As he said this he rushed toward the altar near which they stood, and seized the two chains which coupled them together. No sooner had he done so, than the swans lost their plumage, their beautiful feathers disappeared, and the three sons of Lir appeared three withered old men, with their bones seeming to project through their skin; while Fingula, instead of the graceful swan that sung such enchanting strains, became an old shrivelled hag, fleshless and bloodless. The King let fall the chains, and returned home, while Macaomh Og uttered many lamentations after the birds, and pronounced a malediction on Lairgnean. Fingula then said:-- "Come hither, holy father, and give us baptism, for we are as much concerned at parting with you as you in parting with us. You are to bury us together in this manner. Place Cornu and Fiacra at my back, and place Eugene before me"; and she again said, "Baptize us, holy father, and make us happy." After that they departed this life, and the children of Lir were buried by Macaomh Og as Fingula had desired. He raised the earth in the form of a tomb, and placed a stone over them, on which he carved their names in the Ogham character, and wept bitterly above their grave. It is thought that their souls went to heaven. For Lairgnean, who was the immediate cause of their death, Macaomh Og predicted his fate in the following lines:-- Ill shoot of Colman's royal line, The malison of heaven is thine, The grief which thou hast caused to mine, Thine own cold heart shall feel, Thou whose unholy zeal Hath left me on this isle forlorn, My cherished darlings' loss to mourn. And she whose soul, in evil strong, Hath prompted this unfeeling wrong, To early dust consigned, shall long Her fruitless rapine wail, A shivering spectre pale! The malison of heaven is thine, Ill shoot of Colman's royal line! Not long after, Lairgnean and his wife died a sudden death, according to the prediction of Macaomh Og, which concludes the history of the Swans of Lir. [Illustration] A NIGHT IN A WORKHOUSE. BY JAMES GREENWOOD.