connaught men began to deploy in the open to the south of the Lough. When Eochaid became aware of the trap into which he had fallen it was already too late to attempt to withdraw. The only 254 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; chance was to crush the advance-guard of the king of Connaught and drive them into the Erne before his adversaries in his rear had time to form their battle array. Only some two hours of daylight remained. If he could succeed in crushing the contingent before, he might succeed under cover of the growing darkness to elude his exercises in the rear, and so save the bulk of his army. He put forth therefore every possible exertion, both by precept and example, to encourage his soldiers to make short work of Tuathal's advance guard, but the job proved a much tougher one than he had expected. The Connaught men encouraged by the appearance of their comrades in their enemy's rear fought with the utmost desperation and courage ; hundreds on both sides fell in the fierce melee or were drowned in the Erne, whose waters flowed red with blood in the rays of the setting sun. Before Eochaid's object could be achieved, and while a full hour of daylight still remained, the wild troops of Tuathal fell upon the Pentarch's rear. Caught between two bodies of the enemy nothing remained but desperate fighting. The shouts of the combatants, the shrieks of the wounded and dying and the thunder of opposing arms filled the air with hideous din during the continuance of daylight. Just as the twilight was fading into night the remnant of the Ulster horsemen, among whom Eochaid in person had been fighting like a lion during the whole sanguinary struggle, made a final effort to cut their way through the opposing Connaughters who penned them in on the east. By the sacrifice of half their numbers this desperate effort proved successful, and, free of their enemies at last, about one hundred and fifty horsemen, out of the six hundred who had entered the fray about two hours OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 255 before, got clear of their enemies, Eochaid, badly wounded, being of the number, and made the best of their way under cover of the forest in the direction of Armagh, where they hoped to get news of the levies from North Ulster. The hand to hand fight of the footmen still continued with great slaughter, and only a few hundred of the Ulster men, aided by the gathering darkness, succeeded in eluding their enemies and dis- persed among the woods, doing their best to follow the direction taken by the flying king. On the following day Eochaid and his troopers reached Armagh, at that time a fortified village, in which refuge could be taken. Dispirited by his defeat and disabled by his wounds he had to lay up at Armagh, to which point some hundreds of straggling footmen who had evaded the slaughter of the battle of the Erne made their way in groups. Tuathal whose army had also suffered great slaughter encamped on the field of battle to reorganise his forces and to effect the passage of the remainder of his army across the Erne. This occupied several days and it was about the middle of the month when the army of Con- naught set forth to invest Tara. Three days later his advance guards appeared before the fortress and within a week the royal residence of Tara was completely invested and cut off from all supplies from the surrounding country. The garrison although too utterly insignificant to attempt to dislodge the assailants was strong enough to hold the place against assault for a considerable period and, being well provided with provisions and plenty of spring water within the fortifications, some time must necessarily be consumed in any attempt to reduce the fortress. The besieged, although aware of the defeat of Eochaid at the 256 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; battle of the Erne, did not therefore at present despair, but looked forward with confidence to relief being organised from the northward, long before they could be reduced to extremities by famine. Three weeks elapsed during which time Eochaid lay on his bed of sickness at Armagh, gradually recovering from his wounds and sternly determining so soon as he should be fit to strike a blow to avenge his defeat and the slaughter of his subjects at the battle of the Erne, all unaware that, while he lay helpless at Armagh, a son and heir had been born to him at Tara ; although the certainty of this was not needed to nerve him to make every effort to raise the siege of the latter place ; for was not his consort there in danger of falling into the hands of those whose deadly enmity, inspired by jealousy, would probably carry them to any lengths to revenge the fancied slight inflicted on them by his marriage. At the end of the period named the Pentarch was able to leave his couch so far recovered as to be in a position to commence the organisation of his forces now rapidly arriving in heavy contingents from the more remote regions of the province, eager for the fray and burning to wipe out the disgrace inflicted upon their king and countrymen by the men of Connaught. Some considerable time, however, was necessarily consumed in the inevitable preparations for the striking of a decisive blow, as well as for the recovery by the king of such strength and health as would enable him to lead this army in person to the relief of his capital, a duty to which he looked forward with especial satisfaction and one on which his whole heart was set. The month of May was drawing to a close when the condition of things at Tara began to inspire the defenders OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 257 with grave misgiving. Day after day passed without the anxiously expected relief appearing. Provisions were beginning to fail, the garrison were already on strict allowance ; too weak to effect a sortie with any chances of success and so closely invested that no supplies could possibly have been brought through the lines of the besiegers even if friendly assistance had been able to collect any for such a purpose within a distance that the besieged could have hoped to fetch them from by a night sally, the garrison were beginning to despair and malcontents already murmured and spoke of sur- rendering the place on terms. The chief of Lurgan to whom the military control had been entrusted by the Pentarch had the greatest difficulty in enforcing discipline notwithstanding the moral assistance rendered by Jeremiah and his priesthood, and spite of appeals made to their loyalty by Tamar herself who, barely recovered from her confinement, and with her infant in her arms, received a number of the garrison in the great hall every day and joined her appeals to those of the commandant and the priests to hold bravely out a little longer in the confident assurance that the king would not fail to come to their relief. On May 23rd, it was decided at a council of war, to attempt to get a messenger, or messengers, away during the night to carry to Eochaid information of the straits in which they found themselves, and to beg him to hurry to their assistance. The duty was an honour- able but extremely dangerous one, and few were inclined to take their lives in their hands and attempt what seemed a forlorn hope. Baruch volunteered to under- take it, if two others with more military experience than he could boast, would accompany him. This offer from a priest rather shamed the reluctant soldiers and two 258 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; minor chieftains were found brave and sturdy warriors both to join with him in so arduous, though honourable an expedition. The plan adopted was to feign a night sally from the stockades of the fortress, and thus drawing the attention of the besiegers away to enable the emissaries to step out from a position with some hope of being able to thread their way in the darkness through the besieging forces. This little strategy succeeded as far as to enable the three emissaries to escape without being observed from the northern portion of the fortress, and as they crept cautiously away into the darkness of the night, the gate was closed again behind them and they were left to such fate as might befall them, accompanied on their journey by the earnest prayers of those left behind for the suc- cess of their undertaking. The demonstration at the great gates was prolonged for two or three hours in order to give the messengers every chance, for, if only one succeeded in reaching the king's camp, the imme- diate object in view would be attained. We will quit the beleagured fortress for a short time to follow the adventures of the messengers. Baruch had laid aside his priestly garments when undertaking this expedition and was now attired, like his companions, as an Irish military chieftain. The first care of the three companions each of whom, besides a short sword and buckler of triple ox-hide, carried a wallet, with meat and drink was to gain, unobserved, a grove of birches that grew at the foot of the slope on which the fortress of Tara was situated. To reduce to a minimum the chances of their being observed by some stray picquet of the enemy, they threw themselves upon the ground so soon as the gate was closed behind them, and proceeded OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 259 to wriggle themselves down the grassy slope by a process of progression more like that of snakes than men. Tedious and fatiguing as this manreuvre proved, it was too safe and necessary to be rebelled against, but nearly half- an -hour was occupied in traversing the two or three hundred yards between the walls and the grove. At length, however, they attained its friendly shade and at once set about making such observations from their sheltered position as might enable them to determine upon the likeliest plan for eluding the enemy through whose leaguer they must pass, if their expedition was to have any successful result. Creeping, therefore, 'from tree to tree until they reached the further edge of the grove, they installed themselves well within its shadows in such positions as might enable them to observe the disposition of the body of Connaught's footmen who formed the besieging force at this point. The camp fires were plainly visible stretching along the brow of the opposite slope not more than 150 yards away; they could see the dark figures of the sentries as they paced to and from between the firelight and their vision, and could even hear, from time to time, their gruff voices as they passed the word to one another. They found it, however, impossible to discover either the strength or position of the main body of the troops im- mediately in front. The clamour created by the feigned sally from the main gates of the fortress still continued, and rather increased than diminished. As they were deliberating what step should next be taken, a sound of hoofs became audible, and a mounted messenger passed within a few yards of where they stood and waited, and galloped at full speed up the slope, shouting some order as he rode from one camp fire to another. Instantly the whole leaguer was in commotion ; men seemed to 260 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; spring from the ground as if by magic, which indeed they did, having lain asleep there, wrapped in their skin cloaks. Hastily forming up, the whole body were marched off to the right away from the wood where our messengers were concealed, leaving their camping- ground and camp-fires to the charge of the sentinels and the camp guard. Doubtless, this particular force had been selected to assist in the repulse of the sally on the south or to replace some other force which had been drawn off for that purpose, and seemed to afford our adventurous messengers the opportunity they sought. Waiting patiently until the main body of the enemy had withdrawn beyond sight and hearing, they proceeded to ascend the slope before them with the same cautious methods as they had adopted in descending that from the fortress to the grove. Lying prone, sword in mouth and buckler and wallet disposed upon the back, they laboriously pushed their bodies over the turf with hands and feet. Their plan was to reach a point which one of the sentinels must pass in his backward and forward march, retaining their posture until the moment was favourable for their purpose, when at a given signal they would simultaneously spring to their feet and endeavour to despatch the sentinel before he had time to raise an alarm. After that they would have to trust to chance. This plan was successfully carried out so far, that the unsuspecting soldier was seized and quickly dispatched, but not before he had succeeded in raising an alarm. The sentinels to right and left came hurrying in reply to the cries of their comrade, but owing to the darkness they were unable to descry either him or his assailants who were again crouching on the ground beside the corpse of their victim. "Hola!" they cried, "hola! where art thou, man; OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 261 what in the name of all the demons has come to thee. Speak, man, where art thou ? " But no answer came. All this hullabaloo was, however, certain to bring out the whole camp-guard, whose post was not three hundred yards away. "Run, Baruch, run straight forward, thou art fleet of foot, priest though thou be, we will settle matters with these two bawling fools, and if all be well will follow thee, but any way we will cover thy retreat. If any try to stop thee, cut his weasand with thy hanger, never mind for a little blood, man. When I cry, ' now ! ' then run." In the meantime the two sentinels rapidly approached one another, mutually enquiring what was wrong and what amiss. When they were about fifty yards apart, Baruch's companion shouted, "now!" and all three springing to their feet, Baruch started to run straight northward, looking neither to the right nor to the left, while the other two fell straightway upon the two sentinels respectively. Baruch heard the clang of their weapons as they fought; but the salvation of Tara, of Tamar, of Sara, was in his speed, and he fled wildly on in the darkness. Some soldiers of the post set off to pursue him, but he had too great a start of them, and after a few minutes they abandoned the chase. What had become of his companions he knew not, but on he sped, his heart felt as though it would burst in his bosom from the terrible exertions he was making, but he sped on with ever-slackening step until utterly exhausted and unable to proceed, he fell rather than threw himself upon the turf, and lay panting and gasping for several minutes before he could at all recover his power even of thinking. When sufficiently recovered he listened intently but 262 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON J could hear nothing from the direction of the camp from which he had fled at the top of his speed, nor from any direction. He rose and was about to start off again when he reflected that, on coming to so sudden a stop, he had not made any mental note of his relative position to the point from which he had started, and on the dark and starless night he knew not in the least which was north and which south, which east or which west. Here was a pretty pass ; he was afraid to attempt to proceed upon his journey lest he might unconsciously walk back into the very arms of his enemies instead of for- ward towards Armagh. There seemed to be nothing for it but to wait for dawn, dangerous and inopportune as the delay might be. So feeling his way to a shrub, or tree, whose leaves he could just perceive dimly sil- houetted against the dark sky, he sat down and took a drink from his leather bottle and a morsel from his wallet, and composed himself to await the morning. He had been sitting in this partial shelter for some time and was just falling into a doze when he heard a voice which he recognised as that of Macdoon, one of the two companions of his adventures. " A plague upon the night," growled the voice, " 'Tis as dark as a wolf's throat, and I have lost both wallet and bottle in that tussle with the Connaught guard. Not a crumb or a drain, as I am a true man. I wonder what has become of that priest, that Baruch, or whatsoever his name may be. By the gods, he fled like a wild cat at the bay of a hound ; but I fear me they caught and killed him. He has not the trick of that back thrust that settled that fellow who tackled me, and saved my weasened. Eh ! the gods deliver us, what was that ? " This ejaculation was evoked by a voice out of the darkness enquiring, almost in a whisper, " Macdoon, is it thou ? " The voice was that of Baruch. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 263 "Aye, marry is it me, .thou will-o'-the-wisp, that hauntest poor honest gentlemen that be in some trouble, marry is it me ; and who should it be but me, I would like to know. But I would like to know still better who thou art that addressed me by name in the blackest night I ever remember since the week after Saman ; when, whither for the darkness or whither for the good mead I know not, I could not see my way home, and slept in a snow-drift as well as ever I slept in a bed. Who art thou that knowest thy friends in the dark ? Speak up, man ! " " It is Baruch who speaks, friend Macdoon, whom I am well rejoiced to see alive. Here I am under the tree to thy right." "I see no tree. Body o' me ! would that I had thine eyes, that can see a tree when I cannot see mine hand before my face. In truth, friend Baruch, I, too, am glad to see thee for I feared me the wild kernes of Connaught had made mincemeat of thee. Still better will I be pleased if thou hast thy wallet and thy bottle with thee, for I have e'en lost mine in my tussle with that son of a demon who tried to stop me on my way to pay a visit to the king. But he hath a hand'sbreadth of cold steel under his rib, poor fellow, so that account is settled." "My bottle and my wallet are here, friend Macdoon, and both at thy service. Draw thou near and seat thee here beside me, but forget not, I prithee, the direction we must presently folio w for myself. I have lost my bearings and I know not which is north and which is south." " Fear not thou, friend Baruch, the wind was north- east when we started and it is keen enough now to make me think it hath not greatly changed. Where then is this bottle of thine ? " 264 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; With these words Macdoon, feeling his way in the direction from which the voice proceeded, found the tree under which Baruch was seated, and sitting down beside him, was soon busily engaged with the meat and drink thus unexpectedly provided. Having eaten and drunk, Macdoon, who was not wanting in the instincts of the scout, proposed that they should be trudging, as they were still too near the Connaught lines to be safe when day should dawn. "'Tis well," replied Baruch, " let us then be going ; but, tell me, friend, what has become of our companion who started on this expedition in our company ? " " I fear me he has had the worst luck of the three. I saw him fall in his encounter with the comrade of the sentinel who has tasted the temper of my hanger. I doubt me he is dead, or sore wounded, or a prisoner, and, though I wish him no harm, poor man, it were, perhaps, better for us if were dead ; for these Connaught men will not stick at torture to get information and, if they learn from poor Connor the nature of our mis- sion, they will be keen enough to follow and slay us if they can. So, come along, friend priest, and put thy best foot foremost, and, by the gods, thou canst run, if thou be no great show at sword-play." So saying the two comrades set off northward, and by the time the rising sun rendered surrounding objects visible, they had put ten good miles between the nearest of the Connaught warriors and themselves. During that day they sought and obtained shelter in a cowherd's hut, and lay close in case any organised pursuit should be set on foot. No hostile soldiers came that way, however, during the day and towards evening, having learnt from their host the direction in which to travel they set off on their road and OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 265 arrived on the fourth day from their departure safely at the king's camp at Armagh. Eochaid was greatly dis- turbed to learn the straits in which his friends found themselves at Tara, and greatly elated to hear of the birth of an heir to his throne. This circumstance, more than any other, lent spurs to his energy, and instant orders were given to prepare for the march southward. It proved of immense advantage to be able to learn from Baruch and Macdoon the strength and approximate dis- positions of Tuathal's forces, thus enabling him to think out his own plans and combinations for attacking. Knowing every inch of the country round Tara, which had been his playground since he was a boy, gave him every advantage, and though he had allowed himself to be out-generalled at the Erne, he was no mean soldier, and was well fitted to conduct the wild and hand-to- hand encounters of that rude age. We will, therefore, leave the Pentarch and his now numerously assembled nobles of the north to make the best of their way to the relief of the beleaguered fortress, and return to Tara where other events demand our attention. 