

ENNIS NA SHIA. 93 



these powerful neighbours. Both were re- 

 ceived courteously — both were admitted into 

 the castle to pay their addresses to the fair 

 Br^gelah ; but at the same time extreme 

 care was taken, not only that their re- 

 spective retinues should be evenly balanced, 

 but that both together, should they by any 

 accident come to a good understanding with 

 one another, should not have a chance of 

 overpowering the garrison. 



" Things were in this state, when, one 

 summer evening, a young harper made his 

 appearance at the castle gate, and was readily 

 admitted ; as, when no war or other pastime 

 was going on, the sources of amusement 

 open to this great lord were very limited 

 indeed. 



" Who that harper was, or to what tribe 

 he belonged, no one could say ; even the old 

 seneschal was puzzled ; and, as he himself 

 preserved an impenetrable silence on the 

 subject, the laws of hospitality would not 

 suffer him to be too closely questioned. 



" He was fair and light-haired, and had 

 not the bearing of either a Maguire or an 

 O'Rourke ; and yet no one could consider 

 him exactly as a stranger, so well was he 



