ician
ancestors. They both [i.e. the Irish and the Phoenicians] adored
Bel, or the sun, the moon, and the stars. The 'house of
_Rimmon_' which the Phoenicians worshipped in, like our temples
of Fleachta in Meath, was sacred to the _moon_. The word
'_Rimmon_' has by no means been understood by the different
commentators; and yet, by recurring to the Irish (a branch of
the Phoenician) it becomes very intelligible; for '_Re_' is
Irish for the moon, and '_Muadh_' signifies an _image_, and the
compound word '_Reamhan_,' signifies _prognosticating by the
appearance of the moon_. It appears by the life of our great S.
Columba, that the Druid temples were here decorated with figures
of the sun, the moon, and stars. The Phoenicians, under the name
of _Bel-Samen_, adored the Supreme; and it is pretty remarkable,
that to this very day, to wish a friend every happiness this
life can afford, we say in Irish, 'The blessings of _Samen_ and
_Bel_ be with you!' that is, of the seasons; Bel signifying the
sun, and Samhain the moon."

--(See O'Halloran's _Hist. of Ireland_, vol. i. P. 47.)

J. SANSOM.

* * * * *

FOLK LORE.

_Presages of Death_.--The Note by Mr. C. FORBES (Vol. ii., p. 84.) on
"High Spirits considered a Presage of impending Calamity or Death,"
reminded me of a collection of authorities I once made, for academical
purposes, of a somewhat analogous bearing,--I mean the ancient belief in
the existence of a power of prophecy at that period which immediately
precedes dissolution.

The most ancient, as well as the most striking instance, is recorded in
the forty-ninth chapter of Genesis:--

"And Jacob called his sons and said, Gather yourselves together
_that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last
days_.... And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons,
he gathered up his feet into his bed, and yielded up the ghost,
and was gathered unto his people."

Homer affords two instances of a similar kind: thus, Patroclus
prophesies the death of Hector (Il. [Greek: p] 852.)[1]:--

[Greek: "Ou thaen oud autos daeron beae alla toi aedae
Agchi parestaeke Thanatos kai Moira krataiae,
Chersi dament Achilaeos amnmonos Aiakidao."][2]

Again, Hector in his turn prophesies the death of Achilles by the hand
of Paris (Il. [Greek: ch.] 358.):--

[Greek: "Phrazeo nun, mae toi ti theon