{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_57858/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_57858","id":"gutenberg_57858","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/57858","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Folklore -- Ireland","Tales -- Ireland"],"text":"Produced by Brownfox and the Online Distributed Proofreading\nTeam at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from\nimages generously made available by The Internet Archive)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWEST IRISH FOLK-TALES.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe Camden Library.\n\nEDITED BY G. LAURENCE GOMME, F.S.A. AND T. FAIRMAN ORDISH, F.S.A.\n\n\n\n\n                          _THE CAMDEN LIBRARY._\n\n                          WEST IRISH FOLK-TALES\n                                   AND\n                                ROMANCES\n\n                        Collected and Translated\n                                   BY\n                            WILLIAM LARMINIE.\n\n               _WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES, AND APPENDIX\n                   CONTAINING SPECIMENS OF THE GAELIC\n                     ORIGINALS PHONETICALLY SPELT._\n\n                                 LONDON\n                   ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW.\n                                  1893.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n_INTRODUCTION._\n\n\nWhatever profit might, from the scientific point of view, be considered\nlikely to spring from a study of Gaelic folk-lore, it would probably be\nconsidered beforehand that it would come from the study of the material\nas a single body, uniform throughout, and, as such, to be brought into\ncomparison with the folk-lore of other countries. When, however, we\ncome to an actual survey of the material, certain appearances present\nthemselves which lead us to expect that, possibly, a large part of\nour gain will accrue from the observation of the differences which\ncharacterise different parts of the material within itself. Ireland,\nthough an island of moderate extent, is yet sufficiently large to contain\ndistricts far enough apart to isolate in some degree their respective\npeasant populations; while it is also admitted that the homogeneity of\nthe Gaelic tongue does not indicate a corresponding homogeneity of race.\nIt may turn out, in fact, ultimately, that we have in Ireland, not one,\nbut several bodies of folk-lore placed in relations most favourable for\naiding in the solution of certain problems; while, finally, we shall, by\na comparison with the Gaelic folk-lore of Scotland, obtain a still wider\nfield for similar observations and inferences.\n\nIt is true, unfortunately, that our Irish material is not by any means\nwhat it might have been, either in quantity or quality; its defects being\nsuch that any conclusions arrived at through the line of investigation\nhere to be suggested must at present be considered of a very provisional\nnature. Of the folk-lore of the large province of Munster we know next\nto nothing. I have myself hitherto been able to make no attempt at\ncollection in the southern counties. Some of Mr. Curtin\u2019s stories were\nprobably obtained in Kerry; but he has not told us which. We have,\ntherefore, nothing to fall back upon but the somewhat sophisticated\nlittle fairy tales of Crofton Croker. For Leinster, we are better off, as\nwe have the Wexford tales of Kennedy. For the inland parts of Connaught\nwe have Dr. Hyde\u2019s volume; for the coast of Connaught and Donegal, the\ntales included in this book, and many others in my possession not yet\npublished.\n\nWith regard to Crofton Croker\u2019s tales, it needs but a small acquaintance\nwith Ireland to be assured that they are not peculiar to Munster. The\ncluricaun still pursues his trade of boot-making by the shores of Achill\nSound in Mayo. Donegal knows all that the south ever knew on the subject,\nand has perhaps even a greater wealth of information. It is admitted that\nin the city of Dublin the tribe does not now exist; but such is not the\ncase even in this highly-civilised watering-place of Bray, only twelve\nmiles distant from the metropolis. In a word, this minor mythology was,\nmay we not say still is, common to the whole island.\n\nThe fairies, however, do not very often form the subjects of the longer\ndetailed narratives. Let me now turn to these. Among the Connaught\nstories I have found a good many parallels on the coast to those of\nthe inland districts, though I have not included any in this volume.\nIn Donegal, on the other hand, while I have obtained only two partial\nvariants of the inland Connaught tales, I have found several close\nparallels to the Connaught coast tales\u2014a fact, however, which may be\naccounted for by the partially Donegalese descent of the Achill people.\nIf we now bring the Wexford tales into comparison, it will be found that\nthey do not contain many parallels to those of the other districts. I\nknow of only five from Connaught, and two from the more distant Donegal,\nboth variants of two of the Connaught tales, one of them, perhaps\nthe best known of all such stories\u2014no other, indeed, than Mr. Lang\u2019s\n\u201cfar-travelled tale\u201d\u2014that of \u201cThe Three Tasks\u201d; the other, of which\nI obtained complete versions in Galway and in Mayo, and which I know\nto exist in Donegal, is represented in this volume by \u201cMorraha Brian\nMore,\u201d and in Kennedy by the \u201cFis f\u00e1 an aon Sgeul.\u201d Now this latter does\nnot appear to be much known except in Ireland; but it will hardly be\ncontended that it was independently invented in the four Irish counties\nin which it has been discovered. Still less would this be maintained\nregarding the other. The tale, which has proved its popularity by\nflourishing in three quarters of the globe, shows the same quality on a\nsmaller scale by flourishing in at least three provinces of Ireland.\n\nAnd perhaps this is the best place to note that the theory of independent\norigin is contrary to one of the closest analogies to be observed\nin nature. When animals and plants of the same species are found in\nwide-distant regions, no naturalist assumes for a moment that they\noriginated separately. However puzzling the problem may be, the student\nof nature seeks to solve it by explanations of a very different kind;\nand already many of the most difficult cases have yielded their secret\nto patient investigation. It will assuredly turn out to be the same with\nfolk-tales. As regards Ireland we see that there is a presumption, which\nwill scarcely be contested, in favour of the view that certain entire\ntales were dispersed from a common centre, thus showing on a small scale\nthe working of the whole process. When, however, we come to parts of\ntales, such as special phrases, rhymes, etc., the evidence of a common\norigin is beyond question. There are plenty of minor examples in this\nvolume; but here I would direct special attention to the three sea-runs\nwhich occur in \u201cBioultach,\u201d \u201cKing Mananaun,\u201d and \u201cThe Champion of the\nRed Belt,\u201d found in Galway, Mayo, and Donegal respectively (see _Note_,\npp. 253-4). I think it difficult for any one who reads these and notes\ntheir likenesses and their differences, not to believe that they were\noriginally composed by one person. The variations are easily accounted\nfor by imperfect recollection, substitutions for forgotten phrases, and\nall the gradual alterations sure to arise in the case of irregular oral\ntransmission among peasant narrators.\n\nThe evidence, then, seems so far to show that the fairy belief is common\nto all Ireland; that of the more elaborate traditional narratives, a\ncertain small proportion seems to be widely diffused, while the larger\nportion separates into divisions peculiar to certain districts, the\ngreatest divergence between one locality and another occurring when the\nlocalities are most widely separated.\n\nNow, that there should be any considerable divergence seems surprising\nwhen the facts are fully taken into account. Ireland is not a large\ncountry. For centuries\u2014we do not know how many\u2014before the Norman\ninvasion, the inhabitants had spoken Gaelic. The absence of political\nunity, the ceaseless wars and forays, must all have tended to fuse the\npopulation and obliterate original differences much more than a settled\nstate of society. Yet they exist. The differences in folk-lore are not\ngreater than other differences. Ethnologists know that the so-called\nGaelic race is really a compound one, containing in addition to the\ntrue Celtic (Aryan) element probably two that are not Aryan\u2014a Mongolian\nor Finnish element, and an Iberian element. Very little attempt has\nhitherto been made to settle in what parts of the country these elements\nrespectively preponderate; but that there must be some preponderance of\ndifferent races in different localities is shown clearly enough by the\nvarying physical types. It is beyond question that Donegal differs from\nConnaught, and that both differ from Munster; and when we find that, in\nspite of a coexistence of at least two thousand years in the same island,\nand the possession of a common language, different districts have a\ndifferent folk-lore, is it extravagant to surmise that these different\nbodies are due to varying racial deposits?\n\nLet us now compare Ireland as a whole with the Scotch Highlands. The\nlanguage of both is still, as for fifteen hundred years, practically the\nsame. The inhabitants are of closely-allied race, in part identical,\nand for many centuries a constant communication was kept up between\nboth countries. The folk-lore is partly alike, partly unlike. The\nsimilarity is occasionally very great. There are entire tales which are\nall but identical as told on both sides of the sea. There is identity\nof phrases and sentences. In Campbell\u2019s version of the \u201cfar-travelled\ntale,\u201d \u201cThe Battle of the Birds,\u201d occurs a striking phrase, in which the\nraven is said to have carried a man \u201cover seven benns and seven glens\nand seven mountain moors.\u201d Nearly the same phrase occurs in Kennedy\u2019s\nversion\u2014\u201cseven mountains (benns), seven glens and seven moors,\u201d which\nis the more surprising, as this story had passed, one does not know how\nlong before, from its Gaelic into its English dress. Compare the phrase\nfrom \u201cMorraha\u201d in the present volume\u2014\u201che sat down and gave a groan and\nthe chair broke in pieces\u201d\u2014with Campbell\u2019s \u201cThe King of Assaroe\u201d\u2014\u201chis\nheart was so heavy the chair broke under him.\u201d Many other examples could\nbe given. We have before our eyes, so far as Irish and Scotch folk-lore\nare similar, an example of how two branches of a race originally so\nclosely united as almost to form one, have for some hundreds of years\ndrifted or been forced apart, the process being thus unfolded to us in\nthe full light of history by which a body of folk-lore, originally one,\nhas separated into divisions showing distinct characteristics, while it\nretains the strongest tokens of its original unity.\n\nBut it seems as if there was a large amount of folk-literature in each\ncountry which the other never possessed. To this I shall come presently,\nafter I have first brought forward a comparison with German folk-lore.\nBut before attempting that, it is desirable first to offer a few remarks\non the style of the stories in this volume.\n\nIt will, I hope, be observed that the style is not uniform, but that\nit differs considerably from one story to another, and not so much in\naccordance with the narrator as with what he narrates. I must of course\npartially except the case of P. Minahan, whose individuality is stamped\non everything that comes from him; but this is not so with the other\nnarrators. If \u201cThe Gloss Gavlen\u201d be compared with the only other tale\nof M\u2019Ginty\u2019s, \u201cThe King who had Twelve Sons,\u201d it will be seen that the\nstyle of the two is quite distinct, the first being noticeable for a\ncertain archaic simplicity of which there is no trace in the other.\nAgain, the style of \u201cBioultach\u201d is surely quite different from that of\nT. Davis\u2019s other contribution, \u201cThe Story,\u201d in \u201cMorraha,\u201d while the\nopening of the latter from M\u2019Grale is easily distinguishable from that\nof \u201cThe Little Girl who got the better of the Gentleman,\u201d or \u201cGilla of\nthe Enchantments.\u201d Even Minahan varies with his subject, as will appear\nfrom a comparison of \u201cThe Woman who went to Hell\u201d with \u201cThe Champion of\nthe Red Belt.\u201d It seems from this as if some of the tales had a certain\nindestructibility of style, an original colour which passed unaltered\nthrough the minds of perhaps generations of reciters, this colour being\ndetermined at first by the character of the subject. In general, the\ntales of fierce fighting champions, of the more terrible monsters,\nsorcerers and the like, have a certain fierceness, if one may use the\nword, of style; while those of more domestic incident are told with\nquietness and tenderness.\n\nLet me now briefly compare the folk-tales of Germany with those of the\nScotch Highlands.\n\nIt cannot, I think, escape notice in reading Grimm\u2019s collection,\nthat a very large number of the tales bear a strong impress of quiet\ndomesticity. They are very properly named \u201chousehold\u201d in more senses\nthan one. And this is a matter not merely of style but of substance.\nThe incidents are, to a vast extent, domestic in character. There is\nno occasion to give a long list of the tales I refer to. I may mention\nas types \u201cThe Three Spinners,\u201d which turns entirely on the results of\ndomestic drudgery to the female figure; and \u201cThrush-Beard,\u201d a tale\nanalogous to \u201cThe Taming of the Shrew\u201d legend. But this domestic stamp\nbecomes more fully apparent when we bring into contrast the Highland\nstories. Among these there are indeed parallels to Grimm; but they are\nrelatively few, and there is a whole class of incidents and stories\nof which little trace is found in the German collection. The domestic\nincident all but disappears. The tales are more romantic, picturesque,\nextravagant. The giants and monsters are more frequent and fearful. The\nstories of helping animals\u2014and this is very characteristic\u2014though not\nentirely absent, are far less numerous than in Grimm.\n\nNow, turning to Ireland, we find that both classes of story meet upon\nIrish soil. Without making any allowance for the imperfect collection of\nour folk-lore, and the quantity that must have been lost owing to the\nlateness of our attempts to rescue it, it must be admitted that we have\nthe domestic story fairly well developed. The two tales from Grimm that I\nhave named, as well as many others, have the closest possible parallels\nin Kennedy, and I have myself met with additional examples on the coast\nof Connaught. The romantic and extravagant class of tales which flourish\nin the Highlands have also good representatives in our oral literature.\nSome specimens may be read in this volume. In one story, \u201cGilla of the\nEnchantments,\u201d is found a striking combination of the two. The story\nis, in part, a close variant of Kennedy\u2019s \u201cTwelve Wild Geese,\u201d but it\nalso contains, in addition to other matter, the wild incident of the\ndaily cutting off of the brothers\u2019 heads by the sister, which is equally\nwanting in the variant to be found in Grimm.\n\nThe question now arises, How are these contrasts and similarities to be\naccounted for? Must we suppose them to be due to mere accident? If not,\nwhat law has been at work? Why have different kinds of tales drifted in\ndifferent directions? What current of distribution has carried one set\nof tales to Scotland, part of the same and part of a different set to\nIreland, while Germany has received a much larger share of the latter\nthan Ireland, though in the other she has been left poor? It is clearly\nnot commercial intercourse that has been at work, nor exogamy, nor\nslavery. Some other agency has to be sought for.\n\nIn the case of ancient Greece we have an instance in which an\nexceptionally rich body of legend has been proved to consist of elements\nbrought from divers nations and races. The birthplace of many of the\nmost considerable personages in Greek mythology has been found in Asian\nlands. The Centaurs, Perseus, Dionysus and Semele, Artemis, Adonis and\nAphrodite herself, are believed to be all Asiatic in origin. Nay, more.\nThese Orientals are shown to belong to two distinct races commingled in\nBabylonia: the Semites, who may have had distant affinities with the\nIberians of the West; and the Accadians, whose connections were Mongol.\nIt is true that the Greeks are held to have received these additions\nto their own store by means of commercial intercourse. The Ph\u0153nicians,\nthose restless honey-gatherers of the old Mediterranean world, went\nabout everywhere fertilising Western flowers with Eastern pollen; but in\nthe case of the wild and barbarous north-west a similar agency cannot\nbe found; and while we are justified in taking the hint supplied by the\ndiscovery of the compound racial nature of Greek myth, we are compelled\nby circumstances to seek for a different solution of the problem.\n\nI have already adverted to the differences of race which exist in\nIreland, more or less masked by the long predominance of the Aryan Gael.\nSuch differences are not confined to Ireland. It is now admitted that\nthe apparent predominance of the Aryan over most of Europe is, to a\ngreat extent, one of language merely. Furthermore, the elements which\nmake up our population are found everywhere; the differences, mental\nand physical, which characterise different nations, being mainly due,\nfirst, to the minor variations which mark the branches of the great\nstocks, such as Celt, Teuton, and Slav among the Aryans, and secondly,\nto the continually varying proportions in which the different elements\nare blended. The principal fact is, that far the larger part of the Old\nWorld, excluding Africa, is occupied by three or four varieties of man,\nsuch as the Aryan, the Mongol, and the Iberian; the others, even when\nas important as the Semitic, holding very limited areas, and subject to\ncontinual contact with those more predominant. Of these again, it is\nworthy of remark that the most widely spread is not the Aryan, but the\nMongol. The latter, in addition to the vast regions which are his openly,\nsuch as Japan, China, Central Asia, and his outlying posts in Europe,\nFinland, Hungary, and Turkey, is recognised by the type as leading a\nmasked existence in the most western portions of our quarter of the\nglobe. \u201cScratch the Russian and you will find the Tartar\u201d is a saying\nwhich may be applied, _mutatis mutandis_, to many a nation much more\nremote from Central Asia; nor can we be surprised that such should be\nthe case when we call to mind that this powerful branch of mankind has\nactually, within recent historical times, run the Aryan a neck-and-neck\nrace for outward supremacy, while to the Semites he has scarcely left\neven their deserts.\n\nWith regard to the Iberian race, it has only to be noted that its\ndistribution in the south and west of Europe is very extensive. It is\nstill almost wholly predominant in Spain and Portugal. It probably\nconstituted in old times, as now, the main non-Aryan element in\nMediterranean Europe. North-westward it has had a wide extension into\nFrance, Britain, and Ireland, and probably into Scandinavia and other\ncountries; while it is not impossible that to it also belong in part the\nnon-Aryan inhabitants of Hindustan.\n\nApplying these facts to Germany, the Scotch Highlands, and Ireland, do\nwe not obtain a hint as to the phenomenon of folk-lore distribution? One\nrace, let us say mainly Aryan, in Germany; another race, much less Aryan,\nin the Scotch Highlands; a third, a more even blend of the two\u2014of Aryan\nand non-Aryan\u2014in Ireland.\n\nThis theory seems to me to be only such a modification of a theory\nwhich originally prevailed as is now required by the facts. It was at\nfirst believed, apparently is still believed by some, that all these\ntales originally belonged to the Aryans alone. As soon, however, as it\nwas found that many of them were the possession of races far removed\nfrom Aryan contact, it was at once seen that a modification of view was\nimperative. Then came the independent origin theory; and, amongst others\nof later birth, one which has recently attracted much attention\u2014the\nIndian theory. This seems to me to involve the truth of several\npropositions which are surely a little hard to accept. We must hold,\nfirst, that the Aryans, when they entered India, had no folk-tales,\nbecause, according to the hypothesis, they carried none elsewhere; next,\nthat the tales were either invented by the Aryans after they entered\nIndia, or were learned by them from the earlier peoples of that country.\nBut that tales of one country, or one race, should have had a peculiar\nability to diffuse themselves, wanting to all others, is a proposition\nthat tries one\u2019s faith. Reverting again to the analogy already used, we\nknow that there are animals common to India and Ireland whose original\nhome was in neither country. There are men of the same Aryan descent by\nthe Shannon and by the Indus whose ancestors had not their first common\nhabitation by either river. And the folk-tales, so far as they are Aryan,\ndid not originate south of the Himalayas, or west of the Irish Sea. But\nthey cannot all be Aryan. Nothing could antecedently be more improbable\nthan the suggestion that they were; and we might fairly regard it as\nrefuted even if we had nothing to go on but the literary character of\nthe tales. They bear the stamp of the genius of more than one race. The\npure and placid but often cold imagination of the Aryan has been at work\non some. In others we trace the more picturesque fancy, the fierceness\nand sensuality, the greater sense of artistic elegance belonging to\nraces whom the Aryan, in spite of his occasional faults of hardness\nand coarseness, has, on the whole, left behind him. But as the greatest\nresults in the realm of the highest art have always been achieved in\nthe case of certain blends of Aryan with other blood, I should hardly\ndeem it extravagant if it were asserted that in the humbler regions of\nthe folk-tale we might trace the working of the same law. The process\nwhich has gone on may in part have been as follows:\u2014Every race which\nhas acquired very definite characteristics must have been for a long\ntime isolated. The Aryans, during their period of isolation, probably\ndeveloped many of their folk-germs into their larger myths, owing to the\ngreater constructiveness of their imagination, and thus, in a way, they\nused up part of their material. Afterwards, when they became blended with\nother races less advanced, they acquired fresh material to work on. We\nhave in Ireland an instance to hand, of which a brief discussion may help\nto illustrate the whole race theory.\n\nThe larger Irish legendary literature divides itself into three\ncycles\u2014the divine, the heroic, the Fenian. Of these three the last is\nso well known orally in Scotland that it has been a matter of dispute\nto which country it really belongs. It belongs, in fact, to both. Here,\nhowever, comes in a strange contrast with the other cycles. The first\nis, so far as I am aware, wholly unknown in Scotland, the second\ncomparatively unknown. What is the explanation? Professor Zimmer not\nhaving established his late-historical view as regards Fionn, and the\ngeneral opinion among scholars having tended of recent years towards\nthe mythical view, we want to know why there is so much more community\nin one case than in the other. Mr. O\u2019Grady long since seeing this\ndifficulty, and then believing Fionn to be historical, was induced to\nplace the latter in point of time before Cuchullin and his compeers.\nBut this view is, of course, inadmissible when Fionn is seen not to\nbe historical at all. There remains but one explanation. The various\nbodies of legend in question are, so far as Ireland is concerned, only\nearlier or later as they came into the island with the various races to\nwhich they belonged. The wider prevalence, then, of the Fionn Saga would\nindicate that it belonged to an early race occupying both Ireland and\nScotland. Then entered the Aryan Gael, and for him, henceforth, as the\nruler of the island, his own gods and heroes were sung by his own bards.\nHis legends became the subject of what I may call the court poetry, the\naristocratic literature. When he conquered Scotland, he took with him his\nown gods and heroes; but in the latter country the bardic system never\nbecame established, and hence we find but feeble echoes of the heroic\ncycle among the mountains of the North. That this is the explanation\nis shown by what took place in Ireland. Here the heroic cycle has been\nhanded down in remembrance almost solely by the bardic literature. The\npopular memory retains but few traces of it. Its essentially aristocratic\ncharacter is shown by the fact that the people have all but forgotten\nit if they ever knew it. But the Fenian cycle has not been forgotten.\nPrevailing everywhere, still cherished by the conquered peoples, it held\nits ground in Scotland and Ireland alike, forcing its way in the latter\ncountry even into the written literature, and so securing a twofold lease\nof existence. That it did not deserve this wider popularity is evident\nenough. Interesting though it be, it is not equal in interest to the\nheroic cycle. The tales of the latter, though fewer in number, less bulky\nin amount, have upon them the impress of the larger constructive sweep\nof the Aryan imagination. Their characters are nobler; the events are\nmore significant. They form a much more closely compacted epic whole.\nThe Fenian tales, in some respects more picturesque, are less organised.\nIt would be difficult to construct out of them a coherent epic plot;\nand what is, perhaps, not the least in significance, they have far more\nnumerous, more extended, more intimate connections with the folk-tale.\n\nThe Fenian cycle, in a word, is non-Aryan folk-literature partially\nsubjected to Aryan treatment. It occupies accordingly a middle position.\nAbove the rank of the folk-tale it has been elevated; but to the dignity\nof the heroic legend it has not attained.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe tales included in the present volume form part of a large collection,\nwhich I began to make as far back as the year 1884. All have been taken\ndown in the same way\u2014that is to say, word for word from the dictation\nof the peasant narrators, all by myself, with the exception of two\ntaken down by Mr. Lecky in precisely similar fashion; difficult and\ndoubtful parts being gone over again and again. Sometimes the narrators\ncan explain difficulties. Sometimes other natives of the place can help\nyou. But after every resource of this kind has been exhausted, a certain\nnumber of doubtful words and phrases remain, with regard to which\u2014well,\none can only do one\u2019s best.\n\nThe districts from which the tales were obtained are three in number,\neach represented by two narrators. Renvyle, the most southern of the\nthree, is situated in Connemara. It is a narrow peninsula, forming the\nextreme north-western point of the county of Galway, jutting out opposite\nMayo. Terence Davis is a labourer pure and simple, a man of about\nforty-five years of age, and blind of one eye. Some of his tales he got\nfrom his mother. Michael Faherty was, when I first made his acquaintance,\na lad of about seventeen. He was recommended, as the best pupil in the\nNational School, to Mr. Lecky, who, finding him intelligent, selected him\nas the best person from whom, on account of his youth, the very latest\ndevelopment of the language could be learnt. He lived with his uncle, who\nhad, or has still, a small holding on the Blake property, and who was\nalso a pilot and repairer of boats. Both his tales were taken down by Mr.\nLecky. Next in order, going northward, comes Achill Island, distant some\ntwenty-five miles from Renvyle by sea, more than sixty miles by land.[1]\nTwo narrators from that locality are also represented in the book. One\nof them, Pat. M\u2019Grale, is a man of middle age, a cottier with a small\nholding, and besides, a Jack-of-all-trades, something of a boatman and\nfisherman, \u201ca botch of a tailor,\u201d to use his own words, and ready for any\nodd job. He can read Irish, but had very little literature on which to\nexercise his accomplishment. He knows some long poems by heart, and is\npossessed of various odds and ends of learning, accurate and not. John\nM\u2019Ginty, a man of Donegal descent and name, has also some land; but his\nholding is so small that he is to a great extent a labourer for others,\nand was engaged on relief works when I first came to know him. He, also,\nis a middle-aged man. He knows many Ossianic poems by heart, which, he\ntold me, his father taught him, verse by verse.\n\nGlencolumkill is the extreme south-west corner of Donegal, remote, like\nAchill and Renvyle. It is chiefly represented by the tales of Pat.\nMinahan, from whom I obtained more stories than from any other one\nman. He said he was eighty years of age; but he was in full possession\nof all his faculties. He also had a holding on which he still worked\nindustriously. He had no children; but his nephew, who lived with\nhim, made up for all deficiencies of that nature. His style, with its\nshort, abrupt sentences, is always remarkable, and at its best I think\nexcellent. Jack Gillespie, known as Jack-Anne\u2014the latter his mother\u2019s\nname\u2014to distinguish him from other Jack Gillespies, was a man of sixty or\nover, also a cottier.\n\nThe tales were written down in places sufficiently varied;\u2014from the\nRenvyle library to the neat little farmhouse parlour at Malinmore, where\nI spent so many a winter\u2019s evening, solitary but for the occasional\nvisits of some one or other of my story-tellers;\u2014from little smoky\ncabins, with inquisitive hens hopping on the table, to the unroofed\nfreedom of rock or brae, under summer skies, by those thrice-lovely\nshores of Renvyle; by the scarcely less beautiful, though far more\nrugged, crags and cliffs of Achill; by \u201cthe wild sea-banks\u201d of what has\nbeen described as the \u201cgrandest coast in Europe\u201d\u2014that of Glencolumkill.\n\nThe beauty of Scotch scenery has been discovered by one critic to be\nreflected in the picturesqueness of the Scotch tales. I am not without\nhope that a like influence has contributed something of a like quality to\nthose now submitted to the reader.\n\n                                                        WILLIAM LARMINIE.\n\n[1] The Sound, very narrow, is now bridged over.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n                                                                      PAGE\n\n    THE GLOSS GAVLEN                                                     1\n\n      _Narrator, JOHN M\u2019GINTY, Valley, Achill Island, co. Mayo._\n\n    MORRAHA                                                             10\n\n      _Narrator, P. M\u2019GRALE, Dugort, Achill Island, co. Mayo._\n\n    THE GHOST AND HIS WIVES                                             31\n\n      _Narrator, MICHAEL FAHERTY, Renvyle, co. Galway._\n\n    THE STORY OF BIOULTACH                                              35\n\n      _Narrator, TERENCE DAVIS, Renvyle, co. Galway._\n\n    KING MANANAUN                                                       64\n\n      _Narrator, P. M\u2019GRALE, Achill._\n\n    THE CHAMPION OF THE RED BELT                                        85\n\n      _Narrator, P. MINAHAN, Malinmore, Glencolumkille, co. Donegal._\n\n    JACK                                                               106\n\n      _Narrator, P. MINAHAN, Malinmore, Glencolumkille, co. Donegal._\n\n    THE SERVANT OF POVERTY                                             115\n\n      _Narrator, P. MINAHAN, Malinmore, Glencolumkille, co. Donegal._\n\n    SIMON AND MARGARET                                                 130\n\n      _Narrator, MICHAEL FAHERTY, Renvyle, co. Galway._\n\n    THE SON OF THE KING OF PRUSSIA                                     139\n\n      _Narrator, P. M\u2019GRALE, Achill, co. Mayo._\n\n    BEAUTY OF THE WORLD                                                155\n\n      _Narrator, P. MINAHAN, Malinmore, Glencolumkille, co. Donegal._\n\n    GRIG                                                               168\n\n      _Narrator, JACK GILLESPIE, Glen, Glencolumkille, co. Donegal._\n\n    THE LITTLE GIRL WHO GOT THE BETTER OF THE GENTLEMAN                174\n\n      _Narrator, P. M\u2019GRALE, Achill, co. Mayo._\n\n    GILLA OF THE ENCHANTMENTS                                          179\n\n      _Narrator, P. M\u2019GRALE, Dugort, Achill, co. Mayo._\n\n    THE WOMAN WHO WENT TO HELL                                         188\n\n      _Narrator, P. MINAHAN, Malinmore, Glencolumkille, co. Donegal._\n\n    THE KING WHO HAD TWELVE SONS                                       196\n\n      _Narrator, JOHN M\u2019GINTY, Valley, Achill Island._\n\n    THE RED PONY                                                       211\n\n      _Narrator, P. MINAHAN, Malinmore, co. Donegal._\n\n    THE NINE-LEGGED STEED                                              219\n\n      _Narrator, P. MINAHAN, Malinmore, co. Donegal._\n\n    THE PHONETIC TEXT                                                  232\n\n    SPECIMENS OF THE TALES IN (PHONETIC) IRISH                         239\n\n    NOTES                                                              251\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n_THE GLOSS GAVLEN._\n\n_Narrator, JOHN MCGINTY, Valley, Achill Island, co. Mayo._\n\n\nThe Gobaun Seer and his son went eastward to the eastern world to Balar\nBeimann to make for him a palace. \u201cShorten the road, my son,\u201d said the\nfather. The son ran out before him on the road, and the father returned\nhome on that day. The second day they went travelling, and the father\ntold his son to shorten the road. He ran out in front of his father the\nsecond day, and the father returned home.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s the cause of your returning home like that?\u201d said the wife of the\nyoung Gobaun.\n\n\u201cMy father asks me to shorten the road. I run out on the road before him,\nand he returns.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you begin to-morrow at a story he has never heard, and I\u2019ll go bail\nhe will not return. And do you never be in any place that the women are\nnot on your side.\u201d\n\nThey went travelling the third day, and the young Gobaun began at a\nstory his father never heard, and he returned no more till they came to\nthe eastern world. Then they made the palace for Balar Beimann, and he\ndid not wish to let them go back, for fear they should make for another\nman a palace as good as his.\n\n\u201cTake away the scaffolding\u201d (said he); for he wanted to let them die on\nthe top of the building. Balar Beimann had a girl, who went by under the\nbuilding in the morning.\n\n\u201cYoung Gobaun,\u201d said she, \u201cgo on thy wisdom. I think it is easier to\nthrow seven stones down than to put one up as far as you.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s true for you,\u201d said young Gobaun.\n\nThey began to let down the work. When Balar Beimann heard that they were\nthrowing down the works, he ordered back the scaffolding till they were\ndown on the ground.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the old Gobaun Seer, \u201cthere is a crookedness in your work,\nand if I had three tools I left after me at home, I would straighten\nthe work, and there would not be any work in the world to compare with\nit. The names of the tools are\u2014Crooked against Crooked, Corner against\nCorner, and Engine against deceit;[2] and there is not a man to get them\nbut your own son. You will find,\u201d said he, \u201ca woman with one hand, and a\nchild with one eye, in the house, and a stack of corn at the door.\u201d\n\nThe father then gave him a ship and sent him over to Erin. He was\ntravelling ever till he found out the house; and he went into it. He\nasked if that was the house of young Gobaun. The woman said it was.\n\n\u201cHe said to me there was a woman with one hand, and a child with one eye\nin the house, and a stack of corn at the door.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t you see,\u201d said she, \u201cthat I have only one hand, and don\u2019t you see\nthis stick in the hand of the child? I don\u2019t know what moment he won\u2019t\nput it in his eye and take the eye out of himself; and don\u2019t you see the\nstack of corn outside at the door?\u201d\n\nHe asked then for the three tools.\n\n\u201cWhat three tools?\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cThey are Corner against Corner, Crooked against Crooked, and Engine\nagainst deceit.\u201d\n\nShe understood then that they (_i.e._ her husband and his father) would\nnever come home, if she did not understand these words.\n\n\u201cThe three tools that are called Crooked against Crooked, Corner against\nCorner, and Engine against deceit, they are down in this chest.\u201d\n\nShe went then and opened the chest, and told him to stoop down to the\nbottom, that she was not tall enough. He stooped, and when she got him\nbent down, she threw him into the chest and closed it, and told him he\nshould stay there till young Gobaun and old Gobaun came home and their\npay for their service with them.\n\nShe sent word to Balar Beimann that she had his son in confinement, till\nyoung Gobaun and old Gobaun came home. He gave them a ship and sent them\nhome with their pay; and she let Balar Beimann\u2019s son back to him again.\nWhen they were going home, Balar asked Gobaun what smith would he get to\nput irons on his palace.\n\n\u201cThere is no smith in Erin better than Gavidjeen Go.\u201d\n\nWhen the old Gobaun came home he told Gavidjeen Go to take no pay from\nhim for putting the irons on his palace, except the Gloss:\n\n\u201cIf twenty barrels were put under her, she would fill the twenty barrels.\u201d\n\nBalar Beimann then wrote to the Gavidjeen Go that he would give him the\nGloss if he would make irons for his palace. But when he sent the Gloss,\nhe did not give the byre-rope, and he knew that when he did not give\nthat, she would go from him.\n\nThis is the bargain that Gavidjeen Go made then with every champion that\ncame to him:\u2014to mind the cow and bring her safe home to him at evening;\nhe would make a sword for every champion who would mind her. She would\npasture in the daytime at Cruahawn, of Connaught, and drink at Loch\nAyachir-a-Guigalu, in Ulster, in the evening.\n\nKian, the son of Contje, came to him to have a sword made. He told him he\nwould make it, but that the bargain would be to mind the Gloss that day.\n\n\u201cIf she is not home with you to me in the evening, you must lay down your\nhead on the anvil, that I may cut it off with your own sword.\u201d\n\nKian, the son of Contje, went then and took hold of her by the tail. When\nhe came home in the evening, \u201cHere is the Gloss outside,\u201d said he to\nGavidjeen Go. There was a champion inside in the forge, whose name was\nthe Laughing Knight. He ran out and said to Kian:\n\n\u201cThe smith is about to put tempering on your sword, and unless you have\nhold of it, there will be no power in it when you wield it.\u201d\n\nWhen Kian, the son of Contje, went in, he forgot to drive in the Gloss.\nGavidjeen Go asked him, \u201cWhere is the Gloss?\u201d\n\n\u201cThere she is, outside the door.\u201d\n\n\u201cPut her in,\u201d said he.\n\nWhen he went out she was gone.\n\n\u201cLay down your head upon the anvil, that I may cut it off you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am asking of you the favour of three days, to go and seek her.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will give you that,\u201d said he.\n\nHe went with himself then, and was following her tracks till he came to\nthe sea. He was up and down on the shore, plucking his hair from his\nhead, in trouble after the Gloss. There was a man out on the sea in a\ncurrach. He rowed in to him. It was the tawny Mananaun, the son of Lir.\nHe asked him\u2014\n\n\u201cWhat is the matter with you to-day?\u201d\n\nHe told him.\n\n\u201cHow much will you give to any one who will leave you in the place where\nthe Gloss is?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have nothing to give him.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will ask nothing of you, but the half of all you gain till you come\nback.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will give you that,\u201d said Kian, son of Contje.\n\n\u201cBe into the currach.\u201d\n\nIn the winking of an eye he left him over in the kingdoms of the cold;\nnor on that island was a morsel cooked ever, but they ate every kind of\nfood raw. Kian, son of Contje, made a fire, and began to cook his food.\nWhen Balar Beimann heard the like was there, he took him to be his cook,\nhis story-teller, and his fireman. Well, Balar Beimann had one daughter,\nand a prediction was made that she would have a son, who would kill\nhis grandfather. He then put her into prison for fear a man would come\nnear her; and it was he himself who would go to her with food, and the\ncompanion with her was a dummy woman. Mananaun left this enchantment with\nKian, son of Contje, that any lock he laid his hand on would open and\nshut after him. He was looking at Balar Beimann going to this house, to\nhis daughter, with food for her, and he went himself after him to the\nhouse, and he laid his hand on the lock and opened the door, and found\nnone but the two women there. He made a fire for them. He was coming\nthere ever, till a child happened to her. He was then going to depart,\nwhen the boy was born. He went to the king and told him he must depart.\n\n\u201cWhy are you going?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cIt is because accidents have happened to me since I came into this\nisland. I must go.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is the accident?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cA child has happened to me.\u201d\n\nBalar had two sons on another island learning druidism. They came home to\nthe palace to their father.\n\n\u201cFather,\u201d said a man of them, \u201cyour story-teller, your cook, and your\nfireman will give you your sufficiency of trouble.\u201d\n\nKian, son of Contje, was listening to them speaking. He went to the\ndaughter of Balar Beimann, and told her what her brother said.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said she, \u201cit is now time for you to be going. That is the\nbyre-rope of the Gloss, hanging on the wall. She will be as quick as you;\nand take with you the boy.\u201d\n\nHe went then till he came to the place where Mananaun put him out.\nMananaun told him, when he was in difficulty, to think of him and he\nwould come. He now came on the instant.\n\n\u201cBe in the currach,\u201d said Mananaun, \u201cand make haste, or Balar Beimann\nwill drown us, if he can. But greater is my druidism than his,\u201d said the\ntawny Mananaun, the son of Lir.\n\nHe jumped into the currach, and the Gloss jumped in as soon as he. Balar\nBeimann followed them, and raised the sea in a storm before them and\nbehind them, nor did Mananaun aught but stretch out his hand and make the\nsea calm. Balar then set fire to the sea before them in hopes of burning\nthem, but Mananaun threw out a stone, and extinguished the sea.\n\n\u201cNow, Kian, son of Contje, you are safe and sound home, and what will you\ngive me for it?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have nothing but the boy, and we will not go to make two halves of\nhim, but I will give him to you entirely.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am thankful to you. That is what I was wanting. There will be no\nchampion in the world as good as he,\u201d said Mananaun.\n\nThis is the name that Mananaun baptized him with\u2014the Dul Dauna. He\nbrought him up with feats of activity and championship. He and Mananaun\nwere out one day on the sea, and they saw the fleet of Balar Beimann\nsailing. The Dul Dauna put a ring to his eye, and he saw his grandfather\non the deck walking, but he did not know it was his grandfather. He\n(took) a dart from his pocket and flung it at him and killed him. The\nprophecy was then fulfilled.\n\n[2] Or, perhaps, \u201ctrick against treachery.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n_MORRAHA, BRIAN MORE, SON OF THE HIGH-KING OF ERIN FROM THE WELL OF\nENCHANTMENTS OF BINN EDIN._\n\n_Narrator, P. MCGRALE, Dugort, Achill Island, co. Mayo._\n\n\nMorraha rose in the morning and washed his hands and face, and said his\nprayers, and ate his food; and he asked God to prosper the day for him;\nand he went down to the brink of the sea, and he saw a currach, short and\ngreen, coming towards him; and in it there was but one youthful champion,\nand he playing hurly from prow to stern of the currach. He had a hurl of\ngold and a ball of silver; and he stopped not till the currach was in\non the shore; and he drew her up on the green grass, and put fastening\non her for a day and a year, whether he should be there all that time\nor should only be on land for an hour by the clock. And Morraha saluted\nthe young man in words intelligent, intelligible, such as (were spoken)\nat that time; and the other saluted him in the same fashion, and asked\nhim would he play a game of cards with him; and Morraha said that he had\nnot the wherewithal; and the other answered that he was never without a\ncandle or the making of it; and he put his hand in his pocket and drew\nout a table and two chairs and a pack of cards, and they sat down on the\nchairs and went to the card-playing. The first game Morraha won, and the\nslender red champion bade him make his claim; and he said that the land\nabove him should be filled with stock of sheep in the morning. It was\nwell; and he played no second game, but home he went.\n\nThe next day Morraha went to the brink of the sea, and the young man came\nin the currach and asked him would he play cards; and they played; and\nMorraha won. And the young man bade him make his claim; and he said that\nthe land above should be filled with cattle in the morning. It was well;\nand he played no other game, but went home.\n\nAnd on the third morning Morraha went to the brink of the sea, and he saw\nthe young man coming. And he drew up his boat on the shore and asked him\nwould he play cards. And they played, and Morraha won the game; and the\nyoung man bade him give his claim. And he said he should have a castle\nand of women the finest and the fairest; and they were his. It was well;\nand the young man went away.\n\nOn the fourth day the woman asked him how he had found himself, and he\ntold her. \u201cAnd I am going out\u201d (said he) \u201cto play again to-day.\u201d\n\n\u201cI cross\u201d (forbid) \u201cyou to go again to him. If you have won so much, you\nwill lose more; and have no more to do with him.\u201d\n\nBut he went against her will, and he saw the currach coming; and the\nyoung man was driving his balls from end to end of the currach; he had\nballs of silver and a hurl of gold, and he stopped not till he drew his\nboat on the shore, and made her fast for a year and a day. And Morraha\nand he saluted each other; and he asked Morraha if he would play a game\nof cards, and they played, and he won. And Morraha said to him, \u201cGive\nyour claim now.\u201d\n\nSaid he, \u201cYou will hear it too soon. I lay on you the bonds of the art of\nthe druid, not to sleep two nights in one house, nor finish a second meal\nat the one table, till you bring me the sword of light and news of the\ndeath of Anshgayliacht.\u201d\n\nHe went home to his wife and sat down in a chair, and gave a groan, and\nthe chair broke in pieces.\n\n\u201cIt is the son of a king under spells you are,\u201d said his wife; \u201cand you\nhad better have taken my counsel than that the spells should be on you.\u201d\n\nHe said to her to bring news of the death of Anshgayliacht and the sword\nof light to the slender red champion.\n\n\u201cGo out,\u201d said she, \u201cin the morning of the morrow, and take the bridle\nin the window, and shake it; and whatever beast, handsome or ugly, puts\nthe head in it, take that one with you. Do not speak a word to her till\nshe speaks to you; and take with you three pint bottles of ale and three\nsixpenny loaves, and do the thing she tells you; and when she runs to\nmy father\u2019s land, on a height above the court, she will shake herself,\nand the bells will ring, and my father will say Brown Allree is in the\nland. And if the son of a king or queen is there, bring him to me on your\nshoulders; but if it is the son of a poor man, let him come no further.\u201d\n\nHe rose in the morning, and took the bridle that was in the window, and\nwent out and shook it; and Brown Allree came and put her head in it. And\nhe took the three loaves and three bottles of ale, and went riding; and\nwhen he was riding she bent her head down to take hold of her feet with\nher mouth, in hopes he would speak in ignorance; but he spoke not a word\nduring the time, and the mare at last spoke to him, and said to him to\ndismount and give her her dinner. He gave her the sixpenny loaf toasted,\nand a bottle of ale to drink. \u201cSit up now riding, and take good heed of\nyourself: there are three miles of fire I have to clear at a leap.\u201d\n\nShe cleared the three miles of fire at a leap, and asked if he were\nriding, and he said he was. They went on then, and she told him to\ndismount and give her a meal; and he did so, and gave her a sixpenny loaf\nand a bottle; and she consumed them, and said to him there were before\nthem three miles of hill covered with steel thistles, and that she must\nclear it. And she cleared the hill with a leap, and she asked him if he\nwere still riding, and he said he was. They went on, and she went not far\nbefore she told him to give her a meal, and he gave her the bread and\nthe bottleful. And she went over three miles of sea with a leap, and she\ncame then to the land of the King of France; and she went up on a height\nabove the castle, and she shook herself and neighed, and the bells rang;\nand the king said that it was Brown Allree was in the land. \u201cGo out,\u201d\nsaid he, \u201cand if it is the son of a king or queen, carry him in on your\nshoulders; if it is not, leave him there.\u201d\n\nThey went out; and the stars of the son of a king were on his breast; and\nthey lifted him high on their shoulders and bore him in to the king. And\nthey passed the night cheerfully, with playing and with drinking, with\nsport and with diversion, till the whiteness of the day came upon the\nmorrow morning.