Of course we have a corps of shanachies, or story-tellers, gleemen,
gossipreds, leeches, druids, gallowglasses, bards, ollaves,
urraghts, and brehons; but the children can always be shifted from
one role to another, and Benella and the Button Boy, although they
are quite unaware of the honours conferred upon them, are often
alluded to in our romances and theatrical productions.
Aunt David's garden is not a half bad substitute for the old Moy-
Mell, the plain of pleasure of the ancient Irish, when once you have
the key to its treasures. We have made a new and authoritative
survey of its geographical features and compiled a list of its
legendary landmarks, which, strangely enough, seem to have been
absolutely unknown to Miss Llewellyn-Joyce.
In the very centre is the Forradh, or Place of Meeting, and on it is
our own Lia Fail, Stone of Destiny. The one in Westminster Abbey,
carried away from Scotland by Edward I., is thought by many scholars
to be unauthentic, and we hope that ours may prove to have some
historical value. The only test of a Stone of Destiny, as I
understand it, is that it shall 'roar' when an Irish monarch is
inaugurated; and that our Lia Fail was silent when we celebrated
this impressive ceremony reflects less upon its own powers, perhaps,
than upon the pedigree of our chosen Ard-ri.
The arbour under the mountain ash is the Fairy Palace of the Quicken
Tree, and on its walls is suspended the Horn of Foreknowledge, which
if any one looks on it in the morning, fasting, he will know in a
moment all things that are to happen during that day.
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