THE WITCHES' EXCURSION. 1
PATRICK KENNEDY
SHEMUS RUA 2 (Red James) awakened from his sleep one night by noises in his kitchen. Stealing to the door, he saw half-a-dozen old women sitting round the fire, jesting and laughing, his old housekeeper, Madge, quite frisky and gay, helping her sister crones to cheering glasses of punch. He began to admire the impudence and imprudence of Madge, displayed in the invitation and the riot, but recollected on the instant her officiousness in urging him to take a comfortable posset, which she had brought to his bedside just before he fell asleep. Had he drunk it, he would have been just now deaf to the witches' glee. He heard and saw them drink his health in such a mocking style as nearly to tempt him to charge them, besom. in hand, but he restrained himself.
The jug being emptied, one of them cried out, "Is it time to be gone?" and at the same moment, putting on a red cap, she added--
"By yarrow and rue,
And my red cap too,
Hie over to England."
'By yarrow and rue,
And my red cap too,
Hie over to England'."
1 has assimilated Shemus's nature for the time being to that of his unholy companions. The heady liquors soon got into their brains, and a period of unconsciousness succeeded the ecstasy, the head-ache, the turning round of the barrels, and the "scattered sight" of poor Shemus. He woke up under the impression of being roughly seized, and shaken, and dragged upstairs, and subjected to a disagreeable examination by the lord of the castle, in his state parlour. There was much derision among the whole company, gentle
cappen d'yarrag?" 1 These words infused hope and courage into the poor victim's heart. He turned to the lord and humbly asked leave to die in his red cap, which he supposed had dropped from his head in the vault. A servant was sent for the head-piece, and Shemus felt lively hope warming his heart while placing it on his head. On the platform he was graciously allowed to address the spectators, which he proceeded to do in the usual formula composed for the benefit of flying stationers--"Good people all, a warning take by me;" but when he had finished the line, "My parents reared me tenderly," he unexpectedly added--"By yarrow and rue," etc., and the disappointed spectators saw him shoot up obliquely through the air in the style of a sky-rocket that had missed its aim. It is said that the lord took the circumstance much to heart, and never afterwards hung a man for twenty-four hours after his offence.
Footnotes
168:1 Fictions of the Irish Celts.
168:2 Irish, Séumus Ruadh. The Celtic organs are unable to pronounce the letter j, hence they make Shon or Shawn of John, or Shamus of James, etc.
153:1 Ir., Birreud--i.e., a cap.
170:1 Irish, caipín dearg--i.e., red cap.
