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Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2007 with funding from
IVIicrosoft Corporation
http://www.archive.org/details/folklorejournal02folkuoft
THE
FOLK-LOEE JOURNAL
VOL. II.
(JANUARY— DECEMBER 1884.)
Alter etlduiu
LONDON :
PUBLISHED FOR THE FOLK-LORE SOCIETY
BY ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW.
1884.
^ftm of Ihe ^o\\{-3on ^odatg,
1884-1885.
PEESIDENT.
THE RIGHT HON. EARL BEAUCHAMP, F.S.A.
VICE-PRESIDENTS.
A. LANG, M.A.
W. R. S. RALSTON, M.A.
EDWARD B. TYLOR, LL.D., F.R.S.
COUNCIL.
EDWARD BRABROOK, F.S.A.
JAMES BRITTEN, F.L.S.
EDWARD CLODD.
SIR W. R. DRAKE, F.S.A.
G. L. GOMME, F.S.A.
J. T. MICKLETHWAITE, F.S.A.
ALFRED NUTT.
PROFESSOR A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
EDWARD SOLLY, F.R.S., F.S.A.
WILLIAM J. THOMS, F.S.A.
W. S. W. VAUX, M.A.
HENRY B. WHEATLEY, F.S.A.
DIRECTOR.— WILLIAM J. THOMS, F.S.A.
TREASURER.-SIR WILLIAM R. DRAKE, F.S.A.
HONORARY SECRETARIES.
G. L. GOMME, F.S.A., 2, Park Villas, Lonstlale Road, Barnes, S.W.
A. GRANGER HUTT, F.S.A., 8, Oxford Road, Kilbum, N.W.
AUDITORS.— John Tolhurst, F.S.A. G. L. Apperson.
BANKERS.— Union Bank of London, Charing Cross Branch.
FOLK-TALE COMMITTEE. —Messrs. Apperson, Britten, Blind, Clodd. Hartland,
Nutt, Lauf;, Ralston, Sonnenschein, Wheatley, Solly, Wake, Gomme.
CONTENTS.
Abercromby (Hon. J.)
Irish Stories and Charms
Irish Bird- Lore
Annual Report for 1883
Black (William George).
Turcoman Folk-Lore .
Holy Wells in Scotland
PAQE
33
65
385
43
173
193
206
20
40
289
82
235
Crombie (J. W.) A Curious Superstition . . . .172
Drayton, Folk-Lore of . . . Ill, 142, 225, 266, 357
Edmonds (Mrs. E. M.) Notes on Greek Folk-Lore . . 168
340
Britten (James) Irish Folk-Tales ....
Buchheim (Emma S.) The Pied Piper of Hamelin
Bume (Charlotte S.) Two Folk-Tales from Herefordshire
Variant of the Three Noodles
Clodd (Edward) Philosophy of Punchkin .
Coote (Henry Charles) Children's Games in Sicily
Folk-Lore in Modem Greece .
Folk-Lore Terminology . . .
Gomme (G. L.) Bibliography of Folk-Lore Publications in
English
Gregor (Rev. Walter) Three Folk-Tales from Old Meldrum
Aberdeenshire
East of Scotland
Aberdeenshire
Hippie Folk-Lore from the North
Folk-Tales from Aberdeenshire
Old Farming Customs and Notions in
Fishermen's Folk-Lore
Hope (R. C.) Some Derbyshire Proverbs and Sayings .
Irish Folk-Lore 138, 210
197
68
106
277
329
353
278
PAGE
Jones (Rev. W. H.) and Lewis H. Kropf, Szekely Folk-
Medicine 97
Kinalian (G. H.) Conneraara Folk-Lore .... 257
Martinengo-Cesaresco (The Countess) The Wise Choice . 109
American Games and Songs 243
Morris (Rev. Dr. Richard; Folk-Tales of India . 304, 332, 370
Notes and Queries 23, 57, 90, 120, 156, 187, 218, 253, 285, 317,
348, 377
Notices and News 27, 63, 95, 125, 159, 192, 223, 255, 320, 351, 382
Nutt (Alfred) Irish Mythology according to a recent writer . 175
Folk-Lore Terminology
Pengelly (William) Impounding Wild Birds
Sawyer (Frederick E.) Sussex " Tipteerers " Play
" Old Clem " Celebrations and Black
311
19
1
321
smiths' Lore .......
Sibree (Rev. James, jun.) Malagasy Folk-Tales . 45, 75, 129, 161
Tabulation of Folk-Tales . . . 152, 183, 214, 249, 281
Temple (Captain R. C.) Burmese Ordeals .... 89
Wratislaw (Rev. A. H.) Prince Unexpected .... 9
SUSSEX " TIPTEERERS'" PLAY.
N connection with the celebration of Christmas in Sussex,
a rude outdoor play is still performed on Boxing Day
(December 26th). One version of this play has been
published by the Kev. W. D. Parish in the appendix to
his Dictionary of the Sussex Dialect, but this is not so complete as
some other versions. I have therefore endeavoured to collect and
collate all the versions of the play used in Sussex ; and through the
kindness of several correspondents I am now able to give the full text
of a very complete version, with full explanatory notes. I am in-
debted for the words to Edmund Young, Esq., M.R.C.S., of Steyning,
Sussex, who obtained them from William Turrall, Captain of the
Steyning " Tipteers " (or Tipteerers).
The origin of the name Tipteers or Tipteerers, as the Sussex
mummers are termed, appears to be obscure, unless it is derived from
their obtaining ** tips " in recompense for their performance.
The play is probably a corruption of '* The Seven Champions of
Christendom," as is shown by the following note kindly furnished by
James Rock, Esq.:*—" Within my recollection a party of mummers
used to go about the streets of Hastings performing 'The Seven
Champions of Christendom.' Of this play I only remember that one
of the performers stepped forward saying, • I am St. George for
England '; another then said, * I am St. Denis for France,' where-
upon a terrific combat ensued. Sword-dances were also performed,
in which the dancers tripped about between swords laid on the ground.
Something of the same kind is, or was lately, practised by boys at
Christmas-time in the village of Hollington, near Hastings. The
* Of Tonbridge, but who formerly resided at Hastings.
Vol. 2.— Part 1. b
party asked permission to enter tlie houses, and performed their rude
phvy in the entrance-hall."
As regards costume, Mr. Young writes :—" Glazed calico of
decidedly pronounced colours, with a sprinkling of spangles and
ribbon, formed the basis. The Turk was, when I last saw the show,
the best dressed as regarded nationality, with short skirt, very baggy
trousers, and an impromptu turban. The prevailing sword was an
ingenious arrangement of laths. Their stage was * the Queen's high-
way.' "
With these explanations we may now proceed with the play.
DRAMATIS PERSONS.
Father Christmas. Valiant Soldier.
St. George. Bold Prince (a fancy character).
Noble Captain. Doctor.
Turkish Knight. Prince of Peace.
Little Johnny Jack.
Enter Father Christmas.
Father Christmas. In comes I, Old Father Christmas,
Am I welcome or am I not ?
Sometimes I am cold, sometimes I am hot,*
I hope that Old Father Christmas will never be forgot.
Room, Indies and gentlemen, room I pray,
While I lead St. George and all his noble men tliis way.
Walk in St. George and act thy part,
And shew the ladies and gentlemen thy valiant art.
Walk in, St. George.
Enter St. George.
St. George. In comes I St. George,
That man of courage bold ;
With my sword and shield
I have won ten thousands of gold.
* One Sussex version of the play adds here, *' Sometimes sober and sometimes
not," and this is doubtless not nnfrequently the case with the performer.
SUSSEX " TIPTEEREKS' " PLAY. 3
I fought the fiery Dragon, and brought him to great slaughter,
And by that means I gained the King of Egypt's daughter.
Father Christmas. Walk in, you Noble Captain.
Enter Noble Captain.
Noble Captain. In comes I the Noble Captain, * lately come from
France ;
With my broad sword and jolly Turk
I'll make St. George to dance.
St. George. Neither to you I am bound to bend.
Noble Captain. Why, sir, did ever I take you to be my friend ?
St. George. Yes, you saucy coxcomb.
Noble Captain. Coxcomb is a glorious name.
St. George. You are right to be stabbed.
Noble Captain. To be stabbed, sir, is the least I fear.
St, George. Appoint a place and I'll meet you there.
Noble Captain. The place is appointed on this ground.
Where I mean to lay thy body down.
St. George. I will cross the water that is so wide.
Noble Captain. Done, sir, I'll meet you there if I am alive,
I will cross the water with our ten,
I will meet you there with ten thousand men.
St. George. I'll cut, I'll slay you, I'll let you know
I am St. George the Briton oh.
Noble Captain. I will cross the water with our four.
And meet you there with ten thousand more.
Oh, St. George, hold thy hand.
While I send in my Turkish man.
Walk in, you Turkish Knight.
Enter Turkish Knight.
Turkish Knight. In comes I the Turkish Knight,
Come from the Turkish land to fight.
I will fight St. George, that man of courage bold ;
If his blood is hot I will quickly make it cold.
* Possibly this character represents St. Denis.
b2
i
4 SUSSEX '* TIPTEERERS' " PLAY. |
St. George. Oh Turk, oh Turk, do not boast, ^
Or I will cut you down as small as dust. :
Turkish Knight. Oh, St. George, do not threaten, i
Or I will cut you down with my rusty old weapon. I
St. George, Oh Turk, oh Turk, do not caper, j
Or I will cut you down with my old rapier.
[They fight and St. George falls slightly wounded.
Father Christmas. Oh Turk, oh Turk, what have you done ?
You have wounded my beloved son. j
Turkish Knight. Well, didn't he give me the challenge to do it, and 1
how could I deny it ? \
See how high he was, and now see how low he is.
\_Turk falls on one knee slightly wounded.
Father Christmas. Arise, St. George, and do not refrain.
But boldly rise, and fight that dreadful Turk again. I
\_St. George rises and fights Turk again^ \
Turkish Knight {on one knee). Down on my bending knee, i
A poor Turkish slave, I crave to thee.
St. George. Get up, you Turkish Knight,
Go home to your Turkish land and fight ; ]
Go home and tell them what champions there is in Old England \
dwells.
I will send in my Valiant Soldier.
Father Christmas. Walk in, you Valiant Soldier.
Enter Valiant Soldier. ]
Valiant Soldier. In comes I the Valiant Soldier, *
Bold Slasher is my name.
My head is crowned in iron,* 1
My body is cased in Rteel,f
And with my sword into my knuckle-bone j
I will fight this Turk all in this field; '^
I will pull out my sword and fight, pull out my purse and pay.
For satisfaction will I have before I go away. j
Turkish Knight. No satisfaction shall you have, '
No satisfaction will I give,
♦ A helmet. f Armour.
SUSSEX '^ TIPTEEREKS' " PLAY. 5
For in a moment's time, you rascal,
I will bring you to your silent grave. '
Valiant Soldier. I have travelled England, Ireland, Scotland,
France, Spain, and Wales, for what St. George shall have his
will,
You Turkish dog I soon will kill.
Enter Bold Prince.
Bold Prince. In comes I Bold Prince, with spear in hand, ]
Bid thee thy foes to fear not. Stand, \
Stand St. George, that great man of command,
The ruler over the British land,
Advance the power this very hour;
Gallant sons you must obey, \
Let fly your hands, and fight on my lads, with a good huzza ! 1
hooray ! \_Fierce fight, Turk killed. [
There, ladies and gentlemen, see what I have done, i
I have cut him down like the evening sun. i
Noble Captain. Oh fie ! oh fie ! my man is slain, ^
And on this ground his body laid ; i
Oh, for some doctor I must seek '
While my man lies bleeding here so deep.
Oh doctor, doctor ! come with speed ^
To heal the sick, and raise the dead: j
Oh, is there a doctor to be found ^
To raise this dead man from the ground?
Father Christmas. Oh, yes, here's a doctor well and good, \
With my hand I am endeavouring to stop the blood ;
Stop the blood, and heal the wound, \
And raise that dead man from the ground. 1
Enter Doctor. j
Father Christmas. Well, Doctor, what can you cure? '\
Doctor. Cure the hipsy, pipsy, palsy pains, and the gout, 1
All raging pains both in and out, •
A broken leg, or a broken arm; \
And if that man's neck was broke i
6 SUSSEX " TlPTEEIiERS' " PLAY.
ni be bound to put it together again,
Or else I would not charge you one farthing to be paid.
Nohle Captain. Well, Doctor, what's your fees?
Doctor. My fee is nineteen pounds nineteen shillings and eleven pence
three farthings,
And half that money I demand to-day.
Nohle Captain. Stop, Doctor, stop ! I will pay you in the morning.
Doctor. Morning? what's the morning to do with me?
I will take my horse and be gone.
Nohle Captain. Stop, Doctor, stop ! here's an ass for you to ride.
Doctor. An ass ! go ride your ass yourself;
A horse I rode here, and a horse I will ride away.
Nohle Captain. Here ; stop, Doctor, stop ! I'll pay you in the evening.
Doctor. Now you talk something like a man.
Nohle Captain. Well, Doctor, try your skill.
Doctor. Well, I have a small box of pills by my side called the
Junipers;
I have also a small bottle of drops called the Golden Gloster
Drops;
I'll put one drop on his temple, one on his nose,
Put a pill in his mouth, and strike a light all over his body.
Why you see he begins to move already. \^Turk revives.
Nohle Captain. Arise, young man, and try to stand,
And see how gently you can walk.
Doctor. And now all for your Noble Captain I have cure9 your man,
I am one of the sons of the seventh son,*
Born in High Germany. I am not one of these nmabout doctors.
What I do, I do plainly before your face,
And if you can't believe that, it is a very hard case.
Enter the Prince of Peace.
Prince of Peace. In comes I the Prince of Peace :
* The healing powers of a seventh son are well known. See Folk-Medicine
(W. G. Black), pp. 136, 1.37, &c. The writer's brother, Frank J. Sawyer (of New
CJoUege, Oxford), is a seventh son, and, when a child, it was often remarked by
Sussex friends that " he was born to be a doctor." The prognostic has been
fulfilled in a singular way by his recently graduating as Doctor of Music !
The very first year that I was born,
A cruel Russian war begun.*
Peace ! ladies and gentlemen, peace ! I call,
For I am come to save you all.
Ladies and gentlemen, let your voices ring,
Clap your hands together, and let us all sing.
Enter Johnny Jack.
Johnny Jack, In comes I little Johnny Jack,t
"With my wife and family at my back.
Money I want, money I crave,
If you don't give me that I wish you in your grave.
Mr. Young says the last character " did not occur in the regular
* mum,' but was added to draw coin." He further remarks : " In
reference to the * Prince of Peace,' I think I recollect reading that it
was not uncommon to introduce sacred personages by way of moral
into these outdoor plays, such as are still represented on the Continent
in ' Passion Plays.' "
Much of the original has no doubt been lost or corrupted, and the
gaps filled up with incidents suited to the times in which they lived.
In each version " St. George" appears as " King George." This no
doubt originated during the last century from a confusion of the saint
with the reigning monarch s.
It will be seen on comparison that the Sussex play resembles in
outline the Hampshire *' Christmas Mystery," published in Notes and
Queries, 2nd Series, xii. 493. In the Sompting version (kindly sent
by Mrs. PuUen-Burry, of Rectory House, Sompting, Sussex) St.
George, after referring to "having won the King of Egypt's daughter,"
goes on to say : —
** Therefore if any man dare to enter this place,
I will cut him and hack him as small as dust ;
And afterwards send him to a cook's shop
To be made into mince-pie crust."
* This allusion is obscure.
f In some places the Christmas mummers are callecl " Johnny- Jacks."
'8 SUSSEX
It is yery singular that in the remarkable application, in the spring
of 1883, by the Duke of Vallombrosa for a criminal information
against the editor of Vanity Fair for libel in stating that the Duke's
father (who was an army pork contractor) had put the bodies of dead
soldiers into the meat casks, counsel should have mentioned to the
Court that a similar accusation had been made against St. George,
who was an army bacon contractor (vide Times report).
The conclusion of the Sompting version is not so threatening, for
the speech of " Johnny Jack " proceeds after the second line :—
** My family is large, but I am small,
So every little helps us all.
So ladies and gentlemen, just at your ease,
Put your hands in your pockets
And give the poor little Christmas boys just what you
please."
Whilst in a third version (supplied by a Brighton Tipteerer) the
last character says : —
" In comes I the little Sweep,
All the money I gets I keep ;
In my pockets bread and cheese,
Ladies and gentlemen, give me what you please.
Christmas comes but once a year,
But when it comes it brings good cheer:
Roast beef, plum pudding, and mince-pie,
No one likes it better than I.
Ladies and gentlemen, I wish you a merry Christmas
And a happy new year ;
Not forgetting old Father Christmas,
And the merry Tipteers."
It seems not improbable that this play is sometimes performed at
other times of the year, and especially on May Day.
Frederick E. Sawyer, F.R.Met.Soc.
[Compare a paper on Christmas Mummers in Dorsetshire, by J. S. Udal, in
Folk-Lore Record, vol. iii. part i. pp. 87-116.]
PRINCE UNEXPECTED.
[The story " Prince Unexpected " is from the Polish. I met with it among
A Hundred Simple National Slavonic Tales and Stories in the Original
Dialects, which were published in 1865 by the late K. J. Erben, Archivarius of
the old town of Prague, with an explanatory vocabulary in the Bohemian (Czech)
language, as a " Reading-Book " for Bohemians wishing to make themselves
acquainted with the other Slavonic dialects. "Prince Unexpected," Krolewiczu
Niespodzianku, is taken from A. J. Glinski's Bajarz PolsJd (Polish Storyteller).
" Immortal Bony " appears again in a Russian story from the Government of
Perm, in which the secret of his immortality is discovered, and he is put to
death.— A. H. Weatislaw.]
I HE RE was a king and a queen who had been married for
three years, but had no children, at which they were both
much distressed. Once upon a time the king found
himself obliged to make a visit of inspection round his do-
minions ; he took leave of his queen, set off and was not at home for eight
months. Towards the end of the ninth month the king returned from
his progress through his country, and was already hard by his capital
city, when, as he journeyed over an uninhabited plain during the most
scorching heat of summer, he felt such excessive thirst that he sent
his servants round about to see if they could find water anywhere
and let him know of it at once. The servants dispersed in various
directions, sought in vain for a whole hour, and returned without
success to the king. The thirst-tormented king proceeded to traverse
the whole plain far and wide himself, not believing that there was not
a spring somewhere or other ; on he rode, and on a level spot, on
which there had not previously been any water, he espied a well with
a new wooden fence round it, full to the brim with spring water, in
the midst of which floated a silver cup with a golden handle. The
king sprang from his horse and reached after the cup with his right
hand ; but the cup, just as if it were alive and had eyes, darted
10 PRINCE UNEXPECTED.
quickly on one aide and Hoated again by itself. The king knelt down
and began to try to catch it, now with liis right hand, now with his
left, but it moved and dodged away in snch a manner that, not being
able to seize it with one hand, he tried to catch it with both. But
scarcely had he reached out with both hands when the cup dived like
a fish, and floated again on the surface. " Dang it ! " thought the
king, " I can't help myself with the cup, I'll manage without it." He
then bent down to the water, which was as clear as crystal and as cold
as ice, and began to drink in his thirst. Meanwhile his long beard,
which reached do^\^l to his girdle, dipped into the water. When he
had quenched his thirst, he wanted to get up again — something was
holding his beard and wouldn't let it go. He pulled once and again,
but it was of no use ; he cried out therefore in anger, " Who's there ?
let go." " It's I, the subterranean king, immortal Bony, and I shall
not let go till you give me that which you left unknowingly at home,
and which you do not expect to find on your return. " The king
looked into the depth of the well, and there was a huge head
like a tub, with green eyes and a mouth from ear to ear, which was
holding the king by the beard with extended claws like those of a
crab, and was laughing mischievously. The king thought that a
thing, of which he had not known before starting, and which he did
not expect on his return, could not be of great value, so he said to the
apparition, " I give it." The apparition burst with laughter and
vanished with a flash of fire, and with it vanished also the well, the
water, the wooden fence, and the cup ; and the king was again on a
hillock by a little wood kneeling on dry sand, and therewas no thing
more. The king got up, crossed himself, sprang on his horse,
hastened to his attendants, and rode on.
In a week or may be a fortnight the king arrived at his capital ;
the people came out in crowds to meet him ; he went in procession to
the great court of the palace and entered the corridor. In the corridor
stood the queen awaiting him, and holding close to her bosom a
cushion; on which lay a child, beautiful as the moon, kicking in
swaddling-clothes. The king recollected himself, sighed painfully, and
said within himself : " This is what I left without knowing and found
without expecting ! " And bitterly, bitterly did he weep. All mar-
PRINCE UNEXPECTED. 11
veiled, but nobody dared to ask the cause. The king took his son,
without saying a word, in his arms, gazed long on his innocent face ;
carried him into the palace himself, laid him in the cradle, and,
suppressing his sorrow, devoted himself to the government of his realm,
but was never again cheerful as formerly, since he was perpetually
tormented by the thought that some day Bony would claim his son.
Meanwhile weeks, months, and years flowed on, and no one came for
his son. The prince, named " Unexpected," grew and developed, and
eventually became a handsome youth. The king also in course of
time regained his usual cheerfulness ; and forgot what had taken
place, but alas ! every body did not forget so easily.
Once the prince, while hunting in a forest, became separated from
his suite and found himself in a savage wilderness. Suddenly there
appeared before him a hideous old man with green eyes, who said :
** How do you do, Prince Unexpected ? You have made me wait for
you a long time." " Who are you ? " " That you will find out
hereafter, but now, when you return to your father, greet him from
me, and tell him that I should be glad if he would close accounts with
me, for, if he doesn't soon get out of my debt of himself, he will repent
it bitterly." After saying this the hideous old man disappeared, and
the prince in amazement turned his horse, rode home and told the king
his adventure. The king turned as pale as a sheet, and revealed the
frightful secret to his son. *' Don't cry, father ! " replied the prince,
" it isn't a great misfortune ! I shall manage to force Bony to renounce
the right over me, which he tricked out of you in so underhand a
manner, and if in the course of a year I do not return it will be a
token that we shall see each other no more." The prince prepared for
his journey, the king gave him a suit of steel armour, a sword, and a
horse, and the queen hung round his neck a cross of pure gold. At
leave-taking they embraced affectionately, wept heartily, and the prince
rode off.
On he rode one day, two days, three days, and at the end of the
fourth day at the setting of the sun he came to the shore of the sea,
and in the self-same bay espied twelve dresses, white as snow, though
in the water, as far as the eye could reach, there was no living soul to
be seen ; only twelve white geese were swimming at a distance from the
12 PKINCE UNEXPECTED.
shore. Curious to know to whom they belonged, lie took one of the
dresses, let his horse loose in a meadow, concealed himself in a neigh-
bouring thicket, and waited to see what would come to pass. Thereupon
the geese, after disporting themselves on the sea, swam to the shore,
eleven of them went to the dresses, each threw herself on the ground
and became a beautiful damsel, dressed herself with speed, and flew away
into the plain. The twelfth goose, the last and prettiest of all, did
not venture to come out on the shore, but only wistfully stretched out
her neck, looking on all sides. On seeing the prince she called out
with a human voice : " Prince Unexpected, give me my dress ; I will
be grateful to you in return." The prince hearkened to her, placed the
dress on the grass, and modestly turned away in another direction.
The goose came out on the grass, changed herself into a damsel, dressed
herself hastily, and stood before the prince ; she was young and more
beautiful than eye had seen or ear heard of. Blushing, she gave him
her white hand, and, casting her eyes down, said with a pleasing voice :
" I thank you, good prince, for hearkening to me : I am the youngest
daughter of immortal Bony ; he has twelve young daughters and rules
in the subterranean realm. My father, prince, has long been expecting
you and is very angry ; however don't grieve and don't be frightened,
but do as I tell you. As soon as you see King Bony, fall at once on
your knees, and, paying no regard to his outcry, upbraiding, and threats,
approach him boldly. What will happen afterwards you will learn,
but now we must part." On saying this the princess stamped on the
ground with her little foot; the ground sprang open at once, and
they descended into the subterranean realm, right into Bony's palace,
which shone all underground brighter than our sun. The prince
stepped boldly into the reception-room. Bony was sitting on a
golden throne with a glittering crown on his head ; his eyes gleamed
like two saucers of green glass and his hands were like the nippers of a
crab. As soon as he espied him at a distance, the prince fell on his
knees, and Bony yelled so horribly that the vaults of the subterranean
dominion quaked ; but the prince boldly moved on his knees towards
the throne, and, when he was only a few paces from it, the king smiled
and said: "Thou hast marvellous luck in succeeding in making me
smile ; remain in our subterranean realm, but before thou becomest a
PRINCE UNEXPECTED. 13
true citizen thereof tliou art bound to execute three coumiands of
mine ; but because it is late to-day, we will begin to-morrow ; mean-
while go to thy room."
