weary and feeble; but she knew that he was not Ailill, and she continued there waiting for Ailill.  And the lady came back from her tryst, and Ailill awoke, and thought that he would rather die than live; and he went in great sadness and grief.  And the lady came to speak with him, and when he told her what had befallen him:  “Thou shalt come,” said she, “to the same place, to meet with me upon the morrow.”  And upon the morrow it was the same as upon the first day; each day came that man to her tryst.  And she came again upon the last day that was appointed for the tryst, and the same man met her. “’Tis not with thee that I trysted,” said she, “why dost thou come to meet me? and for him whom I would have met here; neither from desire of his love nor for fear of danger from him had I appointed to meet him, but only to heal him, and to cure him from the sickness which had come upon him for his love of me.”  “It were more fitting for thee to come to tryst with me,” says the man, “for when thou wast Etain of the Horses, and when thou wast the daughter of Ailill, I myself was thy husband.  “Why,” said she, “what name hast thou in the land? that is what I would demand of thee.”  “It is not hard to answer thee,” he said; “Mider of Bri Leith is my name.”  “And what made thee to part from me, if we were as thou sayest?” said Etain.  “Easy again is the answer,” said Mider; “it was the sorcery of Fuamnach and the spells of Bressal Etarlam that put us apart.”  And Mider said to Etain:  “Wilt thou come with me?”

“Nay,” answered Etain, “I will not exchange the king of all Ireland for thee; for a man whose kindred and whose lineage is unknown.”  “It was I myself indeed,” said Mider, “who filled all the mind of Ailill with love for thee:  it was I also who prevented his coming to the tryst with thee, and allowed him not thine honour to spoil it.”

After all this the lady went back to her house, and she came to speech with Ailill, and she greeted him.  “It hath happened well for us both,” said Ailill, “that the man met thee there:  for I am cured for ever from my illness, thou also art unhurt in thine honour, and may a blessing rest upon thee!” “Thanks be to our gods,” said Etain, “that both of us do indeed deem that all this hath chanced so well.”  And after that Eochaid came back from his royal progress, and he asked at once for his brother; and the tale was told to him from the beginning to the end, and the king was grateful to Etain, in that she had been gracious to Ailill; and, “What hath been related in this tale,” said Eochaid, “is well-pleasing to ourselves.”