When he had spent a good while sitting on Carraig na gCearrbhach, looking around him at the beautiful sight, he continued his reflections: “How much my case was troubling him! He heard me saying that I was ‘without food, without drink, without money.’ Many a person besides me that was ‘without food, without drink, without money,’ is it not well he let them pass! ‘The bargain is not in it yet,’ said he —. ‘Be it a bargain!’ said I. He would not be satisfied with that. He should put the black bindings into it. ‘By the virtue of the holy things?’ said he. ‘By the virtue of the holy things!’ said I. I certainly did say it. I cannot escape from it. But I would not have said it but for the manner in which he lured me. I never saw in the eyes of my head a more beautiful colour than the colour that was on the handful of gold he showed me. There came an intense desire for it upon me. He gave me a hundred pounds in exchange for a single shilling. ‘I would,’ said he, ‘and seven hundred if I could spoil the good of that one.’ He confessed that it was impossible to spoil its good on account of my having given it for the sake of the Saviour.—To spoil its good.—To spoil its good. For what the spoiling? What necessity for it? If he failed to destroy the good of that shilling, should I not be able to do further good which he should be unable to destroy? I have the purse. It would be a great amusement to put his own money to the making of vexation upon him. Dar fia! that is how I will do it. He would give seven hundred pounds to destroy the good of a single shilling. I have ten years. Many a shilling and penny and pound I will be able to give for the sake of the Saviour in the course of ten years. He shall be overworked in trying to destroy all the good. There! I have the upper hand of him in that matter at least. I’ll take music out of the purse yet, be it that it is not in the way in which I intended at first. The scoundrel of a thief!”
It was advancing out towards milking time when he had his reflections finished and his mind fixed. He stood up and looked around him upon the beautiful prospect. “I have ten years at all events.” said he, and he turned his face homewards.
(To be continued.)
NOTES.
Pé, whoever, whatever, pé aca, whichever. In the older literature, the word appears in full as cibé, gibé, gebé.
In gránda, daonda, críonda, the d of the sufifix da is assimilated to the foregoing n, the two being sounded as nn (N in Fr. O’Growney’s Key). In seanda, banda, the d remains unassimilated.
Endeavouring to accomplish.
Something done to vex another.
Note use of cur, where “make” would be used in English.
Perhaps contracted for de ṫoisg “by reason of.”
From éileaṁ, the claiming of a debt, &c.
Note the position of go, which can never be separated, unlike “that” in English, from its verb. In English, “he knew that as soon as,” &c.
“It was on him, he had to.” Bhí sé air aige is stronger still; “he had no option but to.”
Breaġḋa, “fine. splendid,” is probably derived from (Críoċ) Bhreaġ, the country around Tara, and the scene of the magnificence of the high-kings. In the same way, róṁḋa, ruaṁḋa occurs in ancient writings in the sense of “fine, magnificent,” derived from Róiṁ, Rome. The adjective ending ḋa is added, as in fearḋa, manly.
“Sorrow, regret,” Munster: in Connaught, Aiṫṁeula.
Or fiarfuiġ, older iarfaiġ.
Irregular plural of uair. The liking for strong plurals is causing many such forms to arise, instead of the older organic forms, as eúnaċa, eunaċaiḋe, for éin, “birds.”
Lit. “Well, it is none the more (probable) that it would ever have been better for him.” Ní móide often means “it is not probable,” “it does not follow.” The conditional after go is commonly go mbaḋ, but often, in Munster, gur ḃ(a). Fearra, a colloquial form of fearr, used in Munster, especially before dom, duit, &c.
The idea is from the casting of lots: é ċur ar ċrannaiḃ,” “to cast lots for it.”
This added t to verbal nouns in -in is now so universal that it deserves literary recognition. Verbal nouns in l, r and ng also usually add a final t at the present day. Should the genitive case follow suit, i.e., should we say tuigsint, gen. tuigsinte, or preserve the older tuigsiona? What is the vernacular usage?
More regularly ċruaiḋe.
“He had to,” “nothing else would do him but to,” &c.
Do, “to him, it:” vowel short in Munster. This makes it difficult to distinguish the word in writing from the simple preposition do. In speaking, the voice-stress on the pronominal compound is distinctive enough. [To represent this stress in writing, Father O’Leary suggests the use of a grave accent, thus: Do “to,” dò, “to him;” de “off,” dè “off him;” air=ar “on,” àir, “on him;” as “out of,” às “out of him.” The difficuly is that there is no Irish type with this accent.]
Any light on the derivation of this word would be most welcome. Instances of older use of it should be looked up.
Peadar Ua Laoġaire.
The Gaelic League, Dublin. The Central Body has elected its Committee for the year now entered on. More than 20 members having been nominated, voting papers were issued, and the following were elected (names in alphabetical order):—
Miss E. C. Atkinson.
Stephen Barrett.
James Casey.
Michael Cusack.
R. McS. Gordon.
Rev. W. Hayden, S.J.
Thomas Hayes.
John Hogan.
Douglas Hyde, LL.D., M.R.I.A.
J. H. Lloyd.
John MacNeill, B.A.
Most Rev. Ur. O’Donnell, Bishop of Raphoe.
Miss. E. O’Donovan.
Rev. E. O’Growney, M.R.I.A.
Patrick O’Leary.
Rev. Peter O’Leary, P.P.
R. J. O’Mulrenin, M.A.
Miss Annie Patterson, Mus. D.
T. O’Neiil Russell.
George Sigerson, M.D., F.R.U.I.
The Committee thus elected chose unanimously the following Officers: President, Dr. Douglas Hyde; Vice-President, Rev. E. O’Growney, M.R.I.A.; Hon. Treasurer, Mr. J. H. Lloyd; Hon. Secretaries, Messrs. Stephen Barrett, James Casey, Thomas Haves, and Patrick O’Leary.