\n\nThen the young king told the cause of his journey, and he asked of the\nqueen her counsel and consent, and to give him counsel and good luck, and\nthe woman told him everything she advised him to do. \u201cGo now,\u201d said she,\n\u201cand take with you the best mare in the stable, and go to the door of\nRough Niall of the speckled rock, and knock, and call on him to give you\nnews of the death of Anshgayliacht and the sword of light; and let the\nhorse\u2019s back be to the door, and apply the spurs, and away with you.\u201d\n\nAnd in the morning he did so, and he took the best horse from the stable\nand rode to the door of Niall, and turned the horse\u2019s back to the door,\nand demanded news of the death of Anshgayliacht and the sword of light;\nand he applied the spurs, and away with him. And Niall followed him, and,\nas he was passing the gate, cut the horse in two. And the mother was\nthere with a dish of puddings and flesh, and she threw it in his eyes and\nblinded him, and said, \u201cFool, whatever kind of man it is that\u2019s mocking\nyou, isn\u2019t that a fine condition you have got on your father\u2019s horse?\u201d\n\nOn the morning of the next day, Morraha rose, and took another horse\nfrom the stable, and went again to the door of Niall, and knocked and\ndemanded news of the death of Anshgayliacht and the sword of light, and\napplied the spurs to the horse and away with him. And Niall followed, and\nas he was passing the gate, cut the horse in two and took half the saddle\nwith him; and his mother met him and threw the flesh in his eyes and\nblinded him.\n\nAnd on the third day, Morraha went also to the door of Niall; and Niall\nfollowed him, and as he was passing the gate, cut away the saddle from\nunder him and the clothes from his back. Then his mother said to Niall,\u2014\n\n\u201cWhatever fool it is that\u2019s mocking you, he is out yonder in the little\ncurrach, going home; and take good heed to yourself, and don\u2019t sleep one\nwink for three days.\u201d\n\nAnd for three days the little currach was there before him, and then his\nmother came to him and said,\u2014\n\n\u201cSleep as much as you want now. He is gone.\u201d\n\nAnd he went to sleep, and there was heavy sleep on him, and Morraha went\nin and took hold of the sword that was on the bed at his head. And the\nsword thought to draw itself out of the hand of Morraha; but it failed.\nAnd then it gave a cry, and it wakened Niall, and Niall said it was a\nrude and rough thing to come into his house like that; and said Morraha\nto him,\u2014\n\n\u201cLeave your much talking, or I will cut the head off you. Tell me the\nnews of the death of Anshgayliacht.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, you can have my head.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut your head is no good to me; tell me the story.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said Niall\u2019s wife, \u201cyou must get the story.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh\u201d [said Morraha], \u201cis the woman your wife?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said the man, \u201cit is not you who have the story.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said she, \u201cyou will tell it to us.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the man, \u201clet us sit down together till I tell the story. I\nthought no one would ever get it; but now it will be heard by all.\u201d\n\n\nTHE STORY.\n\n(_The Story is from the narrative of TERENCE DAVIS, of Renvyle, co.\nGalway._)\n\nWhen I was growing up, my mother taught me the language of the birds; and\nwhen I got married, I used to be listening to their conversation; and I\nwould be laughing; and my wife would be asking me what was the reason of\nmy laughing, but I did not like to tell her, as women are always asking\nquestions. We went out walking one fine morning, and the birds were\narguing with one another. One of them said to another,\u2014\n\n\u201cWhy should you be making comparison with me, when there is not a king\nnor knight that does not come to look at my tree?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, what advantage has your tree over mine, on which there are three\nrods of magic and mastery growing?\u201d\n\nWhen I heard them arguing, and knew that the rods were there, I began to\nlaugh.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d asked my wife, \u201cwhy are you always laughing? I believe it is at\nmyself you are jesting, and I\u2019ll walk with you no more.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, it is not about you I am laughing. It is because I understand the\nlanguage of the birds.\u201d\n\nThen I had to tell her what the birds were saying to one another; and she\nwas greatly delighted, and she asked me to go home, and she gave orders\nto the cook to have breakfast ready at six o\u2019clock in the morning. I did\nnot know why she was going out early, and breakfast was ready in the\nmorning at the hour she appointed. She asked me to go out walking. I went\nwith her. She went to the tree, and asked me to cut a rod for her.\n\n\u201cOh, I will not cut it. Are we not better without it?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not leave this until I get the rod, to see if there is any good\nin it.\u201d\n\nI cut the rod and gave it to her. She turned from me and struck a blow\non a stone, and changed it; and she struck a second blow on me, and made\nof me a black raven, and she went home and left me after her. I thought\nshe would come back; she did not come, and I had to go into a tree\ntill morning. In the morning, at six o\u2019clock, there was a bellman out,\nproclaiming that every one who killed a raven would get a fourpenny bit.\nAt last you would not find man or boy without a gun, nor, if you were to\nwalk three miles, a raven that was not killed. I had to make a nest in\nthe top of the parlour chimney, and hide myself all day till night came,\nand go out to pick up a bit to support me, till I spent a month. Here she\nis herself (to say) if it is a lie I am telling.\n\n\u201cIt is not,\u201d said she.\n\nThen I saw her out walking. I went up to her, and I thought she would\nturn me back to my own shape, and she struck me with the rod and made\nof me an old white horse, and she ordered me to be put to a cart with a\nman, to draw stones from morning till night. I was worse off then. She\nspread abroad a report that I had died suddenly in my bed, and prepared a\ncoffin, and waked and buried me. Then she had no trouble. But when I got\ntired I began to kill every one who came near me, and I used to go into\nthe haggard every night and destroy the stacks of corn; and when a man\ncame near me in the morning I would follow him till I broke his bones.\nEvery one got afraid of me. When she saw I was doing mischief she came to\nmeet me, and I thought she would change me. And she did change me, and\nmade a fox of me. When I saw she was doing me every sort of damage I went\naway from her. I knew there was a badger\u2019s hole in the garden, and I went\nthere till night came, and I made great slaughter among the geese and\nducks. There she is herself to say if I am telling a lie.\n\n\u201cOh! you are telling nothing but the truth, only less than the truth.\u201d\n\nWhen she had enough of my killing the fowl she came out into the garden,\nfor she knew I was in the badger\u2019s hole. She came to me and made me a\nwolf. I had to be off, and go to an island, where no one at all would\nsee me, and now and then I used to be killing sheep, for there were not\nmany of them, and I was afraid of being seen and hunted; and so I passed\na year, till a shepherd saw me among the sheep, and a pursuit was made\nafter me. And when the dogs came near me there was no place for me to\nescape to from them; but I recognised the sign of the king among the men,\nand I made for him, and the king cried out to stop the hounds. I took a\nleap upon the front of the king\u2019s saddle, and the woman behind cried\nout, \u201cMy king and my lord, kill him, or he will kill you!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! he will not kill me. He knew me; he must be pardoned.\u201d\n\nAnd the king took me home with him, and gave orders I should be well\ncared for. I was so wise, when I got food, I would not eat one morsel\nuntil I got a knife and fork. The man told the king, and the king came to\nsee if it was true, and I got a knife and fork, and I took the knife in\none paw and the fork in the other, and I bowed to the king. The king gave\norders to bring him drink, and it came; and the king filled a glass of\nwine and gave it to me.\n\nI took hold of it in my paw and drank it, and thanked the king.\n\n\u201cOh, on my honour, it is some king or other has lost him, when he came on\nthe island; and I will keep him, as he is trained; and perhaps he will\nserve us yet.\u201d\n\nAnd this is the sort of king he was,\u2014a king who had not a child living.\nEight sons were born to him and three daughters, and they were stolen the\nsame night they were born. No matter what guard was placed over them,\nthe child would be gone in the morning. The queen was now carrying the\ntwelfth child, and when she was lying in the king took me with him to\nwatch the baby. The women were not satisfied with me.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said the king, \u201cwhat was all your watching ever? One that was born\nto me I have not; and I will leave this one in the dog\u2019s care, and he\nwill not let it go.\u201d\n\nA coupling was put between me and the cradle, and when every one went to\nsleep I was watching till the person woke who attended in the daytime;\nbut I was there only two nights, when it was near the day, I saw the\nhand coming down through the chimney, and the hand was so big that it\ntook round the child altogether, and thought to take him away. I caught\nhold of the hand above the wrist, and as I was fastened to the cradle, I\ndid not let go my hold till I cut the hand from the wrist, and there was\na howl from the person without. I laid the hand in the cradle with the\nchild, and as I was tired I fell asleep; and when I awoke, I had neither\nchild nor hand; and I began to howl, and the king heard me, and he cried\nout that something was wrong with me, and he sent servants to see what\nwas the matter with me, and when the messenger came, he saw me covered\nwith blood, and he could not see the child; and he went to the king and\ntold him the child was not to be got. The king came and saw the cradle\ncoloured with the blood, and he cried out \u201cwhere was the child gone?\u201d and\nevery one said it was the dog had eaten it.\n\nThe king said: \u201cIt is not: loose him, and he will get the pursuit\nhimself.\u201d\n\nWhen I was loosed, I found the scent of the blood till I came to a door\nof the room in which the child was. I went to the king and took hold of\nhim, and went back again and began to tear at the door. The king followed\nme and asked for the key. The servant said it was in the room of the\nstranger woman. The king caused search to be made for her, and she was\nnot to be found. \u201cI will break the door,\u201d said the king, \u201cas I can\u2019t get\nthe key.\u201d The king broke the door, and I went in, and went to the trunk,\nand the king asked for a key to unlock it. He got no key, and he broke\nthe lock. When he opened the trunk, the child and the hand were stretched\nside by side, and the child was asleep. The king took the hand and\nordered a woman to come for the child, and he showed the hand to every\none in the house. But the stranger woman was gone, and she did not see\nthe king; and here she is herself (to say) if I am telling lies of her.\n\n\u201cOh, it\u2019s nothing but the truth you have!\u201d\n\nThe king did not allow me to be tied any more. He said there was nothing\nso much to wonder at as that I cut the hand off, and I tied.\n\nThe child was growing till he was a year old. And he was beginning to\nwalk, and there was no one caring for him more than I was. He was\ngrowing till he was three, and he was running out every minute; so the\nking ordered a silver chain to be put between me and the child, so that\nhe might not go away from me. I was out with him in the garden every day,\nand the king was as proud as the world of the child. He would be watching\nhim every place we went, till the child grew so wise that he would loose\nthe chain and get off. But one day that he loosed it I failed to find\nhim; and I ran into the house and searched the house, but there was no\ngetting him for me. The king cried to go out and find the child, that he\nhad got loose from the dog. They went searching for him, but they could\nnot find him. When they failed altogether to find him, there remained no\nmore favour with the king towards me, and every one disliked me, and I\ngrew weak, for I did not get a morsel to eat half the time. When summer\ncame, I said I would try and go home to my own country. I went away one\nfine morning, and I went swimming, and God helped me till I came home. I\nwent into the garden, for I knew there was a place in the garden where I\ncould hide myself, for fear she should see me. In the morning I saw my\nwife out walking, and my child with her, held by the hand. I pushed out\nto see the child, and as he was looking about him everywhere, he saw me\nand called out, \u201cI see my shaggy papa. Oh!\u201d said he; \u201coh, my heart\u2019s\nlove, my shaggy papa, come here till I see you!\u201d\n\nI was afraid the woman would see me, as she was asking the child where he\nsaw me, and he said I was up in a tree; and the more the child called me,\nthe more I hid myself. The woman took the child home with her, but I knew\nhe would be up early in the morning.\n\nI went to the parlour window, and the child was within, and he playing.\nWhen he saw me he cried out, \u201cOh! my heart\u2019s love, come here till I see\nyou, shaggy papa.\u201d I broke the window and went in, and he began to kiss\nme. I saw the rod in front of the chimney, and I jumped up at the rod and\nknocked it down. \u201cOh! my heart\u2019s love, no one would give me the pretty\nrod.\u201d I thought he would strike me with the rod, but he did not. When I\nsaw the time was short I raised my paw, and I gave him a scratch below\nthe knee. \u201cOh! you naughty, dirty, shaggy papa, you have hurt me so much,\nI\u2019ll give yourself a blow of the rod.\u201d He struck me a light blow, and\nas there was no one sin on him, I came back to my own shape again. When\nhe saw a man standing before him he gave a cry, and I took him up in my\narms. The servants heard the child. A maid came in to see what was the\nmatter with him. When she saw me she gave a cry out of her, and she said,\n\u201cOh, my soul to God, if the master isn\u2019t come to life again!\u201d\n\nAnother came in, and said it was he really. And when the mistress heard\nof it, she came to see with her own eyes, for she would not believe I was\nthere; and when she saw me she said she\u2019d drown herself. And I said to\nher, \u201cIf you yourself will keep the secret, no living man will ever get\nthe story from me until I lose my head.\u201d\n\nMany\u2019s the man has come asking for the story, and I never let one return;\nbut now every one will know it, but she is as much to blame as I. I gave\nyou my head on the spot, and a thousand welcomes, and she cannot say I\nhave been telling anything but the truth.\n\n\u201cOh! surely; nor are you now.\u201d\n\nWhen I saw I was in a man\u2019s shape, I said I would take the child back\nto his father and mother, as I knew the grief they were in after him. I\ngot a ship, and took the child with me; and when I was journeying I came\nto land on an island, and I saw not a living soul on it, only a court\ndark and gloomy. I went in to see was there any one in it. There was no\none but an old hag, tall and frightful, and she asked me, \u201cWhat sort of\nperson are you?\u201d I heard some one groaning in another room, and I said I\nwas a doctor, and I asked her what ailed the person who was groaning.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said she, \u201cit is my son, whose hand has been bitten from his wrist\nby a dog.\u201d\n\nI knew then it was the boy who was taking the child from me, and I said I\nwould cure him if I got a good reward.\n\n\u201cI have nothing; but there are eight young lads and three young women, as\nhandsome as any one ever laid eyes on, and if you cure him I will give\nyou them.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut tell me in what place his hand was cut from him?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, it was out in another country, twelve years ago.\u201d\n\n\u201cShow me the way, that I may see him.\u201d\n\nShe brought me into a room, so that I saw him, and his arm was swelled up\nto the shoulder. He asked if I would cure him; and I said I would cure\nhim if he would give me the reward his mother promised.\n\n\u201cOh, I will give it; but cure me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, bring them out to me.\u201d\n\nThe hag brought them out of the room. I said I should burn the flesh that\nwas on his arm. When I looked on him he was howling with pain. I said\nthat I would not leave him in pain long. The thief had only one eye in\nhis forehead. I took a bar of iron, and put it in the fire till it was\nred, and I said to the hag, \u201cHe will be howling at first, but will fall\nasleep presently, and do not wake him till he has slept as much as he\nwants. I will close the door when I am going out.\u201d I took the bar with\nme, and I stood over him, and I turned it across through his eye as far\nas I could. He began to bellow, and tried to catch me, but I was out and\naway, having closed the door. The hag asked me, \u201cWhy is he bellowing?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, he will be quiet presently, and will sleep for a good while, and\nI\u2019ll come again to have a look at him; but bring me out the young men and\nthe young women.\u201d\n\nI took them with me, and I said to her, \u201cTell me where you got them.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, my son brought them with him, and they are all the offspring of the\none king.\u201d\n\nI was well satisfied, and I had no liking for delay to get myself free\nfrom the hag, and I took them on board the ship, and the child I had\nmyself. I thought the king might leave me the child I nursed myself;\nbut when I came to land, and all those young people with me, the king\nand queen were out walking. The king was very aged, and the queen aged\nlikewise. When I came to converse with them, and the twelve with me, the\nking and queen began to cry. I asked, \u201cWhy are you crying?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, it is for good cause I am crying. As many children as these I should\nhave, and now I am withered, grey, at the end of my life, and I have not\none at all.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, belike you will yet have plenty.\u201d\n\nI told him all I went through, and I gave him the child in his hand, and\n\u201cThese are your other children who were stolen from you, whom I am giving\nto you safe. They are gently reared.\u201d\n\nWhen the king heard who they were he smothered them with kisses and\ndrowned them with tears, and dried them with fine cloths silken and the\nhair of his own head, and so also did their mother, and great was his\nwelcome for me, as it was I who found them all. And the king said to me,\n\u201cI will give you your own child, as it is you who have earned him best;\nbut you must come to my court every year, and the child with you, and I\nwill share with you my possessions.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I have enough of my own, and after my death I will leave it to the\nchild.\u201d\n\nI spent a time, till my visit was over, and I told the king all the\ntroubles I went through, only I said nothing about my wife. And now you\nhave the story.\n\n[_The remainder is from P. MCGRALE\u2019S Achill version._]\n\nAnd now when you go home, and the slender red champion asks you for news\nof the death of Anshgayliacht and for the sword of light, tell him the\nway in which his brother was killed, and say you have the sword; and he\nwill ask the sword from you; and say you to him, \u201cIf I promised to bring\nit to you, I did not promise to bring it for you;\u201d and then throw the\nsword into the air and it will come back to me.\n\nHe went home, and he told the story of the death of Anshgayliacht to\nthe slender red champion, \u201cAnd here,\u201d said he, \u201cis the sword.\u201d And the\nslender red champion asked for the sword, and he said, \u201cIf I promised to\nbring it to you, I did not promise to bring it for you;\u201d and he threw it\ninto the air and it returned to Blue Niall.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n_THE GHOST AND HIS WIVES._\n\n_Narrator, MICHAEL FAHERTY, Renvyle, co. Galway._\n\n\nThere was a man coming from a funeral, and it chanced as he was coming\nalong by the churchyard he fell in with the head of a man. \u201cIt is good\nand right,\u201d said he to himself, \u201cto take that with me and put it in\na safe place.\u201d He took up the head and laid it in the churchyard. He\nwent on along the road home, and he met a man with the appearance of a\ngentleman.\n\n\u201cWhere were you?\u201d said the gentleman.\n\n\u201cI was at a funeral, and I found the head of a man on the road.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat did you do with it?\u201d said the gentleman.\n\n\u201cI took it with me, and left it in the churchyard.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was well for you,\u201d said the gentleman.\n\n\u201cWhy so?\u201d said the man.\n\n\u201cThat is my head,\u201d said he, \u201cand if you did anything out of the way to\nit, assuredly I would be even with you.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd how did you lose your head?\u201d said the man.\n\n\u201cI did not lose it at all, but I left it in the place where you found it\nto see what you would do with it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI believe you are a good person\u201d (_i.e._ a fairy), said the man; \u201cand,\nif so, it would be better for me to be in any other place than in your\ncompany.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t be afraid, I won\u2019t touch you. I would rather do you a good turn\nthan a bad one.\u201d\n\n\u201cI would like that,\u201d said the man. \u201cCome home with me till we get our\ndinner.\u201d\n\nThey went home together. \u201cGet up,\u201d said the man to his wife, \u201cand make\nour dinner ready for us.\u201d The woman got up and made dinner ready for\nthem. When they ate their dinner, \u201cCome,\u201d said the man, \u201ctill we play a\ngame of cards.\u201d\n\nThey were playing cards that evening, and he (the gentleman) slept that\nnight in the house; and on the morning of the morrow they ate their\nbreakfast together. When two hours were spent,\u2014\n\n\u201cCome with me,\u201d said the gentleman.\n\n\u201cWhat business have you with me?\u201d said the man.\n\n\u201cThat you may see the place I have at home.\u201d\n\nThey got up and walked together till they came to the churchyard. \u201cLift\nthe tombstone,\u201d said the gentleman. He raised the tombstone and they went\nin. \u201cGo down the stairs,\u201d said the gentleman. They went down together\ntill they came to the door; and it was opened, and they went into the\nkitchen. There were two old women sitting by the fire. \u201cRise,\u201d said the\ngentleman to one of them, \u201cand get dinner ready for us.\u201d She rose and\ntook some small potatoes.\n\n\u201cHave you nothing for us for dinner but that sort?\u201d said the gentleman.\n\n\u201cI have not,\u201d said the woman.\n\n\u201cAs you have not, keep them.\u201d\n\n\u201cRise you,\u201d said he to the second woman, \u201cand get ready dinner for us.\u201d\n\nShe rose and took some meal and husks.\n\n\u201cHave you nothing for us but that sort?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have not,\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cAs you have not, keep them.\u201d\n\nHe went up the stairs and knocked at a door. There came out a beautiful\nwoman in a silk dress, and it ornamented with gold from the sole of her\nfoot to the crown of her head. She asked him what he wanted. He asked her\nif she could get dinner for himself and the stranger. She said she could.\nShe laid a dinner before them fit for a king. And when they had eaten and\ndrunk plenty, the gentleman asked if he knew the reason why she was able\nto give them such a dinner.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d said the man; \u201cbut tell me if it is your pleasure.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen I was alive I was married three times, and the first wife I had\nnever gave anything to a poor man except little potatoes; and she must\nlive on them herself till the day of judgment. The second wife, whenever\nany one asked alms of her, never gave anything but meal and husks; and\nshe will be no better off herself, nor any one else who asks of her, till\nthe day of judgment. The third wife, who got the dinner for us\u2014she could\ngive us everything from the first.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy is that?\u201d said the man.\n\n\u201cBecause she never spared of anything she had, but would give it to a\npoor man; and she will have of that kind till the day of judgment.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome with me till you see my dwelling,\u201d said the gentleman. There were\nouthouses and stables and woods around the house; and, to speak the\ntruth, he was in the prettiest place ever I saw with my eyes. \u201cCome\ninside with me,\u201d said he to the man; and I was not long within when there\ncame a piper, and he told him to play, and he was not long playing when\nthe house was filled with men and women. They began dancing. When part of\nthe night was spent, I thought I would go and sleep. I arose and went to\nsleep; and when I awoke in the morning I could see nothing of the house\nor anything in the place.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n_THE STORY OF BIOULTACH, SON OF THE HIGH KING OF ERIN._\n\n_Narrator, TERENCE DAVIS, Renvyle, co. Galway._\n\n\nThere was a king in Erin long ago, and long ago it was. He had a pair of\nsons, Bioultach and Maunus. Bioultach was the elder. His father took him\nfrom school. The son said to him, \u201cWill you give me no more schooling?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not give. I think you have enough learning, and I am but poor.\u201d\n\n\u201cI give you the quarters of the heaven, of the sea, and of the land,\nagainst my body and my soul, that a second meal I will not eat at the one\ntable, that a second night I will not sleep in the one bed, till I go to\nseek my fortune.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, my son! evil is the oath you have taken, and it were better for you\nto watch over Erin. I think it were worth your while to stay at home, for\nwhen you go some other nation will come and cut it off.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! it is one to me.\u201d\n\nHe rose exceeding bright on the morning of the morrow. He rubbed palm to\npoll and palm to forehead, to make it be seen that he was the best in\nbeauty and in courage. He struck down to the sea. He struck a plank on\nthis side and a plank on that till he made a ship spacious and capacious.\nHe struck on board the ship, and spent four nights and four days, till he\nlanded in Spain without permission.\n\nThe King of Spain was out of doors, and he saw the ship coming in without\npermission. He sent a messenger down to ask who was the champion.\n\nThe messenger came back and said to the king, \u201cThere is but one man on\nboard, and handsomest of all men that ever I saw is he.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! give him an invitation to the court.\u201d\n\nThe messenger went and gave the invitation. Bioultach spent a day and a\nyear at the court.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the king, \u201cyou are at my court for a year, and I have never\nasked who you are.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you asked me I would have told you. Bioultach am I, son of the High\nKing of Erin, who left my father\u2019s court and pleasant home, since I\nthought little of the learning he was giving me; and I think I will stay\nhere no longer.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d said the king, \u201cwhere you will go; but I believe there is\nnot a place in the world better than Greece, for there is no champion at\nall, who is a good man, that it is not in Greece he is, in company with\nthe king.\u201d\n\nBioultach took leave of the king, and raised his ship with him, and\nstopped not till he came to Greece. The King of Greece was on a height\n(above the sea), and with him a pair of champions\u2014his own son, Splendour,\nand Splendour-of-the-Sun, son of the King of the Castle of the Stream.\n\n\u201cGo down,\u201d said the king to Splendour-of-the-Sun, \u201cand bring me word who\nis the champion that has come in without permission.\u201d\n\nHe went down at the command of the king, and saluted the man in the ship.\nSaid he, \u201cThe king has sent me to get word who you are.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I never took from my ship word to give you, unless you get it from\nme by force.\u201d\n\n\u201cI would get it if I had you here.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will be there now, but I must secure my ship, that neither storm nor\nsun may hurt her.\u201d\n\nBioultach went out, and he and the man on shore took hold of each other.\nBioultach threw him and tied him tightly, and he fastened the five knots\ntogether, and threw him behind him. The king was looking on.\n\n\u201cGo down, Splendour, son of the King of Greece,\u201d said he, \u201cand bring me\nword who is the champion that has tied the other man.\u201d\n\nThe son of the King of Greece went down, and he and Bioultach took hold\nof each other, and Bioultach threw him and tied him more tightly than\nthe other, and laid him along with him. The king had nothing for it but\nto send a messenger down with a branch of green yew. When Bioultach saw\nthe yew coming, he loosed the men, and the messengers bade him come with\nthem to the palace. Bioultach went with them, and he spent a day and a\nyear with the King of Greece, learning everything the king could teach\nhim, and the king never asked who he was or whence he came. But at the\nend of a year the king asked,\u2014\n\n\u201cIt were good to me to know your name. It was not good to me to put any\ntelling on you; but now I have a desire you should tell me who you are.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I will tell you, and a thousand welcomes. If you asked me at first\nI would have told you. Bioultach am I, son of the High King of Erin, who\nleft my father\u2019s court and pleasant home, since I thought little of the\nlearning he was giving me, and I spent a year with the King of Spain\nbefore I came here.\u201d\n\nBioultach had a brother, who was but little when he went away. When he\ngrew big he asked the king,\u2014\n\n\u201cDada, where went my brother?\u201d\n\n\u201cI know not,\u201d said the king. \u201cI never found out, either by praying or by\npaying.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy did he go away?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause he thought little of the learning I was giving him.\u201d\n\n\u201cI give you the quarters of heaven, of the earth, and of the sea, against\nmy body and my soul, that a second night I will not sleep in one bed,\nthat a second meal at the one table I will not eat, till I go in search\nof him.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, my son, evil is the oath you have taken, and it were better for you\nto stay in Erin, nor leave it altogether without ah heir.\u201d\n\n\u201cMore to me is my brother than all Erin.\u201d\n\nWhen Maunus arose in the morning he took leave of his father, and went\ndown to the sea, and went on board ship, and stopped not till he came to\nSpain. He spent a day and a year there. The king asked him,\u2014\n\n\u201cWhence are you? I would like to get word of you.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, you will get it. Maunus am I, son of the High King of Erin, who left\nthe court and pleasant home of my father a year since, yesterday, to\nsearch for my brother, Bioultach.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said the king, \u201cBioultach spent a day and year with me here, and if\nhe is alive he is with the King of Greece.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will wait no longer till I see him.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said the king, \u201cif you reach Greece, do not rise in without\npermission, for you have no knowledge how to handle a sword.\u201d\n\nWhen Maunus came to Greece he ran in without permission. The King of\nGreece was out of doors, and Bioultach and Splendour, son of the King of\nGreece, and Splendour-of-the-Sun, son of the King of the Castle of the\nStream.\n\n\u201cOh, Bioultach, to-day it is three years and a day since you landed, and\nsince then not a ship has come in without permission, and a ship has come\nin without permission to-day. Go down, Splendour-of-the-Sun, and get me\nknowledge who is the champion.\u201d\n\n\u201cBy my soul, I will not go. Three years from to-day Bioultach tied me,\nand I have never been well since then.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo down, Splendour, and bring me word who is the champion.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not go. It was not I whom you told to go at first. If it were, I\nwould have gone.\u201d\n\n\u201cI believe it is I myself must go.\u201d\n\nSplendour-of-the-Sun went down, and he and the man on board the ship\nsaluted each other. \u201cWhether you are of the noble or ignoble of the\nworld, whence are you?\u201d\n\n\u201cNever from my ship have I given tidings to tell of me till they were got\nfrom me by force.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! I would do that same if I had you here.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! it is soon I will be there; but I must secure my ship, that sun may\nnot burn nor shingle hurt her.\u201d\n\nMaunus went out, and the two champions took hold of each other. Maunus\nthrew the other, and as he never wrestled with a man before, this is what\nhe made with him\u2014a ball, and he threw him behind him.\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d said the king, \u201cSplendour, go down now; he is killed yonder.\u201d\n\nSplendour, son of the King of Greece, went down, and Maunus tied him as\nhe did the other man; and the king cried to Bioultach, \u201cThy friendship\nand thy fealty; let not the sway from Greece, for I have no other but\nyou.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you asked me at first I would have gone.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf I had twelve sons I would send them before you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will go now.\u201d\n\nBioultach went down, and he and Maunus saluted each other.\n\n\u201cOf the noble or ignoble of the world, whence are you?\u201d\n\n\u201cI never from my ship gave tidings to tell of me, unless you take them by\nforce.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will take them if I can.\u201d\n\nBioultach and Maunus caught hold of each other, and they spent a long\npart of the day, and neither of them threw the other. Said Bioultach, \u201cTo\nme it is not good at all to be like this. Let us get swords for each.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo me it is no worse, if to you it is fine.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt were good to me if you would tell me who you are.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not tell you. But if you desire to fight, you will get that.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is not good to me to be fighting with you.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I will not tell you who I am.\u201d\n\nBioultach got a sword, and Maunus another, and they went fighting.\nBioultach was wounding him with the sword, as Maunus did not know how to\nuse it.\n\n\u201cIt is not good to me to wound you, and it were good to me if you would\ntell me who you are. I could have killed you twice; but it is anguish on\nme to kill you.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I never held a sword until to-day, and if I am wounded my skill\nincreases; and do not spare me, as I will not spare you if I get one\nchance at you.\u201d\n\nThey fought for another while.\n\n\u201cOh! it was good to me,\u201d said Bioultach, \u201cyou should tell me who you are,\nfor I do not find it in my heart to be fighting with you.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said Maunus, \u201cis it not great the asking you have after my name?\nBut do you tell me who you are.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I have not hidden my name, ever. Bioultach am I, son of the High\nKing of Erin, who left my father\u2019s court and pleasant home four years and\na day since, yesterday.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Maunus, \u201chad you a brother?\u201d\n\n\u201cI had never but one brother, and sorry I am he is not so big as you yet.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhether he is big or little, it is he that has been fighting with you\nsince morning.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said Bioultach, \u201cit cannot be that you are Maunus.\u201d\n\nThey embraced one another, and Bioultach was weeping and kissing his\nbrother. When the King of Greece came in among the men\u2014\u201cOh, Bioultach,\nwhat ails you?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy king and my lord, I am fighting with my brother since morning; and if\nI killed him, I would do nothing but put my sword through my heart.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Bioultach, did you not know there was not another man able to fight\nwith you but he?\u201d\n\n\u201cI thought he was not yet so big.\u201d\n\nThat was the time Maunus loosed the men, and they were only just alive.\nThe king took them all with him\u2014Bioultach and Maunus, and Splendour son\nof the King of Greece, and Splendour-of-the-Sun. They went to the court\nof the High King of Greece.\n\nBioultach rose in the morning, and he and Maunus went into the garden,\nand he began to ask Maunus how were his father and his mother and his\nsister, and how was Erin. But the High King of Greece had a daughter, and\nshe was in a cloister in the garden. Maunus saw her going by, as a whiz\nof wind would go. \u201cOh, Bioultach, do you see that beautiful woman?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not see. She does not concern us. Perhaps she will never come by\nagain.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Bioultach, I have never seen a woman as beautiful as she.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, you can see her no more. She goes by only once in a year.\u201d\n\n\u201cI shall not live if I don\u2019t get another sight of her.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! I am sorry I ever saw you; but if you had an hour of her company you\nwould ask no more?\u201d\n\n\u201cI would not ask.\u201d\n\nBioultach turned a key in the door, and let in Maunus, who spent two\nhours and a-half inside.\n\n\u201cMaunus, are you coming out?\u201d\n\n\u201cDid you not promise me an hour?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have given you two hours and a-half. Be coming out now.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not come. But I must get that woman in marriage, or I will not\nleave a head on you or on the king.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, wait patiently till I tell you who she is.\u201d\n\n\u201cMake haste and ask her of the king.\u201d\n\nBioultach went in and threw himself on his knees before the king.\n\u201cBioultach,\u201d said the king, \u201cwhat is it you want? It cannot be that it\nis that hard-fortuned daughter of mine that Maunus has seen.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, it is she; and he says that unless he gets her in marriage he will\nnot leave a head on yourself or on me.\u201d\n\n\u201cCan this be possible? But bid him to come in that I may see him and tell\nhim of her doings, and if he is content I will give her to him, and a\nthousand welcomes; but let him have neither blame nor censure for me or\nyou.\u201d\n\nBioultach went out to Maunus.\n\n\u201cHa, Bioultach, have you got the woman?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have got. But rise and come to the king, and he will tell you how she\nhas lived.\u201d\n\nMaunus went in to the king.\n\n\u201cHa, Maunus, have you seen that beautiful woman?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have seen.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou say you must get her in marriage?\u201d\n\n\u201cI must, or I will not leave a stone in the place of your court.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, sit down,\u201d said the king, \u201cand I will tell you everything now.\n\n\u201cWhen she was growing up there came Bocaw More, of Kri-n\u0103-Sorracha,\notherwise Shamus Elevayreh, son of the King of Sorracha, and he saw her.\nHe came and asked her in marriage. I refused him. He came again and asked\nher and I refused. He came the third time and she would not marry him.\nHe told her he would be even with her. It was well till two years were\nover her, and Blue Niall, son of the King of Spain, came here and asked\nher in marriage.\n\n\u201cI told him what I am telling you. He said he was content with her. It\nwas well till they were married, and when they went into their chamber,\nshe never saw sight of him again, nor did any one else. It was very well\ntill a year passed, and there came Feathery[3] Clerk, son of the King of\nthe Western World, and asked her in marriage. I told him what I told the\nother man. He said he was content with her. When they were married and\nwent to sleep, there was no getting him. She was in the bed, but there\nwas no husband with her. She would not tell where he went, and we doubted\nthat he could have gone and she not to know where. When I saw the two\nfine men were destroyed through her, there came on me a dislike to her,\nand I made her a dwelling in the garden, and put restrictions on her not\nto see a man, for I did not like that another man should be destroyed\nby her. But now, if you are satisfied, and your brother, so that there\nwill not be blame or censure with you for me if anything happens, I will\ngive her to you and welcome. Now, Bioultach, I will make a house, and\nI will put bars of iron on it from ground to roof, and I will put three\niron doors in it, and seven locks on every door. I will put eight hundred\nmen round it, and Splendour, my own son, and Splendour-of-the-Sun, and\nyourself at the three doors before Maunus goes in.\u201d\n\nWhen they were married, and were going into the fastness, Bioultach said\nto the king, \u201cI think it is on the outside the danger will come first,\nand I would not like any one to be destroyed but myself; I will go on the\nouter side entirely.\u201d\n\nMaunus and his wife went in, and the men were planted round about the\nhouse. Bioultach went on the outside altogether. The day grew big with\nlightning and thunder, and horror came on the day. When Bioultach saw\nthat the men were frightened, he ran through them till he came to the\ndoor. He gave his shoulder to the door, and from door to door he broke\ntill he came inside. The woman was in bed, and Maunus was not with her.\n\n\u201cHa! my good girl, where is my brother Maunus gone?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not know.\u201d\n\n\u201cTell me where he is gone, quickly.\u201d\n\n\u201cHave sense.\u201d\n\n\u201cTell me at once where he is gone.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, you will never see Maunus again.\u201d\n\n\u201cI give you the quarters of heaven, of the earth, and of the sea,\nagainst my body and my soul, that unless you tell me this moment where he\nis gone I will put my sword through your heart.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Bioultach, your friendship and your protection! I cannot. But, if\nyou are the good champion they say, take a table and place it yonder;\nstrip yourself, and leave on you nothing but your shirt and trousers.\nStand on the table and defend that hole above. If a bar had been put\nthere at first, it would have done the business. But take with you a\nsword, and I will say you are a good champion if you defend the hole, and\nI will tell you where Maunus is gone.\u201d\n\nBioultach stripped himself, and went on the table and took a sword. When\nthe man above saw the woman was going to tell the story, \u201cHa! my good\ngirl,\u201d said he, \u201care you going to tell the story?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! don\u2019t heed him,\u201d said Bioultach; \u201cbut tell the story, and be quick.\u201d\n\n\u201cShort is the time since Maunus was here, and now he is in the Bake-house\nin the east, and three drops on him of the molten torrent, as he had\nthree warnings.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! you thief, you wanton, do you desire to tell the story?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy good girl,\u201d said Bioultach, \u201cI will defend you.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen I was growing up,\u201d said the woman, \u201che asked me in marriage. My\nfather refused him three times; and even if he accepted him, I would not\nmarry him. He said he would be even with me. When Blue Niall married me\nhe took him away, and put on him one drop of the molten torrent, as he\nhad one warning. When, again, I was married to Feathery Clerk, he took\nhim away with him, and put on him two drops, as he had two warnings.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, you slut, go on with the story no farther!\u201d said the big man.\n\n\u201cDo not fear,\u201d said Bioultach,\u2014\u201cgo on.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs Maunus got three warnings, on him there are three drops, and each\ndrop goes to the bone.\u201d\n\nIt was at this time the king came in through the men, and he saw\nBioultach all red with blood.\n\n\u201cOh, Bioultach,\u201d said he, \u201cyou are killed!\u201d\n\n\u201cI am not. I am coloured with the blood of the giant, but on myself there\nis no harm.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are a good man, Bioultach,\u201d said the woman; \u201cI did not believe there\nwas a man in the world would fight the giant. Now you can come down.\u201d\n\nBioultach sat down till he told the king. \u201cI do not know what you will\ndo,\u201d said the king. \u201cBut I will get ready a ship, and put on board eight\nhundred men of the pick of my kingdom, and the two champions along with\nyou; and, on my honour, it is worse to me to part with you than with\nthem all.\u201d\n\nThe king fitted out the ship, and he put on board the two champions and\nthe eight hundred men, along with Bioultach. When Bioultach went on board\nthe ship they raised their great sails, speckled, spotted, red-white, to\nthe top of the mast; and he left not a rope unsevered, nor a helm without\n* * * * * * in the place where there were seals, whales, crawling,\ncreeping things, little beasts of the sea with red mouth, rising on\nthe sole and the palm of the oar, making fairy music and melody for\nthemselves, till the sea arose in strong waves, hushed with magic, hushed\nwith wondrous voices; with greatness and beauty was the ship sailing,\ntill to haven she came and harbour on the coast of the Land of Brightness.\n\nThat was the first place where the giant had his habitation. Bioultach\nand the two champions went out on the shore. \u201cI don\u2019t know what we shall\ndo,\u201d said Bioultach; \u201cbut stay, I see a small little boat coming under\ngreat rowing, and in it I see but one man.\u201d\n\nWhen the boat came to land, there came out of her a ragged green man,\nthe top of whose head was out through his old hat, the toes of his feet\nthrough his old boots, his elbows out through his coat, and his knees\nthrough his old trousers.\n\n\u201cHa, Bioultach, what likeness of adventure are you putting on yourself\nto-day?\u201d\n\n\u201cBad luck on you! isn\u2019t it the same to you what likeness of adventure I\nam putting on myself?\u201d said Bioultach.\n\n\u201cOh, it is not equal. If I were as good as I might be, I should be beside\nyou. But to-day let me go before you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will let you and welcome.\u201d\n\n\u201cLeave the other men on board the ship, and we will go to see the giant.\nI will throw him, and we\u2019ll see if you can tie him. But, sorry I am, I\ncan do nothing but throw him.\u201d\n\nBioultach and the ragged green man went into the house, and when the\ngiant saw them he was about to be away. The ragged green man caught him\nand threw him. Bioultach took hold of him and tied him tightly, and\nbrought the five slenders together, so that the toes of his feet gave\nconversation to the holes of his ears, and no conversation did they give\nhim but the height of mischief and misfortune.\n\n\u201cTake might and mastery, Bioultach; I thought there was not a man in the\nworld able to tie him.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Bioultach,\u201d said the giant, \u201ctightly, tightly have you tied me; ease\nthe fastening a little at the knot.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Bioultach,\u201d said the ragged green man, \u201cit is better to sell than to\nbuy.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Bioultach,\u201d said the giant, \u201cdo not heed that thief, but ease the\nfastening on the cord.\u201d\n\nBioultach laid his hand on the rope, to ease the knot, and out with the\ngiant through the window, and out with Bioultach after him. When the\ngiant was high, Bioultach was low, till the night came, and Bioultach was\nforced to sit down, and he wept his fill. He saw a little light far from\nhim, and he made for it. When he came in (to the house) there was a big\ncat in the ashes, and she got up and smothered him with the ashes.\n\n\u201cMay you be worse a year from to-day,\u201d said he; and he sat down. It was\nnot long till an old woman came down to him.\n\n\u201cHa, Bioultach, it had been better for you to follow the counsel of the\nragged green man than your own.\u201d\n\n\u201cBad luck to you! Isn\u2019t it all the same to you whose counsel I follow?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! it is not the same to me. Not on your own feet are you going since\nmorning, but on the enchantments of the giant, and he is sailing a day\nand a year\u2019s journey from you. But I have here a little boat of lead, and\nI will give it to you, and in whatever place, in the four quarters of the\nworld, you order it to be, there it will be in the morning. But you will\ngrant me a request, if you come safe; and, if you do not come, I will\nforgive you.