or the like. In 1602 an Irish chieftain named Cormach McDermod Carthy, who held the castle against the English, when hard pressed, concluded a truce with the Lord President, kissed the Blarney stone which his forefathers placed there, thereby leaving the Lord President and the English under the impression (without promising) that the castle would be surrendered as soon as McCarthy would reason with his followers and remove some of his belongings. The Lord President sent messengers to the English officers, gladly informing them that he "got Blarney" from McCarthy without much trouble. McCarthy, who was only borrowing time and quietly strengthening his castle, then set about and with fair promises and false pretext day by day put off the Lord President until he was reinforced by the Spaniards. Even then the Lord President was firmly assuring his countrymen that he "got Blarney" for them. However, when the English found that instead of the Lord President having Blarney Castle he had nothing but McCarthy's honey and flattering speeches and they then had a hard fight before them, the Lord President became the laughing stock of both English, Irish and Spaniards, who mockingly would say of him, "He got Blarney." If you will ever visit Blarney for the purpose of kissing the Blarney stone, you may be prepared for all sorts of tricks. The more earnest you appear about kissing it, the more fables you will be told about it. If a man is too feeble looking to climb, those in the Village of Blarney will most likely point out another broken stone lying on the ground belonging to the castle, telling him that a drunken blackguard dug it out of its place for carrying it away to make money by improving people's speech, and let it fall down and it was smashed, and then it lost its virtue. If you are young and active, they will point out to you another stone about one hundred feet from the ground and tell you you must go up to the top of the castle and be held by the heels and leave your head and body hang downwards outside the parapet wall of the castle. Of course, you will say that is impossible for you to do. Then you are told you must go home without improving your speech. _Land League and Irish National League._--On the 28th of April, 1879, the Land League was founded in Irishtown, West Mayo, by the late Michael Davitt. The object of this League was to abolish landlordism and make tenant farmers owners of their own holdings. Charles Stewart Parnell was placed at the head of this new organization, and on the 8th of June, Parnell and Davitt appeared at a monster meeting held at West Port. The Land League was suppressed by the Coercion Act, but the spirit was untouched. The name was changed to the Irish-National-League and Parnell chosen as its president. The Land League succeeded in its object.