231 



KNOWLEDGE 



[October 1, 1896. 



alphabet," could be given to ogham aud Roman characters 



iilike. The Irish peasantry have still an old verso con- 

 cerning the oghams, beginning as follows : — 



For B one stroke at, your right Imiid, 

 And L cloth ahvnvs twn doiiinr.cl : 

 For F draw tliroc, Tor S niakt' I'ltur, 

 AVh™ voii want N you add oiu' more. 



And a case is recorded within comparatively recent years 

 in which a man was summoned for having his name on 

 his cart in ogham characters. 



In support of his view that it was on the futhorc 

 that the oghams were originally founded, Canon Taylor 

 propounds a quaint theory as to the method of derivation, 

 of which the following is a brief summary. 



He suggests that the inventor of oghams, on examining 

 the runes, would find that the latter could be resolved 

 into five classes containing four letters each, viz. : (1) 

 liriincli ruiiis, those with markedly tree-like forms, such 

 as ^f, represented by oghams with one twig, i h 1- + ; 

 (2) Fork ruiii-s, such as A , represented by oghams with 

 two twigs, =1 t: % + ; (;!) Loup runes, such as P and 

 5^, represented by oghams with three twigs, ^ N** ; 

 (4) Crool; rrnus, such as S , by oghams with four 

 twigs, ^ fe * ^ ; and (5) Root ruiws, such as + and 

 R, by oghams with five twigs, g | % $. We may 

 here remark that the original word for these " strokes" 

 is th'iisii, meaning twig. The prevailing idea is the 

 resemblance to trees, — trees with branches, trees with 

 forks, trees with looped or interlaced branches, trees 

 with crooked branches, and trees with their roots 

 visible. The result of such an arrangement, which 

 it might be wearisome to the reader to give in detail, 

 would be the order of letters as stated above, B, L, 

 F, S, N, etc. " That this notion is fanciful," adds 

 Canon Taylor, " is no objection to it, but rather an 

 argument in its favour, when we remember the 

 fancifulness of the whole system of oghams and their 

 names." 



Stones with ogham inscriptions may be seen in 

 the British Museum, among them being the slab 

 known as the Fardell Stone, found near Ivybridge, 

 in Hevon. which bears the Eoman legend, FANONI 

 MAQUIRINI, and, in oghams, SFAQQVQAS MAQI 

 QICI, i.e., SFAQQUQAS (or Sfaqqucci) son of QICI. 

 Sir S. Ferguson surmises that such " uncouth designa- 

 tions may have been adopted as evidence of telf- 

 disparagement by some Christian ascetic." 



As is the case with runes, the date of the invention 

 of oghams is uncertain. Professor Rhys considers 

 that it was not later than the fifth century a.d. 

 The Irish tradition is that they were introduced by 

 the " early half-mythical colony of the Tuatha de 

 Danaan," who are supposed to have come by way of 

 Scotland from the North. And this tradition is 

 supported by the fact that only in those districts 

 where the Northmen are known to have penetrated 

 are ogham characters found. 



British oghams, with but one exception, are always 

 accompanied by a legend in Roman letters, which 

 is not the case with runes. 



It is possible that oghams are a later and greatly 

 modified form of runes : the latter, having passed 

 through the intermediate forms of tree and bind 

 runes, finally resolving, under some at present un- 

 known conditions, into oghams — although, at the same 

 tioje, supposing this to be the case, the use of the old 

 runes was by no means entirely abandoned in favour of 

 the newer characters. 



THE ASH. 



By George Paxton. 



" There's something in that ancient superstition 

 Wliicli, erring as it is, our fancy loves " 



THE ash (FraximiJi e.rcehior), one of the noblest of 

 our forest trees, is known by its tall, ^'raceful form 

 and elegant foliage. It may be called the " Tree 

 of Superstition," because we find, wherever it 

 grows, and intimately connected with all kinds of 

 ashes, superstitions, mythological lore, and legends without 

 end. A glance at a few of these may prove interesting. 



In ancient Scandinavian mythology the ash plays an 

 important part. " Igdrasil, the ash tree of existence, had 

 its roots deep down in the kingdom of Hela, or Death ; its 

 trunk reached heavens high, and spread its boughs over 

 the whole universe. At the foot in the death kingdom 

 sat three Nomas (Fates) — the Past, Present, Future^ 

 watering its roots from the sacred well. Its boughs, with 

 their buddings and disleafings — events — things suffered — 



Fig. 1. — Leaves and Seed Vessels of the Ash. 



things done — catastrophies. On the summit was perched 

 an eagle who watched the course of all earthly aflairs, 

 assisted by a squirrel who employed his time in descending 