\u201d\n\nShe gave him a tablecloth: \u201cEvery time you spread it, there will be\nevery kind of food and drink on it; and fold it when you are done.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I will give you any request you ask, if I come safe.\u201d\n\nThere came then from a room twelve[4] hags, the ugliest man ever saw.\n\n\u201cOh, the death-bands on you!\u201d said Bioultach.\n\n\u201cOh, Bioultach,\u201d said the hag, \u201con us before this was the beauty of\nyouth, but now the decay of age, as on yourself it will yet be. But I\nhope you will get the better of the giant.\u201d\n\nBioultach took the little boat. \u201cNow, Bioultach, the sea is not far from\nyou. Place the boat on the water, and ask of God and the miracles of\nthe leaden boat that in whatever place is the Bocaw More of the Land of\nSorracha you may be there at morning.\u201d\n\nBioultach placed the boat on the water. \u201cI ask of God and the miracles of\nthe leaden boat that in whatever place is the Bocaw More I may be there\nat morning.\u201d\n\nWhen the day whitened Bioultach was in front of an island, and the haven\ntook fire around him and the boat began to melt. He saw the ragged\ngreen man rising from a stone, and he rubbing his eyes after a while of\nsleeping.\n\n\u201cOh, Bioultach, you are badly off now, and I must make a gallon to put\nout the flame.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf I am here till you make a gallon, I shall be destroyed.\u201d\n\n\u201cI shall not be long away.\u201d\n\nIt was not long till he came. He threw three palmfuls of water on the\nflame and put it out.\n\n\u201cHa, Bioultach, I hope you will not let the giant go to-day. He has no\nexpectation that we will come to-day.\u201d\n\nWhen they went in the giant was about to be off; but the ragged green man\ncaught him and threw him. Bioultach caught him and tied him well, better\nthan he tied him the day before.\n\n\u201cOh, Bioultach, you have tied me more tightly to-day than yesterday; but\nease the tie a little.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is better to sell than to buy,\u201d said the ragged green man.\n\n\u201cOh, if you are the son of a king by a queen, ease the knot. I am not\nasking you to set me free.\u201d\n\nBioultach laid his hand to ease him, and away with the giant through the\nwindow, and away with Bioultach after him. He was but foolish to seek to\nget a hold of him. When the night fell Bioultach spread his tablecloth,\nand every sort of food and drink he wanted was upon it. He ate a great\nplenty, and he took the boat up. He laid it on the water. \u201cI ask of God\nand the miracles of my boat that in whatever place is the Bocaw More I\nmay be there in the morning.\u201d\n\nHe was opposite an island, and the haven froze round him. It was not long\ntill he saw the ragged green man coming from the side of a stone, and he\nrubbing his eyes.\n\n\u201cOh, Bioultach, are you frozen there?\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd here I shall stay.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, you will not stay. I will go to the forge and make an axe to break\nthe (ice).\u201d\n\nHe came back, and an axe with him. They broke the stone of ice. Bioultach\ncame out. \u201cNow, Bioultach, as we have come on two days unknown to the\ngiant, he will send out two ball players, with hurls of gold and balls\nof silver; you will think they are the two champions you left behind at\nthe Island of the Torrent. If any limb of their limbs touches you, or the\nball, you are a grey flagstone, and over you heaps of ice and snow, as\nbig as if you were there for a hundred years.\u201d\n\nWhen they went up, he saw the two champions coming. It seemed to him\nit was Splendour and Splendour-of-the-Sun were there. They ran to him,\nand he was running to them in his delight. The ragged green man threw\nthem, so that they failed. They took out the ball. A man of them struck\nthe ball a blow, and it was coming straight to Bioultach. He put up his\nhand to keep off the ball from his eye. He was struck on the palm of\nthe hand, and he fell, and became a grey flagstone, and a holly tree\ngrowing through him. When the ragged green man saw that he was destroyed,\nhe bowed down and wept his fill; then he went back to the Island of the\nTorrent.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said the men to him, \u201cis it not long that you have been within? But\nwhere is Bioultach?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! go ye home. Bioultach is destroyed; he is away from you, a day and\na year\u2019s voyage before you could reach him. He is a grey flagstone, and\nover him are heaps of ice and snow.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will not go home ever. We have no business at home, but we will be\ntravelling till we get as far as he is.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo ye think that together ye could tie the giant?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I do not know.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I will bring you there in the space of an hour.\u201d\n\nHe took them with him as far as Bioultach, till they saw him and wept\ntogether.\n\n\u201cLet us go in to see the Bocaw More.\u201d\n\nWhen they went in he was conversing with his wife.\n\n\u201cOh! you have come, and your help is not with you.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerhaps you are not a better man than my help.\u201d\n\nThe ragged green man caught him and threw him. The two champions went to\ntie him, and he failed them. He sat down.\n\n\u201cOh, musha, the death-bands on you both! Am I not sorry that ever I left\nharbour or haven with you? If you two tied him, I would keep a knee on\nhim, and Bioultach would be alive to me at the end of an hour.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I think that I could tie him by myself.\u201d\n\nThe ragged green man threw him, and the two champions went and tied him\ntightly.\n\n\u201cOh! ease the knot on me a little.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou thief! we will not ease.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, it is the good champions you are,\u201d said the ragged green man; \u201cI did\nnot think it was possible to tie him; but you shall see yourselves that I\nshall have Bioultach now.\u201d\n\nHe turned to the giant and cut fine pieces of his flesh, till he had the\nfull of his hands, and he ran and squeezed the flesh down on the stone,\nand Bioultach arose alive again. They smothered him with kisses and\ndrowned him with tears, and dried him with fine cloths silken, and with\nthe hair of their heads; and when Bioultach stooped under the door, the\ntree that was growing on him fell.\n\n\u201cOh, Bioultach,\u201d said the giant, \u201ctightly, tightly it is they have tied\nme; but do you ease the tie a little.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, you thief!\u201d said Bioultach, \u201cI will not ease; but tell me where is\nMaunus?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! he is in the Bake-house outside there.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow shall I get him out?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will put out the flame with a whiff.\u201d\n\nBioultach pulled the giant out, till he quenched the flame and Maunus\ncame out.\n\n\u201cWhere are the other two?\u201d\n\n\u201cThey are inside,\u201d said the giant.\n\n\u201cBring them to me,\u201d said Bioultach.\n\nThey came out both.\n\n\u201cCan it be lighted when it is empty?\u201d said Bioultach.\n\n\u201cOh, it can,\u201d said the giant.\n\n\u201cKindle it,\u201d said Bioultach.\n\nThe giant put three whiffs on it, and kindled it.\n\n\u201cWell, I put yourself into it now, and three drops on you for ever.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! Bioultach,\u201d said the ragged green man, \u201cI will forgive you all that\never you did for putting the giant in. I was afraid you would not put\nhim. But a thousand thanks to God that we have escaped him.\u201d\n\nBioultach got healing water till he cured them; and they went on their\nway till they came to the Island of the Torrent, where the eight hundred\nmen were on board the vessel.\n\n\u201cOh! I believe I have forgotten. I did not go to the hag. I must go to\nher now.\u201d\n\n\u201cWill you let me with you?\u201d said the ragged green man.\n\n\u201cI will let you, and welcome. Let us leave the men here!\u201d\n\nBioultach and the ragged green man went as far as the hag. When Bioultach\nwent into the house, the cat put seven barrels of ashes out of her skin.\n\n\u201cOh, may you be worse a year from to-day! you are gathering all that\nsince I went away.\u201d\n\nThereupon he sat down, and he did not know where the ragged green man\nwas gone. It was not long till there came to him a beautiful woman, as\nbeautiful as ever he saw, and she said,\u2014\n\n\u201cOh, Bioultach, thy hundred thousand welcomes! Good be with you. A\nthousand thanks to God that you accomplished the object of your journey.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, what good is it to me, when the hag has a request to make of me?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, good was the hag herself in the time of your difficulty.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I know it is myself she is asking to marry her,\u201d said Bioultach.\n\n\u201cOh! are you certain?\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cWell, I would rather put the sword through my heart than marry her,\nafter seeing you or the like of you.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! Bioultach, you have your choice. I am the woman who has the request\nto make; and I will release you and bestow on you the boat for ever,\nmarry or marry me not.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! I will marry you, and a thousand welcomes. But I don\u2019t know where my\ncomrade is gone. The old clothes that were on him are like those I see\nthrown yonder.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, you will see him, presently.\u201d\n\nThere came to him eleven women, and he could not say which of them was\nthe most beautiful. They sat down, and each one of them gave him welcome.\nThere came a gentleman, who was the handsomest he ever saw, and took him\nby the hand.\n\n\u201cA hundred thousand welcomes to you, Bioultach! I am Keeal-an-Iaran, son\nof the King of Underwaves, who was under bonds to the Bocaw More; and my\ntwelve sisters were hags, as you saw; and I without power to wear any\nbut old clothes, as you saw. Nor could I raise a hand against him. But\nwhen I saw you coming, I heard there was not a man to be got as good as\nyou, and I said it was possible we might get the better of him. But we\nwould not get the better of him for ever, only that you let him out each\ntime. But, the thief! that was the thing was worst for himself. And now\nI will go with you till I leave you safe at home; and my sister, if she\nis your choice. And if she is not, she will forgive you, and a thousand\nwelcomes, as we are released from the hole in the earth where you saw us.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I will marry my own wife, and will take her home.\u201d\n\nBioultach, and Keeal-an-Iaran, and the woman went on board the leaden\nboat till they came to the Island of the Torrent, and they took the eight\nhundred men and Maunus into the leaden boat. They took Splendour, son of\nthe King of Greece, Splendour-of-the-Sun, son of the King of the Castle\nof the Stream, Blue Niall, son of the King of Spain, and Feathery Clerk,\nson of the King of the Western World, on board the leaden boat. The prow\nto sea they turned, the stern to shore, and they hoisted the great sails,\netc., till they came to haven and harbour on the coast of Greece.\n\nThe King of Greece was out walking when he saw the hosts making for the\ncourt, and he recognised Bioultach.\n\n\u201cOh, my daughter,\u201d said he, \u201cthere are three husbands coming to you alive\nnow; I don\u2019t know to which of them you will be.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I do not know,\u201d said the daughter.\n\nBioultach came, and all the champions, to the court, and the man of\nwelcome was before them in the king. They passed the night, a third in\nstory-telling, a third in conversation, and a third in soft sleep and\ndeep slumber.\n\nWhen Maunus arose he asked where was his wife.\n\n\u201cOh, she is not your wife,\u201d said Blue Niall, \u201cbut she is my wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, she is my wife,\u201d said Feathery Clerk.\n\nBy the laws of the land she belonged to Blue Niall.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Maunus, \u201cI will make laws for myself. Any man who will not\ngo for a day and a year into the Bake-house, and suffer three drops of\nthe molten torrent, he shall not get the woman. But any man of you two\nwho goes there, he must get the woman and welcome.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, we will not go there, as we have got ourselves out of it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will go for a year,\u201d said Maunus, \u201cbut I must get the woman when I\ncome back.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, we will bestow her on you, but you will not go there, nor any one\nelse that we can keep out of it.\u201d\n\nMaunus got the wife; and they prepared a month\u2019s fire and a year\u2019s\nembers, till he and the daughter of the High King of Greece were married\ntogether; and they spent a fortnight after the month in celebrating the\nwedding with every sort of sport and play. When everything was ended, and\neach champion was going to his own home, Bioultach said,\u2014\n\n\u201cI believe it is good and right for me to go home to see Erin, and my\nfather and mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, you are settled now.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said Keeal-an-Iaran, \u201cI will go with you to see you and my sister\nin your home.\u201d\n\nWhen Bioultach arose early, full of brightness, he rubbed palm to poll\nand palm to forehead, to let it be seen that he, as a lion in his valour,\nwas the best in spirit, in beauty, and in courage. He went down to the\nsea, with his wife and her brother. They bade farewell to the king and\nthe nobles of the court, and went on board the leaden boat. And they\nhoisted their great sails, etc., till to haven they came and harbour at\nBinn Edin Vik Shanla, the place where the first ship ever came to Erin.\n\nThey found the ford, I the stepping-stones. They were drowned, and I came\nsafe.\n\n[3] Or Left-handed. The Irish word means both.\n\n[4] Eleven would apparently be the correct number.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n_KING MANANAUN._\n\n_Narrator, P. M\u2019GRALE, Achill._\n\n\nThere was a king in Erin, whose name was King Mananaun. He was the king\nof druidism and enchantments and devilscraft. A daughter was born to him,\nwhose name was Pampogue, and she had twelve women attending her, and\ntwelve maids serving her. There was another king in Erin, whose name was\nKing Keeluch, and to him was born a son, whose name was Kaytuch. He took\nthe son to the old wise man, and asked him where he should put his son\nto learn druidism and devilscraft, so that neither man nor weapon should\nget victory over him. The old wise man told him to put him with King\nMananaun; that he was the best man of druidism to be found. \u201cAnd a year\nfrom this night\u201d (said he) \u201cthere was a daughter born to him, and there\nare twelve women attending her, and twelve maids serving her, and his son\nwould have the same.\u201d\n\nThere was a third king, whose name was Londu, son of the King of Gur,\nand to him a son was born; and he also went to the wise old man to\nask him where was the best place to put his son to learn druidism and\ndevilscraft, and the wise old man told him to put him with King Mananaun.\n\nThe three were going to school together when Pampogue was sixteen years\nold, Kaytuch fifteen, and Londu fourteen. They were coming home from\nschool, and they went into the smith\u2019s forge; and Kaytuch took a bar of\niron and twisted it in his hand, and he threw it to Londu, and told him\nto straighten it. And he took a nail and asked the other prince what he\nwould take to leave his hand on the anvil, and to leave the nail on his\nhand, and a blow of the great sledge-hammer to be struck on the nail; and\n(the other) said he would give it, if he would allow him a blow without\ndefence in the first battle between them; and Kaytuch said he would allow\nit, and he drove the nail through the palm of Londu into the anvil. And\nshe laughed, and went out and home to her father\u2019s house.\n\nWhen the smith saw what was done in the forge he asked Londu what he\nwould give him to loose him. He said that he was a poor gentleman, but\nthat if he ever came into his heirship he would give him the price of his\nservice. The smith took hammering with him, and hammered at the top of\nthe nail, and he put something under the palm and raised it up. He went\nto the house of the king and said not a word; but the king knew all.\n\nIn the morning the king wrote to their fathers, and bade them come to\ndinner the next day; and the two kings came and consumed the feast, and\nasked was it gold or silver was wanting to him? if it was they would give\nit. And he said it was not, but that there was a dispute between their\ntwo sons, and he would like them to settle it. \u201cAnd I know\u201d (said he)\n\u201cit is jealousy is the cause.\u201d The fathers said that whatever he would\ndo they were satisfied. \u201cI will open the doors, and I will put the three\ninside. Let one man come out by one door, and the other man by the other\ndoor, and whichever of them she follows, let her be his.\u201d\n\nWhen the fathers were gone he put the three into the house and opened the\ndoors, and she followed Kaytuch. When Londu went out he saw Kaytuch, and\nasked if he remembered that he had a blow without defence to get on him\nin their first battle. Kaytuch said, in his opinion this was no battle.\n\n\u201cNo battle at all is there greater than a fight about a woman.\u201d\n\nKaytuch dropped his hands, and Londu drew his sword, and cut the head off\nhim. Londu asked her, \u201cWill you take me now he is dead?\u201d She refused,\nand said she would not marry him. She took Kaytuch and put him in a box,\nand herbs of the hill about him. She went then and fitted out a ship\ngreat and gallant, till she raised the great sails, speckled, spotted,\nas long, as high as the top of the mast; and she left not a rope without\nbreaking, an oar without tearing, with the crawling, creeping creatures,\nthe little beasts, the great beasts of the deep sea coming up on the\nhandle and blade of the oar, till she let two thirds (of the sail) go,\nand one third held in, till the eels were whistling, the froth down, and\nthe sand above; till she overtook the red wind of March that was before\nher, and the red wind of March that was after did not overtake her; and\nshe was sailing nine months before she came to land.\n\nShe came near land and cast anchor, and she saw two men coming, and they\ncarrying a dead man with them. In the morning the three were going, and\nin the evening two were coming, carrying the dead man again, and it was\nlike that for three days. One of the men went out in a currach, and asked\nher who she was, or what she was seeking. \u201cIf it\u2019s a husband that\u2019s\nwanting to you, come and you will get one.\u201d\n\nShe told him to be off, or she would sink himself and his old\ncurrach.[5] He went and told his brothers how she spoke, and the second\nof them went and she said the like to him. Said the third man \u201cit is like\nthis I have ever found you.\u201d He went out himself and spoke to her, and\nsaid \u201cGod save you, young maiden! Is it harm for me to ask who you are,\nor how far you are going.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will tell you. But will you tell me? Every evening there are two\ncarrying a dead man, and three go away alive in the morning.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will tell you that, young queen, and welcome. When my father and\nmother were living my father was a king, and when he died, there came\nFawgawns and Blue-men on us, and banished us out of two islands; and we\nare on the top of the third island with them, and as many of them as we\nkill are alive to fight us again in the morning; and every day they kill\none of us, and we bring him to life again with the healing water.\u201d\n\n\u201cWith me is a champion, the best that ever struck blow with sword; and I\npromise you his help for a day if you bring him to life.\u201d\n\nThe man went in, and brought the healing water, and rubbed it to the\nwound; and Kaytuch arose alive again; and he rubbed his eyes with his\nhands and said \u201cGreat was the sleep that was on me\u201d; and she laughed and\ntold him everything from the time the young king cut his head off. \u201cI\ntook you on board ship, and we were sailing for nine months before we\ncame here; and I promised your help for a day to this man if he would\nbring you to life; but you will not go for a month until you grow strong.\u201d\n\nSo he and she spent the night together\u2014a third in talking, a third in\nstory-telling, and a third in soft rest and deep slumber, till the\nwhiteness of the day came upon the morrow.\n\nThen he arose and washed his hands and face and ate his breakfast, and\nwent out on the island and came to the house, and asked where they gave\nbattle. Said they to him: \u201cIf you were a good champion you would have\nsearched the place, and you would know in what place they give battle.\u201d\n\nThat made him angry, and he went away and followed the little path that\nled from the house. He did not go far when he saw the blackness of the\nhill with people coming towards him. He ran through them as runs a hawk\nthrough flocks of wild birds, or a hound through flocks of sheep, till\nhe made a heap of their heads, a heap of their feet, and a heap of their\narms and clothes. They would be a prize for him if he thought them any\ngood.\n\nHe stretched himself among the dead to see who else was coming. He was\nnot long stretched before he saw an old man and an old woman coming, and\na pot and a feather with them; and they threw a dash on the men on this\nside and that, and they (were) rising alive like midges. He told them\nto make no more alive till he killed those they had brought to life. He\nkilled every one of them, and the old man and the old woman; and the old\nwoman put him under bond to tell the hag of the church that he had killed\nthe Hag of Slaughter and Slaughter himself. He went with himself along\nthe road till he met with a tall, toothless, rusty hag. He asked her if\nshe was the hag of the church; she said it was she. \u201cI give you notice\nthat I have killed the Hag of Slaughter and Slaughter himself.\u201d She gave\nhim a hundred welcomes, and she told him she had been three years in hell\nto learn druidism and devilscraft; for it was foretold her that he would\ncome against them that way.\n\n\u201cGo home, and I forgive you.\u201d He said he would not go. Said she to him,\n\u201cUse your sword.\u201d He drew a blow of the sword at her and struck her, and\nthere was a dint in the sword that spoiled it for striking, and he put it\nup in the sheath.\n\n\u201cI forgive you now, and go home.\u201d He said he would not go. \u201cThrow me into\na hole of water.\u201d He threw her; and she was three quarters of an hour in\nthe hole, and he on top of her to keep her down. She got up as fresh as\nshe was before he threw her down.\n\n\u201cI forgive you, Kaytuch.\u201d\n\n\u201cI forgive not you.\u201d\n\n\u201cThrow me down into a pot of brimstone.\u201d\n\nHe threw her; and she was three quarters of an hour in it. She arose as\nfresh as she was at first. \u201cI forgive you now.\u201d\n\n\u201cI forgive not you. Defend yourself now.\u201d\n\nHe drew his sword on her and struck her, but there was no good in the\nsword. She put her hands over and took hold of his skin, and put her\nnails into his blood, and took the full of her fist of his flesh with\nher. He was about to give up, when the bird spoke to him, to pull her\nhead from its roots. He leaped high, and stood on her shoulders, and took\nhold of her head, and pulled it from its roots. She put druidism on him\nthen. \u201cTell the Lamb of Luck that you have killed the Hag of Slaughter\nand Slaughter himself and the Hag of the Church.\u201d\n\nHe went along the path, and he came to a great field, and in the field\nwas nothing but a tree, and a big rock of stone, and the lamb. \u201cAre you\nthe Lamb of Luck?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am.\u201d\n\n\u201cI give you notice I have killed the Hag of Slaughter and Slaughter\nhimself and the Hag of the Church.\u201d\n\nThe lamb came running to him; and there came near him nothing but the\nwind, and he fell on the ground; and when he got up he went to the tree,\nand he and the lamb were running round the tree. He ran from the tree,\nand leaped round the rock. It was nine perches high and the same in\nbreadth. The lamb leaped through the rock, and put his head into it;\nand when his head was fastened in the rock, Kaytuch came and cut the\nhead off with his sword. The lamb put him under spells: \u201cTell the cat of\nHoorebrik\u00eb[6] that you have killed the Hag of Slaughter and Slaughter\nhimself and the Lamb of Luck.\u201d He met the cat of Hoorebrik\u00eb at the edge\nof a glen, and he asked, \u201cAre you the cat of Hoorebrik\u00eb?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am.\u201d\n\nHe struck a blow of his sword at the cat and split it, and when the sword\nwent through the cat fastened together again. He drew a second blow at\nthe cat, and split it from the snout to the tip of the tail, and the cat\nfastened again. When he was drawing the third blow, the cat leaped and\nput the tip of her tail into his side, and there was a barb of poison at\nthe tip of the tail, and it took the heart of Kaytuch out; and Kaytuch\ntook hold of the cat, and thrust his fist into her mouth, and took her\nheart and entrails out in his hand, and the cat and Kaytuch fell dead.\n\nAnd one of the three men said, \u201cLet us rise out, and let us help that\nman.\u201d Said another of them, \u201cOh! it was for a day; let it be for a day,\nand him do the work of the day himself; that they would go to help him on\nthe next day.\u201d They rose out and went with themselves after him, and as\nthey were going they found the slaughter made, till they came and found\nhimself and the cat killed. They took hold of the heart and insides that\nwere in his fist, and put them into his belly again. They rubbed the\nhealing water on him, and he was as well as he was ever before.\n\nThey went with themselves, and there came a gust of wind and stirred a\nwisp, and the cat ran and struck her foot on the wisp. They said it was\nthe cat\u2019s heart they put into him in place of his own; and one of them\nwent forward, and drew his sword, and cut his head off again. They took\nthe cat\u2019s heart out, and put his own heart in again, and rubbed the\nhealing water on him, and he was as well as he was at first.\n\nWhen they came home they had a pleasant night\u2014three-thirds of the night:\none-third in talking, one-third in story-telling, and a third in soft\nrest and deep slumber. Then came the three brothers in their arms to\nKaytuch, and (asked) him to be king in their father\u2019s place, and they\nthemselves would be his messengers. He said he would not ask their\nproperty from them, but it should remain with themselves. They asked him\nto divide the property between them. He gave the first island to the\neldest, the second island to the second, and the island they were on to\nthe youngest son. When Kaytuch parted from them, they gave him everything\nthey had as a present. And Kaytuch and his wife, having taken farewell,\nwent from the island for Erin.\n\nWhen they came to Erin, the place where they made haven and harbour was\nbeneath the house of Finn McCool. Finn sent one of his men and told him\nhe would give him five pounds and a suit of clothes if he brought him\nword who the man was. Conan went and asked him, \u201cWho are you? My master\nsent me to see, and said he would give me five pounds and a suit of\nclothes for bringing him word who you are.\u201d\n\nKaytuch laid hold on him and bound him, and threw him under the molten\ntorrent, in a place where every drop would go from the fat to the marrow,\nand from the marrow to the inmost marrow, and left him there. When\nFinn saw what he did, he sent Keeltje to him; and Keeltje saluted him,\nand spoke to him politely, and asked him to tell him, if it were his\nhonour\u2019s pleasure, who he was, that he might tell Finn.\n\n\u201cTell Finn I will be with him for dinner.\u201d Then he released Conan, and\ntold him never to bring a message again to a gentleman.\n\nThen he went part of the way with his wife, till he put her near her\nfathers house, and he returned to Finn. Then they ate their dinner, and\nthey went out hunting. Kaytuch said he was a stranger, and that he would\ntake a glen to himself. And he took a glen to himself; and as he was\nkilling, he threw the game on the road, until he said it was time for\nhim to go home. He tied the birds together, and made a bundle of them,\nuntil Finn and his hosts came, and he told them to take up the burden,\nbut they were not able to raise the burden. He put the tip of his boot\nunder it, and threw it over his shoulder, and ran home; and Keeltje ran\nafter him, and Kaytuch had his dinner eaten when Keeltje came, and they\nwere together till morning. The second day they went hunting, and Kaytuch\nwent this day to the glen they had the day before, and they had had but\ntwo birds of that glen, but he had the same burden. And the third day the\nlike happened; and on the fourth day there came a great mist on them, and\nthey knew not where they were going, and they went into a great castle,\nand there was food on the table, and they sat down and were eating; and\nthere came the shadow of a woman and took away the broken food, and laid\nmore food on the table until they had eaten enough. Then there was a bed\nfor every two, and a bed for Kaytuch and a bed for Finn. Then the young\ngirl herself showed another bed, and told the kings to go down to the\nyoung girl; but Kaytuch said he had a wife already, but that Finn had no\nwife, and for him to go down. Finn went to her, and spoke to her; and\nshe said that if he would give her the amber bracelet belonging to the\ndaughter of the Blauheen Bloy\u00eb, in the eastern world, he could come into\nthe bed to her. So he went into the bed, and was with her till morning.\n\nOn the morning of the morrow Kaytuch and Finn went to dinner to the\nhouse of King Mananaun, and there was great welcome for them, and mighty\nrejoicing that Kaytuch was come back alive to them. They prepared a great\ndinner for them, and when it was ready they sat down to eat, and Finn\ntook his knife and fork and laid them on the food, and said he would not\neat a bit until Pampogue granted him a request.\n\n\u201cI will grant you any request, except to let my husband go to fight with\nthe Blauheen Bloy\u00eb.\u201d\n\n\u201cUnless you grant me that, I will not eat any food.\u201d\n\n\u201cSooner than you should be without eating, I will grant you even that.\u201d\n\nAnd when Kaytuch saw he was to go, he rose and threw his knife and fork\nfrom his hands, and he went with himself, and Finn followed him. And\nPampogue followed Finn, and asked of him one favour, to bring her husband\nback to her, dead or alive; and if he were alive, to hoist the grey-green\nsails, and, if dead, the red.\n\nKaytuch and Finn and the Feni went to go the land of the eastern world,\nto the place where was the Blauheen Bloy\u00eb. And when they came to harbour\nthey secured the ship, and Kaytuch went to the door of the Blauheen\nBloy\u00eb, and knocked at the Cora Conra (? the knocker), and he was asked\nwhat he wanted. And he said, a house. And they said there was a house\nbelow, and in it were owas, and he was to go and take it. He went into\nthat house, and the big owas began to laugh and the little owas began to\ncry; and he asked them the cause; and the big owas said they would have a\nbit off him, and the little owas said there would not be one bit for them\nto get. And every one of them got up and put a bolt on the door, and he\nput bolt and latch on the door; and he caught hold of one of the owas by\nthe foot, and struck another with him, and he was killing till he killed\nthe last man of them. And he rose out to see if Finn and his men were\ncoming, and they were drawing near, twelve of the Feni, and the twelve\ncould not throw out one man of the dead men. He took hold of them and\nthrew them out.\n\nThen he went to the criers of the kitchen, and knocked at the door, and\nwas asked what he sought. He said he was seeking food. They told him to\ngo into the field and kill an ox. He went and he saw a bull, and the\nbull ran at him, and he ran away, and came into the house, and the bull\nfollowed him in, and he ran and closed the two doors, and he had the bull\ninside. He killed him and skinned him, and went out to see if his people\nwere coming, and they came into the house, but they were not able to\ncarry a quarter of the bull. He put the four quarters into the skin and\ncarried them home.\n\nHe went again to the criers of the kitchen, and he was asked, \u201cWhat are\nyou seeking now?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am seeking turf to make a fire.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is a stack outside, and take what you want.\u201d\n\nThere was devilment in everything. He ran and took hold of the turf\nstack, and put his hands down and pulled out some of the turf, and ran\nas well as he could, and the turf was running after him to the door to\nsmother him. Then he knocked for the keepers of the kitchen, and asked\nthem for the making of a bed, and they told him to take what he wanted\nfrom the haggard; and he went and put his back to the haggard, and\npulled out some of the straw, and the straw ran after him to the door to\nsmother him, but he ran from the haggard. He went again to the criers of\nthe kitchen, and they asked him what he was looking for. He said he was\nlooking for water.\n\n\u201cThere is a well outside, and take what you want of it.\u201d\n\nHe went to the well and put his hands into the water, and took up some of\nit with him, and the water was running after him in the hope of drowning\nhim, but he ran from it. Then again he knocked for the criers of the\nkitchen, and they asked him, \u201cWhat are you looking for now?\u201d\n\n\u201cFire,\u201d said he, \u201cand a pot.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo to the house of the owas, Oramach;[7] there is fire and a pot there,\nand take them with you.\u201d\n\nHe went into the house of the owas, Oramach, and the owas gave a laugh,\nand said the boiler was not cooking the meat for want of fire, and he\nwould boil it with his head. And the two caught hold of each other in\nthe keen, close clutches of wrestling. If you were to go seeking for fun\nfrom the west of the world to the freshness of the world, it is to that\npair you would betake yourself. They made hard of the soft, and soft of\nthe hard, till Kaytuch gave him a squeeze down, and put him on his knees;\nand he put his head down on the fire, and kept it there till the flesh\nwas cooked. He took the pot with him, and the flesh, and he himself and\nFinn had enough to eat; and he told the other people who were with him\nto prepare for themselves and eat. And he asked them to give him leave\nto sleep, and for them to keep watch. Then he slept. And what woke him\nbut their snoring in their sleep? He rose out, and saw hundreds of people\ncoming, and with them tarred wood and straw to set fire to the house. And\nKaytuch killed them all, and went into the house and woke the others, and\nbade them keep better watch. He went to sleep, and slept not long till\nhe woke again, and they asleep; and he rose out and saw (people) coming\nthe second time as they came first; then he ran forward and killed them\nagain, and he did that four times during the night. In the morning, when\nthe day rose, he went to the criers of the kitchen, and knocked at the\ndoor, and they asked him what he was wanting. He said to them, \u201cThree\nhundred men in front of me, three hundred behind me, three hundred on\neach side of me, and three hundred on each edge of my sword\u2019s edges.\u201d\nAnd he had that on the spot. He ran through them as runs a hawk through\nflocks of birds, or a dog through flocks of sheep, till he made a heap\nof their heads, a heap of their feet, a heap of their arms and clothes.\nIf they were a good prize they were no profit. And again he knocked for\nthe criers of the kitchen, and he asked for six hundred men in front, six\nhundred behind, six hundred on each side, and six hundred on each edge\nof his sword\u2019s edges. And he had them on the spot, and he did to them as\nto the first. And then he asked for nine hundred, and treated them in\nthe same way. And he knocked again, and Brailsk\u00eb More said he would go\nhimself to battle, and it was three hours before he killed the Brailsk\u00eb.\nThe Blauheen Bloy\u00eb arose, and said it was a pity he did not go himself to\nbattle at first, before his men were all killed. And Kaytuch and he went\nto fight on the ground, and the battle began between them till Kaytuch\nkilled him.\n\nAnd he went into the house to the daughter, and she asked him where was\nhe going, the man who killed her father and his hosts?\n\n\u201cAm I not a better man for you than all of them?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf I had known that it was to me you were drawing, I myself would have\nhelped you.\u201d\n\nThe two went into bed, and he took from her the amber bracelet, and was\ngoing. She asked him would he not stay with her, and he said he would\nnot; and he went to Finn, and they prepared to go home.\n\nWhen they went on board ship, he told Finn he was to be killed that day.\nHe said he was two-and-twenty-years old that day. \u201cThe man that killed me\nat first is to kill me again to-day. He will come as a bird in the air,\nand will put the same form on himself as mine, and I will ask him to come\nup on board the vessel, and there will be a great battle between myself\nand Londu.\u201d\n\nLondu came on board the vessel. His apprenticeship was over that day, and\nhe was cousin to the woman whom Kaytuch had treated so, and taken the\namber bracelet from her. The two went to battle on board the ship. They\nbegan young like two little boys (and fought) until they were two old\nmen. They fought from being two young pups until they were two old dogs;\nfrom being two young bulls until they were two old bulls; from being\ntwo young stallions till they were two old stallions. Then they began a\nbattle in the shape of birds; and they were fighting as two hawks, and\none of them killed the other. The one that was below struck the one that\nwas above, and as the first one fell dead, he killed the other in falling\non him; and it was Londu, son of the king of Gur, that fell first. And\nhe was thrown out into the sea, and the other was brought home to the\nwife of Kaytuch, son of the king, Keelach. When they came to harbour they\nraised the grey-green[8] sails, and when they landed Kaytuch\u2019s wife was\nthere before them; and they gave her the bird, and she said that was what\nshe was to get in place of her husband. She wept bitterly, and she with\nthe bird, and Finn and the Feni went home and gave her no heed. Then she\nsaw two birds fighting in the air, and one of them killed the other. And\nbirds came and put leaves of a tree on the bird that was killed; and it\nwas a half-hour of the clock, and (the bird) arose alive again. And she\nput the leaves on her own bird, and then there was half an hour of the\nclock, and the bird arose alive to her again. And he asked her if she\nhad got the amber bracelet from Finn; and she said she did not get it.\nThen she and he went to her father\u2019s house, and there was an invitation\nproclaimed for nine nights and nine days for eating and drinking in the\nhouse of King Mananaun, with exceeding joy that Kaytuch was come to them\nsafe out of every battle. And the priest came and the pair were married.\nAnd Finn went to the woman who put the obligation on him to bring her\nthe amber bracelet; and he asked her and said to her, \u201cIf I promised to\nbring it _to_ you, I did not promise to bring it _for_ you, and I will\nnot give it to you.\u201d So he gave it to the wife of Kaytuch when he heard\nhe was alive again.\n\nAnd when everything was finished I had nothing after them but shoes of\npaper and stockings of buttermilk; and I threw them to themselves, till\nI came home to you to the village of Kill-da-veac and Kill-da-woor, to\nthe little turf bog, to the village where I was born, to the village at\nthe beginning of week, till I fired the shot of a gun frilsjke, fr\u00e6lsjke,\nkipini, qropaanax; till I killed Londu, and the qaan\u0103x, till I got the\nload of thirty horses of marrow I took out of the body of the king of the\nwrens.[9]\n\n[5] Aar\u0103r\u0103x: an old-fashioned currach, without pointed bow\u2014a square box\nsaid to have been used in Achill within the memory of men now living.\n\n[6] Explained by the narrator to mean a speckled black and white cat.\n\n[7] Possibly identical with the Amhas (pron. _owas_), Ormanach of\nCampbell\u2019s \u201cConnal Gulban.\u201d\n\n[8] This is not in accordance with the directions given. The red sails\nought to have been up.\n\n[9] These nonsense endings frequently contain untranslatable words. I\ngive these in the phonetic spelling: but I should add that qaan\u0103x means,\nprobably, a kind of wild goose. Londu means \u201cblackbird\u201d; kipini, sticks,\nor dibbles used for planting.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n_THE CHAMPION OF THE RED BELT._\n\n_Narrator, P. MINAHAN, Malinmore, Glencolumkille, co. Donegal._\n\n\nThere was a king and a queen, and they had three sons. She died with the\nthird. The king married another queen. She had ill-feeling towards the\nchildren. The king had no rest till he would banish the children. She\ntook to her bed and would not live if he would not do something or other\nwith them. He went to an old man who was in the town. He told him in what\nway he was. The old man told him to get a barrel made and to put the\nchildren into it. \u201cPut a red belt on one and a black belt on the other.\u201d\n\nHe got the barrel made, and an air-hole in it, and a weight for ballast,\nto keep it from rolling. He put the children into the barrel then. He put\ntwo swords with them. He put them out on the sea. The barrel was going\nbefore the wind till it came under the court and castle of the King of\nGreece.\n\nThe king had a herdsman; the herdsman was herding cows. The king had one\ncow, and she was troublesome minding, licking the stones that were on the\nshore. There was seaweed growing on the stones. He ran down to the cow.\nHe came to the stone. He saw a white spot on the stone. He kept looking\nat the stone, and he saw that it was wood was in it. He tumbled it and\ncut the end out of it. He found two children and two swords. He put his\nhand down into the barrel. He took up the two children. He never saw two\nthat were so fair as they. He took the two children home. He said it was\nProvidence sent them to him.\n\nThey were with him. When he would hear anyone coming into his house,\nhe ordered the children out of the room. It was told the king that the\nherdsman had two children (found) in a barrel on the shore. The king was\nnot willing to believe it. He said he would go himself to the herdsman.\nHe went to him. He asked him if he found two children. The herdsman said\nhe did not find. \u201cIf you have found them,\u201d said the king, \u201cdo not conceal\nthem from me.\u201d\n\nHe said he had found. He told the children to come down out of the room.\nThey came down to the king. The king took hold of the children with\nhis hands. He viewed them. \u201cWell,\u201d said the king, \u201cwherever it is the\nchildren have come from, there is royal blood in them.\u201d The king had no\nchild but one little girl.\n\n\u201cGive me the children. I will give them better care than you. I will\nsupport yourself and your old woman as long as you are alive.\u201d\n\nHe could not refuse. The king took the children with him. He cared\nfor them till they grew to be young men. The king\u2019s daughter thought\nthey were her brothers. The king put learning on them. They were the\ntwo champions. They were fowling every day that was fine. At that time\nthere was a great hurling match to come off. The King of Lochlann sent a\nchallenge to the King of Greece for a hurling match, kingdom to be staked\nagainst kingdom. There was a pretty strand under the court and castle of\nthe King of Greece. When the day of the hurling match came, the King of\nGreece ordered the two champions to go hunting. They went hunting. They\nwere not long gone from the house when they met five young men, every one\nof them with a hurling stick. \u201cI don\u2019t know where they can be going,\u201d\nsaid the champion of the red belt.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d said the champion of the black belt. They saw five others\ncoming the same way. He said to one of them he wondered where they were\ngoing. \u201cI will tell you; and it is a great wonder that you are going\nfowling to-day.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy is that?\u201d said the champion. \u201cI believe you have heard all about it\nyourself.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have heard nothing.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe kingdom of your father is staked against the kingdom of the King of\nLochlann in a hurling match to-day. We are going to the hurling match on\nbehalf of your father.\u201d\n\nThey returned home. They said to the King of Greece they would not lose\nhis kingdom, but would play on his behalf. They threw off their hunting\nsuits. They put on light suits for running. They got two hurls. They went\nto the strand. There was a great crowd on the strand. The ball was going\nout. There were twenty-four men on each side. They said their father\u2019s\nkingdom should not be lost, that they would play on his behalf. Two were\nthen put out, and they were put then in their place. There were riders\nkeeping the strand clear. The ball was put in the middle of the strand\ndown in the sand. The forty-eight men came round the ball. The champion\nof the red belt got the ball. He struck it. When it fell again he was\nshaking it, and he struck it again. He sent it to the other end. He said\nto the King of Lochlann that his kingdom was lost. The King of Lochlann\nsaid his men had not got fair play in the hurling. \u201cI will give you fair\nplay,\u201d said the champion of the red belt; \u201cmyself and my brother to hurl\nagainst your four-and-twenty; and this is the bargain I\u2019ll make with\nyou:\u2014Whoever it is that sends the ball to the goal is to have a blow with\nhis hurl on the others: if your four-and-twenty men win the goal against\nus, they have four-and-twenty blows to strike on us. If we win the goal,\nwe have a blow on every one of them.\u201d\n\nThe ball was put in the sand. They gathered round it. The champion of\nthe red belt had the ball. He struck it. When it fell he was shaking it\nagain. Not one man on the strand got a blow at it till he put it to the\ngoal.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said he, \u201cdid you not get fair play?\u201d\n\n\u201cI got it; you are the best champion ever I saw.\u201d\n\n\u201cPut the men in a row that I may get my blows.\u201d\n\nHe put the men standing in a row. \u201cNow,\u201d said he to his brother, \u201cany man\nthat I don\u2019t knock down, knock him down you.\u201d\n\nHe struck the first blow. He killed. He struck the second blow then.\nHe killed. He was striking and killing. There was one man at the end\noutside. When he came killing, drawing towards him, he went out of the\nrow. He went up on the side of a hill.\n\n\u201cDeath and destruction and the death-bands on you, champion of the red\nbelt! It is you that are doing the slaughter on this strand to-day.\nDon\u2019t you know what country you came out of?\u2014that it is out of a\ntwo-ended barrel you came in to the court and castle of the King of\nGreece?\u201d\n\n\u201cSit down, and wait till I come to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not wait. I saw you killing many a one. Perhaps you will kill me.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy word to you, I will not touch you till you tell me about the barrel.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will take your word.\u201d\n\nHe went up then till he came to the place where he was sitting. \u201cWhat is\nit you say about the barrel?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is a two-ended barrel the old man found by the sea. He took you out\nof the barrel; he took you home. The king heard he had found two children\nin the barrel. He did not believe it. He went down to the old man to\nsee if he had found them. The old man said he had. He brought down the\nyoungsters. The king sat down. He took hold of them by the hand. He\nviewed them. He said they had royal blood.\u201d\n\n\u201c\u2018Give me the children. I will care for them better than you.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018It is hard for me to give them from me.\u2019\n\n\u201cHe could not refuse the king. The king said he would not let them have\na day of want. \u2018I will support you and your old woman as long as you are\nalive.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe King of Greece is not your father,\u201d said the man. \u201cHe had no family\nbut the one young girl in the house.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am grateful to you for all that you have told me about the way I came\nhere. If I live, I will do you a service.\u201d\n\nThey were troubled. They knew not whence they had come. They went home.\nThe King of Greece welcomed his two sons.\n\n\u201cPut not your sonship upon us. We are only the children of a poor man who\nhad no means to rear us. I will sleep no night but this night in your\nhouse till I find out how I came hither.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not so,\u201d said the king; \u201cstay in this place. I will give you the half\nof my kingdom.\u201d\n\n\u201cI would not stay if you gave me your kingdom all.\u201d\n\nWhen the king\u2019s daughter heard he was not her brother, she was ready to\ndie unless he married her. He said to her he would not marry her; that he\nwould wear his two legs down to his two knees till he found out how he\ncame. \u201cIf I find that out, I will come to you and marry you.