Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 27, 1916.djvu/282

 2 54 Some Characteristics of Irish Folklore.

The difference between the work of a fairy and a witch appears to be that the fairy changes by kidnapping the person and leaving a substitute to impose on their relatives and neighbours : the witch does not kidnap, but may work radical and evil alteration in the victim. Sometimes the Devil takes a direct hand in the mischief-making. Ballina- garde, the home of the Crokers, is under a meeah (curse), for the Devil dined there, being invited somehow by mis- take. Such tales might be multiplied endlessly, but I will only quote one, from Cork :

"This is the tale of the Widow O'Brien's pig. 'Twas the finest pig in all Mallow, and the pride of her soul. There was not such another pig ever to be seen. And she, going to the stye one day, did find he be missing. 'Tis not there he is. He be lost. Sure and herself was kilt with misery, and 'twas not long but she did call the boys together to send them a hunt for it. Then away they went hopping and lepping to hunt for the Widow's pig. And they hunted and they hunted, but not a sign of a trace could they find of him. He was lost entirely. And the next day was the Sunday, so the Widow went to Mass, and 'twas herself did not pray for a pig I'm thinking. Now when they came out of Mass there was the jewel of a row, a shrieking and a screaming from all the Protestants that did be going to church, and out with a squealing and a squalling came running the pig. Now would you believe it, 'tis true I'm telling you, they'd found him asleep in the Protestant pulpit. So the boys they knew the divil was in him, and they consulted together what would be the way to be driving him out. And they took the pig down to the tide, and they washed him, and they laved him, and they scrubbed him all over. But 'twas no good. The pig died. The divil was in him."

However, the subject of this paper is not Irish Folk- tales, but Characteristics of Irish Folklore. I have started with the tales, because they are the part that looms largest