Of these divine emigrants the principal was Manannán son of Lêr. But, though he had cast in his lot beyond the seas, he did not cease to visit Ireland. An old Irish king, Bran, the son of Febal, met him, according to a seventh-century poem, as Bran journeyed to, and Manannán from, the earthly paradise. Bran was in his boat, and Manannán was driving a chariot over the tops of the waves, and he sang:[156] “Bran deems it a marvellous beauty In his coracle across the clear sea: While to me in my chariot from afar It is a flowery plain on which he rides about. “What is a clear sea For the prowed skiff in which Bran is, That is a happy plain with profusion of flowers To me from the chariot of two wheels. “Bran sees The number of waves beating across the clear sea: I myself see in Mag Mon[157] Red-headed flowers without fault. “Sea-horses glisten in summer As far as Bran has stretched his glance: Rivers pour forth a stream of honey In the land of Manannán son of Lêr. “The sheen of the main, on which thou art, The white hue of the sea, on which thou rowest about, Yellow and azure are spread out, It is land, and is not rough. “Speckled salmon leap from the womb Of the white sea, on which thou lookest: They are calves, they are coloured lambs With friendliness, without mutual slaughter. “Though but one chariot-rider is seen In Mag Mell[158] of many flowers, There are many steeds on its surface, Though them thou seest not. * * * * * * * * * * “Along the top of a wood has swum Thy coracle across ridges, There is a wood of beautiful fruit Under the prow of thy little skiff. “A wood with blossom and fruit, On which is the vine’s veritable fragrance; A wood without decay, without defect, On which are leaves of a golden hue.” And, after this singularly poetical enunciation of the philosophical and mystical doctrine that all things are, under their diverse forms, essentially the same, he goes on to describe to Bran the beauties and pleasures of the Celtic Elysium.