Legendary fictions of the Irish Celts

90 Fictions of the Irish Celts.
twigs in continuation of a spoon handle till the end of
the shank appears above the chimney, she inserts the
bowl in the mess. This excites the curiosity of the imp,
and he is dislodged in the same way as his far-off brother
in Galway. It would be, perhaps, trying the patience of
the reader unduly to enlarge on all the ingenious devices
practised for the ejectment of different intruders, so we
will, using a story-teller's privilege, sun'ound one case
with the circumstances which waited on three or four.
THE CHANGELING AND HIS BAGPIPES.
A certain youth whom we shall here distinguish by the
name of Rickard the Rake, amply earned his title by
the time he lost in fair-tents, in dance-houses, in following
hunts, and other unprofitable occupations, leaving his
brothers and his aged father to attend to the concerns of
the farm, or neglect them as they pleased. It is indispensable
to the solemnities of a night dance in the
country, to take the barn door off its hinges, and lay it
on the floor to test the skill of the best dancers in the
room in a single performance. In this was Rickard
eminent, and many an evening did he hold the eyes of
the assembly intent on his flourishes, lofty springs and
kicks, and the other fashionable variations taught by the
departed race of dancing-masters.
One evening while earning the applause of the admiring
crowd, he uttered a cry of pain, and fell on his
side on the hard door. A wonderful scene of confusion
ensued,—the groans of the dancer, the pitying exclamations
of the crowd, and their endeavours to stifle the
sufferer in their eagerness to comfort him. We must
suppose him carried home and confined to his bed for
weeks, the complaint being a stiffness in one of his hip