LARMINIE.

(_From "West Irish Folk Tales."_)

King O'Toole and St Kevin

(_A Legend of Glendalough._)

There was wanst a king, called King O'Toole, who was a fine ould king in
the ould ancient times, long ago; and it was him that owned the Churches
in the airly days.

"Surely," said I, "the Churches were not in King O'Toole's time?"

"Oh, by no manes, your honor--throth, it's yourself that's right enough
there; but you know the place is called 'The Churches' bekase they wor
built _afther_ by St. Kavin, and wint by the name o' the Churches iver
more; and, therefore, av coorse, the place bein' so called, I say that
the King owned the Churches--and why not, sir, seein' 'twas his
birthright, time out o' mind, beyant the flood? Well, the King (you see)
was the right sort--he was the _rale_ boy, and loved sport as he loved
his life, and huntin' in partic'lar; and from the risin' o' the sun up
he got, and away he wint over the mountains beyant afther the deer: and
the fine times them wor; for the deer was as plinty thin, aye throth,
far plintyer than the sheep is now; and that's the way it was with the
King, from the crow o' the cock to the song o' the redbreast. Well, it
was all mighty good as long as the King had his health; but, you see, in
coorse o' time, the King grewn ould, by raison he was stiff in his
limbs, and when he got sthricken in years, his heart failed him, and he
was lost intirely for want o' divarshin, bekase he couldn't go a huntin'
no longer; and, by dad, the poor King was obleeged at last for to get a
goose to divart him. You see, the goose used for to swim acrass the
lake, and go down divin' for throut (and not finer throut in all Ireland
than the same throut) and cotch fish on a Friday for the King, and flew
every other day round about the lake divartin' the poor King that you'd
think he'd break his sides laughin' at the frolicksome tricks av his
goose; so, in coorse o' time, the goose was the greatest pet in the
counthry, and the biggest rogue, and divarted the King to no end, and
the poor King was as happy as the day was long. So that's the way it
was; and all wint on mighty well antil, by dad, the goose got sthricken
in years, as well as the King, and grew stiff in the limbs, like her
masther, and couldn't divart him no longer; and then it was that the
poor King was lost complate, and didn't know what in the wide world to
do, seein' he was gone out of all divarshin by raison that the goo