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lineate the character and peculiarities of the Aranites of the present 
day is, in fact, to call forth associations, mounting up not only to 
the times of Christian celebrity in this country, but even to the 
days of our sages and warriors of heathenism. Their immemorial 
traditions and practices may, without stretch of imagination, be 
viewed as the graphic annals of “ olden” days. 
Here you have, on every lip, the exploits of Cuchullan, of Conal 
Cearnach, of Gol son of Morna, of Fionn son of Cumhal, of 
Oisin and of Oscar; here they enthusiastically point out the very 
places which these invincibles had honoured with their presence ; 
and here they tell us, their spirits rest, as in Elysian Isles! Here, 
too, no bad memory is retained of the sacred fires, and of the 
priests of the Sun, so constantly refreshed is tradition by the numer- 
ous and unequivocal memorials of the Celtic ritual, still preserved 
in Aran. But the Aranites have preserved a far better recollec- 
tion—that of the Christian holiness, which had so preeminently 
distinguished their “ Isle of Saints.” 
I shall point to a few of their practices, which certainly will be 
found quite primitive. They divide their lands into twenty-four 
quarters, which are subdivided into half quarters, into cartrons and 
half cartrons, and fourths, called in Irish Cnogera. This was the 
common practice among the Celts of Europe. Their dress is a 
short jacket, reaching a little below the waist, wide trousers down 
to the instep—their shoes simply a piece of raw cow hide, a little 
longer than the foot, and stitched close at the toe and heel witha 
piece of fishing line. The female head dress is completely the old 
Baraid of the Irish. Though all this does not precisely meet our 
ideas of the ancient Irish costume, yet it comes close tothem. The 
Trish is the only language in the islands, where it is full of primi- 
tive words, not intelligible even on the neighbouring continent. 
