Chapter 4

'Lady Macbeth(to Macbeth):—Be bright and jovial among your guests to-night.'Macbeth:—So shall I, love.' ('Macbeth,' Act iii. scene ii.)

'Lady Macbeth(to Macbeth):—Be bright and jovial among your guests to-night.

'Macbeth:—So shall I, love.' ('Macbeth,' Act iii. scene ii.)

'Second Murderer:—We shall, my lord,Perform what you command us.' (Ibid., Act iii. scene i.)

'Second Murderer:—We shall, my lord,

Perform what you command us.' (Ibid., Act iii. scene i.)

But the Irish waiter's answer would now seem strange to an Englishman. To him, instead of being a dutiful assent, as it is intended to be, and as it would be in England in old times, it would look too emphatic and assertive, something like as if it were an answer to a commandnotto do it. (Woollett.)

The use ofshallin such locutions was however not universal in Shakespearian times, as it would be easy to show; but the above quotations—and others that might be brought forward—prove that this usage then prevailed and was correct, which is sufficient for my purpose. Perhaps it might rather be said thatshallandwillwere used in such cases indifferently:—

'Queen:—Say to the king, I would attend his leisureFor a few words.'Servant: Madam, I will.' ('Macbeth,' Act iii. scene ii.)

'Queen:—Say to the king, I would attend his leisureFor a few words.

'Queen:—Say to the king, I would attend his leisure

For a few words.

'Servant: Madam, I will.' ('Macbeth,' Act iii. scene ii.)

Our use ofshallandwillprevails also in Scotland, where the English change of custom has not obtained any more than it has in Ireland. The Scotch in fact are quite as bad (or as good) in this respect as we are. Like many another Irish idiom this is also found in American society chiefly through the influence of the Irish. In many parts of Ireland they are shy of usingshallat all: I know this to be the case in Munster; and a correspondent informs me thatshallis hardly ever heard in Derry.

The incorrect use ofwillin questions in the first person singular ('Will I light the fire ma'am?' 'Will I sing you a song?'—instead of 'Shall I?') appears to have been developed in Ireland independently, and not derived from any former correct usage: in other words we have created this incorrect locution—or vulgarism—for ourselves. It is one of our most general and most characteristic speech errors.Punchrepresents an Irish waiter with hand on dish-cover, asking:—'Will I sthrip ma'am?'

What is called theregularformation of the past tense (ined) is commonly known as the weak inflection:—call, called: theirregularformation (by changing the vowel) is the strong inflection:—run, ran. In old English the strong inflection appears to have been almost universal; but for some hundreds of years the English tendency is to replace strong by weak inflection. But our people in Ireland, retaining the old English custom, have a leaning towards the strong inflection, and not only use many of the old-fashioned English strong past tenses, but often form strong ones in their own way:—We useslepandcrep, old English; and we coin others. 'Heruzhis handto me,' 'Icotchhim stealing the turf,' 'hegothersticks for the fire,' 'hehotme on the head with his stick,' hesotdown on the chair' (very common in America). Hyland, the farm manager, is sent with some bullocks to the fair; and returns. 'Well Hyland, are the bullocks sold?'—'Sowld andpedfor sir.'Woris very usual in the south forwere: 'tis long since weworon the road so late as this.' (Knocknagow.)

'Woryou at the fair—did you see the wonder—Did you see Moll Roe riding on the gander?'

'Woryou at the fair—did you see the wonder—

Did you see Moll Roe riding on the gander?'

E'erandne'erare in constant use in Munster:—'Have you e'er a penny to give me sir? No, I have ne'er a penny for you this time.' Both of these are often met with in Shakespeare.

The Irish schoolmasters knew Irish well, and did their best—generally with success—to master English. This they did partly from their neighbours, but in a large measure from books, including dictionaries. As they were naturally inclined to show forth their learning, they made use, as much as possible, of long and unusual words, mostly taken from dictionaries, but many coined by themselves from Latin. Goldsmith's description of the village master with his 'words of learned length and thundering sound,' applies exactly to a large proportion of the schoolmasters of the eighteenth and first half of the nineteenth century all over Ireland. You heard these words often in conversation, but the schoolmasters most commonly used them in song-writing. Here also they made free use of the classical mythology; but I will not touch on thisfeature, as I have treated of it, and have given specimens, in my 'Old Irish Folk Music and Songs,' pp. 200-202.

As might be expected, the schoolmasters, as well as others, who used these strange words often made mistakes in applying them; which will be seen in some of the following examples. Here is one whole verse of a song about a young lady—'The Phoenix of the Hall.'

'I being quite captivated and so infatuatedI then prognosticated my sad forlorn case;But I quickly ruminated—suppose I wasdefaited,I would not be implicated or treated with disgrace;So therefore I awaited with my spirits elevated,And no more I ponderated let what would me befall;I then to herrepatedhow Cupid had methrated,And thus expostulated with The Phoenix of the Hall.'

