Sport and Song. 221 



Slain is the stoutest swimmer 



That ever breasted tide : 

 Too wide is now that narrow sheet 



For all his youthful pride ! 

 And ye who go to Dublin, 



Ye there may chance to see 

 The heroes of my story 



Rone-More, More-Beg, and me. 



The Rone of this ballad seems to have been really an 

 unusually large Rone-Beg (Phoca vitulina). Halichserus 

 grypus had not yet fallen to his rifle. Meanwhile a change 

 in the weather prevented further pursuit of seals " in 

 truth (he writes) it is only sunny and calm days which suit 

 the sport." The Carrig-na-mackan expedition was given 

 up, and he returned to Roundstone by car. Kilkieran 

 Bay lies almost opposite the Aran Isles, which he was to 

 visit if possible ; but Aran was also impracticable for the 

 present, and for nearly a week he remained at Roundstone, 

 botanizing and overhauling the contents of the rock-pools 

 when it was too rough to dredge. He again searched 

 Craigga-more, as fruitlessly as ever, for Erica ciliaris, and 

 another day took a boat to Carig-a-lauchaun and Hen 

 Rock, supposed to be haunts of seals, where however no 

 seals at all were seen. 



At last bright weather smiled again, and on Friday 

 (August 1 3th) he returned once more to Kilkieran, hoping 

 yet to secure a Halichajrus before crossing thence to Aran. 

 Sailing along the coast, and dipping into likely creeks, 

 they kept a good look out for seals, with little success, on 

 the way to Kilkieran. " I saw a small seal (he says) near 

 the Police-Barrack of Carna, and made a bad stalk of it, 

 the canoe being carried out by a strong wind into full view 

 at 120 yards/' He fired, but without success, and saw no 

 more seals that day. 



For a whole week from this date he remained at Kil- 

 kieran, still in quest of Rone-More a pursuit deserving 

 to be styled "sport" in the strictest sense, since the odds, 

 without any doubt, were immensely in favour of the seal. 

 On Saturday, which seemed a favourable day, " fine and 

 somewhat sultry, with light wind," he saw altogether ten 