\u201d\n\nThey were greatly troubled when they were departing. They went till\nthey came to the sea. He threw his hat out. He made a ship of the hat,\na mast of his stick, a flag of his shirt. He hoisted the sails speckled\nspotted, to the top of the straight mast. He turned the prow to sea,\nthe stern to shore, and he left not a rope without breaking, nor a cable\nwithout rending, till he was listening to the blowing of the seals and\nthe roaring of the great beasts, to the screams of the sea-gulls; till\nthe little red-mouthed fishes were rising on the sole and the palm of the\noars; till they steered the vessel in under court and castle of the King\nof the Underwaveland.\n\nThey put fastening on the ship. They went on the land. They were going\nwith themselves. There was no one at all coming towards them. They were\nall going one way, so that there was a great crowd where they were\nstopping. Said the brother, \u201cPerhaps you will find some one in the crowd\nto tell you how we came\u201d (_i.e._, our origin).\n\nThey went on with themselves. A man met them. They asked him what was the\ncause why the people on the island were all going one way.\n\n\u201cIt has happened you were not reared in the island when you do not know\nthe reason of the people\u2019s going. The King of Underwaveland has but one\ndaughter. She is going to be married to-morrow to the son of the King\nof the Eastern World. There is an invitation to the wedding to all the\nisland. There are open cellars. There is eating and drinking to all that\ncome.\u201d\n\nThey went on till they came to the king\u2019s house. There was a great crowd\nthere. They were strangers in it. No one gave them any heed. No one was\nthere without an invitation except themselves.\n\n\u201cStand at the door behind,\u201d said the champion of the red belt to his\nbrother; \u201cI will stand at this door.\u201d\n\nNo one went in or out that they did not strike. They were killing them.\nThe king got word there were two blackguards at the door who were killing\nnumbers of people. The king rose out. He said he thought there was not\na blackguard at all in the crowd; that there was eating and drinking\nfor every one to get. The champion of the red belt said they were not\nblackguards at all; they were two strangers on the island; they would\ndemean themselves by coming uninvited. The king bowed to them and gave\nthem an invitation. He would invite (he said) any company in which they\nwere.\n\nHe drew them into the parlour. The bride was there getting ready for the\nmarriage. She and her mother began to converse. The bride said that if\nshe knew he had no wife, she would not marry a man but him. The mother\ntold the king what the bride said. The king told the champion of the red\nbelt what the bride said. The champion of the red belt said, \u201cI have a\nwife. My brother is single; and if it is her will to marry him, I am\nsatisfied.\u201d\n\nShe sent a letter to the son of the King of the Eastern World that she\nhad a husband she preferred to him. He sent a letter to her that he\nwould not give up his wife to any man, without his fighting for her.\nThe champion of the black belt sent a letter to him that he would fight\nat midday on the morrow, in such and such a place. When the morrow came\nthe champion of the black belt washed himself for the fight. He told the\nchampion of the red belt to take care of the woman till he came back. He\nwent then. He was going up the road. He met an old red man sitting by\nthe road side. He had a great harp, and he was playing on it. He asked\nthe champion of the black belt to sit down while he played him a tune.\nHe said he had no time, that he was going to battle; but the old man\ntold him to stand a little while till he played him one tune. He stood\na while; the first strain the old man played, he fell asleep. He was\nsleeping there then till the son of the King of the Eastern World came.\nHe jumped down from his carriage, and cut his head off. He went riding\nback. The champion of the red belt knew nothing till he came to the hall\ndoor.\n\n\u201cMy brother is killed,\u201d said he; \u201cshort it is till I kill you.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t do that,\u201d said the bride; \u201cleave it to me to do.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you don\u2019t do it I will destroy the island.\u201d\n\nThe son of the King of the Eastern World came up to the hall door. She\nrose out. She caught him by the hand. He said he was fatigued after the\nbattle. They went into the house. She opened a cupboard; she gave him\na cup of drink. He drank her health. When he raised the cup of drink\nhe bent his head backwards. She drew a sword from under her apron. She\nlopped the head from him.\n\n\u201cIf you had not been so quick doing it, I would have done the same to you\nas to him,\u201d said the champion of the red belt.\n\nHe went then to the place where his brother was killed. When he came to\nit he was troubled. There came a lump of mist out of the head. Some one\nspoke to him out of the mist:\n\n\u201cGo to the Eastern World; the children of Kanikinn have a bottle of the\nwater of healing that brings the dead to life.\u201d\n\nIt put great joy on him. He went then towards the Eastern World. He could\nget no information of it. He then went on three days. He could get no\ninformation of it. Then he went on for three days more. Every one had\ninformation to give him then. An old man was putting bad spirits on him.\n\n\u201cThere is a yard around the court ten feet high. It is written on the\ngate: \u201cIf you go in you will never come out alive.\u201d\n\nHe went up to the gate. He cleared it at a leap. There were three sons\nof Kanikinn in an alley playing ball. They spied the champion coming in\nthe gate. Said one of the young men,\n\n\u201cYou have come in very nimbly; not so nimbly will you go out.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe will go,\u201d said the eldest; \u201cany champion who could make that leap is\na gentleman. Don\u2019t speak an angry word till I permit.\u201d\n\nThe champion of the red belt then came forward and saluted them as\npolitely as he could. He told them how things were with him; that he had\ncome there to seek the bottle of the water of healing that made the dead\nalive.\n\n\u201cWell!\u201d said the other, \u201cthere is ill luck on you. The king knight of the\nblack castle took that bottle from me seven years ago. There is not a day\nhe does not kill three hundred men, and it is better for you to tarry\nhere with me; I will give you a third of my possessions, for I fear he\nwill kill you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am thankful to you for your kindness: since I have come so far I will\ngo to meet him whether I live or die.\u201d\n\nHe asked was there any short way at all to the castle. He showed him a\nshort way. He said farewell. He went on till he came to the gate, till he\ncleared the gate out with a leap. He was going with himself then for a\nwhile till he saw the black castle. He went into the yard. He could see\nno one. He feared to go in. Night was coming, and he went in, whether he\nwas to live or die. There was no one within, but the house was full of\nfeathers. He said it was like a slaughter-house. He heard a loud sound\ncoming into the house. He was startled. There was a barrel at the side\nof the house. He went behind it. Then the light burst from the door, and\nthe king knight of the black castle came. He hung his sword on a peg. The\nblood was dripping from the tip of it. He had on a coat of steel. He went\nto put off the coat. The champion of the red belt rose from behind the\nbarrel. \u201cIf that is your fighting suit, do not put it off you till you\nfight with me.\u201d\n\nSaid the king knight of the black castle, \u201cIt is a man without life\nyou are. I am only after drawing my sword out of the last man of three\nhundred, but I will not fight you till morning. If it is lodging for the\nnight you want, you will get it.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is what I want.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t be afraid. I will not touch you till morning.\u201d\n\nThe king knight of the black castle set to till he lighted the fire with\nsticks and faggots. He told the other to sit near the fire. The champion\nof the red belt was watching the door. He asked him was there any one\nthere except himself. The king knight of the black castle said there\nwas not; \u201cand great joy is there on me to have you here to-night. I have\ntalked with no one for seven years.\u201d\n\nThe champion of the red belt said he had heard that there was with him\na bottle of the water of healing, that made the dead alive; that his\nbrother was killed. Would he give him the loan of the bottle?\n\n\u201cI have not got the bottle. That is the bottle that makes people alive.\nMy stepmother took it from me seven years ago. There is not a day I don\u2019t\nkill three hundred men, and my stepmother brings them to life again. A\nhag of sorceries she turned out, to put pains on me, that they will never\nbe killed for me, while I live; and but that providence puts strength in\nmy heart, I would not get the better of them.\u201d\n\nWhen they took their supper the champion of the red belt asked him, \u201cHave\nyou any one at all but yourself?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the king knight of the black castle. Then he asked if he had\nbeen brought up on the island. He said, \u201cNot he; that it was a son of the\nKing of Erin was in it; that his mother died when he was born; that the\nking married another queen.\u201d\n\n\u201cWere there any other (children) but yourself?\u201d said the champion of the\nred belt.\n\n\u201cThere were two other brothers.\u201d\n\n\u201cAre they alive?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! I think not. They were put in a two-ended barrel.\u201d\n\n\u201cDid you hear that your father put any mark on them?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe said he put a red belt on one, a black belt on the other.\u201d\n\n\u201cTrue it is; people meet and the hills meet not. I am your brother; but\nthe champion of the black belt is dead.\u201d\n\nHe stripped and showed him the belt. The two fell into an embrace. Then\nthey went to rest. When the day came on the morrow the king knight of\nthe black castle rose. He told his brother not to rise, as he was tired,\nbefore breakfast was ready. Then he got up and washed himself. They took\ntheir breakfast. The king knight of the black castle said it was a pity\nhe could not stop during the day to keep him company.\n\n\u201cStay here, you, till I go and do my sufficiency of killing as quickly as\nI can.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat would you think if I went in your place to-day?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt would be no use for you to go with only the strength providence has\ngiven you. You would not get the better of them.\u201d\n\nSaid the champion of the red belt, \u201cWe are two brothers. It is a poor\nthing for me if I can\u2019t kill for one day what you are killing for seven\nyears.\u201d\n\nThe champion of the red belt took his sword. The other was not satisfied\nat all to let him go. He would not stay on his advice.\n\n\u201cPut on my suit of steel; I could not do much without that.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not put it on. Unless I fight in the suit that\u2019s on me, I am\nbeaten.\u201d\n\nHe went till he came to the three hundred men. He asked them if they were\nready. They said they were. When they saw the little man coming they were\nlaughing and mocking him. He went straight in through them. He made heaps\nof their heads and their feet, a prize of their arms and their clothes.\nWhen he killed the three hundred, he stood up. He said what was the good\nof killing them, and they to be alive again in the morning? Then he lay\ndown among the dead men to see what it was brought them to life. There\ncame a hag, with one leg out of her haunch, one eye in her forehead, a\nbottle of the water of healing on a button that was on her breast. There\nwas a feather in the bottle. She rubbed the feather on the first man she\ncame to. She made nine of them alive. The champion of the red belt arose\nand killed the nine. Then he and the one-legged hag struck together. They\nwere fighting a long time. He got angry that he was wasting the day. He\nlopped the head off her. He took the bottle that was hanging on her\nbreast. He hung it on the button that was on his coat. Then said the hag,\nwhen she was falling,\u2014\n\n\u201cI lay on thee the spells of the art of the druid, to be feeble in\nstrength as a woman in travail, in the place of the camp or the battle,\nif you go not to meet three hundred cats. Tell them you have slain three\nhundred men and the one-legged hag.\u201d\n\nHe went forward then till he came to the three hundred cats. He cried out\nto them that he had killed three hundred men and the one-legged hag.\n\nSaid they: \u201cIt is dearly you will pay for that.\u201d\n\nHe and the cats went to battle. The cats leaped above him. He made a rush\nat them. He was killing them as fast as he could, till he killed them all\nbut the great old speckled cat. Said she when she was falling,\u2014\n\n\u201cI lay on thee the spells of the art of the druid, to be feeble in\nstrength as a woman in travail, in the place of the camp and the battle,\nif you go not to fight the Wether of Fuerish Fwee-er\u00eb. Tell him you have\nslain three hundred men, three hundred cats, and the one-legged hag.\u201d\n\nHe went forward in the camp. He and the Wether of Fuerish Fwee-er\u00eb went\nto battle. He came behind him to come on him with a run to kill him. He\nmissed him the first time. He went behind him again. He came at him with\na run. When the champion of the red belt saw the Wether approaching him,\nhe made ready not to miss him. The Wether came forward. The champion\nof the red belt put the sword through his heart. Said he, when he was\nfalling,\u2014\n\n\u201cI lay on thee the spells of the art of the druid, to be feeble in\nstrength as a woman in travail, in the camp and the battle, till thou\ngoest to meet the king cat of the Western Island. Tell him you have slain\nthree hundred men, and three hundred cats, and the one-legged hag, and\nthe Wether of Fuerish Fwee-er\u00eb.\u201d\n\nHe went forward in the camp. He met the king cat of the Western Island.\n\n\u201cDeath on you! Short is your own life now. Little I thought I was not\ndone with you the day that I put you in the barrel.\u201d\n\n\u201cHideous hag! I am stronger to-day than I was that day.\u201d\n\nHe and the hag struck together, till he made hard of the soft, and soft\nof the hard, and (made) the fresh-water wells in the middle of the grey\nstones. From the hollows of the world to the heights of the world they\ncame to look on at the fight was between them.\n\nShe had a long tail. There was a poison spot on the tail. There was a\ngreat claw at the tip of the tail. She rose on high. She came down on his\nhead. He met her with the sword. She curved her tail and put the claw in\nhis hand. He was bleeding. The day was hot and he was bleeding greatly.\nDown she came with a slap. She put the poison spot through his heart. She\ngot the claw fixed in his heart. She drew out his heart on his side. When\nthe man was falling, the cat opened her mouth as wide as she could with\nthe rage that was on her; and when he saw her mouth open, and he falling,\nhe thrust his hand into her mouth and pulled out her heart. The two fell\ndead. They were lying dead then.\n\nThe king knight of the black castle was troubled that he let his brother\ngo to fight in his place. He went on his track to see how he was doing.\nHe went forward in the camp. He found the three hundred men killed. He\nwent forward farther in the camp. He found the one-legged hag killed.\nHe went still forward in the camp. He found the three hundred cats\nkilled. He went still forward in the camp. He found the Wether of Fuerish\nFwee-er\u00eb killed. He went on and found his brother and his stepmother\nkilled. Then he did not know what to do. He was afraid lest he might put\nthe cat\u2019s heart into the man; for the evil temper of the cat might drive\nthe man mad and kill him. The lump of mist came. It spoke to him: \u201cIs it\nnot easy for you to distinguish between the big heart of the man and the\nlittle heart of the cat?\u201d\n\nHe took up the big heart. He washed it and fixed it in his brother.\nHe found the bottle of the water of healing that was hanging on his\nbrother. He dipped a feather in the bottle and rubbed it to his brother\u2019s\nmouth. His brother arose alive.\n\n\u201cI seem as if I was asleep.\u201d\n\n\u201cDid you not wonder then? It was providence saved me when I did not come\nto battle with you on the night when you rose up from behind the barrel,\nor you would have killed me as you have done (to the others) to-day.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat good is it for you to be big when you are not a good soldier?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is long since I have had time any day to kill birds. Many\u2019s the time\nI was hungry when I killed the three hundred men. I had no time to kill\nbirds for my breakfast in the morning. To-day I have time to kill plenty.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou will not kill a beast to-day,\u201d said the champion of the red belt.\n\nHe then went killing. He killed. The big man went among the gathering of\nthe birds. He was killing till night. He said he had enough killed.\n\nThen they went home. They got ready their supper. They took their supper.\nThey went to rest them. The king knight of the black castle was not going\nto rise very early. He had nothing to kill.\n\nThey were going to take a walk in the wood. \u201cIs there a woman at all who\nis good for much on the island?\u201d said the champion of the red belt.\n\n\u201cThere is a king\u2019s daughter on the island, and I think I would get her in\nmarriage.\u201d\n\nHe and his brother went to the king\u2019s house. He got the king\u2019s daughter\nin marriage. Came the priest of the pattens and the clerk of the bell.\nThe pair were married. The wedding lasted nine nights and nine days. He\ntook her home then. They stayed at home a couple of days until he rested.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the champion of the red belt, \u201cyou have a wife; it is time\nfor me to go to my brother to make him alive.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will be with you,\u201d said the king knight of the black castle.\n\nThey came to his brother. He made his brother alive as well as ever he\nwas. They went to the house of the King of Underwaveland. There was great\njoy on the bride to see her husband. Came the priest of the pattens and\nthe clerk of the bell. The pair were married.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the champion of the red belt, \u201cyou have both your wives. It\nis right for you to go with me till I get my wife.\u201d\n\nThey went on then to the island of the King of Greece. When the daughter\nof the King of Greece saw the champion of the red belt there was great\njoy on her. They told the King of Greece what their birth was. Came the\npriest of the pattens and the clerk of the bell. The pair were married.\nThe wedding lasted nine nights and nine days.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n_JACK._\n\n_Narrator, P. MINAHAN, of Malinmore, Glencolumkille, co. Donegal._\n\n\nThere was a master, and he went to look for a servant boy. He fell in\nwith Jack. He hired him. He took him home. On the morning of the morrow\nthe master was leaving home. Jack asked him what he should do that day.\n\n\u201cGo threshing in the barn,\u201d said the master.\n\n\u201cShall I thresh anything but what is there?\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not,\u201d said the master. \u201cIf you thresh all that\u2019s there, thresh no\nmore.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019ll I go to do then?\u201d said Jack.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t do a turn till night.\u201d\n\nThe master went away then, and Jack went to the barn and began threshing.\nThe chaff began flying about, and he slashed through the barn, and there\nwas not a grain of it left in an hour by the watch. Jack cleared the\nbarn. He shook the straw. He cleaned up the barn. He went into the house\nand sat down by the fire. The mistress bade him bring in a basket of\nturf. He said he would not. \u201cYou won\u2019t be there,\u201d said the mistress,\n\u201cunless you do some work.\u201d\n\n\u201cI won\u2019t do one turn till night.\u201d\n\n\u201cMusha, you won\u2019t be there,\u201d said the mistress.\n\nThe two quarrelled. She put him out of the house. He went out and stayed\nabout the place till night.\n\nWhen Jack went out a neighbour came in. The mistress got dinner for\nhim. When he was going, she went with him part of the way. They came to\nan old lime-kiln. They went into it. He kissed the mistress. Jack was\nwatching them always. \u201cIf I knew,\u201d said she, \u201cwhere you would be working\nto-morrow, I would bring you your dinner.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll be at work ploughing at the east end of the village. I\u2019ll have a\nwhite horse and a black horse.\u201d\n\nWhen night came, Jack went into the byre. The master came home. He asked\nwhere the boy was.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know where he is,\u201d said the mistress. \u201cHe came in here and\nsat down by the fire. I bade him bring in a cleeve of turf. He said he\nwouldn\u2019t. I said he shouldn\u2019t be there if he didn\u2019t work. He said he\nwouldn\u2019t do a turn till night. We had a quarrel. I haven\u2019t set eyes on\nhim since then.\u201d\n\nThey went to bed. They heard a noise in the byre. \u201cThe cattle have broken\nloose,\u201d said the mistress. \u201cThey are goring one another.\u201d The master\ncalled to the servant-girl to go out and look into the byre; that the\ncattle were broken loose. The girl got up and went out. She was a while\noutside. She couldn\u2019t catch the cattle. The master got up himself and\nwent out. The girl was in the byre before him. He kissed the girl. They\ncame in. The master said two of the cattle were broken loose. Jack was in\nthe byre all the time watching them, and when they went to bed he came\ninto the house and went to bed. He got up on the morrow morning. \u201cI never\nsaw the work I\u2019d rather do than ploughing,\u201d said he. \u201cIt\u2019s time to turn\nthe soil up. Let us go ploughing to-day.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t care,\u201d said the master. They got the breakfast ready. They took\nthe beasts with them to go ploughing. The two beasts were black. \u201cI\nnever saw anything I disliked more than a black beast.\u201d Jack went in and\nbrought out a white sheet. He put it on one of the beasts. He then had\na black beast and a white beast. They went ploughing the land that was\nnearest to them. When the middle of the day came, Jack raised his head,\nand he ploughing. He looked before him. He saw the woman coming near\nthem, with a bundle in her hand. \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d said he, \u201cwho that woman\nover there is.\u201d The master looked.\n\n\u201cIt is my wife,\u201d said he, \u201ccoming with our dinner.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat a right sort of woman!\u201d said Jack.\n\nWhen the mistress came to them she was ashamed to go past. They sat down\nand went to take their dinner. They had a good dinner. There were a great\nmany eggs.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s a pity,\u201d said the master, \u201cthe man over there hasn\u2019t some dinner.\u201d\n\n\u201cMusha,\u201d said Jack, \u201cI\u2019ll go and bring him some.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo,\u201d said the mistress.\n\nJack got up, and said he, \u201cI\u2019ll take some eggs to be eating on the way.\u201d\nHe took a handful of eggs. When he was gone a little way from them he let\none of the eggs fall on the ground. He was dropping the eggs on the road.\nWhen he got as far as the man he sat down and began chatting.\n\nSaid the mistress, \u201cHe won\u2019t come over till the dinner\u2019s good for\nnothing.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll go over myself,\u201d said the master. He got up and he went over, but\nhe wasn\u2019t gone far when he came on an egg. He stooped and picked it up.\nHe was gathering the eggs on the road.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s the man beyond gathering?\u201d said the other man to Jack.\n\n\u201cHe\u2019s gathering white stones to kill you for being with his wife\nyesterday in the lime-kiln.\u201d\n\n\u201cDid he hear of that?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe heard,\u201d said Jack.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll stay here no longer,\u201d said the man.\n\nHe got up and went running away as fast as he could. The master began to\ncall after him. He wouldn\u2019t turn back. The master kept running after him.\nWhen Jack saw the two of them travelling he went back to the dinner.\n\n\u201cWhere is he gone to?\u201d said the mistress.\n\n\u201cHe\u2019s after that man for his doings with you in the lime-kiln yesterday.\u201d\n\nThe master came back to his dinner. When the mistress saw him coming she\ngot up and took to her heels. When the master saw that, he asked where\nwas she going?\n\n\u201cShe\u2019s going to drown herself,\u201d said Jack, \u201cfor your kissing the servant\ngirl in the byre last night.\u201d\n\n\u201cDid she hear of that?\u201d said the master. He went running after her. \u201cCome\nback,\u201d said he, \u201cand I\u2019ll never do it again.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, don\u2019t kill me,\u201d said she, \u201cand I\u2019ll never do it again.\u201d\n\nShe returned then and they took their dinner, but it was good for\nnothing. They ploughed till night-time. Jack was a good servant-boy. He\nput in his time.\n\nWhen he left his master he went to the big town. He went tailoring. His\nmaster had twelve boys before he came. Jack wasn\u2019t long with him when\nhe was a great hand at the sewing. His time was nearly up. His master\nthought he would keep no one but Jack. The times were hard. He dismissed\nthem every one but Jack. He kept him. They were tailoring one day. The\nmaster said to Jack it was a bad year.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t be afraid,\u201d said Jack. \u201cDo you see that field full of cattle over\nthere?\u201d\n\nWhen night came Jack and his master went out. They went to the field.\nJack took one of the bullocks. He skinned the skin off it. He cut the\nflesh off the bones. He sewed the skin on the bullock again. They went\nhome, and two loads of meat with them. They had enough that time. To make\na long story short, they didn\u2019t leave a bullock in the field but they did\nthe same to. When the last of the cattle was eaten, they began with the\nsheep. They played the same trick on the sheep.\n\nWhen the king thought it was time to kill a bullock he went to the\nbutcher. They went to the field. When they went to look at a bullock,\nthe bullock was barely able to walk. They were all like that. The king\ncouldn\u2019t tell what happened them. They went to the field where the sheep\nwere. They were in bad condition. There wasn\u2019t a sheep or a head of\ncattle that Jack and the tailor hadn\u2019t eaten the flesh off.\n\nThe king went home, and he didn\u2019t know what to do. He went to the old man\nwho was in the town to tell him what happened to them.\n\n\u201cThere\u2019s some neighbour of yours that\u2019s smart.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know how I can get hold of him.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know,\u201d said the old man. \u201cThe first fine day that comes take some gold\nand silver, spread it out, and leave it outside till the dark comes.\nWhoever is playing the tricks on you will spy it. He\u2019ll try for it. When\nnight comes, take in the money and put out a barrel of pitch.\u201d\n\nThe king did so. Jack looked out at the window. He saw the king spread\nout the money. \u201cDo you see,\u201d said he, \u201cwhat the man is doing yonder?\u201d\nJack was watching the money all day. Night was coming on, and nobody was\ngoing near the money. \u201cHe has forgotten it,\u201d said Jack; \u201cno one will come\nnear it till morning.\u201d\n\nWhen night came Jack and his master went drawing near the money, to\ntake home the full of a bag with them. They went to the place where the\nmoney was. There was a barrel of pitch there. \u201cWhich will you do, stoop\ninto the barrel, or watch?\u201d The tailor said he would stoop. He stooped\ninto the barrel; he stretched his two hands down to get a handful. The\ntwo hands stuck in the pitch. He was caught then. He could not stir. He\ncalled to Jack to draw him out of the barrel. Jack went to draw him. He\nfailed to draw him. He placed his two hands on his body and shoved him\ndown on the crown of his head. He left him there.\n\nThe king came in the morning. He found the thief caught in the barrel. He\ncouldn\u2019t tell then who he was, he was so black with pitch. He was as bad\nas ever. He went to the old man again. He said the thief was caught by\nhim, but he didn\u2019t know who he was.\n\n\u201cDo you know what you\u2019ll do? Take a beast and tie him to the beast\u2019s\ntail. Whoever it is that has lost her husband, when she sees him she will\ngo crying.\u201d\n\nHe tied a rope on the man. He put him behind the beast. He went through\nthe big town with him. He did not go far till he came to the house of the\ntailor. When the tailor\u2019s wife saw him she gave a roar of lamentation out\nof her. Jack caught hold of the scissors and cut the tip of his finger.\nThe king came in. He said she was caught. The tailor (_i.e._, Jack)\nlooked round. \u201cWhat ails you?\u201d said Jack.\n\n\u201cIt is your wife who has lost the man and is crying there.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was I cut my finger,\u201d said Jack, \u201cand she thought I was killed, and\nthat\u2019s what she was crying for. You may go off with yourself. There\u2019s\nnothing for you to get here.\u201d\n\nThe king went away. He was up and he was down. If he were to be walking\ntill now he wouldn\u2019t get one to go crying. He had nothing for it but to\ngo home. The tailor\u2019s wife and Jack were married then.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n_THE SERVANT[10] OF POVERTY._\n\n_Narrator, P. MINAHAN, Malinmore, Glencolumkille, co. Donegal._\n\n\nThere was a rich farmer there. He was going from home to buy cattle. The\nking and the farmer met. Each of them got a letter that there was a young\nson born to the farmer, a young daughter to the king. They were rejoiced\nwhen they heard it. They went both into a tavern to drink a glass. They\nmade it up that if the children would agree to it they would have them\nmarried. They went home then. They were rejoiced at the children.\n\nIt was not long after that when the farmer died. His wife was broken up.\nShe had nothing but the child. She had to sell the farm and the stock.\nShe was not worth a penny. She was bringing up the child till he was fit\nto go to school. He would be out on the street, and anyone who would have\nanything to carry, the boy would carry it for him. They would give him\nsixpence or a shilling. He would give that to the master of the school,\ntill the last of it was spent. He was coming on with his learning, till\nhe was a good scholar. He was on the street one day. The king was there.\nThe king bought a quarter of mutton. The king looked about him. He saw\nthe little boy opposite watching him. He asked him would he carry it. The\nboy said he would carry. The king went with the boy. When they came to\nthe house the king gave him half-a-crown. The boy went home rejoiced. He\ngave that to the master. He was at school till the half-crown was spent.\nOne day the daughter of the king was on the street. She bought a parcel\nof clothes. She looked about her. The boy was behind her. She asked him\nwould he carry the parcel. He said he would carry. The two went to the\nking\u2019s house. When the king saw the two coming in, he went laughing. The\ngirl gave the boy another half-crown. She asked her father what was the\nreason of his laughing. Her father said there was none. The girl said\nthere was no harm in it. The king said that at one time the boy was as\ngood as herself. He told her everything that had passed, nor did she\npretend anything. She had an eye on the boy from that out. She was giving\nhim money to keep him at school, till he was a good scholar, till he was\ngrowing too big to be at school.\n\n\u201cWhat would you think of being a pedlar?\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cI have no money,\u201d said the boy.\n\nShe gave him five pounds. He went to buy hardware. He met a fighting\ncock. He bet his five pounds on the cock. The cock was beaten, and his\nfive pounds were lost on him. He went home then. She met him at the end\nof a couple of days.\n\n\u201cHow did you get on?\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cI met a fighting cock. I bet my five pounds on the cock. The cock was\nbeaten. I lost the five pounds.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell! here are five other pounds,\u201d said the girl. \u201cDo no foolishness\nwith them, till you buy the hardware.\u201d\n\nHe went then. He fell in with a race-horse. He took a conceit on the\nhorse. He bet the five pounds. The beast was beaten. The five pounds were\nlost. He had to go home. He was afraid to come across the girl. He was\nleaving the way for fear he should meet her. He met her one day.\n\n\u201cWell, how did you get on?\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cI believe you will kill me,\u201d said he. \u201cI lost the five pounds again.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said she, \u201cunless there was venture in you, you would not have\nlost them. If you got five pounds more, I think you would not lose them.\u201d\n\n\u201cI would not,\u201d said he.\n\nShe gave him five pounds more. He went. He bought the five pounds\u2019 worth\nof hardware. He came home. He went pedlaring. He was doing well till he\nsold everything. He doubled his money. He came home then. She met him.\n\n\u201cYou have made your way home,\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cI have made,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cHow did you get on?\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said he. \u201cI have doubled my money.\u201d\n\n\u201cBuy ten pounds\u2019 worth now,\u201d said she.\n\nHe bought the ten pounds\u2019 worth. He struck to pedlaring again, till he\nsold the ten pounds\u2019 worth. He came home then. She met him.\n\n\u201cYou have got home,\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cI have got,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cHow did you succeed?\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said he; \u201cI have twenty pounds now.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood you are,\u201d said she. \u201cBuy twenty pounds\u2019 worth now.\u201d\n\nHe was buying and selling, till his pack was so heavy that he was tired\nwith it. He came home. She met him. He said he was growing tired carrying\nthe pack. Would she give him leave to buy a beast to carry it? She said\nshe would give him leave. He went to buy a beast. He was buying and\nselling then till he had a great deal of money. He came home then. She\ncame to him. He asked her would she give him leave to set up a shop in\nthe town. He was afraid he would be killed for his money. She said she\nwould give him leave. He set up a shop then and he laid in a stock. He\nwas selling as much as any two in the city.\n\nThe king was dealing with a merchant from London. He came to Dublin to\nsettle with the king. They went to settle. They could not agree. They got\na couple of clerks to settle between them. The clerks could not settle it\nall. They were three days sitting at the settling. They failed. The king\ncame home at night. His daughter came to him.\n\n\u201cHow are you and the London man getting on?\u201d\n\n\u201cThey have failed to settle it,\u201d said the king.\n\n\u201cDid you try the shopman?\u201d said she. \u201cThey say he has good learning.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe did not try,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cTry him to-morrow,\u201d said she.\n\nHe went on the morning of the morrow. They sat down to the settling\nagain. They sent word for the shopman. He came. He began to look into\nthe books. He made it up in a moment between the king and the man from\nLondon. The king was satisfied then. He went home. His daughter asked\nhim how he got on. The king said he got on very well, that he never saw\na better scholar. The London man came to the young man the next day, to\nfind out how much he would take for a year. The young man said he could\nnot leave his shop. The London man said he would give him more than he\nwould make by his shop in a year. He made advice to go with him. He went\nhome. He went to find out if she would give him leave. She said she would\ngive. He put his shop to auction. He sold it out. He made ready to go\nwith the man from London. He went with him then. He was sending letters\nto her. She was reading them. When the year was up, he was making ready\nto go home. The London man said to him to stay another year. He made\nadvice to stay. He remained another year. When the year was up he made\nready to go. He filled a ship full of every kind of goods. He bade the\ncaptain go to Dublin in the name of Kayleh-na-Bochtjinacht. When the\ncaptain came to Dublin there was no one at all of that name to be found.\nHe did not know what to do. He had nothing for it but to return home. He\nwas angry. The king was in the city. He went to tell at home that there\nwas a ship was come from London with a cargo of goods, in the name of\nKayleh-na-Bochtjinacht, and that there was no one at all in the place of\nthat name.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the king\u2019s daughter, \u201cthe cargo will go to loss. Prepare a\nstore of your own, and empty the cargo into it. Perhaps the owner will\ncome to look for it.\u201d\n\nThe king got men, and they unloaded the cargo into the store. The captain\nwas rejoiced when he got the vessel unloaded. When two years were up\nwith Kayleh-na-Bochtjinacht he was coming home. He was walking round by\nthe foot of the sea. A collegian met him, going the same road. He asked\nKayleh-na-Bochtjinacht where he was going. Kayleh answered he did not\nknow well where he was going; that he made a herring-net, and the first\nnight he put it out he had not seen it since; that he was walking round\nby the foot of the sea to look if he could find it rolled on to a stone.\n\n\u201cWhere are you going yourself?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am going to Dublin, to be married to the daughter of the king.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I will be with you a bit of the way.\u201d\n\nA rainy day came on them, and they were greatly wet. This young man, he\nwas all but perished with cold.\n\n\u201cIf you had your own house from the town with you, you would not be wet.\u201d\n\nThey went on till they came to a river. There was no bridge at all on the\nriver. Kayleh-na-Bochtjinacht went out into the river. He went across.\nThe young champion went out after him till he was all but lost. When he\ngot to the other side of the river, \u201cI was all but lost,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cWell, if you had your own bridge with you, you would not be lost.\u201d\n\nThey went on another while. The champion said he was hungry. Kayleh said,\n\u201cIf you had your mother with you from home, you would not be hungry.\u201d\n\nKayleh had a loaf with him. He drew it out and took his dinner. They went\non then till they came to Dublin. Kayleh stopped at the end of the town.\nThe young champion went to the king\u2019s house. He was all but famished. He\nwent into the parlour then. They took their dinner. They were passing\nfun. The young woman was with them.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the young champion, \u201cthere was a fine man with me to-day, he\nhad the silliest talk ever I heard. When I met him, I asked him how far\nhe was going. He said he did not well know; that he made a herring-net;\nthe first night he put it out into the sea he never had a sight of it\nsince; that he was walking by the foot of the sea, to look if he would\nfall in with it in a creek, or rolled on a rock. We went on another\nwhile. A day of rain came. We were wet greatly. I called out that I was\nwet.\n\n\u201c\u2018Well,\u2019 said the man, \u2018if you had your house with you, you would not be\nwet.\u2019\n\n\u201cWe went on another while, till we came to a river. There was a great\nflood in the river. The man went out. He went to the other side. I went\nout after him, so that I was all but lost. I said I was all but lost. \u2018If\nyou had your bridge with you, you would have had no fear of being lost.\u2019\nWe went on another while. I said I was hungry. \u2018Well,\u2019 said the man, \u2018if\nyou had your mother with you from home, you would not have been hungry.\u2019\u201d\nThe king was listening to him.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said he, \u201cwhen you called out that you were wet, that man had a\ntop-coat on, that didn\u2019t let a drop in. When you called out you were all\nbut lost on the river, if you had a nag you would not have been afraid.\nThe other man had a good horse.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe had,\u201d said the champion.\n\n\u201cAs good as I ever saw,\u201d said the king\u2019s daughter.\n\n\u201cHow far was he with you?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe was with me to the end of the city.\u201d\n\nShe arose standing. She went out, nor did she stop till she was in the\ncity, in the place where was Kayleh-na-Bochtjinacht. She took a hold\nof him by the hand. She bade him welcome home. He got up and opened a\ntravelling bag. He gave her a silk gown. He put it on her. He put silk\nclothes entirely on her. The two went till they came to the king\u2019s house.\nThe king and the champion thought the bride was in a room inside. There\nwas a knock at the door. The housemaid arose and opened it. The young\ncouple came in. They asked the maid if the priest was in the king\u2019s\nhouse. She said he was; that the champion and the king\u2019s daughter were to\nbe married. \u201cI would like to see the king,\u201d said Kayleh. The maid went\nto the king. She told him there was a gentleman to see the wedding. The\nking arose. He opened the parlour door. Kayleh came to him. He said he\nwas a stranger, that he had a woman with him to get married to; he would\nbe thankful to the king to get the first chance of being married. The\nking said he would give it to him and welcome. The young couple went into\nthe room where the priest was. They were married. They came out and they\nmarried. The bride came forward to the king and the champion. She took\nhold of the young champion by the shoulder. She told him to go home to\nhis mother\u2014\u201cThe silly man that was with you to-day, I am married to him\nnow.\u201d \u201cYou thought you were wise,\u201d said the king; \u201cbut it is you were\nthe fool, not that man.\u201d He had nothing for it then but to get up and go\nhome. The king\u2019s daughter then told her father who the husband was she\nhad. There was great joy on the king then that the lad got on so well.\n\nThey built a big house then in the city. When it was ready, they put into\nit the goods that were in the store. The master that was in London came\ninto the harbour with his ship. When Kayleh heard he was there he was\nrejoiced. He went out to see him. The captain was rejoiced to see him.\nKayleh went praising his wife. \u201cYou are a fool,\u201d said the captain; \u201cmaybe\nshe\u2019s the worst in the world.\u201d \u201cHow much will you wager on it? I\u2019ll lay\nmy shop against your ship that you won\u2019t find her yielding.\u201d\n\nThey laid the wager. The captain was going out then. \u201cWhat proof shall\nI bring that I have had my way with her.\u201d \u201cThere is a gold ring on her\nfinger. Have that for me.\u201d \u201cStay you here,\u201d said the captain, \u201ctill I\ncome.\u201d\n\nThe captain went on shore. He went to her. She was rejoiced to see him.\nShe said to herself that the captain was taking liberties with her. She\nwent into a room. She locked the door and left his sight. The captain did\nnot know then what to do. He was afraid his ship was lost. He went to the\nkitchen to the maid. He drew out a purse of money. He said he would give\nher the purse if she would open the door of the room. She covered the\nmoney. She took the lock off the door. The captain went to the woman. He\nsaid he would not leave the room till she drank a drop of his whiskey.\nTo get rid of him she drank a drop of the whiskey. What was in it but\na sleeping drop! She fell asleep. The captain took the ring from her\nfinger. He went to Kayleh. When Kayleh saw he had the ring, the shop was\nlost. He went home. When the woman saw she had lost the ring, she knew it\nwas all over with her. She went away. He was raging with anger. If he got\nhold of her he would kill her. She went away ashamed. The captain went to\nlive in the house. He was selling the goods. Kayleh went off wandering.\nShe went and put a man\u2019s clothes on her. She went to a city. She went\nto a tailor\u2019s shop. She asked the tailor if he wanted a young man. The\ntailor said he would not mind taking one. She made it up with him. She\nwould sell as much as three. He thought it was a man was with him. He was\nwith him for a year. A poor man came to the city selling brooms. He spent\na couple of days in the city. The mob was casting it up to that tailor\nthat a man from his country was selling brooms. She said there was never\na man from her country who sold brooms. She rose out one evening. She\nwent through the city to try if she could find him. She met him, and he\nwith a load of brooms. She asked him if that was his means of living. The\npoor man said it was\u2014that he was all that day, and few were the brooms he\nsold. She asked him how much he got for them apiece. He said he got only\na halfpenny. She put her hand in her pocket and gave him the price of his\nload.\n\n\u201cThrow them away from you. Have you any learning at all?\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cI have a trifle,\u201d said the poor man.\n\n\u201cDo you think you could do as a clerk in a shop?\u201d\n\n\u201cI think I could do.\u201d\n\nThe tailor went and bought a suit of clothes for him. She put them on\nhim. He and the tailor went to the shop.\n\n\u201cHere\u2019s a young man I have got for you,\u201d said she.\n\nHe hired the young man for a year. The young man came to him and was\nserving him well. Better was the learning that he had than the shopman\u2019s.\nThe tailor was content as they were together. They were the two comrades;\nnor did he ever recognise the tailor. They were a couple of years in the\ncity. One day the tailor said they were there long enough, and would go\nhome for a while now. He said he would never go home. She said she would,\nthat they would get a place as good as to be there. They got ready and\nwere drawing towards Dublin. The clerk said he would not go near the\ncity. She said she would go. They walked on till they came to the city.\nThere was no going through the street for the clerk. He became sorrowful\nand troubled. They were walking till they came to the house they used to\nlive in.\n\n\u201cThis is a good house,\u201d said the tailor; \u201cwe\u2019ll go in to see if they will\nkeep us for the night.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will not go into that house on any account.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ll go to no other place but that,\u201d said the tailor.\n\nThey went in and got place till morning. The captain was living there\nalways. There were gentlemen dining with him. The tailor was making fun\nfor the girls in the kitchen. He began dancing and singing. The clerk was\nsitting under the window, with his head bent down. When the gentlemen\nheard the singing and the dancing in the kitchen, they opened the parlour\ndoor to see the tailor playing his music. They bade him come up to the\nparlour, to themselves. He said he would like to have his companion with\nhim. They bade the two come. The two went up. They got whiskey. They made\nthe tailor sing. He was performing a while. He looked about him.\n\n\u201cThis is a fine house you have,\u201d said he. \u201cI have travelled far enough,\nbut I never in my travellings met with a better house than this of yours.\u201d\n\n\u201cSimply I got this house.\u201d He told the gentlemen how he came into the\nhouse.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the tailor, \u201cyou bear witness to everything you have heard.\nI was the woman, that was in the house, to whom that happened.\u201d\n\nShe opened her bosom to show it was a woman.\n\n\u201cGet up, you gillie over there.\u201d She locked the parlour door. Kayleh went\nfor the police. The police came. They arrested the captain. The gentlemen\nwere witnesses. The captain was put in prison. She put off the tailor\u2019s\nclothes then. They arrested the maid and put her in prison. They fell\ninto their house and place again. They were then as they were ever. The\nreport went out through the city that Kayleh and the king\u2019s daughter were\nin their own house again. The king then made a dinner and invited them to\nit. They were eating and drinking for three nights and three days.\n\n[10] Or \u201cSpouse of Poverty.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n_SIMON AND MARGARET._\n\n_Narrator, MICHAEL FAHERTY, Renvyle, co. Galway._\n\n\nLong ago there was a king\u2019s son called Simon, and he came in a ship from\nthe east to Eire. In the place where he came to harbour he met with a\nwoman whose name was Margaret, and she fell in love with him. And she\nasked him if he would take her with him in the ship. He said he would not\ntake her, that he had no business with her, \u201cfor I am married already,\u201d\nsaid he. But the day he was going to sea she followed him to the ship,\nand such a beautiful woman was she that he said to himself that he would\nnot put her out of the ship; \u201cbut before I go farther I must get beef.\u201d\nHe returned back and got the beef. He took the woman and the beef in\nthe ship, and he ordered the sailors to make everything ready that they\nmight be sailing on the sea. They were not long from land when they saw\na great bulk making towards them, and it seemed to them it was more like\na serpent than anything else whatever. And it was not long till the\nserpent cried out, \u201cThrow me the Irish person you have on board.