Chapter Linklater to Lirriper's Lodgings of L by Brewer's Readers Handbook

(Respecting the knights of Cornwall, sir Mark the king of Cornwall had thrown the whole district into bad odour. He was false, cowardly, mean, and most unknightly.)

Lir. The Death of the Children of Lir. This is one of the three tragic stories of the ancient Irish. The other two are The Death of the Children of Touran and The Death of the Children of Usnach. (See Fionnuala, p. 369.)—O’Flanghan: Transactions of the Gaelic Society, i.

Lir (King), father of Fionnuala. On the death of Fingula (the mother of his daughter), he married the wicked Aoife, who, through spite, transformed the children of Lir into swans, doomed to float on the water for centuries, till they hear the first mass-bell ring. Tom Moore has versified this legend.

Silent, O Moyle, be the roar of thy water;
Break not, ye breezes, your chain of repose—
While murmuring mournfully Lir’s lonely daughter
Tells to the night-star her tale of woes.
   —Moore: Irish Melodies, iv. (“Song of Fionnuala,” 1814).

Liris, a proud but lovely daughter of the race of man, beloved by Rubi, first of the angel host. Her passion was the love of knowledge, and she was captivated by all her angel lover told her of heaven and the works of God. At last she requested Rubi to appear before her in all his glory, and, as she fell into his embrace, she was burnt to ashes by the rays which issued from him.—Moore: Loves of the Angels, ii. (1822).

(This is the tale of Semele, q.v.)

Lirriper’s Lodgings (Mrs.), 81, Norfolk Street, Strand. A Christmas tale told in All the Year Round, by Dickens (1863). It recounts her troubles with her lodgers, and with Miss Wozenham, an opposition lodging-house keeper; but the cream of the tale is the adoption of poor Jemmy by mayor Jackman—his education at home and his being sent to a boarding-school. It is an excellent tale. A sequel, called Mrs. Lirriper’s Legacy, appeared in 1864.