en their corn was ground they
went away towards the west. Great herds of all kinds of cattle covered
the plain as far as the eye could reach, and among them many wagons,
laden with every kind of wealth that is produced on the ridge of the
world. All these the miller put into the mouth of his mill to be
ground; and all as they came forth went westward.

Maeldun and his people now spoke to the miller, and asked him the name
of the mill, and the meaning of all they had seen on the island. And
he, turning quickly towards them, replied in a few words:--

"This mill is called the Mill of Inver-tre-Kenand, and I am the Miller
of Hell. All the corn and all the riches of the world that men are
dissatisfied with, or which they complain of in any way, are sent here
to be ground; and also every precious article and every kind of wealth
which men try to conceal from God. All these I grind in the Mill of
Inver-tre-Kenand and send them away afterwards to the west."

He spoke no more, but turned round and busied himself again with his
mill. And the voyagers, with much wonder and awe in their hearts, went
to their curragh and sailed away.

SIGNS OF HOME

Soon after they saw a beautiful verdant island, with herds of oxen,
cows, and sheep browsing all over its hills and valleys; but no houses
nor inhabitants to be seen. And they rested some time on this island
and ate the flesh of the cows and sheep.

One day while they were standing on a hill a large falcon flew by; and
two of the crew, who happened to look closely at him, cried out in the
hearing of Maeldun:--

"See that falcon! he is surely like the falcons of Erin!"

"Watch him closely," cried Maeldun, "and observe exactly in what
direction he is flying."

And they saw that he flew to the southeast, without turning or
wavering.

They went on board at once; and having unmoored, they sailed to the
southeast after the falcon. After rowing the whole day, they sighted
land in the dusk of the evening, which seemed to them like the land of
Erin.

* * * * *

Of all the books of the kind published since Macpherson's 'Ossian,'
Lady Charlotte Guest's 'Mabinogion,' and Villemarque's 'Barzaz-Breiz,'
this collection of Dr. Joyce's has had the most marked influence. It
consists of eleven tales, and was the first readable collection of the
old Gaelic prose romances published in English. So far as the general
public is concerned, Dr. Joyce's method is u