LOUGH NEAGH.

Wonderful tales are related about the formation of Lough Neagh; and the whole country round abounds¹ with traditions. One of them affirms that the great Fionn Ma-Coul being in a rage one day, took up a handful of earth and flung it into the sea; and the handful was of such a size that where it fell it formed the Isle² of Man, and the hollow caused by its removal became the basin of the present Lough Neagh.

Another legend is that a holy well once existed in the locality, blessed and sanctified by a saint with wonderful miraculous³ powers of healing; provided that every patient on leaving, after cure, carefully closed the wicket-gate that shut in the well. But once, however, a woman having forgotten this information, left the gate open, when instantly the indignant waters sprang from their bed and pursued the offender⁴, who fled in terror before the advancing waves, until at last she sank down exhausted⁵, when the waters closed over her, and she was no more seen. But along the track of her flight the waters remained, and formed the great lake now existing, which is exactly the length the woman traversed in her flight from the angry spirit of the lake.

Mysterious influences still haunt the locality all round Lough Neagh; for it is the most ancient dwelling-place of the fairies, and when they pass at night, from one island to another, soft music is heard floating by, and then the boatmen know that the fairies are out for a pleasure trip; and one man even averred⁶ that he saw them going by in the track of the moonbeam, a crowd of little men all dressed in green with red caps, and the ladies in silver gossamer⁷. And he liked these pretty creatures, and always left a little poteen for them in the bottle when he was on the island. In return for which attention they gave him the best of248 good luck in fishing and in everything else; for never a gauger⁸ came next or nigh his place while the fairies protected him, and many a time they led the gauger into a bog⁹, and otherwise discomfited¹⁰ him, when he and his men were after a still.

So the fisherman loved his little friends, and they took great care of him; for even in the troublous times of ’98, when the wreckers were all over the country, they did him no harm; though indeed the same wreckers knew where to find a good glass of something when they came his way, and he always gave it to them with a heart and a half; for didn’t they tell him they were going to free Ireland from the Sassenach tyranny.

Down deep, under the waters of Lough Neagh, can still be seen, by those who have the gift of fairy vision, the columns and walls of the beautiful palaces once inhabited by the fairy race when they were the gods of the earth; and this tradition of a buried town beneath the waves has been prevalent for centuries amongst the people.

Giraldus Cambrensis states, that in his time the tops of towers, “built after the fashion of the country,” were distinctly visible in calm, clear weather, under the surface of the lake; and still the fairies haunt the ruins of their former splendour, and hold festivals beneath the waters when the full moon is shining; for the boatmen, coming home late at night, have often heard sweet music rising up from beneath the waves and the sound of laughter, and seen glimmering¹¹ lights far down under the water, where the ancient fairy palaces are supposed to be.

1 abounds   

v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The place abounds with fruit, especially pears and peaches. 此地盛产水果，尤以梨桃著称。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• This country abounds with fruit. 这个国家盛产水果。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 isle   

n.小岛，岛

参考例句：

• He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
• The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。

3 miraculous   

adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的

参考例句：

• The wounded man made a miraculous recovery.伤员奇迹般地痊愈了。
• They won a miraculous victory over much stronger enemy.他们战胜了远比自己强大的敌人，赢得了非凡的胜利。

4 offender   

n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者

参考例句：

• They all sued out a pardon for an offender.他们请求法院赦免一名罪犯。
• The authorities often know that sex offenders will attack again when they are released.当局一般都知道性犯罪者在获释后往往会再次犯案。

5 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

6 averred   

v.断言( aver的过去式和过去分词 )；证实；证明…属实；作为事实提出

参考例句：

• She averred that she had never seen the man before. 她斩钉截铁地说以前从未见过这个男人。
• The prosecutor averred that the prisoner killed Lois. 检察官称被拘犯杀害洛伊丝属实。 来自互联网

7 gossamer   

n.薄纱，游丝

参考例句：

• The prince helped the princess,who was still in her delightful gossamer gown.王子搀扶着仍穿著那套美丽薄纱晚礼服的公主。
• Gossamer is floating in calm air.空中飘浮着游丝。

8 gauger   

n.收税官

参考例句：

9 bog   

n.沼泽；室...陷入泥淖

参考例句：

• We were able to pass him a rope before the bog sucked him under.我们终于得以在沼泽把他吞没前把绳子扔给他。
• The path goes across an area of bog.这条小路穿过一片沼泽。

10 discomfited   

v.使为难( discomfit的过去式和过去分词)；使狼狈；使挫折；挫败

参考例句：

• He was discomfited by the unexpected questions. 意料不到的问题使得他十分尴尬。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He will be particularly discomfited by the minister's dismissal of his plan. 部长对他计划的不理会将使他特别尴尬。 来自辞典例句

11 glimmering   

n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I got some glimmering of what he was driving at. 他这么说是什么意思，我有点明白了。 来自辞典例句
• Now that darkness was falling, only their silhouettes were outlined against the faintly glimmering sky. 这时节两山只剩余一抹深黑，赖天空微明为画出一个轮廓。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译