Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-01

fish. II the old man himself Is III and not
able to go the boys take his hat and tie
Il to the bow. and the luck stays by them
Just the same.
II you should visit Kilybess and follow
the fishing fleet the first thing your boat
man would point out to YOU would De a
small wrinkled old man. brown as a nut.
with a furze coat and an old black hat
tied under his chin with a bottle green ven.
do you mind him with the hate the
boatmsn will ask, and when you nod he
will whisper:
That's Peter that was TUX away four
summers ago by the fairies"
Legends from DONEGAL.
II you should be lucky enough to spend
Halloween with the hill folk in Donegal
you would have a night of merrymaking
and story telling that you would never
forget: and ever afterward you would
count it one OF the warmest memories Of
your life. for on Halloween in Donegal
twenty cabins will empty their families
into one. The miracle is that there is
always room enough for all and the stran-
ger, too, who may come knocking at the
door.
Young and old gather round the hearth.
where the turf grows red and over which
the kettle is hung for a Sup O. tea later.
There are the lads just back from the
quarries or the herring fleet. fine lads, all
OF them. and the red checked %csifins, with
their shy eyes and their soft voices. There
are grannies and g~randads and the mothers
and fathers. God bless theml Tucked away
in the chimney corner is a cradle, full and
silent; and big eyed children peer out from
behind W psttooats.
Padraic, the piper, comes with his war
pipes under his arm, and Hughey Burn,
the best fiddler from Ballyshanny to Malin
Head. Next follows Barney the tailor, who
can dance more reels than there are days
In the month.
The ''mssther' comes late, for he has to
walk from the school at Ardara-a good
stretch Of miles. Mick, the post boy, comes
after him. Mick has a voice as sweet as
the throstle's, and he can sing tears into
your eyes any time he tries. Last Of all
comes jamie hobbling down the road-you
can hear his, IT'S a brave evenin' just!'
before he gets into the yard.
Everybody loves jamie O'FrieI. He Is
the Oldest shanachy, or storyteller. alive
In the north OF ireland. the last OF an old
Bardic family, and he knows a hundred
stories by heart in English or Gaelic.
There is no gathering in the parish con-
sidered complete unless Jamie is present.
The fun begins with the young folks
dancing. The center of the cabin is cleared
| Hughie tunes up his fiddle and the bows
} and girls start in with the good old six.
hand reel, then one dance follows anothe,
in quick succession. There is the fair,
D reel and the Limerick, the Waves of Tory
and the rince fada.
E jamie Tells stories.
When the youngsters stop for breath
jamie tells his first story. 1t is abou.
p. Cuchulain, the champion of the Rec
! Branch Knights Of Ulster and the mos
popular hero Of ireland. Cuchulain. sc
3 Jamie tells, was stolen away on samhair
night or Halloween, by Fand, the daugh
D ter of the king Of the fairies, and taken I,
!" the land of eternal youth. where. to quot,
Yeates. Nobody grows old and cody ant
e grave, where nobody grows old and craft,
i and wise, where nobody grows old and bit
= ter of tongue" Fand kept Cuchulain a
3 her mortal husband for a year, but on tn
next Halloween. when the gates Of Fairy
land were open, he came wandering bacl
g to earth, back TO the hall where King Como
and the Red Branch knights were feastins
They welcomed Cuchulail -roSally. bu
. he was unwilling to stay with them, re
u Numbering the JOY and beauty he had left
e AT the pleading Of Emer. CuchulaIn'a wife
u King Conor gave him the drink OF forget
Il fulness and the visions of Fairyland fade,
away and Cuchulain was restored 10 hi
own again. II Is a splendid old heroic tai
and jamie tells it better than anybody els
can.
me Masther' remembers a legend con
corning Finn MacCool, the famous leade
OF the Fenians, He was lured away q
ElailoWe en- by witchcraft to the fair
palace OF the Quicken Trees, where he an
N mis- warriors nearly lost their lives. Man
more stories are told of fairies and smell
and lost children. and when the folk gro,
tired Of stories they start the games.
le Many OF the Halloween games are IN
N same as ours, such as ducking for apnle
and finding the sixpence in the bowl {
flour. But most of them are relics of III
pagna times I'm ireland and are found n,
where else, There is the setting of III
IN table by the unmarried maids in a darl
sp ened room, that the fetch of their lover,
: to-be may come through the windows ,
as midnight and partake of the food. Thel
= Is the offering Of a cup of milk and a en-
OF corn and sometimes the blood OF ne
killed fowl scattered over the earth to n
sure a year of plenty.
VI This Is an outgrowth of the Druidici
- SAHhOSi NH0h the people PAID a yearly tril
uet Of one-third of their healthy offsprir
and one-third OF their milch kline to Crom
Crouch, the Great Idol. He was wo
shipped, and sacrifices were offered to hi
on the plain Of Magh slecht, or Adoratio
in County Cavan, every Samhain mig,
until st. Patrick came and destroy,
the idol and changed Samhain mig
into Halloween.
There Is an interesting old Gaelic poe
describing the worship Of this pagan e,
OF which the following is a translation;
He was their god,
The w1thered Cromm with many mists.
To him without glory,
Ihey would Kill their wretched offsprinr
with much watling and peril
70 pour their blood around Cromm Crouc
MIX and corn,
They would ask from him speedily
IN return for one-third of their healtl
issue,
To him,
Noble Gaels would PROSTATE themselvt
Fifteen Years old.
The dispensing Of hospitality and 20
cheer on Halloween dates back TO t