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe have no Irish person in the ship,\u201d said the king\u2019s son, \u201cfor it is\nforeign people we are; but we have meat we took from Eire, and, if you\nwish, we will give you that.\u201d\n\n\u201cGive it to me,\u201d said the serpent, \u201cand everything else you took from\nEire.\u201d\n\nHe threw out a quarter of the beef, and the serpent went away that day,\nand on the morrow morning she came again, and they threw out another\nquarter, and one every day till the meat was gone. And the next day the\nserpent came again and she cried out to the king\u2019s son, \u201cThrow the Irish\nflesh out to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have no more flesh,\u201d said the prince.\n\n\u201cIf you have not flesh, you have an Irish person,\u201d said the serpent, \u201cand\ndon\u2019t be telling your lies to me any longer. I knew from the beginning\nthat you had an Irish person in the ship, and unless you throw her out to\nme, and quickly, I will eat yourself and your men.\u201d\n\nMargaret came up, and no sooner did the serpent see her than she opened\nher mouth, and put on an appearance as if she were going to swallow the\nship.\n\n\u201cI will not be guilty of the death of you all,\u201d said Margaret; \u201cget me\na boat, and if I go far safe it is better; and if I do not go, I had\nrather I perished than the whole of us.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat shall we do to save you?\u201d said Simon.\n\n\u201cYou can do nothing better than put me in the boat,\u201d said she, \u201cand lower\nme on the sea, and leave me to the will of God.\u201d\n\nAs soon as she got on the sea, no sooner did the serpent see her than she\ndesired to swallow her, but before she reached as far as her, a billow\nof the sea rose between them, and left herself and the boat on dry land.\nShe saw not a house in sight she could go to. \u201cNow,\u201d said she, \u201cI am as\nunfortunate as ever I was. There is no place at all for me to get that I\nknow of, and this is no place for me to be.\u201d She arose and she began to\nwalk, and after a long while she saw a house a good way from her. \u201cI am\nnot as unfortunate as I thought,\u201d said she. \u201cPerhaps I shall get lodging\nin that house to-night.\u201d She went in, and there was no one in it but an\nold woman, who was getting her supper ready. \u201cI am asking for lodging\ntill morning.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will give you no lodging,\u201d said the old woman.\n\n\u201cBefore I go farther, there is a boat there below, and it is better for\nyou to take it into your hands.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome in,\u201d said the old woman, \u201cand I will give you lodging for the\nnight.\u201d\n\nThe old woman was always praying by night and day. Margaret asked her,\n\u201cWhy are you always saying your prayers?\u201d\n\n\u201cI and my mother were living a long while ago in the place they call the\nWhite Doon, and a giant came and killed my mother, and I had to come away\nfor fear he would kill myself; and I am praying every night and every day\nthat some one may come and kill the giant.\u201d\n\nThe next morning there came a gentleman and a beautiful woman into the\nhouse, and he gave the old woman the full of a quart of money to say\npaters for them till morning. The old woman opened a chest and took out a\nhandsome ring, and tried to place it on his finger, but it would not go\non. \u201cPerhaps it would fit you,\u201d said she to the lady. But her finger was\ntoo big.\n\nWhen they went out Margaret asked the old woman who were the man and\nwoman. \u201cThat is the son of a king of the Eastern World, and the name that\nis on him is Stephen, and he and the woman are going to the White Doon to\nfight the giant, and I am afraid they will never come back; for the ring\ndid not fit either of them; and it was told to the people that no one\nwould kill the giant but he whom the ring would fit.\u201d\n\nThe two of them remained during the night praying for him, for fear the\ngiant should kill him; and early in the morning they went out to see\nwhat had happened to Stephen and the lady that was with him, and they\nfound them dead near the White Doon.\n\n\u201cI knew,\u201d said the old woman, \u201cthis is what would happen to them. It is\nbetter for us to take them with us and bury them in the churchyard.\u201d When\nthey were buried, \u201cCome home,\u201d said the old woman, \u201cand we\u2019ll know who is\nthe first person comes the same way again.\u201d\n\nAbout a month after a man came into the house, and no sooner was he\ninside the door than Margaret recognised him.\n\n\u201cHow have you been ever since, Simon?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am very well,\u201d said he; \u201cit can\u2019t be that you are Margaret?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is I,\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cI thought that billow that rose after you, when you got into the boat,\ndrowned you.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt only left me on dry land,\u201d said Margaret.\n\n\u201cI went to the Eastern World, and my father said to me that he sent my\nbrother to go and fight with the giant, who was doing great damage to the\npeople near the White Doon, and that my wife went to carry his sword.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf that was your brother and your wife,\u201d said Margaret, \u201cthe giant\nkilled them.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will go on the spot and kill the giant, if I am able.\u201d\n\n\u201cWait till I try the ring on your finger,\u201d said the old woman.\n\n\u201cIt is too small to go on my finger,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cIt will go on mine,\u201d said Margaret.\n\n\u201cIt will fit you,\u201d said the old woman.\n\nSimon gave the full of a quart of money to the old woman, that she might\npray for him till he came back. When he was about to go, Margaret said,\n\u201cWill you let me go with you?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not,\u201d said Simon, \u201cfor I don\u2019t know that the giant won\u2019t kill\nmyself, and I think it too much that one of us should be in this danger.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t care,\u201d said Margaret. \u201cIn the place where you die, there am I\ncontent to die.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome with me,\u201d said he.\n\nWhen they were on the way to the White Doon, a man came before them.\n\n\u201cDo you see that house near the castle?\u201d said the man.\n\n\u201cI see,\u201d said Simon.\n\n\u201cYou must go into it and keep a candle lighted till morning in it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere is the giant?\u201d said Simon.\n\n\u201cHe will come to fight you there,\u201d said the man.\n\nThey went in and kindled a light, and they were not long there when\nMargaret said to Simon,\u2014\n\n\u201cCome, and let us see the giants.\u201d\n\n\u201cI cannot,\u201d said the king, \u201cfor the light will go out if I leave the\nhouse.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt will not go out,\u201d said Margaret; \u201cI will keep it lighted till we come\nback.\u201d\n\nAnd they went together and got into the castle, to the giant\u2019s house,\nand they saw no one there but an old woman cooking; and it was not long\ntill she opened an iron chest and took out the young giants and gave them\nboiled blood to eat.\n\n\u201cCome,\u201d said Margaret, \u201cand let us go to the house we left.\u201d\n\nThey were not long in it when the king\u2019s son was falling asleep.\n\nMargaret said to him, \u201cIf you fall asleep, it will not be long till the\ngiants come and kill us.\u201d\n\n\u201cI cannot help it,\u201d he said. \u201cI am falling asleep in spite of me.\u201d\n\nHe fell asleep, and it was not long till Margaret heard a noise\napproaching, and the giant cried from outside to the king\u2019s son to come\nout to him.\n\n\u201cFum, faw, faysogue! I feel the smell of a lying churl of an Irishman.\nYou are too great for one bite and too little for two, and I don\u2019t know\nwhether it is better for me to send you into the Eastern World with a\nbreath or put you under my feet in the puddle. Which would you rather\nhave\u2014striking with knives in your ribs or fighting on the grey stones?\u201d\n\n\u201cGreat, dirty giant, not with right or rule did I come in, but by rule\nand by right to cut your head off in spite of you, when my fine, silken\nfeet go up and your big, dirty feet go down.\u201d\n\nThey wrestled till they brought the wells of fresh water up through the\ngrey stones with fighting and breaking of bones, till the night was all\nbut gone. Margaret squeezed him, and the first squeeze she put him down\nto his knees, the second squeeze to his waist, and the third squeeze to\nhis armpits.\n\n\u201cYou are the best woman I have ever met. I will give you my court and my\nsword of light and the half of my estate for my life, and spare to slay\nme.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere shall I try your sword of light?\u201d\n\n\u201cTry it on the ugliest block in the wood.\u201d\n\n\u201cI see no block at all that is uglier than your own great block.\u201d\n\nShe struck him at the joining of the head and the neck, and cut the head\noff him.\n\nIn the morning when she wakened the king\u2019s son, \u201cWas not that a good\nproof I gave of myself last night?\u201d said he to Margaret. \u201cThat is the\nhead outside, and we shall try to bring it home.\u201d\n\nHe went out, and was not able to stir it from the ground. He went in and\ntold Margaret he could not take it with him, that there was a pound\u2019s\nweight in the head. She went out and took the head with her.\n\n\u201cCome with me,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cWhere are you going?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will go to the Eastern World; and come with me till you see the place.\u201d\n\nWhen they got home Simon took Margaret with him to his father the king.\n\n\u201cWhat has happened to your brother and your wife?\u201d said the king.\n\n\u201cThey have both been killed by the giants. And it is Margaret, this woman\nhere, who has killed them.\u201d\n\nThe king gave Margaret a hundred thousand welcomes, and she and Simon\nwere married,[11] and how they are since then I do not know.\n\n[11] Simon\u2019s wife, mentioned at the beginning of the story, has\napparently been forgotten.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n_THE SON OF THE KING OF PRUSSIA._\n\n_Narrator, P. M\u2019GRALE, Achill, co. Mayo._\n\n\nThere were giants at that time, and every seven years three daughters\nof kings were left to them to be eaten, unless some one were found to\nfight them. In this year the kings came together, and they cast lots to\nsee which of them should give his children to the giants to be eaten.\nAnd the lot fell on the High King of Erin to give his three daughters to\nthe giants. Then came the son of the King of Prussia to ask the king\u2019s\ndaughter in marriage, and the king said he could not give her to him\nunless he would fight the giants, and he said he would fight if he got\ngood feeding.\n\nAnd the king asked him, \u201cWhat sort of food would you like best?\u201d\n\nSaid he, \u201cMarrow of deer and sinews of beeves.\u201d And the king said he\nwould give him that.\n\nThere were servants killing for him his sufficiency of food, and he rose\nout, the son of the King of Prussia, and he went among the work-people,\nand when he would strike one of them a blow of his fist and kill him the\nking would not say anything for fear of making him angry. Then, when he\ncame within a month of the time, he went to the glen, and tools with him\nto make a hole in the glen, and he was at home every evening, and he\ndirty.\n\nWhen it came within a week of the time, the son of the King of Scotland\nspoke to his father. Said he, \u201cA good neighbour to you was the King of\nErin ever.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood he was, my son, and I to him likewise.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd he never put war nor battle on you.\u201d\n\n\u201cNor I on him, my son.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am making one request of you, father.\u201d\n\n\u201cEvery request you make of me I will give you, except to go to fight in\nErin.\u201d\n\n\u201cWon\u2019t you give me that, father?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have fear of your getting married.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy hand and my word to you, father, that that woman I will not wed till\nI come back to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cWith that request, go, and I will give you my blessing.\u201d\n\nHe went with himself, then, and he arrayed himself in his clothes, and\nthe stars of the son of a king by a queen were on the breast of his coat,\nand a poor man\u2019s suit outside, till he came to the sea, and took a great\nship, till he came to Erin, and drew up his ship on the land, and put on\nher fastening for a day and a year, though he might chance to be there\nbut an hour.\n\nHe went then to the house of the hen-wife, and asked for lodging; and he\ngot lodging for the night; and the old woman asked him what was the news,\nand he said he had no news at all unless he would get it from her.\n\n\u201cI\u2019d say,\u201d said she, \u201cthat it was under a docking you came out, when\nyou\u2019ve heard nothing of the great gathering that\u2019s to be here to-morrow.\nThere are three giants to come, on three days, one after the other, and\nthey are to get the three daughters of the King of Erin, and the son of\nthe King of Prussia, is to fight for them; and, if he kills the giants,\nthe first person to-morrow that brings the news the giant\u2019s head is cut\noff, will get a shovel of gold.\u201d\n\nThen the poor man and the hen-wife spent the night pleasantly, and in\nthe morning he got up and washed his hands and his face, and ate his\nbreakfast, and went to the glen, and he sat down in a clump of ferns,\nbrambles, and nettles, and there was he.\n\nThen the king and his people went drawing to the glen, and when they were\nnear it the son of the King of Prussia told them to go home, for fear the\ngiant might come and kill some of them before he could stop him. The king\nand his people went home and left the son of the King of Prussia and the\nyoung girl in the glen, and she sat down on a stone chair, and the son of\nthe King of Prussia was coming about her, thinking to make free with her,\ntill he ran to his hole and left her there.\n\nThen he saw the ship coming under sail, three lengths before she came\nnear to land, and the giant cast anchor, and gave a step on the land, and\nhe all but sank the ship after him; and the land, when he came on it,\nshook so greatly that the old castles fell, and the castles that were\nmade last stooped; every (old) tree was broken, and the young tree was\nbent; and he left not foal with mare, nor calf with cow, nor lamb with\nsheep, nor hare in a bush, nor rabbit in hole, that didn\u2019t go off in\nterror. And he came up to the girl and put the tip of his finger under\nthe edge of her girdle, and threw her over the tip of his shoulder.\n\n\u201cMy mischief and misfortune! Hadn\u2019t your father a man, cow-boy nor\nsheep-boy, to-day to fight me? Or where is the son of the King of\nPrussia, who has been feeding for a year to fight me? Don\u2019t think it\u2019s\non feather beds I\u2019ll put you, nor up the stairs, when I bring you home;\nbut you are big for one bite and small for two, and if I had a grain of\nsalt I would eat you at one bite; and small is the morsel you are between\nmyself and my two brothers.\u201d\n\nHe went with her, drawing to the ship to get on board; and the son of\nthe King of Scotland spoke to him, and said he should not get her like\nthat without fighting. And the giant said that it wasn\u2019t worth his while\nto let her out of his hands, but for him to come and prevent him taking\nher with him. But the other man said that was not right, that he should\nput the woman down on the land, and fight honourably. And then the giant\nasked him which he liked best, wrestling on the red flagstones, or green\nknives at the top of his ribs. He said that he liked best wrestling on\nthe red flagstones, in the place where his noble white feet should be\nrising above the giant\u2019s clumsy club feet. The two champions caught hold\nof each other in the grip of the close, keen wrestling. If you were to go\nseeking for sport from the west of the world to the world\u2019s beginning,\nit is to that pair you would go. They made soft of the hard, and hard of\nthe soft, till they drew the springs of fresh water under the red stones;\ntill the son of the King of Scotland remembered that he came there\nwithout the King of Erin knowing, nor his daughters, that he was come;\nand also that his father was not pleased with his coming; and he gave the\ngiant a squeeze, and put him down to his two knees in the ground, and the\nsecond squeeze to the waist of his trousers, and the third squeeze to the\nback of his neck.\n\n\u201cA green sod over you, churl!\u201d\n\n\u201cStay, stay! best of champions that ever I saw. I am but a third of the\nworld, and my brother is the half of the world, and the other is as\nstrong as the world; and if you spare me, I and my brothers will be your\nhelpers, and we will conquer the world.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s not what I will do,\u201d said the son of the King of Scotland; \u201cbut I\nwill cut the head off you.\u201d\n\nAnd he caught hold of his sword and cut the head off the giant. And the\nyoung girl all the time was watching the young champion; and she ran to\nhim and kissed him, and asked him if he would come home with her, and he\nsaid he would not come. She took a pair of scissors and cut away a piece\nof the champion\u2019s suit that was on him.\n\nHe went with himself then, and came to the hen-wife, and told her that\nthe giant\u2019s head was cut off; and she asked him if any one was before\nher to the king with the news. And she ran to the king and told him the\ngiant\u2019s head was cut off, and he gave her a shovel of gold as the reward\nof her trouble.\n\nWhen the son of the King of Scotland was gone, the son of the King of\nPrussia arose out of his hole, and he took with him a book and a knife,\nand he swore that unless she said it was he had done the action, he\nwould cut the head off her father and every one of them. He took his\nsword and he cut a piece from the giant\u2019s head, and took it home in proof\nthat he killed the giant.\n\nThe king came and his hosts before him, and they raised him on their\nshoulders and carried him home. And there was great joy on the king and\nhis people that the giant was killed; and the two other sisters were\ncheerful; but there was dissatisfaction and sorrow and trouble on the\nthird sister, and she spoke not a word to them except to say, \u201cYou will\nhave it yet.\u201d\n\nThe king spent the night cheerfully, till the whiteness of the day came\nupon the morrow.\n\nThe next day the second sister went out, and the son of the King of\nScotland fought for her, and when he would not go home with her, she cut\noff a lock of his hair; but the son of the King of Prussia said it was he\nkilled the giant. And the next day the third sister went out, and the son\nof the King of Scotland killed the third giant. The girl asked him would\nhe go home with her, and he said he would not, and she took with her one\nof his shoes.\n\nAnd when the son of the King of Prussia went home, and the third giant\nkilled by the son of the King of Scotland, proclamation was made of the\nmarriage of the son of the King of Prussia, and the daughter of the King\nof Erin. And when they ate their supper, word was sent to the priest of\nthe pattens and the clerk of the table, (to come) to marry them. And the\nhen-wife came and the champion to the wedding; and they arose that the\npair might be married. The priest asked the girl if she would marry that\nman, and she said she would not. And he struck her a box with his fist,\nand said, \u201cHow do you know that you are my choice? Haven\u2019t I my choice of\nthe family to get?\u201d And the king said he had.\n\nThen came the second daughter, and the priest asked her, would she marry\nhim? and she said she would not. And he struck her a blow of his fist,\nand he said, \u201cHow do you know that you are my choice? Haven\u2019t I my choice\nof you to get?\u201d And the king said he had.\n\nThen came the third girl, and the priest asked her, would she marry him?\nand she said she would not. And the son of the King of Prussia gave her a\nblow of his fist, and he said, \u201cHow do you know that you are my choice?\nHaven\u2019t I my choice of you to get?\u201d And the king said he had.\n\nThen the Scotchman got up and he gave the son of the King of Prussia a\nblow with the tip of his boot and knocked him down. And the king offered\na reward of five pounds to whoever would tell who struck the champion.\nAnd, as there were bad people present, he was told it was the old man\ndown there who had struck him. He was caught, and he was bound, and when\nthe daughters saw him they knew him, and they threw themselves on their\nknees before their father and begged he would grant them one request; and\nhe said he would, but that one of them must marry the man.\n\n\u201cIt is not for that man we are asking, but for this one, who saved us.\u201d\n\nHe put the three daughters in three rooms, and he called the eldest,\nand she came to him and told him that he was the man who saved her. She\nput her hand in her pocket and she took out the piece she cut from his\nchampion\u2019s suit, and it answered to the coat. Then the king called the\nsecond daughter, and she said likewise, and showed the lock of hair, and\nher father was satisfied. He called the third daughter, and she showed\nthe shoe, and she said she had no fear of him, that he it was who saved\nher.\n\nThe Scotchman got up standing, and he bound the son of the King of\nPrussia, and they were going to put him to death. Then the daughters\nasked the son of the King of Scotland if he would marry any of them, and\nhe said that to one of them he was bound; but that when he knew what\nthe son of the King of Prussia was going to do he came without[12] his\nfather\u2019s leave to Erin to save them, \u201cand I cannot marry a woman till I\ngo to my father and then I will come back to you.\u201d\n\nAnd the daughter said, \u201cMarry one of us and then go to your father, and\nthen you can come back.\u201d\n\nHe said he could not do that, that he would go to his father first. Said\nshe,\u2014\n\n\u201cIf you do not marry one of us, I will put you for a year under disesteem\nand bad esteem; every one will be spitting on you and cursing you;\nwhoever is meanest you shall be under his curses; and till you marry one\nof us, or get cause for laughter, your mouth to be at the back of your\nhead.\u201d\n\nAnd when he saw that, \u201cIf I were going this hour to marry you, I would\nnot marry you now.\u201d\n\nThe disfigurement came on him. He turned to the door and opened his hand,\nand all that were between him and the door he killed. He went on from\nplace to place in hopes of getting a cure for himself, and he left not\na doctor in the place that he was not getting the water of healing and\nevery sort of drugs from them.\n\nHe was going till a man met him who was giving food and work to every\none, and he went to him and asked him for work. The man said he would\ngive it if the workmen would take him. He had eighteen men, six of them\neach in different places he had, and he went up to one set of six and\nsaid to them, \u201cHere is a helper I am bringing you; I don\u2019t think he\u2019ll\nincrease our work, and I myself will give him enough to eat.\u201d\n\nThey spat upon him and said they would not have him.\n\nThen they came to another six, and they would not take him; and they\ncame to another, and they took him. And when the master went away,\nCrooked-mouth said he was sleepy, and asked for leave to sleep that day.\nAnd they gave him leave; and in the night he told them not to go out\nto work in the morning until he came in to his breakfast, and when he\ncame in to his breakfast the work of a week was done. And those six were\nwalking about and not doing a turn.\n\nAt that time a gentleman sent an invitation to dinner to the man (who\nhad the workmen) and for his men to come with him. And they went drawing\nthat way, and a robber met them on the road and bound every one of\nthem and took his money from the master. And he told his men to bind\nCrooked-mouth, and Crooked-mouth said that not one should bind him but\nthe robber himself.\n\n\u201cCome up to me and I\u2019ll bind you. You won\u2019t be having your stories to\nmake of me.\u201d\n\nWhen he went to bind him, Crooked-mouth laid hold of him, and turned him\nround, and threw him on the ground, and told him to hand out his master\u2019s\nmoney quickly, or he would kill him. So he gave him the money back and\nloosed the men.\n\n\u201cMaster,\u201d said he, \u201chere are twelve others for him, and I will do their\nwork.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d said the master, \u201cI will not ask one turn of you, except one meal\nand one drink for ever.\u201d\n\nSo he gave over to the robber the twelve other men, who had refused to\nlet him work with them. And before he parted with the robber he put him\nunder obligations.\n\n\u201cI will not kill you,\u201d said he, \u201cthis is O\u2019Daly, and I am Gerald O\u2019Daly,\nand anything at all that\u2019s ever asked of you by the honour of O\u2019Daly, do\nthat.\u201d\n\nThen they went on with themselves to the house, and there was a feast\nready for them; and they took their meal, and while they were eating,\nthe twelve others he gave over to the robber came. One of them asked the\nrobber to let them go their way by the honour of O\u2019Daly, and he told them\nto go and a hundred welcomes, and if it were a greater thing (he would\ngrant it).\n\nWhen Crooked-mouth ate his supper, he stretched himself under the table,\nand when the others ate their supper, (the gentleman) put them out to\nsleep in the barn, and when he came in he heard snoring, and he gave the\nman a kick, and asked him why he wasn\u2019t with the others, and he said he\nwould not leave the house that night; and the man of the house said that\nhe must leave; that no one slept in the house for a year, and that he\nshould not sleep in it that night. But the other said he would sleep in\nit, and find out about everything in the house. He took the man of the\nhouse and put him in a basket, and put him in the chimney to smother him;\nand he asked him, \u201cLet me down, and I will tell you.\u201d He let him down,\nbut he would not tell him; and he put him back three times one after\nanother, and the third time he came down he told him.\n\n\u201cI was one day standing at the gable of my house, and I saw a ship coming\nunder full sail into the harbour, and a man and a woman jumped out (on\nthe shore) and ran; and I saw a great monster in the sea coming the same\nway, and the monster ran after them; and the man put his hand in his\npocket, and pulled out something, and flung it at the monster; and the\nmonster sent out such a spout of blood that the two were drowned in it. I\ntook them with me and washed them, and I put herbs of the hill on them,\nand I have had them for two years, and there is not a night since that I\ndon\u2019t burn a penny candle looking at their beauty.\u201d\n\nHe opened a room and showed them to Crooked-mouth, and he took the water\nof healing and sprinkled some of it on them, and they arose alive again.\nAnd his mouth came as it was at first, and the disfigurement went from\nhim, and he asked his brother what it was took him that way. And his\nbrother said,\u2014\n\n\u201cWhen you were gone a day and a year I went to the sea, hoping to see a\nship or boat that would give me tidings of you, or to see if I would see\na board that I would recognise; and one day I met a pretty bird-serpent,\nand a stone with him, and it was written on the stone that that was the\nstone that would kill the bird; and I took the stone and the bird home\nwith me, and I put the bird into a cage, and kept it there for a week,\nand it became so big I had to put it into the stable; and it went on\ngrowing bigger and bigger till I had to make a place for it in the wood,\nand to tie the brambles round it, and I had four men killing beef and\ngiving it food. And one day I was walking round near it, and it made\na lunge at me to eat me, and I said it would do that at last. I went\nand took a ship, and went to sea, and I was sailing three days when my\nsister rose up to me, and I did not know she was on board the ship. We\nwere sailing till we came to the harbour, and the serpent was following\nus, and I went up on the land, and the serpent followed; and, as God was\nhelping me, I had my waistcoat on that day, and the stone was in the\npocket, and I flung the stone at her, and she spouted so much blood that\nI and my sister were drowned. I don\u2019t know what happened to us since\nthen.\u201d\n\n\u201cI took you with me, and cleansed you, and put herbs of the hill round\nabout you, and there is not a night for two years I don\u2019t burn a penny\ncandle looking on you, and I believe that it is I should get her in\nmarriage.\u201d\n\nThe four spent the night pleasantly, telling one another everything; and\nin the morning when they arose, and the people who were at supper the\nnight before were gathered together, the master did not recognise that\nCrooked-mouth was with him. But when Crooked-mouth told him that it was\nhe was there, O\u2019Daly bade him come with him, but he would not. He went\nwith his brother and his sister and the other man to Scotland. And when\nthey came to his father\u2019s court, his father was banished by Faugauns and\nBlue-men; and he and the other people who were taking possession of his\nfather\u2019s court began; and he and they spent three nights and three days\nkilling one another, and on the third day he had killed and banished them\nall. But when he and the cat met, the cat killed him and he killed the\ncat; and his brother was going everywhere that he killed, and at last\nhe found him and the cat dead. And he searched his pocket and found in\nit the bottle of healing-water, and as he was drawing the cork from the\nbottle, some of the water fell on the dead man, and he arose alive again.\n\nHe went then with his sister and the other man who was in the place\nof husband to his sister; and they cleansed the king\u2019s castle, and he\nbrought his father and mother and their people home to the castle, and\nthey were well from that out. Then he gave his sister in marriage to the\nman, who found himself and her on the day when the serpent drowned them.\nThere came the priest of the pattens and the clerk of the table, and the\npair were wedded.\n\nHe himself then went back to Erin, and married the daughter of the King\nof Erin, who was to be eaten by the giants, and the son of the King of\nPrussia was to save her.\n\n[12] This contradicts what is stated on page 140.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n_BEAUTY OF THE WORLD._\n\n_Narrator, P. MINAHAN, Malinmore, Glencolumkille, co. Donegal._\n\n\nThere was a king then, and he had but one son. He was out hunting. He was\ngoing past the churchyard. There were four men in the churchyard and a\ncorpse. There was debt on the corpse. The king\u2019s son went in. He asked\nwhat was the matter. Said one of the men:\n\n\u201cThe dead man is in our debt. I am not willing to bury the body, till the\ntwo sons who are here, promise to pay the debts.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe are not able to pay,\u201d said one of them.\n\n\u201cI have five pounds,\u201d said the king\u2019s son; \u201cI will give them to you to\nbury the body.\u201d\n\nHe gave the five pounds. The body was buried. The king\u2019s son went\nhunting. He went home in the evening. In the morning of the morrow there\nwas snow. He went out hunting in the snow. He killed a black raven. He\nstood over it and looked at it. He said in his own mind he would never\nmarry a woman whose head was not as black as the bird\u2019s wing, and her\nskin as white as the snow, and her cheeks as red as the blood on the snow.\n\nHe went home. On the morning of the morrow, when he rose, he washed\nhimself, and he went away to find the woman. When he was going for a\ntime, he met with a red-haired young man. The young man saluted him. He\nasked him where he was going. The king\u2019s son told him he was going to get\none sight of that woman.\n\n\u201cIt is better for you to hire me,\u201d said the young man.\n\n\u201cWhat wages do you be asking?\u201d\n\n\u201cHalf of all we gain, to the end of a year and a day.\u201d\n\nThe two went on with themselves till the evening came. Said the red man:\n\n\u201cThere is a man related to me living in this wood below. Do you wait here\ntill I go down to him.\u201d\n\nThe red man went down to the house of the giant. The giant was sitting on\na chair by the fire.\n\n\u201cUncle, dear,\u201d said the red man, \u201cis it like this you are?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, kinsman mine: what is coming to me?\u201d\n\nSaid the red man: \u201cThe King of the prodigious Eastern World is coming up\nto kill you. Get out of the way as quick as you can.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have an iron house outside there. Lock me into it.\u201d\n\nHe locked the man in. He went to his master. He took his master up to the\nhouse of the giant. He got ready their supper. They went to rest. This\nwas the giant\u2019s cry in the morning. \u201cLet them open.\u201d The red man went to\nhim. He asked him what was the matter.\n\n\u201cI am ready to perish with hunger. Let me out of this quickly.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not let you out,\u201d said the red man, \u201ctill you tell me where the\ndark cloak is.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is what I will never tell any one.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, if you like better not to tell, you will be there till you die.\u201d\n\n\u201cSooner than be here any longer, it is hanging in such a room.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know where it is,\u201d said the red man. \u201cBe here as long as you like.\u201d\n\nWhen the giant heard that he would not get out, he took a jump out\nbetween two bars of the iron house. Two halves were made of him. Half\nfell outside and half inside. The red man went to the giant\u2019s house. He\ngot ready the breakfast. He and his master breakfasted. He took with them\nplenty of gold and silver, two horses and two saddles. They went till\nevening was there, and they went into another wood.\n\n\u201cI have an uncle,\u201d said the red man, \u201cliving here. We shall get lodging\nto-night. Stay you here, till I go up.\u201d\n\nThe red men went in to the giant\u2019s house.\n\n\u201cUncle, dear, is it here you are resting?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, kinsman, dear: what is coming on me?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe King of the prodigious East is coming to kill you. Hide yourself as\nquick as you can.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have an iron house here outside. Lock me into it.\u201d\n\nHe locked him in. He brought his master. They made ready their supper.\nThis was the giant\u2019s cry in the morning, \u201cLet them open.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not open,\u201d said the red man, \u201ctill you tell me where are the\nslippery shoes.\u201d\n\n\u201cThey are under the bed.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know myself where they are,\u201d said the red man. \u201cStop there as long as\nyou like.\u201d\n\nWhen the giant saw he was not to get out, he took a leap between two bars\nof the iron house. Two halves were made of him. Half fell inside, and\nhalf out.\n\nThe red man and his master went on travelling till evening. They came to\nanother wood. There was a giant in the wood. The red man did to him as to\nthe other giants. He took from him the sword of light, and plenty of gold\nand silver.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the red man to his master, \u201cwe shall be going home. We have\ngot enough: go forward no farther. The woman you are approaching,\u2014there\nis not a tree in the wood on which a man\u2019s head is not hung, except one\ntree that is waiting for your head. We\u2019ll return home.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will never go home,\u201d said the king\u2019s son, \u201ctill I get one sight of\nthat woman.\u201d\n\nThey went forward till they came to the king\u2019s house. The king made\ngreat welcome for them. They took their dinner. They spent the night in\ndrinking and sport. When they were sitting to their supper she came down\nfrom the top of the house. Her head was as black as the bird\u2019s wing, her\nskin as white as the snow, and her cheeks as red as the blood. She came\nto them, to the place where they were eating. She threw him a comb. Said\nshe, \u201cIf you have not that comb to give me to-morrow, I will cut your\nhead from you.\u201d\n\nHe took hold of the comb. He put it down in his pocket. When they were\ngoing to bed the red man said, \u201cSee if you have the comb.\u201d He put his\nfingers in his pocket. He had not the comb. His tears fell.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s a pity I did not take your advice when you told me to return home.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerhaps we shall get the better of her entirely,\u201d said the red man. He\nwas comforting him till he got him to bed. When he got him to bed he put\non the dark cloak. He took with him the slippery shoes and the sword of\nlight. He went out and stood in the back yard. She came out. She made\ndown to the sea. She came to the sea. She threw a shell from her pocket.\nShe made a boat of it. She went into the boat. She began rowing with two\npaddles, till she came in on an island that was in the sea. There was a\ngreat giant on the shore. \u201cHave you got anything for me to-night?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have not,\u201d said she; \u201cbut I\u2019ll have it to-morrow night. The son of\nthe King of Erin is with me to-night. I shall have him for you to-morrow\nnight.\u201d\n\nThey went to the house. \u201cHere is the comb I gave him to-night: it is\nyours.\u201d\n\nThe giant opened a chest. He left the comb in the bottom of the chest.\nThe red man was standing by the chest. When the giant left the comb in\nit, the red man took it and put it in his pocket. The house was full of\ngoats. She went to milk the goats, till she milked one part of milk, and\none part of blood. She got the supper ready. That was the stuff they\ntook. The giant drew out an iron harrow and the skin of a white mare.\nThey lay upon that till morning. When the day came she arose and went\naway drawing to the sea. The red man followed her. When she came to the\nboat she put it in the water. She went into it. The red man followed her\non the sea. He was dashing water on her with the sword. She did not know\nwhat was delaying her. When they got home the red man went to his master.\nHe asked him was he asleep. The king\u2019s son said he was not.\n\n\u201cI have saved your head to-night. Here is the comb. Put it in your\npocket.\u201d\n\nHe put it in his pocket. The red man went to bed. When breakfast was\nready in the morning the bell rang. They rose and they washed. When they\nwere taking their breakfast she came down from the top of the house.\n\n\u201cHave you got the comb I gave you yesterday?\u201d\n\nHe put his finger in his pocket. He threw the comb to her. When she saw\nhe had the comb to get she went by with one sweep. She broke the half of\nwhat was on the table. \u201cI have a third of your daughter won,\u201d said the\nson of the King of Ireland.\n\n\u201cYou have,\u201d said the king; \u201cyou are the best champion ever came into my\nhouse.\u201d\n\nThey went hunting that day. When they came home they were making fun\ntogether till supper-time. When they were taking their supper, the\nbeautiful woman came to them. She threw a pair of scissors to him:\n\u201cUnless you have them for me to-morrow, I will have your head.\u201d\n\nHe took the scissors. He put them in his pocket. When they were going\nto bed said the red man to his master, \u201cLook and see if you have the\nscissors.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have not,\u201d said his master.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s bad for you to lose them.\u201d\n\nHe went lamenting. The red man was comforting him till he got him to bed.\nWhen he slept, the red man went out. He put on the dark cloak and the\nslippery shoes, and took the sword of light. He stood outside the door.\nIt was not long till she came out. She went down to the sea. She took a\nshell out of her pocket. She threw it on the sea and made a boat of it.\nShe went to the island. The giant was on the shore.\n\n\u201cHave you got anything for me to-night?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have not,\u201d she said; \u201cbut I shall have the son of the King of Erin\nto-morrow night.\u201d They went to the house. \u201cHere are the scissors I gave\nhim to-night. They are yours.\u201d\n\nThe giant opened a chest. He put the scissors in the bottom of the chest.\nThe red man was standing by. When the giant put the scissors in the\nchest, the red man took them and put them in his pocket.\n\nThey took their supper. The giant pulled out the harrow and the skin of\nthe white mare. They lay upon that till morning. In the morning she went\nto the sea. The red man followed her. She put her boat on the water. She\nwent into it. The red man followed her. He dashed in water on her with\nthe sword. When they got home, the red man went to his master. He asked\nhim was he asleep? The king\u2019s son said he was not.\n\n\u201cI have saved your head this night. Here are the scissors for you.\u201d\n\nIn the morning, when breakfast was ready, she came down from the top of\nthe house. She was wet and dripping. She asked him had he the scissors to\ngive her. He put his hand in his pocket. He threw her the scissors. She\ngave one sweep. She did not leave a bit of delf on the table she did not\nbreak in her rage. The king\u2019s son said to the king he had two-thirds of\nhis daughter won.\n\n\u201cYou have,\u201d said the king; \u201cand I hope you will win her altogether. I am\ntired of her.\u201d\n\nThey went hunting that day till night came. When supper was ready, she\ncame down with a flight.\n\n\u201cUnless you have the last lips I shall kiss this night, I\u2019ll have your\nhead.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s hard for me,\u201d said the king\u2019s son, \u201cto know what are the last lips\nyou kiss.\u201d\n\nHe was so troubled he did not know what to do. The red man was comforting\nhim till he got him to bed. Then he went out. She came out. She went to\nthe island. When she got in on the island the giant was bellowing on the\nshore.\n\n\u201cHave you anything for me?\u201d said the giant.\n\n\u201cI will never give you anything more. You let the comb go; you let the\nscissors go: he had the two to give me in the morning. To-night I put on\nhim obligations for something he won\u2019t have to give me: that is, the last\nlips I shall kiss this night\u2014and those are your lips.\u201d\n\nShe went to milk the goats. She mixed a part of blood, and a part of\nmilk. She made ready the supper. They ate and drank enough. He got the\niron harrow and the skin of the white mare. They lay upon that till\nmorning. When the day came upon the morrow she kissed him three times.\n\n\u201cThose are the last lips I shall kiss. He won\u2019t have them to give me\nto-morrow.\u201d\n\nShe rose and she went. When she went out the red man whisked the head\noff the giant. He put a knot in the ear. He threw it over his shoulder.\nHe was on the shore as soon as she was. She went into the boat. She was\ndrawing to home. He went out after her. Much as he drenched her the\nnights before, twice as much did he drench her this night. They went\nhome. The red man came to his master in bed.\n\n\u201cAre you asleep, master?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am not now,\u201d said the king\u2019s son.\n\n\u201cHere are the last lips she kissed last night, and, by my faith, they\nwere ugly lips for a lady to be kissing.\u201d\n\nHe took the head and threw it under the bed. When breakfast was ready in\nthe morning she came down with a flight. She asked him,\u2014\n\n\u201cWhere are the last lips that I kissed last night?\u201d\n\nHe put his hand under the bed. He took hold of the giant\u2019s head. He threw\nit over at her feet. When she saw the giant was dead she gave one sweep,\nand she left not a chair or a table, nor anything on the table, she did\nnot make smash of, so great was her anger.\n\n\u201cI have your daughter all won now,\u201d said the king\u2019s son.\n\n\u201cYou have; and you are the best champion that came under my roof ever.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, we\u2019ll go hunting to-day,\u201d said the red man. They went hunting. The\nred man cut three bundles of rods. He made three flails. When they came\nhome, \u201cNow,\u201d said he, \u201cbring your daughter out here.\u201d\n\nThe king brought her out. \u201cTie her hands and feet,\u201d said the red man,\n\u201cand leave her lying there.\u201d The king left her lying. The red man gave\none flail to the king, and one to his master.\n\n\u201cStrike you the first blow.\u201d\n\nThe king struck the first blow. The three were striking her for a long\ntime. A blaze of fire came out of her mouth. \u201cStrike ye more. There is\nmore in her.\u201d\n\nThey struck till another lump of fire came out of her mouth. \u201cStrike,\u201d\nsaid the red man, \u201cthere is one more in her.\u201d\n\nThey struck till the third came. \u201cNow,\u201d said the red man, \u201cstrike her no\nmore. Those were three devils that came out of her. Loose her now; she is\nas quiet as any woman in the world.\u201d\n\nThey loosed her and put her to bed. She was tired after the beating.\n\nThe priest of the pattens and the clerk of the bells came. The pair were\nmarried. The red man stayed with them a year and a day. A young son was\nborn to them. When the day and the year were up the red man said it was\ntime for him to be going.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know what I\u2019ll do after you,\u201d said the kings son.\n\n\u201cOh, make no delay,\u201d said the red man; \u201cthe hire is just.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is just,\u201d said the king\u2019s son.\n\nHe made two halves of all he gained since he hired him. \u201cI will give you\nmy child all,\u201d said he; \u201cI think it a pity to go to cut him in two.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not take him all,\u201d said the red man; \u201cI will not take but my\nbargain.\u201d\n\nThe king\u2019s son took a knife and was going to cut. \u201cStop your hand,\u201d said\nthe red man. \u201cDo you remember the day you were going past the churchyard?\nThere were four men in the churchyard. They had a corpse, and they were\narguing about the debts that were on the corpse. They were not willing to\nbury the corpse till the debts were paid. You had five pounds. You gave\nthem to bury the corpse. It was I was in the coffin that day. When I saw\nyou starting on your journey I went to you to save you, you were that\ngood yourself. I bestow on you your child and your money. Health be with\nyou and blessing. You will set eyes upon me no more.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n_GRIG._\n\n_Narrator, JACK GILLESPIE, Glen, Glencolumkille, co. Donegal._\n\n\nMorrocha heard that Grig would live for ever, until he was killed without\nsin. He left home to put Grig to death; and he and his boy went one day\non the hill, and there came on them rain and mist, and they went astray\ntill night came; and the boy said to Morrocha, \u201cWe shall be out this\nnight.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, we shall not be,\u201d said Morrocha. And he went and looked through\nthe mist. \u201cI think I see a turf stack: it is not possible we are near a\nhouse?\u201d They went on for another bit, and Morrocha stood: \u201cI think,\u201d said\nhe, \u201cI hear the lowing of a cow.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe are near a house,\u201d said the boy, \u201cand we\u2019ll get into the byre.\u201d\n\nMorrocha stood up, and he felt the breath of a man, and he came to him.\n\u201cBless you,\u201d said Morrocha.\n\n\u201cMy blessing to you,\u201d said the man; \u201cfor if you did not bless me, I would\nhave your head or you would have mine.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe death-bands on you,\u201d said Morrocha; \u201csorry I am I came to ask\nshelter of you.\u201d\n\nSaid Theegerje, \u201cI have no shelter to give you. There is not a house\nnearer to you than the house of Grig, and that is seven miles away; and\nif you go there don\u2019t tell that you have seen me. I am his servant boy,\nand Grig is lying on the one bed for seven years, and if you go there\ntell him you are the best doctor ever stepped.\u201d\n\nMorrocha went on then, and when he came to Grig\u2019s house, said Grig, \u201cIf\nit were not that you are a good doctor, I would cut the head from you.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe death-bands on you,\u201d said Morrocha; \u201csorry I am I came to cure you,\nabove and beyond the report I heard about you at home and abroad.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd,\u201d said Grig, \u201cif I had Njuclas Croanj and my wife she would not be\non your side.\u201d\n\nShe was sleeping at Grig\u2019s back in the bed, and he told her to get up,\nand she did not stir, and Grig lifted his hand and struck her on the\njaw-bone and put it out of joint, and she awoke and she said, \u201cWhat made\nyou do that to me?\u201d\n\n\u201cBe silent, woman; don\u2019t you see the Irish doctor that\u2019s come to cure me,\nand to see me hale and whole and as good as ever I was?\u201d\n\n\u201cMusha, it\u2019s a poor place he\u2019s come to. There isn\u2019t a wisp dry or wet\nthat isn\u2019t under your side, and we haven\u2019t a stool better than the floor,\nor a chair better than a lump of clay, and we haven\u2019t as much fire as\nwould cook the wing of a butterfly.\u201d\n\n\u201cBe silent, woman,\u201d said Grig, \u201cand take my old great coat and fix it\nunder me.\u201d\n\nShe did that; and Theegerje came, and a load of faggots with him, and he\nput down a good fire, and Morrocha got food to eat, and when he warmed\nhimself at the fire he was weary-wet, and he was falling asleep.\n\n\u201cThe death-bands on you,\u201d said Grig; \u201cyou\u2019re not like a doctor, for\nyou\u2019ve never asked what kind of sickness is on me.