terage were considered most sacred, and ties of friendship were thus established which neither time nor adversity could efface. The laws governing fosterage were drawn with great particularity; the price of nursing and education, the instruction of children, the conditions upon which they could be returned before the end of pupilage, were subjects of very careful consideration. Heavy penalties were imposed upon foster-parents for failure to teach their foster-children studies or branches of trades and occupations which were suitable to the child's rank. The fosterparent, during fosterage, was liable for all torts and injuries inflicted by his foster-child, and also was entitled to pecuniary compensa tion for any injury done his foster-child. A fosterage of a peculiar kind, called liter ary fosterage, was practised by the ollahms (professors). These professors taught chil dren the i:ecessary branches of education for compensation or no compensation, according to the station in life of the foster-child. They also took a limited number of pupils into a kind of fosterage combined with pupilage, adopted them into their families, and so thor oughly infatuated them with the profession they were being prepared for that the origi nal family ties of those pupils became almost totally effaced. Children, as a rule, were not let out to fos terage until they were about one year old.
Fosterage ended upon the happening of three events, namely, death, selection and crime. Selection in the above case meant marriage, and the age of selection for boys was reached at the end of seventeen years, and for girls at the end of fourteen years. A foster-parent in old age could demand support from his foster-children, provided he was in want and had no children of his own. Fosterage provided the victuals to be served to foster-children according to their rank, as, for example, the sons of kings and chieftains received food of a better quality than that served to children whose parents were of an inferior rank. The practice of fosterage and gossiprede among the ancient tribes of Ireland was prohibited in 1367 by the famous Seatnus of Kilkenny. We see traces of fosterage in the sacra ment of baptism as it is administered in the Roman Catholic Church. Every child when baptized must have two sponsors, a male and a female, commonly called a godfather and godmother. They are under a moral obliga tion to support their godchildren in case of a failure to do so by the child's own parents. A sponsor cannot stand for more than one child a year. This provision is made so that the sponsor can realize his burden, and not add to it. Thus we see a primitive custom of ancient times still practised though in a mod ified form, at the present day.