The prince slept comfortably in the room assigned to him, and early
on the morrow Bony summoned him and said : " We will see, prince,
what thou canst do. In the course of the following night build me a
palace of pure marble ; let the windows be of crystal, the roof of gold,
an elegant garden round about it, and in the garden seats and fountains ;
if thou buildest it, thou wilt gain thyself my love; if not, I shall
command thy head to be cut off." The prince heard it, returned to his
apartment, and was sitting mournfully thinking of the death that
threatened him, when outside at the window a bee came buzzing and
said : " Let me in ! " He opened the lattice, in flew the bee, and the
princess, Bony's youngest daughter, appeared before the wondering
prince. ** What are you thus thinking about, Prince Unexpected ? "
•* Alas ! I am thinking that your father wishes to deprive me of life."
" Don't be afraid ! lie down to sleep, and when you get up to-morrow
morning your palace will be ready."
So, too, it came to pass. At dawn the prince came out of his room
and espied a more beautiful palace than he had ever seen, and Bony,
when he saw it, wondered and wouldn't believe his own eyes. " Well !
thou hast won this time, and now thou hast my second command.
I shall place my twelve daughters before thee to-morrow ; if thou dost
not guess which of them is the youngest, thou wilt place thy head
beneath the axe." " I unable to recognize the youngest princess ! "
said the prince in his room: '* What difficulty can there be in that ? "
" This," answered the princess, flying into the room in the shape of a
bee, " that if I don't help you, you won't recognize me, for we are all
so alike that even our father only distinguishes us by our dress."
" What am I to do ? '• " What indeed ? That will be the youngest
over whose right eye you espy a ladycow ; only look well — Adieu ! "
On the morrow King Bony again summoned Prince Unexpected.
The princesses stood in a row side by side, all dressed alike and with
eyes cast down. The prince looked and marvelled how alike all the
princesses were ; he went past them once, twice— he did not find the
appointed token ; the third time he saw a ladycow over the eyebrow of
14 PRINCE UNEXPECTED.
one and cried out — " This is the youngest princess ! " " How the
deuce liave you guessed it?'' said Bony angrily: "There must be
some trickery here. I must deal with your lordship diflferently. In
three hours you will come here again and will show your cleverness in
my presence. I shall light a straw and you will stitch a pair of boots
before it goes out, and if you don't do it you will perish."
The prince returned desponding and found the bee already in his
apartment. ** Why, pensive again, prince ? " " How shouldn't I be
pensive, when your father wants me to stitch him a pair of boots, for
what sort of cobbler am I ? " ** What else will you do ? " " What
am I to do ? I shan't stitch the boots, and I'm not afraid of death —
one can but die once!" "No, prince, you shall not die! I will
endeavour to rescue you, and we will either escape together or perish
together ! We must flee — there's nothing else to be done." Saying
this the princess spat on one of the window-panes, and the spittle
immediately froze. She then went out of the room with the prince,
locked the door after her, and threw the key far away ; then, taking
each other by the hands, they ascended rapidly, and in a moment
found themselves on the very spot whence they had descended into the
subterranean realm ; there was the self-same sea, the self-same shore
overgrown with rushes and thornbushes, the self-same fresh meadow,
and in the meadow cantered the prince's well-fed horse, who, as soon
as he descried his rider, came galloping straight to him. The prince
didn't stop long to think, but sprang on his horse, the princess seated
herself behind him, and off they set as swift as an arrow.
King Bony at the appointed hour did not wait for Prince Unexpected,
but sent to ask him why he did not appear. Finding the door locked,
the servants knocked at it vigorously, and the spittle answered them
from the middle of the room in the prince's voice, "Anon!" The
servants carried this answer to the king ; he waited, waited, no prince ;
he therefore again sent the same servants, who heard the same answer :
" Anon !" and carried what they had heard to the king. "What's
this? Does he mean to make fun of me? " shouted the king in wrath :
*' Go at once, break the door open and conduct him to me ! " The
servants hurried off, broke open the door, and rushed in — what indeed !
there was nobody there, and the spittle on the pane of glass was
PRINCE UNEXPECTED. 15
splitting with laughter at them. Bony all but burst with rage, and
ordered them all to start off in pursuit of the prince, threatening them
with death if they returned empty-handed. They sprang on horse-
back and hastened away after the prince and princess.
Meanwhile Prince Unexpected and the princess, Bony's daughter,
were hurrying away on their spirited horse, and amidst their rapid
flight heard " tramp, tramp," behind them. The prince sprang from
the horse, put his ear to the ground and said " They are pursuing us."
" Then," said the princess, " we have no time to lose." Instantly she
transformed herself into a river, changed the prince into a bridge, the
horse into a raven, and the grand highway beyond the bridge divided
into three roads. Swiftly on the fresh track hastened the pursuers,
came on to the bridge, and stood stupified ; they saw the track up to the
bridge, but beyond it disappeared, and the highway divided into three
roads. There was nothing to be done but to return, and they came
with nought. Bony shouted with rage and cried out : "A bridge and
a river : it was them, how was it that ye did not guess it ? Back, and
don't return without them !" The pursuers recommenced the pursuit.
" I hear tramp, tramp ! " whispered the princess, Bony's daughter,
affrightedly to Prince Unexpected, who sprang from the saddle, put
his ear to the ground and replied : " They are making haste and are
not far off." That instant the princess and prince and with them
also their horse became a gloomy forest, in which were roads, bye-roads,
and footpaths without number, and on one of them it seemed that two
riders were hastening on a horse. Following the fresh track, the
pursuers came up to the forest, and when they espied the fugitives in
it they hastened speedily after them. On and on hurried the
pursuers, seeing continually before them a thick forest, a wide road
and the fugitives on it; now, now they thought to overtake them, when
the fugitives and the thick forest suddenly vanished and they found
themselves at the self-same place whence they had started in pursuit.
They returned therefore again to Bony empty-handed. " A horse, a
horse ! I'll go myself ! they won't escape out of my hands ! " yelled
Bony, foaming at the mouth, and started in pursuit.
Again the princess said to Prince Unexpected " Methinks they are
pursuing us, and this time it is Bony, my father, himself, but the first
16 PRINCE UNEXPECTED.
church is the boundary of liis dominion, and he won't be able to
pursue us further. Give me your golden cross." The prince took off
his affectionate mother's gift and gave it to the princess, and in a
moment she was transformed into a church, he into the priest, and the
horse into the bell ; and that instant up came Bony. " Monk ! "
Bony asked the priest, " hast thou not seen some travellers on horse-
back ? " " Only just now Prince Unexpected rode this way with the
princess, Bony's daughter. They came into the church, performed
their devotions, gave money for a mass for your good health, and
ordered me to present their respects to you if you should ride this
way." Bony, too, returned empty-handed. But Prince Unexpected
rode on with the princess, Bony's daughter, in no further fear of
pursuit.
They rode gently on when they saw before them a beautiful town,
into which the prince felt an irresistible longing to go. " Prince,"
said the princess, " don't go ; my heart forbodes misfortune there."
" I'll only ride there for a short time, and look round the town, and
we'll then proceed on our journey." " It's easy enough to ride thither,
but will it be as easy to return? Nevertheless, as you absolutely
desire it, go, and I will remain here in the form of a white stone till
your return ; be cinmmspect, my beloved ; the king, the queen, and the
princess, their daughter, will come out to meet you, and with them will
be a beautiful little boy — don't kiss him, for, if you do, you will forget
me at once, and will never set eyes on me more in the world — I shall
die of despair. I will wait for you here on the road for three days,
and if on the third day you don't return, remember that I perish, and
perish all through you." The prince took leave and rode to the
town, and the princess transformed herself into a white stone and
remained on the road.
One day passed, a second passed, the third also passed, and nothing
was seen of the prince. Poor princess ! He had not obeyed her
counsel; in the town, the king, the queen, and the princess their
daughter, had come out to meet him, and with them walked a little
boy, a curly-headed chatterbox, with eyes as bright as stars. The
child rushed straight into the prince's arms, who was so captivated
by the beauty of the lad that he forgot everything, and kissed the
PRINCE UNEXPECTED. 17
child affectionately. That moment his memory was darkened, and he
utterly forgot the princess, Bony's daughter.
The princess lay as a white stone by the way-side, one day, two
days, and when the third day passed, and the prince did not return
from the town, she transformed herself into a corn-flower and sprang
in among the rye by the roadside. " There I shall stay by the road-
side ; maybe some passer-by will pull me up or trample me into the
ground," said she, and tears like dew-drops glittered on the azure
petals. Just then an old man came along the road, espied the corn-
flower in the rye by the wayside, was captivated by its beauty, extracted
it carefully from the ground, carried it into his dwelling, set it ia a
flower-pot, watered it, and began to tend it attentively. But — O
marvel ! — ever since the time that the cornflower was brought into his
dwelling, all kind of wonders began to happen in it. Scarcely was the
old man awake, when every thing in the house was already set in
order, nowhere was the least atom of dust remaining. At noon he
came home — dinner was all ready, the table set, he had but to sit down
and eat as much as he wanted. The old man wondered and wondered,
till at last terror took possession of him, and he betook himself for
advice to an old witch of his acquaintance in the neighbourhood. "Do
this," the witch advised him: "get up before the first morning dawn,
before the cocks crow to announce daylight, and notice diligently what
begins to stir first in the house, and that which does stir, cover with
this napkin: what will happen further, you will see."
The old man didn't close his eyes the whole night, and as soon as
the first gleam appeared and things began to be visible in the house
he saw how the cornflower suddenly moved in the flower-pot, sprang out,
and began to stir about the room; when simultaneously everything
began to put itself in its place ; the dust began to sweep itself clean
away, and the fire kindled itself in the stove. The old man sprang
cleverly out of his bed and placed the cloth on the flower as it
endeavoured to escape, when lo! the flower became a beautiful damsel
— the princess, Bony's daughter. " What have you done ? " cried
the princess. " Why have you brought life back again to me ? My
betrothed, Prince Unexpected, has forgotten me, and therefore life has
become distasteful to me." " Your betrothed, Prince Unexpected, is
Vol. 2.— Part 1. c
18 PRINCE UNEXPECTED.
going to be married to-day ; the wedding feast is ready and the guests
are beginning to assemble."
The princess wept, but after awhile dried her tears, dressed herself
in frieze, and went into the town like a village girl. She came to the
royal kitchen ; there, there was great noise and bustle. She went up
to the clerk of the kitchen with humble and attractive grace, and said
in a sweet voice — " Dear sir, do me one favour ; allow me to make
a wedding-cake for Prince Unexpected." Occupied with work, the
first impulse of the clerk of the kitchen was to give the girl a rebuff,
but when he looked at her the words died on his lips and he answered
kindly — " Ah, my beauty of beauties ! do what you will ; I will hand
the prince your cake myself." The cake was soon baked, and all the
invited guests were sitting at table. The clerk of the kitchen himself
placed a huge cake on a silver dish before the prince ; but scarce had
the prince made a cut in the side of it when lo ! an unheard-of
marvel displayed itself in presence of all. A grey tom-pigeon and a
white hen-pigeon came out of the cake ; the tom-pigeon walked along
the table, and the hen-pigeon walked after him, cooing: —
" Stay, stay, my pigeonet, O stay!
Don't from thy true love flee away ;
My faithless lover I pursue,
Prince Unexpected like unto,
Who Bony's daughter did betray."
Scarcely had Prince Unexpected heard this cooing of the pigeon,
when he regained his lost recollection, bounced from the table, rushed
to the door, and behind the door the princess, Bony's daughter, took
him by the hand ; they went together down the corridor, and before
them stood a horse saddled and bridled.
Why delay ? Prince Unexpected and the princess, Bony's
daughter, sprang on the horse, started on the road, and at last arrived
happily in the realm of Prince Unexpected's father. The king and
queen received them with joy and merriment, and didn't wait long
before they prepared them a magnificent wedding, the like of which
eye never saw and ear never heard of,
A. H. Wratislaw.
IMPOUNDING WILD BIRDS.
HE following legend, copied from the Parochial History of
Saint A^eots in Cornwall, by James Michel!, 1833, pp.
137-138, seems a fitting pendant to those mentioned by
Mr. Peacock in the last number of the Folk-Lore Journal
(i. 379): —
" The saint [Neotus] observing that the inhabitants of Guerryer
Stoke [now St. Neots] paid little or no regard to their religious
duties, and seldom attended divine worship on the sabbath day,
remonstrated with them on such a serious breach of the law of God
delivered to them in the fourth commandment, and exhorted them
in the most earnest manner to amendment of life, in order to obtain
eternal salvation. They at once acknowledged the justice of the
saint's remonstrance, but palliated it by averring that the crows, and
other birds of prey, committed such depredations on their property,
and in their corn-fields, on the Sunday, that it required their con-
tinued attention to drive them away and disperse them ; and, but for
this circumstance, they would not have neglected to attend and
receive his instructions every returning Sabbath. The saint having
considered the matter, peremptorily directed all his parishioners duly
to attend divine service in his church, and promised, on their com-
pliance with his commands, to prevent those voracious birds from
injuring their property by any future depredations during such their
attendance. The parishioners complied with the saint's injunction,
and became exceedingly regular in the performance of their sacred
duties on the sabbath day, when, lo ! a miracle was eflfected : the
saint caused the whole of those feathered plunderers to come to an
enclosure, which he formed on the common near the village, every
Sunday, and made them continue there impounded during the whole
time of the church service, even from morn till eve. The enclosure
C 2
20 TWO FOLK- TALES.
formed by the saint for their confinement is still shown on the
common west of the village, and bears the denomination of the
* Crow Pound ' to this day : it contains about a quarter of an acre
of land surrounded by a mound of earth."
I learn from the Vicar of St. Neots, who has kindly written me on
the subject during the present month, that the enclosure known as
the " Crow Pound '* is still discernible, and that the older inhabitants
still call it by that name.
Wm. Pengelly.
Torquay, 10th December, 1883.
TWO FOLK-TALES,
Told by a Herefordshire Squire, 1845-6.
|HEN I was a child," writes his daughter (27 June, 1882),
" my father used to tell me the stories of Kcntsham Bell
and the King of the Cats, as they were told him by his
nurse, who is now living near Ross, and is upwards of
ninety years of age."
Kentsham Bell.
Great Tom of Kentsham was the greatest bell ever brought to
England, but it never reached Kentsham safely, nor hung in any
English tower. Where Kentsham is I cannot tell you, but long, long
ago the good folk of the place determined to have a larger and finer
bell in their steeple than any other parish could boast. At that time
there was a famous bell-foundry abroad, where all the greatest bells
were cast, and thither the Kentsham people sent to order their famous
bell, and thither too sent many others who wanted greater bells than
could be cast in England. And so it came to pass at length that
TWO FOLK-TALES. 21
Groat Tom of Lincoln, and Great Tom of York, and Great Tom of
Christchnrcli, and Great Tom of Kentsliara, were all founded at the
same time, and all embarked on board the same vessel, and carried
safely to the shore of dear old England. Then they set about landing
them, and this was anxious work, but little by little it was done, and
Tom of Lincoln, Tom of York, Tom of Christchurch, were safely
laid on English ground. And then came the turn of Tom of Kents-
ham, which was the greatest Tom of all. Little by little they raised
him, and prepared to draw him to the shore ; but just in the midst
of the work the captain grew so anxious and excited that he swore an
oath. That very moment the ropes which held the bell snapped in two,
and Great Tom of Kentsham slid over the ship's side into the water,
and rolled away to the bottom of the sea.
Then the people went to the cunning man and asked him what
they should do. And he said, " Take six yoke of white milch-kine,
which have never borne the yoke, and take fresh withy bands which
have never been used before, and let no man speak a word either good
or bad till the bell is at the top of the hill."
So they took six yoke of white milch-kine, which had never borne
the yoke, and harnessed them with fresh withy-bands which had never
been used, and bound these to the bell as it lay in the shallow water,
and long it was ere they could move it. But still the kine struggled
and pulled, and the withy-bands held firm, and at last the bell was on
dry ground. Slowly, slowly they drew it up the hill, moaning and
groaning with unearthly sounds as it went; slowly, slowly, and no
one spoke, and they nearly reached the top of the hill. Now the
captain had been wild with grief when he saw that he had caused his
precious freight to be lost in the waters just as they had reached the
shore ; and, when he beheld it recovered again and so nearly placed
in safety, he could not contain his joy, but sang out merrily,
" In spite of all the devils in hell
We have got to land old Kentsham Bell."
Instantly the withy bands broke in the midst, and the bell bounded
back again down the sloping hillside, rolling over and over, faster and
faster, with unearthly clanging, till it sank far away in the very
2i TWO FOLK-TALES.
depths of the sea. And no man has ever seen it since, but many
liave heard it tolling beneath the waves, and if you go there you may
hear it too.*
The Kino of the Cats.
Many years ago, long before shooting in Scotland was a fashion as
it is now, two young men spent the autumn in the very far north,
living in a lodge far from other houses, with an old woman to cook
for them. Her cat and their own dogs formed all the rest of the
liousehold.
One afternoon the elder of the two young men said he would not
go out, and the younger one went alone, to follow the path of the
previous day's sport looking for missing birds, and intending to
return home before the early sunset. However, he did not do so,
and the elder man became very uneasy as he watched and waited in
vain till long after their usual supper-time. At last the young man
returned, wet and exhausted, nor did he explain his unusual lateness
until, after supper, they were seated by the fire with their pipes, the
dogs lying at their feet, and the old woman's black cat sitting
gravely with half-shut eyes on the hearth between them. Then the
young man began as follows : —
" You must be wondering what made me so late. I have had a
carious adventure to-day. I hardly know what to say about it. I
went, as I told you I should, along our yesterday's route. A moun-
tain fog came on just as I was about to turn homewards, and I
completely lost my way. I wandered about for a long time, not
knowing where I was, till at last I saw a light, and made for it,
hoping to get help. As I came near it, it disappeared, and I found
myself close to a large old oak-tree. I climbed into the branches the
better to look for the light, and, behold ! it was beneath me, inside
the hollow trunk of the tree. I seemed to be looking down into a
church, where a funeral was in the act of taking place. I heard
♦ Parallel stories in Shropshire Iblh-Lorr, pp. 67, 68, 74. Both this and the
followin[ij legend bear, as might be expected, the impress of the educated minds
through which they have reached us.
NOTES AND QUERIES. 23
singing, and saw a coffin, surrounded by torches, all carried by — —
But I know you won't believe me if I tell you ! "
His friend eagerly begged him to go on, and laid down his pipe to
listen. The dogs were sleeping quietly, but the cat was sitting up
apparently listening as attentively as the man, and both young men
involuntarily turned their eyes towards him. " Yes," proceeded the
absentee, " it is perfectly true. The coffin and the torches were both
borne by cats, and upon the coffin were marked a crown and sceptre !"
He got no further ; the cat started up shrieking, " By Jove ! old
Peter's dead ! and I'm the King o' the Cats ! " rushed up the
chimney and was seen no more,*
Charlotte S. Burne.
NOTES AND QUERIES.
All Hallow Een.— In Dugdale's Diary, p. 104, 1658 (at end of
book), is the following :— "On All Hallow Even the master of the
family antiently used to carry a bunch of straw, fired, about his corne,
saying,—
* Fire and red low
Light on my teen low.' " J. H. KouND.
Why the Cliflfs of England are White. — " Once upon a time a
great ship from Norway came down into these seas, and she was so
big that she could not get through the Straits, but stuck quite fast.
The captain then said to the crew, * Soap her sides, my men ! * and
they soaped, and soaped, until she could slip through quite easily ;
but she left the soap upon the cliffs, and ever since they have been
white as snow." — I quote this from Her Majesty's Bern, by Elizabeth
Harcourt Mitchell, 1884 (1883). Is it a genuine piece of folk-lore?
James Britten.
New England Superstitions. — Superstitions die slowly, and even
after they have lost all real vitality they linger like haunting shades
♦ References to parallel stories in Shropshire Folk-Lore, p. 52, note.
24 NOTES AND QUERIES.
around the scenes of their former activities. Go into the distant
liamlets and bye-places among the hills, and you will still find people
who quote, even if they do not really credit, such omens as these :
White specks on the nails are lucky. Whosoever reads epitaphs loses
his memory. To rock the cradle when empty is injurious to the child.
To eat while a bell is tolling for a funeral causes tooth-ache. The
crowing of a hen indicates some approaching disaster. When a mouse
gnaws a gown some misfortune may be apprehended. He who has
teeth wide asunder must seek his fortune in some distant land. If a
child less than twelve months old be brought into a cellar he becomes
fearful for life. When children play soldier on the hillside it forbodes
the approach of war. A child grows proud if suffered to look into a
mirror while less than twelve months old. He who proposes moving
into a new house must send in beforehand bread and a new broom.
Whoever sneezes at an early hour either hears some news or receives
some presents the same day. The first tooth cast by the child should
be swallowed by the mother to ensure a new growth of teeth. But-
toning the coat awry, or drawing on stockings inside out, causes
matters to go wrong during the day. By bending the head to the
hollow of the arm the initial letter of the name of one's future spouse
is represented. When women are stuffing beds the men should not
remain in the house, otherwise the feathers will come through the
ticks. When a stranger enters a room he should be obliged to seat
himself, if only for a moment, as he otherwise takes away the chil-
dren's sleep with him. A dog scratching on the floor or howling in a
particular manner and owls hooting in the neighbourhood of the house
indicate an approaching death. — The Weekly Free Press ^ Sept. 9, 1882.
Signs and Prognostics.—
" Wise Gosling, did but heare the scrich-owle crye,
And told his wife, and straight a pigge did dye.
Another time, (after that scuruy Owle)
When Ball his Dogge, at twelne a clocke did howle,
He iogd his wife, and ill Incke Madge did say,
And Fox by morning stole a Goose away.
Besides he knowes fowle weather, raine or haile,
Euen by the wagging of his dun Cowes tayle.
NOTES AND QUERIES. 25
When any Theeues, his Hens and Duckes pursewe,
He knowes it by the Candles burning blew.
Or if a Rauen cry, iust or'e his head,
Some in the Towne have lost their mayden head.
For losse of Cattell, and for fngitiues,
Heele find out with a Sine, and rusty Kniues.
His good dayes are, when's Chaffer is well sold,
And bad dayes, when his wife doth brail and scold."
—Rowlands' More Knaues Yet? (c. 1613), p. 20, of Hunterian Club's Reprint.
Isle of Wight Custom. — There is a custom still retained here
[Yarmouth, Isle of Wight] (peculiar to this place only and not
common in other parts of the kingdom) of the children's singing on
New Year's Day, wassal, or wassail, from the Saxon, " Health to you":
** Wassal, wassal, to our town !
The cup is white, and the ale is brown,
The cup is made of the ashen tree.
And so is the ale of good barley :
Little maid, little maid, turn the pin,
Open the door and let me come in ; '
God be here, and God be there !
I wish you all a happy New Year."
— The foregoing is quoted from Lake Allen's History of the Isle of
Wight, ^.251.
The Yorkshire Name for Wakes. — In the West Hiding, particularly
about Halifax and Huddersfield, the annual carnival which we call
" Wakes " in Lancashire goes by the name of " Thump," and it
appears to be so called because all who on entering an ale-house
refuse to pay for liquor for the jollification of the company are soundly
thumped. Last Halifax Thump, a teetotaller, having business in the
Ovenden Cross Inn, refused and resisted the levy of black mail upon
him for drinking purposes, and he was punished, according to custom,
by the company laying him face downwards and beating him on the
back of the body with a heated fire-shovel. The ringleader of the
frolic being summoned by the indignant teetotaller was sentenced by
the magistrates to a month's imprisonment, but on appeal the sentence
was commuted to a fine of five pounds, with the costs of the appeal. —
Oldham Chronicle.
A Dead Hare's Scut, co. Donegal. — I observed that every hare I
shot, the boy that might be with me immediately pulled the " scut "
26 NOTES AND QUEHIES.
out of it. At first I could not understand what it was done for, or
wliat tliey did with the scut, because in general I find it hard to
understand the natives or they to understand me ; but at last I found
out from one of them that if a woman that is enciente sees a dead hare
that has its scut her offspring will have a hare-lip. This is a super-
stition I have not heard elsewhere in Ireland. G. H. K.
Superstition in the Black Country.— At Brierly Hill (King's
Winford), during the last Petty Sessions, Jane Wooton, a briek-
niaker, was charged with assaulting Ann Lowe, a married woman.
The complainant said the defendant met her, and, after pinching her
ear, scratched her face with a needle. The defendant replied that the
complainant had bewitched her, and a " wise woman " had recom-
mended the drawing of blood. The Bench discharged the defendant
with a caution. G.
Blackberries. — Here, as elsewhere in Ireland, the phoca is said to
blight the blackberries on Michaelmas Day by putting a worm in it ;
consequently after that day in general they are not gathered or eaten.
The last two years they have not been ripe till after Michaelmas ; and
as there is a considerable trade in them, I liear, for the manufacture
of claret and port wines, they were gathered after that date, but the
gatherers would not cat one of them. G. H. K.
White-footed Horses.—" If we believe the following old adage, still
retained in some parts of Lanarkshire, it would appear that white-
footed horses are more tender or delicate than horses of another colour
in the feet:^
* If he has one white foot buy him,
If he has two you may try him.
If he has three look shy at him,
But if he has four go by him.* "
This is from Ure's Agriculture of Kinross^ 1797, p. 34. G.
Proverbs. — The Urdu Instructor, a small periodical published
monthly at Bombay (Education Society's Press), contains in every
number a number of Hindostani proverbs well translated. The
originals are given in the Roman character. A similar periodical,
called The Persian Teacher, contains in each number a similar
quantity of Persian proverbs. R. C. Temple.
