age to the Druidical
religion, and were, in fact, _towers for the preservation of the
sacred fire[1] of the Druids or Magi_. To this Mr. Gough, in his
description of Brechin Tower,[2] raises an insuperable objection. But
they are certainly not belfries; and as no more probable conjecture has
been made on their original purpose, they are still known as _Fire
Towers._

For this curious relic we are indebted to Mr. Godfrey Higgins's erudite
quarto, entitled "The Celtic Druids," already alluded to at page 121 of
our present volume.

[1] Like the ancient Jews and Persians, the Druids had a sacred and
inextinguishable fire, which was preserved with the greatest
care. At Kildare it was guarded, from the most remote antiquity,
by an order of Druidesses, who were succeeded in later times by
an order of Christian Nuns. The fire was fed with peeled wood,
and never blown with the mouth, that it might not be polluted.

[2] "On the west front of the tower are two arches, one within the
other in relief. On the point of the outermost is a crucifix,
and between both, towards the middle, are figures of the Virgin
Mary and St. John, the latter holding a cup with a lamb. The
outer arch is adorned with knobs, and within both is a small
slit or loop. At the bottom of the outer arch are two beasts
couchant. If one of them _by his proboscis was not evidently an
elephant_, I should suppose them the supporters of the Scotch
arms. Parallel with the Crucifix are two plain stones, which do
not appear to have had anything upon them. Here is not the least
trace of a door in these arches, nor anywhere else, except in
the church."

* * * * *

SOME ACCOUNT OF STIRBITCH FAIR.

BY A SEPTUAGENARIAN.

(_For the Mirror._)

(Stirbitch Fair, as our correspondent observes, was once the Leipsic or
Frankfurt of England. He has appended to his "Account" a ground plan of
the fair, which we regret we have not room to insert; the gaps or spaces
in which, serve to show how much this commercial carnival (for such it
might be termed) has deteriorated; for the remaining booths were built
on the same site as during the former splendour of the fair. Our
correspondent accounts for this "decay, by the facilities of roads and
navigable canals for the conveyance of goods;" the shopkeepers, &c,