466 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 238. 



well knew into whose bands they had fallen. Con- 

 ducted again within the fortress, they found them- 

 selves face to face with their injured father. One 

 deadly glance of hatred he cast on the prisoners, 

 and, muttering some few words to one of his at- 

 tendants, he pointed towards his daughters. The 

 man, on receiving the command, recoiled a few 

 paces, transfixed with horror; and then he advanced 

 nearer, and seemed as if remonstrating with him. 

 But the parent's face assumed an absolutely de- 

 moniac expression; and more peremptorily repeat- 

 ing his order, he stalked out of the room. And 

 now commenced a fearful scene. The lovers were 

 torn from each other's arms, and the women were 

 brought forth again. The storm had grown more 

 violent, and the spray was dashing far over the 

 cliff", whilst the vivid flashes of lightning afforded 

 a horrible illumination to the dreary scene. Pro- 

 ceeding along the brink of the precipice, they at 

 length came to a chasm which resembled somewhat 

 the crater of a volcano, as it was completely closed, 

 with the exception of the opening at the top, and 

 one small aperture below, through which the sea 

 rushed with terrible violence. The rolling of the 

 waters sounded fearfully on the ear of those around, 

 and now at length the sisters divined their fate. 

 One by one they were hurled into the boiling flood: 

 one wild shriek, the billows closed again, and all 

 was over. What the fate of their lovers was, the 

 legend says not. The old castle has crumbled into 

 ruins — the chieftain sleeps in an unknown grave, 

 his very name forgotten ; but still the sad ending 

 of the maidens is remembered, and even unto this 

 day the cavern is denominated the " Cave of the 

 Seven Sisters." Such is the above legend as it 

 still exists amongst the peasantry, and any of your 

 contributors would extremely oblige by informing 

 me of the name of the Irish leader. 



George or Munstee. 

 Queen's College, Cork. 



fflinav $utr<S. 



Coincidences. 



" Jejunus raro stomachus vulgaria temnit." 



Hor. Sat. 2. 

 " A hungry dog eats dirty pudding." 



" Dum vitant stulti vitia, in contraria currunt." 



Hor. Sat. 1. 

 " He misses one post, and runs his head against t'other." 



" XeXitioiv tap ov iroie?." — Arist. Eth., i. 7. 

 " One swallow don't make a summer." 



J. H. B. 



The English Liturgy. — 



" It is deserving of notice, that although Dr. Beattie 

 had been brought up a member of the Presbyterian 

 Church of Scotland, and regularly attended her wor- 



ship and ordinances when at Aberdeen, he yet gave 

 the most decided preference to the Church of England, 

 generally attending the service of that Church when 

 anywhere from home, and constantly when at Peter- 

 head. He spoke with enthusiasm of the beauty, sim- 

 plicity, and energy of the English Liturgy, especially 

 of the Litany, which he declared to be the finest piece 

 of uninspired composition in any language." — Life of 

 Dr. Beattie, by Sir W. Forbes, Bart., vol. iii. p. 168. 

 note. 



J. M. 



Oxford. 



" To jump for joy." — This expression, now most 

 often used figuratively, was probably in the olden 

 time a plain and literal description of an actual 

 fact. The Anglo-Norman Poem on the Conquest 

 of Ireland by Henry II., descriptive of events 

 which occurred at the close of the twelfth century, 

 informs us (at p. 53.) that one of the English 

 knights, named Maurice de Prendergast, being 

 desirous of returning with his followers to Wales, 

 was impeded in his march by "les traitres de 

 Weyseford;" and that this so much provoked 

 him, that he tendered his services to the King of 

 Ossory, who — 



" De la novele esteit heistez,^ 

 E de joie saili a pes." 



This expression, " saili a, pes," is translated in 

 the Glossary "rose upon feet;" but the more 

 correct rendering of it appears to me to be that of 

 jumping or dancing for joy. James F. Ferguson. 

 Dublin. 



" What is Truth?" — Bacon begins his "Essay 

 of Truth" (which is dated 1625) with these words : 



" What is truth ? said jesting Pilate, and would not 

 stay for an answer. Certainly, there be that delight 

 in giddiness, and count it a bondage to fix a belief; 

 affecting freewill in thinking, as well as in acting." 



There is a similar passage in Bishop Andrews's 

 sermon Of the Resurrection, preached in 1613: 



"Pilate asked, Quid est Veritas? And then some 

 other matter took him in the head, and so up he rose, 

 and went his way, before he had his answer ; he de- 

 served never to find what truth was. And such is our 

 seeking mostwhat, seldom or never seriously, but some 

 question that comes cross our brain for the present, 

 some quid est Veritas ? So sought as if that we sought 

 were as good lost as found. Yet this we would fain 

 have so for seeking, but it will not be." 



Perhaps Bacon heard the bishop preach (the 

 sermon was at Whitehall) ; and if so, the passage 

 in Andrews will explain the word "jesting" to 

 mean, not scoffing, but asking without serious pur- 

 pose of acquiring information. J. A. H. 



Abolition of Government Patronage. — The fol- 

 lowing passage, from Dr. Middleton's Dedication 

 of the Life of Cicero to Lord Keeper Hervey, is 



