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HALLOWE'EN IN IRELAND
45
them certain tokens by which he delivered himself into their hands. They might be milk and fire—
"Maire Bruin:
A little queer old woman cloaked in green,
Who came to beg a porringer of milk.
Bridget Bruin:
The good people go asking milk and fire
Upon May Eve—woe to the house that gives,
Yeats : Land of Heart's Desire.
or one might receive a fairy thorn such as Oonah brings home, which shrivels up at the touch of St. Bridget's image ;
"Oh, ever since I kept the twig of thorn and hid it, I have seen strange things, and heard strange laughter and far voices calling."
Warren:Twig of Thorn.
or one might be lured by music as he stopped near the fort to watch the dancing, for the revels were held in secret, as those of the Druids had been, and no one could look on them unaffected.
