This may be said to be the general order of the contents of “Humours of Irish Life.” But where artistic propriety, suggesting contrasts of local colour and changes of subject, has called for it, a strict chronological sequence has been departed from; yet enough of it remains to enable the critic to observe what we believe to be a change for the better, both in the taste and technique of these Irish stories and sketches, as time has gone by.
It remains for us to express our cordial obligations to the following authors and publishers for the use of copyright material. To Messrs. Macmillan and Miss B. Hunt for the story of “McCarthy of Connacht,” from “Folk Tales of Breffny”; to Canon Hannay and Messrs. Methuen for chapters from “Spanish Gold” and “The Adventures of Dr. Whitty,” entitled “J. J. Meldon and the Chief Secretary,” and “The Interpreters”; to Mr. H. de Vere Stacpoole and Mr. Fisher Unwin for “The Meet of the Beagles,” from the novel of “Patsy”; to Miss O’Conor Eccles and Messrs. Cassell for “King William,” a story in the late Miss Charlotte O’Conor Eccles’s “Aliens of the West”; to Miss Eleanor Alexander and Mr. Edward Arnold for “Old Tummus and the Battle of Scarva,” from “Lady Anne’s Walk,” and to the same publisher and to Mr. John Stevenson for a chapter entitled “The Wise Woman” from “A Boy in the Country”; to Messrs. James Duffy and Sons for Kickham’s Story of “The Thrush and the Blackbird”; to Mr. William Percy French for “The First Lord Liftenant”; to Mr. Frank Mathew for “Their Last Race,” from his volume “At the rising of the Moon”; to Miss K. Purdon for a chapter entitled “The Game Leg,” from her novel “The Folk of Furry Farm,” and to its publishers, Messrs. James Nisbet and Co. Ltd.; to Dr. Douglas Hyde for his Folk-tale of “The Piper and the Puca”; to Martin Ross and Miss E. Œ. Somerville and Messrs. Longmans, Green & Co., for the use of two chapters—“Trinket’s Colt” and “The Boat’s Share”—from “Some Experiences of an Irish R.M.” and “Further Experiences of an Irish R.M.” respectively; to Mr. Shan Bullock for “The Wee Tea Table,” from his “Irish Pastorals”; to Miss Jane Barlow and Messrs. Hutchinson for “Quin’s Rick,” from “Doings and Dealings,” and for “A Test of Truth,” from “Irish Neighbours”; to Mr. Padraic Colum for his sketch “Maelshaughlinn at the Fair,” from his “A Year of Irish Life,” and to the publishers of the book, Messrs. Mills and Boon, Ltd.; to its author, “Lynn Doyle,” and its publishers, Maunsel & Co., for “The Ballygullion Creamery,” from “Ballygullion”; and to Mr. P. J. McCall and the proprietors of “The Shamrock” for the story “Fionn MacCumhail and the Princess.”
Finally, acknowledgment is due to the courtesy of the Proprietors and Editor of “The Quarterly Review” for leave to incorporate in the Introduction an article which appeared in the issue of that periodical for June, 1913.
CONTENTS
| PAGE | ||
| Daniel O’Rourke | Dr. Maginn | [1] |
| Adventures of Gilla na Chreck an Gour | Patrick Kennedy | [9] |
| The Little Weaver of Duleek Gate | Samuel Lover | [18] |
| Fionn MacCumhail and the Princess | Patrick J. McCall | [30] |
| The Kildare Pooka | Patrick Kennedy | [38] |
| The Piper and the Puca | Douglas Hyde | [42] |
| McCarthy of Connacht | B. Hunt | [46] |
| The Mad Pudding of Ballyboulteen | William Carleton | [58] |
| Frank Webber’s Wager | Charles Lever | [72] |
| Sam Wham and the Sawmont | Sir Samuel Ferguson | [82] |
| Darby Doyle’s Voyage to Quebec | Thomas Ettingsall | [84] |
| Bob Burke’s Duel | Dr. Maginn | [92] |
| Billy Maloney’s Taste of Love and Glory | Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu | [105] |
| A Pleasant Journey | Charles Lever | [123] |
| The Battle of Aughrim | William Carleton | [131] |
| The Quare Gander | Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu | [139] |
| The Thrush and the Blackbird | Charles J. Kickham | [148] |
| Their Last Race | Frank Mathew | [154] |
| The First Lord Liftinant | William Percy French | [159] |
| The Boat’s Share | E. Œ. Somerville and Martin Ross | [167] |
| “King William” | Charlotte O’Conor Eccles | [179] |
| Quin’s Rick | Jane Barlow | [200] |
| Maelshaughlinn at the Fair | Padraic Colum | [213] |
| The Rev. J. J. Meldon and the Chief Secretary | George A. Birmingham | [220] |
| Old Tummus and the Battle of Scarva | Eleanor Alexander | [235] |
| The Game Leg | K. F. Purdon | [244] |
| Trinket’s Colt | E. Œ. Somerville and Martin Ross | [258] |
| The Wee Tea Table | Shan Bullock | [276] |
| The Interpreters | George A. Birmingham | [290] |
| A Test of Truth | Jane Barlow | [307] |
| The Wise Woman | John Stevenson | [314] |
| The Meet of the Beagles | H. de Vere Stacpoole | [324] |
| The Ballygullion Creamery Society, Limited | Lynn Doyle | [336] |
AUTHORS REPRESENTED
| PAGE | |
| Alexander, Eleanor | [235] |
| Barlow, Jane | [200], [307] |
| Birmingham, George A. | [220], [290] |
| Bullock, Shan | [276] |
| Carleton, William | [58], [131] |
| Colum, Padraic | [213] |
| Doyle, Lynn | [336] |
| Eccles, Charlotte O’Conor | [179] |
| Ettingsall, Thomas | [84] |
| Ferguson, Sir Samuel | [82] |
| French, William Percy | [159] |
| Hunt, B. | [46] |
| Hyde, Douglas | [42] |
| Kennedy, Patrick | [9], [38] |
| Kickham, Charles Joseph | [148] |
| Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan | [105], [139] |
| Lever, Charles | [72], [123] |
| Lover, Samuel | [18] |
| Maginn, Dr. | [1], [92] |
| Mathew, Frank | [154] |
| McCall, Patrick J. | [30] |
| Purdon, K. F. | [244] |
| Somerville, E. Œ. and Ross, Martin | [167], [258] |
| Stacpoole, H. de Vere | [324] |
| Stevenson, John | [314] |