Before  I  resume  the  thread  of  my  narrative,  which
must  indeed  often  be  broken  for  the  reasons  already
mentioned,  I  shall  prolong  my  digression  while  I  give
you  an  account  of  the  caoinean  or  lamentation  of  the
Irish  over  their  dead.  This  very  ancient  custom  may
be  compared  to  that  of  the  Jews.  It  is  spoken  of  in
*  The  Family  of  Bethany/  translated  from  the  French
by  the  Rev.  W.  Hare,  p.  182,  as  follows,  ^  In  some
cases,  als^,  to  increase  the  sadness  of  these  gloomy
solemnities,  women,  whose  trade  it  was  to  weep  and
make  lamentation  over  the  dead,  were  paid  to  offer
this  strange  kind  of  consolation  to  the  relations  or
connections  of  the  departed!'

In  order  that  I  might  obtain  the  most  accurate  in-
formation on  this  practice,  as  it  is  in  these  days  ob>
served,  I  visited  a  woman  who  is  in  the  habit  of  at-
tending funerals  as  a  caoinier.  The  meaning  of  this
word,  she  told  me,  is  a  rhyming  woman.  I  found  her
very  intelligent  and  communicative.  She  said  she
was  always  sent  for  as  soon  as  the  corpse  was  laid
out.  She  selects  seven  women  whose  voices  are  clear
and  loud,  that  they  may  all  join  in  the  caoine.  .  With
these  she  practices  beforehand.  They  all  remain  for
two  days  and  nights  in  the  chamber  of  the  dead.
