What will our civic friends say to this, about the date of 1686?—­“Among other policies of assurance which appear at the Exchange, there is one of no ordinary nature; which is, that Esquire Neale, who hath for some time been a suitor to the rich Welsh widow Floyd, offers as many guineas as people will take to receive thirty for each one in case he marry the said widow.  He hath already laid out as much as will bring him in 10 or 12,000 guineas; he intends to make it 30,000, and then to present it to the lady in case she marry him; and any one that will accept of guineas on that condition may find as many as he pleases at Garraway’s coffee-house.”—­Ellis Correspondence.

* * * * *

PAT O’KELLY, THE IRISH POET.

    Three poets, of three different nations born,
    With works immortal do this age adorn;
    Byron, of England—­Scott, of Scotia’s blood—­And,
    Erin’s pride, O’Kelly, great and good. 
    ’Twould take a Byron and a Scott, I tell ye,
    Roll’d up in one, to make a Pat O’Kelly.
        Legends of the Lakes.

* * * * *

IRISH NAMES, MADE ENGLISH.

(For the Mirror.)

Macnamara, son of a sea-hound. Macmahon, son of a bear. Brien, the force of water. Kennedy, wearing a helmet. Horan, the gold of poetry. Sullivan, having but one eye. Gallagher, the helper of Englishmen. Riordan, a royal salmon. Lysaght, a hired soldier. Finnoala, white-shouldered. Una, matchless. Farrell, a fair man. Mohairey, an early riser. Naghten, a strong person. Trayner, a strong man. Keeffe, mild. Keating, a shower of fire. Kinahan, a moss trooper. Kearney, a soldier. Leahy, a champion. Macaveely, son of the hero. Ardil, of high descent. Dermid, a god in arms. Toraylagh, like a tower. Cairbre, a royal person. Flinn, red haired. Dwyer, a dark man. Docharty, dangerous. Mullane, broad head. Cullane, broad poll. Flaherty, a powerful chief. Lalor, or Lawler, one who speaks by halves. Tierney, a lord. Bulger, a Dutchman. Dougal, a Dane. Mac Intosh, son of the chief. Mac Tagart, son of the priest. Mac’Nab, son of the abbot. Mac Clery, son of a clerk. Mac Lure, son of a tailor. Macgill, son of a squire. Macbrehane, son of a judge. Mac Tavish, son of a savage. Goff, or Gough, smith. Galt, a Protestant. Gillespie, the bishop’s squire.

The whole of the above are literal translations without having recourse to fancy, or torturing the originals; thus, Macnamara, called in Irish Mac Conmara, from mac, a son, con, the genitive case of cu, a hound, and mara, the genitive case of muir, the sea; and so of the rest.  It is proper, however, to observe, that although the name of Keating sounds exactly in Irish a “shower of fire” yet as the Keatings came at first from England, this cannot be the real origin of that name.  All the rest are literally correct.