'I being quite captivated and so infatuated

I then prognosticated my sad forlorn case;

But I quickly ruminated—suppose I wasdefaited,

I would not be implicated or treated with disgrace;

So therefore I awaited with my spirits elevated,

And no more I ponderated let what would me befall;

I then to herrepatedhow Cupid had methrated,

And thus expostulated with The Phoenix of the Hall.'

In another verse of this song the poet tells us what he might do for the Phoenix if he had greater command of language:—

'Could I indite like Homer that celebratedpomer.'

One of these schoolmasters, whom I knew, composed a poem in praise of Queen Victoria just after her accession, of which I remember only two lines:—

'In England our queen resides withalacrity,With civil authority and kind urbanity.'

'In England our queen resides withalacrity,

With civil authority and kind urbanity.'

Another opens his song in this manner:—

'One morning serene as I roved in solitude,Viewing the magnitude of th' orient ray.

'One morning serene as I roved in solitude,

Viewing the magnitude of th' orient ray.

The author of the song in praise of Castlehyde speaks of

'The beesperfumingthe fields with music';

and the same poet winds up by declaring,

'In all my ranging andserenadingI met noaiquelto Castlehyde.'

'In all my ranging andserenading

I met noaiquelto Castlehyde.'

Serenadinghere means wandering about leisurely.

The author of 'The Cottage Maid' speaks of the danger of Mercury abducting the lady, even

'Though anorganisingshepherd be her guardian';

whereorganisingis intended to mean playing on anorgan, i.e. a shepherd's reed.

But endless examples of this kind might be given.

Occasionally you will find the peasantry attempting long or unusual words, of which some examples are scattered through this chapter; and here also there are often misapplications: 'What had you for dinner to-day?' 'Oh I had bacon and goose and several othercombustibles' (comestibles). I have repeatedly heard this word.

Sometimes the simple past tense is used for one of the subjunctive past forms. 'If they had gone out in their boat that night they were lost men'; i.e. 'they would have been lost men.' 'She is now forty, and 'twas well if she was married' ('it would be well').

'Oh Father Murphy, had aid come over, the green flag floated from shore to shore'

(i.e. would have floated). See my 'Old Irish Folk Music and Songs,' p. 242.

'A summons from William to Limerick, a summons to open their gate,Their fortress and stores to surrender, else the sword and the gunweretheir fate.'(R. D. Joyce: Ballads of Irish Chivalry, p. 15.)

'A summons from William to Limerick, a summons to open their gate,Their fortress and stores to surrender, else the sword and the gunweretheir fate.'

'A summons from William to Limerick, a summons to open their gate,

Their fortress and stores to surrender, else the sword and the gunweretheir fate.'

(R. D. Joyce: Ballads of Irish Chivalry, p. 15.)

Seeis very often used forsaw:—'Did you ever see a cluricaun Molly?' 'Oh no sir, I never see one myself.' (Crofton Croker.) 'Come here Nelly, and point out the bride to us.' 'I never see her myself Miss' [so I don't know her] replied Nelly. (Knocknagow.) This is a survival from old English, in which it was very common. It is moreover general among the English peasantry at the present day, as may be seen everywhere in Dickens.

The imperative of verbs is often formed bylet:—instead of 'go to the right 'or 'go you to the right,' our people say 'let you go to the right': 'let you look after the cows and I will see to the horses.' A fellow is arrested for a crime and dares the police with:—'Let ye prove it.'

In Derry porridge or stirabout always takes the plural: 'Have you dishedthemyet?'

'I didn't go to the fair'cause why, the day was too wet.' This expression'cause why, which is very often heard in Ireland, is English at least 500 years old: for we find it in Chaucer.

You often hearusforme: 'Give us a penny sir to buy sweets' (i.e. 'Give me').

In Waterford and South Wexford the people often use such verbal forms as is seen in the following:—'Does your father grow wheat still?' 'Hedo.' 'Has he the old white horse now?' 'Hehave.' As tohas, Mr. MacCall states that it is unknown in the barony of Forth: there you always hear 'that manhaveplenty of money'—hehave—shehave, &c.

The Rev. William Burke tells us thathaveis found as above (a third person singular) all through the old Waterford Bye-Laws; which would render itpretty certain that bothhaveanddoin these applications are survivals from the old English colony in Waterford and Wexford.

In Donegal and thereaboutthe yonis often shortened tothon, which is used as equivalent tothatorthose: 'you may takethonbook.'

In Donegal 'such a thing' is often madesuch an a thing.' I have come across this several times: but the following quotation is decisive—'No, Dinny O'Friel, I don't want to make you say any such an a thing.' (Seamus MacManus.)