NOTICES AND NEWS.
Panjdh Notes and Queries^ Nos. 1 and 2, October and November, 1883.
4to. Pp. 1-24. Edited by Captain R. C. Temple. Allahabad
and London (Triibner and Co.)
Knowing how zealous our own English Notes and Queries has been
in the cause of folk-lore we can readily understand what might be
expected from Captain Temple's Panjab offshoot. Nobody, we think,
will be disappointed. Captain Temple, one of our most active
members, understands and values Hindu archaic lore, and he knows
where to look for his information. Scraps that do not find their way
into the Asiatic Society Journals or into the Indian Antiquary will be
duly registered in these pages ; and, judging from the specimens before
us, there will be many contributions from books almost inaccessible to
the ordinary student of Indian matters. Captain Temple has adopted
a veiy good plan of classifying the contributions of his various corre-
spondents under, at all events, some kind of general grouping; and we
venture to suggest that this excellent plan might with advantage be
further developed. We confine our attention to general remarks in
this opening notice, as it will be our object to give a summary of the
folk-lore contents of each number as it appears, and we sincerely hope
that Captain Temple's efforts will be warmly supported in this country.
The Gentleman^s Magazine Library : being a classified collection of
the chief contents of the '* Gentleman^s Magazine^^ from 1731 to
1868. Edited by George Laurence Gomme, F.S.A. Manners and
Customs. London (Elliot Stock), 1883. 8vo. pp. xiv. 302.
This handsome volume is most welcome to all students of folk-lore.
They have long known the stores of curious information contained in
the two hundred and twenty-four volumes of the original series of
The Gentleinan's Magazine. But the information was practically inac-
cessible. One had to be content with second-hand references, — of all
references the most unsatisfactory in a subject where every detail is
28 NOTICES AND NEWS.
of importance, — or, at best, with verifying a quotation now and again
when a great library afforded facilities for personal inquiry. Now
we have in two hundred and eighty clearly-printed pages all the
information regarding " Manners and Customs " which generations
of the friends of Sylvanus Urban sent to that respected shadow.
The entries are clearly arranged, with bold headings ; they contain
the very words of the original, with year and page reference at the
head of each quotation. Further, there is an excellent index. It
is needless to say that the subjects embraced under the general
head of " Manners and Customs " are very various. Thus we have
notes on customs in 1697, and again on "Modern Manners " (viz.,
those of 1812, by " A Constant Reader ") ; on harvest customs,
maiTiage customs, funeral customs, games, hunting, stage plays in
churches, burlesque festivals of former ages, school barring-outs, and
so on. Mr. Nichol's papers on London Pageants are a distinct
addition to municipal history which must be comparatively unknown
to many. Most members of the Folk-Lore Society will find some
flowers to their fancy in this garden of old-fashioned plants.
The newly-established Historical and Ethnological Society of Greece,
the main object of which is the promotion of the study of the mediaeval
and modem history of that country, together with kindred subjects,
has lately issued the first number ot its Journal. Tliis comprises
a variety of hitherto unpublished documents relating to different
periods ; and, among other contributions, a paper by M. Polites on
*' Diseases as found in the Myths of the Greek People," an essay in
comparative mythology containing much information ; an account of
local Greek marriage customs ; and collections of popular songs from
Northern Euboea and popular tales from Athens.
Bishop Callaway has sent off two boxes of MSS. and printed matter
on South African folk-lore, and Mr. Gomme hopes by next month to
report as to their contents.
Subscriptions are due on 1st January, and Members would greatly
facilitate the Society's business if they paid promptly.
Professor Rhys Davids has promised to read a paper in January,
NO TICKS AND NEWa. 29
and the Council hope tliat Members will do their best to hear this
distinguished scholar.
At a meeting of the Society on 14th December, at 22, Albemarle Street,
Mr. Edward Clodd read a paper on the " Philosophy of Punchkin."
After remarks on the more serious meaning now sought for within the
folk-tale, sober treatment of which was impossible while it was looked
upon only as the vagrant of fancy, an abstract of the more important
variants of the Punchkin group of stories was given. The central idea
common to these tales, whether found among Aryan, Semitic, Finno-
Ugrian, &c. races, however much obscured by local detail, is the
dwelling apart of the soul or heart, as the seat of life, from the body ;
and its deposit in some animate or inanimate thing, chiefly animate,
an egg or a bird being the frequent hiding-place, and the fate of the
soul determining the fate of the body. This central idea, it was sought
to show, was the belief, thus preserved in more or less dramatic form,
of the barbaric mind in one or more entities in the body, yet not of it,
and endowed with power to leave it at will and control its destiny ;
whilst the passage of the life-principle from princess or demon into
bird or necklace was an easy assumption of the imagination which
created its rude analogies between man and brutes and lifeless objects,
A little book treating chiefly of the Orkney Islands will be issued
by Messrs. Simpkin, Marshall, and Co., in a few weeks. It is entitled
Rambling Sketches m the Far North, and is written by Mr. R.
Menzies Ferguson. Besides containing chapters upon historical and
archaeological subjects, with descriptions of the principal isles, it will
treat of the customs and superstitions of Orkney, land tenure,
farming, folk-lore, and fairy tales.
The Rev. John M* Gavin Boyd delivered a lecture at Airdrie, on
Df.c. 1 0, the subject being " Scotch Proverbs." Mr. Boyd, at the
outset of his lecture, inquired as to what was a proverb, and how this
peculiar form of expression arose. There was no want of definitions,
but he did not think a proverb was capable of direct definition. He
quoted several classical definitions showing that brevity and point
were the distinguishing features of the proverb, such as that by Cer-
vantes, who called them " short sentences drawn from long expe-
rience," and Lord Bacon who said they " embodied the wit, genius.
30 NOTICES AND NEWS.
and wisdom of a nation." The lecturer then showed that it was in
tlie more ancient proverbs that were to be found the first genus of
religious science and philosophy, as well as of political economy. He
also pointed out that every nation had its own proverbs, which often
corresponded to those of other nations, although different in words,
such as the English one "carrying coals to Newcastle," which in
Scotland was rendered " carrying salt to Dysart." In Scotland, up
to a recent date, proverbs had been very common in conversation, but
an abundant education had now turned them into the lumber-room of
the past for the study of the antiquary and the investigation of the
curious. Mr. Boyd then proceeded to give a number of illustrations
of proverbs applied to different classes in Scotland, many of them
highly amusing by their quaint drollery. He stated that, notwith-
standing the characteristic religious sentiment of Scotland, there were
comparatively few of her proverbs that touched on sacred things, this
being accounted for by two reasons (1) the profound reverence with
which the Scotch have always regarded things pertaining to religion;
and (2) the doctrinal form in which we received our religion under
the Reformation regime. The reverend gentleman quoted several
Scottish proverbs in illustration of this and other points as he pro-
ceeded, and went on to say that there was no class of people with
whom the proverbs of Scotland dealt more largely than with the
clergy. For instance, ** Maiden's stockins and ministers' stipends are
aye less than they're ca'd," and " Corbies and clergy are little shot,"
and one, exceedingly good in its way, though rather libellous in its
nature —
" The Dell and the Dean begin wi' ae letter ;
When the Deil kills the Dean the kirk *11 be better."
His " gruesome majesty," it was stated, seemed rather a favourite
with the Scottish people, for the purpose of ♦* pointing a moral and
adorning a tale," as appeared from many other proverbs (quoted by
the lecturer), as, for instance, " The Deil is a busy bishop in his ain
diocese," " He needs a lang-shankit spoon that sups kail wi' the
Deil," and " The Deil's aye guid tae his ain." Several very humorous
proverbs concerning lawyers were also quoted, and reference was made
to the numerous proverbs relating to and arising out of the excesses
NOTICES AND NEWS. 31
and debauchery of a past age, this being the most melancholy feature
in connection with the proverbial philosophy of Scotland. In these
days of greater self-control and wiser social intercourse, the lecturer
said it was with feelings of amazement that he looked back on days
gone by upon customs that disgraced society. ITiose excesses had left
sad havoc on our national proverbs. The lecturer also referred to
proverbs on marriage, and concluded with a beautiful and appropriate
peroration on the exclusively Scotch proverb — " The e'ening brings a'
hame," and said that if the Scotch proverbs taught no more than that
implied they would have taught much that was worth learning and a
great deal that was worth remembering.
At a recent meeting of the Penzance Natural History and Anti-
quarian Society the Rev. G. Rundle read a paper called " Some Facts
connected with old Cornish History." He began with a few words on
charms. For a child who has thrush, say in the morning thrice the
second verse of the eighth psalm. For tooth-ache. — Begin every
morning the act of dressing by putting the stocking on the left foot.
For a bad eye. — Pierce the shell of a living snail, and let the exuding
liquid fall on the eye. For warts. — Cut a stalk of corn at one of the
knots, cross it seven times over the wart, then bury it. Take a piece
of meat, cross it seven times over the warts, then hang it on a thorn-
tree to rot. The power of the seventh son of a seventh son is very
interesting to us, as being quoted by Cornelius a Lapide as existing
in Flanders in his day, some two hundred years ago. Mundic as a
charm. — Mundic being applied to a wound immediately cures it, which
the workmen are so sure of that they use no other remedy than
washing in the water that runs from the mundic-ore. Old customs. —
1st of May. — On that day it was the custom in Landrake to give the
person who plucked a fern as much cream as would cover it. On
Shrove Tuesday. — It is the custom to unhang gates, as well as to eat
pork-chops and eggs, besides customary pan-cake. On May-day, in
Landrake, it was customary to chastise with stinging-nettles any one
found in bed after six a.m. For epilepsy, to walk round the church
altar thrice. On St. Stephen's Day. — Every youth and boy who can
beg, borrow, or steal a gun on that day goes out to shoot birds. On
New Year's Eve.— It is the custom to place a piece of silver on the
32 NOTICES AND NEWS.
window-sill. This is said to bring good luck. A piece of flea-bane
used to be placed in harvest-time in the first " arish mow " that was
made. Blowing horns before the house of a newly married couple. —
An amusing reason has been assigned for this custom in the parish of
St. Breage. It is said the inhabitants, finding it impossible to make
sufficient noise with the one bell hung in the tower, and not liking to
be outdone by other parishes, hit upon the happy expedient of making
good the deficiency by using horns. Col-Perra. — John mentions the
custom of persons going from house to house, begging a Col-Perra
tabban (morsel) on Shrove Tuesday. He does not, however, give the
rhyme which is in use on that occasion. It begins Han-cock, Han-
cock. On Christmas Eve children demand, and are never refused,
from shop-keepers a couple of pins. With this they play at a singular
game thus : A cup is placed on the table, round which the children
gather. They drop pins over the cup; the child whose pin crosses
another wins the game and receives all the pins as a forfeit. Super-
stitions. — St. Veryan. — There is a belief that if the clock in the church
gallery strikes during the time of service a member of the congrega-
tion will die during a short period. This is said to have happened in
the case of a recent vicar.
The following are the titles of folk-lore notes in Pdnjah Notes and
Queries: — October : Marriage customs, glow-worm, lucky days, house
building, well finding, the goat as a peace-ofi'ering, black a protection
against the evil eye, omens, quarters of the compass, jackals, evil-eye,
proverbs, bears, wild-dogs, passing holy places, death customs, praying
machines, curing maggots in sheep, horns on temples, unicorn, tombs
and gravestones, objection to taking life, interment customs, spirits of
the hills, fortune-telling, priest-making. November: Birth customs,
first-born children, evil spirits, well finding, donkeys, charms against
snakes, omens, village boundaries, burning houses to secure male
issue, unlucky name, lucky numbers, children clapping hands, pro-
verbs, sacred places, marriage customs, gold finding, ears of grain
suspended, annual dance to the gods, plant-lore, votive pillars, votive
flowers, votive rags, altar horns, going with the sun, praying machines,
pashas of three tails, porcupine unlawful food, wild ass, sheep, cairns,
salute on bringing in candles, confusion of creeds.
IRISH STORIES AND CHARMS.
By the Honourable J. Abercromby.
|N the course of the summer I took down in Irish a few
stories, one of which is given below, and also three
charms. They were dictated to me by an old man of the
name of Cliflford, a native of Cahirciveen, county Kerry.
In his younger days he was a great story-teller, and possessed a large
stock-in-trade. Now, through want of practice, not having repeated
any for the last eighteen years, they are passing out of his memory,
and he finds it somewhat difficult to recall them. The charms he
learnt from an old Irish manuscript. Long ago he knew a great
many; but now, with the exception of the three below, they are
entirely eflfaced from his memory. The first is interesting from being
almost identical with the Lancashire one, including the Orkney ampli-
fication, given by Mr. Black in his new book on Folk-Medicine, p. 77.
The translations are very literal.
Charm for the Teeth.
St. Peter sat on a marble stone at the gate of Jerusalem. As
Jesus passed by, he said to him, " Peter, what is the matter with
thee ? " Peter answered and said to him, " Lord, I have the tooth-
ache." " I heal thee, Peter, and every one else that will carry these
words about him. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Spirit."
Charm for Whooping-Cough.
The charm which Mary sent to her son, which Christ received in
his hand. Peter said, Paul said, John said that it was good. Colum-
cille applied it to his heart, his side, and his chest, driving away the
severe whooping-cough. In the name, &c.
Vol. 2.- Part 2. d
34 IRISH STORIES AND CHARMS.
Charm for Butter.
To be repeated during the operation of washing it, —
" The water of three boundaries,
Before rising of the sun,
On the morning of Beltaine."
Witchcraft.
One day a housewife was making butter and a tailor working at
the door. The housewife went outside on business, and a neighbour
woman came in and carried away with her a live coal. The tailor saw
her, and got up, and put a live coal into the milk-vessel. The neigh-
bour came in a second time, and carried away another live coal. But
the tailor likewise put another into the vessel. The neighbour came
in a third time, and took a third live coal. The tailor got up, and put a
third one likewise into the vessel. About the same time the housewife
came in, and set to work to take the butter from the milk ; but, alas!
she did not find a scrap of butter there. She screeched, and screamed,
and said, " Where has my butter gone ?" '* Hast thou not it there ? "
said the tailor. " There is not a particle," said she. " Look in that
vessel yonder," said he. She looked in it, and there it was quite full
of her butter. For that reason the sorcery went against the woman
neighbour, as she was very covetous.
The narrator explained the belief existed that the neighbour
could cause the transfer of the housewife's butter to her own butter-
tub, through sorcery or witchcraft, by means of carrying away a live
coal from her hearth. The only way to traverse such a manoeuvre
was to act as the tailor did.
The Gentleman Traveller.
Once a gentleman was on a journey through this country, visiting
places in order to see the ways and habits of mankind. One day he
happened to be out late, without prospect of a lodging. At last he
walked up speedily to a big house. He went in there, and made his
case known. The gentleman of the house came down, and welcomed
him without delay. He told him entirely from his heart that there
was board and lodging for the night, and for longer if he wished to
ptay. But just this — though it was grief to him to mention it — the
lady of the house is about to be confined, and I am greatly afraid on
IRISH STORIES AND CHARMS. 35
her account. Tlie traveller thanked him for his civility, and told him
not to be vexed, for his wife would be well before the morrow, with the
help of God. The traveller sat down in the parlour, and began to
read his book to while away the night. During this interval the
mistress was sickly, faint, and in great pain. When the traveller
took his supper, which he greatly needed after the journey during the
day, the master of the house excused himself, saying, " Were it not
for the trouble which is over us, we should have a pleasant night."
" Don't take that amiss on my account, but, believe me, improvement
will take place in her before long." They were conversing in this
way together till the girl came to them into the parlour. She said,
" The mistress will be well directly." The traveller told her to go
back, and give notice to delay the confinement for half-an-hour. The
girl did that, and came back again, and told them it was impossible to
make the delay. The traveller sent her back the second time with an
order to make a delay of ten minutes. The girl did as she was bid,
but the order was impossible. A boy-child was born, and immediately
the woman in child-bed recovered. The master was full of mirth and
pleasure till dayhght. He served and waited on the traveller full
worthily. In the morning of the morrow the traveller prepared for
the road ; but before he started he wrote an amulet (lit., John's
book), and tied it under the neck of the child. He was obliged to
wait there till the infant was baptized, and he was himself its god-
father. Before departing, he ordered them not to remove the amulet
from its neck till it should be able to read. Then he went his way.
Don't be afraid but that he got good heeding till he grew up
to be a young man. He got schooling and reading without doubt.
But one day as he was coming home from school his eye caught the
amulet, and he wondered what virtue it had. He opened and read it,
but what was written in it but that he should be hanged at the gate
of his own father.
Great terror seized him at seeing what was to befall him. He came
home and he was not cheerful nor himself. His mother noticed him,
and asked him if he had anything disagreeable. He told her he
had no trouble in the world upon him, but she did not believe him.
He hid his secret from her, and yet she was urging him to state his
p2
36 IRISH STOKIES AND CHARMS.
difficulty. At last he related how it happened. " Mother," said
he, " make ready for my departure ; before I am hanged at this
gate outside. I will leave the country rather than bring shame on my
father. I vow, as long as I live, I will not take a wife in this world."
This mother was sorrowful, grieved, disquieted about her only son,
who was going away without being settled in life. For his sake she
did not refuse him. She made preparations for his departure, and did
not let herself be annoyed in his presence.
He took a melancholy farewell of his people and went on his travels
full of despair.
The first day he went a long way, and when night came he took up
his lodging in the house of a gentleman to pass the night with them
there. The gentleman had a young woman of a daughter. She felt
affection and love for the stranger. She asked him privately if he
would marry her. He answered her tenderly, if he could do that he
would obediently submit himself to a meeting with her, but that it
was impossible for him ever to take a wife in this life. Anger seized
her on account of getting a refusal, and she reflected that the man
she could not gain she would destroy.
Thereupon she put valuables into his travelling-wallet without his
knowledge. He took leave of them in the morning, and started on
his journey. He had not gone far before she said to her father the
traveller had stolen such and such things from her. The father sent
a guard after him with orders to bring him back. They searched him
well and found on him the very things. He was put on his trial,
found guilty, and sentenced to be hanged at his own gate.
They hanged him, and in that position he was talking to them
throughout the day. " Thou art a marvellous man," said the father
of the young woman. " There is something wonderful that concerns
thee, seeing thou dost not die."
The traveller related to him his career from beginning to end. He
listened to him to the end of his story. At that moment he let him
down from the gallows, and he knew directly that it was a false lie
the daughter had told him. He caught him by the hand and shook
it heartily, and said to him, " I am thy god-father." Without any
delay he hanged the daughter, and put her to death without reprieve.
IRISH STORIES AND CHARMS. 37
The traveller took leave of him and went on his journey, and was
making the best of his way that day till night came. He took up his
lodging likewise at a gentleman's house, and it was an agreeable
lovely place to be in. He went to sleep early, for he was tired from
the journey. He did not rise in the morning till the sun had thrown
its shadows clearly on the bed. Who came to him opposite the bed
but a young woman, very beautiful of figure and appearance. She
spoke to him with clever words full of much love. Modestly and
gently she asked him if it was his pleasure to take her to himself as
wife. From the great pleasure caused by her appearance he said to
her that it was his will to take her for ever, although he did not
remember at the time the spells which were on him since he left home.
She wrote out articles of agreement that moment and told him to sign
his name below. He said to her, " I have no ink." *' Take a drop of
blood from the tip of thy finger, and put it on the pen and write, then
the business will be legal." He did as she told him, and that finished
the bargain between them. She put up the writing, binding him to
her, speedily, and said to him this : " Which dost thou prefer, to
consent to marry me this morning, or to be married with me in hell
to-morrow morning ? " He shook with fear from the crown of his
head to the soles of his feet, and said to her, " Woman, I have
nothing to do with thee. There shall be no dealing between me and
thee. Give me my writing." " Thou art afraid," said she; "thou art
too late, and the time is not far from thee in which thou wilt be
vidth me as husband, enduring the pains of hell." She went off like
an arrow. He rose from the bed and asked mercy of God to deliver
him from the desperate scrape in which he was.
He was in that state till he had taken his breakfast. He did not
know what he should do. He thought over it a long time within
himself what he could do to defend himself against her. Finally, he
remembered it would be a good thing to go to Rome, tell his tale to
the Pope, and get profitable advice from him.
Thereupon he set his face towards Rome, and in time found a place
for conversation with the Pope. He narrated everything that had
happened to him, and the hard circumstances in Avhich he now was.
The Pope said it was not in his power to do him any service what-
38 IRISH STORIES AND CHARMS.
ever but this : " I will write a letter for thee to the priest of the
parish in which thy people are, and unless that does thee service I
cannot help thee." He wrote the letter for him. When he had got
it he departed as fast as his legs would take him, without making any
delay, till he came to his father's house. He did not stay long there
before he went to the priest, and gave him the Pope's letter. The
priest read it, and was greatly astonished. He said, " How is it
possible for me to rescue when the Pope has not done so ? Does he
suppose my power to be greater than his own ? For his sake I will
do for thee as much as I can. T have a brother, Mathew by name,
living half-way between the kingdom of God and hell, and his per-
petual occupation is playing cards night and day. He is there now
with a table and a pack of cards. His la.o end after death was to go
to hell, as he was a man of very bad life, and it is right his dwelling
should be there."
The priest showed him the road to find Mathew. " When thou
approachest him, put this letter at the end of a stick, else he will pelt
thee with stones. Then he will understand thou wilt play a game
with him."
The youth went on his way with the priest's letter along every
path as he had been directed, till he came within sight of Mathew.
When Mathew saw him he picked up stones to pelt him. Then he
put the letter at the end of the stick and stretched it out before him.
When Mathew saw that he sat down waiting for him. He took the
letter and read it, and was greatly astonished at it. He said, " How
was it possible for my brother to think that it was in my power to do
thee a service, for I spent my former life very ill, and now there will
soon be an end to my evil deeds ? I understand that too late," said
he. " There is nothing at all for me to do for thee but write to the
Arch-Devil in hell. If he does not take an interest in thy scrape,
pitiable indeed is thy tale."
Mathew instructed him as to the road as well as he could. He
went along with a heavy heart. Whether long or short the journey
he made, at last ho reached the gate of hell. He knocked outside,
and a messenger came out, to whom he gave the letter. The messenger
took it in with him. Presently the big man himself came and ques-
IRISH STORIES AND CHARMS. 39
tioned him without advantage. He called out for Anna. Presently
she came. " Give the articles of agreement to this man," said the big
man. " I have not thought about it," said she. " Give them up,"
said the big man, ** or I will put thee for three hours under the iron
flails." He put her for that period under the flails, and gave her
plenty of it. After that she got up again quite sound. He said to
her the second time, " Give them up now or I will put thee for three
hours in the boilers that are boiling before thee." She refused him
the second time, and said she would not give them. He put her into
the boiler for a space of three hours. Finally, she rose up as well as
ever she was. The big man said to her the third time, " Give up the
articles of agreement now or I will put thee out into Mathew's chamber
for a space of three hours more." " I will give them up now, rather
than go into Mathew's chamber." She gave them up on the spot. The
big man reached them over to the poor traveller, who immediately set
off. He did not take leave of them or halt till he came where Mathew
was. Mathew saluted him, and asked if he had good news. He
related his story to him from beginning to end as it had happened.
When Mathew had heard the story he was filled with sorrow of heart
and horror of mind, and said " Alas ! melancholy is my condition
after death, and, in truth, it is what I have earned from my manner
of living. But, alas ! there is no remedy for it now, for the last bit
of my life is at hand. Now, since I have done thee a service, it is
right thou should'st do me one likewise."
" Don't be afraid," said the traveller ; " if I must wait with thee to
the end of my life I will do for thee everything that lies in my power."
" I will not ask thee to do too much for me," said Mathew. " Gather
materials for a fire, and make it up, and, when it is quite red, catch
hold of me and put me right into the middle of the fire, and keep me
there till I am burnt. Then pick up every grain of ashes, and take
them home in thy handkerchief, and tell my brother, the priest, to
read three masses over them; and after that my soul will be safe."
The traveller did everything he had been ordered. Nothing is narrated
of his journey till he came home. The priest did as he was directed,
and that put an end to his troubles, and an end besides to my story.
VABIANT OF THE THREE NOODLES.
Told in 1862 (and afterwards) by a nursemaid then aged sixteen, a native
of Honghton, near Stafford.
B^^^al NCE upon a time there was a farmer and his wife who had
bBjQJ one only daughter, and she was courted by a gentleman.
It^j^^^ Every evening he used to come and see her, and stop to
supper at the farmhouse, and the daughter used to be
sent down into the cellar to draw the beer for supper. So one evening
she was gone down to draw the beer, and she happened to look up at
the ceiling while she was drawing, and she saw an axe stuck into one
of the beams,* It must have been there a long, long time, but
somehow or other she had never noticed it before, and she began
a-thinking. And she thought ii was very dangerous to have that axe
there, for she said to herself, " Suppose him and me was to be married,
and we was to have a son, and he was to grow up to be a man, and
come down into the cellar to draw the beer, like as I'm doing now,
and the axe was to fall on his head and kill him, what a dreadful
thing it would be ! " And she put down the candle and the jug, and
eat herself down and began a-crying.
