ng leaned past his son Art the Solitary, and said to a certain
Druid who sat beside Art, "Is this the son of Midna come before his
time?" "It is not," said the Druid, "but it is the man who is to conquer
Midna. One is coming to Tara this night before whose glory all other
glory shall wax dim."

Shortly after that they heard the voices of the doorkeepers raised in
contention, as if they would repel from the hall someone who wished to
enter, then a slight scuffle, and after that a strange figure entered
the chamber. He was dressed in the skins of wild beasts, and wore over
his shoulders a huge thick cloak of wild boars' skins, fastened on the
breast with a white tusk of the same animal. He wore a shield and two
spears. Though of huge stature his face was that of a boy, smooth on the
cheeks and lips. It was white and ruddy, and very handsome. His hair was
like refined gold. A light seemed to go out from him, before which the
candles burned dim. It was Finn.

He stood in the doorway, and cried out in a strong and sonorous, but
musical, voice:

"O Conn the Hundred-Fighter, son of Felimy, the righteous son of Tuthal
the legitimate, O King of the Kings of Erin, a wronged and disinherited
youth, possessing nowhere one rood of his patrimony, a wanderer and an
outlaw, a hunter of the wildernesses and mountains, claims hospitality
of thee, illustrious prince, on the eve of the great festival of
Samhain."

"Thou art welcome whoever thou art," answered the King, "and doubly
welcome because thou art unfortunate. I think, such is thy face and
form, that thou art the son of some mighty king on whom disaster has
fallen undeserved. The high gods of Erin grant thee speedy restoration
and strong vengeance of thy many wrongs. Sit here, O noble youth,
between me and my only son, Art, heir to my kingdom."

An attendant took his weapons from the youth and hung them on the wall
with the rest, and Finn sat down between the King of Ireland and his
only son. Choice food was set before him, which he ate, and old ale,
which he drank. From the moment he entered no one thought of anything
but of him. When Finn had made an end of eating and drinking, he said to
the King:

"O illustrious prince, though it is not right for a guest to even seem
to observe aught that may be awry, or not as it should be, in the hall
of his entertainer, yet the sorrow of a kindly host is a sorrow, too, to
his guest, and sometimes unawares the man of the house finds su