star-like lights, appeared and promised his aid to Fionn.
When the morning dawned Fionn and his warriors bade farewell to the King of Sorcha, who gave them many rare and precious gifts in token of his friendship and gratitude, and set forth for the sea-coast. As they approached the sea they saw a wonderful ship with a shining white hull and sails of gold, rocking gently to and fro on the sunlit waves. In all the world there was no other ship like it; for this was the Ocean-Sweeper of Manannan, the magic ship which needed no hand to guide it, but of its own accord sought and found the desired haven, and was not hindered by any tempest or storm-tossed sea.
The Fians boarded the ship, and just as a swallow spreads its wings and sweeps through the air, so the golden sails unfurled and the ship skimmed over the water. Then, when the sun had set, and the blue shadows of twilight were falling, the ship slackened speed; and it seemed to the Fians that, as they looked before them, a beautiful island rose out of the sea almost under the ship's prow. Silently they
