Footnotes:

[1] Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations."

[2] Being the substance of a Lecture delivered at the Opening of the Irish
National Literary Society--in Dublin, Sir C. G. Duffy in the chair.

[3] But not now of entire words, as in the _rime riche_ of the French,
where _livre_ (book) rhymes with _livre_ (pound). English "perfect" rhyme
is an incomplete word-echo, which secures some variety.

[4] Sporadic exceptions of course are found in Ovid's occasional leonine
lines. It is suggestive that he lived long and died amidst Scythians, from
whom the Irish Gael deduce their descent.

[5] _E.g._, in its end-words: _tracht_, _eacht_, _fuacht_, _ruacht_.

[6] These rhymes are more subtly complete than may be supposed, for the
chiming syllables are enriched by this, that the preceding consonants =d=
and =g= (as "soft"), and =t= and =p= (as "hard"), give class-chimes.
Besides this, we have alliteration of two vowels in the first line, and of
two consonants in the second.

[7] Hunt, "History of Bristol, 1884."

[8] In the third line, the letters =v= and =r= are in (imperfect) concord.
They belong to the same class of "light" consonants, from which it might
be inferred that the ancient Irish did not roll the letter _r_.

[9] Thegan; Pithou: Opp. cvii.

[10] Malmesbury is a modification of Mailduff's burg.

[11] _I.e._, Hoved, The Head.

[12] Hr. Sjoeden, the eminent Swedish harper, noted several Scandinavian
airs but slightly varied from the Irish.

[13] Messrs. Vigfusson and York Powell in "Corpus Poeticum Boreale," &c.

[14] Vigfusson, Prolegomena to Sturlunga Saga.

[15] From the Irish name, Cormac.

[16] Shakespeare mentions an old Irish air, _Cailin og astor_ (in "Henry
II.", act iv., sc. 4); the air itself is give in Queen Elizabeth's
Virginal Book, so that Irish music must have been admired at her court. It
is curious to see the Irish alliteration still influential in the verses
attributed to her:

"The doubt of =f=uture =f=oes exiles my present joy,
And =w=it me =w=arns to =s=hun =s=uch =s=nares as threaten mine annoy;
For =f=alsehood now doth =f=low and subject =f=aith doth ebb,
Which would not be if =r=eason =r=uled or =w=isdom =w=eaved the =w=eb."

It is most interesting to observe that Shakespeare himself employs
alliteration in his epitaph, and used it in a manner so closely conforming
to the regular Irish system, as to suggest his acquaintance with it,
_e.g._:

"Good =f=riend for J