[Page 86.] “Providence.” The Irish is “an rjï,” a word frequently used in these Donegal stories in this sense.
[Page 87.] Lochlann is usually supposed to mean Denmark, but is by some held to be a purely mythical country.
[Page 91.] Another sea-run. See note to Bioultach.
[Page 95.] “Yard round the court.” Yard is the word in the original; it means wall apparently. There are numbers of English words in this story, such as strain (of music), bride, cupboard, apron, destroy, alley playing ball, slaughter.
[Page 100.] The description of the hag corresponds closely with that of the “fachan” in the Scotch stories. It is interesting to compare the brief popular description of this monster with the laboured style of the written literature, as may be seen in the description of the hags in the “Cave of Keshcorran,” Mr. S. H. O’Grady’s “Silva Gadelica.”
[Page 106.] The story of “Jack” has been given as a sample of the humorous story—quite different, it will be seen, from the style of Kennedy, or of any writer who uses “broken English.” I have many others. I do not understand how they come so often to be called “Jack,” as they are, in the Irish.
[Page 107.] Cleeve, an Irish word for basket.
[Page 115.] “The Servant of Poverty.” This curious story, with its prosaic details, is chiefly remarkable for the variant it contains of the Cymbeline legend. A version much wilder than this is found in Campbell’s “The Chest.” The tale is thus seen to belong to the three kingdoms. A parallel to the opening incident of the betrothal of two children born at the same time will be found in the story of “The Wicked Greek Girl,” given in Latin in “Silva Gadelica.” Mr. O’Grady says it is not an Irish story.
[Page 121.] “Collegian.” This is the word in the original, and seems to mean “a swell.” The three sayings about bridge, house, and nag, also occur in Campbell’s “Baillie Lunnain.”