The harper Craftiné came to the rescue, and at last, by his all-entrancing skill, so ravished the whole party of knights and nobles, that the lovers were able to enjoy a tête-a-tête, and pledged mutual vows. As usual, the parents yielded when they found it was useless to resist; and, no doubt, the poet Craftiné, who, poet and all as he was, nearly lost his head in the adventure, was the most welcome of all welcome guests at the nuptial feast. Indeed, he appears to have been retained as comptroller of the house and confidential adviser long after; for when Labhraidh Maen was obliged to fly the country, he confided his wife to the care of Craftiné. On his return from France,[85] he obtained possession of the kingdom, to which he was the rightful heir, and reigned over the men of Erinn for eighteen years. Another Historic Tale gives an account of the destruction of the court of Dá Derga, but we have not space for details. The Four Masters merely relate the fact in the following entry:-- "Conairé, the son of Ederscél, after having been seventy years in the sovereignty of Erinn, was slain at Bruighean Dá Dhearga by insurgents." Another prince, Eochaidh Feidhlech, was famous for sighing. He rescinded the division of Ireland into twenty-five parts, which had been made by Ugainé Môr, and divided the island into five provinces, over each of which he appointed a provincial king, under his obedience. The famous Meadhbh, or Mab, was his daughter; and though unquestionably a lady of rather strong physical and mental capabilities, the lapse of ages has thrown an obscuring halo of romance round her belligerent qualifications, and metamorphosed her into the gentle "Faery Queen" of the poet Spenser. One of Méav's exploits is recorded in the famous Táin bó Chuailgné, which is to Celtic history what the Argonautic Expedition, or the Seven against Thebes, is to Grecian. Méav was married first to Conor, the celebrated provincial king of Ulster; but the marriage was not a happy one, and was dissolved, in modern parlance, on the ground of incompatibility. In the meanwhile, Méav's three brothers had rebelled against their father; and though his arms were victorious, the victory did not secure peace. The men of Connacht revolted against him, and to retain their allegiance he made his daughter Queen of Connacht, and gave her in marriage to Ailill, a powerful chief of that province. This prince, however, died soon after; and Méav, determined for once, at least, to choose a husband for herself, made a royal progress to Leinster, where Ross Ruadb held his court at Naas. She selected the younger son of this monarch, who bore the same name as her former husband, and they lived together happily as queen and king consort for many years. On one occasion, however, a dispute arose about their respective treasures, and this dispute led to a comparison of their property. The account of this, and the subsequent comparison, is given