546 THE TUSKAR ROCK. 



then, in the time of the Danes there was a great mischievous big ould 

 witch lived up in a cave on the top of the mountain of Forth there, 

 your honour, you may see it, look rig;ht foreninst you, over the arms 

 of the mill of Brig. Well, she was a terrible witch entirely nothing 

 could pass her. She had one son, and he was out with the rest of 

 the boys fighting the Danes ; well, one day the Danes pretended to 

 be walking afther a funeral like, and never a sword could be seen 

 with them at all, and the boys never suspecting nothing joined the 

 crowd like christens, till it gathered up to four or five hundred, and 

 more nor half of 'em were Irish; well, they were going decently and 

 quietly till one of the Danes picked a quarrel wid one of them, an', 

 well become him, he ups wid his fist an' knocks him down, for, you 

 know, he thought he'd a power of his own faction to back him to the 

 fore, well, 'pon that the Danes threw down the coffin, an' 'twas 

 filled wid swords ond pistols, and they helped themselves and 'tacked 

 them, but the Irish bet them, 'spite of the swords, back to the ships ; 

 however, they took Connor, the witch's son, prisoner, an' brought 

 him a' ship-board, and then they did all they could to kill him, but 

 his mother charmed him, and they broke all the swords they had, 

 and couldn't hurt him, but at last they drowned him. Well, to be 

 sure, and the witch was in a passion when she heard of it, and she 

 came out and helped the Irish boys till they bet the Danes away ; and 

 they sailed, for help, to Bagaubun, where more of them were in camp. 

 Well, Nora, the witch, knew very well that the ships of the Danes 

 couldn't be racked by any land, rock, or strand, for when they were 

 launched, a Norway witch used to christen them, and charm them 

 with a rime, part of which was 



" ' Vessel, I charm thee, 

 No tempest shall harm thee ; 

 Go fearless on land, 

 On rock, or on strand, 

 And be not afraid 

 Of aught that God made.' 



And a great deal more, but I forget it. Well, while they were away, 

 well become Nora ; but she went about and borrowed all the geese 

 she could from the neighbours, up and down, and drew 'em all into 

 the sea in flocks, and they were all swimming after a shoal of her- 

 rings from Greenoor to Connybeg and the Kerogh Islands, when 

 Nora clapped her hands, and they were all turned into rocks just as 

 they were at the very moment. The Saltees, and Keeraghs, and 

 Tuskar were the ould ones, and the Carricks, and Barrels, and all 

 them were the goslings ; Splough and Fundale were just diving after 

 fish, and so they remained ever since under water. Well, when the 

 Danes came back it was at night, and they 'scaped till they came to 

 Splough, and there they struck, and Nora blew a great storm, and 

 racked 'em, and they were every soul lost j but that wouldn't satisfy 

 the witch, and bad luck to her, for she got 'em leave to haunt that 

 rock and shore ever till, as the song goes, 



" ' Till to their tired sight, 



A star at night 



Shall first be red and then be white, 



And then be lost unto them quite ;' 



