2l6 WILD SPORTS OF THE WEST. 



and the preservative qualities of the animal were alone to 

 blame — " And, indeed," quoth Antony, ** he might 

 have snapped at the master to eternity ; for, if an inch 

 of skin can save house, ship, and man, what a deal of 

 virtue there must be in a whole hide ! " 



The legendary tales touching the appearance of 

 ghosts, and the exploits of fairies, are endless. The 

 agency of the former appears directed principally to 

 men, while the latter exercise their powers upon children 

 and cattle. Indeed, the sinister influence of the " faery 

 race " appears to fall almost exclusively upon the brute 

 creation in Ballycroy ; and through it many an unhappy 

 cow comes to an untimely end, and if she escape loss 

 of Ufe, she suffers what is nearly as bad, loss of butter. 

 For the first calamity, Antony acknowledges there is 

 no cure ; but for the second, th<ere is " balm in Gilead," 

 and certain holy loughs afford an antidote to this elfin 

 visitation. 



The cow, I believe, should be present at the operation, 

 which is performed by committing her tether and some 

 butter to the waves, with (of course) a due proportion 

 of prayers for her recovery. Whether the animal be 

 benefited or not, there be others who reap sure and solid 

 advantages. At the proper period, some saint's day, 

 no doubt, when Lough Keirawn is frequented by the 

 proprietors of bewitched cattle, many of the poor of the 

 neighbourhood congregate on the lee side of the lake, 

 and a lively and profitable fishing of fresh butter 

 continues, until the oblations to the saint or saintess 

 of the lake, on the part of the afflicted cows, have 

 ended. 



While staying at a gentleman's house I heard, when 

 passing the porter's lodge, that the gate-keeper's cow 



