Legendary fictions of the Irish Celts

Legends of the " Good People" 89
Rathnure Chapel while Father James was preaching
about the wickedness of neglecting to get young babies
baptized as soon as possible after they're bom.
Life among the Icelandic elves only partially resembles
that among the Celtic fairies. The process of getting
rid of one of them when introduced into a human family
is, however, much the same among Celts and Scandina-
vians. The Breton or Irish housewife being incommoded
by a squalling, rickety brat, collects a number of eggs
and after throwing away the contents, places the shells
carefully in a pot set over the fire. He looks with
wonder on the operation ; and when, in reply to his
question, she explains that she is going to extract beer
from them, he cries out, "I remember when they were
building Babel, and never heard before of a brewery of
egg-shells." Being now sure of his quality she summons
her relations, and they get rid of him by taking him on
a shovel, and landing him comfortably in the middle of
the dung-lough at the bottom of the bawn, and letting
him cry his fill. His fairy relations come to his rescue
with little loss of time, and he vents his rage at not
having done more mischief while he had been in such
comfortable quarters.
Ion Arnason tells us, in his "Icelandic Legends"
lately published by Mr. Bentley, that a Northern woman,
under the same circumstances, sets a pot, furnished with
some eatable, on the fire ; and having fastened many
;