There is a tendency to putoat the end of some words, such as boy-o, lad-o. A fellow was tried for sheep-stealing before the late Judge Monahan, and the jury acquitted him, very much against the evidence. 'You may go now,' said the judge, 'as you are acquitted; but you stole the sheep all the same, my buck-o.'

'I would hush my lovely laddoIn the green arbutus shadow.'(A. P. Graves: 'Irish Songs and Ballads.')

'I would hush my lovely laddoIn the green arbutus shadow.'

'I would hush my lovely laddo

In the green arbutus shadow.'

(A. P. Graves: 'Irish Songs and Ballads.')

This is found in Irish also, as in 'a vick-o' ('my boy,' or more exactly 'my son,' wherevickismhic, vocative ofmac, son) heard universally in Munster: 'Well Billy a vick-o, how is your mother this morning?' I suppose the English practice is borrowed from the Irish.

In Irish there is only one article,an, which is equivalent to the English definite articlethe. This article (an) is much more freely used in Irish thantheis in English, a practice which we are inclined to imitate in our Anglo-Irish speech. Our use oftheoften adds a sort of emphasis to the noun or adjective:—'Ah John was the man,' i.e. the real man, a man pre-eminent for some quality—bravery, generosity, &c. 'Ah that was the trouble in earnest.' The Irish chiefs of long ago 'were the men in the gap' (Thomas Davis):—i.e. the real men and no mistake. We often use the article in our speech where it would not be used in correct English:—'I am perished withthecold.' 'I don't know much Greek, but I am good attheLatin.'

'That was the dear journey to me.' A very common form of expression, signifying that 'I paid dearly for it'—'it cost me dear.' Hugh Reynolds when about to be hanged for attempting the abduction of Catherine McCabe composes (or is supposed to compose) his 'Lamentation,' of which the verses end in 'She's the dear maid to me.' (See my 'Old Irish Folk Music and Songs,' p. 135.) A steamer was in danger of running down a boat rowed by one small boy on the Shannon. 'Get out of the way you young rascal or we'll run over you and drown you!' Little Jacky looks up defiantly and cries out:—'Ye'll drownd me, will ye: if ye do, I'll make it the dear drownding to ye!' In such expressions it is however to be observed that the indefinite articleais often used—perhaps as often asthe:—'That was a dear transaction for me.' 'Oh, green-hilled pleasant Erin you're a dear land to me!' (Robert Dwyer Joyce's 'Ballads of Irish Chivalry,' p. 206.)

In Ulster they say:—'When are you going?' 'Oh I am goingthe day,' i.e. to-day. I am much betterthe daythan I was yesterday. In thisthe dayis merely a translation of the Irish word for to-day—andiu, whereanis 'the' anddiua form of the Irish for 'day.'

The use of the singular of nouns instead of the plural after a numeral is found all through Ireland. Tom Cassidy our office porter—a Westmeath man—once said to me 'I'm in this place now forty-four year': and we always use such expressions asnine head of cattle. A friend of mine, a cultivated and scholarly clergyman, always used phrases like 'that bookcase cost thirteenpound.' This is an old English survival. Thus in Macbeth we find 'this three mile.' But I think this phraseology has also come partly under the influence of our Gaelic in whichtenand numerals that are multiples oftenalways take the singular of nouns, astri-caogad laoch, 'thrice fifty heroes'—lit. 'thrice fiftyhero.'

In the south of Irelandmayis often incorrectly used formight, even among educated people:—'Last week when setting out on my long train journey, I brought a book that Imayread as I travelled along.' I have heard and read, scores of times, expressions of which this is a type—not only among the peasantry, but from newspaper correspondents, professors, &c.—and you can hear and read them from Munstermen to this day in Dublin.

In Ulstertillis commonly used instead ofto:—'I am goingtillBelfast to-morrow': in like manneruntilis used forunto.

There are two tenses in English to which there is nothing corresponding in Irish:—what is sometimes called the perfect—'Ihave finishedmy work'; and the pluperfect—'Ihad finishedmy work' [before youarrived]. The Irish people in general do not use—or know how to use—these in their English speech; but they feel the want of them, and use various expedients to supply their places. The most common of these is the use of the wordafter(commonly with a participle) following the verbto be. Thus instead of the perfect, as expressed above, they will say 'I am after finishing my work,' 'I am after my supper.' ('Knocknagow.') 'I'm after getting the lend of an American paper' (ibid.); and instead of the pluperfect (as above) they will say 'I was after finishing my work' [before you arrived]. Neither of these two expressions would be understood by an Englishman, although they are universal in Ireland, even among the higher and educated classes.

This wordafterin such constructions is merely a translation of the Irishiarora n-diaigh—for both are used in corresponding expressions in Irish.