Well, they began to wonder upstairs how it was that she was so
long drawing the beer, and her mother went down to see after her,
and she found her sitting on the setluss crying, and the beer running
over the floor. " Why, whatever is the matter?" said her mother.
" Oh, mother 1 " says she, ** look at that homd axe ! Suppose we
was to be married, and was to have a son, and he was to grow up,
and was to come down into the cellar to draw the beer, and the axe
♦ I cannot feel certain whether it was not a hammer or some other tool in my
nurse's story, and whether I may not have unconscionsly borrowed the axe from
Grimm's Khige EUe.
VARIANT OF THE THREE NOODLES. 41
was to fall on his head and kill him, what a dreadful thing it would
be ! " " Dear, dear ! what a dreadful thing it would be !" said the
mother, and she sat her down a-sido of the daughter and started
a-crying too.
Then, after a bit, the father began to wonder that they didn't come
back, and he went down into the cellar to look after them himself,
and there they two sat a-crying, and the beer running all over the
floor. "Whatever is the matter?" says he. *' Why," says the mother,
<*look at that horrid axe. Just suppose, if our daughter and her
sweetheart was to be married, and was to have a son, and he was to
grow up, and was to come down into the cellar to draw the beer, and
the axe was to fall on his head and kill him, what a dreadful thing it
would be ! " " Dear, dear, dear ! so it would ! " said the father, and
he sat himself down aside of the other two, and started a-crying.
Now the gentleman got tired of stopping up in the kitchen by him-
self, and at last he went down into the cellar too to see what they
were after ; and there they three sat a-crying side by side, and the
beer running all over the floor. And he ran straight and turned the
tap. Then he said, " Whatever are you three doing, sitting there
crying, and letting the beer run all over the floor ? " *' Oh ! " says
the father, " look at that horrid axe ! Suppose you and our daughter
was to be married, and was to have a son, and he was to grow up, and
was to come down into the cellar to draw the beer, and the axe was to
fall on his head and kill him ! " And then they all started a-crying
worse than before. But the gentleman burst out a-laughing, and
reached up and pulled out the axe, and then he said, ''I've travelled
many miles, and I never met three such big sillies as you three before;
. and now I shall start out on my travels again, and when I can find
three bigger sillies than you three then I'll come back and marry
your daughter." So he wished them good-bye, and started off" on his
travels, and left them all crying because the girl had lost her sweet-
heart.
Well, he set out, and he travelled a long way, and at last he came
to an old woman's cottage that had some grass growing on the roof.
And the old woman was trying to get her cow to go up a ladder to
the grass, and the poor thing durstn't go. So the gentleman asked
42 VARIANT OP THE THREE NOODLES.
the old woman what she was doi^g. " Why, lookye," she said, *' look
at all that beautiful grass. I'm going to get the cow on to the roof to
eat it. She'll be quite safe, for I shall tie a string round her neck,
and pass it down the chimney, and tie it to my wrist as I go about
the house, so she can't fall off without my knowing it." " Oh, you poor
old silly ! " said the gentleman, " you should cut the grass and throw
it down to the cow ! " But the old woman thought it was easier to
get the cow up the ladder than to get the grass down, so she pushed
her and coaxed her and got her up, and tied a string round her neck,
and passed it down the chimney, and fastened it to her own wrist.
And the gentleman went on his way, but he hadn't gone far when the
cow tumbled off the roof, and hung by the string tied round her neck,
and it strangled her. And the weight of the cow tied to her wrist
pulled the old woman up the chimney, and she stuck fast half-way
and was smothered in the soot.
Well, that was one big silly.
And the gentleman went on and on, and he went to an inn to stop
the night, and they were so full at the inn that they had to put him
in a double-bedded room, and another traveller was to sleep in the
other bed. The other man was a very pleasant fellow, and they got
veiy friendly together ; but in the morning, when they were both
getting up, the gentleman was surprised to see the other hang his
trousers on the knobs of the chest of drawers* and run across the
room and try to jump into them, and he tried over and over again and
couldn't manage it, and the gentleman wondered whatever he was
doing it for. At last he stopped and wiped his face with his hand-
kerchief. " Oh dear ! " he says, " I do think trousers are the most
awkwardest kind of clothes that ever were. I can't think who could
have invented such things. It takes me the best part of an hour to
get into mine every morning, and I get so hot ! How do you manage
yours ? " So the gentleman burst out a-laughing, and showed him
how to put them on, and he was very much obliged to him, and said
he never should have thought of doing it that way.
So that was another big silly.
* Chests of drawers with knobbed handles are an invention of this century, so
this must be a very recent variation of the story.
TURCOMAN FOLK-LOBE. 43
Then the gentleman went on his travels again : and he came to a
village, and outside the village there was a pond, and round the pond
was a crowd of people. And they had got rakes, and brooms, and
pickels [= pitchforks] reaching into the pond, and the gentleman
asked what was the matter. " Why," they says, " matter enough !
moon's tumbled into the pond, and we can't get her out anyhow ! "
So the gentleman burst out a-laughing, and told them to look up into
the sky, and that it was only the shadow in the water. But they
wouldn't listen to him, and abused him shamefully, and he got away
as quick as he could.
So there was a whole lot of sillies bigger than them all, and the
gentleman turned back home again and married the farmer's
daughter.*
Charlotte S. Burne.
TURCOMAN FOLK-LORE.
Charms.
pTHIN the roof [of the ev= wicker hut], and near its top,
hung a couple of lamb or goat-skins, turned inside out,
and smoke-dried. The neck-aperture is kept widely open
by four crossed sticks. These skins swing to and fro in
the air current produced by the fire, and are termed toonik. I have
repeatedly questioned the Turcomans as to the meaning of this.
They evidently attached some mysterious importance to it, but were
loth to explain. Near the doorway, against the felt wall-lining, is
sewn a piece of linen or calico, four or five inches square, forming a
pocket for the reception of the bounties of wandering spirits. This
they call the tarum. A horse-shoe, too, is occasionally to be found
* References to parallel stories in Folk-Lore Record, vol. iii. p. 156. See also
the " Three Goodies," in Popular Talcs from the Norse, and another parallel in
Campbell's Tales of the Western Highlands, vol. ii. No. xlviii. Cf. No. xx.
44 TURCOMAN FOLK-LORE.
nailed upon the threshold. These are the principal superstitious
usages of the Turcomans. I was surprised to find how few they
were." — Merv ; a Story of Adventures and Captivity (epitomised from
The Merv Oasis), by Edmund O'Donovan. London, 1883, p. 192.
" Tooniks " mentioned also p. 284.
Whistling.
" Supper cleared away, we sat in the gloaming looking out over
the dimly-lit plain, listening to the lowing and bleating of the home-
ward-driven flocks and herds as they entered the various walled
enclosures where they were placed for safety during the night. A
curious Turcoman superstition here came under my notice. As, lost
in reverie, I sat by the window, half-unconsciously I commenced
whistling softly some snatches of tunes. I noticed a general move-
ment of dissatisfaction among my companions. They shifted in their
seats, looked uneasily at each other and at me. At length Makdum
Kuli touched me on the shoulder and said, * For God's sake. Sahib,
doii't whistle any more.' I feared that I had unwittingly committed
some great breach of decorum, and, accordingly, excusing myself,
relapsed into silence. After a while I whispered to the moullah
beside me, and asked why Makdum Kuli objected to my whistling.
* Is it possible you don't know,' returned the priest, ' that at this hour
the ghouls and gins are abroad, and are wandering to and fro ? If
they hear you whistle, they will suppose you are calling them ; and,
Bismallah, we have no desire for their company.' I afterwards learned
that to whistle in the day-time is a token of defiance, and not con-
sidered proper when others are by." — Ibid, pp. 255-256.
Folk Medicine.
" Before starting the next morning some Turcomans applied to me
for medical advice and assistance, as was generally the case when-
ever I appeared at any of the outlying villages. One brought with
him his son, whose hand was badly inflamed. I prescribed a poultice
of bread and milk, and gave detailed instructions as to how it was to
be made. The man listened with attention, and, thanking me, took
his leave. When he had gone half a mile, he came back again to say
MALAGASY FOLK-TALES. 45
that I had omitted to tell him what should be the colour of the cow
whose milk was to be used. He had, he said, a brown cow and a
black one. A woman, too, whose daughter was suffering from fever,
brought me a handful of camel's hairy and asked me to manufacture
from it a charm for the cure of her daughter's illness. As I had not
the slightest notion of what the nature of the charm might be, I
addressed myself to Aman Niaz Khan, who immediately undertook to
instruct me. By means of a spindle the camel's hair was spun into
a stout thread, the Khan all the time droning some verses from the
Koran, or some necromantic chant. When the thread was finished it
was of considerable length, and, folding it three times upon itself, he
re-spun it. Then he proceeded to tie seven knots upon the string.
Before drawing each knot hard he blew upon it. This, tied into the
form of a bracelet, was to be worn on the wrist of the patient. Each
day one of the knots was to be untied, and blown upon, and when the
seventh knot had been undone the whole of the thread was to be made
into a ball, and thrown into the river, carrying, as was supposed, the
illness with iV—lbid. pp. 290-291.
William George Black.
MALAGASY FOLK-TALES.
By the Eev. James Sibree, Junior.
Andriamatoa and AndrianjAbok]&ly.
|NDRIAMAT6A,* it is said, went to obtain for his wife,
Ramitbviamindreniny (" Equal-with-her-Mother "), and
set off to ask her from her parents.
So away he went, and passed a wild-hog, who said to
him, " Just dig up this fern-root for me, Andriamatoa." But he
* This word is strictly not a proper name, but a complimentary term given to
the eldest son of a family, and sometimes loosely given in politeness to others.
46 MALAGASY FOLK-TALES.
said, " My good fellow, my fine clothes are enough for me to be
troubled with."
Then he passed a crow, who said to him, " Just peel this raw earth-
nut for me, Andriamatba." But he said, " My good fellow, my fine
clothes are enough for me to be troubled with."
Then he passed a wasp, who said to him, " Just make me a little
ball of clay, Andriamatba." But he said, " My good fellow, my fine
clothes are enough for me to be troubled with."
Then he passed a crocodile, who said to him, "Just kill an ox for
me, Andriamatba." But he said, " My good fellow, my fine clothes
are enough for me to be troubled with."
So he came to the house of Ramitbviamindreniny's father and
mother, and told them that he desired their daughter for a wife. But
they said to him, *' If you desire Ramitovy for a wife, go and dig
yonder field of ours east of the village, and finish it all to-day." Then
Andriamatba went and worked, but hardly accomplished anything,
and was weary, and so went home.
And they said again, " If you desire Ramitovy for a wife, go and
gather up all those three measu tell you
that this is not the old man, but some one else?" And again he
sought to kill him ; but the old man spake as before, and so Rava-
tovblovoay again refrained.
On the day following after that again, the chiefs orders came
saying, " To day we will try the tempers of the oxen,* therefore
make ropes to catch the stubborn ones." And when they began the
game very many of the stronger oxen could not be caught. Then
said the old man (Ibonia), " Just give me a rope." So they gave
him one, and he caught the strong oxen and held them ; and the
people wondered when they saw it. And when the chief saw it, he
said again, " This cannot be the old man, but some one else." But the
people replied, « But who else can it be?" Then the old man answered
again as he had done before, viz. that he was no one else, but was
merely showing his strength. So the players dispersed.
And upon the following night, Ravatovblovoay went to his other wife ;
and upon that the old man (Ibonia) went to the house where Rampe-
lasbamananbro was, and said, " Let me lie here by the side of your
feet." But she replied, " Why, what a wretch you must be, old man,
to say such a thing to me, and speak of lying at my side." But
when the people were fast asleep, Ibonia took off the skin of the old
man with which he had covered himself, and there was a blaze of
light in the house because of the shining of the skin of Ibonia. Then
his wife knew him, and said, **Is it you who have come?" "Yes,"
said he, " I have come to fetch you." So he bade the people go out
of the house. And when they had gone out he bolted and barred the
doors, and sat down to wait for the morning, that he might show
some marvellous things to the people of the village. Then said
Rampela to Ibonia, "How shall we get free from here? " He replied,
" Don't be afraid, for we shall get out all right ; but take heed
what I say: do not speak to me or beckon to me, for if you do
* The literal translation of the original here is, " Let us catch the ticks [of
the oxen]," an operation which could only be performed with very gentle
animals. Games with oxen were formerly favourite amusements of the Hova,
and are still so with other Malagasy tribes. Bull-figLting was a favourite
pastime of the chiefs, and wrestling with oxen, and bringing them down by sheer
strength is also practised at funerals among the Betsileo, and is also as common
among the Sihanaka, and probably with other tribes as well.
54 MALAGASY FOLK-TALES.
either they will kill me." So in the morning, when Ravatovolovoay
awoke, he found that the door of the house where Rampcla was was
locked. Then he said to the people, " Isn't it just as I told you, that
this is not the old man, but another person ? " So he tried to break
open the door; but the door became like a rock, and he could not force
it. Then he set fire to the thatch of the roof ; but it would not burn,
but rather dropped down water. Then he dug round the foundation of
the house ; but that also became as rock.
And so, all his attempts being unavailing, at last Ibonia and
Rampela prepared to go out, and Ibonia caused a profound sleep
to fall upon all the people outside the house, so that every one slept.
Then he said to her, " Let us go, but do not speak to me or beckon
to me." So they went out, and stepped over all the people who slept
along the road they travelled. And when they came to the gateway,
he beckoned to a lad and bade him awake the people. So the lad
awoke and roused up all the people, and Ravatov6lovoky as well. Then
said he, " Bring quickly guns and spears; and come, let us pursue
them!" So away they went, and shot at them with their guns; but
when the smoke rolled away there was the pair going along without
any harm. And so they went on without any mischance, until they
came to the water-side; but when they got there the wife beckoned
to him to ask him where to ford. But the moment she did so he was
struck by a bullet, and fell back into the water and was dead. Then
came up Ravatovolovoay to Rampcla and asked what she wished to
do, to follow the living or the dead? She replied, " I will follow the
living, sir," at the same time excusing herself to him.
And so Ibonia met his death, and his parents looked upon the
arums and the plaintain-trees which he had left with them as a token ;
and when they saw them dried up they lamented him, because the
things were dead which he had given them as a sign about himself.
However, his friends to whom he had made presents when he came
from conquering Fbzanatokbndrilahy had by no means forgotten him,
and one day Joiner-together and his companions said to the Far-off-
seer, " Look out for Ibonia, lest some harm should hjive befallen him."
So he looked and said " Ibonia is dead ; and behold, yonder stream
is carrying away his bones." Then said they all (Far-off-seer and
Joiner-together and Life-giver) to Strong-swimmer : " Do you go
and gather together those bones." So he went and gathered all the
bones. Then Joiner-together united them, so that they all came
MALAGASY FOLK-TALES. 55
together again, and Life-giver made them live. And they continued
invoking blessings until flesh grew and a little breath came, and until
he could eat a little rice, and so on, until at length he could eat as
he had formerly been used to do. And when he was alive again he
prepared to go and fetch his wife away from Kavatov6lovoay. So
he went off, and when he came to his village there was the chief
playing the game called fanbrona (something like ''fox and geese")
above the gateway. When he saw Ibonia he asked him, " Where are
you going?" Said Ibonia, "To get my wife"; and, having thus
answered each other, Ibonia struck him with the palm of his hand,
and he became as grease in his hand ; so Ibonia got everything that
had belonged to Ravatovblovoay.
A concise outline of another variant of the story of Ibonia is given
by the Rev. J. Richardson in the third number of the Antananarivo
Annual^ pp. 102-104; and, as this differs in several respects from the
foregoing, I shall venture to quote it here in full. Mr. Richardson
entitles it
The History of Andrmnarisaindbomamasohoniamanbro,
A prince who lived in the centre of the land had long been mar-
ried, but no child had been born to him. He and his wife, anxious
to become parents, sought out an old woman who could work an
oracle, and she told them what to do to bring about the gratification
of their wishes. They carried out her instructions by going into the
forest and seeking out a suitable tree, and before it offered as a sacri-
fice a sheep and a goat. In due time a son was born in a most won-
derful manner. They gave him the name of Bonia ; and he appro-
priated to himself a razor his mother had swallowed, and used it ever
afterwards as a wonder-working stafi".
Another prince and his wife were also childless. They too sought
out the old woman; and by carrying out her instructions obtained a
daughter; but she was a cripple and deformed. They called her
Raketabblamena, or, as I will render it, " The Golden Beauty." This
girl, ashamed of her lot, threatened to destroy herself if her father
and mother would not station her on an island at some distance from
their home. The poor father and mother were constrained soiTowfully
to carry out her wish. To this lake the sons of several other princes
resorted for wild-bird shooting, and were attracted to the house in
56 MALAGASY FOLK-TALE8.
which Golden Beauty dwelt by seeing her scfirlet umbrella;* but her ser-
vant so efifectually hid herself and her mistress that the young fellows
betook themselves oflf in fright. In the course of time Bonia came to the
lake ; and, having been foiled in his first attempt to find her, he made
a second excursion, and his visit ended in his taking Beauty home as
his wife, to the delight of all concerned.
Somewhere across the waters to the west there lived a monster of
a man called Raivato, who had the power of instantly transporting
himself to any part of the world. Hearing of Bonia's beautiful wife,
he determines to carry her ofif, and, taking advantage of Bonia's
absence, he accomplished his purpose. Bonia set out after him ; and in
his travels he met with three men " in the shape of God," called
respectively, Prince Bone-setter, Prince Flesh-and-muscle-producer,
and Prince Life-giver. He gave them food, and each adopted him as
his child.
He again set out on his search. The sea was no obstacle to him,
for he planted his staff in the ground, uttered his talismanic phrase,
and walked over as on dry land. The crocodiles too came to his help,
the eels and whales, &c. carried him ; and when safely over, deter-
mined to test the reality of the powers of Bone-setter, Muscle-
producer, and Life-giver, he uttered his talismanic phrase, thrust his
staff into the ground, and lo ! he dies, only to be brought to life again
by their aid after three days.
Off he set again, and presently came up with Raivato's gardener.
His spear caused the man to shed his skin; and, having clothed
himself in that, he gained admission into Raivato's strongly fortified
town, and revealed himself to his long-lost wife. Raivato's gods
informed him of Bonia's arrival and a terrible fight ensued; but
Bonia's staff gives him the victory. He kills the monster and takes
his wife home ; not only so, but, to tlie joy of all people, he restored
to her lawful husband each and every woman whom Raivato had car-
ried oflf 1
Such, leaving out the genealogy of each person concerned, the
conversations, &c., all of which are given with the greatest minuteness,
is the wonderful history of Bonia.
As already remarked, other versions of this story of Ibonia would
require a separate book devoted to them were they given in full.
* This is one of the insignia of royalty and chieftainship in Madagascar.
NOTES AND QUERIES. 57
Mr. Dahle's longest variant of the story occupies forty-six pages of
type, and includes a great number of incidents not contained in
either of the foregoing, and a good deal more of the marvel-
lous. In this variant a locust comes out of the fire, settles on the
head of Ibonia's mother, sinks into her body, and so becomes the
origin of the wonderful child. A long conversation is held between
the child and its mother before its birth as to where he should be
brought forth, a great number of places being proposed, but succes-
sively rejected for various reasons, until at length he is born while his
mother sits in a golden chair of immense size. Wonderful portents
accompany his birth ; for he announces that he is " God upon earth,"
and that a thousand canoes could not bear him over the water, &c.
All living things are broken, the rocks and the heavens resound, the
earth turns upside down ; and this, they say, was the origin of earth-
quakes. But it would be tedious to go more into detail. It must
suffice to say that in this tale in its varying forms the native imagina-
tion has run riot in its love of the marvellous, and strange distortions
of certain grand truths appear here and there in its wordy minuteness
of detail. It is to be hoped that a complete version and translation of
this exuberant product of Malagasy fancy will some day be published
with full illustrative notes, so that English readers may judge of the
merits of this Ramayana of Madagascar, describing the extraordinary
adventures of its hero, Andrianarisainaboniamasoboniaman6ro.
NOTES AND QUERIES.
Some Games played by modern Greeks. —(Reprinted from the
Athenceum, Dec. 29, 1883.)— Whilst travelling in the Greek islands
I came across several curious games played by the boys on level
spaces outside the villages. Samos was especially conspicuous for the
vigour of its young athletes, for the Samiotes are by nature a wild,
independent race, making terrible brigands, when from home the
dread of the Asiatic coast. So effectual has been their resistance to
the Turks that they have gained for themselves a prince of their own,
and only pay a small tribute to the Porte. When Crete revolts
58 NOTES AND QUERIES.
Sami'otes go over to assist, yet at home they are a law-abiding and
vigorous race. Their games, in short, illustrate their character.
First I will mention the game of v6aa ; " How many ? " a curious
rough species of morra. Four, six, or more lads divide themselves
into sides, choosing two leaders. One leader takes up a stone, the
other guesses in which hand it is, and if he is wrong he and his party
turn their backs to be mounted by their opponents. The leader, as
soon as he has jumped on the back of the opponent leader, puts one
hand over the eyes of his ?<3ov, or beast of burden, as he is termed,
and with the other catches him a smart cufF on the head as a sign of
subjection. After that he holds up as many fingers in the air as he
likes, crying rroaa ; and the l&ov has to guess. One after the other
they receive a cufF on the head, and have to guess, until at length a
happy Ka^ov is right, and the riders become the beasts of burden.
This game often degenerates into the Samiote leapfrog, "olive, first
olive, second olive," &c., as it is there called. There exists too a more
intricate and quite an acrobatical form of leapfrog in Samos, called
iiypiog irpo<TKi<f>a\aSoQj which is played thus. A boy, chosen for the
purpose, kneels on two shoes, presumably to preserve the knees of his
trousers, thereby showing a thoughtfulness not usually evinced by
English boys on like occasions ; two others lean against him to
support him, one on either side, and then the fun begins. The " first
olive," or player, comes up, places his head on the head of the
kneeling boy, his hands on his shoulders, and turns a somersault.
This goes on in rapid succession, and strikes a casual observer as a
game which must result in frequent disasters.
But nothing I ever saw played can equal in roughness yXud) Kpaal^
" sweet wine," as they euphoniously name it. A boy sits in the middle
with one end of a long rope in his hand ; another boy takes the rope
after the fashion of a whip. The object is for the boys around to
belabour the boy in the middle without getting hit with the rope.
Whilst playing this game I have seen many ugly blows given and
received, but, I am bound to say, with the greatest good nature.
'o TraTrac, " the father," is another rough game of the same nature.
Four boys stand linked together with their arms round each other's
shoulders and their faces inwards ; in this position they move round
NOTES AND QUERIES. 59
and round, whilst the others take it in turn to try and jump on their
backs ; those who succeed are all right, but those who do not have to
receive a cut on their backs from a rope which 6 TraTrag, a boy deputed
to the office, holds in his hands.
Finally we have the <T<paXpa, or game of ball, so closely resembling
our game of cricket in many of its points that my curiosity was
excited. Was it only a base imitation of our noble game, or was ours
but an improvement on it ? It is played in this wise : there are five
usually on each side ; there is a stone for a wicket, but instead of a
bat only the hand is used ; the ball is simply thrown at the stone by
the bowler, and if the player hits the ball to a certain distance he
counts one, but there is no running ; if the stone is hit or the ball is
caught his innings is over. Old men I asked said they had known
e<pa~ipa played in exactly the same way when they were young, and
had heard their fathers make the same remark. In short, they were
indignant at the very notion of its being a game borrowed from else-
where, and claimed for it the greatest antiquity. J. Theodore Bent.
Nursery Rhymes and Proverbs. — From Aberdeen and its Folk,
published Aberdeen, 1868, I extract the following nursery rhymes
which are not in Mr. Gregor's Folk-Lore of the North-East of Scot-
land :
*• Tam o' the lynn, wi's wife an's mither,
They gaed a' to the kirk thegither."
" Peter, my neeper,
Had a wife,
And he couldna' keep her,
He pat her i' the wa',
And lat a' the mice eat her."
There are also given some Scotch proverbs, some of them peculiar
to the granite city or the district around.
*' Saut I quo' the Sutor, when he ate the coo and worried on the tail."
" When your head's fite (white), ye wad hae 't curlin." This refers
to the custom of wearing powder, and is intended as a reproof of
unreasonable expectations.
" YeVe neither been biggin' kirks nor placin' ministers." You
have been engaged in some questionable occupation.
60 NOTES AND QUERIES.
** Spit upon 't and ca 't thegither wi' a stane." Said when too much
ado is made about a trifling scratch or cut.
" When that fa's oot we'll see twa meens (moons) i' the lift an'
anithcr i' the aiss midden." Said to express forcibly the improbability
of better conduct in the future.
** Sell your pig (jar or dith) and buy a can." A punning reproof
of the excuse " I canna'."
" Ye may say the grace o' Cooperhill." To reprove gluttony. The
grace is, *' Deil reive the ruggest (hungriest), and cleave the clungest
(emptiest)."
" I doubt ye've been at the kirk o' crack-about, faar (where) the
kail-pot's the minister." In reproof of non church-going.
" Garr'd girss is ill to grow, and chappit stanes is ill to chow."
" Ye're as min as a May puddock." Spoken of a mincing, ultra,
modesty-aflfecting manner in a woman.