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is not that,\u201d said Morrocha; \u201cbut there are numbers of people, and\ntheir blood runs all together when they see strangers.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am of them,\u201d said Grig.\n\n\u201cI was not going to feel your pulse until you got quiet.\u201d\n\nWhen he became quiet Morrocha arose and felt his pulse.\n\n\u201cAnd great is the pity,\u201d said he, \u201cthat a fine man like you should be\nlying in that place on one bed, and I will cure you. If you got potatoes\nand butter, and ate the full of your fist, you would not be long sick.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s true,\u201d said Grig, \u201cand if Njuclas Croanj gave me that I wouldn\u2019t\nbe lying here.\u201d\n\nMorrocha asked if they had any food in the house, and Njuclas Croanj said\nthey had,\u2014that Theegerje was just after coming from the mill, and that\nhe had three pecks of oatmeal. And Morrocha bade them give him a peck of\nmeal, and she gave him that. And he asked if there was any butter in the\nhouse, and she said there was. \u201cBring me down a crock of fresh butter,\u201d\nsaid he. And she brought that to him, and Morrocha mixed the meal and the\nbutter up together, and he asked for a spoon, and he thrust the spoon\ninto the dish.\n\n\u201cDo you see that?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cI see,\u201d said Grig.\n\n\u201cYou won\u2019t get it,\u201d said Morrocha, \u201ctill you tell me what was the horde\nof people from whom you came.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will tell you that,\u201d said Grig. \u201cI am Grig, son of Stubborn, son of\nVery-evil, Shanrach, son of Canrain, son of the Soldier, who made people\nloathe him greatly.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe death-bands on you,\u201d said Morrocha. \u201cWeren\u2019t they ugly names they\nhad?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe death-bands on you,\u201d said Grig. \u201cIsn\u2019t it you that are ugly? They\nwere prosperous, blessed.\u201d\n\n\u201cI give in that they were,\u201d said Morrocha. \u201cIt was ignorance made me say\nthat. But what sort was that one, the son of the Soldier?\u201d\n\n\u201cThis,\u201d said Grig, \u201cwas one of the fathers who came before me; and the\nsnout of a pig was on his forehead; and he had two daughters, whose names\nwere Maywa, the big, Molloy\u2019s daughter, and the other\u2019s Sahwa, the big,\ndaughter of Cricheen, and they went to Cornelius (?) the tailor, and they\ngathered the clippings the tailors threw away, and they made up two lying\nbooks of them, and they failed to make the books agree upon one story;\nand they struck one another, and the father came, and they struck their\nfather and cut him; and he went, and he in his blood, and the pig\u2019s snout\non his forehead, and there is not one that saw him, but they would flee\nfrom him in thousands. And at last they got the two books to agree upon\none story, and when the clergy heard they had the books, they desired to\npossess them, and they would not give them. And they banished them; and\nif they banished them we will not leave the night supperless.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd now,\u201d said Morrocha, \u201cI will give you supper.\u201d And he went and\ngave the dish to Grig, and he ate the peck of meal and the butter mixed\ntogether. \u201cNow,\u201d said the other, \u201cthirst will come on you; the butter was\nsaltish, but do not drink a drop until I gather herbs that will help your\nsickness.\u201d He went and the boy, and Njuclas Croanj and Theegerje with\nthem, and they put down a big pot full of water before they went, and\nMorrocha gathered the full of a basket of hellebore (?) and he gathered\ntormentil, and he went into the house with Njuclas Croanj and Theegerje,\nand he bade them put the herbs into the pot and boil them, and when he\ngrew thirsty to give him some of the liquor to drink, and, if he wished,\nsome of the stalks to eat, \u201cand I will gather more, and will come in to\nsee if he is getting better.\u201d\n\nAnd Grig took a great thirst, and he set to drinking what was in the pot,\nand he drank it all; and when Njuclas Croanj went in, Morrocha and his\nboy went away; and when Grig drank the last of what was in the pot, he\nburst as he lay on the bed; and when Njuclas Croanj saw he was dead, she\nfollowed Morrocha; but since the Lord was with Morrocha, he escaped.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n_THE LITTLE GIRL WHO GOT THE BETTER OF THE GENTLEMAN._\n\n_Narrator, P. M\u2019GRALE, Achill, co. Mayo._\n\n\nThere was an old man with a little girl of seven years, and he was\nbegging; and he came to a gentleman, and begged of him; and the gentleman\nsaid it would be better for him to go and earn wages than to be as he\nwas\u2014begging; and the man said he would go, and willingly, if he got any\none to pay him, and the other said he would himself give him pay, and a\nhouse to live in for himself, and for the little girl to come to and wash\nand cook for him. He gave them the house, and they went to live in it.\n\nThey were not long there when the gentleman came to the little girl one\nday, and thought to take liberties with her, but she kept herself free\nfrom him. When he saw that, he went to his workmen, and he spoke to her\nfather, and said to him that he would hang him at twelve o\u2019clock next\nday unless he told him which there was the greater number of, rivers\nor banks. His intention was to put the old man to death, that he might\nhave his way with the little girl. And the old man went home sorrowful\nand troubled, and his daughter asked him what ailed him, and he told her\nhe was to be hung at twelve o\u2019clock next day unless he could tell which\nthere was the greater number of, rivers or banks.\n\n\u201cOh, don\u2019t be sorrowful,\u201d said his daughter, \u201ceat your supper, and sleep\nplenty, and eat your breakfast in the morning, and when you are going to\nwork, I will tell you.\u201d\n\nIn the morning said she to him, \u201cSay, when he asks you the question, that\nthere is not a river but has two banks.\u201d\n\nWhen he went to work the master came and asked him, \u201cWhich is there the\ngreater number of, rivers or banks?\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is not a river,\u201d said he, \u201cbut has two banks.\u201d\n\n\u201cYour question is answered; but you must tell me to-morrow the number of\nthe stars.\u201d\n\nAnd he went home in the evening sorrowful and troubled. And his daughter\nasked him what ailed him, and he told her. She bade him not to be\nsorrowful, for she would tell him in the morning. And in the morning he\nwent to his work, and his master came and asked him to count the number\nof the stars; and he said,\u2014\n\n\u201cI will, if you put posts under them.\u201d\n\nAnd he could not do that, but he said,\u2014\n\n\u201cI will hang you at twelve to-morrow, if you don\u2019t give me the measure of\nthe sea in quarts.\u201d\n\nAnd he went home to his daughter and told her, and in the morning, as he\nwas going to work, she said,\u2014\n\n\u201cLet him stop the rivers that are going into the sea or out of it, and\nyou will measure it in quarts.\u201d\n\nSo he gave that answer to his master, and his master could not stop the\nrivers.\n\nThen he asked for the little girl in marriage, and the old man told him\nnot to be making fun of the little girl, she was not fit for him. He\nwould get a lady.\n\n\u201cI will not do that,\u201d said he, \u201cyou must give her to me to marry.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I must see the little girl; she will know what she will do.\u201d\n\nHe went to his daughter and told her what the gentleman said, and the\nlittle girl answered her father, and said to him,\u2014\n\n\u201cI will marry him, but he must give me a writing under his hand that on\nthe day when he puts me away he must give me my choice of all that\u2019s in\nhis house, to take away three loads with me.\u201d\n\nAnd he said he would give her that, and she got it in his handwriting and\nsigned by the lawyer.\n\nThen the little girl came and lived in his house with him until she had\ntwo children.\n\nAt that time there was a dispute in the village between two men, one of\nwhom had a horse, and the other a mare and a foal, and the three beasts\nused to be together. And the man who owned the horse said that the foal\nbelonged to the horse; and the man of the mare, said no, that the foal\nwas his; and the man who owned the horse put law on the man who owned the\nmare, and they left it to arbitration; and the man who was brought in\nto decide was the gentleman, who said he would settle it between them.\nAnd this is the judgment he gave, \u201cHe would put the three beasts into an\nempty house, and he would open two doors, and which ever of the two the\nfoal followed, she should be with that one.\u201d And he (did so) and opened\nthe doors, and struck each beast, and prodded the horse; and the horse\nwent out first and the foal followed him. Then the foal was given to the\nman who owned the horse.\n\nAll was well till there came some gentlemen to the house. They went out\nhunting. And when they were a while gone the woman took a fishing-rod,\nand she went fishing in the lake, and she was catching white trout until\nshe saw the company coming, and she turned her back to the lake, and she\nbegan casting her line on the dry land. When her husband saw that, he\nwent towards her, away from the other people, and he came and said it\nwas a great wonder she should be casting her line on the dry ground and\nthe lake on the other side of her; and she said it was a great wonder\nthat a horse without milk should have a foal. That made him very angry,\nand he said on the spot,\u2014\n\n\u201cAfter your dinner get ready and go from me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWill you give me what you promised?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will give it.\u201d\n\nAfter dinner, when the gentlemen were gone, he told her to be going, and\nshe stood up and took with her her own child as a load and laid it down\noutside the door. She came in and took the second child as her load and\nput it outside. She came and she said, \u201cI believe yourself are the load\nthat\u2019s nearest to me.\u201d And she threw her arms round him and took him out\nas her third load. \u201cYou are now my own,\u201d said she, \u201cand you cannot part\nfrom me.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! I am content,\u201d said he, \u201cand I promise I will not part from you for\never.\u201d\n\nThey lived together then, and she took her father into the house, and he\nwas with her until he died. They had a long life after.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n_GILLA OF THE ENCHANTMENTS._\n\n_Narrator, P. M\u2019GRALE, Dugort, Achill co. Mayo._\n\n\nThere was a king in Ireland and his wife, and they had but one daughter,\nwhose name was Gilla of the Enchantments, and she had a magic coat that\nher mother left her when she died. And there was a man courting her whose\nname was George n\u0103 Riell, and the two were courting.\n\nWhen her mother died the king made a fair and beautiful greenawn for his\nthree sons on an island in the midst of the sea, and there he put them to\nlive; and he sent his daughter to them with food every evening.\n\nIt was not long after that till he married another wife, and by this wife\nhe had three daughters. She was one day walking in the garden, and she\ngot the corner of her apron under her foot and she fell.\n\n\u201cMay neither God nor Mary be with you,\u201d said the hen-wife.\n\n\u201cWhy do you say that?\u201d said the queen.\n\n\u201cBecause the wife that was here before was better than you.\u201d\n\n\u201cWas there a wife before me?\u201d\n\n\u201cThere was; and that one is her daughter, and there are three sons also\nin an island in the sea, and the daughter goes every night to them with\nfood.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat shall I do with the three of them, to put them to death?\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll tell you,\u201d said the hen-wife, \u201cif you will do what I advise you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will do it,\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cPromise a dowry to your eldest daughter if she will follow the (other)\ndaughter out when she is going with food to her brothers.\u201d\n\nAnd she sent her daughter after the one who was going with food; but she\nlooked behind her and saw the other coming, and she made a bog and a\nlake between them, so big that she went astray. She came to her mother,\nand told her she was wandering all the night, and the mother went to the\nhen-wife again and told her that her daughter had not made her way to\nthe men; and the hen-wife said to her, \u201cPromise a dowry to your second\ndaughter.\u201d\n\nAnd she did this, and the second daughter followed as the first did, and\nfared in the same way, and she came and told her mother. And the mother\nwent again to the hen-wife, and told her, and asked what she ought to do,\nand the hen-wife said, \u201cPromise the dowry to your third daughter.\u201d\n\nAnd the third daughter followed Gilla of the Enchantments when she was\ngoing with the food; and she did not look behind her till she came to\nthe house; and she put a pot of water down, and cut off the heads of her\nthree brothers, and washed them, and put them on their shoulders again.\nAnd the half-sister was at the window looking on at everything she did,\nand she went home through the sea, before the sea returned together; and\nwhen they ate their supper, her sister came home.\n\nThe mother went in the morning to the hen-wife and told her the third\nwoman had succeeded, and had learned everything. And she asked her what\nshe should do.\n\n\u201cSay, now, that your daughter is going to be married, and ask Gilla for\nthe loan of the coat. She will not know that the power of the coat will\nbe gone if she gives it away. So long as she keeps the coat herself she\ncan do everything; there are spells on the coat that the sea must open\nbefore it, without closing after it; but she does not know that the spell\nof the coat will be lost.\u201d\n\nShe gave the loan of the coat to her half-sister, but instead of going to\nbe married this is what she did. When night came she put the coat on and\nwent to the house of her half-brothers, knocked at the door, and asked\nthem to open it. And one of the brothers said, \u201cThat is not my sister.\u201d\nBut another looked out of the window and saw the coat and recognised\nit, and he opened the door and let her in. She cut the three heads off,\nand took them three quarters of a mile and put them into a hole in the\nground, and went back to her mother and told her she had killed the\nthree. She gave the coat back to Gilla of the Enchantments, and Gilla\nwent in the evening to her brothers with food, and whatever sort of\nfastening the other one put on the door she could not open it, but had to\ngo in by the window, and she found her three brothers dead.\n\nShe wept and she screamed and pulled the hair from her head in her\nlamentations, till the whiteness of the day came upon the morrow. She\nhad not one head of the heads to get; but she followed the trace of the\nblood, and three quarters of a mile from the house were they in the\nplace where they were buried. She dug them up, and took them to her, and\nwashed and cleaned them, as was her wont, and put them on the bodies,\nbut down they fell. She had to take them up at last, and cry to God to\ndo something to them, that she might see them alive. And there were made\nof them three water-dogs (? otters) and she made another of herself.\nThey were going in that way for a time, and then they made themselves\ninto three doves, and she made of herself another dove. They were going\nforward and she was following, and the four came and settled on the gable\nof the house, and in the morning the man said to his wife,\u2014\n\n\u201cThere is a barrel of water. Let it be wine with you in the evening.\u201d\n\n(He had a thought that it was not the right woman he had got.)\n\nThen said one of the brothers to the sister,\u2014\n\n\u201cGo in, and do good in return for evil, and make wine of the water.\u201d\n\nShe went down, and when she got in, and she in the shape of a dove, the\nold blind wise man, who was lying on the bed under the window, got his\nsight, and he saw her dipping her finger in the water and making of it\nwine cold and wholesome.\n\nAnd in the morning the man said to his wife,\u2014\n\n\u201cHere is a barrel of water. Let it be wine with you in the evening.\u201d\n\nAnd the second brother said to his sister,\u2014\n\n\u201cGo in, and do good in return for evil, and make wine of the water.\u201d\n\nShe went down, and when she went in at the window, and she in the shape\nof a dove, the old wise blind man, who was lying on the bed under the\nwindow, got his sight, and saw her dipping her finger in the water and\nmaking it wine cold and wholesome.\n\nAnd in the morning on the third day the wise old man spoke to the king,\nand said to him that he had seen a beautiful woman come in by the window\non two days, and that he got his sight when she came in and lost it when\nshe went out; and (said he) \u201cStretch yourself here to-day, and when she\ncomes in and makes wine of the water, catch her as she is going out.\u201d\n\nAnd he did so, and the third brother said to his sister,\u2014\n\n\u201cGo down to-day, and do good in return for evil, and make the wine.\u201d\n\nAnd she did this; and as she was going out the man caught her. And when\nher brothers heard that she was caught they went away. And she asked him\nto give her leave to take just one look at her brothers.\n\n\u201cHere\u2019s the corner of my apron.\u201d\n\nAnd he took hold of the corner of her apron, and she left him the apron\nand went away after her brothers. When they saw her coming again they\nwaited for her, and she asked them if there was anything at all in the\nworld that would make them alive again; and they said there was one thing\nonly and that hard it was to do.\n\n\u201cWhat is it?\u201d said she, \u201cand I will try it.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo make three shirts of the ivy-leaves in a day and a year, without\nuttering a word of speech or shedding a single tear, for if you weep[13]\nwe shall lose one member of our members.\u201d\n\nAnd she said to them to make a little hut for her in the wood, and they\nmade the hut and went away and left her there. She was not long till she\nbegan to get material for the shirts, and she began to make them; and she\nwas not long in the house when George n\u0103 Riell came to her, and he was\nwith her till she had a child to him.\n\nA young man was in the wood one day and a dog with him, and the dog took\nhim to the place where the woman was; and the man saw the woman and\nthe child there, and he went home and told the queen that there was a\nbeautiful woman in the wood. And she went and took the dog with her, as\nif the dog was with George n\u0103 Riell. She went in and found the woman and\nthe babe, and she killed the babe and caught some of the blood, and mixed\nthe blood and ashes up together and made a cake, and she sought to put a\npiece of the bread into the woman\u2019s mouth. And the woman dropped one tear\nfrom her eye; but the other went away home to her wedded husband, and she\nsaid to him that great was the shame for him to have children by that\nwoman, and that she had had to kill her own child and eat it.\n\n\u201cIt is not possible,\u201d said he, \u201cthat she has killed my babe.\u201d\n\n\u201cShe killed and she ate.\u201d\n\nHe went to her and found the child dead; but she did not speak a word to\nhim. He said then he would burn her at twelve o\u2019clock on the next day,\nand that he would put a tree of one foot and hang her on it. He commanded\nthat every one should come in the morning with sods of turf and sheets of\npaper and everything to make a fire. And he put the tree standing, and\nshe was brought and put up on the top of the tree; and she was sewing\nduring this time. When it was twelve o\u2019clock, sign was given she should\nbe hung, and an old man in the crowd asked them to give her another hour\nby the clock; and when the hour was passed he asked again that they\nshould give her a half-hour; the woman in it (he said) was under gassa.\n\u201cYou see that it is not her life that is troubling her, but that she is\nalways sewing.\u201d\n\nIt was not long till they saw a black cloud coming through the air, and\nthey saw three things in the cloud coming.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the old man, \u201cthere are three angels from heaven, or three\ndevils from hell, coming for her soul.\u201d\n\nThere were three black ravens coming, and their mouths open, and as it\nwere fire out of their mouths, till the three black ravens came and lay\nin their sister\u2019s bosom, and she on the top of the tree, and she put the\nthree shirts on them, and said,\u2014\n\n\u201cFinn, Inn, and Brown Glegil, show that I am your sister, for in pain am\nI to-day.\u201d\n\nThey took hold of her and lifted her down from the tree, and the brothers\ntold George n\u0103 Riell everything that the half-sister had done, first that\nshe killed the three of them, and afterwards that it was she that killed\ntheir sister\u2019s child.\n\nThen she was put up on the tree, and she was hung, and then thrown into\nthe fire. And they went home, and George n\u0103 Riell married Gilla of the\nEnchantments and took her into his own house, and they spent the rest of\ntheir life as is right.\n\nI don\u2019t know what happened to them since then.\n\n[13] The narrator knew his story imperfectly as regards this point,\nfor she did shed one tear; but whether the brothers lost an eye in\nconsequence he was not sure.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n_THE WOMAN WHO WENT TO HELL._\n\n_Narrator, P. MINAHAN, Malinmore, Glencolumkille, co. Donegal._\n\n\nThere was a woman coming out of her garden with an apron-full of cabbage.\nA man met her. He asked her what she would take for her burden. She\nsaid it was not worth a great deal, that she would give it to him for\nnothing. He said he would not take it, but would buy it. She said she\nwould only take sixpence. He gave her the sixpence. She threw the cabbage\ntowards him. He said that was not what he bought, but the burden she was\ncarrying. Who was there but the devil? She was troubled then. She went\nhome and she was weeping. It was a short time until her young son was\nborn. He was growing till he was eighteen years old. He was out one day\nand fell, and never rose up till he died. When they were going to bury\nhim, they took him to the people\u2019s house (_i.e._, the chapel). They left\nhim there till morning.\n\nThere was a man among the neighbours who had three daughters. He took out\na box of snuff to give (the men) a pinch. The last man to whom the box\nwent round left the box on the altar. They went home. When the man was\ngoing to bed he went looking for his box. The box was not to be got. He\nsaid he had left it behind him in the people\u2019s house. He said he would\nnot sleep that night until he got a pinch. He asked one of his daughters\nto go to the people\u2019s house and bring him the box that was on the altar.\nShe said there was loneliness on her. He cried to the second woman,\nwould she go? She said she would not go; that she was lonely. He cried\nto the third, would she go? And she said she would go; that there was no\nloneliness on her in his presence (_i.e._, of the corpse).\n\nShe went to the people\u2019s house. She found the box. She put it in her\npocket. When she was coming away she saw a ring at the end of the coffin.\nShe caught hold of it till it came to her. The end came from the coffin.\nThe man that was dead came out. He enjoined on her not to be afraid.\n\n\u201cDo you see that fire over yonder? If you are able, carry me to that\nfire.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am not able,\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cBe dragging me with you as well as you can.\u201d\n\nShe put him on her back. She dragged him till they came to the fire.\n\n\u201cDraw out the fire,\u201d said he, \u201cand put me lying in the midst of it; fix\nup the fire over me. Anything of me that is not burnt put the fire on it\nagain.\u201d\n\nHe was burning till he was all burnt. When the day was coming she was\ntroubled on account of what she had seen during the night. When the day\ngrew clear there came a young man, who began making fun with her.\n\n\u201cI have not much mind for fun on account of what I have seen during the\nnight.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, it was I who was there,\u201d said the young man.\n\n\u201cI would go to heaven if I could get an angel made by you left in my\nfather\u2019s room.\u201d\n\nThree quarters (of a year) from that night she dressed herself up as\nif she was a poor woman. She went to his father\u2019s house and asked for\nlodging till morning. The woman of the house said that they were not\ngiving lodging to any poor person at all. She said she would not ask but\na seat by the fire. The man of the house told her to stay till morning.\nShe stopped. They went both to lie down. She sat by the fire. In the\ncourse of the night she went into the room, and there she had a young\nson. He, _i.e._, her husband, came in at the window in the shape of a\nwhite dove. He dressed the child. The child began to cry. The woman of\nthe house heard the crying. She would wager the lady had left a baby\nafter her. She rose to get out of the bed. Her husband told her to lie\nquiet and have patience. She got up in spite of him. The door of the\nroom was shut. She looked in through the keyhole. He was standing on the\nfloor. She perceived it was her son who was there. She cried to him, was\nit he that was there? He said it was.\n\n\u201cOne glance of your eye has sent me for seven years to hell.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will go myself in your place,\u201d said his mother.\n\nShe went then to go to hell. When she came to the gate, there came\nout steam so that she was burnt and scalded. It was necessary for her\nto return. \u201cWell,\u201d said the father, \u201cI will go in your place.\u201d It was\nnecessary for him to return. The young man began to weep. He said he must\ngo himself. The mother of the child said that she would go.\n\n\u201cHere is a ring for you,\u201d said he. \u201cWhen thirst comes on you, or hunger,\nput the ring in your mouth; you will feel neither thirst nor hunger.\nThis is the work that will be on you\u2014to keep down the souls; they are\nstewing and burning in the boiler. Do not eat a bit of food there. There\nis a barrel in the corner, and all the food that you get throw into the\nbarrel.\u201d\n\nShe went to hell then. She was keeping down the souls in the boiler. They\nwere rising in leaps out of it. All the food she got she threw into the\nbarrel till the seven years were over. She was making ready to be going\nthen. The devil came to her. He said she could not go yet awhile till\nshe had paid for the food she had eaten. She said she had not eaten one\nmorsel of his share: \u201cAll that I got, it is in the barrel.\u201d The devil\nwent to the barrel. All he had given her was there for him.\n\n\u201cHow much will you take to stay seven years more?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I am long enough with you,\u201d said she; \u201cif you give me the all that I\ncan carry, I can stay with you.\u201d\n\nHe said he would give it. She stopped. She was keeping down the souls\nduring seven years. She was shortening the time as well as she could till\nthe seven years were ended. Then she was going. When the souls saw she\nwas going they rose up with one cry, lest one of them should be left.\nThey went clinging to her; they were hanging to her hair all that were\nin the boiler. She moved on with her burden. She had not gone far when a\nlady in a carriage met her.\n\n\u201cOh! great is your burden,\u201d said the lady; \u201cwill you give it to me?\u201d\n\n\u201cWho are you?\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cI am the Virgin Mary.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will not give it to you.\u201d\n\nShe moved on with herself. She had not gone far when a gentleman met her.\n\n\u201cGreat is your burden, my poor woman; will you give it to me?\u201d\n\n\u201cWho are you?\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cI am God,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cI will not give my burden to you.\u201d\n\nShe went on with herself another while. Another gentlemen met her.\n\n\u201cGreat is the burden you have,\u201d said the gentleman; \u201cwill you give it to\nme?\u201d\n\n\u201cWho are you?\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cI am the King of Sunday,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cI will give my burden to you,\u201d said she. \u201cNo rest had I ever in hell\nexcept on Sunday.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, it is a good woman you are; the first lady you met it was the\ndevil was there; the second person you met it was the devil was there,\ntrying if they could get your burden from you back. Now,\u201d said God, \u201cthe\nman for whom you have done all this is going to be married to-morrow. He\nthought you were lost since you were in that place so long. You will not\nknow till you are at home.\u201d\n\nShe did not know till she was at home. The house was full of drinking and\nmusic. She went to the fire. Her own son came up to her.\n\nShe was making him wonder she was so worn and wasted. She told the child\nto go to his father and get a glass of whisky for her to drink. The child\nwent crying to look for his father. He asked his father to give him a\nglass of whisky. His father gave it. He came down where she was by the\nfire. He gave her the glass. She drank it, there was so much thirst on\nher. The ring that her husband gave her she put in the glass.\n\n\u201cPut your hand over the mouth of the glass; give it to no one at all till\nyou hand it to your father.\u201d\n\nThe lad went to his father. He gave him the glass. The father looked into\nit, and saw the ring. He recognised the ring.\n\n\u201cWho has given you this?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cA poor woman by the fire,\u201d said the lad.\n\nThe father raised the child on his shoulders that he might point out to\nhim the woman who had given him the ring. The child came to the poor\nwoman.\n\n\u201cThat is the woman,\u201d said he, \u201cwho gave me the ring.\u201d\n\nThe man recognised her then. He said that hardly did he know her when she\ncame so worn and wasted. He said to all the people that he would never\nmarry any woman but this one; that she had done everything for him; that\nhis mother sold him to the devil, and the woman had earned him back; that\nshe had spent fourteen years in hell, and now she had returned.\n\nThis is a true story. They are all lies but this one.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n_THE KING WHO HAD TWELVE SONS._\n\n_Narrator, JOHN MCGINTY, Valley, Achill Island._\n\n\nHe went down to the river every day and killed a salmon for each one of\nthem. He saw a duck on the river and twelve (young) birds with her; and\nshe was beating the twelfth away from her. He went to the old druid and\nasked what was the cause why the duck was beating away the twelfth bird\nfrom her.\n\n\u201cIt was this,\u201d said the old druid; \u201cshe gave the bird to God and the\nDjachwi.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, I have twelve sons,\u201d said the king; \u201cI will give one of them to\nGod and to the Djachwi, as the duck is giving one of her birds to God and\nthe Djachwi. The twelve are going to school, and you must tell me which\nof them it is best for me to give away.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhichever of them is last at the gate in the evening, that is the man\nyou will give away; and whatever money you have left out to give him\nthrow it to him over the gate, and tell him he must go and seek his own\nfortune.\u201d\n\nThe younger children were running on first to the house, being hungry,\nand the eldest was coming, reading a book, after them. The father was\nstanding at the gate on the inside, and he threw him a purse of money,\nand told him he must go seek his fortune, that he gave him to God and to\nthe Djachwi.\n\nHe went and spent that night with the old druid. He rose in the morning\nand washed his face, and prayed to God to put him in luck again until\nevening. He gave a good heap of the gold to the old druid. The old druid\ngave him a card and a bridle, and told him that any beast he would rub\nthe card to, if his skin was full of disease, would be cured.[14] He went\naway that morning and he met with a king upon the road. The king asked\nhim,\u2014\n\n\u201cWhat are you seeking?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am seeking a master,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cYour like is what I am wanting,\u201d said the king. \u201cI have three hundred\nhorses and there is not one of them fit to put to my carriage, they are\nso full of lumps in their skin.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am able to cure them,\u201d said the other.\n\n\u201cHow much do you ask till the end of a day and a year?\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll be asking of you nothing at all but the beast that comes and puts\nthe head in this bridle mine.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the king.\n\nHe was a good serving-boy, and he minded the horses. He was not two days\nwith his master when two of them were cured, fit to go with the carriage.\nHe went every evening to an old couple, and he used to get news in plenty\nfrom them.\n\n\u201cDid you hear the great news there is to-night?\u201d\n\n\u201cI did not hear. What is the news?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe daughter of the King of the great Wren is to be devoured to-morrow\nby a piast.\u201d[15]\n\n\u201cI did not hear it,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cWas it in a wood or a hole in the ground you\u2019ve been that you didn\u2019t\nhear it? Gentle and simple of the three islands are to be there to-morrow\nto look at the piast swallowing her\u2014at twelve o\u2019clock to-morrow.\u201d\n\n(The next day) when he found that every one was gone to the place where\nthe piast was to come on land, he called out for his second best suit of\nclothes, and it came to him with a leap; and he shook the bridle, and the\nugliest pony in the stables came to him and put her head into the bridle.\n\u201cBe up riding on me with a jump\u201d (said the pony) lowering himself on his\ntwo knees. He gave his face to the way and he would overtake the wind of\nMarch that was before him, and the wind of March that was after would\nnot overtake him. When he came in sight of the place where the gathering\nwas, the piast was coming till she was half upon the land; and he and the\npiast went fighting, till he tore her with his mouth and feet.\n\nHe came back and gave his face to the way, and he ran so near to the\nplace where the king\u2019s daughter was to be swallowed that she caught the\nboot from the foot of the man who was riding on the pony. He came home\nand attended to his horses, and no one knew who was the man who was\nmounted on the pony that killed the piast. She proclaimed a gathering of\nall the men in the three islands, that she might see who the man was whom\nthe shoe fitted. There was not a man at all coming whom the shoe would\nfit, and she was not going to marry any man but the one whom the shoe\nfitted. The old man said it was right for him to go to her to see if the\nshoe would fit him. He called for the suit of clothes that he wore on\nthe day when the pony killed the piast, and he went to her (the king\u2019s\ndaughter). She knew him at once. The shoe was in her hand, and it leaped\nfrom her hand till it went on his foot.\n\n\u201cYou are the man that was on the pony on the day that he killed the\npiast, and you are the man whom I will marry.\u201d\n\nHe was seven nights and seven days at feast and festival, and they were\nmarried on the eighth day. They spent that night part in talking and part\nin story-telling; till the early day came and the clear brightness on the\nmorrow morning.\n\nHe said to her that he would be riding in the morning on the pony; and\nhe was going, and he came on an apple of gold upon the strand, and the\npony told him not to take up the apple or it would give him abundance of\ntrouble.\n\n\u201cWhatever trouble it may give me I will take it up!\u201d\n\nHe went home and the pearl of gold with him. In the morning he went to\nthe old druid, and the old druid told him that it was the daughter of a\nking of the eastern world, who lost it from her hair;\u2014that there was a\npearl of gold on every rib of hair upon her head, and that she and her\ntwelve attendant women were bathing in such a place the day she lost it.\n\n\u201cI will never stop,\u201d said he, \u201ctill I see the woman who lost it.\u201d\n\nThe pony told him she was hard to see.\n\n\u201cThere are seven miles of hill on fire to cross before you come to where\nshe is, and there are seven miles of steel thistles, and seven miles of\nsea for you to go over. I told you to have nothing to do with the apple.\nAll the same it is as good for you to go riding on me till we try to go\nto her place.\u201d\n\nHe went on his two knees, and he went riding on him, till he crossed\nthe seven miles of hill on fire, and the seven miles of steel thistles,\nand the seven miles of sea. When they came to the castle in which she\nwas, there was a great dinner that day with her, and a great gathering\nof company. There were three-and-twenty feet of moat to cross before\nthe pony could get in. He rose with a high leap and crossed the\nthree-and-twenty feet. He came down on the inside of the moat, and a\nreport went in (to the castle) that such and such a stranger was there;\nand she heard it and sent one of her servants to him. He told the servant\nhe could not go in till he got leave to put the pony in the stable. She\nherself came out to him, with a golden goblet in her hand full of wine,\nand she offered it to him; but he said he would be obliged to her if she\nwould drink of it first. She drank some of the wine first, and then held\nit out to him; and what he did was to leap again upon the pony, and throw\nhis arm round her waist, and lift her up beside him on the pommel; and\nthe pony gave his head towards the gates and crossed out beyond them, and\nmade no stop till he came to their own castle with the lady.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the pony, \u201cstrike a blow with your rod of druidism upon me,\nand make of me a rock of stone, and whatever time at all you are in need\nof me, you have nothing to do but strike another blow on me, and I am up\nas I was before.\u201d\n\nThe woman was with him then; and the young queen he first married did not\nknow there was such a person in the castle till the hen-wife told her.\n\u201cWell!\u201d said the hen-wife, \u201cdo you know what to do? He has no regard for\nyou beside the other. There is an apple of gold on every rib of hair upon\nher head. You and he will be (playing cards) together to-night, and you\nwill win the first game, and you will put him under bonds to go and bring\nyou the black horse of the bank.\u201d\n\nThe two went playing that night. She won the first game, and he was to\nbring her the black horse of the bank. He went to the pony and struck a\nblow with his rod of druidism on him, and told her the news, that she put\nhim under bonds to bring her the black horse of the bank. \u201cI told you the\nfirst day,\u201d said the pony, \u201cto leave the pearl alone, or it would give\nyou abundance of trouble; you must go now and cover me with leather all\nover, and put pitch and tar on the outside of the leather. I will then go\ndown to the cliff to fight with the black horse of the bank, till I see\nif I\u2019ll be able to bring him to you. There is not a bit that he takes\nout of me that he will not get the full of his mouth of leather and pitch\nand tar, to my ribs.\u201d\n\nHe went down, and he and the horse were fighting till he brought him down\nfrom the cliff to him, and he brought him home to his wife. She went then\nagain to the hen-wife, to get more information from her. The hen-wife\ntold her that unless she could win another game on him, and put him under\nbonds to bring her the skin of the wild pig from the eastern world, he\nand this young queen would put her to death. The two went playing that\nnight, and he won the first game from her, and she said to him, \u201cGive\nyour judgment now.\u201d \u201cI perceive,\u201d said he, \u201cthat if it was you who had to\ngive the first judgment, you would give a brief judgment on me. But now\nI put you under bonds to go, and not to sleep a wink, but for one night\nonly in the one house, till you bring me the heads of the three black\nravens that are in the eastern world.\u201d\n\nShe arose in the morning and went to the hen-wife, and told her: and the\nhen-wife said, \u201cShe had plenty of trouble before her ere she got the\nthree black ravens from the eastern world. But now I have three brothers\nwho are three giants, and to-night you will be with the first of them. I\nwill give you a ring that will take you on your way swiftly to the king,\nand when you come to him you will give him the ring, and he will know\nwho gave it to you. And great will be the welcome he will have for you,\nand he will give you every knowledge as far as the next brother.\u201d\n\nShe gave her the ring, and she was with him that night, and he told her\nthat \u201che himself was as much as third of the world, that his second\nbrother was two-thirds of the world, and the third brother three-thirds,\nand that all the birds of the air were under high tribute to him.\u201d\n\nShe arose in the morning and washed her face and hands, and prayed to\nGod, to put her in luck; and that night she was with the second brother;\nand the third night she was with the third brother. She gave him the ring\nand he recognised it, and said he had not seen his sister for a hundred\nyears. She told him the journey she was going.[16] \u201cTo-morrow,\u201d said he,\n\u201cthey are coming with their high tribute, and unless I can get tidings\nfrom them I cannot give you tidings.\u201d Then in the morning came all the\nbirds of the air and paid to him their tribute, all except the eagle:\n\u201cAnd great is my wonder,\u201d said he, \u201cthat the eagle is last to-day, and\nno tidings are there with any other bird, unless it is with the eagle.\u201d\nHe blew a whistle, and it was not long till he saw a black lump coming\nin the sky, and who was it but the eagle! He told the eagle he would\nremit to him the tribute of the seven years, if he could give him tidings\nof the three black ravens that are in the eastern world. \u201cWell!\u201d said\nhe, \u201cit is a year and a day since I saw them, and I\u2019ll take another year\nand a day before I can come to you with account of them.\u201d \u201cYou must wait\nhere\u201d (said he to the woman) \u201cto the end of a year and a day till the\neagle comes back to me with news, and you will have nothing to do but sit\ndown.\u201d\n\nWhen the day and the year were ended, the eagle came back and the three\nblack ravens with him, and he gave them to the giant, and the giant took\nthem from him. \u201cAnd now\u201d (said he) \u201cwhen you go home he will ask you if\nyou have them, and you will say you have not; and he will say he believes\nyou never went at all to look for them, and you will take them with you\nthen, and show them to him and let them out of your hand, and they will\nnot stop till they come to me here.\u201d\n\nWhen she came home her husband said to her,\u2014\u201cHave you the three ravens?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf I promised to bring them to you, I did not promise to give them to\nyou.\u201d And she let them away.\n\nHe went that night to the old druid he had himself, and he told him the\nthing she said to him. And the old druid told him that unless he could\nsucceed in banishing the hen-wife from the castle she would bring utter\ndestruction on himself and the queen. \u201cGo now, and there is not any way\nto banish her but the way I tell you. Send her word this night, and\ninvite her to play cards with you; and when you win the first game tell\nher she must go to the Gruagach of the Apple and bring to you the sword\nof light that is with the King of Rye, and then she has not a single\nchance of returning. The queen will have no one to tell her anything\nwithout the hen-wife, and you yourself and the other queen will be quiet\nand untroubled together then.\u201d\n\nHe sent her word that night and she came, and he asked her would she play\na game of cards? She said she would play: that great was the practice\nshe learned in the house of her father and mother when she was young,\nand that she was very proud that he paid her a compliment so great as\nto invite her. He drew out a table and a pack of cards, and the two sat\ndown beside the table, and it was five hundreds they had in the game. He\nsucceeded until she put out the five hundreds.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the hen-wife, \u201cgive your judgment on me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI put you under bonds and under curse of a year to go to the eastern\nworld and to bring the sword of light belonging to the King of Rye from\nthe eastern world, and not to sleep a wink, but one night only, in the\none house before you come back again.\u201d\n\nShe went with herself, and stopped not till she came to the castle of the\nKing of Rye in the eastern world, and knocked at the Cuill\u00eb Coric, and\nthe King of Rye came out and asked her what she was seeking.\n\n\u201cI am seeking,\u201d said she, \u201cyour sword of light and the divided stone of\nyour druidism.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, do you not see on the hill yonder all the heads of the champions\nwho came to seek them from me, and never went man of them back to tell\nthe story? and you are come, a woman, to seek!\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said she, \u201cit was not under protection of your shield I came at\nall, but under the protection of my own shield and blade.\u201d\n\nShe and the King of Rye then went at one another, and the King of Rye was\ngetting the better of her, and she asked him to give her quarter for her\nlife till morning.\n\n\u201cHold out your hand till I cut off the tips of your little finger that I\nmay be able to recognise you, and you will not get quarter for your life\nbut this turn, (not) if you come to-morrow.\u201d\n\nShe went with herself and stopped that night at the smith\u2019s house; and\nthe smith said to her,\u2014\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s a bad journey you\u2019ve come on your two feet. Many\u2019s the good\nchampion I\u2019ve seen crossing yonder bridge, and a man of them to tell the\nstory came back never. Unless you do the thing I tell you, you will get\nthe like death. Go to-night,\u201d said he, \u201cand rise in the morning, and I\nwill give you a sword if you pay me for my service; and I will cut off\nthe tip of the little finger on your other hand, and you will go to the\nhall-door at the time when he is at his breakfast, and he will ask you,\n\u2018Haven\u2019t you a sudden desire to die that you come to me so early?\u2019\u201d\n\nShe went in the morning to the hall-door of the King of Rye, and he said\nto her,\u2014\n\n\u201cSudden is your desire to die since you come to me so early, and haven\u2019t\ngiven me leave to eat my breakfast; but that is the thing that will make\nyour own life shorter. Stretch out your hand that I may see if it was you\nwere here yesterday.\u201d\n\nShe stretched out her two hands and he found the tips of her two little\nfingers were cut off, and he said she must have got advice from the smith\nwhen she did that. She took up from the ground the sword the smith gave\nher. When he saw the sword he begged for quarter for his life, for he\nknew the sword was equal to half the world, and that it was no good for\nhim to fight against it. He said he would give her all he ever saw upon\nthe earth, but would not face that sword she had.\n\n\u201cI am asking nothing of you except your sword of light and the divided\nstone of your druidism.\u201d\n\n\u201cThose are the two things that it is worst for me to part from.\u201d\n\nHe went in and brought them out to her, and she went with herself to the\nsmith, and she spent that night at the smith\u2019s house, and gave him a good\nhansel of gold for the sword he gave her. \u201cNow,\u201d said the smith, \u201cthough\nhe put you under bonds to bring the sword to him, you did not promise\nmore than to bring it to him. When you come to him and the things with\nyou, and you take them up in your two hands and show them to him, you\nwill say, though you promised to bring them to him, you did not promise\nto bring them for him and you will let them go, and they will be with me\nhere in the winking of your eye. Unless they come back to me, the King of\nRye will put me to death, as he knows I gave you my sword; and there will\nbe peace made between him and me, and the quarrel between us will be at\nan end.\u201d[17]\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nAnd when the first wife saw the second wife with her own eyes, she could\nesteem herself no longer, and she died of a broken heart.\n\n[14] It must be supposed that the druid gave him further directions for\nhis conduct as appears by the sequel.\n\n[15] Piast is a Gaelic monster, not exactly equivalent to either serpent\nor dragon.\n\n[16] _i.e._, the cause of her journey.\n\n[17] The narrator\u2019s memory failed him at this point, and he was unable\nto relate the further developments of this remarkable game of plot and\ncounterplot. Although the hen-wife was successful in the last event\nmentioned, it must be inferred that she was ultimately defeated. I\nbelieve there are other deficiencies in the story. One hears nothing more\nof the skin of the wild pig after its first mention, p. 203. The same\nremark applies to the Gruagach of the Apple, p. 206. On the other hand,\n\u201cthe divided stone of druidism\u201d is brought in without explanation. It had\nnot been asked for.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n_THE RED PONY._\n\n_Narrator, P. MINAHAN, Malinmore, co. Donegal._\n\n\nThere was a poor man there. He had a great family of sons. He had no\nmeans to put them forward. He had them at school. One day, when they were\ncoming from school, he thought that whichever of them was last at the\ndoor he would keep him out. It was the youngest of the family was last\nat the door. The father shut the door. He would not let him in. The boy\nwent weeping. He would not let him in till night came. The father said he\nwould never let him in; that he had boys enough.