But this is only one of the expedients for expressing the perfect tense. Sometimes they use the simple past tense, which is ungrammatical, as our little newsboy in Kilkee used to do: 'Why haven't you brought me the paper?' 'The paper didn't come from the station yet sir.' Sometimes the present progressive is used, which also is bad grammar: 'I am sitting here waiting for you for the last hour' (instead of 'I have been sitting'). Occasionally thehaveorhasof the perfect (or thehadof the pluperfect) is taken very much in its primary sense of having or possessing. Instead of 'You have quite distracted me with your talk,' the people will say 'You have me quite distracted,' &c.:'I have you found out at last.' 'The children had me vexed.' (Jane Barlow.)

'And she is a comely maidThat has my heart betrayed.'(Old Irish Folk-Song.)

'And she is a comely maidThat has my heart betrayed.'

'And she is a comely maid

That has my heart betrayed.'

(Old Irish Folk-Song.)

'... I fear,That some cruel goddesshas him captivated,And has left here in mourning his dear Irish maid.'(See my Old Irish Folk Music and Songs, p. 208.)

'... I fear,That some cruel goddesshas him captivated,And has left here in mourning his dear Irish maid.'

'... I fear,

That some cruel goddesshas him captivated,

And has left here in mourning his dear Irish maid.'

(See my Old Irish Folk Music and Songs, p. 208.)

Corresponding devices are resorted to for the pluperfect. Sometimes the simple past is used where the pluperfect ought to come in:—'An hour before you came yesterday I finished my work': where it should be 'I had finished.' Anything to avoid the pluperfect, which the people cannot manage.

In the Irish language (but not in English) there is what is called the consuetudinal tense, i.e. denoting habitual action or existence. It is a very convenient tense, so much so that the Irish, feeling the want of it in their English, have created one by the use of the worddowithbe: 'I do be at my lessons every evening from 8 to 9 o'clock.' 'There does be a meeting of the company every Tuesday.' ''Tis humbuggin' me theydo be.' ('Knocknagow.')

Sometimes this is expressed bybealone without thedo; but here thebeis also often used in the ordinary sense ofiswithout any consuetudinal meaning. 'My fatherbeesalways at home in the morning': 'At night while Ibeesreading my wife bees knitting.' (Consuetudinal.) 'You had better not wait till it bees night.' (Indicative.)

'I'll seek out my Blackbird wherever he be.' (Indicative.)(Old Folk Song—'The Blackbird.')

'I'll seek out my Blackbird wherever he be.' (Indicative.)

(Old Folk Song—'The Blackbird.')

This use ofbeforisis common in the eastern half of Ireland from Wexford to Antrim.

Such old forms asanear,adown,afeard,apast,afore, &c., are heard everywhere in Ireland, and are all of old English origin, as it would be easy to show by quotations from English classical writers. 'If my child was standinganearthat stone.' (Gerald Griffin: 'Collegians.') 'She was never a-shy or ashamed to show' [her respect for me]. ('Knocknagow.') The above words are considered vulgar by our educated people: yet many others remain still in correct English, such asaboard,afoot,amidst, &c.

I think it likely that the Irish language has had some influence in the adoption and retention of those old English words; for we have in Irish a group of words identical with them both in meaning and structure: such asa-n-aice(a-near), whereaiceis 'near.' (Thencomes in for a grammatical reason.)

'I be to do it' in Ulster is used to express 'I have to do it': 'I am bound to do it'; 'it is destined that I shall do it.' 'I be to remain here till he calls,' I am bound to remain. 'The only comfort I have [regarding some loss sure to come on] is that it be to be,' i.e. that 'it is fated to be'—'it isunavoidable.' 'What bees to be maun be' (must be).

Father William Burke points out that we use 'every other' in two different senses. He remains at home always on Monday, but goes to town 'every other' day—meaning every day of the week except Monday: which is the most usual application among us. 'My father goes to town every other day,' i.e.every alternate day. This last is rarely used by our people, who prefer to express it 'My father goes to townevery second day.' Of two persons it is stated:

'You'd like to see them drinking from one cup,They took so lovingevery second sup.'(Old Irish Folk Song.)

'You'd like to see them drinking from one cup,They took so lovingevery second sup.'

'You'd like to see them drinking from one cup,

They took so lovingevery second sup.'

(Old Irish Folk Song.)

The simple phrase 'the other day' means a few days ago. 'When did you see your brother John?' 'Oh I saw him the other day.'

'The other day he sailed away and parted his dear Nancy.'(Old Folk Song.)

'The other day he sailed away and parted his dear Nancy.'

(Old Folk Song.)