" Gerini-gath, the laird's piper ! " Said to a whimpering child.
" Ye've the conscience (greed) of a coal-horse." Spoken in reproof
of greed, horses owned by coal-carters in Aberdeen being generally
half-starved.
These two sayings are current in Aberdeenshire as being difiScult
to enunciate with rapidity : "A peacock pykit a peck o' paper oot o' a
paper pyock. Pyke paper, peacock." " I snuff shop snuff. Dae ye
snuff shop snuff? " Isabel Russell.
The Legend of Knockmaun. — The following tradition, preserved in
the parish of Kilgobinet, and which we have heard from a very old
man, named Michael Quarry, still living at Kilnafrehan, would seem
to point to the former existence on the Comeragh mountains of red deer:
" In the days of Cromwell there lived at Knockmaun, near Mount
Odell, a woman called The Mawn, who was the terror of her neigh-
bours for miles around. She had a sister named The Ille Ruadh,
who resided at a place called Tgeach na Condavise, or Bush of the
Countess, in the county of Kilkenny. The latter had eight sons, and
was the owner of considerable propery at Deelis, Kilnafrehan, Coolna-
smear, &c. She was accustomed to visit her estates annually, residing
during her sojourn at her castle in Deelis, the ruins of which are still
to be seen there. On these occasions she visited every part of her
NOTES AND QUERIES. 6 I
property, remaining a day in every townland, where she was enter-
tained by her tenantry, who were obliged to provide a red deer for the
feast. On her arrival at Ballyknock, she and her eight sons were
entertained by Thomas Towhill, who, either for want of the means or
inclination to procure venison, had a black she&p from his little flock
slaughtered, and its flesh prepared for the occasion. The sons, not
aware of the trick honest Towhill had played, were loud in praise of
the ' venison ' ; but their sturdy mother, who had seen a little more of
the world, undeceived them in the following terms : —
*' ' Woe to him who gathereth not sense,
And who doth not bridle his tongue:
Since we cannot to-day on venison feast,
The blacTi sheep's flesh is not to be despised.'
" The Ille Euadh, who, like her sister, The Maun or Mawn^ carried
matters with a high hand against her weaker neighbours, was besieged
in her castle, at Deelis, by Cromwell, and lost her life there. The
Maun shared a like fate, as the shattered fragments of her keep at
Knockmaun testify."
The tomb of the former is said to have been removed to Cappagh, but
this we doubt, as what is referred to as a portion of a tomb is evidently
part of an altar. — Reprinted from Dungarvan Journal, March, 1883.
Aughisky, or "Water Horse. — The Irish aughisky seems to be
very similar to the Scotch kelpie. In Munster and Connaught in
most lakes there is a presiding aughisky, but especially on those where
the wind gust can come down on and cast up fantastic waves that have
a weird appearance in the gloaming. The stories are all very much
alike. In Lough Mask, co. Mayo, there was an aughisky that used
to frequent the Tieve Mackevvy, now called Toormakeady, shore :
it used to go on shore and eat up the pregnant cattle and women, but
was destroyed about twenty years ago by a monk. In Connemara,
about three miles south of the little shebeen called the Garibaldi, on
the road from Oughtnard to Clifden, there is a lake called Letter-
craffroe. The mountain hereabouts belonged to a boy of the Coneelly's,
and early one morning he spotted a magnificent colt feeding in the
meadow alongside the lake ; he stole down and got between it and
the lake, threw a cloth over its head, put a halter on it, and brought
62 NOTES AND QUERIES.
it home. For years it worked for him until he thought he had
quite tamed it, when one unfortunate day he let it see the lake ; when
it flew like lightning into it, tore its rider to pieces, and disappeared
in the water, never to be seen again. A very amusing incident
happened while I was in that neighbourhood. Tom had a "lock" of
malt on one of the islands in Inver lake, and he went to turn it in the
gloaming. Just as he had done so, and raised himself up, he saw an
aughisky making straight for him ; he was into his boat in an
instant, and made for the shore ; when he reached it he was saluted
with, " Mr. Coneelly, will you lend me the boat to go across the
lake, as that blackguard old mare of mine has swam across and
brought her foal with her." In Lough Treagh, Connemara, there
was a famous aughisky that beat people. I have seen more than one
who said they were beaten by it, and who stated, " I had not a drop
in me, your honour, but I saw a mare with an elegant foal, and I
stopped to look at it, and it turned on me and nearly killed me." I
offered a man half-a-sovereign to go past this lake one evening with
a message and he refused, although he was sure of lots of eating and
drinking, and another half-a-sovereign if he went. My son, a lad of
about twelve years old, and man was driving home that way one night,
and they saw a mare and foal. The man immediately wanted to
turn back, but the boy would not let him. When telling me he said he
distinctly saw the mare and foal cross the road and go up the sand-
hill, but when they came to the place he could see no track or any
trace of the mare between the road and the l.ake. I was so curious
that I went there the next day, but could see no tracks in the place he
saw the mare go over. On this lake and also Garomna I have seen the
aughisky on wild gusty nights when there were bursts of moonlight —
on the latter you will see it to the east of the barrow called the
" Fairy Mount," plunging up and down on the surface of the water.
It seems due to the colliding of the blast round the barrow ; but the
waves at such times have such a weird appearance that it is not sur-
prising that they are taken for something supernatural. All the
stories of the different lakes are so similar that when you have heard
one you have heard all ; and in the wild mountainous portions of
Munster and Connaught no one found dead in the hills died naturally:
NOTICES AND NEWS. 63
if his body is found near a lake he fell a victim to an anghisky, and if
on the wild mountain to a phooka. G. H. Kinahan.
Donegal Reds Red-headed, that is fiery red girls, seem to be a
speciality of the Co. Donegal. Of these they say " they were born
with a pig under the bed." This is on account of their peculiar odour
at times. G. H. Kinaban.
Kissing the Bible. — What is the origin of kissing the Bible in
oath-taking ? I have noted Dr. Tylor's explanation in his Anthro-
pology y but this does not seem quite complete. L. C.
NOTICES AND NEWS.
Raccolta di Proverhi e Dittati ippici di N. Mantica. Pp. 110. Udine,
Tipografia del Patronato, 1883.
Count Mantica has done excellent service in the cause of folk-lore
and folk-wisdom in this work. The work is a collection of all the
proverbs regarding the horse in Italian, and is divided into ten
sections. Each section is devoted to a particular subject about the
horse, such as " Colours and particular marks," " Food," " Manage-
ment," " Horse and rider," " The ladies and horses," " Meta-
phorical proverbs." Under each subject the proverbs are arranged
in alphabetical order and are numbered from 1 consecutively. They
amount to the goodly number of 563, without taking into account
those in the Venetian and Frioulan dialects, which bring the number
up to 741 . The Count intends to carry out the same plan with the
proverbs of other nations.
Tradiqoes populares de Portugal. Colligidas e annotadas por J. Leitc
de Vasconcellos. Pp. xvi. 320. Porto : Livraria Portuense de
Clavel & C% Editores, 119, Rua do Almada, 1882.
This is the first volume of Bibliotheca Ethnographica Portugueza.
The work contains eleven chapters: " Os astros," " Fogo, luz e sombra,"
" A atmosphera," " A agua," " A terra," " As pedras," *< Os metaes,"
*' Os vegetaes," " Os animaes," with an appendix, " O homem e a
mulher," with an appendix, and '' Seres sobrenaturaes." In each
64 NOTICES AND NEWS.
chapter are given all the ideas, superstitions, rhymes, riddles, &c. on
the subject of the chapter. They are numbered, and are thus easily
referred to. The book contains a pleasantly written Introduction
showing the uses of folk-lore. It is a perfect mine of Portuguese
folk-lore, and deserves a hearty welcome.
Mr. A. Granger Hutt has joined Mr. Gomme in the duties of
Honorary Secretary to the Society. Mr. Hutt will undertake all
the financial business of the Society, and Members will kindly for-
ward their Subscriptions to him in future.
The Rev. Walter Gregor is collecting for Count Mantica the
Scottish and English proverbs on the horse. Mr. Gregor is desirous
of entering into communication with Members of the Society or others
who would furnish any such proverbs, or otherwise assist in the
work. The Proverbs Committee will shortly hold a meeting to see
if something cannot be done in this important branch of folk-lore.
The following are the titles of folk-lore notes in Panjab Notes and
Queries, December: Bhairon (Worship of), Touching the Ground,
Kali (Goddess) in Garhwal, Clearing Village Ponds, Opprobrious
Names, Months in which Hindu Marriage is Forbidden, Nim Leaves
at Funerals, Marriage Ceremony, Evil Eye, Goitre, Cattle Disease,
Hairy Spine — Girls, Signs of Boys or Girls before Birth, Luck
Omens, Ferns, Crow's Brains, Proverbs, Folk-lore from difficult
sources.
The Rev. J. Long has reprinted a paper read by him at the
Oriental Congress, Leyden, September 14, 1883, on " The importance
and best mode of making a collection of Oriental Proverbs."
Mr. Clouston is engaged upon another valuable piece of editorial
work — The Book of the Seven Viziers^ so well known to readers of
Professor Comparetti's Sindihad. Dr. Rost has lent Mr. Clouston
the unique Persian MS. poem, the Sindibad Nama, belonging to the
Library of tlie India Office, from which it appears that, owing perhaps
to lacunce and misplaced leaves. Falconer in his translation lias over-
looked one story and the remains of two others. His analysis will be
carefully compared with the MS. before reprinting, and the omitted
stories translated.
lEISH BIRD-LORE.
FRAGMENT of mediaeval Irish bird-lore has been pre-
served for us in a vellum MS. of the fifteenth century,
now in the library of Trin. Coll. Dublin, marked H. 3,
17, col. 803. Unfortunately the transcriber has not
thought it worth while to copy the whole, and has left off with a
tantalising et ccetera.
Omens from the Kaven.
If the raven croaks above the bed framed together (com-dluthta)
in the middle of the house, an eminent hoary visitor or cleric is
coming to thee. But there is a difference between them. If it
be a lay clerk the raven says " bacach." If it be a man in orders
{fer graidh) it cries ^^ gradh, gradh" and **/o do do 16." If the
visitor be a youth or a satirist it cries '^ grace, gracc,''^ or ^* grob,
grab," and the side behind where it cries is the quarter whence
the visitors are coming. If it cries " grace, grace,'' the young people
to whom it cries are assisted (?) (fordhighthir). If a woman is
coming it cries ^'■foda'"' If it cries from the north-west quarter
of the house, thieves are coming to steal the horses. If it
cries at the door of the house, strangers or hireling-soldiers are
coming. If it cries above the door, satirists or visitors belonging to
the king's retinue are coming. If it cries above the bed of the good
man, the place where his weapons are, and he is going on an expe-
dition, he will not return safe ; and, if this is not the case, he will
become unwell. If the wife is to die, it cries above the pillow. If it
cries at the feet of the husband's bed, a son, or brother, or son-in-law,
will come to the house. If it cries on the threshold of the kitchen-
closet, the place where the food is, there will be increase of victuals,
such as flesh or the first milking of the cows, in the quarter from
Vol. 2.— Part 3. p
66 IRISH BIKD-LOKE.
which it cries. If its face be between the kitchen-closet and the fire,
a mutually agreeable guest is coming to the house. If the place
where it is perched be nearer the wife of the house, the visitors are a
son-in-law or a friend. If it cries to the south of the kitchen-closet, a
foster-father or visitors from a distance are coming to the house. If
it speaks with a small voice " err, err^^ or " dr, dr" sickness for some
one in the house or for some of the cattle. If dogs are coming among
the sheep it cries from the sheepfold, or opposite the goodwife, and
says, " carna, carna, grob, groh, coin, coin.^^ If it cries from the rail
of the house when they are eating, they waste that meal. If it cries
from off a stone, that is news of a boor. If it cries from a tall tree, that
is news of a young lord. If from off the branch of a tree, news of a
king or son of noble lineage. If it goes with thee on an expedition or
in front of thee, and if it is cheerful, the journey will be propitious and
a great deal of flesh-meat will be given thee. If thou go left-hand-
wise {i.e. against the course of the sun), and it cries in front of thee,
woe on whom it so cries or great shame to some of the party. If in
front of thee going to a public meeting, it means associates. If thou
hast come left-hand-wise, some of the associates will be killed. If it
cries from the horses' corner, thieves will come. If it turn itself once,
and if it says " grob, grob,'^ some horses are stolen and will not be
found, &c.
Omens from Wrens.
If the little bold face cries to thee from the east, a pilgrimage of
religious people are coming to thee, inflicting their roughness upon
thee. If the wren cries from the south-east, vain-glorious fools are to
arrive. If from the west, they are strangers to you. If it cries from
the noi-th-east, people with whom are knowing companions or women are
coming. If from the north, he that is coming is dear to thee. If from
the north-west, religious people are coming. If it cries from the south,
if not between thee and the sun, a delightful pilgrimage is coming to
you. If between thee and the sun, the wounding of a man dear to
thee or a horn upon thyself. If at thy left ear, an encounter with
youths from a distance, or sleeping with a young woman. If it calls
behind thee, thy wife iiitreating another man in preference to thee.
IRISH BIRD-LORE. 67
If down on the ground behind thee, thy wife is taken from thee by
force. If the wren calls from the east, poets are coming to thee or
news from them. If it calls from the south behind thee, thou wilt see
good chiefs of the clergy, or thou wilt hear the report of a noble ex-
hero. If it cries from the south-west, thieves and bad clerics and bad
women are coming to thee. If from the west, evil fighting-men are
coming. If it calls from the north-west, a fine, well-born hero and noble
hospitallers and good women are coming. If it calls from the north,
evil men are coming, whether youths or clerics, whether bad women and
malicious youths, who are to arrive. If it calls from the south, disease
or wolves among the cattle. If it calls from off the ground, or a stone,
a cross, it means news of a great man for thee. If it calls at the
feet of the bed, that is against people, and the number of times it
alights on the ground indicates the number of dead, and the side
towards which its face is, from that it reveals the dead (is as dlomus
na mairh).
This last passage is obscure. I think it means, if the wren's head
is turned to a lucky quarter the dead will be in a happy state, and
vice versa. Some of the meanings given to the croak of the raven are
mere puns. Gradh gradh is a pun on the Irish grddh, derived from
the Latin gradus. Bacach means "lame, crippled," bacCi "a shep-
herd's crook," bachallj "a pastoral staff," carna, "flesh," com, "dogs."
The words for east and west also mean front and rear. To fall west-
wards means to fall backwards, so that north-east, south-east, maybe
taken to mean left front, right front, respectively ; north-west, south-
west, left rear, right rear. In Mr. Campbell's Popular Tales of the
Western Highlands ^ vol. i. p. 275, will be found further illustrations of
crow language.
John Abercromby.
6 Feb. 1884.
THREE FOLK-TALES FROM OLD MEL-
DRUM, ABERDEENSHIRE.
HE following folk-tales have been communicated to me by
Mr. Moir, Rector of the Grammar School, Aberdeen. He
had them from his mother, who kindly wrote out " Mally
Whuppie " and " The Red Calf" at my request.
Mally Whuppie.
Ance upon a time there was a man and a wife had too many
children, and they could not get meat for them, so they took the three
youngest and left them in a wood. They travelled and travelled and
could see never a house. It began to be dark, and they were hungry.
At last they saw a light and made for it; it turned out to be a house.
They knocked at the door, and a woman came to it, who asked what
they wanted. They said if she would let them in and gee them a
piece. The woman said she could not do that, as her man was a
giant, and he would fell them if he came home. They priggit that
she would let them stop for a little whilie, and they would go away
before he came. So she took them in, and set them doon afore the
fire, and gave them milk and bread; but just as they had begun to
eat a great knock came to the door, and a dreadful voice said: —
" Fee, fie, fo, fuin,
I smell the blood of some earthly one.
Who have you there, wife ? " " Eh," said the wife, " it's three
peer lassies caul' an hungry, an they will go away. Ye winna touch
them, man." He said nothing, but eat up a great big supper, and
ordered them to stay all night. Now he had three lassies of his own,
and they were to sleep in the same bed with the three strangers. The
youngest of the three strange lassies was called Mally Whuppie, and she
THREE FOLK-TALES. 69
was very clever. She noticed that before they went to bed the giant put
straw rapes round her neck and her sisters', and round his ain lassies'
necks he put gold chains. So Mally took care and did not fall asleep,
but waited till she was sure every one was sleeping sound. Then she
slippit out of the bed, and took the straw rapes off her own and her
sisters' necks, and took the gold chains off the giant's lassies. She
then put the straw rapes on the giant's lassies and the gold on herself
and her sisters, and lay down. And in the middle of the night up
rose the giant, armed with a great club, and felt for the necks with
the straw. It was dark. He took his own lassies out on the floor,
and laid upon them until they were dead, and then lay down again,
thinking he had managed fine.* Mally thought it time she and her
sisters were out of that, so she wakened them and told them to be
quiet, and they slippit out of the house. They all got out safe, and
they ran and ran, and never stoppit until morning, when they saw a
grand house before them. It turned out to be the king's house; so
Mally went in, and told her story to the king. He said, "Well,
Mally, you are a clever cutty, and you have managed well ; but, if you
would manage better, and go back, and steal the giant's sword that
hangs on the back of his bed, I would give your eldest sister my
eldest son to marry." Mally said she would try. So she went back,
and managed to slip into the giant's house, and crept in below the
bed. The giant came home, and ate up a great supper, and went to
bed. Mally waited until he was snoring, and she crept out, and raxed
in ower the giant and got doon the sword ; but just as she got it oot
ower the bed it gave a rattle, and up jumped the giant, and Mally oot
at the door and the sword with her ; and she ran, and he ran, till they
cam to the *' Brig o' ae hair" ; and she wan ower, but he cuddna, and
he says, " Wae worth ye, Mally Whuppie ! lat ye never come again."
And she says, " Twice yet, carle," quo she, "I'll come to Spain." So
Mally took the sword to the king, and her sister was married to his
son.
*' Well," the king he says: — " Ye've managed well, Mally ; but if
* J. Leite de Vascoiicellos, in Tradieoes popnlares de Portvgal (pp. 264, 265),
gives a version of this part of the story, but it is a lobis-homem, or werewolf, that
figures in the place of the giant.
70 THREE FOLK-TALES.
ye would manage better, and steal the purse tliat lies below the giant's
pillow, I would marry your second sister to my second son." And
Mally said she would try. So she set out for the giant's house, and
slippit in, and hid again below the bed, and waited till the giant had
eaten his supper, and was snoring sound asleep. She slippit out, and
slippit her hand below the pillow, and got out the purse; but just as
she was going out the giant wakened, and after her; and she ran, and
he ran, till they came to the " Brig o' ae hair," and she wan ower, but
he cuddna, and he said, *' Wae worth you, Mally Whuppie ! lat you
never come again." " Ance yet, carle," quo she, " I'll come to Spain."
So Mally took the purse to the king, and her second sister was married
to the king's second son.
After that the king says to Mally, " Mally, you are a clever cutty,
but if you would dee better yet, and steal the giant's ring that he
wears on his finger, I will give you my youngest son to yoursel."
Mally said she would try. So back she goes to the giant's house, and
hides herself below the bed. The giant wizna lang ere he came hanie,
and, after he had eaten a great big supper, he went to his bed, and
shortly was snoring loud. Mally crept out, and raxed in ower the bed,
and got hold of the giant's hand, and she pirlt and pirlt until she got
off the ring ; but just as she got it off the giant got up, and grippit
her by the hand, and he says, " Now I hae catcht you, Mally Whup-
pie, and, if I had deen as muckle ill to you as ye hae deen to me,
what wad ye dee to me ? "
Mally considered what plan she would fall upon to escape, and she
says, " I wad pit you into a pyock, and I wad pit the cat inside wi' you
and the dog aside you, and a needle and thread and a shears, and I
wad hang you up upon the wa', and I wad gang to the wood, and wile
the thickest stick I could get, and I would come hame, and take you
down, and lay upon you till you were dead."
" Well, Mally," says the giant, " I'll just do that to you."
So he gets a pyock, and puts Mally into it, and the cat and the dog
beside her, and a needle and thread and shears, and hings her up upon
the wa', and goes to the wood to choose a stick.
Mally she sings, " Oh, gin ye saw faht I see."
** Oh," says the giant's wife, " faht divv ye see, Mally ?"
THREE FOLK-TALES. 71
But Mally never said a word but, " Oh, gin ye saw falit I see ! "
The giant's wife pleaded that Mally would take her up into the pyock
till she would see what Mally saw. So Mally took the shears and cut
a hole in the pyock, and took out the needle and thread with her, and
jumpt down, and helpit the giant's wife up into the pyock, and
sewed up the hole.
The giant's wife saw nothing, and began to ask to get down again;
but Mally never minded, but hid herself at the back of the door. Home
came the giant, and a great big tree in his hand, and he took down the
pyock, and began to lay upon it. His wife cried, " It's me, man;" but
the dog barkit and the cat mewt, and he did not know his wife's
voice. But Mally did not want her to be killed, so she came out from
the back of the door, and the giant saw her, and he after her; and he
ran, and she ran, till they came to the "■ Brig o' ae hair," and she wan
ower, but he cuddna ; and he said, *' Wae worth you, Mally Whuppie!
lat you never come again," " Never mair, carle," quo she, " will I come
again to Spain."
So Mally took the ring to the king, and she was married to his
youngest son, and she never saw the giant again.
The Bannookie.
There was a little wee mannie an a far less wifie, and they bakit a
bannockie and set it oot t' queel. An it geed rockie for rowie an ower
the mill-knowie, till it cam t' twa wall-washers hungry eneugh, an
they said, " Ye're welcum, bonnie bannockie, and fae fahr come ye ? "
" Oh," says the bannockie, " I cam fae a little mannie an a far less
wifie, an I think I'll win fae you yet." An they flang their queeds
(tubs) at the bannockie, but missed it. An it geed rockie for rowie
an ower the mill-knowie till it cam t* twa barn-thrashers, hungry
eneugh. " Ye're welcum, bonnie bannockie, an fae fahr come ye ? "
" Oh," says the bannockie, " I come fae a little wee mannie an a far
less wifie, an fae twa wall-washers, an I think I'll win fae you yet."
So they flang their flails at it, but misst it ; an it geed rockie for
rowie ower the mill-knowie till it cam to the tod's hole, hungry
eneugh. An it said, " Ye're welcum, bonnie bannockie, and fae
72 THREE FOLK-TALES.
fahr come ye ? " " Oh," says the bannockie, " I cam fae a little wee
mannie an a far less wifie, an fae twa wall-washers, an fae twa barn-
ihrashers, an I think I'll win fae you yet." " Come nearer me a bittie,
bonnie bannockie," said the tod ; " I dinna hear verra weel, an tell me
that again." " Oh," says the bannockie, comin nearer an speakin
looder, " I cam fae a little wee mannie an a far less wifie, an fae twa
wall-washers an fae twa barn-thrashers, an I think " " Grap,"
says the tod, an ate her up.
At the word " grap " the story-teller suddenly seizes the child to
whom the story is told.*
The Red Calf.
Ance a long time ago there was a gentleman had two lassies. The
oldest was ugly and ill-natured, but the youngest was a bonnie lassie
and good ; but the ugly one was the favourite with her father and
mother. So they ill used the youngest in every way, and they sent
her into the woods to herd cattle, and all the food she got was a little
porridge and whey.
Well, amongst the cattle was a red calf, and one day it said to the
lassie, " Gee that porridge and whey to the doggie, and come wi'
me.
So the lassie followed the calf through the wood, and they came to
a bonnie hoosie, where there was a nice dinner ready for them, and
after they had feasted on everything nice they went back to the
herding.
Every day the calf took the lassie away, and feasted her on dainties,
and every day she grew bonnier. This disappointed the father and
mother and the ugly sister. They expected that the rough usage she
was getting would take away her beauty; and they watched and
watched until they saw the calf take the lassie away to the feast. So
they resolved to kill the calf ; and not only that, but the lassie was
to be compelled to kill him with an axe. Her ugly sister was to hold
his head, and the lassie who loved him had to give the blow and kill
him. She could do nothing but greet ; but the calf told her not to
* See also Popular Rhymes of Scotland, pp. 82-87.
THREE FOLK-TALES. 73
greet, but to do as ho bade her ; and bis plan was that instead of
coming down on his head she was to come down on the lassie's head
who was holding him, and then she was to jump on his back and
they would run off. Well, the day came for the calf to be killed, and
everything was ready — the ugly lassie holding his head, and the
bonnie lassie armed with the axe. So she raised the axe^ and came
down on the ugly sister's head, and in the confusion that took place
she got on the calf's back and they ran away, and they ran and better
nor ran till they came to a meadow where grew a great lot of rashes ;
and, as the lassie had not on many clothes, they pu'ed rashes, and
made a coatie for her, and they set ofif again and travelled, and
travelled, till they came to the king's house. They went in, and asked
if they wanted a servant. The mistress said she wanted a kitchen
lassie, and she would take Rashin-coatie. So Rashin-coatie said she
would stop, if they keepit the calf too. They were willing to do that.
So the lassie and the calf stoppit in the king's house, and eveiy body
was well pleased with her ; and when Yule came, they said she was to
stop at home and make the dinner, while all the rest went to the kirk.