266 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON CHAPTER XVIII. A WILLING SACRIFICE. " For love is strong as death ; jealousy is cruel as the grave." Sol. Song viii. 6. SEVEN days had elapsed since the despatch of the messengers begging the Pentarch to hasten to the relief of Tara, and still no signs of his approach were observ- able. Every day the assaults of the besiegers became more daring, and every day the courage, and power of resistance, of the besieged decreased. Counsels of despair were beginning to obtain ascendancy in the minds of the defenders. The last of the horses had been slaughtered for food some day or two before. It was only with the greatest difficulty that the demoralised garrison could be induced to man the walls at all, and, only by representing that defeat meant that every soul in the beleaguered fortress would be put to the sword, could the chieftain of Lurgan persuade his discontented soldiery to continue the defence of the place. Whether the messengers had, or had not, succeeded in reaching the king's head-quarters was, of course, unknown to those within the walls, and at a council of war held on the afternoon of this seventh day, the advisability of opening negotiations with the besiegers with a view to surrender had been seriously discussed. No final decision had been come to, but it had been decided in deference to the firm and determined attitude of the commandant to defer any action for forty-eight hours ; with the understanding that, if within that OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 267 period no help came, a flag of truce should be sent to the camp of the king of Connaught to sue for terms. Tamar was quite bowed down with distress at the painful situation in which she was placed. Pre- saging all kinds of evil, she was becoming convinced that the king must have died of his wounds, received at the battle of the Erne, of which some rumours had reached them before the investment of the place was completed. Jeremiah, confident in the protection of the God of battles, did his utmost to inspire her with confidence, but in vain. For her own life she cared little, but the infant at her breast, the heir of the Pentarchy, and heir also of the blessings of David, was, of course, the object of her constant solicitude, and how to save him from destruction, if Tara should fall into the hands of his and her enemies, she knew not. Sara was also most deeply concerned for her sister, as well as for the absent king, who was still the cherished object of her silent admiration ; for, although she harboured no thought which the world might not have shared with her, her ardent nature still nourished a passionate admiration of the only man who had ever been able to excite it, while she knew full well, and entirely recognised, the hopelessness and futility of the sentiments she could not pluck from her heart. Without consulting any living being she had for some time cast about in her mind for some plan by which she might effect the relief of Tara, and secure the safety of the wife and child of the man who, though he could never be anything more to her than the brother that his marriage with her sister had made him, was still the object of her constant thought and solicitude. Her naturally high courage and contempt of danger, inspired her with a devotion as unselfish as it was complete ; 268 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; and if, by the sacrifice of her own life she could succeed in saving her beloved sister and her infant son from destruction, not a moment would she hesitate in any undertaking that would offer a reasonable promise of success. Searching in her memory the traditions of her people for some precedent or suggestion, her mind had for some time past fixed itself upon the story of Sisera and Jael ; and she sought some plan by which she herself might compass the destruction of the king of Connaught, believing that his death would bring panic and discom- fiture among his followers, and lead to the raising of the siege. To attain this end she had conceived an idea which, after the decision of the Council became known to her, she determined to put in practice. Sara was, like many Jewish maidens of high degree, a proficient in singing and playing upon the harp. The plan she had formed was to disguise herself as a bard, or minstrel youth, to secure somehow egress from the fortress after nightfall, and endeavour to obtain access to the tent of Tuathal, under pretence of contributing to his relaxation and amusement after the fatigues of the day, and to watch an opportunity to strike him dead with her concealed dagger, as ruthlessly and remorselessly as Jael drove the tent-nail through the temples of the sleeping Sisera. Measured by modern moral standards such a plan as this, how heroic soever it may seem, would be calcu- lated to excite horror and reprobation ; but it must be borne in mind that, in that remote age, men and women lived, so to speak, in an atmosphere of murder and sudden death ; human life, as such, was regarded, even by the noblest and most refined, as a light matter and, in their standards of honour and morality, the end OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 269 justified the means. That in carrying out such a scheme, whether she should prove successful in her undertaking or not, the young Jewish princess knew perfectly well that she took her own life in her hand, with every probability that it would be sacrificed. Not for one moment, however, could such a consideration deter her from her purpose. Rightly or wrongly this young and passionate creature had determined to give her own life for those she loved, and her only preoccupa- tion was how to effect her purpose. Everything else was fixed and settled in her mind beyond recall, and all her thoughts and energies were directed to finding the means of executing her project. No time was to be lost. The next night the deed must be perpetrated, or it might be too late. The first thing to be done was to procure a dress, the next to find the means of egress from the fortress and of entering the lines of the besiegers. It was well known in Tara that the head quarters of the king of Connaught were situated some four or five hundred yards to the west of the fortress, on a slight eminence ; the royal tent, with its banners and streamers, being a conspicuous object from the fortifications on that side. If, therefore, Sara could once get out unobserved from one of the posterns, she would have no difficulty in knowing in which direction to turn her steps. For the means of passing the sentinels, and of gaining access to the royal presence, she trusted to her woman's wit. Without assistance of some sort it was evident that the difficulties could not be overcome. Sara deter- mined to take into her confidence, as far as might be necessary for her purpose, her favourite attendant a Jewish maiden, Miriam by name to whom she had become greatly attached, and whose silent sympathy 270 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON J had been the greatest solace to her in her recent heavy sorrow and humiliation. On that evening, therefore, after taking leave for the night of her sister, Sara drew Miriam aside into the ante-chamber of the queen's apart- ments, and thus opened the discourse. " Miriam, thou knowest that I love thee, and trust thee more than all my maidens, and well I believe that thou, too, lovest thy unhappy princess. I have a work in hand in which I need a confidante. The matter is pressing and secret. Wilt thou promise me to be helpful and silent ? " " Indeed, sweet mistress, I will be all that thou canst wish from me, and gladly would I help thee, even to the laying down of my life, but I do not justly know if it would be right for me to promise thee help, if it be to thine own injury." "Care thou nothing for that, dear Miriam, that which I do is purposed to save the lives of the queen, my sister, and her infant son the heir and the hope of all the glories that the God of Israel surely has in store for this land." ' ' Tell me then, dear Sara, why thou seekest not rather the help of thy guardian, the great and noble prophet of the Lord, in this matter, whatsoever it be ? " " Not for the world would I breathe a word to him, of all men. On what I purpose to do his life and the lives and liberties of all the garrison, perhaps the future of Ireland itself may depend. The day after to-morrow, at noon, the fortress will be surrendered to Tuathal, and to his cruel and vindictive daughter. Even if he were in- clined to mercy in the hour of his triumph, she will hinder him. My sister and her son, I myself, our noble Jeremiah and all our and his people will surely be put to the sword. The king cometh not with his army to save OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 271 us. I have a plan which, if successful, will save this place and all that are therein. I will confide so far in thee as to confess that I incur some danger; but for myself I would rather die struggling to save my people, and my prince, than suffer inglorious death, and haply, worse than death, at the hands of Tuathal's savage soldiery. More than this I cannot and will not disclose, but to carry my plan into execution I must find the means of disguise and of escaping for a brief hour or two from the fortress alone and unattended to-morrow at sundown. Canst thou, and wilt thou help me in this ? " " I prithee, sweet mistress, forego this rash and hopeless plan. Thou wilt surely perish, and our fate will be the same. Stay, rather, and die with us, if die we must." " I tell thee, child, my mind is set to do this thing and thou canst not turn me from my purpose ; but if thou fearest to help thy friend and princess, say so. I will then only pray thee to be silent, and seek elsewhere the help I need." " Nay, I will do what I can to help thee though I fear me no good can come of this wild scheme that thou hast formed." "That is well, dear Miriam, I thank thee from my very heart, and while I live, and in the hour of death, I will be ever grateful for thy gentle help. Get me, then, by some means the habit of a young minstrel before to- morrow evening, fitting for my height and size, and see if thou canst find the means to get a postern opened for me to-morrow at sundawn. I know that many of these rough soldiers dote upon thy pretty face, sweet Miriam. Use thy woman's wit to do me this service, and while I live I will never forget thy kindness," So saying, she took the young Jewish maiden in her arms and kissed her tenderly, saying, "I will go now and 272 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; try to get some rest this night, for to-morrow I shall need all my strength, and all my courage, for the work I have to do." Miriam, promising to do her best to carry out the wishes of her mistress, bade her good night, and tripped away to find some means of affecting her purpose. In order to keep up the fighting spirit of his men-at-arms, the lord of Lurgan had requested the bards in camp to assist him by singing to them of an evening wild rhymes of the heroic deeds of their ancestors, and it was the habit for many of the women and maidens to gather round and listen to the singing. Miriam, who from her beauty and good nature, as well as by her lively and cheerful disposition, was a great favourite among the young men, had set up mild flirtations with some of the younger of the bards and minstrels in Tara and now bethought her of her friendship with these to procure a dress for the princess. She, therefore, repaired to the great hall, where minstrelsy was at this hour in full swing, accompanied by the drinking of mead and such social pleasures as the unfortunate circumstances of the garrison permitted. Gliding up the side of the hall, speaking to this and nodding to that one of her many acquaintances as she went, the Jewish girl arrived at the upper end of the hall, where the bards were assembled. Her eye caught sight of a slim and elegant youth, who, having just com- pleted a wild and impassioned appeal to the courage and loyalty of the assembled soldiery, was leaning upon his harp, looking vacantly before him at the noisy and up- roarious crowd, whose attention was about to be claimed by a companion, who purposed to take up and continue the theme on which he had but now been exercising his own talents. Edging her way towards him, she seated OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 273 herself beside him, and, plucking him by the sleeve to attract his attention, she whispered, " Well, Brian, art thou so wrapt up in thy bloodthirsty old legends that thou hast no eyes for old friends to-night." "Indeed, fair Miriam," replied the youth, recognising the girl, " I had not seen thee till thou didst pluck my robe ; but now that I do see thee, I have, thou knowest only too well, eyes for none but thee." "Oh ! I doubt not thou art a smooth-tongued varlet ; 'tis thy trade ; but I believe thee not. Did I not see thee this very morning dallying with the miller's pretty daughter at the mill-door ? " "Nay, fair Miriam, I did but speak to her of business." "Business, forsooth; a likely story. What business shouldst thou have, I would like to know, with the miller's daughter ? " "Indeed, I went with a message from our chief to beg the miller to let us have a little meal to bake us a loaf. For three days we have tasted nought but horse- meat, and our souls are sick for a piece of meal-bread." " Oh ! you men, you men, thinking always of what ye shall eat and drink, and forgetting that maidens want something more from their admirers than liberty to cook their food. If thou lovedst me, as thou pretendest to do, thou wouldst ask what service thou couldst render ; but no, thou hast more interest in the miller's meal, or the miller's daughter, than in poor Miriam ; but I care not ; there be as good fish in the sea as ever came out, I ween." " Nay, fair Miriam, now thou art less than just. Thou knowest I would do anything to pleasure thee if thou wilt but tell me what I can do." "Meanest thou that, good Brian? Then I ask thy pardon. But I have a fancy to play a trick on that red- 274 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; haired, red-bearded Terence. Thou knowest him ; he is a centurion, or something, under the lord of Lurgan. He is always teasing me to try to love him, and thou knowest, dear Brian, I care not for him. But I have a plan to serve him out, and thou canst help me." "Can I, of a truth? Then thou mayest count upon me. What can I do for thee ? " " Oh ! it is not much I want of thee. Lend me one of thy bard's habits for a day. I am nearly as tall as thou, and it will fit me passing well." " But what wilt thou do in it, thou mischievous sprite ? " " Oh ! never thou mind for that. I have a rare plan to discomfort red-haired Terence ; never thou fear." "Well, I suppose I must lend it thee; but I doubt me if it be maidenly of thee to be masquerading in a man's garb." " What hast thou to do with that, thou malapert singing man ? Thinkest thou I am not able to guide myself without thy wise counsel ? Go to ; Tabor is somewhat taller than thou, it is true, but I will make it do, and he will lend me his without making me sue like a beggar. I wish thee goode'en." "Nay, Miriam, I prithee, leave me not in anger; thou shalt have the garb ; only tell me whither I shall bring it ? " " Bring it to me at the princess' apartment to-morrow early. Thou art a good youth, and I thank thee. Good night, I shall see thee to-morrow morning, and who knows but I may find another way to thank thee for thy good nature. Good night." So saying the Jewish waiting-maiden rose, and glided away down the great hall towards the door. On her way she passed near a strong red-haired and bearded OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 275 soldier of about thirty years of age, of a rough, but not unpleasant, appearance, who, on seeing her, set down the leathern drinking-cup he was about to raise to his lips, saying, with a somewhat sheepish look: "Hey! sweet Miriam, what doest thou in hall to-night ? " "Oh ! I cannot stay to talk with thee here, Terence. 