the queen were the
court ladies in other chariots, under awnings of purple or of yellow
silk. Then came the brehons, the great judges of the land, and the
chief bards of the high court of Tara, and the Druids, crowned with
oak leaves, and carrying wands of divination in their hands.

When the royal party reached the ground it took its place in
enclosures right up against the monumental mound. The High King sat
with the four kings of Erin, all wearing their golden helmets, for
they wore their diadems in battle only. In an enclosure next the
king's sat the queen and the princess and all the ladies of the court.
At either side of the royal pavilions were others for the dames and
ladies and nobles and chiefs of different degrees, forming part of a
circle on the plain, and the stands and benches for the people were so
arranged as to complete the circle, and in the round green space
within it, so that all might hear and see, the contests were to take
place.

At a signal from the king, who was greeted with a thunderous
cheer, the heralds rode round the circle, and having struck their
sounding shields three times with their swords, they made a solemn
proclamation of peace. Then was sung by all the assembled bards,
to the accompaniment of their harps, the chant in honour of the
mighty dead. When this was ended, again the heralds struck their
shields, and the contests began. The first contest was the contest
of spear-throwing between the champions of the seven battalions of
the Feni. When the seven champions took their places in front of the
royal enclosure, everyone, even the proud princess, was struck by
the manly beauty and noble bearing of Fergus.

The champions poised their spears, and at a stroke from the heralds
upon their shields the seven spears sped flashing through the air.
They all struck the ground, shafts up, and it was seen that two were
standing side by side in advance of the rest, one belonged to Fergus,
the other to the great chief, Oscar. The contest for the prize then
lay between Oscar and Fergus, and when they stood in front of the
king, holding their spears aloft, every heart was throbbing with
excitement. Once more the heralds struck their shields, and, swifter
than the lightning's flash, forth went the spears, and when Fergus's
spear was seen shivering in the ground a full length ahead of the
great chief Oscar's, the air was shaken by a wild cheer that was
heard far beyond the plains of Tara. And as F