After they had refreshed themselves in the
cool, amber-coloured water, they arrayed themselves in their silken
robes and trooped back to the Brugh again; but ere they entered it,
they discovered that Ethne was not among them.
So they went back, scattering themselves along the bank and searching
in every quiet pool of the river and in every dark recess among the
great trees that bordered it, for Ethne was dearly loved by all of
them; but neither trace nor tidings of her could they find, and they
went sorrowfully home without her, to tell the tale to Angus and to
her father.
What had befallen Ethne was this. In taking off her garments by the
riverside she had mislaid her fairy charm, and was become as a mortal
maid. Nothing could she now see of her companions, and all around was
strange to her. The fairy track that had led to the riverside was
overgrown with briars, the palace of Angus was but a wooded hill. She
knew not where she was, and pierced with sudden terror she fled wildly
away, seeking for the familiar places that she had known in the fairy
life, but which were now behind the Veil. At length she came to a high
wall wherein was a wicket gate, and through it she saw a garden full
of sweet herbs and flowers, which surrounded a steep-roofed building
of stone. In the garden she saw a man in a long brown robe tied about
his waist with a cord.
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