1889.J »JO« [Mocncy. 



practiced in the soutli about fifty j'ears a2;o and known as "drawinp; the 

 log." Any unmarried j'oung folks of either sex wlio wer so unfortunate 

 as to be caught on the streets on this day wer compeld to drag a heavy 

 timber at the end of a rope, followd by crowds of men and boys arnid 

 with shillelaghs and shouting, "Come draw the log, come draw tlie log." 

 whde keeping step to the music of a piper in attendance. In [lall's " Ire- 

 land,"* this custom is assigned to the following day, Ash-Wednesday, 

 which is obviously a mistake. 



In Clare, it is said that all the disappointed young women — I'ud, for 

 that matter, the disappointed young men as wel — ar in a bad humor on 

 Shrove Tuesday night, and their soreness continues to increase all week, 

 so that bj^ Sunday they can be distiuguisht by the " puss " on their coun- 

 tenances. Hence, the first Sunday in Lent is there known as "Puss 

 Sunday," and mischievous boys delight in marking the backs of the un- 

 fortunate ones with flour or chalk so as point them out to the whole con- 

 gregation. This practice exists also in Kerry, where there is a popular 

 legend that on the night of Shrove Tuesday, all the disappointed lovers of 

 both sexes shoulder their burden of wasted hopes and blighted affections 

 under the form of a bundle of gads or rods and repair to the banks of a 

 mystic river, known, on this account, as SruVdii na ngadaraid'e (sruhawn 

 na ngodheree), or the "stream of the gads," where they get rid of their 

 troubles by throwing the whole load of affliction into the water. Going 

 to Srut'dn na ngadaraid'e is the Kerry equivalent for going up Salt river. 



In the evening, the young folks — and the old ones as wel — gather round 

 the turf fire to learn, by "tossing the pancake," what is to be the result 

 of their future marriage ventures. A crock of batter having been pre^ 

 pared, a part is pourd out on the pan to form the first cake, which is con- 

 signd to the care of the oldest unmarried daughter. At the proper time, 

 she turns the cake with a dextrous toss up the chimney, and if it comes 

 down smoothly on the other side in the pan, she can hav her choice of a 

 husband whenever she likes. If, on the other hand, it falls into the ashes 

 or comes down with a corner doubled over, she cannot marry for at least 

 a year. This is also regarded as an omen of il fortune with an accepted 

 lover, and so strong is this feeling that engagements hav even been broken 

 off for no other reason. The lucky tosser of the first cake at once shares 

 it with the other girls. On eating it there is generall}'' found in one slice 

 the mother's wedding ring and in another a piece of furz, both having 

 been put into the batter before baking. Whoever gets the ring wil be 

 most happy in her future choice, while the other wil remain unmarried. 

 A similar custom exists in England and Scotland. 



The cruel custom of cock throwing on Shrove Tuesday, which stil exists 

 in England, was formerly known also in Ireland, but is now extinct. f A 

 cock was tied by the leg to a stone or stick, and every person who paid the 

 small sum demanded was allowd to throw at it from a certain distance, 



* Hall, Ireland, i, 315. 

 t Ihid. 



