I asked what the horse was
meant for, and was told that it represented 'all cattle.'"[523]
[Lady Wilde's account of the Midsummer fires in Ireland.]
Lady Wilde's account of the midsummer festival in Ireland is picturesque
and probably correct in substance, although she does not cite her
authorities. As it contains some interesting features which are not
noticed by the other writers on Ireland whom I have consulted, I will
quote the greater part of it in full. "In ancient times," she says, "the
sacred fire was lighted with great ceremony on Midsummer Eve; and on
that night all the people of the adjacent country kept fixed watch on
the western promontory of Howth, and the moment the first flash was seen
from that spot the fact of ignition was announced with wild cries and
cheers repeated from village to village, when all the local fires began
to blaze, and Ireland was circled by a cordon of flame rising up from
every hill. Then the dance and song began round every fire, and the wild
hurrahs filled the air with the most frantic revelry. Many of these
ancient customs are still continued, and the fires are still lighted on
St. John's Eve on every hill in Ireland. When the fire has burned down
to a red glow the young men strip to the waist and leap over or through
the flames; this is done backwards and forwards several times, and he
who braves the greatest blaze is considered the victor over the powers
of evil, and is greeted with tremendous applause.
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