92 ENNIS NA SHIA. 



right, was not the head of his name ; he 

 owed a sort of feudal allegiance to the lord 

 of Enniskillen, and paid it scrupulously, 

 whenever he could not help doing so. 



" At the time we are speaking of, he had 

 an only daughter and heiress. She was, 

 like all heroines of romance, of beauty far 

 too great for my description ; but it was not 

 on that account that her hand was sought 

 by the fierce O'Rourke of Lough Gilly, or 

 by the powerful Maguire, lord of Ennis- 

 killen. Each was desirous of extending his 

 dominion — each was alike covetous of the 

 impregnable castle of Annagh Buie, and, for 

 the sake of that, were content to put up with 

 the heiress as the only practicable means of 

 acquiring it. 



" Had there been but one of these suitors, 

 or had either of them been content to yield 

 to the claims of the other, or had they not 

 been so equal in the number of their follow- 

 ers and the strength of their fastnesses, the 

 fate of the poor girl would soon have been 

 decided : but the lord of Annagh Buie was 

 a politician ; he understood the balance of 

 power, and saw clearly the advantage of 

 being himself the pivot on which to balance 