After they were away the calf asked if she would like to go. She
said she would, but she had no clothes, and she could not leave the
dinner. The calf said he would give her clothes, and make the dinner
too. He went out, and came back with a grand dress all silk and
satin, and such a nice pair of slippers. The lassie put on the dress,
and before she left she said :—
" Ilka peat gar anither burn,
An ilka spit gar anither turn.
An ilka pot gar anither play,
Till I come frae the kirk on gude Yule day."
So she went to the kirk, and nobody kent it was Rashin-coatie.
They wondered who the bonnie lady could be ; and, as soon as the
young prince saw her, he fell in love with her, and resolved he would
find out who she was, before she got home ; but Rashin-coatie left
before the rest, so that she might get home in time to take off her
dress, and look after the dinner.
When the prince saw her leaving, he made for the door to stop her ;
but she jumped past him, and in the hurry lost one of her shoes. The
74 THREE FOLK-TALES.
prince kept the shoe, and Rashin-coatie got home all right, and the
folk said the dinner was very nice.
Now the prince was resolved to find out who the bonnie lady was,
and he sent a servant through all the land with the shoe. Every lady
was to try it on, and the prince promised to marry the one it would
fit. Tliat servant went to a great many houses, but could not find a
lady that the shoe would go on, it was so little and neat. At last he
came to a henwife's house, and her daughter had little feet. At
first the shoe would not go on, but she paret her feet, and clippit her
toes, until the shoe went on. Now the prince was very angry. He
knew it was not the lady that he wanted ; but, because he had pro-
mised to marry whoever the shoe fitted, he had to keep his promise.
The marriage day came, and, as they were all riding to the kirk, a
little bird flew through the air, and it sang: —
" Clippit feet an paret taes is on the saidle set;
Bat bonnie feet an braw feet sits in the kitchen neuk."
" What's that ye say ? " said the prince. " Oh," says the henwife,
" would ye mind what a feel bird says ? " But the prince said, " Sing
that again, bonnie birdie." So the bird sings : —
" Clippit feet an paret taes is on the saidle set ;
Bat bonnie feet an braw feet sits in the kitchen nenk."
The prince turned his horse and rode home, and went straight to
his father's kitchen, and there sat Rashin-coatie. He kent her at
once, she was so bonnie ; and when she tried on the shoe it fitted her,
and so the prince married Rashin-coatie, and they lived happy and
built a house for the red calf, who had been so kind to her.*
* Popular Rhymes of Scotland^ pp. 66-70. A. Machado y Alvarez, in Biblio-
thcca de lag traditionea popvlares cspanoles (pp. 114-120), gives a story con-
taniing several of the incidents of this version of Rashin-coatie. It comes from
Santa Jaana, in Chile.
MALAGASY FOLK-TALES.
By THE Kev. James Sibree, Junior.
The Old Man and his Three Sons.
(^The following is from AnJcaratra.)
CERTAIN elderly man, it is said, had three sons, and, as
he was getting old and feeble, he began to give directions
about the disposal of his property. So he said to his
sons, " This, my lads, is what I declare to you, for old
age and weakness overtakes me ; so I will divide and arrange my
possessions, lest you should disagree about it afterwards; so gather
together all our family connections." So the three brothers called
them together, and all were assembled, from the chiefs to the inferior
people. Then the old man gave these directions, the following being
his commands :
" To Andriamatba (the eldest son) is given much, because of his
seniority ;
To Andrianaivo (the middle son) is given what is suitable to him;
To Rafaralahy (the youngest son) is given little, because of his
being the youngest."
And so he disposed of his property, whether in the country or in
the village. Upon which, Rafaralahy was greatly troubled, because
his father had given him so little.
And so things went on for a long time with the three brothers,
while the property still remained as before with their father. And
after long continuing thus, Rafuraluhy began to consider how he could
increase the small share he was promised by his father. And this
was his plan, to ask of God that he might have great possessions.
So he set ofF, they say, to find out the dwelling-place of the God. And
after he had gone a little distance he met with some water-carriers.
73 MALAGASY FOLK-TALES.
So they asked him, " Where are you going ? " Rafaralahy replied,
" I am in trouble, so I am beseeching the Creator to give me wealth."
80 they said, " Yes, that is right, for God is the helper of all, who are
in adversity; but this is our advice to you: If you meet with a
deceiver, do not speak ; and should you chance upon an evil person,
do not reply (or revenge). And if you come across a harmful man
(lit. * killer '), steadfastly resist. And not only so, for there with God
is a road both famous and wide and good, but the stranger and the
passer-by wander about and are confounded, and there are many fierce
dogs and ravenous beasts, which know the natives of the place and
understand the strangers. But this is what you must do when the
dogs bark, do not turn round, but go straight on ; and when the wild
beasts roar, do not turn back, but keep in the road. And also there
is an old hag lying across the doorway and stopping it up, and those
who enter she prevents, she at the same time neither going in or
coming out ; so when you see her, do not salute her, but go straight
on your way ; but still, do not step over her, for her knee will shrink
up easily, although you say nothing. Upon that enter immediately,
and say, ' Allow me, I pray you, my lady.' " So Rai^ralihy agreed
to all that as being good advice.
On his arrival at the place, he acted accordingly ; and the old
woman's knee shrivelled up, she at the same time saying, " Proceed,
child." And when Rafaralahy had entered, God said, " Come forward,
then 1 " bidding him to come on to the clean mat. But he would not
sit down on the clean part, but away south of the hearth, in the place
of the God's servants, he sat down. Then God said to his servants,
** Bring to Rafaralahy what is well cooked, and set apart the under-
done." So they brought the rice in a silver dish, but again he would
not eat, for it was God's dish, but ate together with the servants.
And when he had eaten, God said, " What is it troubles and distresses
you, that you have come here to me, Rafiiraluhy? " He replied, " To
ask for wealth, my lord ; for my father has treated me unfairly." So
he related to him the story of his father's commands as to his property.
Then God said, ** Sleep here meanwhile, for it is evening." So
Rafuraldhy slept there.
And when it was morning, God said again, " Now Andriampurany,
take which you like : Tsipitipity (a plant) or money?" So Rafiiraluhy
said, " 1 choose the plant." Then said God, '• Ah, you consider the
end of things, Andriampurany, so here are some young trees for you
MALAGASY FOLK-TALES. 77
to plant ; so make a country house* on a high hill, for the living
creatures upon the earth will come to you." So the things spoken by
God were fulfilled to Rafaraliihy, and he became very wealthy.f
So after some time had passed, his brothers perceived that Rafaralahy
had become rich. And they asked him, " Wherever have you got
such a vast amount of property ? " He replied, " From where do you
suppose ? for I obtained it from God." When they heard that they
were eager to go too, and said, " Come, let us also get some there, for
if he gave to Rafaralahy much more will he give to us."
So off they set with haste over the hills, and after they had gone a
little way they met some water-bearers, who asked, " Where are you
going ? " They replied, "We are going to God to get wealth." The
water-bearers said, '* Come, let us show you the road." But they
refused, shaking their heads and saying, " Rafaralahy got there with-
out being directed, much more may we ! " at the same time looking
very supercilious and turning up their noses. After a little while
again they came up with the stone-burners,J who inquired their
errand in the same way, and whom they answered in the same manner
as they had done the water-carriers.
And after some time they came to God. But when they saw the
old woman and the dogs and ravenous beasts, they did not know about
them as their brother did, for they shouted at the dogs and drove
them and the beasts away, and brushed by the old woman and came
trampling heavily to God's dwelling, and arriving at the door called
out, " Haody, haody ! "§ So God said, " Come forward here, north of
the hearth." Then the impudent fellows pressed forward. So God
said to his servants, " Get some food for the strangers." So the
servants placed some on the silver dish, and the fellows ate away until
they were gorged. Then God inquired of them, " Where are you
from ? and where are you going ? and what is your errand ?" The
pair replied, " To seek wealth here from thee, for you have given
Rafaralahy abundance and to spare." So he replied, " Wait awhile
* The word so translated is literally " round-fosse," as the great majority of
compounds are surrounded with a circular fosse. And old villages in Imerina
and Betsileo are all on hills.
t Literally, " a thousander," as we say '* a millionaire."
X Men procuring the large slabs of blue basalt rock which are used for Hova
tombs, by means of burning small fires of cow-dung, by which the stone is heated
and split off in the sizes required.
§ The usual phrase employed in asking permission to enter a friend's house.
78 MALAGASY FOLK-TALES.
until the morning, until I have thought over it." And he bade them
sleep on the golden bedstead, and they slept. But when the night
was half gone, lo and behold they had not slept at all, for they were
thinking of the great wealth they were to have. So God inquired,
" Why are Andriamatoa and Andrianaivo turning about so uneasily ?
is the mattress uncomfortable ? " They replied, " No, sir, the bed is
very good ; but we were then desiring a long tail." He said, " Wait
awhile, it is yet night." After a while God asked again, " Perhaps
your pillow is uncomfortable ? or it is the fleas make you roll about ? "
*• No, sir," said they, " there are no fleas, and the pillow is all right,
but we were then wishing for four feet." So he said, " Wait
patiently." And after a little while again, God said, " Your bed must
surely be uncomfortable, since you act so." " No, sir," said they,
" but we were wishing for a large mouth." And after waiting a little
while again, God said, " You are altogether too modest, for nothing
at all is good ! " " No, sir, but we were wishing for long tusks."
And after a little while more God said, " Don't be too bashful, friends,
for if anything is wrong, speak out." So they protested strongly,
** Not at all, sir ! " And when it was getting towards morning he
said, " I fear there are vermin in the bed ? " They replied, " There
arc none, sir ; but we were wishing for long ears and much long
hair." So after waiting a little longer day broke, and God said,
** Come, wake up, for it is morning, and go out into the courtyard,
for you shall have what you desired and sought for." But no sooner
had they got there than they changed in an instant, and became long-
tailed, and went on all-fours, and had long tusks and big mouths and
ears, and abundant long hair.
So when those things came to pass which they had desired, they
leaped about and jumped, and then went home to their dwellings.
But when they got there the people and their relations said, '* What
has befallen them ? " for one was speckled and the other black. So
the people were afraid, and shouted and called out to keep them from
coming up into the town, for the women and children were frightened.
So the pair went leaping off towards the forest ; and the people called
them " Amhbanala 1 " (This, they say, was the origin of the lemurs.)*
* The LemuHdcey it is well known, are the most characteristic group of
mammalia inhabiting Madagascar, and include nearly forty species, that is,
more than half of the whole mammalian fauna of the island. Certain species
are called by the people Amboanala, i.e. " forest dogs."
MALAGASY FOLK-TALES. 79
Now look well : This, it is said, was what they were considering
about when they asked those various things from God : —
A long tail, that is, a long loin-cloth.*
Four feet, „ joy on obtaining wealth.
Long ears, „ large ear-rings.
Long tusks, „ laughing and smiling when obtaining
great wealth.
A large mouth „ to lord it over other people when
wealthy.
Long hair „ a fine hat.
Much hair, „ thick clothing.
These are the things upon which their desires were fixed, and which
they hoped would be fulfilled, and that they would obtain from God.
But, friends, God is not intrusive, and he likes not the unspoken
thought and the unpreferred desire, but that men should ask openly.
And so those two brothers were punished as described because their
desires and their petitions were evil, and so evil overtook them.
And this is my advice to you, friends : Do not hide things, or
attempt to conceal when you make request to God, for he does not
care for offerings, but what you really need is what he gives. And
you, children, take heed, for you often speak with unguarded lips to
God.
The Fkog and the Wild-Hog.
{This Story comes from Vakinanharatra.'\)
NCE upon a time, they say, the frog and the wild-hog met
together and told stories to each other, and vied with
each other in drinking, and also spoke of recent things
and fabulous, things ; but still they were far from seeing
clearly their origin.
♦ This is called saliika, and is a long narrow piece of cloth wound several
times round the loins, and with the ends, or tails, hanging down in front; some
times these are elaborately ornamented with beads.
f This is the name of a division of the country south-west of Imerina, and so
called because in it is the gi-eat mass of the Ankaratra mountains, by which it is
broken (valty') or divided from the other districts.
80 MALAGASY FOLK-TALES.
And the last thing they chatted of was about calling at each other's
homes and entertaining one another.
Then said the wild-hog, •' Now come, you shall visit me first, for
I'm the senior." " Yes," said the frog, " that's all right, and not to
be gainsaid, for yon are acknowledged to be the elder, and father and
mother." So away the pair went, and they came to the wild-hog's
dwelling ; the meal was ready, and they ate to repletion.
And after a while the time came to go to the frog's dwelling-
place. But when they came there and the food was served, there was
so little of it that the wild-hog was by no means satisfied. So he
grumbled; and after a little while he was angry, for he could not
support life with such a meal. Then he spoke thus : " You have been
impertinent and insolent to me, you fellow'; when you came to
visit me I gave you to eat to repletion. But when I come to see you
you give m(5 a dog's meal. You want to put me to the test and to
defy me, you fellow ; so come, let us fight, although we have agreed
to share the difficult and the bitter " (for they had made a blood-
covenant).
Then said the frog, " Well, if yon so wish, it is all the same to me;
I am not in the least afraid, and I will not ask for breathing-time,
although I should feel hurt."
Then said the wild-hog, " Come then, let us make an appointment."
The frog replied, " All right, just whenever you please, for nobody is
to be backward about that." So the wild-hog said, " Come then, let
us first try our wind, and strength, and endurance." " Agreed," said
the frog.
So the two agreed together that they would race to the top of a
high hill. But just as the wild-hog commenced to run, the frog leaped
upon his neck ; and the wild-hog knew nothing about it, for he did
not feel him at all because he was big in the neck, while the frog was
so light thfit his weight did not ruffle a hair. So the wild-hog
ran, and raced, and galloped, and fumed; and just when he had arrived
at the goal, the frog leaped off", but the wild-hog did not see him get
off and come to the place, so he was forced to say, " Why, you fellow,
you have done it."
MALAGASY FOLK-TALES. 81
Then he was obliged to say, " Come, let us try which can leap best."
So the frog replied, " Just whatever will make moonlight in your
belly (so, lit. trans.) Do your best, for if you don't exert yourself
you will regret it, so don't have a stomach-ache for nothing."
So the two came to the water-side to try who could leap furthest.
And when they came there and the wild-hog was just about to do his
best, the frog jumped again upon his neck. And again the stupid
fellow knew nothing about it, for what good is it to be big if one has
no sense ? And so when they were just at the goal the frog leaped
oflf again, and so he was first, upon which the wild-hog foamed at
the mouth, and his eyes turned red. And again he was astonished
to see him take it so easily, and said, " There is no getting the better
of you, you rascal."
Then he spoke again, and said, " Come, let us have one more trial."
** Agreed," said the frog. The other said, " Let us both call together
our friends, for this is the last trial, lest we should die without any
relatives present, and so prove the proverb, ' Dying in silence, like
embers.'" ♦* Agreed," said the frog; so he went off and called
together all the frogs of his tribe, and also the tsintsina (a bird,
Gisticola Madagascariensis) ; and they assembled in great numbers.
But the wild-hog boasted so much that only two or three of his
friends came. And when they were assembled the wild-hog began to
eat, but the tsintsinas called out, " Tsintsino, tsintsino ! " &c. and the
frogs croaked, " Ireo, ireo ! " &c.* And when the wild-hog heard
that he could endure no longer, but fled. So the frogs and the birds
cried out, " Curses on you, you stupid ! there is nothing at all, and
you flee without any one pursuing."
* Words which the natives fancy the birds and frogs say in their cries and
croaking.
Vol. 2.— -Part 3.
CHILDKEN'S GAMES IN SICILY.*
I HIS forms the thirteenth volume of that marvellous collec-
tion commenced not many years ago by Dr. Pitre, and
well-known to students of folk-lore under the title of
*' Biblioteca delle tradizioni popolari Siciliane." Of this
collection the first three volumes contain popular songs and a study of
popular poetry, with a glossary and grammar of the Sicilian dialect
and its variations. The four following volumes are a gathering of
folk-tales so novel and so interesting that the rest of Europe has as
yet been able to furnish nothing in real rivalry to them. The next
volumes are devoted to the proverbs of the island contrasted with
those of the Italian peninsula. The twelfth volume treats of the
public spectacles and festivals of Sicily. The thirteenth is the one
now before us.
By this briefest of summaries, the non-Italian reader will see what
Dr. Pitre has been able to achieve in the course of a few revolving
years, without eflfectual aid or suggestion from fellow-students or
previous workers in the same field.
Knowing this preliminarily, the reader will not be surprised to
learn that the present volume is a worthy pendant to its delightful
predecessors. Like them, it is no pensive production of the study and
the library; but its author has sought and found his subjects wherever
very young, untrammelled Sicily exercises its sportive ingenuity and
vents its animal spirits. And the results of these investigations of
Dr. Pitr^ are fresh as the games themselves and the boys that play
them.
Dr. Pitre insists preliminarily upon the important bearings of his
* Giuochi faneiuleschi Siciliani, raccolti e descritti da Giuseppe Pitre con
dieci tavole a fototipia, quattro a litografia ed una a stampa. Palermo: Luigi
Pcdooe Lauriel, editore. 1883.
children's games in SICILY. 83
subject upon metaphysics, ethnology, and folk-lore. None at the
present day will be inclined to dispute this postulate.
He remarks with feeling that children have a haunting idea that
their happy, careless life will eventually change into something more
Fruitful and graver. In spite of the genial haze that surrounds them
they play at games that reflect somewhat the thoughts and actions of
their hardworked and responsible elders. Thus boys when they spin
tops and play at marbles hope to win button^ or some other sorry
representatives of value. They even, liroh pudor, strain after the gain
of the humblest coppers at " pitch and toss," " heads or tails." The
little girls who keep proudly aloof from all such vulgarities as these
equally, in their turn, desire to imitate their own natural leaders.
They prettily copy les petits soins of their honoured mothers, and
dress and nurse a mimic icon, mystically called a doll, but which in
the days of their great-grandmothers was more simply and intelligibly
styled a baby. Domestic duties in anticipation exercise their well-
disposed minds to the same extent as a nascent auri sacra fames
weighs upon the thoughts of their more restless brothers.
The sports of boys, as being ruder, more slovenly, and more bois-
terous, are naturally exclusively their own. No one has ever seen
girls emulate the ruder sex at leap-frog.
But there is a class of intermediate pastimes, neither too rough nor
too refined, at which both sexes can meet on even ground and animate
each other by their natural sympathy. We mean " blind man's buff,"
" puss in the corner," &c.
To begin our task, we have first to remark that Sicilian boys have
all the games known to our English boys, excepting, of course, cricket
and rounders.
Their games are, perhaps, enacted with more spirit and liveliness?
and have more spoken yb/vnw/o? and dialogue.
Sicilian boys also, with a truer feeling for what will ensure the
success of their sports, in all cases that admit of it, choose a leader
(capegiucS). This measure ensures not only order and good govern-
ment but preserves that accuracy of tradition which a democratic
administration would weaken or revolutionise.
Here are some of the Southern games. — A boy holds nuts or apricots
g2
84 children's games in SICILY.
in one hand, while another boy gnessos the number of them in answer
to the question, " Quantu lanzi " (how many lances). If he guesses
rightly he wins all that are held in the hand, but if he guesses less or
more he pays the difference.
In Shakespeare's day this was called " Handy Dandy," and he
alludes to it under that name in a well-known passage in King Lear.
There are two other games of this same family which merit notice,
as breathing the air of the fruit-bearing island. A boy cuts open an
orange, or a lemon, or a medlar, and another is invited to guess rightly
the number of the pips or the stones.
A boy takes in one hand two straws, one longer than the other,
another boy undertakes to guess which is which, and wins or loses
according to the accuracy of his clairvoyance.
Some urchins play at an infantile roulette which they call by the
innocent and unpretending name of Firialoru.
In the game called acula e cruci we have the English heads or tails ^
now confined to boys in whose vulgar faces the board school shuts its
door. In Italy the title has varied according to the coin employed,
" Head or cross " in Naples, " Lily or saint " in Florence.
In IJaneddu is disguised our old friend " Hot Cockles." Here a
number of boys sit round on the ground and put their hands close
together. The leader holds a stone, or a nut, or a lupin, a ring, a
thimble, or a small key, and passes it on to the others in silence.
Then he asks one of them who has this object. If the boy guesses
rightly he becomes leader, but if not he opens his hand to receive a
blow (rume) in forfeit.
In A lu SpangUf three or more boys go close to a wall or some
other elevation or upright. Three yards or so from this is drawn a
line to serve as the limit of the play, and a hole is scooped. Then
one of the boys begins the play by striking the wall with a copper
coin. This copper should rebound and cross the line, and so if possible
go into the hole. Then another boy follows, and if he sends his coin
into the hole after passing the line he wins double (stravince'). If he
fails by going beyond the line he loses and leaves his copper behind
him.
A li Pisuli. — This is played with marbles (pezzettini di mattone
children's games in SICILY. 85
arrotondati), eighteen or sixteen in number, or witli peacli-stones.
Two boys play. They first determine who is to take the jnsuli^ as
they are called. The winner at this preliminary trial puts them all
into the hollow of his hand and throws them into the air {in alto)^
catching them as they fall on the back of his hand. Again he throws
them up and catches them in the hollow of his hand. These latter
he wins.
A lu Struzzi. — Is played with hard-boiled eggs {uova sode). The
eggs are tried thus : a boy with the end of his own e^g beats upon an
e^^ proffered by another boy ; whichever egg is broken is forfeited.
A la Sciddicalura. — This little game breathes of country simplicity.
Two boys select a spot of ground on an inclined plane. First a nut is
started down the incline, and allowed to remain wherever it has stopped.
Then the other boys each in turn set a nut or an almond rolling down
the same descent, and hope it will strike the original nut.
A Murari. — In this a little more skill is evidenced. Upon a rising
ground a row of nuts, apples, or apricot stones, contributed by all the
players, is placed. The players, according to priority, and at a distance
settled amongst themselves, pitch similar objects at this row, and what
each knocks out he wins.
This is quite famihar to English boys, by whom it is played with
marbles.
Sometimes the nuts to be struck out are put in a small heap, and
then the game has a suspicion of j7i/ramids (a li casteddu).
A lu Granu supra la nuci. — This is played as follows :
A boy who is to act as the bank places firmly and upright in the
ground a walnut, and surmounts it with a piece of two centesimi (a
diminutive coin which in our peregrinations in the Peninsula it has
never been our great good fortune to have seen). Other boys fire
away at this with their own walnuts from a fixed distance. If the
standing walnut is fairly hit and the coin falls off the thrower wins it.
There is a variety of this game, the interest in which extends
beyond Sicily. Sometimes the walnut is placed upright before a
hole, and into this hole the coin must not fall. Here is Aunt Sally
in a state of decent simplicity, devoid of its huge tropical fruit and its
sometimes unsober boisterousness, acquired through becoming a pas-
86 children's games in sicily.
time for adults. In a lu Titrnu the circle or hole is larger, and the
hitting is done with a ladle (inestola).
A la morti o a quartaccio.
This is by necessity played in towns. Some boys, undeterred by the
sanitary scruples of the age, assemble round one of the large flat
stones (lastre) which cover drains in a city. Such a stone is usually
pierced with five round holes, or with three horizontal slits called by
the boys morti. The first player, from a point agreed upon, pitches a
ball (or an orange) at one of these holes. If it stops there the boy
scores, and then tries for the other holes after the same fashion.
Sometimes the necessary holes are not found ready made, but have
to be made in the ground (a li casseddi.)
A gnicchiu o palasu. This game has more interest for us, as we
shall see. Two longitudinal lines are marked upon the ground, and
are divided into transverse sections, so as to form from seven to nine
compartments called nicchie. The first player drops a little disc
{jtalasu) into the first niche, and then hops on one leg, holding the
other leg well up, into the first niche, and kicks the palasu into the
second and other niches. He must not touch the line or put down
his foot except at the fourth niche, otherwise he is out.
At this part of his book Dr. Pitre appends an interesting photo-
type of boys, some playing, and others looking on at the game (our
hopscotch).
A lu Balluni is our football.
A Manciugghia is something like the much-dreaded tipcat of our
London streets.
A Bocci e a Ravtgghia is a rudimentary croquet.
A la Strummula is spinning-top playing in all its displays of dex-
terity.
A Cancara e bella and a Gadduzza are " Buck, buck, how many
horns do I hold up ? "
A Bue is " Hide and seek."
Ad attuppa occhi, ad aacetta canuncce nudduj a caca linuaa, Piunu
russu, are *' Blindman's buff" and " Puss in the comer."
A SetamurUf a Tintiriuti.
In these two games a boy mounts the back of another boy and
r
children's GAMKS in SICILY. 87
keeps him thus in penance whilst he counts a given number. If he
fails to keep it up rightly he descends, and the other boy takes his place.
A Unnici e venti^ a Travu longUf is a form of leapfrog.
A ca passa lu diavolo. — This is a piece of merry southern levity.
Two rows of boys standing opposite to each other join their arms so
as to form a gallery. Then the leader takes a boy on his shoulders,
letting his legs hang down on his chest, and passes under the gallery
(or arch), saying, " St. John (or whatever else the boy's name)
passes." The others, giving him a gentle knock in the ribs, say, " Let
him pass." The leader repeats this proceeding with other boys, saying,
" St. Joseph passes," and so on for seven or eight times. Then he
essays with another, using the formula. Ah ca passa lu diavolo (Now
comes the devil), and thereupon all the boys pitch into both, and the
game ends in a romp. This is a very popular pastime.
