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120 Irish Minstrels and MusjciansMILKMAID SONGSFamiliar as we are with the name, it does not appear that milkmaid songsenjoyed any special characterization. However, it is well understood that muchcows are not indifferent to familiar tones and persons, for the Bossy that wouldstand contentedly for one would not tolerate another. This brings to mind TimONeills story of a neighbors cow which would kick the daylights out of anyperson attempting to milk her unless the affecting strains of Nell FlahertysDrake greeted her ears, so accustomed was she to the tones of that soothingrefrain on such occasions.\Vithout assuming that all cattle are influenced by music, we are certainthat some are keenly alive to its attractions, and will even follow it, with evidentdelight, until restrained by the limits of their enclosure.In the exuberance of youth, milkmaids are prone to give their emotions vocalexpression, and the nature of their singing or lilting when milking is more thanlikely to be an indication of their frame of mind for the fleeting moment.AMoRous, oi MUSIC OF THE AFFECTIONSMany of the finest traditional Irish melodies are of this character, amongthem being Eiblilin a Ruin, the oldest of all Irish folk airs, according to Prof.Carl Harciebeck, of Belfast, and other distinguished authorities. The weight ofevidence seems to establish its origin in the latter part of the fourteenth century,though others place the date a century and a half earlier. In a general way suchmelodies may be described as of a narrative, or excited discoursing characteranimated and energetic in their movement, yet marked with earnest tendernessand impassioned sentimentmore or less tinged with sadness, though rarelysinking into tones of extreme or despairing melancholy.In the same classification might be enumerated such popular airs as CeannDubh Dilis or The Black-headed Deary, Molly Asthore, The Coolin,The Paistin Fionn, Caitliilin. Thriall, Nora of the Amber Locks, HaveYou Been at Carrjck ? The Dark Maiden of the Valley, The Foggy Dew,The Lowlands of Holland, and Mo Mhuirnin no Gruaige Dame or My Fair-haired Darling. The last named, being the least known, is presented as aspecimen of this class of melodies.MY FAIRHAIRED DARLING(ma mijrnzn. ia , -r az -e baine)t i pT 1 : j Ji I 1I . $iijf I.L.k .4The Irish language is rich in terms of endearment, and as one would natu-ralllv he led to expect, love and affection are the themes of a large number offolk songs. The Irish. as everyone knows, are not lacking in chivalry, still thereis a limit to the ardor of the most enthusiastic occasionally in their devotion tothe fair sex when it comes to the supreme sacrifice. Few, however, will beIrish Folk Music Exemplified121inclined to condemn a man who was willing to do as much as James Doherty forthe young lady of his choice, whom he evidently idolizes:Id swear for her,Id tear for her,The Lord knows what Id bear for her;Id lie for her,Id sigh for her,Id drink l.ough Erne dry for her;Id cuss for her,Do muss for her,Id kick up a thundering fuss for her;Id weep for her,Id leap for her,Id go without any sleep for her;Id fight for her,Id bite for her,Id walk the streets all night for her;Id plead for her,Id bleed for her,Id go without my feed for her;Id shoot for her,Id boot for herA rival whod come to suit for her;Id kneel for her,Id steal for her,Such is the love I feel for her;Id slide for her,Id ride for her,Id swim against wind and tide for her;Id try for her,Id cry for her,Buthang me if Id die for herOr any other woman!FESTIVE OF MIRTHFUL MusicWhat other strains hit those of Geanutraighe or merry music could haveinspired the author of the following lines on The Power of Music?Can I be thus in vision blest,Or can such bliss arise from sound?By some sweet madness Im possessed,Or is the air enchanted round?Wild raptures in my bosom swell,And my soul floats in fond delight;For every note conceals a spellThat pictures scenes long lost to sight.Though the tragedies of her history have indelibly stamped the music ofIreland with characteristic plaintiveness, a race so noted for humor and joviality