In Cormac's time the autumn
was not vexed with rain, nor the spring with icy winds, nor the summer
with parching heat, nor the winter with whelming snows. His rule in
Erinn, it is said, was like a wand of gold laid on a dish of silver.
Also he rebuilt the ramparts of Tara and made it strong, and he
enlarged the great banqueting hall and made pillars of cedar in it
ornamented with plates of bronze, and painted its lime-white walls in
patterns of red and blue. Palaces for the women he also made there,
and store-houses, and halls for the fighting men--never was Tara so
populous or so glorious before or since. And for his wisdom and
righteousness knowledge was given to him that none other in Ireland
had as yet, for it was revealed to him that the Immortal Ones whom the
Gael worshipped were but the names of One whom none can name, and that
his message should ere long come to Ireland from over the eastern sea,
calling the people to a sweeter and diviner faith.
And to the end of his life it was his way to have wolves about him,
for he knew their speech and they his, and they were friendly and tame
with him and his folk, since they were foster-brothers together in the
wild wood.
III
THE MARRIAGE OF KING CORMAC
It happened that in Cormac's time there was a very wealthy farmer
named Buicad[27] who dwelt in Leinster, and had vast herds of cattle
and sheep and horses.
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