1 know full well what thou would'st say, but I cannot listen to thee here among all this crowd." " Well, but where and when wilt thou listen, fair Miriam ? I am dying to ask the question, and to hear thy answer." " A word in thine ear. Thou hast charge of the northern postern, hast thou not ? " " Yea, that have I ; but what hast that to do with it ? " "This. I will listen to thee to-morrow, after sun- down, in the grove outside the northern postern ; only I am too prudent a maiden to trust myself alone with a boor like thee. I will listen to thee there and nowhere else, but my gossip, Brian, the bard, must come out with us; not to hear what thou sayest, thou gaby, but only to stand afar off and keep some sort of watch over us, if only for propriety sake." Terence was much puzzled at this extraordinary proposal, which, mead-bemuddled as he was, struck him as passing strange. He ventured to suggest that she might well listen to what he longed to say in some less dangerous place. To which his tormentor promptly retorted : " Thou a soldier, and fearest a little danger ; well, I would not have thought it of thee. But it matters not. I will listen to thee there, or not at all. Good night ! " "Nay, by the gods," rejoined the soldier, " I will not miss my chance to win thy consent to wed me for any girl's mad whim. Come thou, with thy young spark of 276 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; a bard, to the northern postern at sundown, and, though it may cost us both our heads, for all I know, thou shalt have thy wilful way." "Tis well, I will be there," replied Miriam, and, kissing her dainty hand to the delighted man-at-arms, she hastily left the hall, and repaired to her place in her mistress' apartments. Early next morning Miriam drew aside the curtains of the princess' sleeping alcove with the minstrel's garb that young Brian had just brought, in fulfilment of his promise, in her arms. "Good morrow, dear lady," said the girl, as Sara, roused from her slumber by the light thus admitted to her resting-place, half raised herself from the pillow ; "good morrow and good luck to thy enterprise, what- ever it may be. See, here is the garb of a minstrel youth that I have procured for thee. He thinketh that I needed it for myself for some mad freak that I told him of. I have arranged everything for this evening. Thou hast only to don this dress at sundown, and follow me to the northern postern. I have found out the magic that will open the gate." "Thou art, indeed, a treasure, my Miriam," replied the princess; "here, take this bracelet that my dear guardian did bestow upon me three years ago upon my birthday, and keep it for my sake, for it may well be that, after to-day, I may never see thee more." ' ' Ah ! my sweet mistress, my heart misgives me that I have done wrong to help thee to thy heart's desire. I fear me that this project of thine can but end badly for thee without helping us ; but I have gone too far to draw back now, and, besides, I have pledged thee my word to help thee, and I may not now break my promise ; but, I pray thee, think better of it, dear Sara, and keep thy soul in patience rather, for sure I am OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 277 the king will come to our assistance yet, ere it be too late." " I promise thee, dear Miriam, if help come to us this day, to abandon my project ; but, if not, there is no other way that I can see to save the fortress and the garrison, and the life of my sister and her child. So press me no further, I beg of thee, but help me now to dress, and come to me again an hour before sundown, to assist me in donning this minstrel garb, which I shall hardly know how to do without thine aid." As the day wore on the besiegers renewed their assault upon the place more furiously than ever. More than once in the course of the forenoon their furious onset proved almost successful, and only the constant vigilance of the commandant and his lieutenants, in bringing up prompt assistance to the points most seriously threatened, enabled the defenders to rally and to repulse the furious attacks of the enemy. All day long the air resounded with the shouts of the combatants, the shrieks of the affrighted women, and the groans of the wounded; and not until the sun had sunk below the horizon, and the deepening twilight enhanced the diffi- culties of the besiegers, did these withdraw from the attack, seeking, in sullen disappointment, their tents and encampments. It was about an hour after sunset ; no sign of approaching assistance, so long and so vainly hoped for, had been observed throughout the hard-fought day. All round the doomed fortress of Tara the camp fires of the besiegers sparkled in the deepening gloom, while the sounds of feasting and revelry, which daily followed the arduous labours of the siege, were wafted on the night air to the ears of the besieged, whose misery was in- creased by indications of mirth to which they had neither the means nor the heart to respond. 278 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; At this moment a female figure emerged from the princess' apartments, the head enveloped in a heavy veil, and made its way with a light and rapid step towards the northern postern, followed at a distance of a few paces by a minstrel youth, with harp slung upon his back and his long white linen cloak flowing some- what gracefully behind him as he hurried on behind Miriam, whom our readers will have recognised in the veiled female alluded to. The minstrel's youthful figure was clothed in a loose and blouse-like crimson tunic, drawn in at the waist by a leathern girdle, from which depended on the left a short sword and on the right a leathern wallet. His graceful limbs were bare from the knee downwards, except for the straps that secured his sandals, and from his shoulders depended in graceful folds the long white linen mantle of a bard, with its crimson embroidered hem reaching nearly to the ground. Arrived at the post in charge 'of the northern gate, Miriam walked boldly up to Terence, the big, red- bearded man-at-arms, and plucking him by the arm, said : " Well, thou great rough bear, here am I ; I have kept the tryst, thou seest, and if thou wilt cause the gate to be opened, I am ready to come out with thee into the grove and listen to what thou hast to say. Yonder is my gossip Brian, the bard, who shall come out with us and watch a little way off lest thou shouldst seek to eat me up with thy great mouth." "Canst thou not listen to me here, sweet Miriam; I like not to open the gate at night. Who knows but that some of the Connaught men may be lurking near, and think what mischief might then come on't." " There, did I not tell thee yester night that thou art OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 279 afraid, with all thy strength and thy mighty stature. Why, what fearest thou, man; the men of Connaught are too busy with their supper to come spying at thy gate. I tell thee out in the grove will I listen to thee or not at all." Muttering something under his breath which sounded like "a plague on all womenkind with their whims and caprices, to have their own foolish way they will put any man's neck in a noose," Terence ordered four of his men to open the postern as he must needs go out for half an hour or so with the maiden and her bard -lover. "Bar ye the gate behind us and be ready to open instantly when I pass the word from the other side, but without the word open thou to no man." So saying he took Miriam by the hand and led her through the gateway, followed by the minstrel youth, and with some laughter and coarse jesting, the soldiers closed the gate behind them. It was now full night and the crescent moon, sinking slowly to the western horizon, hardly sufficed at all to relieve the darkness. Leaving the minstrel standing in the shadow of the wall, Terence led the maiden a few paces down- the slope, and, halting under a tree, began at once to tell the tale he was longing to tell. So soon as the soldier became absorbed in the conversation with Miriam, the minstrel glided from his place, and creeping along in the shadow of the wall, slipped away into the gloom and was seen no more. Miriam, having arranged beforehand the course to be pursued, no sooner lost sight of the slight figure of the young bard in the gloom, than she cried out to her lover in an alarmed whisper, "Terence, where is Brian ? I see him not. Have the Connaught men gagged him and borne him away ? Oh ! Terence, I am 280 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; frightened, I can stay no longer. Come, come quickly ;" and she began dragging the big soldier by the arm up the slope to the gate. Arrived before it she proceeded : " Pass the word, I pray thee, good Terence, and let us go quickly in. I am afraid to stay out here a moment more. Make haste, I tell thee, make haste and pass the word." " Nay, but thou hast not given me thine answer, as thou didst promise, thou fickle creature. Tell me, shall it be yea or nay ? " "I will tell thee to-morrow, dear Terence, but now I am all of a tremble, and I hardly know what I say. Cause then, I beg of thee, the gate to be opened and let us go in." " Well, well, what women will, the gods may not re- fuse, they say. Hi ! within there, open the gate ; " and, passing the word, the bars were withdrawn and the pair re-entered. Miriam was at no loss to find some excuse to get away to the princess' apartment, without, after all, satisfying poor Terence's curiosity as to her ultimate intentions, and, entering her chamber, she threw herself on her knees and prayed long and fervently to the God of her fathers, that her sweet mistress might be pre- served in the strange and desperate enterprise in which she had engaged ; the details of which, however, she could only guess. Sara, in her minstrel's dress, followed the line of the fortifications until she reached a point opposite to the headquarters of Tuathal, king of Connaught, when, un- slinging her harp, she boldly descended the slope of the fortress and struck across for the enemy's lines. So soon as she became aware of the near presence of a Connaught sentinel, she struck a few chords on her harp and commenced a drinking song which she had OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 28l learned to be a favourite one among the Irish warriors. As the first notes of her singularly clear and sweet voice reached the ears of the sentinel, he sprang to his arms, and in a gruff and rude voice, gave the customary challenge of " Who goes there ? " "A friend," replied the disguised princess unhesi- tatingly. "Approach, friend, and give the password," rejoined the sentinel somewhat astonished. Sara walked boldly up to him saying, ' ' I cannot give thee the password, friend sentinel, since I know it not, but I have but now, by a stratagem, escaped from Tara, and, if thou wilt pass me on to the king's tent, I have that to tell him which he will be only too glad to know." "And who art thou that thrust est thy foolish head in the lion's mouth ? " " I am a minstrel of the household of the Pentarch and deserter from the fortress of Tara. I have no mind to stay there to be starved first and have my throat cut after all by the men-at-arms, while any chance to save my skin still remains to me," replied the seeming minstrel lad. " Of a truth thou art but a cockerel to be so prudent," quoth the sentinel. " To judge by thy voice thou canst hardly yet be fifteen years of age, but there is wisdom, even if there be treason to thy lord, in thy words. Come thou with me, I will hand thee over to my captain of the guard." So saying, he caught the princess by the arm some- what roughly, and proceeded to drag her away to the camp-fire, before which the captain of the guard lay stretched, resting himself after the fatigues of the day. "Thou hast no need to grasp me so roughly, my friend," she said, "I needed not to have sought thee, if T 282 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; I had meant to run away again directly thou openedst thy mouth." "That is true, "grumbled the man, relaxing his grasp, " but here is the captain, see thou make good thy tale to him." As the sentinel approached the fire with his prisoner, the grizzled old chieftain, who commanded the watch, rose to his feet and took a step or two to meet them. "What have we here, Ossian, thou knave? Where- fore leavest thou thy post, I would like to know ? " "An it please your honour, I have here a prisoner, whom I could not choose but bring to thee, unless I cut his throat with my hanger, since he tells me he hath that to tell may pleasure the king, our lord ; I bethought me his windpipe might be more useful uncut." "Thou hast well done, Ossian ; go back to thy post and take two or three with thee ; there may be more of these wanderers about than we wot of. I will take the youth in hand." Then, turning to the disguised princess, he continued: " Tell me thy name, minion." "What boots it thee to know my name. I am a nameless bard of the household of the Pentarch, and, as I hope to live to practice my art for many a year to come, I have e'en deserted from Tara to buy freedom and life with the news I carry in mine head, and to earn a supper by the songs I can please the king withal." "Thou art a pretty boy and an adventurous, but thinkest thou to gain access to the king with such a tale. Tell me thy news and I will bear them to the king, and if he ask for thee I will send for thee. " "Thou thinkest, forsooth, because I am slender, and of a youthful countenance, that I am an addlepated fool it seems, good captain. Tell thee my news, forsooth, OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 283 quotha. And whose news will they be, then, think you. Nay, nay, an thou wilt not take me with thee to the king, my news can e'en die with me. Death can only come once, fair sir, and whether it come to me now, through thy dagger, or through the hanger of thy horse- boy when Tara shall fall, makes no difference to me. To the king himself will I tell my news, or I tell them not at all." "Thou crowest full loud for so young a bard," rejoined the captain, "but since nothing less will serve, come thou with me ; and, mind thee, boy, if thou play me false, thy bones shall rue it, I promise thee." Calling to two of his men to accompany them, the chieftain strode off in the direction of the king's tent, followed by Sara and her guard. Arrived at the entrance to the king's tent, the chief- tain ordered his prisoner to remain outside in custody of the two soldiers while he went in to see if the king would condescend to receive the news that had been brought. During his absence, Sara unslung her harp again, and striking up an inspiriting tune to which the Irish musters were accustomed to march, she sang a war song to her own accompaniment, which soon brought all the idlers about the tent around her. While she was still singing, amid the plaudits of her listeners, her conductor emerged again from the tent, saying, "What meaneth this noise, hush thy singing and follow me." Thus, leading the way, he conducted his charge into the royal presence. On a low dais, at the far end, reclined Tuathal in his usual evening condition of semi-intoxica- tion, and beside him, seated on a low stool, was his daughter Lorrha, with her high colour and commanding figure and wealth of golden hair. Sara, on entering, made a low obeisance, harp in 284 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; hand, then cleverely affecting to be struck dumb by the charms of the lady, she stared, with admiration de- lineated in every curve of her beautiful face, until dropping her eyes, in apparent confusion, her slender fingers wandered over the strings of her instrument and in a voice low, and half-stifled by suppressed emotion, she commenced a serenade, or love-song, accentuating the words by half-timid, half-bold, glances at every point that offered her an opportunity. The too susceptible Lorrha was instantly captivated by the, to her, irresistible compliment, implied in the youth's whole attitude and manner, and when Sara ceased her song, the princess Lorrha, smiling most graciously, invited her to draw near and began to inquire with marked interest the name and circumstances of a minstrel who had thus instantly crept so closely into her confidence and admi- ration. The king, too, was quite sober enough to appreciate a good song, in which he considered himself quite a connoisseur. At the request of Tuathal and his daughter, song after song was sung, to their great delight and the unbounded admiration of the assembled courtiers, who, observing how much this minstrel was appreciated by their princess, covered him with praise and adulation. After an hour or more had been spent in this way, the king of Connaught suddenly remembered that this apparent youth, who had charmed them both so much, was in reality a deserter from Tara, and therefore in a position to supply information which it concerned him nearly to obtain. . " A truce, now, my daughter, to this trifling," muttered Tuathal, in a somewhat thick voice. " This minstrel lad, whose singing is, I am bound to say, most commendable, has but just escaped from this cursed fortress which hath already cost us so dear in OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 285 time, men, and treasure, and is, I doubt not, able to tell us the state of the garrison and the weakest points on which to concentrate our efforts. Let us have thy news, young man, without further delay." "Willingly, my lord king," rejoined Sara, "if first thou wilt guarantee me my life and liberty if I tell thee. " "Go to, varlet, dost thou seek to make conditions with a king, thou a mere minstrel youth ? If thy infor- mation prove true and valuable, not only shalt thou have life and liberty, but a rich purse of money to boot ; but if thou do play us false, thy blood be upon thine own head." " 'Tis well, my lord, I will speak what I do know ; but to thine own ear alone will I tell it ; these others," indicating the courtiers, with a graceful gesture, "must retire while I confer with thee." "But surely, sweet youth, thou dost not mean that I, the king's daughter, should be excluded from hearing what so nearly concerns me," said Lorrha. " Nay, fair princess, the king must determine that ; but, for myself, I care not if all the world do hear, only I would remind thee, with all respect, that that which is everybody's property is no longer a secret, and loseth nine-tenths of its value." " The youth is right, my father ; let the courtiers with- draw." Tuathal made a sign to the assembled nobles to retire, and when they had done so, Sara, falling on one knee at the king's feet, and laying her hand on her heart beneath the folds of her tunic, said : "I swear, O king, to tell thee nothing but the truth." " 'Tis well, my son, speak on, I listen." " This, then, is my message," cried Sara, in a strangely hard and subdued voice, and springing with a bound to 286 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; her feet, withdrawing at the same time her small right hand from her tunic armed with a small but keen dagger, before Lorrha had time to perceive her movements, much less to stop them, the little nervous hand rose and fell swiftly, and the dagger was driven to the hilt in the king's throat, just above the torque, and, cutting down- ward, must have severed the artery of the neck, for, as she withdrew the dripping blade, the crimson stream of Tuathal's life-blood spurted high into the air, and with a gurgling and inarticulate exclamation, the obese monarch rolled from his seat on to the dais, and lay weltering and gasping in the torrents of blood that, flowing freely, soon drained his life away. Sara made no attempt to flee, but stood mute and pale, gazing on the dreadful work she had accomplished. Lorrha had, at first, on seeing her father's blood, covered her eyes with her hands, and tottered as she rose rapidly to her feet, as if about to faint, but, recovering herself with an effort, she clutched wildly at the garment of the minstrel, screaming: "Treason, murder, help, without ; ho ! there, help ! " The courtiers rushed in from the ante-room, whither they had retired, to find their king gasping out his last breath on the dais of the throne, while Lorrha dragged the minstrel youth toward them, saying: "This is the false traitor, this is the assassin ; see, his hand still clutches the fatal blade ! " and, in truth, the dagger, stained with blood, was still in the assassin's white and delicate hand. Lorrha dragged her prisoner so roughly by the neck of the tunic towards the approaching crowd, that the garment was torn open to the waist, and one of the captains observing this, cried out: "By the gods, look, 'tis a woman, and no man, that hath done this deed of blood." OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 287 " A woman ! " shrieked Lorrha, as she turned to look. " Ah ! harlot ! devil's-brood ! who art thou, that hast slain my father thus treacherously before mine eyes ? I do believe it is no yes, yes it is it is one of those Oriental witches, who have stolen my place and throne, and bewitched the Pentarch into marrying one of them. Tell me, thou bloodstained harlot, masquera- ding in the garb of a man, art thou not the younger of the two wards of that false prophet who hath bewitched king Eochaid and his people with his magic, and persuaded them to forswear the faith of their fathers ? Speak, wretch, or I will find the means to make thee ! " "It skills not to deny it," murmured Sara, in a voice marked by indifference. "The she-devil admits it," cried Lorrha, "I will not deign to shed the tainted blood of a brazen-faced creature, masquerading in men's garments to effect her wretched projects. What ho ! there, send us the Provost Marshal. I will teach thee, hateful hussy, what it is to kill a king of Connaught, and beard his daughter to her face." Sara, who seemed dazed and careless, either from the horror of her own deed, or from the reaction from the nervous tension in which she had lately lived, and which had nerved her to the dreadful act, said only : " If thou art a woman, and withal a modest woman, as thou claimest so loudly to be, thou wilt order me to instant execution ; it is thy right. But I pray thee to respect the honour of a princess of longer ancestry than thou, and the virginity of a maiden as pure, or purer, than thyself." Lorrha, quite unable to restrain her rage, rushed at her victim and soundly boxed her ears, shrieking : " Take that, and that, thou strumpet, masquerading in 288 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; men's garb among the soldiery ; thou darest to talk to me of thy virginity ! We will soon see about that ! Here, Provost Marshal ! take me this dirty bird away, and strip her of her borrowed feathers every shred of them ; sear me her eyes with red-hot irons, and cast her out naked to the soldiery. That is the fitting doom of a harlot, a traitor, and an assassin, and no power on earth shall move me to modify it in one jot or tittle." Sara only replied by a withering look of scorn, and as the Marshal's men seized her delicate person roughly, to drag her from the royal tent, she only whispered : " Man, if thou hast a daughter, for her sake slay me with thy dagger." "Come thou along, mistress, 'tis more than mine own life is worth, there is no help for thee ; and though I am sorry for thee, suffer thy doom thou must." Over the dreadful fate that befel that poor child on that terrible night let us, in mercy, draw a veil. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. CHAPTER XIX. THE RAISING OF THE SIEGE OF TARA. " Vengeance is Mine ; I will repay, saith the Lord." Rom. xii. 19. THE tragic incident of the last chapter did not long continue unknown. A hurried council of war was forth- with summoned, and, while it was assembling, the news of the sudden and violent death of the king of Connaught flew like wildfire through the camp, gathering exaggera- tion as it went, and spreading dismay and consternation among the besiegers. From every quarter numbers of the soldiery, no longer amenable, under the excitement, to the customary discipline of a camp, hurried from their posts to the king's quarters, to satisfy their curiosity in the first instance. Thus many thousands of excited men surrounded the royal tent, in which the council had assembled, and, impatient of the prolonged confer- ence of their leaders, soon began to raise demands for the instant abandonment of the siege, clamouring to be led back to their own country, since the king was dead, and they were unwilling to be led by a woman, or to be made the tools of her revenge or caprice. So great was the demoralisation that, had the besieged been in a position to organise a sortie in any force, they would have stood a very good chance of turning the tables on their hitherto invincible foes. The lord of Lurgan soon became aware of the commo- tion among the besiegers, but having no means of obtain- ing information, otherwise than by observation from the 2QO EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; walls, could only guess at the real state of the case. Under ordinary circumstances the camp of the enemy was usually sunk, by nine or ten o'clock, in slumber and silence, broken only by the hoarse challenge of the sentinels as, in pacing backward and forward in their respective stations, they from time to time met one another, greeting each other with the monotonous cry of " All's well ! " To-night these greetings of the sentinels had altogether ceased, or were drowned by the hollow and sullen murmur, like that of a distant sea upon a beach, caused by the conversation of the Connaught men assembled round the king's quarters, a murmur rising sometimes to a roar as the malcontents gave vent to their demands to be led home. More than once the commandant had half made up his mind to gather his exhausted and half-starved garrison together, and risk all on the hazard of a sally ; but reflecting on their exhausted and dispirited condition, more prudent counsels prevailed, and he decided to let his men rest through the night and to await the further development of the unknown events which had evidently so gravely disturbed the equanimity of the foe. Just at the time that Terence, the captain of the watch at the northern postern at Tara, yielding to the irresistible fascinations of Miriam, was unconsciously providing the younger daughter of Zedekiah with the means of escaping from the fortress, Eochaid, the Pen- tarch, at the head of an army of about thirty thousand men, had arrived with his advanced guard at a point some six or seven miles to the north of Tara, which seemed suitable for the purpose of encampment, and had there called a halt, intending to rest his troops there that night and proceed at dawn to the relief of his besieged capital. Soon after midnight a party of OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 2QI deserters from the army of Connaught, taking advantage of the general disturbance following the slaughter of their king, and determined to provide for their own safety in their own way, by escaping in a north- westerly direction towards their own country, practically ran into the arms of Eochaid's outposts and, being taken prisoners, were forthwith conducted to his pre- sence. Interrogating these, Eochaid became aware of the assassination of his tributary by a woman, whose identity his informants were still unaware of, and of the general demoralisation of the Connaught warriors which had resulted from this event. The Pentarch was prompt to perceive that this general insubordination that had suddenly taken posses- sion of his enemies, would inevitably render them an easy prey if a bold and sudden blow should be struck before the generals of the late king of Connaught should have time to reorganise their soldiery and prepare for resistance. He, therefore, gave instant orders for the advance guard of his army to be aroused from their hardly-commenced repose and to immediately re- sume their march in two columns ; one of which should fall upon the north-eastern and the other upon the north-western wing of the besiegers' encampment before daylight. Sending back mounted messengers to hasten the advance of his main body encamped some ten miles to the rear, he placed himself at the head of the column destined to approach Tara on the north-west and imme- diately gave the order to advance. In less than two hours his force came upon such outposts as remained true to their duty on that side and thus necessarily gave the alarm. Hastily abandoning their ground on per- ceiving the approach of a large body of troops, these outposts hastened to carry the information to the king 2Q2 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; of Connaught's headquarters, where a large concourse of troops from all parts of the invested area had assembled, without order and without leaders. Rushing among this assembled and undisciplined multitude, with wild cries of "Flee for your lives, the enemy is upon us," consternation and dismay produced the results that might be anticipated. Pressing on close behind the flying outposts, the troops of the Pentarch were upon the disorganised rabble before anyone had time even to think of means of resistance. Falling over one another in the darkness in their haste to escape, these unfortu- nates fell an easy prey to the spearmen of the Pentarch, and almost before the chiefs assembled in council in the late king's tent, had time to ascertain what was the matter, the tent was surrounded and all were made prisoners without a stricken blow. Eochaid's column continued to drive their enemies before them in a southerly direction on the western side, while his second column performed the same duty on the eastern side, until the two columns met to the south of Tara, and complete victory was theirs almost without loss, and when the day dawned the lord Lurgan and his garrison, looking from the walls, beheld the army of Connaught flying over the plain in every direction, while their positions were occupied by the advance guard of their Pentarch. Deprived of their principal chiefs and leaders, the men of Connaught made no effort to rally and recover the position they had lost. Hundreds had been cut down by the Pentarch's troops ; hundreds more had become entangled in the swamps and bogs that lay to the south-west of the fortress, and were either en- gulphed or fell helplessly into the hands of their enemies. The besieged, intoxicated with this sudden and unex- OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 293 pected relief from imminent and, as they had persuaded themselves, unavoidable destruction, raised cheer after cheer for the Pentarch and the men of Ulster, to whom they owed this welcome change of fortune. The great gates were thrown open, and the queen Tea Tephi herself, with the infant prince in her arms, and accompanied by her women and the lord of Lurgan and his lieutenants hastened forth to meet the Pentarch and to welcome him back to the home which had so nearly fallen a prey to his enemies. The meeting between the king and queen was affect- ing to a degree, and the delight with which Eochaid received in his arms the pledge of affection born to him during his absence was pleasant to see. At the request of the queen, Baruch, instructed by Jeremiah, proceeded to organise a band of helpers for the assistance of the wounded men of Ulster who had fallen in the skirmish, and supplied with such simple remedies as were in those days known, and with some appliances to enable them to bear the disabled up to Tara to receive such assistance as the priests and Ouates were able to render. Passing out at the great gates, and meeting on their way the band of prisoners, among whom the unfortu- nate Lorrha was conspicuous, broken down and dejected by the sudden and unexpected reverse which had fol- lowed so quickly upon the death of her father, whose body, borne upon a litter by four soldiers, closed the mournful procession. Spreading themselves in parties of four and five over the scene of the recent conflict, the relief party pro- ceeded to gather up their wounded fellow-countrymen and bear them away to the fortress to be tended by those appointed for this duty. 294 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; Baruch himself, with some of his helpers, wended his way towards the spot which had been the headquarters of Tuathal's army, rendering as they went similar ser- vices to such disabled Ulstermen as they discovered on their way. When about halfway between the walls and the tent of the late king, Baruch observed a few paces to his right, a group of soldiers gathered round some object lying among the heather, which seemed to be a source of more than usual interest to the Ulstermen, whose coarse laughter and ribald jests attracted his attention. Enquiring the cause of their assembling thus, he received answer as follows from a grizzled warrior of the party : " Of a truth, good sir, 'twere hard to say for certain whether it be not to late to render any help." " Is it then a wounded man or a dead body that ye stare at ? In any case methinks it is unseemly enough to laugh and jest at the misfortune." " A body it is, but whether dead or not I cannot justly say ; but of a surety it is not a man. Some female camp- follower it would seem to be, who appears to have received harsh measure this night, but whether from friend or foe who shall say ? " Pushing his way through the group, Baruch perceived half-hidden by the heather, the naked body of a young and beautiful girl, the pale marbled limbs bruised and stained with mud, the face hidden in the white and delicate hands, the shoulders and breast partly shrouded by the wealth of dark hair that wet and dank with dew clung closely about the motionless form. Stooping down to listen if the breath of life still stirred the apparently lifeless form, he took one of the hands to lift it gently away from the mouth that it covered. With a cry of pain and anger he instantly tore off his long mantle and OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 2Q5 threw it over the naked body of the girl, for he had recognised the features of Sara, the queen's sister, in spite of the horrible disfigurement wrought by the hot iron which had been so cruelly used to sear and destroy the beautiful black eyes of the woman whom he had adored with all the strength of his passionate, though reserved, and self-restrained nature. "Knowest thou this lady-light-o'-love, good sir?" quoth the grizzled warrior who had spoken before ; "for thou seemest to treat her more tenderly than such an one should deserve at the hands of a grave and reverend priest, such as thou art." " I know her not," replied Baruch, " but whoever or whatever she be, she is at least a woman, young and beautiful, and, methinks, breathes still, and surely it is a brotherly and manly thing to hide her beauty from the ribald gaze of every passer-by." " Thou art right, reverend sir, thou art very right ; the trade of war hardens a man, but I cannot doubt thou hast done a good deed. Shall we bear the poor creature up to the fortress ? Mayhap her life may yet be saved, though I fear me she hath had terrible treatment." " Yea ! " quoth Baruch, " we will bear her forthwith to Tara. Go quickly and bring up yonder band of my fellows ; we will make a litter with our garments and bear her as softly and gently as we can to where assist- ance may be rendered to her." Spreading a couple of mantles on the ground these rough men, under Baruch's instructions, tenderly lifted the victim of Lorrha's horrible and jealous vengeance on to them, still decently covered with the priest's mantle, and taking up the four corners proceeded to bear their burden with the utmost carefulness away towards the fortress. 296 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; Baruch fancied that when the poor creature was first moved, something like a feeble sigh escaped her, and the hope that she still lived and might yet be restored became somewhat stronger in his breast. Entering by the great gates Baruch led the bearers straight to the dwelling of the prophet, and calling for Miriam, bade her prepare to receive a wounded woman in the princess' apartment. While the men bore their sad burden into the apartment and laying it tenderly on the couch, respectfully withdrew, Baruch drew Miriam aside and broke to her as gently as he could the identity of the unfortunate girl and the circumstances under which he had found her. The maiden, who had all the morning suffered the utmost anxiety on her mistress' behalf and had wandered to and fro in the hope of learning some tidings of her, was at once relieved and dreadfully shocked. Being, however, before all a sensible and self-possessed young woman, she begged Baruch to go instantly to seek a certain old woman who had a great reputation for her power of healing while she called to- gether the women of the princess' household and pro- ceeded to provide a hot bath, and prepare for the proper attentions which the unhappy child so direly needed. Baruch, having found the old woman busily engaged among the wounded soldiers who had been brought in, drew her aside and enjoining the utmost secrecy hurried her away to devote all her skill and time to this new and interesting patient. This duty performed he proceeded at once to seek an audience of the queen and acquaint her with the terrible discovery he had made. Tea Tephi, although she had wondered more than once during the morning what had become of her beloved sister that she did not appear to bear her part in the welcome to the returning Pentarch, had, among the OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 2Q7 exciting events of the day, forgotten for a time her sister's absence, or had consoled herself with the reflection that Sara, who had a reputation for being foremost in all works of charity and kindness, was pro- bably occupying herself in tending and solacing the wives and daughters of the soldiers of the garrison who had suffered bereavement by the stern events of the siege. Dreadfully shocked and alarmed at the terrible informa- tion now communicated to her she hastened across the great square leaning on Baruch's arm to herself assist in the measures adopted to restore her unhappy sister to animation and consciousness. We will leave her for the present at her sister's bed- side and proceed with Baruch to seek Jeremiah, whom it was essential at once to make acquainted with the extraordinary and painful discovery that had been made. The prophet was deeply grieved and affected at the news and naturally, like everyone else concerned, was at a loss to understand how the unfortunate sister of the queen had contrived to leave Tara unobserved. That she had been the victim of the revenge of some person in authority in the Connaught camp seemed probable since whatever other outrage she might be subjected to by the disorderly soldiery of king Tuathal, it was extremely unlikely that these latter would wantonly have burnt her eyes with some hot instrument, as from Baruch's explanation of her condition seemed evidently to have been done. Suddenly it flashed upon the Jewish priest that Tuathal had been stabbed in his tent by a woman as common rumour had reported and that possibly Sara's hand was the immediate cause of his death, although neither Jeremiah nor Baruch could imagine either the motive that had impelled her to such an action or the v 2g8 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; means by which she had been enabled to carry out so sinister a design and one so unlikely to occur to a young and high-born damsel. One thing was evident, namely, that the condition of Sara could not fail to become known to the Pentarch before long, who would certainly leave no stone unturned to discover the author of this terrible outrage on his relative, and of the implied insult to his crown and dignity, as well as take measures to inflict some terrible retaliation on the prisoners now in his power. The first step was to ascertain how the ill-fated princess had effected her escape from the fortress on the previous evening. To this end the prophet determined, in his capacity as Jodhan Moran, to interrogate first the wardens who had the evening before been in charge of the several gates of Tara. Instructing Baruch to take a file of men-at-arms and proceed at once to bring before him, one by one, the responsible guardians of the gates, beginning with the warden of the great entrance of the fortress, the prophet, in the meantime, proceeded himself to the apartment of the princess to ascertain for himself the condition of his unhappy ward. He found that the poor girl had been tenderly and carefully looked after by the maidens of the palace under the instructions of the old woman before-mentioned, and of the queen, so far with success that pulse and respiration had been restored. She was, however, still quite unconscious and in a con- dition of complete prostration, and there was no pro- bability of at present obtaining from her lips any ex- planation of the mysterious occurrences of the night, even if humanity would have permitted an interrogation to be instituted in her present condition. The old woman in charge of the patient expressed the opinion OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 2gg that the patient's present condition was due rather to shock and exposure than to the actual injuries she had received, although these were of a sufficiently horrible nature. " Provided," she said, "that inflammation did not supervene the princess might probably recover," but it was impossible, at present, to foresee the issue of the ill-usage of which she had been the victim ill-usage which she declared to be of a nature to cause the most terrible mental distress. All that could he done was to keep the sufferer perfectly quiet, to administer such restoratives as her condition permitted and to try and bring about natural sleep in place of the state of collapse and unconsciousness in which she now lay. Unable to do anything himself for the relief of his ward, Jeremiah left her to the care of her women, and withdrawing, invited her sister, the queen, to hold some conversation with him in the ante-chamber, with a view to ascertain whether she could, perhaps, throw some light on the mystery. He was much dissappointed to find that Tea Tephi was quite unable to render any assistance in unravelling the mysterious occurrence. Her sister had left her an hour before sundown on the previous evening to retire to her apartment, and had not been seen or heard of by the queen, until she had been brought, in her present condition to the palace ; pointing out, however, that Miriam, Sara's chief waiting- woman was on terms of the closest confidence with her mistress, and that it was hardly possible that the latter could have escaped from the fortress without her maid's privity. The queen had no sooner taken her leave and with- drawn to the royal palace than the Jodhan Moran sent for Miriam and proceeded to examine her as to the movements of her mistress on the preceding evening. 