390 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 263. 



of the waters of the Mediterranean Sea; and 

 though tides may appear to act upon them, they 

 are generally understood to be considerably less 

 affected there than in other seas. G. N. 



LEGEND OF THE CO. CLA.V.E. 



In reply to Dbexelius I have to state, that in 

 the CO. Clare the name of the hero of my legend 

 is invariably pronounced Fueji Vic Couil ; and few, 

 if any, of the peasantry would know who Fingall 

 •was. With respect to the spelling of Irish names, 

 it appears to me, that if the Irish characters were 

 used, of course the names ought to be spelled 

 according to their proper orthography ; but when 

 English characters are used, I think it better to 

 cpell the words as they are pronounced, inasmuch 

 as the various pips and accents which modify or 

 diange the sounds of the Irish characters cannot 

 be given in the English ones : how could any one 

 unacquainted with the Irish character ever guess 

 that "Lamh" is pronounced Lauve (I give the 

 Clare pronunciation of the word) ? Ziernach Bran 

 is a mistake of the printer ; I wrote Tiernach. 

 I am aware that Drexelics' spelling is the correct 

 one ; but in this case, also, I wrote the name 

 as it is pronounced in Clare. Craig Bran, or 

 Craig a Bran (for authors differ, it appears), 

 may or may not be the proper orthography ; my 

 acquaintance with the Irish language is too limited 

 to enable me to decide ; but the man who related 

 tlie legend to me as I stood upon the spot called 

 it Cregg y Bran, or rather Cregg y Fran (the 

 change of B into Fis common in Celtic dialects), 

 and he was a native of the place ; and I heard the 

 name pronounced in the same way by every other 

 person in the neighbourhood who had occasion 

 .to mention it. In relating the legends of any 

 place, it is much better to tell them as nearly as 

 possible in the words in which they are related, 

 than to attempt corrections. JEghden is another 

 misprint; I wrote JEgham. I perfectly agree 

 with Eras. Crosslet, that the names as given 

 mean nothing; but the printer is to blame for 

 that, not I. Since the above was written, I had 

 an opportunity of speaking to a native of the 

 Queen's County : he often heard legends of " Fin 

 Mac Cowl," but had no idea who Fingal or Fuen 

 Vic Couil might be ! I would also add, for 

 Drexelius' information, that the dialect of Irish 

 spoken in the co. Clare is considered to be softer 

 than that used in the other counties, but is allowed 

 to be much less pure ; and I know that when, 

 some years ago, a gentleman who had schools on 

 his estate introduced copies of the Scriptures in 

 Irish for circulation, it was found that many of 

 the people could not understand the written or 

 printed dialect ; and the pupils in his schools, 

 though they soon learned to read it fluently, were 



not able to translate what they read for some time 

 without difficulty. The peasantry also of the co. 

 Galway, who speak I believe a purer dialect, find 

 it difficult to converse with those of Clare, and 

 vice versa. "The Legends of the co. Clare," which 

 have appeared from time to time in " N. & Q.," 

 with many others now, I regret to say, forgotten, 

 or too imperfectly remembered for repetition, were 

 related to me some years ago during a residence 

 of some duration at the house of a friend, now 

 no more ; the scenes of them all were within a 

 few miles, many within view of the old family 

 mansion where I heard them. The relater of 

 them — who, in addition to his varied professions of 

 parish clerk, sadler, veterinary surgeon, leader of 

 the village choir, and some half-dozen other occu- 

 pations, possessed an inexhaustible fund of legen- 

 dary lore, much of v/hlch, I fear, has died with 

 him — has followed his much respected master the 

 rector, to that bourne from which no traveller 

 returns. Much, however, must still remain, though 

 fast dying out : pity it is that some one, who 

 has the opportunity, does not rescue them from 

 oblivion. Tales of the exploits of " Fuenvicouil" 

 and his warriors were the constant evening's amuse- 

 ment, 



" When young and old in circle 

 Around the firebrands close," 



from the farmer's cottage to the labourer's hut ; 

 the supernaturally derived wisdom of " Ussheen," 

 who in the Clare legends always takes the part of 

 " Nestor," contrasting finely with the dashing 

 courage of his younger companions. Though cir- 

 cumstances make It unlikely that I shall ever visit 

 that country again, I have endeavoured, however 

 Imperfectly, to rescue from oblivion a small por- 

 tion, at least, of the folk lore of a county rich in 

 the possession of some of the boldest scenery, as 

 well as the finest ruins, in Ireland. Would that 

 some one better fitted for it would save the fast 

 perishing remainder ! Francis Robert Davies. 

 Llandudno. 



DAVID LINDSAT. 



(Vol. X., pp. 266. 335.) 



If, as stated by L., the second " David Lindsay, 

 minister of Leith," was the son of the first (the 

 associate of Knox, and favourite churchman of 

 James VI.), then the Lindsays of the Byres, and 

 of Edzell, became reunited by the marriage of the 

 Bishop of Rosse's son Jerome to the daughter of 

 the poet's nephew. Sir David Lindsay, Lyon King, 

 by which he became Lindsay of the Mount, and 

 eventually his father-in-law's successor in office. 

 Among " Memorlalls to be proponed to His Ma- 

 jestic," 1609, is that for "the provisloun of Leith, 

 that his Majestle will be pleased to command the 

 Presbyterie of Edinburgh, in regarde to the Bishop 



