ndulge in those touching old airs of their
country, which maybe truly,called songs of sorrow, from the exquisite
and simple pathos with which they abound. This, though it may seem
anomalous, is but natural; for there is nothing so apt to recall to
the heart those friends, whether absent or dead, with whom it has been
connected, as a stated festival. Affection is then awakened, and summons
to the hearth where it presides those on whose face it loves to look;
if they be living, it places them in the circle of happiness which
surrounds it; and if they be removed forever from such scenes, their
memory, which, amidst the din of ordinary life, has almost passed away,
is now restored, and their loss felt as if it had been only just then
sustained. For this reason, at such times, it is not at all unusual to
see the elders of Irish families touched by pathos as well as humor. The
Irish are a people whose affections are as strong as their imaginations
are vivid; and, in illustration of this, we may add, that many a time
have we seen them raised to mirth and melted into tears almost at the
same time, by a song of the most comic character. The mirth, however,
was for the song, and the sorrow for the memory of some beloved relation
who had been remarkable for singing it, or with whom it had been a
favorite.

We do not affirm that in the family of the M'Kennas there were, upon the
occasion which we were describing, any tears shed. The enjoyments of the
season and the humors of the expected dance, both combined to give them
a more than usual degree of mirth and frolic At an early hour all that
was necessary for the due celebration of that night and the succeeding
day, had been arranged and completed. The whiskey had been laid in,
the Christmas candles bought, the barn cleared out, the seats laid; in
short, every thing in its place, and a place for everything. About one
o'clock, however, the young members of the family began to betray some
symptoms of uneasiness; nor was M'Kenna himself, though the _farithee_
or man of the house, altogether so exempt from what they felt, as might,
if the cause of it were known to our readers, be expected from a man of
his years and experience.

From time to time one of the girls tripped out as far as the stile
before the door, where she stood looking in a particular direction until
her sight was fatigued.

"Och,' och," her mother exclaimed during her absence, "but that
colleen's sick about Barny!--m