Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 10, 1899.djvu/282

 244 Reviews.

students. Father Alcover is rendering a signal service both to his own island and to folklore students all over the world by his work. May I express the hope that he will go on to the collec- tion and publication of other branches of the folklore of Majorca? The customs and superstitions of the islanders ought to be of much interest. He has generously presented to the library of the Society the volumes already issued.

E. Sidney Hartland.

Place-names in Glengarry and Glenquoich and their Origin. By Edward C. Ellice. London : Swan Sonnen- schein & Co. 1898.

Mr. Ellice's small volume is primarily devoted to the meaning of the place-names in the districts mentioned in the title. The Ordnance map (reproduced at the end of the book) gives the majority of these in correct Gaelic spelling, so that few of them need present any difficulty to one equipped with a Gaelic dic- tionary. In the doubtful cases Mr. Ellice's etymologies are not very convincing : it is taking considerable liberties with both phonetics and grammar to explain Eldrig alternatively as Eilid ridhe "valley of the hinds," or Ullamh eirigh "quick rising." Nor does Aldernaig naturally suggest either Allt-eamhair, " burn of Evir," or Allt-aifriojtn, " burn of the mass." In some cases the exact local pronunciation might have been given with advantage. Coachan appears as a frequent misprint for caochatt, but in general the Gaelic in the book is correctly written. The legends attaching to the various places, such as the "Well of the Heads" and " Blar na leine," are given more or less fully. Most of these are of historical or local interest, and mainly derived from obvious sources. The account of MacPhee, deserter and sheep stealer, is interesting evidence of the wild life still possible in the Highlands as late as fifty years ago. Of folklore there is not much in the volume, beyond one or two ghosts, not specially notable, and the common tale of how the kelpie carried off the children. This, however, ends with an uncommon touch : " all that was ever seen of them was their seven little hearts floating on the top of the water."

W. A. Craigie.