1SS7.] 10 i [Mooney. 



ence as the abodes of invisible manitos, to -^-hom they never fail to make 

 some offering in passing, yet apparently do not attach any healing powers 

 to such places. 



There are hundreds of these wells in Ireland, at least twenty being in 

 the Count}' Galway alone. They are generally dedicated to some saint, 

 and there is always a legend to account for their origin. Thus Coluni- 

 Cille's well, at Kells, in the County Meath, sprang up from the floor of the 

 saint's house while his mother was lying on a sick bed, thirsting for a 

 drink. In many, and perhaps in most cases, ancient Druidic remains or 

 round towers are found near them, showing that these have been places 

 of religious resort even before the dawn of Christianity. Should one of 

 these wells be defiled, it would at once cease to flow, and the perpetrator 

 of the sacrilege would wither away under the curse of the patron saint of 

 the spring. The water must not be used for ordinary purposes. Incidents 

 are related of women, who, being in haste to prepare a meal, have taken 

 water from a blessed well close at hand rather than go to another spring 

 at a distance, but found, after exhausting their patience in fruitless efforts, 

 that it was impossible to bring the water to a boil. This is perfectly true, 

 as the strong mineral impregnations which give the water its medicinal 

 virtues, render it extremely difficult to boil under ordinary circumstances. 

 There is usually a fish, a worm, or a peculiar stone at the bottom of the 

 well, and the circumstances attending its appearance are regarded as 

 omens of success or failure in obtaininsi relief. On departing from the 

 well, pilgrims leave behind some small token of their visit, generally a 

 shred torn from the clothing, which is twisted into the ivy that clambers 

 up the rock, or hung from the limb of a tree overshadowing the water. 

 These trees may be distinguished afar off by the number of rags sus- 

 pended from their branches and fluttering in the breeze. This is an 

 ancient custom, and is still practiced in Southern Asia as far east as 

 Ceylon, and throughout Northern Africa, and along the east coast as far 

 south as Zanzibar. Cripples who have recovered the use of their limbs 

 leave also "the crutches and litters used in coming. Besides the wells, 

 there are many small lakes and waterfalls which are visited for the same 

 purpose. Many of these wells have been deserted since the great famine 

 of 1847-8. 



While religious exercises are a prominent feature at all these resorts, 

 there are some which are visited principally from motives of devotion. 

 Chief among these is the celebrated Lough Dearg, in Donegal, which was 

 resorted to by pilgrims from all parts of Europe during the Middle Ages, 

 and where the rigid discipline imposed upon the penitents in its subterra- 

 nean caves is said to have served as the model for Dante's Purgatorio. 

 The wells are resorted to for almost everj' variety of ailment, but there 

 are some which are especially noted for the cure of particular diseases, 

 such as ulcers, sore eyes, or rheumatic affections. The pilgrims frequently 

 come from long distances, sometimes even walking a hundred miles. The 

 exercise, which is known as "making the stations" or "going a round," 



