"
Then Conor leaped up in a fury, crying, "They shall not slay him,
they shall not slay him! Would I were there with the host of Ulster,
and thus would I scatter his foes"; and with that he snatched his
sword and began striking at the trees that stood thickly about him in
the druid grove. Then with the heat of his passion the sling-ball
burst from his head, and he fell to the ground and died.
Thus was fulfilled the vengeance of Mesgedra upon Conor mac Nessa,
King of Ulster.
CHAPTER VII
The Story of Etain and Midir
Once upon a time there was a High King of the Milesian race in Ireland
named Eochy Airem, whose power and splendour were very great, and all
the sub-Kings, namely, Conor of Ulster, and Mesgedra of Leinster, and
Curoi of Munster, and Ailill and Maev of Connacht, were obedient to
him. But he was without a wife; and for this reason the sub-Kings and
Princes of Ireland would not come to his festivals at Tara, "for,"
said they, "there is no noble in Ireland who is a wifeless man, and a
King is no king without a queen." And they would not bring their own
wives to Tara without a queen there to welcome them, nor would they
come themselves and leave their womenfolk at home.
So Eochy bade search be made through all the boundaries of Ireland for
a maiden meet to be wife of the High King.
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