\n\nThe lad went away. He was walking till night. He came to a house on\nthe rugged side of a hill on a height, one feather giving it shelter\nand support. He went in. He got a place till morning. When he made his\nbreakfast in the morning, he was going. The man of the house made him a\npresent of a red pony, a saddle, and bridle. He went riding on the pony.\nHe went away with himself.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the pony, \u201cwhatever thing you may see before you, don\u2019t touch\nit.\u201d\n\nThey went on with themselves. He saw a light before him on the high-road.\nWhen he came as far as the light, there was an open box on the road, and\na light coming up out of it. He took up the box. There was a lock of hair\nin it.\n\n\u201cAre you going to take up the box?\u201d said the pony.\n\n\u201cI am. I cannot go past it.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s better for you to leave it,\u201d said the pony.\n\nHe took up the box. He put it in his pocket. He was going with himself. A\ngentleman met him.\n\n\u201cPretty is your little beast. Where are you going?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am looking for service.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am in want of one like you, among the stable boys.\u201d\n\nHe hired the lad. The lad said he must get room for the little beast in\nthe stable. The gentleman said he would get it. They went home then. He\nhad eleven boys. When they were going out into the stable at ten o\u2019clock\neach of them took a light but he. He took no candle at all with him.\n\nEach of them went to his own stable. When he went into his stable he\nopened the box. He left it in a hole in the wall. The light was great.\nIt was twice as much as in the other stables. There was wonder on the\nboys what was the reason of the light being so great, and he without a\ncandle with him at all. They told the master they did not know what was\nthe cause of the light with the last boy. They had given him no candle,\nand he had twice as much light as they had.\n\n\u201cWatch to-morrow night what kind of light he has,\u201d said the master.\n\nThey watched the night of the morrow. They saw the box in the hole that\nwas in the wall, and the light coming out of the box. They told the\nmaster. When the boys came to the house, the king asked him what was the\nreason why he did not take a candle to the stable, as well as the other\nboys. The lad said he had a candle. The king said he had not. He asked\nhim how he got the box from which the light came. He said he had no box.\nThe king said he had, and that he must give it to him; that he would not\nkeep him unless he gave him the box. The boy gave it to him. The king\nopened it. He drew out the lock of hair, in which was the light.\n\n\u201cYou must go,\u201d said the king, \u201cand bring me the woman, to whom the hair\nbelongs.\u201d\n\nThe lad was troubled. He went out. He told the red pony.\n\n\u201cI told you not to take up the box. You will get more than that on\naccount of the box. When you have made your breakfast to-morrow, put the\nsaddle and bridle on me.\u201d\n\nWhen he made his breakfast on the morning of the morrow, he put saddle\nand bridle on the pony. He went till they came to three miles of sea.\n\n\u201cKeep a good hold now. I am going to give a jump over the sea. When I\narrive yonder there is a fair on the strand. Every one will be coming up\nto you to ask for a ride, because I am such a pretty little beast. Give\nno one a ride. You will see a beautiful woman drawing near you, her in\nwhose hair was the wonderful light. She will come up to you. She will ask\nyou to let her ride for a while. Say you will and welcome. When she comes\nriding, I will be off.\u201d\n\nWhen she came to the sea, she cleared the three miles at a jump. She\ncame upon the land opposite, and every one was asking for a ride upon\nthe beast, she was that pretty. He was giving a ride to no one. He saw\nthat woman in the midst of the people. She was drawing near. She asked\nhim would he give her a little riding. He said he would give it, and a\nhundred welcomes. She went riding. She went quietly till she got out of\nthe crowd. When the pony came to the sea she made the three-mile jump\nagain, the beautiful woman along with her. She took her home to the king.\nThere was great joy on the king to see her. He took her into the parlour.\nShe said to him, she would not marry any one until he would get the\nbottle of healing water that was in the eastern world. The king said to\nthe lad he must go and bring the bottle of healing water that was in the\neastern world to the lady. The lad was troubled. He went to the pony. He\ntold the pony he must go to the eastern world for the bottle of healing\nwater that was in it, and bring it to the lady.\n\n\u201cMy advice was good,\u201d said the pony, \u201con the day you took the box up. Put\nsaddle and bridle on me.\u201d\n\nHe went riding on her. They were going till they came to the sea. She\nstood then.\n\n\u201cYou must kill me,\u201d said the pony; \u201cthat, or I must kill you.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is hard to me to kill you,\u201d said the boy. \u201cIf I kill you there will\nbe no way to myself.\u201d\n\nHe cut her belly down. He opened it up. She was not long opened when\nthere came two black ravens and one small one. The two ravens went into\nthe body. They drank their fill of the blood. When they came out the\nlittle raven went in. He closed the belly of the pony. He would not let\nthe little bird come out till he got the bottle of healing water was in\nthe eastern world. The ravens were very troubled. They were begging him\nto let the little bird out. He said he would not let it out till they\nbrought him the bottle. They went to seek the bottle. They came back and\nthere was no bottle with them. They were entreating him to let the bird\nout to them. He would not let the bird out till he got the bottle. They\nwent away again for the bottle. They came at evening. They were tossed\nand scorched, and they had the bottle. They came to the place where the\npony was. They gave the bottle to the boy. He rubbed the healing water\nto every place where they were burned. Then he let out the little bird.\nThere was great joy on them to see him. He rubbed some of the healing\nwater to the place where he cut the pony. He spilt a drop into her ear.\nShe arose as well as she ever was. He had a little bottle in his pocket.\nHe put some of the healing water into it. They went home.\n\nWhen the king perceived the pony coming he rose out. He took hold of her\nwith his two hands. He took her in. He smothered her with kisses and\ndrowned her with tears: he dried her with finest cloths of silk and satin.\n\nThis is what the lady was doing while they were away. She boiled pitch\nand filled a barrel, and that boiling. Now she went beside it and\nstripped herself. She rubbed the healing water to herself. She came out;\nshe went to the barrel, naked. She gave a jump in and out of the barrel.\nThree times she went in and out. She said she would never marry any one\nwho could not do the same. The young king came. He stripped himself. He\nwent to the barrel. He fell half in, half out.\n\nHe was all boiled and burned. Another gentleman came. He stripped\nhimself. He gave a jump into the barrel. He was burned. He came not out\ntill he died. After that there was no one going in or out. The barrel was\nthere, and no one at all was going near it. The lad went up to it and\nstripped himself. He rubbed the healing water on himself. He came to the\nbarrel. He jumped in and out three times. He was watching her. She came\nout. She said she would never marry any one but him.\n\nCame the priest of the pattens, and the clerk of the bells. The pair\nwere married. The wedding lasted three nights and three days. When it\nwas over, the lad went to look at the place where the pony was. He never\nremembered to go and see the pony during the wedding. He found nothing\nbut a heap of bones. There were two champions and two young girls playing\ncards. The lad went crying when he saw the bones of the pony. One of the\ngirls asked what was the matter with him. He said it was all one to her;\nthat she cared nothing for his troubles.\n\n\u201cI would like to get knowledge of the cause why you are crying.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is my pony who was here. I never remembered to see her during the\nwedding. I have nothing now but her bones. I don\u2019t know what I shall do\nafter her. It was she who did all that I accomplished.\u201d\n\nThe girl went laughing. \u201cWould you know your pony if you saw her?\u201d\n\n\u201cI would know,\u201d said he.\n\nShe laid aside the cards. She stood up.\n\n\u201cIsn\u2019t that your pony?\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cIt is,\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cI was the pony,\u201d said the girl, \u201cand the two ravens who went in to\ndrink my blood my two brothers. When the ravens came out, a little bird\nwent in. You closed the pony. You would not let the little bird out till\nthey brought the bottle of healing water that was in the eastern world.\nThey brought the bottle to you. The little bird was my sister. It was my\nbrothers were the ravens. We were all under enchantments. It is my sister\nwho is married to you. The enchantments are gone from us since she was\nmarried.\u201d\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n_THE NINE-LEGGED STEED._\n\n_Narrator, P. MINAHAN, Malinmore, co. Donegal._\n\n\nThere was a king and a queen. They had but one son. The queen died. He\nmarried another queen. The queen was good to the child. She took care of\nhim till he was a young man. She sent him away to learn chivalry. When he\ncame home there was great joy on the queen. When he had rested at home,\nhe and the huntsman went hunting on the mountain. They found no game at\nall. They came to the lake. They sat down on a height beside the lake.\nThey saw three swans coming towards the height. They rested on the lake.\nThey swam in under the place where they were sitting. They came on the\nshore. They threw off them the transforming caps. They arose the three\nmaidens. One woman of them was very comely. They came up to the young\nmen. The comely woman was there. She and the king\u2019s son were talking\nuntil night. When they were going she asked him would he be there the\nnext day. He said he would. The women went on the shore. They put on the\ntransforming caps. They went away the three swans. The young men came\nhome. There was great joy on the young queen. She asked the huntsman what\nkind of sport they had. He said they had none at all; that three swans\ncame from the eastern direction; that they had settled on the lake; that\nthey swam in to the place where they were sitting; that they rose up on\nthe beach; that they threw off the transforming caps; that they rose the\nthree maidens; that one of them was very beautiful; that he himself and\nthe king\u2019s son were talking with the girl.\n\nThe young queen said they were done with his master. \u201cI will give you\nfive pounds if you put the slumber-pin in his clothes. He will fall\nasleep then. She won\u2019t get a word of talk from him. He will be sleeping.\u201d\n\nThe young man said he would do it. They took their supper. They went to\nlie down. When day came they arose. They washed themselves. They took\ntheir breakfast. They went hunting. They found no sport at all till they\ncame to the lake. They sat down on a pretty hillock. They saw the three\nswans coming. They settled on the lake. They came in on the shore. They\nthrew off them the transforming caps. They rose the three maidens. When\nthe son of the king and the huntsman sat down, the huntsman put the\nslumber-pin in his clothes. He fell asleep. The girls came up. They sat\nby his side.\n\n\u201cGreat is the sleep that\u2019s on your master to-day.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is no wonder for him,\u201d said the huntsman. \u201cHe does not sleep one\nnight at home, but is out rambling and courting.\u201d\n\nShe was shaking him to wake him. She failed to wake him till it was time\nfor her to be going. She said to the young man, \u201cTell your master we will\ncome here to-morrow; unless he is awake to-morrow to speak to us, we will\ncome no more.\u201d\n\nThey went away then. They put on them the transforming caps. They went\naway again the three swans. The young man took out the slumber-pin from\nhis master\u2019s clothes. He awoke then. They went home then. He was not\nspeaking a word. The young queen asked the huntsman how it happened with\nhim to-day? He said it happened well; that he put him asleep to-day.\n\n\u201cA good man you are,\u201d said she. \u201cHere are five pounds more for you. Do\nthe same to-morrow.\u201d\n\nThey took their supper. They went to lie down. When the day came on the\nmorrow, they arose and took their breakfast. The king\u2019s son said to the\nhuntsman that he would not go with him to-day; that it was he was doing\nsomething or other to him.\n\n\u201cIt is not I,\u201d said the huntsman.\n\nThe king\u2019s son went out. The huntsman followed him. When they were coming\nnear the lake, he could not fasten the slumber-pin in him. When they were\ncoming to the place where they sat he threw the slumber-pin. He got it\nfastened in his frock. He fell asleep on the instant. He took hold of\nhim; he drew him to the place where they used to sit. He sat down by his\nside. The three swans came. They settled on the lake. They swam in to the\nshore. They threw off them the transforming caps. They rose the three\nmaidens. They came again to the place where the young men were.\n\n\u201cIs your master asleep to-day?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe is; he has not slept a wink at home for three nights.\u201d\n\nShe was shaking him to try if she could wake him. She failed. When she\nwas going, \u201cSay to your master that he will never see sight of me while\nstreams run or grass grows.\u201d\n\nThey went away then. The huntsman took the slumber-pin out. Then he\nawoke. He looked up at the sun. Night was at hand. He asked were the\nmaidens there that day. The young man said they were.\n\n\u201cWhat did they say when they were going?\u201d\n\n\u201cThey said you would never have a sight of them while streams run or\ngrass grows.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t come near me or I will kill you.\u201d\n\nFear would not let the huntsman come near him. They went home then. The\nyoung queen asked the young man were the maidens with them that day. The\nyoung man said they were.\n\n\u201cWhat did they say to you?\u201d\n\n\u201cThey said you would not see a sight of them while streams run or grass\ngrows.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are done with her,\u201d said the queen.\n\nThey took their supper then and went to lie down. When the day came he\narose and washed. He took his breakfast. He said good-bye to them. He\nsaid he would not sleep a second time for one night in one house; that he\nwould wear his legs to his knees till he got one sight of that woman.\n\nHe went with himself then. He was walking till it was night. He saw not\na house at all that would give him lodging. He saw one house on the side\nof a hill, one feather giving it support and shelter. He went into the\nhouse. A horse-beast spoke to him from the side. He gave welcome to the\nson of the King of Erin.\n\n\u201cGo down to the fire and warm yourself; when you have warmed yourself, go\nto the room, and there is food and drink on the table: don\u2019t be afraid\nof anything at all. Nothing will happen to you till morning. When you\nhave eaten enough come down and lie here on the grass under my head that\nI may talk with you.\u201d\n\nHe came down and sat on the grass: \u201cHave no wonder at anything you see.\u201d\n\nIt was not long till he heard a troop coming into the house. Three seals\ncame in. They came into the room. They threw off the transforming caps.\nThey sat down to dinner. The son of the king wondered when he saw the\nthree seals coming in. It was not long till he heard them talking and\nlaughing. Said the eldest of them,\u2014\n\n\u201cIf I had the son of the King of Erin here I would give on him a gift. I\nwould give him an apple. There is not a going astray, nor any (trouble),\nlet him throw the apple in the air, there would come a court and castle\nin the track; there would come food and drink in the track.\u201d\n\nSaid the second son, \u201cIf I had the son of the King of Erin here, I would\ngive him a ring; and there is not a battle or breaking that would come on\nhim, let him raise the ring between himself and his (enemies) he would\nblind them and kill them all.\u201d\n\nSaid the son that was youngest, \u201cIf I had the son of the King of Erin\nhere, I would give him the nine-legged steed for his riding.\u201d\n\n\u201cGet up now,\u201d said the nine-legged steed; \u201cget up and shake yourself out\nof the grass. Go forward. You will find three champions as handsome as\never you saw. Salute them as politely as you can. Tell them you hope they\nwill not be worse than their promise.\u201d\n\nHe went forward and saluted them. He took them by the hand. He sat in\ntheir company till morning. When the day came they were going. They left\na breakfast on the table. They gave him the three gifts. They went then\nand put on the transforming caps. They went away as three seals. The son\nof the king came down then, and sat under the beast\u2019s head.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the nine-legged steed, \u201cI have one fault, that a rider\nnever gets on me but I must throw him three times. When you take your\nbreakfast, get a saddle and bridle; put them on me. Take me down to the\nsoft ground; go riding on me, and I must throw you.\u201d\n\nHe took his breakfast. He went riding on her then. She asked him if he\nwas ready. He said he was.\n\n\u201cI will throw you as gently and quietly as I can.\u201d\n\nShe walked a couple of steps. She lifted her rump and flung him. He was\njerked up into the air, and fell down on the back of his head.\n\nShe came about him. \u201cI believe you are killed.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am not,\u201d said he. \u201cI am none the worse.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are a good man,\u201d said she; \u201cif you stand two other tumbles I will\nnever throw you again.\u201d\n\nWhen he was rested, he went riding again. She lifted her rump again, and\njerked him into the air. She came about him to see if he was killed. \u201cI\nbelieve you are killed.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am none the worse,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cIf you stand one more tumble, I will never throw you again.\u201d\n\nHe rested himself. He went riding again. She asked him if he was ready.\nHe said he was. She flung him again and tossed him into the air. He fell\ndown on the back of his head. She looked about to see if he was alive.\n\u201cNow,\u201d said she, \u201cI will never throw you again. Now when you are rested,\nand you run to your riding, do not pull the bridle on my head. I know\nwhere you are going. I will bring you to the place you are drawing to.\u201d\n\n    She stretched herself to her full speed and red running;\n    So that she took the hill at a leap, the glen at a standing jump:\n    So that she overtook the wind that was before her,\n    And the wind behind did not overtake her:\n    Till the cups of her two knees were rubbing her two jaws bare:\n    So greatly she was running,\n\ntill she came to the door of the king.\n\n\u201cGive me to no one whatever till a red boy comes,\u201d said the nine-legged\nsteed.\n\nThe king rose out. He gave welcome to the son of the King of Erin. Boys\ncame up to the horse to put her in the stable. He did not give her to\nthem. A red boy came. He asked would he give her to him. She told him to\ngive her. They came into the parlour.\n\nHe got dinner then. He was eating and drinking till it was well on in\nthe night. The king said then that he had an island, and that he gained\nnothing by it for a long time: that Owases were risen up on it.\n\n\u201cI am not going to give my daughter to any one who does not kill them and\nclear the island.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will throw a look around to-morrow,\u201d said the son of the King of Erin.\n\nWhen he took breakfast on the morrow-morning, he went out to the\nnine-legged steed. She told him what was to be done.\n\n\u201cPut saddle and bridle on me: go riding on me. There are three miles of\nsea between the land and the island. I will clear the three miles at a\nleap. Tie me to the stump of a tree.\u201d\n\nShe went forward then, and he had the ring in his hand. The first Owas\nman that met him, he raised the ring between himself and him, and blinded\nhim. He was killing and slaughtering till he killed the last on the\nisland. He went down to the nine-legged steed. He went riding on her\nthen, and she cleared the three miles. She told him not to look behind\nhim till he came to the king\u2019s door. When he came up to the gate there\nwas thunder and lightning, and he thought the mid-heaven was falling,\nsuch was the rattle. There was a great sink of mud at the door of the\nhen-wife, and when he was going past by the door he looked behind to see\nif there was anything. He fell into the mud and filth. He got up with\ndirt and sores on his skin. He was all covered with them.\n\nThe daughter of the hen-wife asked leave of her mother to pull him in, or\nthe pigs would tear him. Her mother told her to do it. She pulled him in.\nShe put a wisp of straw under him.\n\nHe asked her to go under the window of the greenawn on her two knees.\n\u201cAsk the girl is there anything at all to do me good, if she hopes to see\nthe man she left behind her at the fountain.\u201d\n\nThe girl said, \u201cGo into my father\u2019s garden. There is a well of fresh\nwater there. There are rushes beside the well. Pull three stalks. Cut the\nwhite root. Get a bowl. Raise the full of the bowl out of the well. Rub\nthe white roots in the water until they are melted. Rub the water to his\nskin. He will be as well as ever he was.\u201d\n\nShe rubbed the water then on every part of his body. He was as well\nas he ever was. He had nothing to put on him but old clothes. There\nwas a butler in the great house. He saw the king\u2019s son falling. He ran\nto the place. He took away his clothes. He threw him his own clothes.\nThe king\u2019s son had nothing to put on him but the butler\u2019s clothes. He\nwent to the house of the king, and he was at work like the butler. The\nbutler was in the king\u2019s house in the place of the son of the King of\nErin. The king thought it was the son of the King of Erin that was with\nhim. He published word through the island to come to the wedding. The\ngentlemen were gathered the next day. They went fowling. The king\u2019s son\nwas carrying the dogs\u2019 food. There came a mist on the hill, and they lost\ntheir way. They said they would be lost. The man who was carrying the\ndogs\u2019 food said to the king that if he would give him his daughter in\nmarriage he would save them all till morning. The king said his daughter\nwas given to a gentleman who had come there. The gentlemen then said that\nthey would all be dead in the morning, and it was better for him to tell\na lie and to save them.\n\n\u201cWell! I will give you my daughter if you save us,\u201d said the king.\n\nHe threw down the bag with the dogs\u2019 food. Then he got the apple that\nhe had as a gift. He threw it into the air. Where the apple fell there\nrose a court and castle. There came food and drink enough for a hundred\nmen. They were hungry, and they ate enough and drank enough. Then they\nfell asleep. When they woke in the morning, they were lying in a smooth\nflat of rushes, and they sweating. There was great joy on them. The\ngentleman then said he should get the woman. When the butler came he had\nno wife to get. He was vexed. He went home then, and the woman who was\nin the greenawn said she would not marry a man at all, but the man who\nwould ride the nine-legged steed under the window of the greenawn. The\nreport went out through the island that any man at all who would ride the\nnine-legged steed, had the king\u2019s daughter to get. The people were all\ngathered. There was a great gathering there. The red boy brought out the\nnine-legged steed under the windows of the greenawn. The butler would\nlet no one ride till he went riding himself the first time. Then he went\nriding on her. The nine-legged steed asked him was he ready; he said he\nwas. She lifted her rump and jerked him up in the air. He fell and was\nkilled. Then there was another rider then and he went riding. She played\nthe same trick with him. She was there, and no one at all was going to\nride on her. The king\u2019s son went, and bought himself clothes. He put\nthem on. He went riding then on the nine-legged steed. She walked up and\ndown under the windows of the greenawn, and she stirred not head nor\nfoot. The lady was looking out of the window. When she saw him riding,\nshe knew him and she came down. She ran out and they caught hold of each\nother by the hands. There was great joy on her that she saw him. She\nsmothered him with kisses, and drowned him with tears; she dried him with\nfinest cloths and with silk.\n\nCame the priest of the pattens and the clerk of the bells. The pair were\nmarried. When they were married there were three champions there. They\nasked him if he knew them. He said that he knew them; that it was they\ngave him the gifts. There came a beautiful girl then. She asked him if he\nknew her. He said he did not know.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said she, \u201cI was in the place of the nine-legged steed, and those\nare my three brothers, and I am sister to them. We were all under spells\ntill your wife was married.\u201d\n\nI found the ford; they the stepping-stones. They were drowned, and I came\naway.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n_THE PHONETIC TEXT._\n\n\nWhen folk-lore is narrated by peasants in their own dialect, it seems\ndesirable, for various reasons, that the tales should be recorded in\nthat dialect, and not in some form of speech differing from it more or\nless widely. This being conceded, the question arises, when one takes to\nrecording Irish folk-lore, how the object is to be attained. It needs\nbut a very small acquaintance with the ordinary Irish orthography to\nperceive that, if it is adhered to, the object cannot be even aimed\nat. The greatest defect in the English language is admitted to be its\nextraordinary spelling. But in this respect it is completely outdone by\nIrish Gaelic, which is troubled in an aggravated form with every evil\nthat afflicts English. Different sounds are written in the same way.\nIdentical sounds are written in different ways. Silent letters attain\nto a tropical forestine luxuriance, through which the tongue of the\nlearner despairs of hewing a way. There are, moreover, cases in which\nthere is no indication in writing of single sounds, and even syllables,\nwhich are actually pronounced; and there is at least one case of a word\nbeing written as if it began with a vowel, while it really begins with a\nconsonant.\n\nOne of the chief reasons for this state of affairs is the attempt which\nhas been made to represent an exceedingly numerous and varied series\nof sounds with a meagre alphabet of eighteen letters. The system of\northography developed, though highly ingenious, has proved entirely\ninadequate to its purpose. But if this be true of the so-called classical\nspeech of the few educated persons, whose original pronunciation has\nbeen to some slight extent modified by the influence of books, far more\ndecidedly must it be affirmed of the actual peasant dialects which,\nfor two hundred years at least, have taken each of them its own way,\nuncontrolled by any central influence. Of these the mere sounds cannot\nbe given at all on the basis of the common spelling. Here are two of the\nsimplest examples. The Donegal pronunciation of the word \u201ct\u00e1\u201d cannot be\nwritten by any device known to Irish orthography; neither can the Kerry\npronunciation of \u201cglean.\u201d The strange spectacle is sometimes witnessed of\nan attempt to give the actual sound of Irish words by means of a spelling\nbased on English values,\u2014of Chaos applying for help to Confusion.\n\nIn addition to the reasons which might be urged generally in favour of\nrecording folk-lore in the dialect of the narrators, is one which is\nlargely peculiar to Irish tales. I will indicate it in the briefest\nmanner. Words are of frequent occurrence which are not to be found in the\ndictionaries. If one of these words contains the sound of _v_ or _w_, you\ncannot tell, if writing in the ordinary way, whether to use _b_ or _m_\naspirated. If by mistake you choose the wrong letter, you may afterwards\nthrow yourself or others entirely on a wrong scent. But if the actual _v_\nor _w_ is written, you will not be responsible for misleading any one.\nIt is further to be observed that these stories constitute the only body\nof matter having an intrinsic interest, which can be used as a vehicle\nfor placing some considerable specimens of the spoken language before\nContinental and other students, who have little opportunity of gaining\nacquaintance with it directly.\n\nIt is true that the difficulties in the way of accurately writing the\ndialects are formidable. Not only, as already remarked, are the sounds\nof Irish exceptionally numerous and subtle in any one dialect that may\nbe chosen, but the dialects are well-nigh innumerable. While certain\nbroad differences are characteristic of Kerry, Connaught, and Donegal\nrespectively, there are minor varieties in every district, shading off\nin every possible combination into those of the surrounding districts.\nThe native of Ballymore does not speak as the inhabitant of Ballybeg,\nonly two miles away; and the native of Ballybeg probably has several\npronunciations, of which he will give you the benefit impartially.\nThis last statement must appear almost incredible, but its truth is\nunquestionable. I have taxed the peasants with these variations, and they\nhave admitted them, only observing \u201cthat\u2019s how the word\u2019s said there,\u201d\n_i.e._, in that context.\n\nThe alphabet which now follows is the work of Mr. James Lecky, whose\nuntimely death was a severe blow to the study of modern Irish. In\naddition to the list here given, Mr. Lecky had noted some additional\ndistinctions, the precise value of which I do not understand. I have\ntherefore not employed them in my own stories, and though I have included\none story written down by himself, I have been obliged to omit them.\n\n\nTHE ALPHABET.\n\n            PHONETIC SPELLING.  ORDINARY SPELLING.  ENGLISH.\n    a               maq                mac                son\n    aa              laa                l\u00e1                 day\n    ai              maih               maith              good\n    aai             faainnje           f\u00e1inne             a ring\n    \u00e6               b\u00e6n                bean               a woman\n    \u00e6\u00e6              f\u00e6\u00e6r               fe\u00e1rr              better\n    e               lesj               leis               with\n    ee              sjee               s\u00e9                 he\n    eei             eeisjg             \u00e9isg               of a fish\n    i               min                min                meal\n    \u00ef or ii         sj\u00ef                s\u00ed                 she\n    o               qos                cos                foot\n    oo              boo                b\u00f3                 cow\n    ou              qoul               ca bh-fhuil        where is?\n    oi              oi\u0103rq              adharc             a horn\n    u               muq                muc                a pig\n    uu              tuu                t\u00fa                 thou\n\n\u0103, \u0115, \u012d, \u014f, \u016d, are obscure sounds of the ordinary short vowels, \u0103 occurs\nfrequently, the others rarely. i final has the value of y in English\n\u201ccity.\u201d\n\n    b               baan               b\u00e1n                white\n    d               madu               madadh             a dog\n    dj              dj\u00e6s               deas               pretty\n    dd              mee\u0103dd-sjin        meud-sin           all that[18]\n    f               fis                fios               knowledge\n    fj              fjuu               fi\u00fa                worth\n    g (slender g)   g\u00e6\u00e6r               ge\u00e1rr              short\n    c (broad g)     cas                gas                stalk\n    \u00e7 (broad asp.)  m\u014f \u00e7ort            m\u014f ghort           my field\n    h               huc                thug               took\n    hj              m\u014f hjool           m\u014f she\u00f3l           my sail\n    j               m\u014f j\u00e6\u00e6rher[19]     m\u014f dhearbhr\u00e1thair  my brother\n    k (slender c)   kool               ce\u00f3l               music[20]\n    q (broad c)     qos                cos                foot\n    x (q asp.)      xirj               chuir              put[21]\n    l               lee                l\u00e9                 with\n    lj              balje              baile              town\n    ll              llonc              long               ship\n    llj             llj\u00e6bwi            leaba              bed\n    m               maq                mac                son\n    n               noos               n\u00f3s                custom\n    nj              nj\u00efr               nior               neither\n    nn              bonn               bonn               bottom\n    nnj             qrinnju            cruinniughadh      assembly\n    p               paaisjdje          p\u00e1isde             child\n    r               rud                rud                thing\n    rj              erj\u0115               aire               attention\n    rr              }\n    rrj             } see remarks\n    s               saal               s\u00e1l                heel\n    sj              sj\u00e6n               sean               old\n    t               taa                t\u00e1                 is\n    tj              tj\u00efrj              t\u00edr                country\n    tt[22]          hitt-sjee          thuit-sjee         he fell\n    v               m\u014f v\u00e6n             m\u014f bhean           my wife\n    w               waru               mharbh             killed\n\n    ) = a glide.    (iota subscript) is the sign of nasality, mr\u00e6\u00e6\u0327.\n\n[18] Sound hard, as English d.\n\n[19] Donegal pronunciation.\n\n[20] k asp. = hj.\n\n[21] q asp. often = h.\n\n[22] Sound hard.\n\nThe most important features in the foregoing are,\u2014(1) the use of _j_,\nwhich when initial has the German value, to mark slenderness, when\nattached to another consonant; (2) the use of _c_ for broad _g_,\ndictated partly by the necessity of economising the resources of the\nRoman alphabet, and by the consideration that _c_, in most alphabets\nof uncertain value, and therefore sometimes entirely discarded by\nphoneticians, is thereby fixed and utilised; (3) the doubling of the\nvowels, a practice known in old Irish, to indicate length. The accents\nthus disappear, and, no dots to indicate aspiration being required, the\ndiacritics, whose number is such a frequent source of error, are almost\nentirely got rid of, the only exception being \u02d8 the mark of obscurity,\nwhich may be usually omitted without harm, as it never appears except on\nan unstressed syllable. In the Connaught and Donegal dialects the stress\nis thrown forward. There are a few exceptions, which are the following:\n\u0103nsjin, \u0103nsjo, \u0103noxt, \u0103m\u00e6sg, \u0103lig (all), \u0103max, amwijh, estj\u00e6x, estih,\n\u0103raan, anisj. All these have the stress on the last syllable, and the\nfinal vowel is in every case not obscure. _rr_, written in a few cases,\nis doubtful. _rrj_ corresponding to _llj_ and _nnj_ does not, I think,\noccur on the coast of Connaught, and but rarely in Donegal. The _j_\nis, however, really pronounced as a separate consonant along with the\nfollowing vowel. Thus, \u201cT\u00efcerr-je.\u201d\n\nThe Connaught values of the letters, specially those of Renvyle, are the\nbasis of the alphabet.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n_APPENDIX._\n\n\nN\u0102 TJR\u00cf MRA\u0327A\u0327.\n\n_Dialect of Renvyle, co. Galway._\n\nVi aan f\u00e6r tj\u00ef\u0103xt aa hoxr\u00efdj, ac\u0103s qasu tj\u00efaxt lee t\u00efu tj\u00e6mp\u0103ll ee, qasu\ndoo ql)eg\u0103n dine. \u201cS maih \u0115 k\u00e6rt \u00e7om duurjtt sjee lesj heen, \u201cee sjin \u0103\nhuurjtj ljom ac\u0103s \u0103 xirj \u0103n aatj haawaaljtji.\u201d Hoog sjee lesj \u0103n ql)eg\u0103n\nac\u0103s llj\u00e6c sjee \u2019s \u0103 tj\u00e6mp\u0103ll ee. \u00c7luu\u0103s sjee lesj erj \u0103 v\u00e6ll\u0103x \u0103 walje,\nac\u0103s qasu doo f\u00e6r \u0103n ourdu din u\u0103s\u0103l. \u201cKee r\u0103 tuu?\u201d duurjtj \u0103 din\u2019 u\u0103sal.\n\u201cV\u00ef mee eg soxr\u00efdj \u0103c\u0103s qasu \u00e7om ql)eg\u0103n din\u0115 er \u0103 m\u00e6ll\u0103x.\u201d \u201cKeerj d\u0103\nrinnje tuu lesj?\u201d duurjtj \u0103 din\u2019 u\u0103s\u0103l. \u201cHuc mee ljom \u0103c\u0103s d\u2019aac mee \u2019s \u0115\ntj\u00e6mp\u0103ll ee.\u201d \u201cNj\u00efr woor ditj?\u201d duurjtj \u0103 din\u2019 u\u0103s\u0103l. \u201cKee \u0103n faa sjin?\u201d\nduurjtj \u0103 f\u00e6r. \u201cBw\u00ef\u0115n ee m\u0103 xl)eg\u0103n-s\u0115\u201d duurjtj \u0103 din\u2019 u\u0103s\u0103l, \u201c\u0103c\u0103s daa\nnnj\u00ef\u0115ntaa t\u00e6di \u00e6s b\u00e6ll\u0103x lesj, \u00e7a sjuuraaltji veensj\u0115 suu\u0103s l\u00e6t.\u201d \u201cAc\u0103s\nkee \u0103n x\u00ef \u0103r xaalj tuu d\u014f xl(eg\u0103n\u201d duurjtj \u0103 f\u00e6r. \u201cNj\u00efrj xaalj mee xar \u0103\nbih ee, \u0103x d\u2019 aac\u0103 mee ins \u0103n aatj \u0103 wuuerj tis\u2019 ee, \u00e7a metts ac\u0103m keerd\n\u0103 j\u00ef\u0115nhaa lesj.\u201d \u201cKrjedjim \u00e7\u0103r \u0103 din\u0103 maih \u2019uu\u201d duurjtj \u0103 f\u00e6r \u0103c\u0103s maa\nsj\u00e6\u00e6, b\u2019\u00e6\u00e6r ljom \u0103n aatj \u0103 k\u00efntj\u0103xt hele naa \u0103n d\u014f xoolood\u0103r.\u201d \u201cNaa b\u00ef\u0103x\nfwatj\u00efs ort. Nj\u00ef wanj-h\u0103 misje l\u00e6t. Vee\u0103x foon or\u0103m n\u00efs muu llj\u00e6s j\u00ef\u0115nu\n\u00e7witj naa dox\u0103r.\u201d \u201cIs maih ljom sjin\u201d duurjtj \u0103 f\u00e6r. \u201cTj\u00e6n\u016ditj \u0103 walj\u0115\nljoms\u0115 \u00e7\u0103 waamidj \u0115 nnj\u00efnjeerj.\u201d Hjuul sj\u00ef\u0103d innjeenjdji \u0115 walj\u0115. \u201cEirji\nd\u0103 h\u00ef\u201d duurjtj \u0103 f\u00e6r lee n\u0103 v\u00e6n, \u0103c\u0103s faa \u0103r nnj\u00efneer ree duunnj. Dj\u2019\neirji an v\u00e6n, ac\u0103s fuurj sj\u00ef \u0103n dj\u00efneer ree doofj. Nuurj \u0103 dj ihjid\u0103r\n\u0115 nnj\u00efneer \u201ctj\u00e6nuetj\u201d duurjtj \u0103 f\u00e6r \u201c\u00e7\u0103 nnjimreemidj qla)ef\u0115 qaarti.\u201d\nV\u00ef sj\u00ef\u0115d \u0103n tranhoon\u0103 sjin \u2019g im\u0103rjtj xaarti, ac\u0103s xodil sjee \u0103n \u00efh\u0115\nsjin ins \u0115 tj\u00e6x. Ac\u0103s erj madjin laarn\u0103 waarj\u0103x, dj ih\u0103d\u0103r \u0115 mrikfwast\u0103\ninnjeenjdji. Nuurj \u0115 v\u00ef \u00e7aa uurj qatji, \u201cTj\u00e6nuitj ljoms\u0115\u201d duurjtj \u0103 din\u2019\nu\u0103s\u0103l lesj a v\u00e6r. \u201cKee \u0103n \u00e7r\u00e6h\u0103 taa ac\u0103d d\u00efumw?\u201d duurjtj \u0115 f\u00e6r. \u201c\u00c7\u0103 veki\ntu \u0103n aatj \u0103 taa ac\u0103m \u2019s \u0103 malj\u0115.\u201d\n\nDj eerji sj\u00ef\u0115d ac\u0103s hjuul sj\u00ef\u0115d innjeenjdji \u00e7a nnj\u00e6x\u0103 sj\u00ef\u0103d c\u0103 dj\u00ef \u0103n\ntj\u00e6mp\u0103ll. \u201cToog \u0103n tombw)\u0103\u201d duurjtj \u0103 din\u2019 u\u0103s\u0103l. D\u2019aard\u0103 sjee \u0103n tombw\u0103\n\u0103c\u0103s fuu\u0115 sj\u00ef\u0115d isjtjax. \u201cTjeerji sj\u00efs \u0103n sdoirje\u201d duurjtj \u0103 din\u2019 u\u0103s\u0103l\nlesj \u0103 v\u00e6r. Fuu\u0103d\u0103r sj\u00efs innjeendji \u00e7a nnj\u00e6xi sj\u00ef\u0115d \u00e7a dj\u00ef \u0103n dor\u0103s, \u0103c\u0103s\nhiscliu ee, \u0103c\u0103s fuua sj\u00ef\u0115d isjtj\u00e6x \u00e7a dj\u00ef \u0103n hjisjtjin\u0103x. V\u00ef berjtj\nsj\u00e6n-vra\u0327a\u0327 n\u0103 s\u00efu xosj ne tjinu. \u201cEeirji\u201d duurjtj \u0103 din\u2019 u\u0103s\u0103l lee b\u00e6n\n\u00e6qu ac\u0103s faa fw\u00ef rjeerj i nnj\u00efneerj duunnj. \u201cDj\u2019eerji sj\u00ef \u0103c\u0103s huc sj\u00ef\nlehi fati b\u0115\u0103c\u0103. Wil ac\u0103d \u00e7uunnj \u00e7a j\u00efneerj \u0103x \u0103 kinaal sjin?\u201d duurjtj \u0103\ndin\u2019 u\u0103s\u0103l: \u201cNj\u00efl\u201d duurjtj \u0103n v\u00e6n. \u201cMar wil qonnji \u2019uu heen \u00ef\u0115d. Eeirji\nhise\u201d duurjtj sjee lesj \u0103 daarn\u0103 b\u00e6n, ac\u0103s faa fw\u00ef rjeerj i nnj\u00efneerj\nduunnj.\u201d Dj eeirji sj\u00ef \u0103c\u0103s huc sji lehi min \u0103c\u0103s qaanh\u00efni lehi. \u201cNnj\u00e6n\u0103x\nwil \u0103c\u0103d duunnj \u0103x \u0115 kinaal sjin?\u201d \u201cN\u00efl\u201d duurjtj sj\u00ef. \u201cM\u0103r bwil qonnji\nee.\u201d Fuue sjee suu\u0103s \u0103n sdoirje \u0103c\u0103s wuuel sjee \u0103n dor\u0103s. Haanik \u0103n v\u00e6n\nvraa \u0103max ege fw\u00ef n\u0103 qolhi sj\u00efd\u0103 \u0103c\u0103s ee ooraaljtji aa voon \u0103 qosje \u00e7a\ndj\u00ef mol\u0103x \u0115 k\u00efnnj. Dj \u00efr\u0103 sj\u00ef keerd \u0103 v\u00ef t\u00e6sdaal woi. Dj \u00efr\u0103 sjee i\nveetitt sj\u00ef dj\u00efneerj aal \u00e7oo heen \u0103c\u0103s \u00e7\u0103n str\u00e6nsjeere. Duurjtt sj\u00ef \u00e7\u0103\nveet\u0103x. Llj\u00e6c sj\u00ef dj\u00efneer \u0103nuu\u0115s huqu v\u00ef veljuunjtj \u00e7\u0103 r\u00ef.\n\nAc\u0103s nuurj \u0103 v\u00ef saa itji \u0103c\u0103s oolti \u00e6qu, dj\u2019 \u00efrhi \u0103n din\u2019 u\u0103s\u0103l \u00e7\u0103nnj \u00e6r\n\u0115 rou \u2019s ege kee \u0103n reesuun lee r eed sj\u00ef i lljehedj \u00e7\u0103 j\u00efneer huurjtj\ndoofj. \u201cNil is ac\u0103m\u201d duurjtj \u0103n f\u00e6r; \u0103cas maa sjee d\u0103 hel ee insj\u00ef \u00e7\u0103mw\nee. \u201cNuurj \u0103 v\u00ef mee b\u0115oo, v\u00ef mee poosti tjr\u00ef huurje, \u0103c\u0103s \u0103n hjee\u0103d v\u00e6n\nv\u00ef \u0103cam, n\u00efrj huc sj\u00ef rj\u00efu \u00e7\u0103n woxt \u0103x fati b\u0115\u0103c\u0103, ac\u0103s qah\u0103 sj\u00ef h\u00ef\u0103xt\nsuu\u0103s h\u00ef heen orhu \u00e7\u0103 laa \u2019n vjrjehunisj. An daarn\u0103 b\u00e6n, nuurj \u0103 dj \u00efr\u0103x\n\u0103 dine boxt djeerjke orhi, n\u00efr huc sj\u00ef rj\u00efu doofj \u0103x min \u0103cas qaanh\u00efni,\nac\u0103s n\u00ef veei sj\u00ef n\u00efs f\u00e6\u00e6r eki heen naa din e bihj hele \u00efres orhi ee\nerj\u00efsjtj, \u00e7\u0103 laa \u2019n vjrjehunisj. An tjr\u00efw\u0103 b\u00e6n lee r \u00efr mee \u2019rhi \u0103n\ndj\u00efneerj aalj fw\u00ef rjeerj, dj ee\u0103dd sj\u00ef sjin x\u0103lje hjinaal aa uus huurjtj\nduunnj.\u201d \u201cKee \u0103n faa lee r eedd sj\u00ef sjin huurjtj duunnj \u0103c\u0103s naar ee\u0103d an\nverjtj el\u2019 ee j\u00efenu?\u201d duurjtj \u0103 faer. \u201cM\u0103r nnj\u00efr spaaraal sj\u00ef rud\u0103 bihj\ndaa m\u0115\u0103x eki rj\u00efu er \u0103 dine boxt, \u0103c\u0103s beei \u0103 kinaal sjin eki \u00e7\u0103 dj\u00ef laa\n\u2019n vjrjehunisj. Tj\u00e6nuitj ljom s\u0103\u201d duurjtj \u0103 din\u2019 u\u0103s\u0103l lesj \u0103 v\u00e6r \u00e7\u0103 veki\ntuu m\u2019 aatju.\n\nV\u00ef tj\u00effwi ac\u0103s staabli \u0103c\u0103s qoilltji tjimp\u0103l \u0103 h\u00ef, \u0103c\u0103s lesj \u0103 v\u00efrinnj\u0115\n\u0103 j\u00ef\u0115nu\u0327 v\u00ef sjee er in aatj b\u0103 djesj\u0115 henik mee lee m\u0103 \u00e7aa huul erj\u00efu.\n\u201cTj\u00e6nuitj ljom sjtj\u00e6x insje\u201d duurjtj \u0103 din\u2019 u\u0103s\u0103l lesj \u0103 v\u00e6r. Nj\u00ef r\u0103 mee\nwad esjtjihj nuurj \u0103 haanik p\u00efbwirje \u0103c\u0103s dj insje sjee er sjinnim hjool:\nnj\u00ef r\u0103 sjee wad i sjinnim nuuirj i llj\u00ef\u0115nu\u0327 sjtjax \u0103 tjax lee firj \u0103c\u0103s\nlee mra\u0327a\u0327. Daati sj\u00ef\u0115d erhu do\u0327u\u0327sa. Nuurj \u0103 v\u00ef tamw\u0103l \u00e7\u0103n \u00efhje qatji\nhuuru ljom \u00e7el \u0103 xolu. Di eerji mee ac\u0103s fuue mee \u0103 xolu \u0103c\u0103s nuuirj a\n\u00e7uusji mee erj madjin n\u00ef r\u0103 \u00e6nhe erj in aatj er \u0103 tj\u00e6x naa\n\n[The MS. ends here, but there are evidently only two or three words\nmissing.]\n\n\nAN \u00c7LAS C\u00c6VLEN.\n\n_Dialect of Achill Island, co. Mayo._\n\nXuui \u0103 Cobaan S\u00ef\u0103r ac\u0103s \u0103 maq sjerj in \u0103 doun sjerj ec Bal\u0103r Beem\u0103nn c\u014f\ndjaanu quuirtj. \u201cGerji \u0103n booh\u0103r, \u0103 vik,\u201d ers \u0103n t-\u00e6herj.\n\nRjih \u0103n maq \u0103max rive \u0103n booh\u0103r, ac\u0103s fillj \u0103n t-\u00e6her \u0103 walj\u0115 \u0103n laa\nsjin. An d\u00e6r\u0103 laa xuui sj\u00ef\u0103d erj sjuul, ac\u0103s duuertj a t-\u00e6her lesj a\nwaq a booh\u0103r \u0103 j\u00eferu. Rjih sjee \u0103max rive an t-\u00e6her \u0103n d\u00e6ra laa ac\u0103s\nfillj \u0103n t-\u00e6her \u0103 walje. \u201cKee sjk\u00ef\u0103l \u00e7iv \u0103 veeh pillju m\u0103r sjin?\u201d ers\n\u0103 b\u00e6n Cobaain ooig. \u201cI\u0103r\u0115nn m\u2019\u00e6her orram \u0103n booh\u0103r i\u0103ru: rjih mee \u0103max\nan booh\u0103r rive ac\u0103s pillen sjee.\u201d \u201cTesji tuu maar\u0103x erj sjgee\u0103l n\u00e6x\ncuu\u0103li sjee erj\u00efu, ac\u0103s misje mani \u00e7it-sje n\u00e6x pilli sjee.\u201d Xuui sjee\u0103d\nerj sjuul \u0103n tjr\u00efwe laa, ac\u0103s hesji \u0103n Cobaan ooc sjgee\u0103l n\u00e6x coo\u0103li \u0103n\nt-\u00e6her erj\u00efu ac\u0103s nj\u00efr fill sjee nis mo\u0327o\u0327, co dj\u00e6xi sj\u00ef\u0103ad in \u0103 doun\nherj.\n\n\u201cNisj,\u201d ers \u0103n v\u00e6n lee Cobaan ooc, \u201cn\u00e6\u00e6 b\u00ef in \u0103n aatj erj\u00efu n\u00e6x mee n\u0103\nwra\u0327a\u0327 co moih \u00e7itj.\u201d\n\nRjinn sjee\u0103d \u0103nsjin \u0103n quuritj co Wal\u0103r Beem\u0103n; ac\u0103s nj\u00ef r\u0103 duul eg\u0115, \u0103\nligin erj \u00e6sj, fwatj\u00efs c\u014f njaanitt sjee\u0103d quuirtj c\u0103nj \u00e6r el\u0115 qoo moih\nlesj \u0103 quuirtj \u0103 v\u00ef eg\u0115 feen.\n\n\u201cT\u00e6\u00e6rnnj\u00efv woof\u0115 n\u0103 st\u00e6f\u014flj;\u201d ac\u0103s v\u00ef duul \u0103 xirj \u0103 maasj \u0103 maar \u0103\nbildaal\u0115. V\u00ef qalj\u00efn \u0103 Wal\u0103r Beem\u0103nn \u0103 col h\u00e6aert erj madjin fw\u00ef \u2019n vildal.\n\n\u201cA Cobaain ooig,\u201d er sjisje, \u201cxuui erj d\u014f xrinaxt: sj\u00efl\u012dm cur fus\u0103\nsj\u00e6\u00e6xt qlox\u0115 xahu \u0103nu\u0103s naa \u00e6\u00e6n kinn \u0103waain \u0103 xirj co dj\u00ef huu.\u201d \u201cIs f\u00efr\n\u00e7itj\u201d ers \u0103 Cobaan ooc. Hesji sj\u00ef\u0103d \u0103 ligin \u0103nu\u0103s n\u0103 hibrje. Nuuirj \u0103\nxuuali Bal\u0103r Beem\u0103nn c\u014f ra sj\u00ef\u0103d \u0103 xahu \u0103nu\u0103s n\u0103 hibrje, d\u2019oordi sjee\n\u0103n st\u00e6ful erj\u00efstj, cur \u00efsjle sj\u00ef\u0103d n\u0103 t\u00e6l\u016dv. \u201cNisj;\u201d ers \u0103n sj\u00e6n Cobaan\ns\u00ef\u0103r \u201ct\u00e6\u00e6 qam in d\u014f xidj ibrje; ac\u0103s \u0103 meeu tjr\u00ef wall ornesj taa mo\njeei \u2019sa walje ac\u0103m, \u0103 ducenn sj\u00ef\u0103d qor \u0103n oi\u0115 \u0103n xirj, qam \u0103n oi\u0115 \u0103n\nxam, ac\u0103s b\u00e6\u00e6rtj \u0103n oi\u0115 n\u0103 canc\u0115dje, ac\u0103s nj\u00efr ee\u0103n \u00e6r lee n\u0103 waail \u00e6\u00e6x\nd\u014f waq feen, j\u00ef\u0103roonj \u0103n obirj ac\u0103s nj\u00ef vee\u016dv \u00e6\u00e6n obirj ins a doun \u0103\nqompeeraalje leehe. Jofi tuu,\u201d er sjesj\u0103n, \u201cb\u00e6n ee\u0103n la\u0327a\u0327v \u0103waain ins \u0103\ntj\u00e6x, ac\u0103s paasjdje llj\u00e6h-uuil; ac\u0103s qruu\u0103x \u00e6ruur ins \u0103 dor\u0103s.\u201d\n\nXirj \u0103n t-\u00e6herj lesj llonc \u0103nsjin, ac\u0103s xirj sjee n\u00e6ll co h-Eerje ee. V\u00ef\nsjee erj sjuul erj\u00efu c\u014f wuuirj sjee \u0103max \u0103 tj\u00e6x: ac\u0103s h\u00e6nik sjee stj\u00e6x in\n\u0103 t\u00ef.\n\nDj \u00ef\u0103ri sjee erj, a veeu \u0103n tj\u00e6x Cobaain ooig? Duuertj \u0103n v\u00e6n co mw\u00ef ee.\n\u201cDuuertt sjee ljom c\u014f r\u014f b\u00e6n erj llj\u00e6h-la\u0327a\u0327v, ac\u0103s paasjdje llj\u00e6h-uuil\nins \u0103 tj\u00e6x, ac\u0103s qruu\u0103x \u00e6ruur ins \u0103 dor\u0103s.\u201d \u201cN\u00e6x vekin tuu,\u201d er sisj\u0103n,\n\u201cn\u00e6x wil ac\u0103m \u00e6x llj\u00e6h-la\u0327a\u0327v, ac\u0103s vekin tuu \u0103n proosjdje sj\u014f erj la\u0327a\u0327v\n\u0103 paasjdje?\u2014n\u00efl is ac\u0103m kee \u0103n moomeedj xirji sjee \u0103n proosjdje in \u0103 huul\nac\u0103s a mani sjee \u0103n tuul \u0115s feen? ac\u0103s vekin tuu \u0103n xruu\u0103x \u00e6ruur amwihj\nins \u0103 dor\u0103s?\u201d\n\nDj \u00ef\u0103r sjee ansjin n\u0103 tjr\u00ef wall. \u201cKee n\u0103 tjr\u00ef wall \u00efad?\u201d er sjisj\u0103n. \u201cTaa\nqor \u0103n oi\u0115 \u0103n xirj, qam in oi\u0115 \u0103n x\u00e6m, ac\u0103s b\u00e6\u00e6rtj \u0103n oi\u0115 n\u0103 canc\u0115dje.\u201d\nHig sj\u00ef ansjin nax ducett sjee\u0103d erj \u00e6sj \u0103 x\u00efe, mar djicett sj\u00ef n\u0103\nfoqle-sj\u014f.\n\n\u201cTaa n\u0103 tjr\u00ef wall ins \u0103 xoor\u0103 sjin h\u00efs, \u0103 ducenn sj\u00efad, qor \u0103n oi\u0115 in\nxirj, qam in oi\u0115 \u0103n xam, ac\u0103s b\u00e6\u00e6rtj in oi\u0115 n\u0103 cancedje.\u201d Xuu\u0103 sj\u00ef sj\u00efs\nac\u0103s doscel sj\u00ef \u0103n xoor\u0103, ac\u0103s duuertt sj\u00ef lesj feen \u0103 qromu sj\u00efs co\ntuunj \u0103 xoor\u0103,\u2014c\u014f r\u014f sji feen \u0115nnj\u00efsj\u0103l. Xrom sjee sj\u00efs, ac\u0103s anuuirj\nfuuirj sj\u00ef qrom ee, xa sj\u00ef stj\u00e6x ins \u0103 xoor\u2019 ee, ac\u0103s \u00e7ridj sj\u00ef \u0103n xoor\u0103\nerj, ac\u0103s duuertt sj\u00ef lesj co wanitt sjee ansjin co djicu Cobaan ooc\nac\u0103s sj\u00e6n Cobaan \u0103 walje, ac\u0103s luu\u0103x \u0103 s\u00efhirj. Xor sj\u00ef qont\u0103s ec Bal\u0103r\nBeem\u0103n co ro waq a _confinement_, eki co dj icu Cobaan ooc ac\u0103s sj\u00e6n\nCobaan a walje. Xor sjee lljoofwe llonc ac\u0103s xirj sjee a walj i\u0103d feen\nac\u0103s \u0103 paai\u0115; ac\u0103s lig sjisje maq Wal\u0103r Beemann erj \u00e6sj eges\u0103n. Nuuirj \u0103\nv\u00ef sj\u00ef\u0103d ec im\u00e6xt \u0103 walje, dj \u00ef\u0103ri Bal\u0103r Beem\u0103n c\u014f Cobaan, kee \u0103n gou\u0115\njofitt sjee \u0103 xirju \u00ef\u0103r\u0115nax\u0103 lee h\u00ef \u0103n xuuirtj. \u201cN\u00efl ee\u0103n gou\u2019 in Eerinn\nis f\u00e6\u00e6r n\u00e6\u00e6 Cavidj\u00efn Coo.\u201d Nuuirj \u0103 h\u00e6nik sj\u00e6n Cobaan \u0103 walje duu\u0115rtt\nsjee lee Cavidj\u00efn Coo c\u0103n ee\u0103n paai erj bih \u0103 claqu wuui, erj \u00ef\u0103renax\u0103 \u0103\njaanu con quuirtj, \u00e6\u00e6x \u0103 \u00e7las:\u2014\u00e7aa curti fuui\u0115 f\u00efhje barillje co l\u00efnitt\nsj\u00ef lee bannj\u0115 n\u0103 f\u00efhje barillje.