Inlookingoverthepapersofmylatevaluedandrespectedfriend，FrancisPurcell，whofornearlyfiftyyearsdischargedthearduousdutiesofaparishpriestinthesouthofIreland，I
metwiththefollowingdocument。Itisoneofmanysuch；forhewasacuriousandindustriouscollectorofoldlocaltraditions——acommodityinwhichthequarterwhereheresidedmightilyabounded。Thecollectionandarrangementofsuchlegendswas，aslongasIcanrememberhim，hishobby；butIhadneverlearnedthathisloveofthemarvellousandwhimsicalhadcarriedhimsofarastoprompthimtocommittheresultsofhisinquiriestowriting，until，inthecharacterofresiduarylegatee，hiswillputmeinpossessionofallhismanuscriptpapers。Tosuchasmaythinkthecomposingofsuchproductionsastheseinconsistentwiththecharacterandhabitsofacountrypriest，itisnecessarytoobserve，thattheredidexistaraceofpriests——thoseoftheoldschool，aracenownearlyextinct——whoseeducationabroadtendedtoproduceinthemtastesmoreliterarythanhaveyetbeenevincedbythealumniofMaynooth。
Itisperhapsnecessarytoaddthatthesuperstitionillustratedbythefollowingstory，namely，thatthecorpselastburiedisobliged，duringhisjuniorityofinterment，tosupplyhisbrothertenantsofthechurchyardinwhichhelies，withfreshwatertoallaytheburningthirstofpurgatory，isprevalentthroughoutthesouthofIreland。
Thewritercanvouchforacaseinwhicharespectableandwealthyfarmer，onthebordersofTipperary，intendernesstothecornsofhisdepartedhelpmate，enclosedinhercoffintwopairofbrogues，alightandaheavy，theonefordry，theotherforsloppyweather；seekingthustomitigatethefatiguesofherinevitableperambulationsinprocuringwaterandadministeringittothethirstysoulsofpurgatory。Fierceanddesperateconflictshaveensuedinthecaseoftwofuneralpartiesapproachingthesamechurchyardtogether，eachendeavouringtosecuretohisowndeadpriorityofsepulture，andaconsequentimmunityfromthetaxlevieduponthepedestrianpowersofthelast-
comer。Aninstancenotlongsinceoccurred，inwhichoneoftwosuchparties，throughfearoflosingtotheirdeceasedfriendthisinestimableadvantage，madetheirwaytothechurchyardbyashortcut，and，inviolationofoneoftheirstrongestprejudices，actuallythrewthecoffinoverthewall，lesttimeshouldbelostinmakingtheirentrancethroughthegate。Innumerableinstancesofthesamekindmightbequoted，alltendingtoshowhowstronglyamongthepeasantryofthesouththissuperstitionisentertained。However，I