The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-10-27
JOURNAL AND COURIER SATURDAY.

gone during his absence from the room. Upon his return he was expected to wipe out the score in order to put him self on equal terms with his compan- ions.
 Many curious stories are told of Irish ingenuity in securing liquor under cir- cumstances where absteniousness was supposed to prevail.A noted lawyer had strange habit of sucking one end of a quill pen that rested in large black ink bottle on his desk. He was supposed to be in deep meditation while in this attitude put his reputa- ton for studiousness was somewhat shaken when the discovery was made that the bottle contained brandy in stead of ink.
 Another lawyer made g pledge to his wife that he would partake of no in- toxicating liquor while engaged in the trial of a case. Soon after he was re- tained on an important trial in Dublin, and the court continued its dellbera- tions until such a late hour that nearly every one connected with the case fSund it advisa ble to take some spirits to stimulate their energies Although invited by his colleagues to have some thing, the lawyer remembered his promise to his wife and refused their repeated urgings. Finally, when he explained his plight to one of his legal friends the latter said; But you did not make a VOW against eating liqquor, did you?n When assured that the pledge applied only to drinking, the in genious chum left the court room and soon returned with a plate of fresh rolls. The center of each roll had been scraped out and filled with good whis- key.
 WITEN MIKE GETS MARRIED,
 The Irish have strict rules pertaining to the marriage ceremony. On the day of the wedding friends of the bride groom meet at his house and have a l hilarious time at breakfast. Before leaving home the bridegroom must kneel down and receive the blessings of his parents. At this time the mother sprinkIes him with holy water and gives him a small taste of a candle
 which has been blessed, in order to prevent disease and accidents. It is customary for the bridegroom to give a piece of money to e sorceress to keep off evil influence. Tho usual formula
 of CT spell is to unloose three buttons of his egglngs and untie the knot
 which binds his garter, the same to re-
 main unoosed until after the ceremony
 The hag who performs this rite is sup posed to retain the money given her
 for nine days, else the spell is not eff
 fective. It is an unwrtten law that nobody shall walk to wedding Eve ny one must ride something, even if it Is ony a goat. Animals are so scarce
 that each one is loaded with as many persons as it can possibly bear. The fiddler always rides with his head to the orse's tail so he can play as he travels A general all-round drunk
 and free-for -all fight Is not an unusual
 outcome of wedding ceremony in Ire l lant.
 The Irish also make big cererno onia of a funeral. The whole countryside
 will turn out to pay the last tribute oi
 respect to a deceased neighbor. It i: customary in the rural districts for
 people who meet funeral to turn back and accompany the procession for some distance, even if they are unacquaint- ed with the deceased. The reason for
 celebrating at a wake as 1t is done 1T Ireland is because there Is something cold and unfeelng ln leaving the corps0 shut up in a room all night
 alone. An Tlishman never likes to bt lonely, and the craving for companion-
 ship is strongest when death is near
 It is considered necessary to check al
 manifestations of sorrow in the pres enoe of the dead, becd, because the
 spirit of te departed is made uneasy by
 the lamentations of surviving relative! and friends, It is popularly supposed
 that if q person dies as te cock strikes
 bweve on Christmas morning he es capes purgatory and makes iInmediat,
 entrance into heaven.
 When the telephone was first intro duced into te rural districts of Irelant many of the ignorant natives held thu {, invention in superstitious fear and tn wires were continually cut, despite re peated threats of punishment. Whel their attention was called to it tn priests immediately stopped the inter . ference by appealing to the sympath. every one has for any person in tn,
 cutehes of the law All the countr, , residents are instinctively "agin tn,
 government, no matter what offenc, has been committed. The priests said At the very moment any one cuts tn
 telephone wires a message may be or
 its way to Dublin Castle with re prieve for some poor boy about to b. hanged Tat settled it. The opposi tion to te telephone ceased at once, anu e it straightway became an institution il te land d.-Frederick J. Haskins in tn a Nasvil1e Banner.