3OO EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; The Jewish maiden was greatly alarmed at this turn of the affair and much disturbed as to the consequences to herself of the part she had allowed herself to be per- suaded to play in the adventure which had ended, as it appeared, so disastrously for the young princess. At first the girl refused to admit any knowledge of the cir- cumstances, but finding that the judge had ordered the wardens of the gates on the previous evening to be brought before him for examination, and foreseeing that the man-at-arms, Terence, would resent the trick she had played upon him and would certainly retaliate by making a clean breast of it, if only for his own justifi- cation, she came to the conclusion that it would be better for her to tell the whole truth herself than to incur Jeremiah's severe displeasure by seeking to mis- lead him. Falling on her knees, and bursting into tears, she said: " Oh ! most noble prophet, I pray thee promise me thy forgiveness and I will tell thee all I know, although that is not much. The princess, my mistress, threatened to ask the assistance of some one else if I refused to aid her. Indeed, indeed, I tried all I could to dissuade her from attempting to leave the fortress, but she would not listen to me ; and so, and so I devised a plan to help her." "Thou art a foolish maiden, and it was wrong of thee to consent to so wild and dangerous an enterprise ; but if it shall presently prove that thou didst act on the orders of thy liege lady, I will do my best to protect thee from the king's wrath, provided thou do now tell me fully and freely all thou knowest of this business." Miriam, thereupon, explained her little artifices to assist the princess to get out of the fortress on the previous night, vowing, however, that she knew nothing of her OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 301 mistress' plans, except that to carry them out it was necessary for her to escape alone from Tara. This explanation elucidated the mystery of Sara's escape from the stronghold, but threw no light on her subsequent proceedings, nor on the origin and cause of the injuries which she had sustained. Remembering, however, the common rumour that Tuathal had met his death at the hands of a woman, disguised as a man, Jeremiah could not avoid the conclusion that Sara must herself have been the perpetrator of this deed, and must have, in all probability, met with the ill-usage she had evidently suffered in requital of the murder of the king. Reflecting upon this, the prophet and judge was naturally led to expect that the explanation of all that now remained unknown might be obtained by a close examination of the prisoners, and especially of Lorrha, the late king's daughter. He, therefore, at once set himself the task of instituting such an examination of the prisoners, and before the day had ended he was able to lay before the queen a detailed account of all that had taken place, which substantially agreed with the facts detailed in the last chapter. After consultation with Tea Tephi, it was decided that the time had now come for acquainting Eochaid with the occurrences which had so deeply occupied their attention and Jeremiah under- took to break the matter to the Pentarch on the follow- ing morning. Sara still remained unconscious and hung between life and death. Her sister and her maids did everything that was possible for her relief, but night fell without bringing any change in her condition. The next day Eochaid was informed of the dangerous state of his sister-in-law and of the circumstances that had led up to the tragic occurrences we have detailed. 302 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; His first impulse was to avenge the cruel and indelible dishonour done to his house by the instant execution of the daughter of Tuathal as well as of all those who had been engaged in council with her when the camp was surprised and captured. The prophet, however, succeeded in persuading him to hold a formal investiga- tion and trial of the prisoners and to mete out such punishment as the various persons implicated might seem to demand ; pointing out to the king the injustice that might be done in punishing with equal punishment those whose criminality might, upon examination, prove to be exceedingly unequal. Eochaid fixed the following day for the trial of the prisoners and enjoined the Jodhan Moran to secure as much independent evidence as it might be possible to obtain. As a result Lorrha and the Provost Marshal of the Connaught camp, who had so faithfully executed her terrible commands were condemned to be beheaded, the attendant lords who were present and failed to interfere to prevent a noble maiden of royal descent from being subjected to the cruel indignity which Sara had been made to suffer were ordered to be imprisoned until they had paid a heavy ransom, while the commanders and captains of the enemy's forces who had assembled after the doom had been pronounced on the unhappy princess were allowed their freedom within the fortress until such time as the terms of a peace had been agreed upon. When Tea Tephi was informed of the result of the trial she herself interceded for the two principal offenders, and representing that the daughter of Tuathal, herself an independent princess, had received great provocation in the murder of her father before her eyes and that her Provost Marshal had only obeyed orders which it would have been very dangerous for him to disobey. Eochaid OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 303 was at first very disinclined to show any leniency in the case, but yielding at last to the petition of his wife, to whom he found it difficult to deny anything, he ordered the two chief offenders to be imprisoned in chambers within the fortress. The rigours of imprisonment in those ancient days were beyond anything that more modern history tells of. Whether these two unfortunates were ultimately released or died from privation and misery in their wretched cells we are unable to say. Their fate is veiled in the mist of ages and they disappear from our story never to play any further part in the events which still remain to be chronicled. After long consultations in council the terms of peace were finally arranged. A nephew of the late king Tuathal was chosen king of Connaught in his stead, and the choice was ratified by the Pentarch on condition of the accept- ance by the newly-elected king of the terms of peace dictated by the former, which included the immediate payment of a heavy indemnity and of an annual tribute proportionate to the power of the people of Connaught to provide. The new king, and his captains, and nobles in the hands of the Pentarch were to be held as hostages at Tara until the indemnity was paid. For many weeks the life of Sara hung in the balance and when at last her attendants were able to declare her convalescent they were obliged to admit that her reason had not been restored nor were they able to declare that it ever would be. In process of time the unhappy girl recovered her usual health and was able to recognise by their voices her sister and others, but her mind was a blank as to the past and she suffered from a fixed delusion, that having been the chosen instrument of God's vengeance upon earth, it was her duty in future to expiate the deed of blood, the one event of her life of which she retained 304 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; vivid recollection, by devoting herself to deeds of charity. Led about the precincts of the court by Miriam, she nursed the sick and soothed the pillows of the poor and aged by her marvellous skill in music, which seemed to have been extraordinarily perfected since she lost the sense of sight, and the powers of her formerly acute and active mind. The defeat of the army of Connaught and the heavy penalties exacted by the Pentarch served greatly to con- solidate his power and raise his prestage in the eyes of the other subordinate kings of Meath, Munster and Leinster. For some years after this event Eochaid enjoyed comparative peace in his realm, and, guided by the wisdom of Jeremiah, great reforms in government and administration were introduced in Ulster and vast strides forward were made in the relative civilisation of this wild and fierce race. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 305 CHAPTER XX. DEATH AND MYSTERY. " The secret things belong unto the Lord." Deut. xxix. 29. Two years have passed quickly away since the relief of Tara and the resettlement of the tributary kingdom of Connaught. The indemnity exacted by Eochaid was duly paid, and under the wise administration of Jeremiah, had been applied to beautifying the rapidly growing capital of the Pentarchy at Tara. The temple, or synagogue, and the house of the priesthood, or college of Ollams, had been completed on a scale of magnificence far in advance of anything that had previously been witnessed in Ireland. The king's palace had been enlarged and beautified and the royal residence had be- come the wonder and admiration of the nobles and chiefs who assembled every year at the feast of Saman, to take part in the now firmly established Convention of Tara, to have new decrees and laws promulgated and to take back with them to their respective districts the royal instructions for the internal government of the country. The Hebraic civilisation established by Eochaid since the public adoption of the faith of Israel was beginning to spread by degrees into the other provinces of the island, and the Phoenician populations of Leinster, Munster and Connaught were gradually learning to abandon Baal-worship and to adopt the wealth-produc- ing arts of peace introduced by the great prophet from the East. The king had ordained that the Jodhan 306 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON J Moran, the righteous judge, should once at least in every year make a progress through Ulster, holding a Bench of Justice in each of the more important centres of popula- tion for the settlement of private disputes and the administration of public justice, as well as for the encouragement of public worship according to the Israelitish rite. Tea Tephi, whose sweetness and amiability of dis- position had greatly endeared her, not only to her royal consort, but to all the people of every class and rank, contributed in no small degree by her wise and prudent conduct to the success of her husband's plans for the improvement of his people. Always accessible to the humblest of her subjects, especially women, who came to seek her counsel and advice, she was regarded by all those who came in contact with her as much a mother as a queen, and her princely virtues were the theme of private conversation as they were of bardic eulogy. No other female has ever filled so large a space in ancient Irish legend as this queenly Oriental, who married Eochaid the Pentarch and became the object of the veneration, and almost of the adoration, of her adopted people. Since the siege of Tara, Tea Tephi had twice rejoiced the heart of her lord and those of her loyal and loving subjects by presenting him, first with a prince, and, later, with another prince, thus bringing assurance of the stability of the royal line, and reducing to a minimum the probability of such State intrigues as in a rude con- dition of society are liable to beset a childless monarch. Her sister Sara, after suffering for more than a year from such aberration of her reason as clouded her memory of past events, except the recollection of the sudden and fatal blow by which she had sought to effect the relief of OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 307 the citadel and the emancipation of the sorely beset garrison, had some time back completely recovered her powers of mind, and for a long time had been greatly depressed and cast down by the fearful ignominy to which she had been so ruthlessly subjected by the vengeful daughter of Tuathal. Hopelessly blind, and, as she felt, still more hopelessly dishonoured, the unhappy girl sought at once to expiate her crime and soothe the stings of memory and remorse by devoting her whole life to works of charity and kindness. With the assent and assistance of the king and of her sister, she had organised a band of Sisters, devoted to the service of God, and to ministration to the poorer members of the community, and might be seen con- stantly about the rapidly growing city, led by the faithful Miriam, visiting the sick and ministering to the distressed, thus securing in the hearts of the people a place only second to that occupied by her beloved sister Tea. Baruch, on the recommendation of the prophet, had been appointed the latter's deputy in all his high offices of State, and his locum tenens during his sometimes pro- longed absence from the capital. The handsome face wore now an air of sadness, and the flowing black beard was streaked with grey, for the terrible fate that had befallen the person, who, of all the world, possessed his entire affection and devotion, had preyed deeply upon his sensitive nature, and his manly heart was full of a deep and unselfish pity for the beautiful girl who at Dan Dalghea some two or three years before had laughed to scorn the offering of tenderness and adoration which he had laid at her princely feet. None had grieved so truly as he at the fearful outrage to which she had been subjected, and at the mental disturbance which had 308 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; succeeded that fearful night : none had rejoiced more heartily, though secretly, than he at the return of reason and health to the object of his undying devotion. He was fully determined, when a suitable opportunity pre- sented itself, to renew his offer to make her his wife, in spite of the miserable affliction of her blindness. She might have been the helpless victim of a foul revenge, but, for him, she was still a pure and spotless maiden, and he well knew that unless she consented to be his spouse, he would lead a life of celibacy to the end. The duties of his official position occupied him fully by day, but in the watches of the night it was still his greatest joy to nourish the undying love, the only love of his life, which nothing but the oblivion of death itself could ever obliterate from his faithful heart. During all these long months not one word had ever passed his lips to any human being on the subject nearest his heart, least of all to the beloved object herself, of his unselfish and unalterable love. Sometimes, of course, it happened to him to be brought in contact with Sara, either in the queen's apartments, or in the course of his official duties. On these occasions he treated her with the same tender deference as her sister, and he had observed that since the recovery of her reason, Sara shrank from him in a way that she had not done when her mind was clouded. Like all afflicted with blindness she had very quickly acquired the power of recognising those whom she knew, and distinguishing between one and another, and he had felt hurt at this latest develop- ment in her of a disposition to avoid him as she had not done while her memory had been lost to her. But he had made up his mind to be patient. For long years now this beautiful and graceful creature had been the queen of his heart's desire ; it never occurred to him that she OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 309 was any less beautiful or attractive by reason of her sad affliction. To him she was still the peerless and proud princess of Judah, and pity for her sufferings and mis- fortunes overweighed in his heart the disfigurement caused by her sightless eyes, hidden, as it was by the bandage, or veil, with which, in Oriental fashion, her face was constantly enveloped. One day, however, in the spring of the year 577 B.C., when Jeremiah was absent about the business of the State, and Baruch was in charge of the College of Ollams and of the Bench of Justice at Tara, Miriam, the constant and devoted attendant upon her beloved mistress, came to him with a request that he would attend at the princess' apart- ment, as she wished to consult him about a case of distress and injustice which had come to her knowledge in the discharge of her pious duties to the poor. It was by no means the first time that Sara had consulted him on such matters, when her guardian, the chief of the Ollams, was not available, and he intimated that he would presently attend her behests, and place his services at her disposal. Introduced to her presence by the attendant in charge, Baruch found the princess seated, as her custom was, on a divan in her chamber, in close and earnest converse with the queen, her sister, while her maidens stood aside ready to afford any assistance that might be required without being able to overhear the conversation of their superiors. She was speaking with great animation and earnestness to the queen, and Baruch thought that never, even in the days of her unimpaired loveliness, had she seemed half so beautiful as now ; her expressive face alive with interest and animation, and her pale cheek slightly flushed with the eagerness of her conversation. 