Moonoy.] ^^-^ [May 3, 



unknown appendage to the house of the ordinary farmer or peasant. In 

 trying to avoid this incongruity farther on, by substituting the word 

 pocket for cellar, the boys hav only made matters worse by filling the 

 pockets aforesaid with strong beer. The original of the first four lines is 

 the Yorkshire Christmas carol, as given by a writer of 1824 in the Gentle- 

 man's Magazine : 



" God bless the master of this house. 

 The mistress also, 

 And all the little children 

 That rouud the table go."* 



The remainder is probably taken from a verse given by Brand as sung 

 by English children on All Souls' daj% and much resembling another 

 verse sung on Easter morning. The last lines of the former ar as 



follows : 



" Put yoiar hand in your pocket and pull out j'our keys, 

 Go down in the cellar, bring up what you please, 

 A glass of your wine or a cup of your beer. 

 And we'll never come Souling till this time next year."t 



According to O'Reilly's " Dictionary," the Brideog is used by girls on 

 the eve of the saint to determin who shal be their future husbands,:}: 

 which is the only hint the writer has receivd thus far of its use as a love 

 charm. The Brideog is unknown in the north and in the south-west, but 

 in both sections, as wel as in Galway and throughout the greater part of 

 Ireland, it is customary to hang up about the walls of the house numbers 

 of small crosses made of straw or rushes. In Galway these ar made, at 

 least in part, of materials taken from the Brideog after it has servd its 

 original purpose in the procession. In the ordinary cross each arm is 

 made of three strong rushes or straws, converging at the ends and widen- 

 ing out in the centre of the cross, where they ar interwoven. In Kerry 

 a more elaborate cross is sometimes made of wood, about 5x8 inches in 

 length. Short crosspieces ar fastend near each end so as to make four 

 smaller crosses, around each of which is brought a single rush or straw in 

 diamond fashion, while a similar larger diamond is fixt around the centre 

 of the cross. Should a Kerry farmer hav a firkin of butter on hand as 

 spring approaches, he wil defer opening it until this day. 



The CridS B'rig'ide or " Girdle of Bridget, " already mentiond, plays 

 an important part in these ceremonies in the western districts. This is a 

 rope made of green rushes, procured the day before, or if rushes be 

 scarce, it is made of straw, with three green rushes plaited into it. The 

 rope is made sufficiently long to allow a tall man to pass tlirough the cir- 

 cle without difficulty when the ends ar joind together to form tlie girdle. 

 It is made on Saint Bridget's eve, and as soon as the ends of the 

 rope hav been joind, the master of the house holding it doubled up in his 

 right hand, makes the sign of the cross with it in the name of the Trinity 



*Pop. Sup.,!'4. 



t Brand, Antiquities, i, 113. 



J Edward 0'Ri;illy, Irish-English Dictionary, new ed., n. d., Dublin, under Brideog. 