The dropping ofthouwas a distinct loss to the English language: for nowyouhas to do double duty—for both singular and plural—which sometimes leads to obscurity. The Irish try to avoid this obscurity by various devices. They always useyein the plural whenever possible: both as a nominative and as an objective: 'Where are ye going to-day?' 'I'm afeard that will be a dear journey to ye.' Accepting theyouas singular, they have created new forms for the plural such asyous,yez,yiz, which do not sound pleasant to a correct speaker, but are very clear in sense. In like manner they form a possessive case direct onye. Some English soldiers are singing 'Lillibulero'—

'And our skeans we'll make good at de Englishman's throat,'

on which Cus Russed (one of the ambush) says—'That's true for ye at any rate. I'm laughing at the way we'll carry outyeersong afore the day is over.' ('The House of Lisbloom,' by Robert D. Joyce.) Similarly 'weerown' is sometimes used for 'our own.'

The distributiveeveryrequires to be followed by pronouns in the singular: but this rule is broken even by well-known English writers:—'Every one for themselves' occurs in Robinson Crusoe; and in Ireland plurals are almost universally used. 'Let every one mind themselvesas the ass said when he leaped into a flock of chickens.'

Father Burke has shown—a matter that had escaped me—that we often use the verbsrestandperishin an active sense. The first is seen in the very general Irish prayer 'God rest his soul.' Mangan uses the word in this sense in the Testament of Cathaeir Mór:—

'Here is the Will of Cathaeir Mór,God rest him.'

'Here is the Will of Cathaeir Mór,

God rest him.'

And John Keegan in 'Caoch O'Leary':—

'And there he sleeps his last sweet sleep—God rest you, Caoch O'Leary.'

'And there he sleeps his last sweet sleep—

God rest you, Caoch O'Leary.'

Perishis quoted below in the saying—'That breeze would perish the Danes.'

We have many intensive words, some used locally, some generally:—'This is acruelwet day'; 'that old fellow iscruelrich': that's acruelgood man (wherecruelin all meansvery: Ulster). 'That girl isfine and fat: her cheeks arefine and red.' 'I wasdead fondof her' (very fond): butdead certainoccurs in 'Bleak House.' 'That tree has amightygreat load of apples.' 'I want a drink badly; my throat ispowerfuldry.' ('Shanahan's Ould Shebeen,' New York.) 'John Cusack is the finest dancerat all.' 'This day ismortalcold.' 'I'mblack outwith you.''I'm very gladentirelyto hear it.' 'He is very sickentirely.' This wordentirelyis one of our most general and characteristic intensives. 'He is a very good manall out.' 'This day isguy andwet': 'that boy isguy andfat' (Ulster). A half fool of a fellow looking at a four-wheeled carriage in motion: 'Aren't the little wheelsdamn goodnot to let the big wheels overtake them.' In the early days of cycling a young friend of mine was riding on a five-foot wheel past two countrymen; when one remarked to the other:—'Tim, that's agallowsway of travelling.' 'I was upmurderinglate last night.' (Crofton Croker.)

In the Irish language there are many diminutive terminations, all giving the idea of 'little,' which will be found fully enumerated and illustrated in my 'Irish Names of Places,' vol. ii, chap. ii. Of these it may be said that only one—ínoreen—has found its way into Ireland's English speech, carrying with it its full sense of smallness. There are others—ánoraun, andógoroge; but these have in great measure lost their original signification; and although we use them in our Irish-English, they hardly convey any separate meaning. Buteenis used everywhere: it is even constantly tacked on to Christian names (especially of boys and girls):—Mickeen(little Mick),Noreen,Billeen,Jackeen(a word applied to the conceited little Dublin citizen). So also you hearBirdeen,Robineen-redbreast,bonniveen, &c. A boy who apes to be a man—puts on airs like a man—is called amanneenin contempt (exactly equivalent to the Englishmannikin). I knew a boy named Tommeen Trassy: and the name stuck to him even when hewas a great big whacker of a fellow six feet high. In the south this diminutive is long (een) and takes the accent: in the north it is made short (in) and is unaccented.

It is well known that three hundred years ago, and even much later, the correct English sound of the diphthongeawas the same as longainfate:seapronouncedsay, &c. Any number of instances could be brought together from the English poets in illustration of this:—

'God moves in a mysterious way,His wonders to perform;He plants His footsteps in thesea,And rides upon the storm.'(Cowper(18th century).)

'God moves in a mysterious way,His wonders to perform;He plants His footsteps in thesea,And rides upon the storm.'

'God moves in a mysterious way,

His wonders to perform;

He plants His footsteps in thesea,

And rides upon the storm.'

(Cowper(18th century).)

This sound has long since been abandoned in England, but is still preserved among the Irish people. You will hear everywhere in Ireland, 'a pound ofmate,' 'a cup oftay,' 'you're as deep as thesay,' &c.

'Kind sir beaisyand do nottaizeme with your falsepraisesmost jestingly.'—(Old Irish Folk Song.)

(In this last lineeasyandteazemust be sounded so as to rhyme—assonantally—withpraises).