310 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON J The queen was evidently endeavouring to calm her sister, and it struck Baruch for the first time that she looked far from well. The cause of his summons and of the eagerness of the princesses were soon made known to him. Sara's experience amongst the sick had given her much knowledge of that sad and wasting disease which is yet, as some think, engendered by our humid climate, and her sisterly anxiety caused her to fear that she detected its earlier symptoms in the queen. She it was who insisted upon her fears being made known to Baruch, who had some little knowledge of medicine. The queen seemed annoyed, but she con- fessed to a constant cough and decline of strength. She hoped that the summer season and the lessening of maternal care would make her strong again, and she did not wish her husband to be alarmed. Sara mentioned instances where change of residence, even to a site close at hand, which had not been dwelt on before caused recovery; Rebecca mentioned the efficiency of asses milk as a cure. Baruch listened, and promised to observe the case, and, if he thought it necessary, to send a messenger to recall the prophet, who intended, as he knew, to visit Dan Dalghea before he returned, as the "Lion of Judah" was again expected, and he was anxious about the execution of an important commission which he had entrusted to her captain. As the weeks passed on, the fears awakened in Baruch's mind were confirmed, and he sent messengers who found Jeremiah superintending the unloading of a pillar stone which he evidently recognised as that for which he had sent. It was about nine feet in length, chiselled into a round shape, and with a conical head, and weighed a few tons. It had been recovered from the OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 311 ruins of the Temple and was again to be associated with the Lia Phail, which had been the object of his first solicitude. Some of his attendants wondered at the importation at such trouble and expense of this apparently useless stone, but he briefly stated that when his forefather Jacob revisited Bethel he removed the stone that had been his pillow, which henceforth was to be for him God-house, and that he set up this pillar- stone to mark the place. That both the stone and pillar had been removed from Bethel to the temple courts, and that he wished them to be brought together again. His name and fame were so well established that none doubted his wisdom. But as often happens in the affairs of men at the moment of his gratification, ill tidings were awaiting him. Immediately upon the receipt of Baruch's message he gave directions that the cargo should be brought on to Tara, and he prepared for a hasty return to the court. His anxiety was not lessened by an interview with his wards, and he determined to acquaint the king of his fears. Eochaid could not realize that there was danger, nevertheless the possibility of Tephi's death weighed with heavy anxiety upon him. He gratified every wish and fancy that she expressed, and endeavoured to snatch every moment that was possible from the cares of State in order that he might spend them in her company. Jeremiah also was the constant companion of the king and queen, and their children used to prattle on his knees. A heavy cloud rested upon the palace, and it was evident to both her guardian and her husband that some deep anxiety was adding to the weakness of the queen. Jeremiah urged her to open her mind to him, and then she unbosomed all her cares. Her first care was for her children. She dreaded the 312 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; possibility of the recurrence of war. She doubted whether the acceptance of the faith of her fathers by Eochaid's subjects was likely to be permanent. She feared for the lives and faith of her children. Her guardian calmed her fears and strengthened her faith, by recalling the deliverances that had been already given, and by quoting the promises of perpetuity which were the inheritance of her family, and he assured her that while life and strength remained he would guard her children as he had guarded her. She then spoke of her sister, of her sad position, of Baruch's continued devotion, and of her desire that Sara should consent to marry him. Jealous as he ever was for the dignity of the princely house, this suggestion was not agreeable to Jeremiah, but seeing how much the sick woman's heart seemed to be set on it he counselled her to consult her husband. [And we may here state in anticipation that the marriage did take place within a few months.] But there was another anxiety that weighed heavily on the queen's mind and equally upon that of her guardian, for it was associated with their deepest religious instincts. Amongst the cargo brought by the " Lion of Judah " when Jeremiah and his wards escaped in her, was a heavy case which contained some heavy and precious article. It had never been opened, and the prophet directed that it should remain concealed until such time as it would be possible to return it to Jerusalem ; its contents were never explicitly spoken of, and even Eochaid knew little more than that it was to remain intact. Tephi manifested great anxiety as to this treasure, and to Jeremiah's surprise she desired a promise from him that it should be buried with her. This idea came to the prophet as an inspired suggestion, OK, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 313 and he saw in it a means of preserving his treasure from desecration. This conversation had a good effect upon the queen, and her strength seemed to rally. Filled with hope, Sara insisted that her suggested remedy should be tried, and that a dwelling-place be erected outside the royal dun on land hitherto uninhabited. This was done, and the change was manifestly beneficial; a rampart and stockade was built around for protection, which just intersected the outer of the threefold ramparts of the fortress that she left. But again the fell and deceptive disease grasped its victim, and a new design took pos- session of her mind: it was this, that her house where she had spent the happiest years of her life, and which was, as we have seen, her dower gift, and which she herself had laid out and planned should be made into her tomb a merrah, or receptacle, for that which she would have buried with her. The fortress was remarkably strong, and therefore valuable, but at her wish the king deter- mined to sacrifice it, and to do with it as she desired. She requested that the work should commence, and manifested, what was to everyone but her guardian, a strange satisfaction at its progress. She seemed to desire only that she should live to see it completed. The dwelling-places were removed, a deep pit was sunk and carefully drained, a floor of flags was laid, and a circular wall of unmortared stone sixty feet in circum- ference was built, which gradually tapered inwards and formed a roof, a supporting wall divided the chamber into two, a stone hinged door admitted to the inner chamber, and a similar door was placed in the outer wall, a thick layer of sea-weed was laid on as an outer covering, and over this the excavated soil was placed to the depth of many feet, causing a high conical mound w 314 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON, ETC. to appear in the centre of the surrounding embank- ment?. When the work was finished the excitement that had sustained the flickering life of the queen ceased, and with that beautiful resignation which is often exhibited by consumptive patients, and which in her case was intensified by faith in the faithfulness of the God of Abraham, the gentle spirit of Tea Tephi passed from the anxieties of this life to "Abraham's bosom." The Pentarch was never more popular than at this time, when the tributary kings and princes assembled for the funeral of the queen. Her burial is described in the poetic records of the age, and lingers in the unwritten tradition of 2,500 years. In the inner chamber, to be guarded by the sanctity of the tomb, was placed the mysterious chest, in the outer was placed a stone flag graven deep with imperishable characters, and on a raised stone couch was reverently laid the body of the queen, her arms and ankles and throat covered with gold and jewelled ornaments, and there she sleeps in an unopened tomb until the time is ripe for the verification of these things, which hitherto has been, as recorded in the words of the poet, " A mystery too great to be uttered." APPENDIX NOTE A. DIFFERENCES of opinion have been freely expressed by many ancient writers as to the period of the year at which the Isiac Mysteries were wont to be celebrated. Originally instituted by Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis, about the year 2164 B.C., at the full moon of the winter solstice, it has generally been supposed that they continued to be celebrated at the same time of the year continuously. Owing, however, to the absence in the Egyptian calendar of any interculation to counterbalance the superfluous six hours in each solar year, the celebra- tion progressed one month in every 120 years. The celebration in the year 582 B.C. occurring 1582 years after the first, the date had progressed 13 months during that period, and, after having been celebrated in every month of the year for a term of 1460 years, it had, about the year 700 B.C., got back to the full moon of the winter solstice, and, in 582 B.C., had moved forward again to the January full moon, as stated in the text. The Rev. John Jackson, in his "Chronological Antiquities," Vol. III., p. 271, writing of this question of the incidence of the Isiac Mysteries, says : "However, this, and all the Egyptian festivals, were movable ; and the learned astronomer Geminus gives the reason of it. 'Many of the Greeks,' says, he, 'suppose 316 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; that, according to the Egyptians and Eudoxus, the festival of Isis falls in the winter tropic, which is altogether false. For this festival is a whole month distant from the winter tropic. But the error arose from this that 120 years ago the festival of Isis was celebrated at the winter solstice ; for it changes one day every four years, and so in 120 years it varies one month. Hence it is that the Isiac mysteries were anciently celebrated at the winter tropic ; and still more anciently at the summer tropic ; as Eratosthenes observes in his com- mentary on the Octaeteris : and they will again be celebrated at the autumnal season and the summer tropic, and in the spring and at the winter tropic. For in 1460 years every feast passeth through every part and season of the year, and is carried again to the same place of the year where it began." NOTE B. Mistletoe does not now grow freely in Ireland. The present Irish name for the plant is uile-iceadh, from uile, all, and iceadh, healing from root ic, to heal. The Latin translation which Pliny uses in his description of the Druidic ceremony of cutting the mistletoe, is that of the Irish word. Tacitus says that there was very little difference between the religious worship and disposition of the inhabitants of Ireland and those of Britain. "It seems to me," writes the Rev. J. F. Lynch, "that whatever Caesar and Pliny tell of the Druids of Britain and Gaul may properly be applied also to those of Ireland." D. H. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 317 NOTE B. LIA FAIL. THE Irish "stone of destiny" is called in Irish as above, more correctly, however, " Lia Phail." It is not only the stone of destiny, but the stone " wonderful " the English equivalent for the Hebrew word " Phail." In his essay on certain monuments of antiquity, Mr. Weaver says, p. 118 : "It appears that Irish kings, from very ancient times until A.D. 513, were crowned upon a particular sacred stone, called ' Liath Fail,' ' the stone of destiny ' ; that so also were the Scottish kings until the year 1296, when Edward I. of England brought it here ; and it is a curious fact that this stone has not only remained in England until now, and is existing still under the coronation chair of our British sovereigns in Westminster Abbey, but that all our kings from James I. have been crowned in that chair." "This being a fact so curious," says Mr. Weaver, "we shall quote its particulars in a note, as taken from Toland in his " History of the Druids" (pp. 137 9) and from Mr. Edward O'Reilly, author of the Irish Dictionary, in his letter to Sir Wm. Betham, and inserted in his "Irish Antiquarian Researches." Toland's statement is this: "The Fatal Stone (Liag fail) so-called, was the stone on which the supreme kings of Ireland used to be inaugurated in times of heathenism on the hill of Tarah ; it was superstitiously sent to confirm the Irish colony in the north of Great Britain, where it continued as the coronation seat of the Scottish kings ever since Christianity ; till, in the year 1300, Edward I. of England brought it from Scone, placing it under the coronation chair at Westminster, and there it still continues. I had almost forgotten to tell you that it is now called by the vulgar, Jacob's Stone, as if this had been Jacob's pillow at Beth-el." 3l8 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; O'Reilly, speaking of Liath Fail, says : " All our Irish historical writers, ancient and modern, tell us that it was a large stone of extraordinary virtue, brought into Ireland ; that the monarchs of Ireland from A.M. 2764* to A.D. 513, were all inaugurated on the Lia Fail, which, until that period, was kept at Tara, in Meath, the chief seat of the Irish monarchs. At this period Muisceortagh (Murkertagh) resigned. Fergus, his brother, having established for himself a kingdom in Alba, or, as it has since been called, Scotland, procured from his brother the Lia Fail, that on it he might with the greater solemnity, be inaugurated king over his new possessions. The stone was never returned to Ireland, but remained in Scotland, and each succeeding king of Scotland was crowned thereon, until Edward I. of England invaded that country, A.D. 1296, and carried off into his own country the Scottish regalia, among which was the Lia Fail. From that period to the present day it has remained in England, and ever since the reign of James I. has continued to serve the purpose for which it was so long used in Ireland and Scotland, the kings of Eng- land, from his time down to the present sovereign, have been crowned upon it. We reprint here the following exceedingly interesting train of reasoning from the Rev. Mr. Glover's " England the Remnant of Judah" (p. 46). "About the year 588 B.C. Jerusalem was taken by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon; and so considerable a portion of the people was carried away that, after the raid, made upon the remnant left behind, by Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, and the subsequent migration of the remains of the remnant to Egypt, the place was almost entirely deserted. On the departure of the main c This date is verv debateable. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 319 body for Babylon, the prophet Jeremiah was allowed the option, by the monarch, to go to Babylon or to remain behind. For reasons best known to himself, he decided to remain at Jerusalem i.e., at Mizpah; and he made use of this license to secure those invaluable endow- ments of the first temple, which, if lost, could never be replaced " (see Maccabees ii. 4 7). At this time Jacob's pillow was an object of hardly less veneration in Jerusalem than the miraculous furni- ture of the Temple; and as we find that, in the subse- quent capture of Jerusalem by Caliph Omar, in his veneration for the rock shown to him by the patriarch as Jacob's pillow, he immediately gave orders for a mosque to be built over it in honour of it, we have herein pointed out to us, with sufficient certainty, the place where the anti-captivity Jews had set up this national Stone, the sacred memento of the promises of national greatness, made to their father Jacob, when he dreamed his dream at Beth-el, and to which memento they had assigned the name of Eben-Shatyeah. We learn from Hosea that the temple of Bethel had come to be changed, in the language of prophetical denunciation, from Beth-el to the contemptuous name of Beth-aven, "The House of Nought," which would hardly have been the case had the " Pillar of Witness " been the foundation of its altar. Was, then, Jeremiah the man it having been shown that he did care for one set of holy things to disregard the existence, or be careless, of this other holy thing ? For it was a consecrated thing, and it lay deep, so to speak, in the fundamental traditions of the empire. The Stone, then, being a conspicuous object among the holy things, we may be sure that the prophet no more neglected to take care of and for it than he did for 320 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; the things which he set in the cave. In some such cave, therefore, or in some other safe place, he doubtless secreted the Stone, possibly in the same in which Baruch had secreted, by burying in an earthen vessel, the "evidences" of his purchase. It is clear from the care taken to ensure that these ' ' evidences of Jeremiah's purchase of land in Anathoth " should con- tinue many days, that they will again appear upon the earth and be evidences of the promised restoration of the "two families," as well as of this transaction. (It is impossible to state whether they were buried on Mount Nebo, with the Ark, or carried to Ireland with the Stone and buried probably with the breastplate of the high priest in the Mergech). Wherever he may have hidden it, therefore, he would be able to lay his hand upon it readily when he returned to the land of Judah with the small number that escaped the sword in Egypt. And when subsequently, upon his arrival, he considered the duty that lay upon him, according to the injunctions of his first commission over the nations, " to plant and to build," coupled with the impossibility of his doing so in the land of Judea, which was to be in bondage for seventy years (he himself being now 56 years old), he therefore felt the necessity of going thence, and that he had authority to do so. The absence of all the Jews of influence, and the fact of the authority he had with the Babylonish lieutenant, would make the removal of the cherished Stone to him a matter of no difficulty; whereas the Jews with him, and also the Babylonish officer, would have absolutely forbidden its being removed by any other person but Jeremiah. But what reason could the prophet Jeremiah have for desiring to remove this Stone ? In proportion as was the reverence of the nation for OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 321 this Stone, as a national emblem, one representing the destiny of the nation, so might a man who had the intuition, and felt the duty weighing upon him to re- establish the sceptre of Judah, very well feel the neces- sity of being accompanied by such a national muniment; and as his determination was to make flight by sea for the hypothesis is that he came to an island to some distant land, there would be no hindrance in his carrying with him that which would be a heavy burden by land.* The Stone being found at Tara, in Ireland, and at the time that it was bound, as it were, to disappear from judea, and the legend attaching to it being what we know it to be,t none but Jeremiah could have been the declarer of such a legend and prophecy. The dimensions of the Stone are here stated to be 26 in. x i6f in. X 10^ in. f The Lia Fail, the Coronation Stone of the United Kingdom, is called the stone of destiny, for it was destined for that purpose; and, wheresoever it should be placed, a prince of the Scuits' race should possess the sovereignty of the country, whence the pro- phetic Rune has attached itself to it, from some 2,400 years since, to this effect " Cioniodh Scuit saor an fine, Man ha breag an Fais dine, Mar a oh fuighid an Lia Fail, Dlighid flaitheas do grabhail." Of this Irish Celtic, the literal translation runs thus " The wanderer's race, a noble tribe, Unless prophets false predict; Where they may find the Stone of Fate, Empire there they've the right to assume.' Truly translated by Sir Walter Scott as follows " Unless the Fates are faithless grown, And prophets' voice be vain, Where'er is found this sacred Stone, The wanderer's race shall reign." 