A Tila, tilay tila.
This is our " Oranges and Lemons," so dear to both sexes in
England. Several boys play. Two are chosen to be chief and under-
chief. All take each other by the hand and form a long chain, the
extremities of which are held by the two chiefs, the first of whom
starts with the other the following dialogue : 1. " Tila, tila, tila."
2. 'Half an ell of tUa." 1. "What will you pay me for it?"
2. "Three tari and a half." L "I cannot give it you for that."
2. " What music do you wish, the violin or the big drum? "
If the under-chief says " Violin," the other holding his comrade by
the hand says, " Zu, zu, zu" (in imitation of the instrument). If the
boy says "Grancascia" (big drum), his companion says, " Buhm,
buhm," and draws away the boy and those who are held by him, and
passes with them under the arms of the first two at the other
extremity, and so on with the others until they are all turned round.
A toccamuru. — This is our " touch." A boy must touch the wall
or he is caught, and consequently " out.'*
A la tappina is hunt the slipper, and requires no further specifi-
cation.
A lu Castellu is our simple romp, " I'm king of the castle." Dr.
Pitre justly observes of it : " It is a game of strength, agility, and
dexterity," viz. in storming and defending the "castle," which is
BB children's games in sicilt.
nny little eminence of ground. This game forms an appropriate
introduction to prisoner's bars (or base), played in Italy and Sicily
under the name of a It Pahzzi, and most closely resembling our own
game.
With this we conclude our gleanings from Dr. Pitre's charming
exegesis. Our object has been throughout this notice, long as it may
Appear, not to exhaust his treasury, but only to intimate with some-
thing like sufficient particularity what are the contents of this very
remarkable book. The games described by Dr. Pitr^, exceeding in
number three hundred, and not confined to the Italian island only,
have presented a task of some magnitude, and could not of course be
given in their absolute integrity within our limited space.
The reader doubtless has seen that a very great number of the
games so described by us do not admit of even the local restriction
implied by Dr. Pitre, large as that is, but have long ago passed the
Alps and taken up their abode amongst us here. When and how did
this emigration take place? We know for certain that children's
games are not taught by books, they are only passed on from place to
place by personal propaganda, the lively indoctrination of young pro-
fessors into the ready minds of catechumens quite as youthful. Such
also must have been the general method through which in its present
and final result we find the boys of Surrey and Yorkshire practising
a childish folk-lore common to them with their young contemporaries
of Sicily and Italy. But under what conditions was this tradition
formally initiated ? There is no real difficulty, we think, in answering
this question — we mean, of course, in a general way. Britain was
for nearly four centuries a Latin country, and as we owe to this
historical fact the explanation of many other Latin traditions which
we have in our midst, we do not see that there need be much repug-
nance to refer our childish games, Latin as they betray themselves to
be, to the same interesting category of cause and effect.
But however this be, we cannot close our notice of this admirable
book without calling our readers' attention to an entirely novel and
very interesting feature of it, the phototypes taken of boys as they
stand engaged in the various games described in the text.
H. C. COOTK.
BURMESE ORDEALS.*
N a lecture by Mr. R. H. Pileher, C.S., before the Insti-
tute, I find the following about Burma. The oath ordeal
is often proposed by one of the parties to a suit them-
selves. f The Burmese are a very religious people, and
regard an oath with some dread. They are not litigious or quarrel-
some, and thus A often says " If B will swear to his version of the
story I will be satisfied."
There are three other forms of ordeal. In one, two candles, one for
each party, of equal size, and with equally thick wicks, are solemnly
burnt on an altar, or in a temple, and the party is worsted whose
candle goes out first.
In another each man's forefinger is wrapped round with feathers,
so as to leave the tip exposed. The forefingers are plunged into
molten lead, and then tied up for a few days. If one party is injured
and the other is not, the former loses. If there is difficulty in deciding
which is the more hurt the fingers are pricked, and the flow of serum
from the one finger and not from the other determines the point.
The third kind of ordeal is by water. The two parties go into suffi-
ciently deep water, and their heads are pushed down with poles. He
wins who can remain under longest.
It is in these days allowed to undergo this (and I suppose other
ordeals) by deputy, a permission which seems to detract not a little
from their value. But indeed they are not often resorted to.
* From the Jmrnal of the United Service Institution of India for 1882,
vol. xi. No. 53, pp. 310-312. Simla.
t In India, among the lowers, it is not at all uncommon for one of the parties
to say that he will abide by the other's oath to the truth of a statement. The
oath is then administered in the particular form the applicant desires, and he is
obliged by law to abide by the result.
90 NOTES AND QUERIES.
When Crawford visited Ava in 1826, however, this could hardly
have been the case, for he even gives details of the various fees pay-
able to those who assisted at the ordeals.
I may here remark that in Upper Burma oaths are not used as in
our courts on ordinary occasions. They are regarded as a kind of
ordeal themselves, and are only taken in the last resort by one of the
parties, on the agreement of the other to be bound by the result. The
oath is taken with great solemnity before the altar, and a sort of fes-
tival is held on the occasion, the parties and their friends going with
a band in holiday attire to the temple.
After judgment is given, and if the parties agree to abide by it, they
both eat tea, and the judgment then becomes final. If they do not
so agree they may appeal to a higher court. Sometimes if the worsted
party is considered unreasonable or contumacious he is imprisoned for
a time, to compel him to eat tea and accept the court's decision.
R. C. Temple.
NOTES AND QUERIES.
Co. Donegal, May Eve. — In the neighbourhood of Lough Swilly
and Letterkenny they light fires from three to six days before May
Eve, while on the day the hills are in a blaze with fires. They also
light fires on New Lammas day (August 1st), while only a few light
on St. John's Eve (June 23), but in North and West Donegal they
light extensively on the latter day.
On May Eve they pull bunches of the " May flower " (King cup, or
Marsh Marigold, Caltha palustris), and put them over the doors of
their houses. Also on May Eve the boys and girls cut out a square sod
in which grows a " Yarrow " (Millfoil, Achillea mil I folium), and put it
under their pillow; if they have not spoken between the time of cutting
the sod and going to sleep they will dream of their sweetheart. The
sod ought to be of a certain size, but what that size should be seems
NOTES AND QUERIES. 91
uncertain. This custom is said to have been introduced into the
country by the Scotch settlers. G. H. Kinahan.
Proverbial Rhymes from the North of Fife:—
" A reeky house,
An' a girnin man,
Are sure to mak'
A puir thing wan."
The next was uttered, in the end of the last century, by a co-heiress
when urged to sell her patrimonial property: —
*' Bawbees are round,
And rin away. *
A grip o' the grand
Is gude to hae."
The following, which was told me by one still jalive, embodies a
proverb which I never heard before. " I met ■ . He came up
smiling. As he usually passes without recognition I saw that * he
had an axe to grind.' An operation that requires two. He had a
favour to ask." Alex. Laing.
Newburgh-on-Tay.
Changelings in Ireland. — I think the following extract from the
Irish Fireside for January 7, 1884 (p. 464), is worth preserving in
the Folk-Lore Journal : — " On page 374, column 3, paragraph 8, of
the Fireside for December 10, it is stated that the poor, dreadful
banshee, to the philosophical mind, is a fraud. Are not the fairies
some of the fallen angels, who, for consenting to take part with the
rebel archangel, were cast out of heaven ; but not sent to hell as the
more guilty of the rebel hosts were, but were permitted to alight and
remain on earth ? Is it not they that sometimes seized and carried
off, and detained for years, persons, sometimes children, sometimes
adults ? I will narrate a case in point — a case which occurred about
fifteen years ago in the parish of . A boy was taken away
by the invisible beings, and one of themselves left instead. The late
P. P. of (Father ) came forward, and by the exercise
of that power which Christ left to his apostles and their successors
when He said, * Those who believe in Me, those signs follow in My
name. They shall speak with new tongues, they shall cast out devils,
they shall lay hands upon the sick, and they shall be whole ; ' not-
92 NOTES AND QUERIES.
withstanding that many pretended reformers say miracles are false
because they have never been able to do any in confirmation of their
errors, as Moses and Joshua, and others mentioned in Holy Writ had
done, — he caused the elf to disappear, and the boy to come forward, in
order to know the conditions on which he was to be restored to his
family. The conditions being told, the boy had to return to his
invisible captivity, the elf again taking his place in his father's house
until they would be fulfilled. The first condition was — To dip the elf
three times in Lough Lane (a small lake in the eastern part of West-
meath), which being done, a curl came on the water, and up from the
deep came the naked fonn of the boy, who walked on the water to his
father on shore. The father wrapped his overcoat about his son, and
commenced his homeward march, accompanied by a line of soldiers,
who also came out of the lake. The boy's mother was enjoined not
to speak until the rescuing party would reach home. She accidentally
spoke, and immediately the son dropped a tear, and forced himself
out of his father's amis, piteously exclaiming — * Father, father, my
mother spoke. You cannot keep me. I must go.' He disappeared,
and, reaching home, his father found the sprite again on the hearth.
Father came again for the second time. The boy was brought
forward for a similar purpose. Mostly the same performances were
required, and the same phenomena occurred. But this time the mother
kept a profound silence. At every stream crossed on the way home
from Lough Lane, the car on which the boy was carried was upset,
and himself fainted. He was safely restored to his family. He had
during his few months of preternatural exile acquired some extra-
ordinary knowledge of several things. He has since grown to man-
hood, and was, for delivering some Land League harangues, one of
the suspects arrested under Mr. Forster's warrant."
James Britten.
Sleeping North and South. — ''A correspondent called attention
in our last week's issue to the scientific confirmation that had been
given to the custom mentioned in Jewish writings of sleeping north
and south. This, or a similar custom, is, however, by no means so
limited in area as our correspondent seems to think. The Hindoos
believe that * to sleep with the head to the north will cause one's
NOTES AND QUERIES. 93
days to be shortened, to the south will bring longevity.' Notions of
this char.acter are spread over the folk-lore of many parts of England
and Germany. A physician who died at Magdeburg, at the advanced
age of 109, states in his will the manner in which he preserved his
life. ' Assume,' he said, ' as often as convenient, and especially
during the hours of sleep, the horizontal position : the head towards
the North Pole, and the rest of the body in a direction as much as
possible that of the meridian. By this means the magnetic currents
which pervade the surface of the globe keep up a regular and normal
kind of nutrition of the mass of iron contained in the economy ; and
hence arises the increase of vital principle which regulates all the
organic phenomena having a direct action on the preservation of
life.' — Lancet^ March 3, 1866. Notes and Queries, Dec. 3, 1870.
A quarter of a century before this date, however, a system of
" Odylic Force," or the " Old Force," had been introduced by Dr.
Reiclienbach, the leading idea of which was identical with the fore-
going. A Dr. Rogers asserts that "when he had failed by every
otlier prescription to bring sleep to invalid children, he recommended
their couches or little beds to be turned due north and south, the head
of the child being placed towards the north. He had never failed by
this process to induce sleep." These facts, whether scientifically
accurate or not, will suffice to prove that this particular position in
sleeping was commonly regarded as the most favourable one possible.
We think that many customs of this kind, which are sometimes con-
sidered as mere superstitions, may be traced to some underlying truth
which affords a more or less sufficient justification for them." — Jewish
Chronicle, Sept. 28, 1883. D'Arcy Power.
Folk Tales. — In a very instructive and interesting little Roman
Catholic book, entitled Books for Children and Young Fersonsy
book X. " The Sight of Hell," by the Rev. J. J. Furniss, C.S.S.R.
(p. 24), I find the following curious variant of a well-known folk tale:
" A Measure. — A Bird. — We can measure almost anything. We
can measure a field or a road. We can measure the earth. We can
measure how far it is from the earth to the sun. Only one thing there
is which never has and never will be measured, and that is Eternity —
for ever !
94 NOTES AND QUEKIES.
" Think of a great solid iron ball, larger than the heavens and the
earth. A bird conies once in a hundred millions of years and just
touches the great iron ball with a feather of its wing. Think that
you have to burn in a fire till the bird has worn the great iron ball
away with its feather. Is this Eternity ? No." John Fenton.
A German Folk-lore Expression. — The following proverbial saying,
the source of which puzzled even a Jacob Grimm, may claim your
readers' attention: ^^Jemanden ill's Bockshoi'Ji jagen" ; lit., to drive
some one into the he-goat's horn, i.e., to intimidate him. Grimm
thinks this phrase must have originated far more remotely than it
has now been traced. He quotes the corresponding Kussian phrase,
" Sog?nst' kogo v' haranii rog^^ i.e., to drive some one into the ram's-
horn, which he suggests may have been borrowed {y. Deuisches Wor-
terbuch, ii. 208). Since I find, however, a peculiar superstition con-
nected with this Slavonic expression, viz., that wicked beings are
conjured by it, as by a charm or incantation, to be transformed and to
disappear (v. Slavisches Archiv, ed. Jagic, vii. 509), the Russian
saying, it seems to me, must have an origin of its own, perhaps
anterior to the German. H. Krebs.
Oxford.
Roumanian Ch&Tms.— Against Tooth-ache.-^^ii beside an ant-hill,
masticate a crust of black bread, spit it out, and over the ant-hill ; as
the ants eat the bread, the tooth-ache will cease. — Against Quinsy. —
At midnight, and when the moon is increasing, go out, put yourself to
the left of the moon, gaze fully on it, and at the same time rub the
throat sharply, and repeat three times, ** In the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen;" then go away in
silence, and say nothing to any one. — Speedy Cure for a Wound. —
Take the instrument which was the cause of the wound, plunge it into
a piece of bacon, and let it remain there until the wound is healed,
which will come to pass very shortly. E. B. Mawer.
Charm for Toothache. — The following is a variant of the Irish
charm for toothache given in vol. ii. p. 33 :
Upwards of sixty years ago a woman, at Looe, in south-east Cornwall,
complained to a neighbouring woman that she was suffering from
toothache, on which the neighbour remarked that she could give a
NOTICES AND NEWS. 95
clianii of undoubted efficacy. It was to be in writing, and worn
constantly about the person ; but, unfortunately, it would be valueless
if the giver and receiver were of the same sex. This difficulty was
obviated by calling in my services, and requesting me to write from
dictation the following words : —
" Peter sat in the gate of Jerusalem. Jesus cometh unto him and
saith, ' Peter, what aileth thee ? ' He saith, ' Lord, I am grievously
tormented with the toothache.' He saith, ' Arise, Peter, and follow
me.' He did so, and immediately the toothache left him ; and he
followed him in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost."
The charm, being found to be correctly written, was held to have
been presented to me by the dictator. I at once gave it to the
sufferer, who placed it in a small bag and wore it round her neck.
Wm. Pengelly.
Torquay, Feb. 1, 1884.
NOTICES AND NEWS.
In the last session of the fifth section of the Congress of Orientalists,
held at Leyden in Holland in September last, the subject of the best
mode of preserving and publishing the proverbial literature and folk-
lore of the East was brought before the members by the Reverend James
Long, a Member of the Royal Asiatic Society, formerly Clergyman
at Calcutta, now residing in London. At his proposal the following
resolution was passed: — "That the collection, interpretation, and
publication of the proverbial literature, songs, and folk-lore of the East
is urgent at the present time, when Oriental society is in a transition
state. This proverbial literature, handed down from remote ages
through the memory of the people, elucidates in many points the
social conditions, feelings, and opinions of the masses, besides throwing
light on various questions of philology, archaBology, and history. The
rescuing from oblivion of those Eastern traditions can best be carried
96 KOTlCIiS AND NEWS.
out by a Committee drawing up a circular on the above basis, to be
transmitted to learned Societies in Holland, England, France and
Russia, in order that they may refer them in the East to Oriental
societies, schoolmasters, editors of newspapers and periodicals, and
Christian missionaries." The Eoyal Colonial Institute of the Hague
has resolved to carry out the plan with respect to the Dutch colonies
in the East by forwarding the above resolution, with a request that
replies be sent to the Batavian Society of Arts and Sciences at
Batavia.
The Sixth Report of the Committee on Devonshire Folk-Lore has just
reached us. It contains among other items cure for red milk in cows,
cure for warts, cure for udder-ill, cure for stye-in-the-eye, erysipelas
charm, cure for whooping-cough, cure for bites of snakes, witchcraft,
Millbrook May-day ship, popular beliefs and sayings, waning of the
moon.
The Countess Martinengo Cesaresco has forwarded for distribution
a few copies of a paper she has reprinted, *' La Canzonetta della
Sumaca." Mr. Gomme will be glad to forward one to any member
desiring it.
Mr. Kaarle Krohn, the son of Dr. Krohn, of Wasa, is now travelling
in the Baltic provinces of Russia, collecting the folk-lore of the
Esthonian and Lettish population.
The firm of Henninger, of Heilbronn, announce a second series of
KpvTTTabia, to be issued by subscription in an edition of only 135
copies, at the price of twenty marks.
Dr. Ludwig-Fritze, of Drossen, has published, with Schulze, of
Leipzig, a new translation into German of Pantschatantra, which has,
says the Academy^ at least the merit of being written in a most
polished literary style. We believe that Benfey's version (1859) has
now become quite a rare book.
A meeting of the Society was held at the rooms of the Asiatic
Society, 22, Albemarle Street, on January 25, Mr. W. R. S. Ralston,
V.P., in the chair. Mr. Rhys Davids gave a paper on " The oldest
collection of folk-lore extant" — the Buddhist Jatakas. As Mr.
Davids kindly promises to send a transcript of his communication for
publication, we shall not give here the usual summary.
SZEKELY FOLK-MEDICINE,
[Founded upon F. Kozma's Inaugural Address, given before the Hungarian
Academy of Science (May 8, 1882), entitled, " Mythological Elements in
Szckely Folk-Lore and Folk-Life."]
HERE are about forty different diseases which are known
by their popular names among the people. Any other
disease, the name of which is not known, is simply called
<' a heavy illness " or " a great illness " {nyavalya in
Hungarian).
According to their origin, the diseases may be grouped under two
heads, viz. those which are contracted in a natural way, and those
the origin of which is attributed to some superstitious cause. To
the latter group belong, for instance, madness and its various symp-
toms (the patient is said to have been "deceived" or "tempted by
the spirits "), and the illness is brought on by the evil spirit having
possessed the patient ; lunacy (= somnambulism under the influence
of the moon), the patient is carried off by goblins or " white women,"
who make him dance every night; convulsions are also the doings of
the evil spirit; some boils originate by the person stepping on to a
place where a horse has been lying, or also by his walking into ** out-
pourings " (where a liquid or some decoction of seeds has been poured
out amidst witchcraft ceremonies) ; * wens are caused by trying to
count the number of the stars, &c.t
* See description of cure by pouring out water.
t One day as I (translator) was travelling on the Northern Railway in Hun-
gary, I noticed a woman who had cancer in the face. On mentioning this fact
later on to an elderly lady, I indicated the spot on my own face, and drew an
outline of the shape of the cancer. The old lady was very much shocked, and
informed me that it was an exceedingly unlucky thing to do, as by so doing I
myself ran the risk of being similarly afEected in exactly the same spot. — (L.L.K.)
Vol. 2.— Part 4. h
•J8 SZEKELY FOLK-xMEDlCINE.
Ill treating the different diseases either natural means are employed
or charms are resorted to. Among the former the most prominent
place is occupied by the deadly nightshade (atrojja belladonna), which
being a very poNverful di'ug naturally commends itself to general use.
The other drugs most frequently used are : lovage {ligusticum),
common birthwort (aristolochia clematitis), henbane seed {hyosciamu$\
root of adder's tongue (ophioglossuin), thorn-apple (jilatura), goose-
foot {chenopodium liyhridum), flixweed* (^sisymhrium so/jAm), celandine
(cheltdonium majus), bear's-foot (hellehorus), yarrow (achillea mille-
folium), plantain or rib-grass (plantago), fruit of dwarf-elder {sambucus
ebulus), burdock (the kind known as lappa major) ; also, linseed, the
bark or blossom of various trees, horse-radish, capsicum,f pepper,
" spice," cloves, aniseed, onion, garlic, &c., from among the products
of the vegetable kingdom.
These drugs are used in preparing the various ointments, lotions,
or baths, or are taken internally according to the nature of the
complaint ; when taken internally they are invariably, or with very
few exceptions, administered in wine or spirits. Our ** doctors "
very seldom prescribe anything made up of purely mineral ingredients.
Their pharmacopoeia, however, includes incense, " almanach-tincture,"
"nothing," tar, gunpowder,| brimstone, vinegar, and ashes, § all of
which are used in small doses, in making up the different kinds of
ointments. The only medicaments taken from the animal kingdom are,
perhaps : wolfs fl.esh, fowl's eggs, the outer skin of the hen's gizzard,
the white foeces of the dog, the black excrements of the pig, and the
ears of the rat.|| These are taken internally, as a rule.
Some of these medicaments are quite harmless, but when the
♦ The Magyar name means *' wound-healing leaf," in all probability the same
as the " wound-healing grass " in popular tales. See " Knight Rose " in Kriza's
Collection.
t Capsicum powder Qpaprika) figures on every dinner-table in Hungary
instead of pepper, and also plays the same part in Hungarian cookery as curry
does in India.
X A mixture of gunpowder and spirits is also prescribed internally for ague.
§ The kinds of fuel mostly used are wood, turf, moss, and, on the Hungarian
lowlands, cow-dung.
II Live guinea-pigs are said to abstract rheumatism if kept in the same room
with the sufferer.— (Budapest.)
SZEKELY FOLK-MEDICINE. 99
prescription runs as follows : " take 9 half-prunes and in each D cap-
sicum seeds, 99 (sic) capsicum seeds in all"; or, "9 peppercorns,
some spice and cloves, all pounded together, and mixed with half a
quart of spirits," or, " a corresponding quantity of capsicum powder
and white pepper in a quart of wine, and drink the lot, when the
intermittent fever begins to torment you " ; — one cannot help shud-
dering when contemplating the overpowering effect which the above
compounds must produce, and may feel inclined to "prefer the evil
to the cure." And what must we think of the use of poisonous plants?
There is one recipe which is as follows : — " Put a spoonful of hyoscia-
mus seed into boiling water, cover your head with a table-cloth, and
inhale the vapour on to your aching tooth." * Or, '* make the insane
person take in wine a mixture composed of atropa belladonna, ligus-
ticum root, garlic and black excrementa of a pig, for nine consecu-
tive days, bathing the patient in a bath prepared with the same mix-
ture, and fumigate him after each bath with the fumes of the same
ingredients !" You will agree with me when I maintain that all
these cures are as many attempts against human life !
The number of these " doctors " — " doctoring men or women ' or
" learned men or women," as they are called — is very considerable per
county or even per village.
One of their number is, perhaps, famous for his or her treatment of
a cei-tain disease, while another may have a reputation for curing
another kind of ailment. Such a qualification constitutes a never-
failing source of revenue, and sometimes an heirloom in the family,
who naturally keep their knowledge the greatest secret. This very
secrecy forms a most serious impediment to the student of folk-medicine.
In order to lessen the danger of losing such revenue by the secret being
found out, the real fact of the matter is often enveloped in meaning-
less ceremonies. For instance, the gathering of the roots of the highly-
valued atropa belladonna is not of everyday importance. The digging
for these roots can only be carried on between the two St. George's days,
and then only by the person who does the collecting stripping himself
of all his clothes and by using certain charms and mumbling some
♦ I have seen this done in Yorkshire. — (W.H.J.)
h2
100 8Z]^KELY FOLK-MEDICINE.
mysterious words. Woe to him who undertakes the task without such
preparation, because either the devils will carry him off, or the trees of
the forest will fall on him and kill him. I have been fortunate enough
to find out one of these secrets. A peppercorn, some spice, and a little
salt, have to be put into a small piece of bread-crumb, all kneaded
together and buried in the hole from which the root has been extracted,
in order to satisfy the devil ; and at the same time the Lord's Prayer
and the Creed must be mumbled over once. It is not allowed to speak
a single word to anybody on the way there or back or during the
gathering itself. This, of course, is a precaution against eventual
molestation or inconvenient questioning by troublesome inquirers.
In many cases the preparation of the drug is also carried out amidst
similar mysterious and inexplicable magic words and the application
tied to strict outer formalities. For instance, if the medicine is a
liquid the doctor makes with his hand the sign of the cross over the
vessel containing the healing fluid ; and, dipping his fingers into it,
sprinkles some of it on the ground, in order to let the devil, too, have
his share. The water in which a patient has been bathed is to be
poured into a running stream, before sunrise, in the direction of the
flow of the water, and nobody must be spoken to on the road ; nor is it
allowed to look back.
To the natural medicaments belong also the local medicinal waters
that are used by the people and some fresh-water springs, the latter
being used for diseases of the eye. The afiected eye is to be bathed
with these waters, always before sunrise. The water drawn from
a well on the first day of March before sunrise is said to possess
universal healing power ; many people, therefore, keep a supply of it,
as much as will last them a whole year, in a closed vessel in the
house.* Our popular tales, too, mention the miraculous spring which
makes hands, that have been cut ofi*, grow again. And if cripples roll
in the dewy grass of the meadow on a Friday night which coincides
with the new moon, or if the blind wash their eyes with the dew, the
maimed limbs of the former and the eye-sight of the latter will be
♦ The water obtained by melting snow collected in the month of March is
said to have a beautifying effect on the skin, and is largely used for freckles. —
(Budapest.)
