118 THE KING'S MIRROR 



I believe we have now mentioned all the features of 

 this country that are most worth discussing. But there 

 is one other matter that I can tell about, if you wish, for 

 the sport or amusement of it. Long time ago a clownish 

 fellow lived in that country; he was a Christian, how- 

 ever, and his name was Klefsan.* It is told of this one 

 that there never was a man who, when he saw Klefsan, 

 was not compelled to laugh at his amusing and absurd 

 remarks. Even though a man was heavy at heart, he 

 could not restrain his laughter, we are told, when he 

 heard that man talk. But Klefsan fell ill and died and 

 was buried in the churchyard like other men. He lay 

 long in the earth until the flesh had decayed from his 

 bones, and his bones, too, were largely crumbled. Then 

 it came to pass that other corpses were buried in the 

 same churchyard, and graves were dug so near the place 

 where Klefsan lay that his skull was unearthed, and it 

 was whole. They set it up on a high rock in the church- 

 yard, where it has remained ever since. But whoever 

 comes to that place and sees that skull and looks into 

 the opening where the mouth and tongue once were im- 

 mediately begins to laugh, even though he were in a 

 sorrowful mood before he caught sight of that skull. 

 Thus his dead bones make almost as many people laugh 

 as he himself did when alive. Now I know of no further 

 facts about that country which appear to be suitable 

 materials with which to lengthen a talk like this. 



Meath. The legend is alluded to in Reliquiae Antiquae, II, 105, with some dif- 

 ference in details. 



* A somewhat different version of this tale is found in the poem on the 

 "Wonders of Ireland" (Reliquiae Antiquae, II, 105). See also riu, IV, 14. 



