Page:West Irish folk-tales and romances - William Larminie.djvu/289

 Rh Page 168. What the meaning of this strange tale may be I cannot conjecture. It is either an allegory—the name “Grig” (gruig) signifies churlishness—or it is a fragment of a rather ghastly piece of mythology. Several things in the translation are conjectural; for the Irish is full of difficulties, as the narrator, before I began to write, warned me would be the case.

Page 172. “Cornelius” is a translation of despair. The Irish is “qornjili.”

Page 173. The word translated “hellebore” is “dææhooh.”

Page 174. This little tale has a close parallel in Grimm, which is why I have printed it. There is also a version in Kennedy

Page 179. The end of the story is like Kennedy's “Twelve Wild Geese,” and it has also a close parallel in Grimm. But all the earlier portion has no parallel in either.

Page 187. The names of the three brothers are a little puzzling, as “Inn” seems to be only the aspirated form—the vocative of Fionn which means fair, white; while Glégil means Clear-Bright.

Page 188. This touching tale has a curious far-away resemblance to certain classic legends. A good deal must be lost, and in consequence the long struggle of the young man with the devil has much that requires explanation. It is unique among Celtic stories.

Page 196. “The Djachwi.” I am not sure that this word is anything more than “deachmhadh,” a tithe, which has been turned into a person, the meaning being forgotten. After the briefly told Andromeda episode the story takes a quite novel turn. Its resemblance in structure, as is the case also with some of the other stories, to many a modern novel is very apparent.

Page 203. “The skin of the wild pig.” The Irish of the two last words is “mwike tuusjke.” I am doubtful as to the translation which was given by M'Ginty. In the story of the “Fate of the Children of Tuireann,” one of the tasks imposed on the three brothers is to obtain the skin of a pig having marvellous qualities, which has to be taken from the King of Greece, whose name is Tuis. There appears to be some connection.

Page 211. “The Red Pony.” The word translated pony Rh