W8ST^MI^ST8^ .ABB8T
Stone, like unto the Lia Fail, which is
in Tara, ten feet in length. A dead body
was brought to the Speaking Stone, and
it spake thereunder. Merlin promised
that that stone should speak under him
who should conquer Ireland ; the King
went to it, but it did not speak under
him, so he was displeased.” The test
of the dead body had demonstrated the
prophetic power of the stone immedi-
ately before. Silence under the King’s
trial was all the more significant. As
Dr. Whitley Stokes remarked, the stone
of Ireland was evidently still at Tara
when the passage was written, possibly
as late as the fifteenth century. The
interesting fact stands out that in Wales
at St. David’s, in Ireland at Tara, and in
Scotland at Scone, “ speaking stones ”
were preserved, to which Kings made
appeal. When Jack Cade struck Lon-
don Stone and informed it that Mortimer
was come to the city, it would seem that
he must have had such an idea in his mind,
humorously, ironically, or otherwise.*
* It seems to be now generally agreed that the
Stone of Scone was of local origin.
59
Stone, like unto the Lia Fail, which is
in Tara, ten feet in length. A dead body
was brought to the Speaking Stone, and
it spake thereunder. Merlin promised
that that stone should speak under him
who should conquer Ireland ; the King
went to it, but it did not speak under
him, so he was displeased.” The test
of the dead body had demonstrated the
prophetic power of the stone immedi-
ately before. Silence under the King’s
trial was all the more significant. As
Dr. Whitley Stokes remarked, the stone
of Ireland was evidently still at Tara
when the passage was written, possibly
as late as the fifteenth century. The
interesting fact stands out that in Wales
at St. David’s, in Ireland at Tara, and in
Scotland at Scone, “ speaking stones ”
were preserved, to which Kings made
appeal. When Jack Cade struck Lon-
don Stone and informed it that Mortimer
was come to the city, it would seem that
he must have had such an idea in his mind,
humorously, ironically, or otherwise.*
* It seems to be now generally agreed that the
Stone of Scone was of local origin.
59