Many years ago I was travelling on the long car from Macroom to Killarney. On the other side—at my back—sat a young gentleman—a 'superior person,' as anyone could gather from hisdandifiedspeech. The car stopped where he was to get off: a tall fine-looking old gentleman was waiting for him, and nothing could exceed the dignity and kindness with which he received him. Pointing tohis car he said 'Come now and they'll get you a nice refreshing cup oftay.' 'Yes,' says the dandy, 'I shall be very glad to get a cup oftee'—laying a particular stress ontee. I confess I felt a shrinking of shame for our humanity. Now which of these two was the vulgarian?

The old sound ofeais still retained—even in England—in the wordgreat; but there was a long contest in the English Parliament over this word. Lord Chesterfield adopted the affected pronunciation (greet), saying that only an Irishman would call itgrate. 'Single-speech Hamilton'—a Dublin man—who was considered, in the English House of Commons, a high authority on such matters, stoutly supportedgrate, and the influence of the Irish orators finally turned the scale. (Woollett.)

A similar statement may be made regarding the diphthongeiand longe, that is to say, they were both formerly sounded like longainfate.

'Boast the pure blood of an illustrious race,In quiet flow from Lucrece toLucrece.'(Pope: 'Essay on Man.')

'Boast the pure blood of an illustrious race,In quiet flow from Lucrece toLucrece.'

'Boast the pure blood of an illustrious race,

In quiet flow from Lucrece toLucrece.'

(Pope: 'Essay on Man.')

In the same essay Pope rhymesspherewithfair, showing that he pronounced itsphaire. Ourhedgeschoolmaster did the same thing in his song:—

Of all the maids on this terrestrialsphaireYoung Molly is the fairest of the fair.

Of all the maids on this terrestrialsphaire

Young Molly is the fairest of the fair.

'The plots are fruitless which my foeUnjustly didconceive;The pit he digg'd for me has provedHis own untimely grave.'(Tate and Brady.)

'The plots are fruitless which my foeUnjustly didconceive;The pit he digg'd for me has provedHis own untimely grave.'

'The plots are fruitless which my foe

Unjustly didconceive;

The pit he digg'd for me has proved

His own untimely grave.'

(Tate and Brady.)

Our people generally retain the old sounds of longeandei; for they saypersaivefor perceive, andsevareforsevere.

'The pardon he gave me was hard andsevare;'Twas bind him, confine him, he's the rambler from Clare.'

'The pardon he gave me was hard andsevare;

'Twas bind him, confine him, he's the rambler from Clare.'

Our Irish way of sounding botheaand longeis exemplified in what I heard a man say—a man who had some knowledge of Shakespeare—about a girl who was becoming somewhat of an old maid: 'She's now getting into thesairandyallow laif.'

Observe, the correct old English sound ofieandeehas not changed: it is the same at present in England as it was formerly; and accordingly the Irish people always sound these correctly. They never sayprastefor priest,belavefor believe,indadefor indeed, orkapefor keep, as some ignorant writers set down.

Ateis pronouncedetby the educated English. In Munster the educated people pronounce itait: 'Yesterday Iaita good dinner'; and whenetis heard among the uneducated—as it generally is—it is considered very vulgar.

It appears that in correct old Englisherwas soundedar—Dryden rhymescertainwithparting—and this is still retained in correct English in a few words, likesergeant,clerk, &c. Our people retain the old sound in most such words, assarvant,marchant,sartin. But sometimes in their anxiety to avoid this vulgarity, they overdo the refinement: so that you will hear girls talk mincingly aboutderninga stocking. This is like what happened in the case of one of our servant girls who took it into her head thatmuttonwas a vulgar way of pronouncing the word, likepudden'forpudding; so she set out with her new grand pronunciation; and one day rather astonished our butcher by telling him she wanted a small leg ofmutting. I think this vulgarism is heard among the English peasantry too: though we have the honour and glory of evolving it independently.

All over Ireland you will hear the wordsvaultandfaultsoundedvautandfaut. 'If I don't be able to shine it will be none of myfaut.' (Carleton, as cited by Hume.) We have retained this sound from old English:

Let him not dare to vent his dangerous thought:A noble fool was never in afault[faut].(Pope, cited by Hume.)

Let him not dare to vent his dangerous thought:A noble fool was never in afault[faut].

Let him not dare to vent his dangerous thought:

A noble fool was never in afault[faut].

(Pope, cited by Hume.)

Goldsmith uses this pronunciation more than once; but whether he brought it from Ireland or took it from classical English writers, by whom it was used (as by Pope) almost down to his time, it is hard to say. For instance in 'The Deserted Village' he says of the Village Master:—

'Yet he was kind, or if severe in aughtThe love he bore to learning was infault' [faut].

'Yet he was kind, or if severe in aught

The love he bore to learning was infault' [faut].