322 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; Furthermore, it must be asserted that if the prophet Jeremiah pronounced the legend, feeling authority to do so, we may be sure that the terms of it will be fulfilled. And hitherto are they not ? If, then, the legend be sound, which may be assumed, as having been spoken by one having authority, and who could be no other but Jeremiah; and the facts of the case hitherto are not inconsistent with its being so; and if the fulfilment of the legend be intended and who will venture to say that it is not ? then the Stone so used by them at that time must be the throne of the blood-royal of Judah, That is to say: In order to have made the prediction of possible realisation, the prophet must have been accompanied by some member of the family of David; for how could a "throne of David" be re-established but in the pre- sence of those by whom a perpetuation of the royal line of David would be possible. Therefore a man, or a woman, of the seed-royal must have been present, to make the promise possible and reasonable. But the kings and princes of the royal house had been all cut off; consequently none of them were there. The "king's daughters" had not been cut off; they were manifestly in the prophets' company on his two forced journeys from Jerusalem ; first, with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, towards Ammon; and, after- wards, with Johanan, the son of Kareah, to Taphnis in Egypt. When there, against his will, the prophet was commanded to escape from it and promised safety in flight, to return to Judea, and consequently safety to those with hirn who should, in so escaping, obey the voice of the Lord. The "king's daughters" would therefore, for their own sake, take care to be with him on his return to Judea. When there, he had the OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 323 opportunity of transporting thence, whithersoever he would, the Stone of Israel, the grand national relic, the ancient " Pillar of Witness," even to whatever place he would be moved to proceed to, "to plant and to build" that kingdom i.e., to re-establish that kingdom of Judah, whose restoration he had been com- manded to foretell. In Judea it was impossible for Jeremiah to set up this-to-be-resuscitated kingdom. Judea was to lie waste for seventy years, and the prophet was now, as we have seen, 56 years old. In Babylon it could not be. Neither in, nor under the protection of, Egypt could it be. Whither then was he to go to set about to " plant and to build " that which he had been ordained to help " to pluck up and destroy," and re-establish that " Pillar of Witness " by which the patriarch of old had handed down to the generations to come the assurance of his faith in the promises of God. Did the " Isles of the West " suggest themselves as a likely place for sanc- tuary to that " righteous man in the East," or were they suggested to him by the prophecy of Isaiah xxiv. 16 ? The following is a Scottish account of the Coronation Stone: "In Westminster (Abbey) there is a Stone on which the kings of England are crowned. It was carried thither from Scone, where the kings of Scotland had been crowned upon it, and had been placed there by Kenneth, son of Alpin, after his victory over the Picts in 843. To Scone it had been transported from Dun- staffnage, where the successors of Fergus had been crowned upon it. To Dunstaffnage it had been brought from Tarah, where the Scottish kings of Ireland had been crowned upon it, and Ireland had been named from it, 'Innisfail.' To Tarah it had been brought 324 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; from Spain, and to Spain, it was said, from the Holy Land. . . . The importance attached to it was such as to make its removal to England to be considered in the time of Edward I., a necessary step towards the subjugation of the Scottish kingdom. They called it 'The Stone of Fortune,' and 'The Stone of Destiny' (Lia Fail)." From Urquharts " Pillars of Hercules." Mr. John Burton, in his "History of Scotland," says : " In the adjoining Abbey of Scone (on King Edward's first visit to Perth), he found something which was well worth his while to remove and keep, and he either took it with him northwards, or left it till his return ; this was the Stone of Destiny the Palladium of Scotland." An old rhymer describes the incident thus : ". . . As he came home by Scone away, The regal Stone of Scotland then he brought, And sent it forth to Westmynster for ay, To ben thirynne a chayer clenly wrought, Which yit yis there standing beside the Shryne In a chayer of old time made full fyne." [What old rhymer this may be we do not know. -ED.]. NOTE C. JACKSON, in his "Chronological Antiquities," Book i., p. 375, fixes the date of the commencement of the siege of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar, which lasted thirteen years and ended in the complete destruction of old (or mainland) Tyre, in the year before Christ 584. Other authorities place the event at an earlier or later date. There seems OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 325 some doubt whether so great an expedition would have been undertaken by Nebuchadnezzar within two years of the fall of Jerusalem, and at a time when that monarch was engaged in completing the devastation of Judea, and subduing such powerful nations as Cale- Syria, and the Zidonians, the Moabites, Ammonites, Philistines, Edomites, and Arabians. Great as was the military power of Nebuchadnezzar, it may well be doubted whether it could simultaneously compass so vast a work as is here represented, and at the same time lay siege to Tyre ; a siege which, whenever it com- menced, lasted into the fourteenth year before being brought to a conclusion. For Tyre was one of the wealthiest and, by its free access to the sea, one of the most independent cities of that period. As a matter of fact, when the city of old Tyre at last fell a prey to the armies of the king of Babylon, he suffered great disap- pointment that most of the population, and portable wealth, of the place had been transferred to new, or insular, Tyre ; which continued to exist and flourish, as a great commercial emporium, for at least two hundred and fifty years after Nebuchadnezzar's costly and partial victory. In the text the date of the commencement of the siege of Tyre has been assumed as occurring in or about 580 B.C., i.e., some five or six years after the destruction of Jerusalem. This assumption is, however, admittedly arbitrary. NOTE D. THE following is transcribed from the 3rd chapter of the Rev. F. R. A. Glover's book, entitled, "England, the Remnant of Judah." 326 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON J OLLAM FOLA OF TARA. Ollam Fodhla pronounced Ollav Fola is a man well-known of, though not accurately known in Irish tradition, as a great monarch, sage, or law-giver. He is mentioned thus in the "Annals of the Four Masters," p. 412 : "Amongst the most celebrated kings of Ulster, who also reigned as monarch of Ireland, was Ollamh Fodhla, or Ollav Fola, the famous legislator, whose reign is placed by Tigernach O'Flaherty and others about seven centuries before the Christian era. He founded the Conventions of Tara." This is that Eocaid Ollamph Fodhla Heremon Ardrigh, of Tara, of whom the chronicles of Eri make such ample and honorable mention. " Their kings had many names and titles ; these titles have been branched out into persons, and inserted as the lists of real monarchs: ... by which means the chronology of Egypt has been greatly embarrassed." So, as Bryant said of Egyptian history and chronology, may be said of Irish, as Mr. Moore well suggests (Moore's " Ireland," i. 161). This case, however, affords an example of the converse evil : a compound, in which mere titles have been converted into a man, and two persons thrown into one. "Ollav Fola is no king at all : is not the name of a king, or of any individual. It is, if we are to judge of his true position by the circumstantial evidence that the case affords, the title of an official. We have to prove that his office was made and filled by the prophet Jeremiah, as Ard -Ollam. The Ollav Fola of Irish history was the chief, and first, and founder, of the Order of Ollams in Ireland. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 327 This was an Order not of kings, but of priests or sages, Druids so-called ; more properly Draoi, as General Vallency insists. They were not pagans; they were simply, Deistical Teachers. This Ollav Fola, also, founded a " College of Ollams," at Tara ; or, as the Hebrews would say, "a School of the Prophets," but not a " College of Kings." Who ever heard of an " Order of Kings," or of a " College of Kings? " As kingship, therefore, is evidently not in the word "Ollam," we must seek for it in the other portion of this official's name; that is, in the word "Fola." Now this word this illustrious official had in common with a certain Eastern Princess, married, as was said, to the king of the country. She is one of the many Queens after whom Ireland has been said to be named, Inis Fodhla, Inis-Fola. But if the Island was named Fodhla at all, or Fola in pronunciation, why not after the alleged king, who was a wonderfully learned man and a great man, instead of after a woman ? For the greatness of this Ollam Fola, which it is impossible to treat as a fiction, has come down to us an undeni- able reality, notwithstanding a halo of the impossible which surrounds the demi-god. So much is this the case, that notwithstanding his alleged doubtful exis- tence, he is enshrined at this day in the grand Hall of the Four Courts in Dublin, with Moses and other magnates of ancient celebrity. The "doubtful" in the case is his imaginary kingship ; which, intruding unnaturally into legends concerning the man, has, by mingling truth with fiction, thrown a cloud ot doubt over the whole. The Ollam-Fola is a reality, and a grand reality; but not that of a king. He was a prophet and a Hebrew, as the words and their signifi- cant meaning declare to us. And what Hebrew 328 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON J prophet of note was living at the time assigned as the era of this Ollam-Fola, but Jeremiah, the man who was appointed prophet to the Gentiles, and the restorer of the eradicated kingdom of Judah ? He was, and was adrift at the time. The plan of his death and burial are unknown (his tomb is shown at five places, Taphnis, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Babylon, and Ireland). So far from anything being known as to the certainty of his death, a fanciful idea obtained that he never died at all; record of which is to be seen in the questions of the disciples of St. John, the forerunner, to their Lord, a notion that very well accords with the fact of the prophet's dis- appearance towards the Fortunate Islands, and his long- looked for return from those imaginary Elysian fields, the Suvarna-Dwip of Sanscrit theology (Suvarna-Dwip is the name by which Ireland was known) by those to whom Father Abraham was known, and was the place to which their descendants swarmed, later, when driven out of Pali-stan by one whom they have handed down to posterity as Joshua, the son of Nun (the Robber). Jeremiah may, therefore, as well have lived and died in Ireland as in any other country. He had a great business to do somewhere, and he was under the pro- tection, as before he had been doubtless under the guidance, of Almighty God to do it. He had to plant and build a kingdom. With respect to the reason why Ollam Fola might have been concluded to be a king when he was none other than a prophet, it is easy to suppose that the conductor and guardian of the "king's daughters" would, as guardian of these high-destined women, be held by the vulgar, and by the bards also in course of time, as himself a king. The character also of which he had, the position he filled, and the relation in which he OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 329 stood towards them and God, in whose name he spoke, and whom he represented, would necessarily inspire that profound admiration and respect for the man, which the kings who knew him readily according him, would, by the same vulgar, be interpreted into kingship over them. (Mr. Glover enters into a long dissertation for the pur- pose of attempting to fix the approximate date at which this celebrated personage lived and flourished ; but it will be unnecessary to reproduce it here, as it is suffi- ciently elaborated in a postcript of the edition of 1881, as follows) : When this book was first printed, the assumption was that the great potentate, Eochaid Ollam Fola Here- mon Ardri, was not one person, but two individuals ; a king and his minister. That Eochaid-Heremon-Ardri was the king. That Ollam Fola was neither a king nor an Irishman : but that he was a foreigner ; a Hebrew and a prophet. It is very satisfactory to find, now, that that condition of things which was asserted to be necessary for the identi- fying Ollam-Fola wrth the great prophet to the nations of the Hebrew Scriptures, has been most completely shown to be the real state of the case, upon the un- exceptionable authority of the learned editor of Lynch's " Cambrensis Eversus," Dr. Kelly, Professor of History, of the Royal College of Maynooth. He informs us touching the disputed dates used in connection with this illustrious individual, Ollam-Fola, that the time of his existence had, by the balance of deduction of the most learned and dispassionate of their scholars, been re- luctantly admitted to be brought as near to the time of the prophet Jeremiah without mention of his name, or any thought of the existence of the individual, as if they had been working to bring out such result. x 330 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; King Cimboath, Dynast of Ulster; the certainty of whose epoch all seem to accept and declare for, as one who had a remarkable death, died at Emania, the palace of the Ulster Kings, B.C. 353. Added to this we are satisfactorily informed that the period of Ollam Fola, according to Fortcherne, is reasonably to be assumed at 230 years before the death of king Cimboath. Thus, 353 + 230=583: i.e., the certainly known date of the prophet Jeremiah as well as to when he could have been in Ireland, as to when he could not have been in Judea. This is the very time that Jeremiah would have been occupied in doing those things which he was bound to do somewhere ; not being able to do them in Judea ; viz., to reset a throne, in order to perpetuate a dynasty; and to establish a college of teachers of the law. That this last was done is certified to us at this day in the existing foundations of the building named the Meralmin, a building said to have been established by Ollam-Fola. Meralmin being the perversion of Mur-Ollamin ; a Hebrew word meaning "the Precinct of the Ollams." NOTE E. JEREMIAH. SURPRISE has sometimes been expressed that the name of Jeremiah should find no record in ancient Irish legendary history, if, as is suggested in the text, the great prophet of the destruction of the kingdom of Judah was ever in Ireland, and became so prominent as to hold the offices of " Ollam Fola," or chief of the prophets, and " Jodhan Moran," or the righteous judge. It should, however, be remembered, that in those remote times, among semi-barbaric peoples, a disposition may OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 33! always be traced for prominent men to get themselves recorded in legend rather by the offices they filled, or the impression they made on the popular imagination, than by such patronymics which they possessed, if any. Thus the contemporary king of Ireland (whose supposed name of " Eochaid " has been adopted as the title of this book), is handed down to posterity rather by the office which he held as "Heremon Ardrigh," which may mean " Lord Paramount " or " Lord Chief-king." It is even now somewhat uncertain whether the words "Eochaid," or " Eoch'd," expressed a personal name, or a personal attribute. At any rate, the word "Eochaid" or "Each'd" has by some means been held to mean "Historian ; " although it is found more than once in the ancient legends of Ireland, figuring, apparently, as a personal name. But, though the name of Jeremiah, so spelt, does not, so far as we know, occur among the names of recognised Irish notabilities, still according to Professor Kelly's "Cambrensis E versus," as well as in the pages of Keating, a name is found among those of the kings of Ireland, under three forms, sufficiently similar in sound, though differing largely in the spelling, to justify a strong assumption that they may be modifi- cations of "Jeremiah." They are as follows : "Arem," "Airiomh," and "Aireamh." There is also an old legend, which has been popularised in a sort of dogerel, to which no great value attaches except as a curious confirmatory coincidence, that Jeremiah was instructor to the warrior-king Finn McCoyle. It runs thus : " Finn McCoyle went to school To the prophet Jeremiah." 332 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; NOTE F. TEA-TEPHI. WHOEVER this princess may have been, she is the most, if not the only, prominent female of ancient Irish legendary lore. That she was the queen of a very prominent Irish monarch, cannot be doubted. That his name was Eremon, or Heremon, seems beyond question. The name, or word, Heremon, occurs sufficiently frequently in connection with Irish monarchy in remote ages to justify the raising of a question as to whether it may have been the name of a man, or of a kingly office. There is an ancient legend that, about noo years before Christ, two alleged brothers, Milesian princes, named Heber and Heremon, conquered Ireland, and divided the kingship between them. They appear to have reigned to- gether for a period of about nine years, when Heber is sup- posed to have died although there is no definite record of his death and Heremon reigned alone. It is just possible that Heremon may have signified "head-man," or chief; as Herman undoubtedly did in ancient Teutonic days. In that case Heber and Heremon may mean Heber the Heremon; and, after some years of rule, his name of Heber may have dropped into disuetude, and he may have come to be spoken of as "Heremon," i.e. the king. Another king of ancient Irish times, bearing the name or title of Heremon, was Eochaid Ollam Fola Heremon Ardri. In a previous note ample reasons have been given for supposing that two persons, and not one, were signified by this string of names, viz., Ollam Fola, the lawgiver, or minister, and Eochaid, Heremon, headman, or chief of Ulster, and Ardrigh, or chief king, or Pentarch, of all Ireland. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 333 Whether it was to this Heremon, or to the Milesian Heremon of five hundred years earlier date, that the celebrated Tea-Tephi was wedded, is necessarily still buried in the mist of antiquity. In the text we have assumed that it was to the later of the two Heremons ; the period of whose reign is, as we have shown else- where, fixed in the earlier part of the sixth century, B.C. The most interesting question next after the identity of her husband is her own. The Dinnscanchus, a very ancient work in Irish topography, describes her as the daughter of Lughaidh, the son of Ith, the son of Breogon. Amergin, however, contents himself with describing her as the "daughter of Lughaidh." Now there are two kings of Ireland of that name ; the first of whom reigned A.D. 35, and the second A.D. 335 ; but Tea-Tephi cannot have been the daughter of either of these, for, in any case, she lived and died at least six, if not eleven, centuries before the earlier Lughaidh indicated above. If, on the other hand, she was a Milesian princess, whose husband went to Spain to seek her, and her father's name was Lughaidh, does it not seem strange that, if any of her descendants received her father's name at all, the earliest to do so should have been so named at least six hundred, if not eleven hundred years after her death ? It is at least a strange coincidence that " Log " is Celtic for " God," and '* Aidh " for a " house ; " so that Lughaidh might mean " God's house." The text assumes Tea-Tephi to have been the daughter of Zedekiah, the last scion of David's line to reign in Jerusalem. She was of the family who were in possession of the pillar of witness, -Jacob's pillow, in short, " Beth-el "the house of God. If she were, in- deed, the daughter of Zedekiah, and had this pillar of witness, this God's house, with her, what more natural 334 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; than that she should have gone down to posterity as the "daughter of God's house." It is true that the Dinnscanchus Chronicler specifies a genealogy, otherwise unconfirmed, in writing of this eminent woman as the daughter of Lughaidh, the son of Ith, the son of Breogon. Only the exploration of Tea's tomb at Tara can be expected to finally solve this question ; but it is, perhaps, not too strained a thought to suppose that this chronicler, writing hundreds of years after the events, finding this eminent woman described as daughter of Lughaidh, mistaking the real significance of the words for the name of a human ancestor, and considering such a bare genealogy hardly worthy of so great a personage, supplied a grandfather and a great grandfather out of his moral consciousness. Until we obtain some indication of who and what were Lughaidh, Ith and Breogon, the one supposition seems as good as the other. Whatever the parentage of Tea may have been, she stands out as one of the great central figures of ancient Irish history, who gave her name to Tea-mair, or Tara, and who was entombed on the site of this most important ancient settlement. This is strongly confirmed by the following poem on Tara, written by a celebrated bard, Cu-au-O'Cochlain, A.D. 1024. This man was himself of high prominence and, for a time, once acted as Regent of Ireland. " It gave great happiness to the women When Temor, the strong, was erected and named. Where, after her death, was Tea's monument Which structure perpetuated her fame. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 335 The gentle Heremonu here maintained His lady, safe in an impregnable fortress ; She received from him all favours she desired, And all his promises to her he fulfilled. Bregin of Tea was a delightsome abode : On record as a place of great renown. It contains the grave, the great Mergech (i) A sepulchre which has not been violated. The daughter of Pharaoh (2) of many champions, Tephi (3), the most beautiful that traversed the plain, Here formed a fortress, circular and strong, Which she described with her breastpin and wand. She gave a name to her fair fortress, This royal lady, of agreeable aspect, The fortress of Tephi, where met the assembly, Where every proceeding was conducted with propriety. It may be related without reserve That a mound was raised over Tephi as recorded, And she lies beneath this unequalled tomb, Here formed for this mighty queen. It is a mystery not to be uttered. The length and breadth of the tomb of Tephi Accurately measured by the sages, Was sixty feet of exact measure, As prophets and Druids have related. Tephi was her name ! she excelled all virgins ! Wretched for him who had to entomb her ! Sixty feet of correct admeasurement Were marked as a sepulchre to enshrine her. It is asserted, that all mankind may know, That a mound was raised over Tephi as recorded, And she lies beneath this unequalled tomb, Formed there for this mighty queen. 336 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; The mournful death of Tephi who had come to the north, Was not for a moment concealed. . . . a meeting was held to select a sepulchre In the south as a tomb for the beloved Tephi. Temor, the impregnable of lasting resources, Which conferred, on the women, high renown." (1) This is the great Mergech at Tara Hill. The name of the tomb was formerly thought to be Celtic, but now, and since 1871, on the Jew's Day of Atonement, known to be Hebrew. (2) The daughters of Zedekiah, last mentioned in Scripture as living at Taphnes, may have proceeded to Ireland direct from Egypt and may thus have come to be spoken of as "Pharoah's daughters." (3) Tephi is a distinctly Hebrew word, and a pet name, like " Violet," denoting the beauty and fragrance of all delicious fruits. The following extract and note from the pen of Dr. O'Donovan in his edition of " The Annals of the Four Masters," bears testimony to the above : "The age of the world 3502. Tea, daughter of Lughaidh, son of Ith, whom Eremhon, married in (? from) Spain to the repudiation of Odhbha, was the Tea who requested of Eremhon a choice hill as her dower* in whatever place she should select it, that she might be interred therein, and that her mound and her gravestone might be thereon raised, and where every prince ever to be born of her race should dwell. The guarantees who undertook to execute this for her Dower. This was a reward always given by the husband to the wife at their marriage, a custom which prevailed among the Jews, and is still observed by the Turks and other Eastern " nations." OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 337 were Amhergin Ghingeal and Emhear Finn. The hill she selected was Druim-Cain, i.e., Teamhair. It is from her it was called, and in it she was interred." NOTE G. RECANTATION OF DRUIDISM. THE incident related in the text is modelled upon that recorded by Bede, in connection with the acceptance and adoption of the Christian religion as a national faith, by a Wittenagemot summoned by Edwin, king of North- umbria, in the year 625 of the Christian era. The fol- lowing extract from Sharon Turner's ''History of the Anglo-Saxons" (Vol. L, ch. vii., p. 357) may interest our readers. "The king, now seriously affected by the important question, summoned his witma-gemot, that, if they par- ticipated in his feelings, all might be baptised together. When they met he proposed the new worship for the subject of their deliberations, and required each to express his feelings without reserve. "Coin, the high priest of their idols, as the first in rank, addressed (the assembly) ; and, unless the coarse- ness of his mind was that of the country, must have surprised the king. His speech, from the singularity of the criterion by which he governed the faint moral feeling he possessed, deserves a literal translation. ' You see, O king ! what is now preached to us. I declare to you most truly what I have most certainly experienced, that the religion which we have hitherto professed contains no virtue at all, and as little utility. No one of all your Court has been more attentive than I have been to the worship of our gods, and yet many have received far richer benefits, far greater honours, and have prospered 33^ EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; more in all that men transact or pursue, than I have. But if these gods had been of any real worth, would they not in preference have assisted me who have never neglected them ? If, then, on due inquiry, you shall perceive that these new things which are preached to us will be better and more efficacious, let us hasten to adopt them without any delay.' The next speaker dis- covered a mind unusually enlarged for a people so unaccustomed to intellectual investigations. "The present life of man, O king! seems to me, if compared to that after-period which is so uncertain to us, to resemble a scene at one of your wintry feasts. As you are sitting with your ealdormen and thegns about you, the fire blazing in the centre, and the whole hall cheered by its warmth, and while storms of wind and snow are raging without, a little sparrow flies in at one door, roams around our festive meeting, and passes out at some other entrance. While it is among us it feels not the wintry tempest. It enjoys the short com- fort and serenity of its transient day ; but then, plunging into the winter from which it had flown, it disappears from our eyes. Such is here the life of man. It acts and thinks before us ; but as of what preceded its appearance among us we are ignorant, so are we of all that is to come afterwards. If, then, on this momentous future, this new doctrine reveals anything more certain, or more reasonable, it is in my opinion entitled to our acquiescence." The other witena and the royal counsellors exhibited similar dispositions. Coifi desired to hear from Paulinus (the Christian bishop and missionary) an exposition of the Deity. The bishop obeyed, and the Angle priest exclaimed : " Formerly I understood nothing that I worshipped. The more I contemplated our idolatry OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 339 the less truth I found in it. But this new system I adopt without hesitation, for truth shines around it and presents to us the gift of eternal life and blessedness. Let us then, O king ! immediately anathematise and burn the temples and altars which we have so uselessly venerated." On this bold exhortation he was asked who would be the first to profane the idols and their altars and the enclosures with which they were surrounded. The zealous convert answered, ' ' I will ; as I have led the way in adoring them through my folly I will give the example of destroying them in obedience to that wisdom which I have now received from the true God." He requested of the king weapons and a war-horse. It was a maxim of their ancient religion that no priest should carry arms or ride any horse but a mare, an inte- resting rule, to separate the ministers of their religion from the ferocity of war. The priest girded on a sword and, brandishing a spear, mounted the king's horse, and rode to the idol temple. The people without thought him mad. He hurled his spear against the temple to profane it and then commanded his com- panions to destroy all the building and the surrounding enclosures. The scene of this event was a little to the east of York, beyond the river Derwent, at a place, in Bede's time, called Godmundingaham. Edwin and his nobility were soon afterwards baptised in the eleventh year of his reign. NOTE H. JODHAN MORAN. GLOVER, in his book, " England, the Remnant of Judah," says on page 35 : " We learn from unexceptionable authority that the Rabbi in the Talmud say, that the 340 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; Messias shall be called Joden Muren, for he shall be the judge, as in Isaiah xi. Thus it is very plain that the Irish name is derived from the Chaldee, Choshen Hemeshpot, or Joden Muran." He adds in a footnote; "In addition to which the title is a phrase in Hebrew ; a complete sentence and a prophecy." Rabbi J. J. Herdick, Professor of Oriental languages, confirms this very strongly in a letter dated, Temple Bar, ist July, 1873, which is printed at length by the author on page 42 of the work mentioned above. Further he says : "Why was this Hebrew phrase in- corporated into the nomenclature of a foreign people ? Does not this fact exhibit strikingly the influence which the Hebrew Introducer of this office and title had with those whom he persuaded, in recognising the office, to adopt, as well, a Hebrew name for it ? Again, now, the Jodhan Moran of Irish History was, when first that title was assumed, the prophetic imper- sonation of the Shiloh, that gatherer up of all the promises "spoken by all the holy prophets since the world began." And the fact of an official assuming, in the name of God, this highest of all earthly titles showed that he who assumed it and in assuming proclaimed it, and proclaimed the doctrine involved in it knew what he was about ; and that he knew also what his duty it was to state. He who set up this office, in these words, and herein assumed the right to promise, could only have been Jeremiah, the prophet. Keating (p. 237, Ed. 1861), says: "The famous Moran was one of the chief judges of this kingdom (Ireland). When he sat upon the bench to administer justice, he put his miraculous Jodhan, Moran about his neck, which had that wonderful power, that if the judge OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 34! pronounced an unjust decree, the breast-plate would instantly contract itself, and encompass the neck so close that it would be impossible to breathe; but, if he delivered a just sentence, it would open itself and hang loose upon his shoulders." The following note on page 37 of Mr. Glover's book is also interesting. "The Jodhan Moran is a character who appears not only in the pages of Keating, but over and over again on the stage of Irish history ; and the gold insignia of the office having been exhumed more than once from the bogs of Ireland, into which they may have been cast, or buried, in times of trouble, no more doubt can exist as to the reality of the office, than of Tara itself, or of any other fact well authenticated by circumstantial evidence* A golden collar, or breast-plate, supposed by Vallancey to be the Jodhan Moran, was found some years since,, in the county of Limerick, twelve feet deep in a bog. ' It is made of thin plated gold, and chased in a very neat and workmanlike manner ; the breast-plate is single,, but the hemispherical ornaments at the top are lined throughout with another thin plate of pure gold,' Collectan, Hibern., No. 13. ' The traditional memory of this chain, or collar ' (says O'Flanigan) ' is so well preserved to this day, that it is a common expression for a person asseverating absolute truth to say, ' I would swear by Moran's chain for it.' Trans, of Gaelic Soc., Vol. i ; apend. Moore. This phrase, ' Moran's chain,' shows that the original breast-plate, which men saw, was a thing that hung by a chain, that which these gorgets never could have done." 342 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; NOTE I. CONVENTION OF TARA. IRISH annals make frequent mention of the Convention of Tara, which is said to have been instituted by Ollamh Fodhla, Ardrigh, A.M. 3883. (This date is, of course, entirely debateable). A poem, ascribed by Keating to Eochaidh O'Flynn, who lived in the middle of the tenth century, thus describes it : " The f eis of Teamur each third year, To preserve laws and rules, Was then convened firmly By the illustrious kings of Erin. Cathaoir of sons-in-law convened The beautiful Feis of regal Temur, There came with him the better for it The men of Erin to one place. Three days before Saman always, Three days after it it was a goodly custom The host of very high passion spent, Constantly drinking during the week, Without theft, without wounding a man Among them during all this time ; Without feats of arms, without deceit, Without exercising horses. Whoever did any of these things Was a wretched enemy with heavy venom ; Gold was not received as a retribution from him, But his soul in one hour." This is probably the record of the most ancient Wittenagemote, or Parliament, held within the British Islands ; the real date being, most likely, about 580 B.C. OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 343 NOTE. J. TARA. EXTRACT from Glover's "England, the Remnant of Judah," page 85. " In the year of our Lord 513, the Irish kings and grandees, oppressed by a consciousness that something mysterious existed in the foundation of the ancient muniments of Tara, assembled, with great circumstance, to inquire into all that Bards and Seneachies could declare concerning the ancient foundation and the ancient times, and the struggle of the Baalitish priests to recover the ascendancy which they had lost during the time of the Hebraizing of their chief stronghold this very Tara. But nothing could be ascertained further on the matter in hand than that it was a subject shrouded in deep mystery, and connected in some way with the existence of a woman from over the great plain, the sea, with a 'royal prosperous smile,' and who, such had been the intensity of respect of their ancestors for this illustrious scion of royalty, concerning whom also there was some 'mystery too deep to be uttered,' was buried in a tomb sixty feet long and wide." A poem was composed on this occasion by one Amergin, chief bard to King Dermod, monarch of Ireland, in the sixth century ; from information com- municated to him by an old sage, called Fuitan. The following verses are from a literal translation of this poem, as presented to us in the notes of the " Annals of the Four Masters " p. 294. Temor of Bregia, whence so called ? Relate to me, O learned sages. When was the place called Temor ? 344 EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; Was it in the time of Partholan of battles ? Or at the first arrival of Caesaire ? Tell me in which of these invasions Did the place obtain the name of Tea-mor ? O Tuan ! O generous Finnchadh ! O Bran ! O active Cu-alladh Dubhair ! ye venerable five, Whence was acquired the name of Temor ? It appears that it had once been called " Hazlewood," and three other names in succession. Until the coming of the agreeable Teah, The wife of Heremon of noble aspect. Then was the name changed A rampart was raised about her house For Teah, the daughter of Lughaidh, She was buried outside in her mound And from her it was named Teamur. The seat of the kings it was called ; The princes descendants of the Milesians, Five names it had ere that time, That is from Fordrium to Temor. 1 am Fuitan the bard ; I am historian of many tribes, In latter times I have passed my days, In the earthen foot above Temor. The Rev. Mr. Murphy, in a paper on " Tara," read on the spot during an excursion of the " Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland," on June 23rd, 1894, says: The Annals of the Four Masters under the date A.M. 3502, say that : "Tea, daughter of Lughaidh, son of Ith, whom Eremon married in Spain, was the Tea who requested of Eremon a choice hill as her dower, in whatever place OR, THE ROMANCE OF THE LIA PHAIL. 345 she should select it, that she might be interred therein, and that her mound and her gravestone might be there- on raised ; and where every prince ever to be born of her race might dwell. The hill she selected was Druim Caein ; i.e., the hill of Caen; i.e., Teamhair. It was from her it was .called and in it she was interred." According to Cormac Mac Cullenan, however, "Teamuir" is synonymous with "grianan," a high place from which a view can be had. The English name, Tara, is formed from the genitive of Temair, and this Tara was distinguished from the others by being called Tara of Bregia. According to Amergin, a poet, who lived in the sixth century, it was called Druimleith, Druim Cain, Cathair Crofuin, and Fordruim, before it got the name of Temair. The apparent phonetic similarity between "Tara" and " Torah," the Hebrew for law, has been noticed by many writers, and is worthy of attention. D. H. NOTE K. THE BURIAL OF TEA TEPHI. THE following extracts from the translation by J. O'Beirne Crowe, B.A. of the Dind-senchus of Erin, partly from the book of Ballymote, and partly from the book of Lecan,' two vellum manuscripts of the Royal Irish Academy, are of interest : STANZA VIII. OF FIMTAN'S SOXG. " The city of Cro-flind, it was not inapplicable, Its name among the Tuath de Danaan, Until came Tea, who was not unjust, Wife of Erem with noble aspect. EOCHAID THE HEREMHON ; IX. A wall was built round her house, At the hands of Tea, daughter of Lugaid ; She was interred in her wall outside, So that it is from her is Te-moir." STANZA III. UAH ARTIGAX'S SOXG. An habitation which would be a dun, would be a fastness, Which would be the glory of mitrs, without destruction, On which would be the monument of Tea after death, So that it might be an addition to her celebrity. IV. The attentive Erem had A woman in the choice-midst of fetters ; She received from him every wish she desired, He used to grant her everything she would say. V. The Brega of Tea, a worthy abode, Is heard of for she [Tea] was a chief woman, A grave on which is the great Mergech, Not a burial place which was not plundered. " The daughter of Forand with an illustrious band, Tephi the loveliest that traversed the plain, Formeda Cathair, strong the circle, With her wand she described it and with her brooch. VII. 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