320 A Century of Science 



is in shaping and managing the enormous mass of 

 data which keen and patient inquirers have col 

 lected. It is well that this work has been carried 

 so far in our time, for modern habits of thought 

 are fast exterminating the Old World fancies. 

 Railroad, newspaper, and telegraphic bulletin of 

 prices are carrying everything before them. The 

 peasant s quaint dialect and his fascinating myth 

 tales are disappearing along with his picturesque 

 dress; and savages, such of them as do not suc 

 cumb to fire-water, are fast taking on the airs and 

 manners of civilized folk. It is high time to be 

 gathering in all the primitive lore we can find, 

 before the men and women in whose minds it is 

 still a living reality have all passed from the scene. 

 The collection of Irish myth stories lately pub 

 lished by Mr. Jeremiah Curtin 1 is the result of a 

 myth-hunting visit which the author made in Ire 

 land in 1887, and is one of the most interesting 

 and valuable contributions to the study of folk-lore 

 that have been made for many years. &quot; All the 

 tales in my collection,&quot; says Mr. Curtin, &quot; of which 

 those printed in this volume form but a part, were 

 taken down from the mouths of men who, with one 

 or two exceptions, spoke only Gaelic, or but little 



1 Myths and Folk-Lore of Ireland. By Jeremiah Curtin. 

 Boston : Little, Brown & Co. 1890. 