\n\nSjkr\u00efu ansjin Bal\u0103r Beem\u0103n co dj\u00ef an Cavidj\u00efn Coo, co dooritt sjee \u00e7oo \u0103n\n\u00e7las, \u00e6\u00e6x \u0103 \u00ef\u0115r\u0103naxa \u0103 jaanu con quuirtj: \u00e6\u00e6x nj\u00ef huc sjee \u0103n wuu\u0115r\u0103x\n\u00e7oo nuuirj \u0103 xirj sjee eg\u0115 \u0103n \u00e7l\u0103s; ac\u0103s v\u00efs eg\u0115 co nnjimoott sj\u00ef wuu\u0103,\nnuuirj n\u00e6x duc sjee \u00e7oo \u0103n wuu\u0115r\u0103x.\n\nSjee \u0103n mar\u0103cu jaanitt Cavidj\u00efn Coo \u0103nsjin lee hole C\u00e6sjki\u0103x \u0103 hicu\nege;\u2014\u00e6n \u00e7las \u00e6rje ac\u0103s \u0103 hoort eg\u0115 slaan \u0103 walje \u0103 tr\u00e6noona; jaanitt sjee\nql\u00e6ve c\u014f hol\u0115 c\u00e6sjki\u0103x \u0103 dj \u00e6rju \u00ef. Dj \u00efsitt sj\u00ef fee\u016dr Qruu\u0103xaan Qon\u0103xt\u0103\n\u0103n laa, ac\u0103s d\u2019 oolitt sj\u00ef djox \u0103 Lax Ee\u0103xirj \u0103 Cuuic\u0103lu \u0103 tr\u00e6noona.\n\nH\u00e6nig K\u00ef\u0103n waq Qaantje eg\u0115, c\u014f waadd sjee qlave djaanti. Duuert sjee lesj\nc\u014f nnjaanu, \u00e6\u00e6x cur \u0103 bee \u0103 war\u0103cu \u0103 vee eg\u0115, co coihitt sjee \u0103n \u00e7las\n\u00e6rje \u0103n laa sjin. \u201cN\u00e6 m\u0103r r\u014f sj\u00ef l\u00e6t \u0103 walje ac\u0103m tr\u00e6noona, qoihi tuu do\nhjinn \u0103 ligin sj\u00efs erj anj \u00efnuur co mani mee an kinn j\u00ef\u0115t, lee do xlave\nfeen.\u201d\n\nDj imi K\u00efan waq Qaantje ac\u0103s ruc sjee grjim robel orhi. Nuuirj \u0103 h\u00e6nik\nsjee \u0103 walje tr\u00e6noon\u0103, \u201cSjo \u00ef, mwihj, \u0103 \u00e7las\u201d er sjesj\u0103n lee Cavidj\u00efn\nCou. V\u00ef C\u00e6sjki\u0103x esti ins \u0103 hj\u00e6\u00e6rt\u0103, Ridjirje \u0103n \u00e7aairje. Rjih sjee \u0103max,\nac\u0103s duu\u0115rtt sjee lee K\u00efan waq Qaantje, \u201ct\u00e6\u00e6 \u2019n cou \u0103 xirj \u0103n ou\u0115rtj in\nd\u014f xlave, ac\u0103s m\u0103r r\u014f grjim ac\u0103d erj nj\u00ef bee buui im\u0103ru ac\u0103d.\u201d Nuuirj \u0103\nxuui K\u00efan waq Qaantje estj\u00e6x nj\u00ef q)ivne sjee \u0103n \u00e7las \u0103 xirj estj\u00e6x. Dj\n\u00ef\u0103ri Cavidj\u00efn Cou \u00e7e \u201cKee wil \u0103n \u00e7las?\u201d \u201cSjo \u00ef amwihj ec an doras \u00ef.\u201d\n\u201cXirj estj\u00e6x \u00ef\u201d er sjesj\u0103n. Nuuirj \u0103 xuui sjee amax, v\u00ef sj\u00ef imi. \u201cLig\nsj\u00efs do hjinn erj \u0103nj \u00efnuur, co mani mee \u0103n konn d\u00ef\u0115t.\u201d \u201cT\u00e6\u00e6 mee \u00ef\u0103ri\nonoorj hjr\u00ef laa ort lee col \u0103 h\u00ef\u0103ri.\u201d \u201cVeerhi mee sjin ditj\u201d er sjesjan.\n\nDj imi sjee lesj ansjin acas v\u00ef sjee llj\u00e6nuintj \u0103 lor\u0103c co d\u00e6nik sjee co\ndj\u00ef \u0103n \u00e6rige. V\u00ef sjee sj\u00efr ac\u0103s enj\u00ef\u0103r erj \u0103 traai, d\u00e6\u00e6 t\u00e6rentj \u0103 cruu\u0115g\u0115\ndaa xl\u00e6cenn lee buu\u0115rhe enjeei n\u0103 clasj\u0115. V\u00ef f\u00e6r amwihj erj \u0103n \u00e6rige in\n\u0103 xor\u0103x. Dj omirj sjee estj\u00e6x co dj\u00ef ee, acas v\u00ef \u0103n f\u00e6r sjin Mananaan\nbw\u00ef maq \u0103 Ljirj. Dj \u00ef\u0103ri sjee \u00e7e \u201cKee \u0103 taa ort ennju?\u201d Dj ini sjee \u00e7oo.\n\u201cKee\u0103rd \u0103 veerhaa con tjie d\u2019 aaqu huu ins \u0103n aatj \u0103 wil \u0103n \u00e7las?\u201d \u201cN\u00efl\nd\u00e6di ac\u0103m lee toortj \u00e7oo.\u201d \u201cNj\u00efr i\u0103ri mee ort \u00e6\u00e6x llj\u00e6h \u0103 ncruui tuu co\ndjige tuu erj \u00e6sj.\u201d \u201cVeerhi mee sjin ditj\u201d ers \u0103 K\u00ef\u0103n waq Qaantje. \u201cB\u00ef\n\u2019s estjih ins \u0103 xor\u0103x.\u201d Lee locen do huul, d\u2019 aac sjee ee herj \u0103 riaxt\u0103\nn\u0103 fuu\u0103riaxt; njir brj\u00efhu ee\u0103n grjim erj\u00efu erj \u0103n ilaan-sj\u014f, \u00e6\u00e6x djih\nsj\u00ef\u0103d \u0103 hole hoort b\u00ef fuu\u0103r. Rjinn K\u00ef\u0103n waq Qaantje tjini, ac\u0103s hesji\nsj\u00e6 brj\u00efh \u0103n v\u00ef. Nuuirj \u0103 xu\u0103li Bal\u0103r Beem\u0103nn co r\u014f lehidj onn, hooc\nsjee estj\u00e6x na qookerje, ac\u0103s n\u0103 sjgee\u0103li, ac\u0103s \u0103nj \u00e6r tjini ee. _Well_;\nv\u00ef \u00e6\u00e6n \u00efen \u0103waain ec Bal\u0103r Beemann ac\u0103s rjinnju taricer\u00e6\u00e6xt cur bee \u0103n\nmaq eki \u0103 warahu \u0103n t-\u00e6herj woor. Xoi sjee \u0103nsjin in \u0103 _confinement_ \u00ef,\nfwatj\u00efs co r\u00e6hi anj \u00e6r d\u00e6\u00e6 xooirj, ac\u0103s ee feen \u0103 veeuv lee v\u00efa eki; ac\u0103s\nsjee \u0103n _companion_ eki, _dummy_ mra\u0327a\u0327. D\u2019aac Mananaan buui co K\u00efan waq\nQaantje\u2014clas erj bih \u0103 luqett sjee la\u0327a\u0327u erj fwosceltj ac\u0103s dridj n\u0103\njeei. V\u00ef sjee c\u2019 ou\u0103rq erj Bal\u0103r Beemann \u0103 \u00e7ol co dj\u00ef \u0103n tj\u00e6x-sjo donnj\n\u00ef\u0115n lee b\u00efa eki; ac\u0103s xuu\u0103 \u2019sjee feen n\u0103 jeei co dj\u00ef \u0103n tj\u00e6x; ac\u0103s loc\nsj\u00e6 la\u0327a\u0327u erj \u0103n clas, ac\u0103s dosc\u0115l \u0103n dor\u0103s; nj\u00ef wuuirj sjee \u00e6x \u0103n vertj\nwan onn. Rjinn sjee tjinni \u00e7oofwe. V\u00ef sjee tj\u00e6\u00e6xt onn erj\u00efu, cur qasu\ndin\u0115 qlanne orhi. V\u00ef sjee col ec im\u00e6\u00e6xt ansjin nuuirj \u0103 rucu \u0103 paasjdje.\nXuu\u0103 sjee c\u014f dj\u00ef \u0103n rj\u00ef ac\u0103s duu\u0115rtt sjee lesj c\u014f coihitt sjee im\u00e6xt.\n\u201cTige n im\u00e6h\u0103?\u201d er sjesj\u0103n. \u201cTaa, djeerji m\u00e6lhoo \u00e7am oo h\u00e6nik mee in \u0103n\nilaan-sjo. Qoihi mee im\u00e6xt.\u201d \u201cKee an m\u00e6lhu ee?\u201d er sjesjan. \u201cQasu dine\nxlanne orr\u0103m.\u201d\n\nV\u00ef bertj waq \u00e7oo erj \u0103n ilaan el\u0115 fjool\u0103m dr\u00efaxta. H\u00e6nik sj\u00ef\u0103d \u0103 walj\u0115\nerj xuuirtj ec \u0103n \u00e6herj. \u201c\u00c6herj\u201d ers \u0103 f\u00e6r aqu, \u201cxirji d\u014f sjgee\u0103li, d\u014f\nqookerj\u0115 ac\u0103s d\u2019 \u00e6r tjinu d\u014f haai feric ort.\u201d V\u00ef K\u00ef\u0103n waq Qaantje c\neesjtj\u00e6xt \u00e7aa r\u00e6\u00e6itj, xuu\u0103 sjee c\u014f dj\u00ef \u0103n \u00ef\u0115n Wal\u0103r Beemann, ac\u0103s dj\u2019 ini\nsjee \u0103n sjgee\u0103l dih \u0103 d\u2019inisj \u0103 dr\u00efhaar. \u201c_Well!_\u201d er sjisje, \u201ctaa sjee\n\u0103n am ac\u0103d \u0103 veeh c\u2019im\u00e6\u00e6xt anisj. Sjin \u00ef, qruu\u0103xt erj \u0103 walle, buu\u0103rax \u0103n\nclasje, ac\u0103s beei \u0103n \u00e7las xoo luu\u0103 l\u00e6t; ac\u0103s toor l\u00e6t \u0103n paasjdje.\u201d Dj\nimi sjee ac\u0103s \u0103nuuirj \u0103 h\u00e6nik sjee co dj\u00ef \u0103n _spot_ \u0103 xirj Mananaan \u0103max\nee v\u00ef Mananaan onn erj \u0103 _spot_. \u201cB\u00ef estih ins a xor\u00e6x\u201d ers \u0103 Mananaan;\n\u201cac\u0103s djaan djefirj, n\u00e6\u00e6 baaihi Bal\u0103r Beemann sjinn maa hig lesj ee; \u00e6\u00e6x\nis muu \u0103n dr\u00ef\u0103xt\u0103 taa acams\u0103 naa ege,\u201d ers \u0103 Mananaan Bw\u00ef waq \u0103 Ljirj.\nLljeem sjee estj\u00e6x ins \u0103 xor\u0103x ac\u0103s lljeem \u0103n \u00e7las estj\u00e6x xoo lluu\u0103 lesj.\nLlj\u00e6n Bal\u0103r Beemann \u00ef\u0103d, ac\u0103s hooc sjee \u0103n \u00e6rige in \u0103 stirm, rive ac\u0103s\nn\u0103 jeei: nj\u00ef rjinn Mananaan \u00e6\u00e6x \u0103 la\u0327a\u0327u \u0103 h\u00efnu amax ac\u0103s rjinn sjee \u0103n\n\u00e6rige kuun. Llj\u00e6s Bal\u0103r \u0103n \u00e6rige rive, duul lee co nuuihitt sjee \u00ef\u0103d; \u00e6\u00e6x\nxoih Mananaan amax qlox ac\u0103s xirj sjee es \u0103n \u00e6rige.\n\n\u201cNisj, \u0103 Hhj\u00efan waq Qaantje, t\u00e6\u00e6 tuu slaan, saawalti ins \u0103 walje; ac\u0103s\nkee\u0103rd \u0103 verhis tuu ljom erj \u0103 hon?\u201d\n\n\u201cNj\u00efl d\u00e6di ac\u0103m lee toortj ditj \u00e6\u00e6x \u0103 paasjdje ac\u0103s nji r\u00e6\u00e6himwidj \u0103\ndjaanu \u00e7aa llje \u00e7e, \u00e6\u00e6x verhim \u00e7itj \u0115lig ee.\u201d\n\n\u201cT\u00e6\u00e6 mee bw\u00ef\u0103x ditj: sjin ee \u0103n rud \u0103 v\u00ef mee \u00ef\u0103ri. Nj\u00ef veei ee\u0103n c\u00e6sjki\u0103x\nins \u0103 doun qoo maih lesj,\u201d ers \u0103 Mananaan.\n\nHooc sjee suu\u0103s lee kl\u00e6s luu ac\u0103s c\u00e6sjqu ee. Sjee \u0103n t\u00e6nim \u0103 waasjtje\nMananaan erj, \u0103 Doll Daana. V\u00ef sjee ac\u0103s Mananaan laa amwihj erj \u0103n\n\u00e6rige, ac\u0103s h\u00e6nik sj\u00ef\u0103d _fleet_ Wal\u0103r Beem\u0103nn \u0103 sjoolu.\n\nXirj Doll Daan\u0103 faainnje, erj a huul, ac\u0103s h\u00e6nik sjee \u0103n t-\u00e6her moor\nerj \u0103 _deck_, a spasjdoor\u00e6xt. Nj\u00ef rou \u2019s ege cur bee ee \u0103n t-\u00e6her moor.\nLosjk sjee lesj _dart_ es \u0103 fooq\u0103 ac\u0103s war\u0115 sjee ee. V\u00ef \u0103n t\u00e6r\u0103cer\u00e6\u00e6xt\n_fulfil_-aaltji \u0103nsjin.\n\n\nBRJEE\u0102XT \u0102N DOONJ.\n\n_Dialect of Glencolumkille, co. Donegal._\n\nVi rj\u00ef \u0103nsjin ac\u0103s nj\u00ef roo eg\u0115 \u00e6x \u0103n maq \u0103waain. V\u00ef sjee \u2019mwih \u0103 sjelig.\nV\u00ef sjee col h\u00e6\u00e6rt n\u0103 relig. V\u00ef k\u00e6rher ins \u0103 relig ac\u0103s qorp aqu. V\u00ef fee\u0103x\nerj \u0103 xorp. Xuui maq rj\u00ef estj\u00e6x. Dj\u2019 es\u0103 sjee c\u014fdjee v\u00ef orhu. Ers \u0103 f\u00e6r\n\u201cT\u00e6\u00e6 fee\u0103x\u0103 oinnj\u0115 erj \u0103nj \u2019\u00e6r \u0103 t\u00e6\u00e6 maru. N\u00efl mee s\u00e6\u00e6sta qorp \u0103 xor,\nc\u014f nnj\u00e6\u00e6li \u00e7\u00e6\u00e6 waq t\u00e6\u00e6 \u0103nsj\u014f c\u014f nnj\u00ef\u014fli sjee\u0103d n\u0103 fee\u0103x\u0103.\u201d \u201cNil sjinn\n\u00e6\u00e6b\u016dlt \u0103 nnj\u00ef\u014fl\u201d ers \u0103 f\u00e6r aqu. \u201cT\u00e6\u00e6 quuig font oims\u0103\u201d ers \u0103 maq \u0103 rj\u00ef.\n\u201cVeerhi mee \u00e7\u00efv ee erj \u0103 qorp \u0103 xor.\u201d Huc sjee \u00e7ooif na quuig font.\nQwirju \u0103n qorp. Dj \u2019imi maq \u0103 rj\u00ef n\u0103 helig. Xuu\u0103 sjee \u0103 walje tr\u00e6noon\u0103.\nMadjin laar n\u0103 waar\u0103x v\u00ef sjn\u00e6\u00e6xt ann. Xuu\u0103 sjee \u0103max \u0103 helig erj \u0103\ntjr\u00e6\u00e6xt\u0103. War\u0115 sjee prjee\u0103xaan duh. H\u00e6s sjee n\u0103 hjonn ac\u0103s d\u2019 ou\u0115r sjee\nerj. Duur sjee n intjin heen n\u00e6\u00e6x boositt sjee v\u00e6n \u0103 x\u00ef\u0115 \u00e6x \u0103 v\u00e6n \u0103 meeu\n\u0103 kinn qoo duh lee kletj anj eein, noo qr\u00e6konn qoo g\u00e6l lesj \u0103 tjr\u00e6\u00e6xt\u0103,\ngruuie qoo dj\u00e6r\u0103c lesj \u0103n il. H\u00e6ne sjee \u0103 walje. Laarn\u0103 waar\u0103x nuuirj\n\u0103 dj eerji sjee nj\u00ef sjee heen ac\u0103s dj imi sjee lesj c\u014f waadd sjee \u0103n\nv\u00e6n-sjo. Nuuirj \u0103 v\u00ef sjee sjuul lesj t\u00e6m\u0103l, q\u00e6su buu\u0103xoll ruu\u0103 doo. V\u00e6ni\n\u0103 buu\u0103x\u014fll doo. Dj es\u0103 sjee q\u00e6\u00e6d \u0103 v\u00ef sjee col. Dj inisj maq \u0103 rj\u00ef doo\n\u00e7\u014f r\u0103 sjee col c\u014f vekitt sjee \u0103n ou\u0115rq \u0103waain erj \u0103 v\u00e6n sjin. \u201c\u2019S f\u00e6\u00e6r\nmisj\u2019 \u00e6sdoo\u201d ers a buu\u0103xol ruu\u0103: \u201cCodjee \u0103n tuu-\u0103r\u0103sd\u0103l vees tuu \u00ef\u0103ri?\u201d\n\u201cLlj\u00e6h \u0103 s\u00efr\u00e6h\u00e6mwidj konn laa ac\u0103s bl\u00ef\u0115n.\u201d Hjuul \u0103 vertj lljoofw\u0115 c\u014f roo\n\u2019n tr\u00e6\u00e6noon\u2019 ann. Ers \u0103n f\u00e6r ruu\u0103 \u201ct\u00e6\u00e6 f\u00e6r mwintj\u0115r\u00e6x duus\u0103 n\u0103 xooni \u2019s\n\u0103 xillj-sj\u014f h\u00efs. Fan his\u2019 \u0103nsj\u014f c\u014f dj ige misje n\u00efs.\u201d Xuui \u0103n f\u00e6r ruu\u0103\nsj\u00efs c\u014f tj\u00e6x \u0103n \u00e6hi. V\u00ef \u0103n faah\u0103x n\u0103 h\u00efe erj qahirj ec \u0103n tjini. \u201cOnk\u0115l\nj\u00eflisj\u201d ers \u0103n f\u00e6r ruu\u0103 \u201cmar sjoo t\u00e6\u00e6 tuu?\u201d \u201cSj\u00e6\u00e6 \u00e7ine wintjerje j\u00eflisj;\nc\u014fdjee t\u00e6\u00e6 tj\u00e6\u00e6xt orr\u0103m?\u201d\n\nErs \u0103n f\u00e6r ruu\u0103 \u201cRj\u00ef \u0103n Doon hirj woor-wantjr\u00e6\u00e6t tj\u00e6\u00e6xt nuu\u0103s \u0103nsjin lee\nd\u014f waru\u0115. Coo \u0103 wal\u0103x \u0103 hileshuu.\u201d (?) \u201cT\u00e6\u00e6 tj\u00e6\u00e6x \u00ef\u0115rennj oim mw\u00efh \u0103nsj\u014f.\nClas\u00e6\u00e6l mee stj\u00e6x ann.\u201d Clas\u00e6\u00e6l sjee \u0103n f\u00e6r estj\u00e6x. Xuu\u0103 sjee insjerj\n\u0103 woisjter. Huc sjee \u0103 woisjter huuas c\u014f tj\u00e6x \u0103n \u00e6hi. Rinn sjee roi \u0103\nsup\u00e6\u00e6r. Xuu\u0103 sjee\u0103d \u0103 ll\u00ef\u0115.\n\nSjee \u0103n jeemn\u00e6x v\u00ef ec \u0103n \u00e6h\u0103x erj madjin \u201cWoscel \u00ef\u0103d.\u201d Xuui \u0103 f\u00e6r ruu\u0103\ninsjerj. Dj es\u0103 sjee c\u014fdjee v\u00ef erj? \u201cT\u00e6\u00e6 mee xooirj \u0103 veeh reei lesj \u0103n\noqr\u0103s. Lig \u0103max es sjo mee klisju.\u201d (?) \u201cNj\u00ef liki mee \u2019max huu\u201d ers \u0103 f\u00e6r\nruu\u0103 co nj insji tuu duh qou\u2019l \u0103 qloox\u0103 dor\u0103x\u0103.\u201d \u201cSjin rud n\u00e6x n\u2019 insji\nmee don \u2019ine c\u014f br\u00e6\u00e6.\u201d \u201c_Well!_ maa\u2019s f\u00e6\u00e6r l\u00e6t c\u0103n insje noo veeh \u0103nsjin\nco waa tuu baas.\u201d\n\n\u201cOl \u0103 r\u0103 mee n\u00efs fwidj ann, t\u00e6\u00e6 sjee qroxt in \u0103 lljeehidd-sj\u014f _room_.\u201d\n\n\u201cT\u00e6\u00e6 \u2019s oims\u0103\u201d ers \u0103 f\u00e6r ruu\u0103, \u201cqou\u2019l sjee; b\u00ef hise \u0103nsjin \u00e6tts tol l\u00e6t.\u201d\nNuuirj \u0103 xooli \u0103n fahax n\u00e6x w\u00eftt sjee \u0103max, huc sjee lljeem \u2019max edjirj\n\u00e7\u00e6\u00e6 ronq\u0103 don tj\u00e6x \u00ef\u0103renj. Rinnju \u00e7\u00e6\u00e6 lljeh doo. Hitj llj\u00e6h \u0103mwih ac\u0103s\nllj\u00e6h estih. Xuui \u0103 f\u00e6r ruu\u0103 c\u014f tj\u00e6x \u0103n \u00e6hi. Rinn sjee reei \u0103 mrikwast.\nHuc sjee lljoofwe nnj\u00e6rt ooirj ac\u0103s \u00e6rigidj;\u2014\u00e7\u00e6\u00e6 j\u00e6r\u00e6n acas \u00e7\u00e6\u00e6 j\u00ef\u014flledj.\nDj imi sjee\u0103d lljoofwe co ro \u2019n tr\u00e6noon\u2019 ann, co d\u2019\u00e6ni sjee\u0103d estj\u00e6x \u0103\ncollj el\u0115.\n\n[In this wood is another giant, from whom in the same fashion he obtains\nthe \u201cbrooc\u0103 sjlou\u0103n\u0103\u201d; and then they go on to another wood, in which is\nanother giant, from whom they obtain the \u201cqelev solaste.\u201d]\n\n\u201cNisj\u201d ers an f\u00e6r ruu\u0103, lee n\u0103 woisjter \u201cb\u00efmwidj \u0103 tj\u00e6xt \u0103 welje: t\u00e6\u00e6 \u0103r\ns\u00e6\u00e6ih oinnj. N\u00e6\u00e6 coo \u0103n tasi n\u00efs fwidje. V\u00e6n \u0103 wil tuu t\u00e6rentj orhi\u2014n\u00efl\n\u00e6n xr\u00e6nn ins \u0103 xollj n\u00e6x wil konn dine qroxt erj, \u00e6x \u00e6n qr\u00e6nn \u0103waain t\u00e6\u00e6\nfwirj\u00e6\u00e6xt lee d\u014f hjonn-s\u0103. Pilamwidj \u0103 walje\u201d ers \u0103 f\u00e6r ruu\u0103. \u201cNj\u00ef r\u00e6\u00e6he\nmee \u0103 walje x\u00ef\u0115\u201d ers \u0103 maq \u0103 rj\u00ef \u201cco veki mee \u2019n ou\u0115rq \u0103waain erj \u0103 v\u00e6n\nsjin.\u201d\n\nXo sjee\u0103d \u0103n tasi co dj\u00e6hi sj\u00e6d (co) tj\u00e6x \u0103 rj\u00ef. Rinn \u0103n rj\u00ef fwaru\u00e6tje\nwoor rive. Claq sjee\u0103d \u0103n \u00efneerj. Xa sjee\u0103d \u0103n \u00efh ec ool ac\u0103s lee\n_sport_. Nuuirj \u0103 v\u00ef sj\u00ef\u0103d n\u0103 s\u00ef\u0115 ec n\u0103 sup\u00e6\u00e6r h\u00e6ne sjisj \u0103nuu\u0103s \u0103\ntj\u00e6x baar. V\u00ef \u0103n konn qoo duh lee etje \u0103nj eein, qr\u00e6kon qoo g\u00e6l lesj \u0103\ntjr\u00e6\u00e6xt\u0103 ac\u0103s cruu\u00efe qoo dj\u00e6r\u0103c lesj \u0103n il. H\u00e6ne sj\u00ef \u00e6d lljoofwe \u2019n \u00e6\u00e6itj\n\u0103 r\u0103 sjee\u0103d ec \u00efh\u0115. Xa sj\u00ef q\u00ef\u0103r insjerj. Duur sj\u00ef lesj mar meeu q\u00ef\u0103rs\u0103n\neg\u0115 lee toortj dih maar\u0103x co mwinett sj\u00ef \u0103n konn dih. Ruc sjee erj \u0103\nx\u00ef\u0103r. Xor sjee sj\u00efs in \u0103 fooq\u2019i. Nuuirj \u0103 v\u00ef sjee\u0103d \u0103 col \u0103 ll\u00ef\u0115, ers \u0103n\nf\u00e6r ruu\u0103 lesj \u201cou\u0103rq \u0103 wil \u0103 x\u00ef\u0103r oi\u0103d.\u201d Xor sjee veeur in \u0103 fooq\u0103.\n\nNj\u00ef ro \u0103n x\u00ef\u0103r ege. Hilh n\u0103 djoor\u0103. \u201cTruu\u0103 n\u00e6r \u0103 (c)laq\u0115 mee d\u014f xoorlje,\nnuuirj a dj \u00ef\u0103r tuu orram pillju welje.\u201d \u201cBeedjirj co w\u00efmisj buui \u0103lig\nerj\u201d ers \u0103 f\u00e6r ruu\u0103. \u201cV\u00ef sjee \u0103 vland\u0103r c\u014f wuuirj sjee co ll\u00ef ee. Nuuirj\n\u0103 xirj \u0103 f\u00e6r ruu\u0103 \u0103 ll\u00ef ee xor sjee erj \u0103 qloox\u0103 dorrax\u0103. Huc sjee lesj\nn\u0103 brooc\u0103 sjlou\u0103n\u0103, ac\u0103s \u0103 qel\u0115v sal\u0103st\u0115. Xo sjee \u0103max ac\u0103s h\u00e6s sjee \u2019s\n\u0103 _wack-yard_. H\u00e6ne sjisj\u2019 amax. Rinn sj\u00ef sj\u00efs erj \u0103n \u00e6rige. H\u00e6ne sj\u00ef \u00e6d\nlesj \u0103n \u00e6rig\u0115. Xa sj\u00ef bl\u00ef\u0103sq es \u0103 fooq\u0103. Rinn sj\u00ef baad dih. Xo sj\u00ef stj\u00e6x\ns \u0103 waad. Wuuil sj\u00ef \u2019c im\u0103ru lee c\u00e6\u00e6 f\u00e6d\u0115l, co d\u2019\u00e6ne sj\u00ef sjtj\u00e6x erj \u0103n\nil\u00e6\u00e6n v\u00ef ins \u0103n \u00e6rige. V\u00ef f\u00e6h\u0103x moor erj \u0103 xlad\u0103x. \u201cWil d\u00e6di l\u00e6t huum\n\u0103noxt?\u201d \u201cN\u00efl\u201d er sjisje, \u201c\u00e6x beei sjee \u2019s \u0103n \u00efh maar\u0103x ljom. T\u00e6\u00e6 maq rj\u00ef\nEerinn\u0115 \u2019noxt oim. Beei sjee ljom insj\u2019 orts\u0103 maar\u0103x.\u201d\n\nXuu\u0103 sjee\u0103d n\u0103 t\u00ef\u0103; \u201cSjoudj q\u00ef\u0103r huc misje \u00e7oos\u0103n noxt. T\u00e6\u00e6 sj\u00ef his\u00ef.\u201d\nD\u2019\u00e6scel \u0103 f\u00e6hax qoor\u0103. D\u2019 aac sjee \u0103n x\u00ef\u0103r erj hoonj \u0103 xoor\u0103. V\u00ef \u0103n f\u00e6r\nruu\u0103 \u0103 h\u00e6su erj konn n\u0103 xoor\u0103. Nuuirj \u0103 d\u2019 aac \u0103n faah\u0103x \u0103n x\u00ef\u0103r ins \u0103\nxoor\u0103 ruc \u0103 f\u00e6r ruu\u2019 orhi nuu cur x\u014f sjee n\u0103 fooq\u2019\u00ef. V\u00ef \u0103n tj\u00e6x laan\ncooirj. X\u014f sj\u00ef bl\u00efe n\u0103 ncooirj cur vl\u00ef sj\u00ef tjr\u00ef\u0103n muunj ac\u0103s fol\u0115. Rinn\nsj\u00ef reei \u0103 sup\u00e6\u00e6r. Claq sjee\u0103d \u0103 _stuff_ sjin. H\u00e6rn\u0103 fah\u0103x ege klee\u014frsi\n\u00efar\u0115nnj ac\u0103s qr\u00e6kon laarje baannje. Ll\u00ef sjee\u0103d ansjin c\u014f madjin.\n\nNuuirj \u0103 h\u00e6nik \u0103n laa, dj eerji sjisje ac\u0103s dj imi sj\u00ef t\u00e6rentj erj \u0103n\n\u00e6rig\u0115. Llj\u00e6n \u0103 f\u00e6r ruua \u00ef. Nuuirj \u0103 x\u014f sj\u00ef \u00e6d lesj \u0103 waad xor sj\u00ef \u0103n baad\nerj \u0103n isjg\u0115. Xuu\u0103 sj\u00ef heen estj\u00e6x inti. Llj\u00e6n \u0103 f\u00e6r ruua \u00ef erj \u0103n \u00e6rige.\nV\u00ef sjee sjkeet\u00e6\u00e6l insj\u2019 orhi lesj \u0103 qlev sal\u0103st\u0103. Nj\u00ef roo \u2019s eg\u0115 codjee\nv\u00ef \u0103 flehu. Nuuirj \u0103 xo sj\u00ef\u0103d \u00e6d lesj \u0103 walje xuui \u0103 f\u00e6r ruu\u0103 insjerj \u0103\nwoisjter. Dj esi sjee r\u0103 sjee n\u0103 xollu. Duurtj maq \u0103 rj\u00ef n\u00e6x roo. \u201cH\u00e6\u00e6w\u0103l\nmisje d\u014f hjonn \u0103noxt. Sjoudj \u0103 x\u00efr. Qwirj in d\u014f fooq\u2019 \u00ef.\u201d Xor sjee \u0103n x\u00efr\nin \u0103 fooq\u0103. Xuui \u0103n f\u00e6r ruu\u0103 \u0103 ll\u00efe. Nuuirj \u0103 v\u00ef \u0103n brikwast\u0103 reei erj\nmadjin _ring_-\u00e6\u00e6l \u0103n _bell_. Dj eerji sjee\u0103d ac\u0103s nj\u00ef sjee\u0103d \u00ef\u0103d heen.\nNuuirj \u0103 v\u00ef sjee\u0103d claqu mrikwast\u0103 h\u00e6ni sjisj\u2019 \u0103nuu\u0103s \u0103n tj\u00e6x baar. \u201cWil\n\u0103 x\u00efr oi\u0103d huc misj \u0115reeirj?\u201d Xor sjee veer in \u0103 fooq\u0103. X\u0103 sjee \u0103n x\u00efr\ninsj orhi. Nuuirj \u0103 h\u00e6ne sj\u00ef co roo \u0103n x\u00efr lee faail eg\u0115, h\u00e6ne sj\u00ef h\u00e6\u00e6rt\nlee _sweep_ awaain. Vrjisj sj\u00ef llj\u00e6h \u0103 v\u00ef erj \u0103 taab\u0115l\u0115. \u201cT\u00e6\u00e6 tjr\u00ef\u0103n\ndon \u00efne bontj oi\u0103m\u201d ers \u0103 maq rj\u00ef Eerinne. \u201cT\u00e6\u00e6\u201d ers \u0103n rj\u00ef. \u201c\u2019S tuu \u0103n\nc\u00e6sjki\u0103x is f\u00e6\u00e6r \u0103 h\u00e6nik in m\u014f h\u00ef erj\u00efu.\u201d\n\nXo sjee\u0103d \u0103 helig \u0103n laa sjin. Nuuirj \u0103 h\u00e6ni sjee\u0103d a walje v\u00ef sjee\u0103d\ndj\u00e6nu grinn ac\u0103s qodj\u00e6\u00e6t\u0103 c\u014f d\u2019\u00e6nik \u00e6m sup\u00e6\u00e6r\u0115. Nuuirj a v\u00ef sjee\u0103d claqu\nsup\u00e6\u00e6r h\u00e6nik \u0103 v\u00e6n vrjee \u00e6d lljoofwe. Xa sji sjisuur insjerj. \u201cMar roo\u2019sj\noi\u0103d lee toortj duuh maar\u0103x beei d\u014f hjonn oi\u0103m.\u201d Ruc sjee erj a tj-isuur.\nXirj sjee na fooq ee. Nuuirj \u0103 v\u00ef sjee\u0103d \u0103 col \u0103 ll\u00ef\u0115 \u201cou\u0115rq\u201d ers \u0103 f\u00e6r\nruu\u0103 lee na woisjter \u201cwil \u0103 sjisuur oi\u0103d.\u201d \u201cN\u00efl\u201d ers \u0103 moisjter. \u201cS d\u00e6n\n\u0103 halj tuu ee.\u201d Xo sjee \u0103 x)\u00efnu. V\u00ef \u2019n f\u00e6r ruu\u0103 \u0103 vland\u0103r c\u014f wuuirj sjee\nll\u00ef ee. Nuuirj \u0103 xoll\u0115 sjee, xuui \u0103 f\u00e6r ruu\u0103 \u0103max. Xor sjee erj \u0103 qloox\u0103\ndorr\u0103x\u0103 ac\u0103s n\u0103 Brooc\u0103 sjlou\u0115n\u0115, ac\u0103s huc sjee qelev sal\u0103ste.\n\n[The visit to the giant in the island is repeated, the red man bringing\nback the scissors as the comb.]\n\nNuuirj \u0103 v\u00ef an brikwasta reei h\u00e6ne sj\u00ef nuu\u0103s \u0103n tj\u00e6x waar. V\u00ef sj\u00ef flox,\nbaaitj\u00ef. Djes\u0103 sj\u00ef dih ro \u2019n sjisuur ege lee toortj d\u00efh. Xor sjee \u0103 veer\nin \u0103 fooq\u0103, xa sjee insj\u2019 orhi \u0103n sjisuur. Huc sj\u00ef \u0103n _sweep_ awaain,\nnj\u00efr aac sj\u00ef grim _delf_ erj \u0103 taabele n\u00e6r vrjisj sj\u00ef lee m\u00efh\u00e6su. Duurtj\nmaq \u0103 rj\u00ef c\u014f roo \u00e7\u00e6\u00e6 djr\u00ef\u0115n \u0103n \u00efn\u0115 bontj enjuh eg\u0115. \u201cT\u00e6\u00e6\u201d ers \u0103 rj\u00ef \u201cac\u0103s\nt\u00e6\u00e6 huul oi\u0103m co mwin\u0115 tuu\u2019 lig \u00ef: t\u00e6\u00e6 misje torsaail lehi.\u201d\n\nXa sjee\u0103d \u0103 laa sjin \u0103 sjelig, c\u014f d\u2019\u00e6nik \u0103n \u00efh\u0115. Nuuirj \u0103 v\u00ef \u0103 sup\u00e6\u00e6r\nreei, h\u00e6ne sjisj\u2019 anuu\u0103s lee _flight_. \u201cMar roo n\u0103 pushini djerin\u00e6\u00e6h\u0103\nfooq\u0103s misj\u2019 anoxt, beei d\u014f hjonn oi\u0103m.\u201d \u201cS deli duus\u0103\u201d ers \u0103 maq \u0103 rj\u00ef,\n\u201cfis \u0103 veeh oims\u0103 codjee n\u0103 pushini djerin\u00e6\u00e6h\u0103 fooq\u0103s tise.\u201d V\u00ef sjee c\u014f\nbuuerh\u0115 n\u00e6x roos ege codjee j\u00e6\u00e6nitt sjee. V\u00ef \u2019n f\u00e6r ruu\u0103 d\u00e6 vland\u0103r c\u014f\nwuuirj sjee n\u0103 ll\u00ef ee.\n\n[The red man goes with the cloak, &c., as before, and follows her to the\nisland.]\n\nNuuirj \u0103 xo sj\u00ef \u0103 djirj erj \u0103n il\u00e6\u00e6n, v\u00ef \u0103n fah\u0103x \u0103 buu\u0115rfi erj \u0103 xlad\u0103x.\n\u201cWil d\u00e6di l\u00e6t insj\u2019 orram?\u201d ers \u0103n fah\u0103x. \u201cNj\u00ef huuri mee \u0103n d\u00e6h x\u00ef insj\nort. Lig tuu erj sjuul \u0103 x\u00efr. Lig tuu erj sjuul \u0103 sjisuur. V\u00ef \u0103n d\u00e6\u00e6 qidj\neg\u0115 lee toort duuh erj madjin. Xirj misje g\u00e6s anoxt erj n\u00e6x m\u00ef\u0115n eg\u0115 lee\ntoortj duuh. Sjin \u00ef n\u0103 pusjini djerin\u00e6\u00e6ha fookinj \u0103noxt ac\u0103s sjin his\u0115.\u201d\n\nXo sj\u00ef n\u0103 vl\u00ef\u0115 n\u0103 ncooirj. Wuun tjr\u00ef\u0115n fal\u0103 ac\u0103s tjr\u00ef\u0115n muunj. Rinn sj\u00ef\nreei n\u0103 hup\u00e6\u00e6re. Dj \u00efh sjee\u0103d ac\u0103s ool sjee\u0103d \u0103 s\u00e6\u00e6ih doo. Fuuirj sjee\nqlee\u014frs\u0103 \u00ef\u0103renj, qr\u00e6kon laairje baannje. Ll\u00ef sjee\u0103d ansjin co madjin.\nNuuirj \u0103 h\u00e6nik \u0103n laa laarn\u0103 waar\u0103x fooc sjisje tjr\u00ef h-uuirje. \u201cSjin \u00ef n\u0103\npusjini djerin\u00e6\u00e6h\u0103 fooqas misje. Nj\u00ef veei sjee\u0103d sjin eg\u0115 lee toort ditj\nmaar\u0103x.\u201d\n\nDj eerji sj\u00ef ac\u0103s dj imi sj\u00ef. Nuuirj \u0103 xo sj\u00ef \u2019max, sjgib \u0103 f\u00e6r ruu\u0103\nkonn don \u00e6h\u0103x. Xor sjee g\u00e6d in \u0103 xlu\u0115sj. Xa sjee erj \u0103 \u00e7oo\u0103lenj ee. V\u00ef\nsjee erj \u0103 xlad\u0103x qoo luu\u0103 leehi-sje. Xo sjisj estj\u00e6x \u2019s \u0103 waad. V\u00ef sj\u00ef\nt\u00e6rentj erj \u0103 walje. Xo sjesj\u0103n amax na djeei. Erj vee\u0103d \u0103 lljox sjee \u00ef\nn\u0103 h\u00efhe hele lljox sjee \u00e7\u00e6\u00e6 huuirj qoo moor \u0103n \u00efh\u0115 sj\u0115. Xuu\u0103 sjee\u0103d \u0103\nwalje. Xuui \u0103 f\u00e6r ruu\u0103 \u2019n \u00e6\u00e6itj \u0103 roo \u2019n moisjter \u0103 ll\u00ef\u0115. \u201cWill tuu d\u014f\nxollu, \u0103 woisjter?\u201d \u201cN\u00efl mee anisj\u201d ers \u0103 maq \u0103 rj\u00ef. \u201cSjoudj n\u0103 pusjini\ndjerin\u00e6\u00e6h\u0103 fooc sjisj n\u0103 reeirj, ac\u0103s, lljooca, ba cr\u00e6\u00e6n\u0103 n\u0103 pusjini \u00efad\nec _lady_ \u0103 veeh boocu.\u201d Ruc sjee erj \u0103 konn ac\u0103s xa sjee fw\u00ef \u2019n llj\u00e6bwi\nee. Nuuirj \u0103 v\u00ef \u2019n brikwasta reei erj madjin h\u00e6ne sjisj\u2019 \u0103nuu\u0103s lee\n_flight_. Djes\u0103 sj\u00ef \u00e7ih \u201cqoul n\u0103 pusjini djerin\u00e6\u00e6h\u0103 fooc misj \u0115reejrj?\u201d\nXor sjee la\u0327a\u0327u h\u00e6risj fw\u00ef \u2019n llj\u00e6bwi. Ruc sjee \u0103n konn \u0103n \u00e6hi. Xa sjee\n\u2019nonns n\u0103 qasi. Nuuirj \u0103 h\u00e6ne sjisje c\u014f roo faahax maru, huc sj\u00ef _sweep_\nawaain; nj\u00efr aac sj\u00ef taab\u0115l noo qahirj, noo d\u00e6di \u0103 roo erj \u0103 taabele n\u00e6x\ndj\u00e6r sj\u00ef smoloc\u0103 dih, v\u00ef sj\u00ef qoo m\u00efh\u00e6st\u0103. \u201cT\u00e6\u00e6 do n\u00efn \u0103lig buntj oi\u0103m\u201d\ners \u0103 maq \u0103 rj\u00ef. \u201cT\u00e6\u00e6: ac\u0103s is tuu \u0103n c\u00e6sjki\u0103x \u2019s f\u00e6\u00e6r \u0103 h\u00e6nik foo m\u014f h\u00e6x\nerj\u00efu.\u201d\n\n\u201c_Well!_ r\u00e6h\u00e6mwidj \u0103 helig enjuh\u201d ers \u0103n f\u00e6r ruu\u0103. Xuu\u0103 sjee\u0103d \u0103 helig.\nWin \u0103n f\u00e6r ruu\u0103 tjr\u00ef bu\u0115ltj\u00efn. Rinn sjee tjr\u00ef huusjt\u0115. Nuuirj \u0103 x\u014f sjee\u0103d\n\u0103 walje \u201cnisj\u201d ers \u0103 f\u00e6r ruu\u0103, \u201ctuurj amax do n\u00efn \u0103nsjo.\u201d Huc \u0103 rj\u00ef \u0103max\n\u00ef. \u201cK\u00e6ncel \u0103 qos ac\u0103s \u0103 la\u0327a\u0327we\u201d ers a f\u00e6r ruua: \u201cfaac na ll\u00ef \u0103nsjo\n\u00ef.\u201d D\u2019aac \u0103 rj\u00ef n\u0103 ll\u00ef \u00ef. Huc \u0103n f\u00e6r ruu\u0103 suustje don rj\u00ef acas konn d\u014f\nwoisjter. \u201cBuuil hise \u0103n hjee\u0103d wullje.\u201d Wuuil \u0103 rj\u00ef \u0103n hjee\u0103d wullje.\nV\u00ef \u0103n tjruur \u0103 buu\u0115lu erj feg t\u00e6m\u0103l fad\u0103. Djimi bloirje tjinu \u2019max \u00e6s\n\u0103 bee\u0103l. \u201cBuuelici liv tjilu. T\u00e6\u00e6 tjilu intji.\u201d Wuuil sjee\u0103d lljoofwe\ncur imi kr\u00e6p el\u0115 tjinu \u2019max \u00e6s \u0103 bee\u0103l. \u201cBuu\u0115lici lif\u201d ers \u0103 f\u00e6r ruu\u0103.\n\u201cT\u00e6\u00e6 konn el\u0115 intji?\u201d Wuuel sjee\u0103d lljoofwe cur imi \u0103n tjr\u00efwe konn. \u201cN\u00e6\u00e6\nbuuelici n\u00efs mo\u0327o\u0327\u201d ers \u0103n f\u00e6r ruua. \u201cSjin tjr\u00ef j\u00ef\u0103w\u0103l djimi esjtje.\nSc\u00eflici \u00ef \u2019nisj. T\u00e6\u00e6 sj\u00ef qoo saqirj lee \u00e6n v\u00e6n erj a walje.\u201d Sc\u00efl sjee\u0103d\n\u00ef ac\u0103s xor sjee\u0103d \u0103 ll\u00ef \u00ef. V\u00ef sj\u00ef torsaax \u0103 njeei \u0103 buuelu.\n\nFuui \u0103 soiert meesje ac\u0103s kleerj\u0103x qloihje. Poosu \u2019n laanawin. D\u2019\u00e6n \u0103 f\u00e6r\nruua aqu laa acas bl\u00ef\u0115n. Ruucu maq ooc \u00e7ooif. Nuuirj \u0103 v\u00ef \u0103n laa ac\u0103s\nbl\u00ef\u0115n \u2019stih duuertj \u0103 f\u00e6r ruua\u2014cur v\u00efhidj lesj \u0103 veeh \u2019c im\u00e6\u00e6xt. \u201cN\u00efl is\noims\u201d ers \u0103 maq \u0103 rj\u00ef c\u014fdjee j\u00e6\u00e6nh\u0103s misje d\u014f jeei. \u201cOh! nj\u00ef vee mwillj\nort\u201d ers \u0103 f\u00e6r ruu\u0103; \u201cis qooirj \u0103n saqru.\u201d \u201cS qooirj\u201d ers a maq \u0103 rj\u00ef.\n\u201cXoo (?) sjee \u00e7\u00e6\u00e6 lljeh d\u00e6\u00e6 wuuirj sjee \u0103 d\u2019\u00e6sdoo sjee ee.\u201d \u201cVeerhi mee\n\u0103n paaisjdje \u0103lig \u2019itj\u201d ers \u0103 maq \u0103 rj\u00ef: \u201ct\u00e6\u00e6 truui orm \u0103 col \u0103 j\u00e6ru.\u201d\n\u201cNj\u00ef claqi mee \u0103lig ee\u201d ers \u0103 f\u00e6r ruu\u0103: \u201cnj\u00ef claqi mee \u00e6x mo war\u0103c\u0103.\u201d\nRuc maq a rj\u00ef erj \u0103 sjgon (? sjgian) col a j\u00e6ru. \u201c_Stop_ d\u014f laau\u201d ers \u0103\nf\u00e6r ruu\u0103. \u201cV\u00ef tuu heen fuu\u0103scoltj\u00e6x. A qimin\u00e6x l\u00e6t \u0103 laa v\u00ef tuu col h\u00e6rt\nlesj \u0103 relig. V\u00ef k\u00e6rherj ins \u0103 relig ac\u0103s qorp ooqu, ac\u0103s \u00ef\u0103d ec \u00e6rig\u00e6l.\nV\u00ef fee\u0103x erj a xorp. Nj\u00ef roo sjee\u0103d s\u00e6st\u0103 \u0103 xorp \u0103 xor co nnj\u00ef\u0103lti n\u0103\nfee\u0103x\u0103. V\u00ef quuig font oi\u0103ds\u0103. Huc tuu \u00e7ooif ee \u0103 xorp a xor. Misje v\u00ef\n\u2019s \u0103 xoor\u0103 \u0103n laa sjin. Nuuirj \u0103 h\u00e6ne misje hise col \u0103 konn \u0103 _journey_\nh\u00e6nik misj insj ort lee do h\u00e6\u00e6w\u0103l, m\u0103r v\u00ef tuu heen qoo moih sjin. Pronam\ndo faaisjdj\u2019 ort ac\u0103s d\u014f xidj \u00e6rigidj. Slaan ac\u0103s b\u00e6n\u00e6\u00e6t oi\u0103d. Nj\u00ef eki\ntuu \u00e6n ou\u0103rq orrams\u0103 n\u00efs mo\u0327o\u0327.\u201d\n\n[_Note._\u2014English words or parts of words retaining their pronunciation\nare in italics.]\n\n\n\n\n_NOTES._\n\n    The spelling of the names in the English is English phonetic,\n    with the exception of the use of J to denote slenderness or\n    softness of the consonant. English readers are now familiar\n    with a similar use of J in the Norwegian name Bj\u00f6rnsen. It is\n    equivalent to the consonantal use of English y.\n\n\nPage 1. The \u201cGloss Gavlen\u201d means simply the Grey (cow) of the Smith,\ngavlen being properly gavnen\u2014(gaibhnenn) according to O\u2019Donovan. The\nfirst part of the story has no real connection with the second. The\nGobaun seer, meaning the Smith-builder, was the famous mythic architect,\nto whom was attributed the erection of various actual edifices,\u2014of\nwhich I can only recall at present the Round Tower of Killala. The\nlatter part of the narrative is a genuine folk-reminiscence of some of\nthe most striking characters and events in the oldest Irish mythology.\nBalar of the Blows (Bemann) was the leader of the Fohmors, the powers of\ndarkness and evil, in the great battle of the northern Moytura, fought\nnear Sligo, in which they were defeated by Lugh, Balar\u2019s daughter\u2019s\nson, also called Ildauna\u2014that is \u201cof all arts and sciences,\u201d the Irish\nApollo, or culture-hero. Of this name, the appellation of Dul Dauna, the\nBlind-Stubborn, here bestowed on him, appears to be a curious corruption.\nIt is interesting to compare the whole of this account with that found by\nO\u2019Donovan in Donegal. (See note to Annals of the Four Masters\u2014year of the\nworld 3330.) It contains no reference to the education by Mananaun Mac\nLir, the sea-god. It represents the Gloss as originally the property of\nthe smith, Gavida, which appears to be correct.\n\nPage 5. \u201cCruahaun of Connaught,\u201d in the modern county of Roscommon, being\nseparated from the nearest part of Ulster by the county of Leitrim, we\ngain an idea of what a formidable task it was to herd the Gloss. There is\nno mention of Ulster in the Irish version, but McGinty told me the lake\nwas in that province.\n\nPage 6. \u201cThe Kingdoms of the Cold.\u201d This indicates a different geography\nfrom that of the opening, in which Balar is located in the East. It seems\nto identify Balar with the powers of the cold. For a full development of\nthis idea, see the writer\u2019s poem \u201cMoytura,\u201d in \u201cFand and Other Poems.\u201d\n\nPage 10. \u201cMorraha.\u201d The title is curious. Binn Edin has not been\nidentified (it can hardly be Binn Eadar, Howth), though the mention at\nthe end of \u201cBioultach\u201d places it on the coast. It occurs in other tales,\nConnal Gulban for example, and it seems to be famous in this kind of\nliterature. The present tale has, so far as I know, only one printed\nvariant, the \u201cFis f\u00e1 an aon Sgeul\u201d of Kennedy, not so interesting, I\nthink, as this. The story having two parts, I have ventured to give the\nbest version of each from two different narrators. Substantially both\nare alike throughout. In the Renvyle version of the opening, the hero is\nBrian Boru, the victor of Clontarf, and the enchanter is named Flauheen\nO\u2019Neill. The woman is Flauheen\u2019s wife. The tone is prosy, all the\npicturesque incidents relating to the horse being absent. The \u201cstory,\u201d\nhowever, is better told than in the Achill version, except as regards one\npoint, which supplies the wife\u2019s motive for treating her husband as she\ndid. He had found in the woods a wild-man (geltj), whom he took into his\nhouse, cleaned and shaved, and made a servant of. This man became his\nwife\u2019s lover, and on his detecting the fact, she struck him with a rod of\ndruidism, turning him first into a kitchen block, continually kicked and\nmaltreated. I should have stated in the text that the brief conversation\npreceding the \u201cstory\u201d is from the Achill version. Anshgayliacht, the name\nof the one-eyed monster who stole the children, was the brother of the\nchampion who came in the currach. This name is strange, as it is simply\nan sjgeeliaxt\u2014_i.e._, \u201cthe story telling.\u201d In the Renvyle version of the\nconclusion, the hero baffles the enchanter, by pretending to notice some\nwriting on the sword after he has given it to Flauheen. The latter could\nnot read, and gives it back to the other, who immediately cuts his head\noff. The Achill pretext for not giving the sword up at all,\u2014\u201cthough I\npromised to bring it as far as you, I did not promise to bring it for\nyou,\u201d\u2014is a favourite device in the island. It will be found again in\n\u201cKing Mananaun,\u201d and twice in \u201cThe King who had Twelve Sons.\u201d\n\nThe word translated \u201cthistles\u201d is sn\u00e6h\u0115di, which usually means needles.\nThe narrator said it meant thistles here.\n\nPage 14. The bells rang: cf.,\n\n    \u201cAnd when in Salamanca\u2019s cave\n    Him listed his magic wand to wave,\n      The bells would ring in Notre Dame.\u201d\n\nPage 15. Diversion. The word was so pronounced\u2014not divarsion.\n\nPage 31. \u201cThe Ghost and his Wives.\u201d The word translated churchyard\nusually means \u201cchurch\u201d only.\n\nPage 35. I know of no parallel to this story as a whole. \u201cBioultach\u201d\nprobably means \u201cYellow-hair\u201d\u2014\u201cbw\u00ef-oltax.\u201d Is he a solar hero? There is\ntrue painting of certain sides of Irish character in this tale; the\nmutual affection of the brothers, their indifference to larger interests,\nmust be noted.\n\nPage 50. This sea-run is a fairly good specimen of this style of\ncomposition. There are several words I am unable to translate. As regards\nthe style of the runs in general in Celtic tales, I am unable to accept\nthe view that it has anything in common with the well-known corrupt\nliterary Irish style. There is this fundamental difference between the\ntwo. The bombast and exaggeration of the written literature is seriously\ngiven, seriously meant. In the \u201cruns\u201d of the oral literature the whole\ndescription is obviously fantastic, and meant for such. Popular taste\nwould never have endured the laboured exaggeration which the pedantry of\nhalf-educated scribe composers thought so fine; nor would the outrageous\naccumulation of alliterative adjectives, in which such persons indulged,\nhave been possible of invention by oral reciters on the spur of the\nmoment. The first of the runs here given shows, by the unintelligibility\nof part of it, that the narrator was not inventing, but merely giving an\nimperfect version to the best of his ability. He did not know the meaning\nof half of it. I now add the Irish of this run, and for the purposes of\ncomparison two others:\u2014\n\n\u201cHoog sj\u00ef\u0115d suu\u0103s sjoolti moor\u0103, b\u0103 qoodj\u0103xi, baa qoodj\u0103xi, maan-j\u00e6r\u0103c\u0103,\nmar \u0103 craainj, nj\u00efr aaci sjee tjee-tj\u00efrj\u0115 c\u0103n talhu naa h\u00e6l\u0103moodj c\u0103n\nrooiv lesj n\u0103 heegee\u0103lti (?), n\u2019 aaitj \u0103 r\u0103 ro\u0327o\u0327ntji, m\u00ef\u0103lti moor\u0103,\nllop\u012ddaan acas llapidaan, behi v\u0115\u0103c\u0103 bee-il dj\u00e6r\u0103c\u0103 n\u0103 farig\u0115 ec eirji\nerj wuuesj ac\u0103s erj wasj \u0103 wadje ra\u0327a\u0327we \u0103 dj\u00ef\u0115na kool sj\u00ef ac\u0103s keluaj\n\u00e7ooif feen; cur eirji \u0103n \u00e6rig\u0115 n\u0103 tonni tjree\u0103n\u0103, sa\u0327a\u0327v lee sj\u00ef, sa\u0327a\u0327v\nlee cloori cafi; lee meedj \u0103c\u0103s lee bjr\u00e6\u00e6xtje v\u00ef \u0103 llonc \u0103 sjoolu, cur\nsjtr\u00efqaalj sj\u00ef quu\u0103n \u0103c\u0103s\u2019qalhu \u0115stj\u00e6x c\u014f Krjih-n\u0103-Sorr\u0103x\u0103.\u201d\n\nThe next is from \u201cKing Mananaun\u201d (see page 67):\u2014\n\n\u201chlljee\u0103s sj\u00ef llonc woor-woxt\u0103x woor-waxt\u0103x cur aardi sj\u00ef sjoolti moor\u0103\nb\u0103 qoodj\u0103x\u0115 baa qood\u0103x\u0115 xoo fad\u0103 xoo haardj lee barr\u0103 n\u0103 cr\u00e6nn, n\u00e6r aac\nsj\u00ef tjee-tj\u00efrje can brjisju, madje ra\u0327a\u0327we c\u0103n reebu, llopidaan ac\u0103s\nllapidaan ec m\u00efalti b\u0115\u0103c\u0103, mialti moor\u0103 n\u0103 farige h\u00efr tj\u00e6\u00e6xt enj\u00efr erj\nqos ac\u0103s bos a wadje ra\u0327a\u0327we, c\u014f duc sj\u00ef daa djr\u00ef\u0115n erj sjuul \u0103c\u0103s tjr\u00ef\u0115n\nsqoodj, c\u014f r\u0103 n\u0103 \u00e6sconi ruu\u00e6\u00e6d\u0103li, quur enj\u00ef\u0103xt\u0103r doo \u0103c\u0103s cannjiv in\nuu\u0103xtar, c\u014f meerhitt sj\u00ef erj \u0103 \u00e7\u00ef ruu\u0103 Wart d\u014f v\u00ef rimpi ac\u0103s n\u0103x meerhu\n\u0103n \u00e7i ruu\u0103 Wart v\u00ef n\u0103 djeei orhi; ac\u0103s d\u014f v\u00ef sj\u00ef sjoolu n\u00ef m\u00ef hol d\u014f\nh\u00e6nik sj\u00ef t\u00e6lu.\u201d\n\nThe third is from \u201cThe Champion of the Red Belt\u201d (see page 86):\u2014\n\n\u201cX\u014f sjee amax \u0103 h\u00e6t\u0103; rinn sjee llonc d\u014f h\u00e6ta, qr\u00e6nn d\u014f wat\u0103, brat\u0103 d\u014f\nljeeni. Hooc sjee hoolti, b\u014fq\u0115dje, baq\u0115dje, c\u014f baar n\u0103 crann dj\u00efrj\u0115. Huc\nsjee oi-i erj mwirj ac\u0103s djerju lee tj\u00efrj, nj\u00efr aac sjee tjee-tj\u00efrje c\u0103n\nbrjisju noo qaab\u0115l\u0115 c\u0103n reebu, c\u014f r\u0103 sjee \u2019c \u00efsjtj\u00e6xt lee sjeetjv\u00e6\u00e6x n\u0103\nro\u0327o\u0327ntji \u0103c\u0103s geemn\u00e6x n\u0103 beesjtji moor\u0103, lee sjcr\u00e6di n\u0103 wilin; c\u014f ro\n\u00ef\u0103sci b\u0115\u0103c\u0103 beelj dj\u00e6ric n\u0103 f\u00e6rige ec eerji erj hosj ac\u0103s erj wasj \u0103\nwadje raaw\u0115, cur sjtjuur sj\u00ef\u0103d see\u0103x stj\u00e6x fw\u00ef xuuirtj ac\u0103s xahirj rj\u00ef\nFaahinj.\u201d\n\nPage 48. \u201cThe molten torrent,\u201d hile n\u0103 r\u00ef\u0103x\u0103n. The translation is\nconjectural. From the context here something fiery is evidently meant.\nThe expression occurs again in \u201cKing Mananaun\u201d (page 74), where the\nnarrator thought something very cold was intended.\n\nPage 64. \u201cKing Mananaun.\u201d The opening resembles a story of Curtin\u2019s.\nMananaun, the sea-god, was a great enchanter; hence, no doubt, the name\nof the King in this story.\n\nPage 67. \u201cThe sea-run.\u201d See note to \u201cBioultach.\u201d\n\nPage 68. \u201cFaugauns and Blue-Men.\u201d The first word appears to mean outlaws,\nand to be the origin of the word \u201cfachan\u201d in the Scotch stories, which\nhas hitherto not been understood. Does Blue-men mean men stained with\nwoad?\n\nPage 74. \u201cN\u0103 riaxan.\u201d See note to \u201cBioultach,\u201d page 48.\n\nPage 76. \u201cBlauheen Bl\u00f6ye\u201d appears to mean simply \u201csmooth blossom.\u201d \u201cThe\nAmber Bracelet.\u201d Amber is not found in Ireland. It was formerly believed\nto have magical qualities. Pliny says, \u201cTrue it is that a collar of amber\nbeads worn about the necks of young infants is a singular preservative\nto them against secret poison, and a counter-charm for witchcraft and\nsorceries\u201d; also, \u201cThe price of a small figure of it exceeds that of a\nhealthy living slave.\u201d\n\nPage 77. \u201cOwas.\u201d The \u201cowas\u201d must be regarded as a distinct personage\nin Gaelic mythology. They appear to have been human in shape at least.\nThey are met with several times in the Scotch stories, where the word is\nwritten \u201camhus,\u201d pronounced \u201cowas.\u201d They have sometimes definite names,\nof which an example occurs a little farther on.\n\nPage 78. \u201cCriers\u201d (of the kitchen). I am not sure this is the meaning of\n\u201cclafirj.\u201d It may mean \u201cgluttons.\u201d\n\nPage 82. This makes the fourth time the hero is killed and revived.\n\nPage 86. \u201cThe Champion of the Red Belt.\u201d The general tone of the story is\nwild and barbarous.\n\nPage 86. \u201cProvidence.\u201d The Irish is \u201can rj\u00ef,\u201d a word frequently used in\nthese Donegal stories in this sense.\n\nPage 87. Lochlann is usually supposed to mean Denmark, but is by some\nheld to be a purely mythical country.\n\nPage 91. Another sea-run. See note to Bioultach.\n\nPage 95. \u201cYard round the court.\u201d Yard is the word in the original; it\nmeans wall apparently. There are numbers of English words in this story,\nsuch as strain (of music), bride, cupboard, apron, destroy, alley playing\nball, slaughter.\n\nPage 100. The description of the hag corresponds closely with that of\nthe \u201cfachan\u201d in the Scotch stories. It is interesting to compare the\nbrief popular description of this monster with the laboured style of the\nwritten literature, as may be seen in the description of the hags in the\n\u201cCave of Keshcorran,\u201d Mr. S. H. O\u2019Grady\u2019s \u201cSilva Gadelica.\u201d\n\nPage 106. The story of \u201cJack\u201d has been given as a sample of the humorous\nstory\u2014quite different, it will be seen, from the style of Kennedy, or\nof any writer who uses \u201cbroken English.\u201d I have many others. I do not\nunderstand how they come so often to be called \u201cJack,\u201d as they are, in\nthe Irish.\n\nPage 107. Cleeve, an Irish word for basket.\n\nPage 115. \u201cThe Servant of Poverty.\u201d This curious story, with its prosaic\ndetails, is chiefly remarkable for the variant it contains of the\nCymbeline legend. A version much wilder than this is found in Campbell\u2019s\n\u201cThe Chest.\u201d The tale is thus seen to belong to the three kingdoms. A\nparallel to the opening incident of the betrothal of two children born\nat the same time will be found in the story of \u201cThe Wicked Greek Girl,\u201d\ngiven in Latin in \u201cSilva Gadelica.\u201d Mr. O\u2019Grady says it is not an Irish\nstory.\n\nPage 121. \u201cCollegian.\u201d This is the word in the original, and seems to\nmean \u201ca swell.\u201d The three sayings about bridge, house, and nag, also\noccur in Campbell\u2019s \u201cBaillie Lunnain.\u201d\n\nPage 125. \u201cCovered the money\u201d\u2014_i.e._, with her hand: accepted it.\n\nPage 139. \u201cThe Son of the King of Prussia.\u201d Perhaps the most remarkable\nthing in this story is the name. I think if the tale had been written\ndown twenty-five years ago, the name would not have occurred. I believe\nit to be not older than 1870. In that year Prussia was intensely\nunpopular in Ireland, owing to the sympathy felt for France; and some\none, perhaps M\u2019Grale himself, took this method of showing his dislike for\nthe former country by substituting this name for some other previously\nborne by the coward.\n\nPage 149. \u201cCrooked-mouth\u201d is simply \u201cCamp-bell,\u201d the order of adjective\nand noun\u2014Bee\u0103l-qam\u2014being reversed.\n\nPage 152. \u201cBird-Serpent\u201d\u2014unique, I think.\n\nPage 155. \u201cBeauty of the World.\u201d There is nothing new except in some of\nthe details in this story; but the compact energy of the style is surely\nremarkable as coming from an unlettered peasant of eighty. Part of the\nstory corresponds with the King of Ireland\u2019s son (Hyde\u2019s Collection).\nThere is also a parallel in Curtin. With regard to the red, white, and\nblack incident, it is worth noting that all primitive ideas of beauty\ndepend on colour alone.\n\nPage 156. \u201cThe red-haired young man\u201d ought perhaps to be \u201cthe strong\nyoung man,\u201d in accordance with Mr. O\u2019Grady\u2019s view.\n\nPages 160 and 164. \u201cPart of milk and part of blood.\u201d The full meaning is\n\u201cone-third of milk, one-third of blood, and one-third of urine.\u201d\n\nPage 168. What the meaning of this strange tale may be I cannot\nconjecture. It is either an allegory\u2014the name \u201cGrig\u201d (gruig) signifies\nchurlishness\u2014or it is a fragment of a rather ghastly piece of mythology.\nSeveral things in the translation are conjectural; for the Irish is full\nof difficulties, as the narrator, before I began to write, warned me\nwould be the case.\n\nPage 172. \u201cCornelius\u201d is a translation of despair. The Irish is\n\u201cqornjili.\u201d\n\nPage 173. The word translated \u201chellebore\u201d is \u201cd\u00e6\u00e6hooh.\u201d\n\nPage 174. This little tale has a close parallel in Grimm, which is why I\nhave printed it. There is also a version in Kennedy.\n\nPage 179. The end of the story is like Kennedy\u2019s \u201cTwelve Wild Geese,\u201d and\nit has also a close parallel in Grimm. But all the earlier portion has no\nparallel in either.\n\nPage 187. The names of the three brothers are a little puzzling, as \u201cInn\u201d\nseems to be only the aspirated form\u2014the vocative of Fionn which means\nfair, white; while Gl\u00e9gil means Clear-Bright.\n\nPage 188. This touching tale has a curious far-away resemblance to\ncertain classic legends. A good deal must be lost, and in consequence\nthe long struggle of the young man with the devil has much that requires\nexplanation. It is unique among Celtic stories.\n\nPage 196. \u201cThe Djachwi.\u201d I am not sure that this word is anything more\nthan \u201cdeachmhadh,\u201d a tithe, which has been turned into a person, the\nmeaning being forgotten. After the briefly told Andromeda episode the\nstory takes a quite novel turn. Its resemblance in structure, as is the\ncase also with some of the other stories, to many a modern novel is very\napparent.\n\nPage 203. \u201cThe skin of the wild pig.\u201d The Irish of the two last words\nis \u201cmwike tuusjke.\u201d I am doubtful as to the translation which was given\nby M\u2019Ginty. In the story of the \u201cFate of the Children of Tuireann,\u201d one\nof the tasks imposed on the three brothers is to obtain the skin of a\npig having marvellous qualities, which has to be taken from the King of\nGreece, whose name is Tuis. There appears to be some connection.\n\nPage 211. \u201cThe Red Pony.\u201d The word translated pony is, in this tale,\n\u201cklebisjtj\u00efn\u201d; in the preceding tale it is \u201cplebisjtj\u00efn.\u201d Wonderful\n\u201chorse-beasts\u201d thus occur four times in this volume. In two stories it\nwill be noted that they are merely human beings, enchanted; in the other\ntwo this is apparently not the case. The word rendered \u201chealing water\u201d\nis, in this, as in all the other stories in which it occurs, \u201c\u00efql\u00e6ntj\u201d\n(Donegal pron.), which literally means, \u201ccure-health.\u201d\n\nPage 219. \u201cThe Nine-legged Steed.\u201d The opening resembles a story of\nCurtin\u2019s, in which, however, the stepmother acts from the motive of hate\ninstead of, as here, from affection. The words translated \u201ctransforming\ncaps\u201d are \u201cqahal\u201d (cochal), which also means a cloak, and \u201cqantr\u00e6ltje,\u201d\nthe translation of which is a guess. It must be inferred that of the\nthree maidens, who came as swans, one was the nine-legged steed, another\nthe lady in the greenawn. The third is not accounted for. \u201cGreenawn\u201d\n(gr\u00ef\u0103naan) means \u201csunny chamber.\u201d In Irish tales the ladies are generally\ndescribed as occupying such apartments; a more general use of the word is\nfound on page 179.\n\nTHE END.\n\n_Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, London._\n\n\n\n\n_PREVIOUS VOLUMES OF THE CAMDEN LIBRARY_\n\nUNIFORM WITH\n\n_WEST IRISH FOLK TALES_.\n\n\nI.\n\nThe Antiquities and Curiosities of the Exchequer,\n\nBY HUBERT HALL, F.S.A., OF H.M.\u2019S PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE.\n\nWith Illustrations by RALPH NEVILL, F.S.A., and an Introduction by SIR\nJOHN LUBBOCK, Bart.\n\n\u201cThis, the first volume of a valuable series, is perhaps one of the most\ninteresting works of this kind. The facts and anecdotes which are woven\ninto the pages are curious, and no doubt will be perfectly new to many\nreaders.\u201d\u2014_Public Opinion._\n\n\u201cWill be immensely superior to the ordinary kind of serial hand-books,\nif Mr. Hubert Hall\u2019s scholarly and well-written book is a fair sample.\u2026\nHis account of the origins of our national finance is full of valuable\ninformation which cannot be easily found elsewhere.\u201d\u2014_St. James\u2019s\nGazette._\n\n\u201cA valuable addition to the Camden Library, and contains great wealth\nof information, every item of which belongs to the category of \u2018things\nnot generally known.\u2019 It does great credit to the persevering industry,\ndiscrimination, and literary skill of its author.\u2026 The book is admirably\nproduced and indexed, and is readable throughout.\u201d\u2014_Daily Telegraph._\n\n\nII.\n\nSculptured Signs of Old London,\n\nWith Numerous Illustrations by PHILIP NORMAN, F.S.A.\n\nWith an Introduction by HENRY B. WHEATLEY, F.S.A.\n\nIn this volume the author has endeavoured to preserve a record, before it\nis too late, of relics hitherto little known, though in their way most\ninteresting\u2014namely, the Sculptured House and Street Signs, put up as a\nrule immediately after the great fire, and which, when once removed,\nmay soon and utterly be forgotten. The author deals with their meaning,\nassociations, and many quaint stories relating to them.\n\nThe following list of the chapters will show the character and scope of\nthis interesting volume:\u2014\n\nHUMAN SIGNS.\u2014THREE KINGS.\u2014ASTRONOMICAL SIGNS.\u2014ANIMALS REAL AND\nIMAGINARY.\u2014BIRDS AND OTHER SCULPTURED SIGNS.\u2014VARIOUS CRESTS AND COATS OF\nARMS.\u2014MISCELLANEOUS SIGNS, DATES AND INSCRIPTIONS, ETC.\u2014A FEW SUBURBAN\nSPAS.\u2014TWO OLD CITY MANSIONS.\n\nThe volume is incidentally full of pleasant chat concerning Old London,\nits citizens and their life and surroundings in the old times. It is\nfully illustrated by sketches and photographs taken on the spot by\nthe author himself, many of the sculptured signs particularly lending\nthemselves to picturesque treatment.\n\nMr. H. B. Wheatley, F.S.A., the well known authority on London, has\nwritten an introduction to the volume, and a full index puts its stores\nof information at the reader\u2019s command.\n\n\nELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON, E.C.","title":"West Irish Folk-Tales and Romances","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":69806}