I remember reading many years ago a criticism of Goldsmith by a well-known Irish professor of English literature, in which the professor makes great fun, as a 'superior person,' of theHibernicismin the above couplet, evidently ignorant of the fact, which Dr. Hume has well brought out, that it is classical English.

In many parts of Munster there is a tendency to give the longathe sound ofaincar,father:—

Were I Paris whose deeds arevaariousAndarbithraatheron Ida's hill.(Old Folk Song—'The Colleen Rue.')[1]

Were I Paris whose deeds arevaariousAndarbithraatheron Ida's hill.

Were I Paris whose deeds arevaarious

Andarbithraatheron Ida's hill.

(Old Folk Song—'The Colleen Rue.')[1]

Thegladiaathersboth bold and darling,Each night and morning to watch the flowers.(Old Folk Song—'Castlehyde.')[1]

Thegladiaathersboth bold and darling,Each night and morning to watch the flowers.

Thegladiaathersboth bold and darling,

Each night and morning to watch the flowers.

(Old Folk Song—'Castlehyde.')[1]

So, an intelligent peasant,—a born orator, but illiterate in so far as he could neither read nor write,—told me that he was aspectaathorat one of O'Connell's Repeal meetings: and the same man, in reply to a strange gentleman's inquiry as to who planted a certain wood up the hill, replied that the trees were not planted—they grewspontaan-yus.

I think this is a remnant of the old classical teaching of Munster: though indeed I ought to mention that the same tendency is found in Monaghan, where on every possible occasion the people give this sound to longa.

Dbefore longuis generally sounded likej; as inprojuceforproduce: theJukeof Wellington, &c. Many years ago I knew a fine old gentleman from Galway. He wished to make people believe that in the old fighting times, when he was a young man, he was a desperategladiaathor; but he really was a gentle creature who never in all his born days hurt man or mortal. Talking one day to some workmen in Kildare, and recounting his exploits, he told themthat he was nowharrishedevery night by the ghosts of all theminhe killed injuels.

Sosbefore longuis soundedsh: Dan Kiely, a well-to-do young farmer, told the people of our neighbourhood that he was now looking out for a wife that wouldshoothim. This pronunciation is however still sometimes heard in words of correct English, as insure.

There are some consonants of the Irish language which when they come together do not coalesce in sound, as they would in an English word, so that when they are uttered a very short obscure vowel sound is heard between them: and a native Irish speaker cannot avoid this. By a sort of hereditary custom this peculiarity finds its way into our pronunciation of English. Thusfirmis sounded in Irelandferrum—two distinct syllables: 'that bird is looking for awurrum.'Form(a seat) we call afurrum.

'His sire he'd seek no more nor descend to Mammon's shore,Nor venture on the tyrant's direalaa-rums,But daily place his care on that emblematic fair,Till he'd barter coronations for herchaa-rums.'(Old Folk Song.)[2]

'His sire he'd seek no more nor descend to Mammon's shore,Nor venture on the tyrant's direalaa-rums,But daily place his care on that emblematic fair,Till he'd barter coronations for herchaa-rums.'

'His sire he'd seek no more nor descend to Mammon's shore,

Nor venture on the tyrant's direalaa-rums,

But daily place his care on that emblematic fair,

Till he'd barter coronations for herchaa-rums.'

(Old Folk Song.)[2]

Herbis soundederrub: and we make two syllables of the name Charles [Char-less]. At the time of the Bulgarian massacres, I knew a Dublin doctor, a Tipperary man, who felt very strongly on the subject and was constantly talking about the poorBullugarians.

In the County Monaghan and indeed elsewherein Ireland,usis soundedhuz, which might seem a Cockney vulgarism, but I think it is not. In Roscommon and in the Munster counties a thong is called afong.

Chawforchew,oncet[wonst] foronce,twicedfortwice, andheighth,sighth, forheight,sight, which are common in Ireland, are all old English survivals. Thus in the 'Faerie Queene' (Bk.I., CantoIV.,XXX.):—

'And next to him malicious Envy rodeUpon a ravenous wolfe and still didchawBetween his cankred teeth a venomous tode.'

'And next to him malicious Envy rode

Upon a ravenous wolfe and still didchaw

Between his cankred teeth a venomous tode.'

Chawis also much used in America. 'Onstfor once, is in the Chester Plays' (Lowell); andhighthforheightis found all through 'Paradise Lost.' So also we havedroothfordrought:—

'Like other historians I'll stick to the truthWhile I sing of the monarch who died of thedrooth.'(Sam Lover.)

'Like other historians I'll stick to the truthWhile I sing of the monarch who died of thedrooth.'

'Like other historians I'll stick to the truth

While I sing of the monarch who died of thedrooth.'

(Sam Lover.)

Joistis soundedjoicein Limerick; andcatchis everywhere pronouncedketch.

