eriol told then of his wanderings about the western havens , ... of how he was wrecked upon far western islands until at last upon one lonely one he came upon an ancient sailor who gave him shelter , and over a fire within his lonely cabin told him strange tales of things beyond the western seas , of the magic isles and that most lonely one that lay beyond ... . 'ever after , ' said eriol , 'did i sail more curiously about the western isles seeking more stories of the kind , and thus it is indeed that after many great voyages i came myself by the blessing of the gods to tol eressea in the end ... ' in the typescript version of this link it is further told that in the town where eriol 's parents lived and died there dwelt a mighty duke , and did he gaze from the topmost battle- ments never might he see the bounds of his wide domain , save where far to east the blue shapes of the great mountains lay -- yet was that tower held the most lofty that stood in the lands of men .