sacred as one sworn on the golden bell. It was believed that anyone who told a lie after being sworn on the bell would have his mouth twisted on one side; and down to about the middle of the nineteenth century it was used successfully for the discovery of information when all other means failed. On one occasion a pair of sandbags, containing £340 in gold, were stolen. Search and inquiries by the police were all to no purpose. At length the priest announced that he would have the bell at the chapel on the following Sunday to swear all his flock upon it. On the Saturday night a man came to the priest's house, and said: "Father Kelly, there's no occasion for the golden bell. Here's the money, every bit of it all safe and sound." The relic is in the form of a shrine, which probably once contained a bell and clapper. It is made of bronze and silver, and is decorated with the figures of two winged dragons and quaint serpent interlacings.—The Cork Examiner, 1st March, 1919.
At a special meeting of the council of the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin yesterday, at which the Archbishop of Dublin presided, St. Senan's Bell was formally presented to the Academy by Mr. G. W. Panton, of Foxrock, County Dublin, who had recently purchased it in London for this purpose.
Dr. Bernard thanked the donor, and expressed satisfaction that the shrine had been secured for the benefit of the nation. Mr. Panton, in making the presentation, said that when he saw the announcement of the sale of the shrine, he determined to secure it if possible for Ireland. He had been congratulated by many people on his success, including a prominent Sinn Feiner in London.—The Times, 17th March, 1919.
Child Rowland in "King Lear."
To Edgar in King Lear is given the following words:
Child Rowland to the dark tower came.
His word was still 'Fie, foh, and fum,
I smell the blood of a British man.'[1]
Apart from the first line, which definitely refers to Child
- ↑ King Lear, Furness, Variorum Shakespeare, Act III. sc. iv., 11. 174-176.