The wordhitheris pronounced in Irelandhether, which is the correct old English usage, but long since abandoned in England. Thus in a State Paper of 1598, we read that two captains returnedhether: and in Spenser's 'View,' he mentions a 'colony [sent]hetherout of Spaine.'

'An errant knight or any other wightThathetherturns his steps.' ('Faerie Queene.')

'An errant knight or any other wight

Thathetherturns his steps.' ('Faerie Queene.')

Hence we have coined the wordcomether, forcome-hether, to denote a sort of spell brought aboutby coaxing, wheedling, making love, &c.—as in the phrase 'she put hercometheron him, so that he married her up at once.' 'There'll not be six girls in the fair he'll not be putting thecometheron.' (Seumas MacManus.)

The family name 'Bermingham' is always madeBrimmigemin Ireland, which is a very old English corruption. In Friar Clyn's Annals (Latin) written in the fourteenth century, the death is recorded in 1329 of Johannes deBrimegham, i.e., the celebrated Sir John Bermingham who defeated Edward Bruce at Faughart.

Leap is pronouncedlepby our people; and in racing circles it is still so pronounced by all classes. The little village of Leap in the County Cork is always calledLep.

There is a curious tendency among us to reverse the sounds of certain letters, as for instanceshandch. 'When you're coming home to-morrow bring the spade andchovel, and a pound of butter fresh from theshurn.' 'Thatshimneydoesn't draw the smoke well.' So with the lettersuandi. 'When I was crossing thebrudgeI dropped the sweepingbrishinto theruvver.' 'I never sawsicha sight.' But such words are used only by the very uneducated.Brudgeforbridgeand the like are however of old English origin. 'Margaret, mother of Henry VII, writessecheforsuch' (Lowell). So in Ireland:—'Jesticeis all I ax,' says Mosy in the story ('Ir. Pen. Mag.); andchurriesforcherries('Knocknagow'). This tendency corresponds with the vulgar use ofhin London and elsewhere in England. 'The 'en has just laid ahegg': 'he was singing My 'art's in the'ighlands or The Brave OldHoak.' (Washington Irving.)

Squeezeis pronouncedsqueedgeandcrushscroodgein Donegal and elsewhere; but corruptions like these are found among the English peasantry—as may be seen in Dickens.

'You had betterrinshthat glass' is heard everywhere in Ireland: an old English survival; for Shakespeare and Lovelace haverenchedforrinced(Lowell): which with the Irish sound of shortebeforengives us our wordrinshed.

Such words asold,cold,holdare pronounced by the Irish peopleould,cowld,hould(orhowlt);goldis soundedgooldandfordfoord. I once heard an old Wicklow woman say of some very rich people 'why these people couldait goold.' These are all survivals of the old English way of pronouncing such words. In the State Papers of Elizabeth's time you will constantly meet with such words ashoultandstronghowlt(hold and stronghold.) In my boyhood days I knew a great large sinewy active woman who lived up in the mountain gap, and who was universally known as 'Thunder thecowltfrom Poulaflaikeen' (cowltforcolt); Poulaflaikeen, the high pass between Glenosheen and Glenanaar, Co. Limerick, for which see Dr. R. D. Joyce's 'Ballads of Irish Chivalry,' pp. 102, 103, 120.

Old Tom Howlett, a Dublin job gardener, speaking to me of the management of fruit trees, recommended the use of butchers' waste. 'Ah sir'—said he, with a luscious roll in his voice as if he had been licking his lips—'Ah sir, there's nothing for the roots of an apple tree like a big tub of fine rottenouldguts,'

Finaldis often omitted afterlandn: you will see this everywhere in Seumas MacManus's books for Donegal. Recently we were told by the attendant boy at one of the Dublin seaside baths that the prices were—'a shilling for the hot and sixpence for thecowl.' So we constantly usean'forand: in a Waterford folk song we have 'Here's to the swan that sails on thepon' (the 'swan' being the poet's sweetheart): and I once heard a man say to another in a fair:—'That horse is sound in win' and limb.'

Shorteis always sounded beforenandm, and sometimes in other positions, like shorti: 'How many arrived?' 'Tin minand five women': 'He always smoked a pipe with a longstim.' If you ask a person for a pin, he will inquire 'Is it a brass pin or a writingpinyou want?'

Againis sounded by the Irish peopleagin, which is an old English survival. 'Donne rhymesagainwithsin, and Quarles repeatedly within.' (Lowell.) An Irishman was once landed on the coast of some unknown country where they spoke English. Some violent political dispute happened to be going on there at the time, and the people eagerly asked the stranger about his political views; on which—instinctively giving expression to the feelings he brought with him from the 'ould sod'—he promptly replied before making any inquiry—'I'm agin the Government.' This story, which is pretty well known, is a faked one; but it affords us a good illustration.

Onionis among our people always pronouncedingion: constantly heard in Dublin. 'Go out Mikefor theingions,' as I once heard a woman say in Limerick.

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