THE LEGEND OF ROSE ROCHE. 269 



department was complete, when, alas ! the chief harper 

 fell sick without a cause, and no other was procurable 

 for a distance of sixty miles. In this dilemma a Saxon 

 youth, who two years since had been shipwrecked 

 beneath the castle walls, was recollected. He could not, 

 it is true, *' strike the bold harp,'* but he had a sweet and 

 mellow voice, and his skill upon the lute was admirable. 

 In wordcraft he was a thorough proficient, and with 

 lance and brand had more than once proved himself 

 a man. O'Connor had no alternative, and the stranger 

 was selected to fill a place that " Cathwold O'Connor 

 of the harp " should have more worthily occupied. 



Although the Thane of Connaught and his gallant 

 company pushed forward with all the speed that man and 

 horse could make, from bad roads and flooded rivers, 

 they were unable to reach the heights above Dhu 

 Castle until the sun of the eventful day had set. In 

 vain knight and squire pressed on their jaded steeds — 

 evening fell ; all the candidates besides had been in 

 the hall for hours, and, as " the Big Man ** had not 

 appeared, according to modern parlance he was voted 

 present by the company, and the banquet was served. 



Never with such heavy heart did Rose Roche assume 

 the place of honour. Though her hall was lighted 

 splendidly, and her table crowded with the proudest 

 nobles within ** the Pale " — though rich wine flowed, 

 and the most skilful harpers in the province poured 

 forth their lays of love and war — yet one heart was 

 heedless of gaiety and grandeur ; and that one was hers 

 on whom every eye was bent, in deep expectancy, 

 awaiting her decision. 



The curfew rang — and in another hour the happy 

 Lord of Dhu Castle would be proclaimed. As the 



