166 The Bards of Ireland. 



Ireland seems at one time to have abounded 

 in bards. Gallant deeds in arms, or tales of 

 love, formed the principal subjects of their 

 poetry. Every age, and probably all succeed- 

 ing bards, added embellishments to immortalize 

 the constancy of their lovers or the fame of 

 their heroes. Poetry, or fiction, however, like 

 all other pursuits, needs the stimulus either of 

 fame to sustain its reputation, or of profit as its 

 reward. Uneducated credulity kept the former 

 within their reach ; but poverty, usurping the 

 cabins of their disciples, taught them that the 

 latter could no longer be expected. The pro- 

 fession of bard has consequently ceased the 

 vocation has passed into other hands, and is 

 now become the privilege of garrulity and the 

 pastime of old age. 



From our entertaining old gentleman I 

 learned, that during the winter it is a general 

 custom for the neighbouring cottiers to assem- , 

 ble alternately at each other's cabins about the 

 blazing hearth of wood procured from the bog, 

 and preserved for such occasions. The females 

 bring their spinning-wheels and stools, while 

 the children and men complete the semi-circle 

 on the floor ; the oldest patriarch then takes 

 the lead in narration, and is succeeded by his 

 grey-headed juniors in turn. The " tale twice 



