They needed all the comfort they could find, for their lives were dark enough, smitten down from such a height to such a depth, driven out from such a warmth of love into such an icy cold of cruelty and injustice, driven out into an unloving world at one of its darkest moments. Happily for them they had all the gaiety and pleasantness of youth and of their race, enabling them to find amusement in incongruities even when most uncomfortable, and to make things pleasant and easy to others by word and deed whenever this was possible. Moreover, they had the birthright and training of their rank in their own little world. Being quick-witted, they learned soon enough that it had been a little world; and that it was quite useless, and would bring them nothing but ridicule, to insist on their dignities. Nevertheless the natural dignity and grace of their station remained, and, not being asserted, made itself felt: a kind of royal way of recognizing little services, of avoiding neglects or hasty words, which they had been used to feel might give pain; a kind of princely indifference as to slights or rudenesses, which they had been used to think could only spring from ignorance or want of breeding; an innate sense of something within themselves that could not be changed by outward changes, which made any menial thing they had to do seem not so much a degradation as a condescension; a royal consideration for others which fitted well into the high humility of their Christian calling. There is a good deal of education in the fact of being royal, if the lesson is learnt the right way. So it happened, that by the time the rough voyage from Cornwall to Armorican Brittany was over, the young captives had won the hearts of many of the crew, who tried to lighten their bondage; and not a few were sorry to part with the brave, bright boy and the fair, sweet maiden; and were moved to a tender, reverent pity when they had once more to be fettered and guarded, and led away among the file of slaves to the market at the port at the mouth of the Loire, where the ship was to end her voyage and unlade her living merchandise. But these two had still each other, and also Bran, the great deer-hound, who had established his claim to be with them by making it plain he would be the death of any one who tried to part them, whilst he was obedient to the slightest touch or softest word from them, especially from Ethne, whose guardianship he assumed as the representative of the whole clan O’Neill.