_Midsummer Fires._--From your notice of Mr. Haslam's account of the
Beltein or Midsummer fires in Cornwall, I conclude you will give a place
to the following note. On St. John's eve last past, I happened to pass
the day at a house situate on an elevated tract in the county of
Kilkenny, Ireland; and I shall long remember the beauty of the sight,
when, as dusk closed in, fire after fire shot up its clear flame,
thickly studding the near plains and distant hills. The evening was calm
and still, and the mingled shouts and yells of the representatives of
the old fire-worshippers came with a very singular effect on the ear.
When a boy, I have often _passed through_ the fire myself on Midsummer
eve, and such is still the custom. The higher the flame, the more daring
the act is considered: hence there is a sort of emulation amongst the
unwitting perpetrators of this Pagan rite. In many places cattle are
driven through the fire; and this ceremony is firmly believed to have a
powerful effect in preserving them from various harms. I need not say,
that amongst the peasantry the fires are now lighted in honour of St
John.