SZ^KELY FOLK-MEDICINE. lOl
restored again. {See " The Journey of Truth and Falsehood " and " The
Envious Sisters " in Kriza's Collection.)
All these outer formalities which accompany such magic cures show
an uninterrupted connection with religion. The performance begins in
the name of the Deity, and while it lasts it is strictly forbidden to
utter a single word of blasphemy ; on the contrary, prayers have to be
murmured, and the adverse influence of the devil has to be counter-
acted by some adequate means. All these facts clearly point to that
epoch of our old heathen religion when the cure of the sick was the
sacred occupation of our tatos * priests.
The people, not being able to explain the origin of some diseases,
or ascribing them directly to some superstitious cause, as a matter
of course resort to a treatment which is similarly based on super-
stition,! and thus we have arrived at the second group of cures, viz.
charms.
There are several kinds of these, of which the following may be
enumerated here : —
Lead-casting. — This cure is used for frenzy. A dish full of water
is placed on the patient's back and a piece of molten lead of about the
size of an eg^ is poured into the water, a short prayer being recited,
which may run as follows : '* My Lord, my God, take the frenzy out
of this person's heart ! " If the disease be of a graver character, the
casting of the lead is repeated nine times ; if less serious, five times
only, and the dish with the water therein placed each time on a
different part of the body. The various forms which the lead takes as
it solidifies will indicate whether a man, a dog, or a creature having
wings has caused the fright. When the final cast takes place they
draw a cross \ on the ground, and placing the dish on this sign they
* Name of the heathen priests of the old Magyars.
f It has been mentioned how wens or warts originate. They are cured by
touching them with a piece of raw meat, which afterwards is to be tied up in a
rag and buried in the gutter formed by the water dropping from the eaves. As
the meat rots the warts gradually disappear. — (Budapest.)
X " The popular superstition holds that the witches, or any evil spirit in gene-
ral, have no power on a cross-road. The case hence has occurred that patients
who have succumbed to the torments of the evil spirit have been buried in graves
clug at the meeting of two cross-roads in order to deliver them of their persecu-
102 SZ^KELY FOLK-MEDICINE.
profess to pour the molten lead on those who are impure, saying the
words, " This is not thine, this is somebody else's."
Pouring out water. — This cure is used against enchantment. The
sign of the cross is made by hand, and a tumbler full of water
is placed thereon ; a glowing cinder, broken into three pieces, is
thrown into the water with some such formulas as this: " Blue eyes,
black eyes. I will wash it with water by hand. If the cause of
the spell be a man, may his buttock burst ; if it be a woman, then
may her breast break out." Then they blow three times the sign of
the cross over the tumbler, and make the patient drink some of
the water, also three times ; they then wash with the water his spine,
forehead, nose, the soles of his feet, and the palms of his hands ; and
if in the daytime the remainder of the water is thrown on the eaves,
if at night on to a broom standing behind the house-door, in order that
nobody shall step into it, because if anybody stepped into such " out-
pourings " he would be afflicted with some skin disease. People are
particularly careful to guard little children from enchantment, and it
is customary in order to counteract the spell to spit * on the child.
(" Fie ! fie ! ugly one ! ") The power of enchantment is specially
attributed to gipsy-women and men whose eyebrows are grown
together. If, when throwing the glowing cinders into the water, two
pieces sink to the bottom, the spell comes from a man ; if only one,
the patient has been bewitched by a woman.
The enchantment is supposed to have power even over animals or
flowers (Proverb : " May enchantment seize you ! ") It is against the
effects of such a spell that they tie a red ribbon on to a foal's or calf's
neck, and for the same purpose that they draw red tassels through a
lamb's or kid's ears ; this also explains why the sprays of flowers are
hung with pieces of red cloth in every Szekely house. The red colour
is generally considered a preventive against enchantment.
tors, at least after death. I am of opinion that the sign of the cross, so generally
used at cures by means of charms, have no reference whatever to the sign of
Christianity, but refer to the cross-road of mythology." — F. Kozma, at another
place in his Inaugural Address.
* To spit into a person's face is considered a cure for stye in the eye. — (Buda-
pest.)
SZT?.KELY FOLK-MEDICINE. 103
■ /ncanfa^/ow is specially ueed as a cure for maggots* in animals. There
are several formula, of which the following may be mentioned here : —
The " doctor " starts off with a hair of the diseased animal, and walks
along until he comes to a dwarf-elder (sambucus ebulus) bush, from
which he cuts a twig ; he splits this crossways, places the hair he
brought with him into the split, and facing the east he begins thus :
"10 are not 10, 9 are not 9, 8 are not 8, . . . ." and so on down to 1.
Then he plants the twig into the ground and says, " May John
Smith's two-year old white sow have the maggots again when I pull
this twig out of the ground, fie ! fie ! " (spits on it). •' May the
maggots go while I am standing here, fie ! fie ! If she got them at
sunrise, may sunset not find them here ! If she got them at sunset,
may they be gone by sunrise, fie ! fie ! "
The practice of splitting the elder-spray is also used for the cure of
intermittent fever in man. The patient has to find a blackberry bush
which has three branches shooting from the same root. He must
then cut a twig from one of the branches and walk to the bank of a
stream before sunrise, where he has to stand looking up stream and
say the words, " May the fever seize me when I see this blackberry
twig again ! " whereupon he has to throw the twig over his head back
into the water.
Another incantation formula is the following : — On five slips of
paper write a formula mentioning the patient's name, &c. as under :
" John Smith, of Newport, who was bom on January 10th, 1850,
has the three-days' fever. I * admonish ' you herewith that if by the
eighth day you do not stop his fever, I will bind you, dry you, and
put you in the oven, burn you, and let the winds blow you away."
These five slips of paper are to be thrown, one by one, towards the
fire-place for five consecutive mornings, and to be burnt in the fire
on the eighth day.
Cases of sun-stroke also occur sometimes, and it is then said
that the patient " has a blind sun in the head." The incantation
in this case is carried out in the following manner: The enchanter
takes a pot and fills it with water taken from a place where two
streams meet and scooped in the direction of the flow. The water
* The larvae of a fly which deposits its eggs in the skins of animals.
104 SZ^KELY FOLK-MEDICINE.
is taken home, and the pot placed over the fire, and nine balls of
oakum, of about the size of hazel-nuts, and nine pieces of straw, with
knots on them, thrown into the water. A dish is then placed on
the patient's head, a needle thrown into it, the boiling-water poured
into the dish, and the empty pot placed into it, bottom upwards,
amidst words as the following : *' White sun, red sun, green sun, blue
sun, yellow sun, black sun ! Blind sun ! get out of this person's
head, or the great sun will overtake you on the road ! " These words
have to be repeated nine times, and then the Lord's Prayer said.
Thereupon the water is made boiling hot again, and the whole per-
formance gone through nine times, the whole process occupying thus
more than half of the day. Finally, the patient's head is washed in
the water, and the water that remains is thrown into the stream — in the
direction of the flow— so that the current may carry oflf the disease.
The patient then has to get up every day before sunrise until he is
recovered.
In the case of a person suffering from hot-fever, a cure known as
** calling out the disease " is applied. Some person belonging to the
patient has to strip quite naked, of an evening, and, wrapped into a
bed-sheet, stand outside the gate, where he has to drop the sheet, and
call out in a loud voice, " Let the whole village hear it ; let it be
heard ! My son (or brother, father, &c.) is writhing with hot-fever.
Whoever hears me, may he catch the disease!" This has to be
repeated three times.* The calling-out may also be done standing
under a flue or under the hood of a hearth.
I may also mention a few kinds of the lower class of charms, such
as, for instance, protecting the cow's milk against wicked women or
witches by fumigating the bam, or placing garlic and " Satan-shot
grass " over the door or into a hole in the threshold, or by keeping
a horse -shoe constantly in the fire, or by placing on one of the beams
a piece of dough made with woman's milk and seven different kinds
of spice mixed into it. Weasels are kept off by placing a distaff in
the barn, &c.
♦ Influenza can be got rid of by rubbing the nose on a door-handle and calling
out, " Whoever will be first to touch this door-handle may he get my cold."
— (Budapest.)
SZ^KELY FOLK-MEDICINE. 105
Formulae are used also in these cases ; as, for instance, when they
strew millet in front of a barn they say, " May my cow's milk be
taken away when this millet is gathered up again." The passage of
goblins can be stopped by besmearing the doors, windows, and key-
holes with a mixture of garlic, incense, and pig's excrements. To
guard against the influence of the fiend, garlic has to be constantly
carried about in the pocket.* The first food given to young chickens
has to be passed through a wolf's throat ; and bees, when they leave
their hives for the first time in the spring, have also to pass through
a wolf's throat, in order that they may gain strength and gather
much honey. On the morning of New Year's day the cattle must be
watered from off a silver coin, so that they may be guarded against any
mishap. When sowing hemp the stockings or breeches are to be
fastened high, so that the plants may grow high. By walking back-
wards three times round a wheat-field at night-time naked the wheat
will be protected against a plague of birds.
There are innumerable charms to be found for every condition in
life. They begin with the children's play, as, for instance, in the case
of a game similar to the one known in England as ^^egg in the hole" :
the child guards itself against its playmate's luck by making a cross in
front of his hole, and saying, " Fie ! roll into my hole."
It is my impression that in the case of all cures by charms the
outer formalities, as they are used now-a-days, are simply the remnants
of a more complicated procedure ; in days gone by they constituted
the outer cover, the purpose of which was to distract the attention
from the real cure. I am confirmed in this view by the fact that
some sorcerers apply quick-lime besides the blackberry- twig for the
destruction of maggots in animals. Others, while curing intermittent
fever by the aid of the five paper scraps recommend as an '^ auxiliary "
measure that the patient should keep a strict diet during the eight
days which are occupied by the cure.
Wm. Henry Jones.
Lewis L. Kropp.
Thornton Lodge, Goxhill, Hull.
* Horse-chestnuts are carried about in the pocket as a preventive against dizzi-
ness in some parts of Austria.
HIPPIC FOLK-LORE FROM THE NORTH-
EAST OF SCOTLAND.
HE following hippie folk-wisdom I have got from old
people in the parish, and they tell me they had it from
old folks, so that its age cannot be less than a century : — j
" Four feet fite fell 'im ; ;
Three feet fite sell 'im ;
Twa feet fite gee 'im t' your wife ; j
Ae fit fite keep 'im a' his life." \
Another version is : —
" Four fite feet fell 'im ;
Three fite feet sell 'im ; ^
Twa fite feet keep 'im for your wife ; 1
Ae fite fit keep 'im a' his life." •
A third version is : — 1
" Four fite feet keep 'im not a day ; j
Three fite feet sell 'im in (if) you may ; '
Twa fite feet you may sell 'im t' your breether ; J
Ae fite fit dinna sell 'im never." -^
A fourth version is : — Hi
" One fite fit buy *t ; ^
Twa fite feet try 't ; !
Three fite feet look weel aboot it ;
Four fite feet gang withoot it."
There are nine points in a good horse. You will find three of them j
in a fox, three in a hare, and three in a woman. Like the fox he
must be deep-ribbit, straight-backit, and bushy-tailt ; like the hare, i
clean-limbt, quick-eet, and prick-luggit ; and like a woman, weel-
hippit, weel-breastit, and easy-mountit.
HIPPlC FOLK-LORE FROM SCOTLAND. 107
With regard to the management of the horse it is said : —
" Up the hill trot me not ;
Doon the hill gallop me not ;
In the fair road spare me not ;
In the stable forget me not."
There is another and a somewhat contradictory version : —
" Up hill drive me not ;
Doon hill spare me not ;
In the stable forget me not."
With regard to shoeing it is said : -^
" Place a bit upo' the tae,
T' help the horse t' climb the brae ;
Raise the cawker i' the heel,
T' gar the horsie trot weel."
To this may be added the following proverbs, familiar to me from
boyhood, and customs told me by Mr. Duncan, blacksmith, who has
shared in the festivities.
He hiz nae mehr conscience nor a cadger's horse ; i.e.j he is greedy,
or he is unscrupulous in asking or taking.
A'll gee you yer com afore yer water ; spoken as a threat of doing
some injury to one who has offended you.
I widd (would) raither be a back-chain wintin grease till a cadger's
cairt.
I widd raither be a back-chain till a cairt, or a donkey to the cairds
(tinkers).
I widd raither be a back-chain till a cairrier's cairt though it were
aye gyain doon hill ; always used to express the most decided refusal
amounting to disgust.
To eat like a horse ; said of one who eats more than usual.
To sweat like a horse ; i.e., to perspire profusely.
As hungry's a horse ; spoken of one having a good appetite.
A's sicks a horse.
He (she) hiz the stamak o' a horse ; spoken of one who has a
strong digestion.
He's (she) a perfect horse.
He's (she) as strong's a horse.
108 HIPPIO POLK-LORB PROM SCOTLAND. ^
To work like a horse. I
He's nae t' ride the water on; e'.e., he is not to be depended on.
It's time t' steek the stable-door fin the steed's stow en. 1
Like draws t' like'. ^
Like a scabbit horse till a fehl dyke.
Shank's mare, or marie.
Shank's naig or naigie ; i.e.y the legs ; spoken when one walks.
Short and sweet like a donkey's gallop.
That widd pooshion a horse ; spoken of any disgusting piece of
food, or disgusting conduct or speech in a person. j
That widd kill a horse ; spoken of any hard work done by a person, j
or used when one eats any indigestible kind of food. i
Ticht graith ; applied to one of doubtful or bad reputation. ,
To kick up the heels at a thing ; i.e.^ to reject a thing. i
To nicker or snicker ; i.e., to giggle, to laugh in a silly fashion.
To find a mare's nest.
To ride ahin the tail ; i.e., to be thrown from a horse. i
Corn him weel afore Candlemas'.
Kaim (comb) weel aifter. ;
Ca canny ; a phrase spoken to enforce caution.
It's the hinmost strae it bracks the horse's back. i
The horse 'ill recreet (recover) o' the new girs (grass) ; spoken ;
ironically to signify that a thing will not take place.
The smith's mare's aye warst shod. 3
Drive on, the beast's borrawt. l
There's muckle riding in a borrawt beast. '■
He's ridin as gehn (if) he were gyain for the howdie (midwife). !
It's a gueed horse it never snappers. \
It's easy t' traivel fin ye lead the beast b' the head. ]
To ride and tie ; spoken of two riding and walking alternately on a ^
journey. !i
To ride at laisure ; applied to one in apparently good circumstances, ]
but who lives in a way not warranted by his circumstances. '\
It's lang t' the saidlin 0' a foal. i
Some of the foregoing are but variants, and it is not claimed for 1
them that they are not known otherwhere.
h
THE WISE CHOICE.
109
When a young horse received his first set of shoes there was always
a merry-making. The owner went to the smithy with his pocket lined
with a bottle of whisky. When the job was accomplished, the smith,
with all in the workshop at the time, received " a dram," and some-
times two.
One old farmer there was in the parish of Aberdour, Aberdeenshire,
who would not allow his young horses off the farm without their shoes.
When one was to be shod, the blacksmith was sent for to measure
the animal's feet. He returned to the smithy, and made the shoes
according to measurement. He then went to the farm, carrying the
shoes and the shoeing-tools, and shod the animal. A feast was then
held, when the best produce of the farm was spread, as well as a fair
quantity of whisky. The practice of partaking of whisky on the
occasion of the shoeing of a horse for the first time still lingers.
Walter Gregor.
THE "WISE CHOICE.'
SSIHATEVER may be the ultimate conclusion as to the homo-
geneity of classical and savage myths, it is unquestionable
that in the living folk-lore of Aryan and non-Aryan popu-
lations there exist points of coincidence that are very
well worth observing. The more we know, and especially the more
methodical becomes our knowledge, the better shall we be able to
estimate the precise value and significance of these resemblances ; at
present the best that can be done is to point them out when they
occur, and to leave all inference to a time that shall possess fullei
information.
I do not think that any folk-lore student can read the story of " The
old man and his three sons," in the Rev. James Sibree's valuable
collection of Malagasy Tales (vide Folk-Lore Journal^ vol. ii. part iii.)
110 THE WISE CHOICE.
without being put in mind of a number of European analogues. The
central idea of the story is that of a wise choice. A sou, unjustly
treated at home, arrives at the dwelling-place of God. He is offered a
seat of honour and well-cooked food, but he seats himself among the
servants, and eats of the servants' food. Then he is offered the choice
between a plant and money ; he chooses the plant, returns home, and
becomes very rich. His more favoured brothers, envying his pros-
perity, go also to the dwelling-place of God, where they take the best
seats and the best food, and ask for all manner of wealth and fine
clothes, with the result that they go back with tails and tusks growing
out of them.
Compare this with the story of "Lu Cusinille," in Signor Antonio
de Nino's Usi e Costumi Ahmzzesi (Florence, 1883). A daughter,
ill-treated at home, arrives at the palace of the fairies (fate). She is
asked if she will enter by a stair of gold or by one of wood ? if she
will go into a room gilded over, or into one which is all smoky ? She
chooses the wooden stairs and the smoky room ; but the fairies lead
her by the golden stair into the gilded room. Then the head-fairy
offers her a shift of sackcloth or of fine linen, a petticoat of tow or of
muslin, a bodice of common stuff or of silk, two sprigs of garlic or
two pearl ear-rings, a dozen of onions or a gold chain ? She chooses
the inferior objects, saying that she is only a poor girl, but gets the
more valuable. Then she goes home, and her stepmother and step-
sister are envious of her good fortune. The mother, on hearing where
she has been, tells her daughter to go and do likewise; but when the
fairies make their offers, this girl always makes choice of the better
things, with the result that she gets the worse, and, moreover, returns
to her house with an ass's tail growing out of her forehead.
The motif of a " Wise Choice " is far-reaching, but I will not here
attempt to further trace its ramifications. I may mention that another
variant of the above Italian tale appears in Tuscan Fairy Tales
(London, Satchel! and Co.), where it is entitled *' The little convent
of cats."
Evelyn Martinengo-Cksaresco.
THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON.
PART I. — Drayton's attitude with regard to Folk-Lore
Romances — Ballads — Plants — Springs, &c.
F all the geniuses of the golden Elizabethan age, who had
the gift of seeing fairy-folk, and of entering into the
humours of fairy-land, none, Shakespeare alone excepted,
has left more delightful record of his experience than
Shakespeare's fellow-shireman, Michael Drayton. It was a happy
influence that gave two such sons to Warwickshire within something
like a twelvemonth of each other. One is apt to wonder, if, in the
days when they were nurtured, the Heart of England * was supremely
true to all traditions of the elders, and passing rich in store of old
wives' tales of
" Goblins, fairies, bugs, night-mares,
Urchins and elves :"
it is certain that the Pierian spring at which both poets drank deep,
though with differing capacity, had a virtue which could clear the
eyes of mortals so as to make them perceptive of the elfin world.
Never is Drayton more at home than when he is among the fairies.
Shakespeare, with his unique power of assimilation, made all the
knowledge that came to him his own, and used it as though it were
innate ; but Drayton was too often the bloated bookworm. His
wort-cunning, his unnatural history, his mythical mineralogy, smell of
the midnight oil ; but his fairy-lore, wheresoever he picked it up,
is well-nigh as pure, free, and unartificial as the very moonbeams
themselves. It was not, however, until nearly the end of his career
* Polyolhion, xiii. [iii. 913]. Here and hereafter the figures within brackets
refer to volume and page of the edition of The Works of Michael Drayton^ Esq.
published in 4 vols, in 1753.
112 THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON.
that he made friends with Nymphidia ; and in this special sifting of
his works we shall be so far regardful of chronology as to leave the
consideration of airy nothings and their local habitation until after we
have duly gathered out and examined the folk-lore of more palpable
things, earlier brought under the notice of his Muse.
With regard to Shakespeare's scholastic acquirements, on the
actual amount of his " small Latin and less Greek," there is much
room for speculation, but I believe there is no reason to doubt that
Drayton had " a good classical education," a gain which was in some
degree our loss if I be right in thinking that his natural instinct
towards poesie was oftentimes enfeebled by the weight of prestige and
precedent which study of the poets of the elder world had brought
upon him. The '' woodnotes wild " of this English singer are sweeter
far than the elaborated themes which came of eager listening to
strains borne down from Greece and Rome. This poet born has left
a pretty little picture of himself seeking to be a poet made. One
immediate result of the process through which he went he tells us of :
it is relevant to our present purpose. Hear him : *
** From my cradle (you must know that) I
Was still inclin'd to noble poesy,
And when that once pueriles I had read,
And newly had my Cato construed,
In my small self I greatly marvell'd then,
Amongst all other, what strange kind of men
These poets were, and pleased with the name,
To my mild tutor merrily I came,
(For I was then a proper goodly page,
Much like a pigmy, scarce ten years of age),
Clasping my slender arms about his thigh.
* O my dear master ! cannot you (quoth I)
Make me a poet ? Do it if you can,
And you shall see, I'll quickly be a man.'
Who me thus answer'd smiling, ' Boy,' quoth he,
* If you'll not play the wag, but I may see
You ply your learning, I will shortly read
Some poets to you ; ' Phoebus be my speed.
To't hard went I, when shortly he began,
And first read to me honest Mantuan,
♦ " To my dearly loved Friend, Henry Reynolds, Esq. Of Poets and Poesy "
[iv. 1254].
THE FOLK-LOliE OF DRAYTON. 113
Then Virgil's Eclogues ; being enter'd thus
Methougbt I straight had mounted Pegasus,
And in his full career could make him stop,
And bound upon Paniassus' by-clift top.
1 sconud your ballad tJun, though it were done
And had for Finis, William Elderton."
Happily the day did dawn when well-read Drayton became subject
to the fascination of his country's poets ; and when his intellectual
palate no longer disdained the simple sweetness of a homely ballad.
He found delight in those romances of chivalry which the English
press — only a doubtful centenarian at the time of Drayton's birth —
made it one of its earliest charges to disseminate; and he bade his
Muse recount the deeds of Arthur the King,* of Merlin,f of Guy
of Warwick,:]: of Bevis§ of Southampton, of " merry Robin Hood,||
that honest thief." ^ The Eclogues were probably amongst the first
secular poems that Drayton published, and in the fourth ** of them
we find this one-while scorner of a ballad indulging in something
very like a ballad of his own :
" Far in the country of Ardeu,
There won'd a knight, hight Cassamen,
As bold as Isenbras,f f
* Pol. iv. [ii. 733].
t Eclogue, iv. [iv. 1399]; Pol. iv. [ii. 735], v. [ii. 757], x. [iii. 842].
I Pol. xii. [iii. 895], xiii. [iii. 922].
§ Pol. ii. [ii. 691].
II Pol. xxvi. [iii. 1174]. It is a significant fact that there is nothing relating
to Robin Hood in the recently published Records of the Borovghof Nottinyham
/?wt 1135 f« 1399.
\ Pol. xxviii. [iii. 1194], where Drayton also refers to " the pindar of the
town of Wakefield, George a Green," whose combat with Robin Hood, Scarlet,
and Little John, is the theme of a well-known ballad, printed in Ingledew's
Ballads and Songs of Yorkshire. The editor notes (p. 47), " In 1557 certain
* ballets ' are entered on the books of the Stationers' Company . . . one of
which is entitled ' of wakefylde and a grene,' meaning, probably, this ballad."
** [iv. 1401].
tt The story of Syr Ysambrace, generally called " Isumbras," was very popular
in this country in early times. It is included in TJie Thornton Pomances
(Camden Society), p. 88; and there is an abstract of it in Ellis's Sjxvimens of
Early English Metrical Romances, p. 479 (Bohn's edition).
Vol. 2.— Part 4. i
114 THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON.
Fell was he and eager bent,
In a battle and in touniamcut,
As was the good Sir Topas.*
He had as antique stories tell,
A daughter cleaped Dowsabel "
and SO forth. We cannot pass the sixth Eclogue^ without feeling
quite sure that Drayton's sympathies would be with Gorbo in the
invitation to Winken :
" Come, sit we down under this hawthorn tree,
The morrow's light shall lend us day enough ;
And let us tell of Gawin % or Sir Guy,
Of Robin Hood, or of old Clem a Clongh.§
Or else, some romant unto us areed,
By former shepherds taught thee in thy youth,
Of noble lords and ladies gentle deed.
Or, of thy love, or of thy lass's truth."
So did a gracious nature assert itself, and Fashion, who may well
dispute with Love the sovereignty of court, and camp, and grove,
sided with that nature, and urged the poet now and then to write as
* Drayton had a soft place in his heart for "sir Topas"; he refers to him
again in the opening of NijMphidia [ii. 451], as though he considered him an
important character in literature. The influence of Chaucer's Rhne is very
apparent in Dowsahcl ; cf. the description of the shepherd's attire with that of
the knight. In an address to the reader, prefixed to Odes with other Lyr'wk
Pocgics, Drayton half apologises for having called some of the most stirring
lines he ever wrote a ballad, his Ballad of Agincmn't. He says — and one soon
learns to be thankful that he wrote more in poetry than in prose — [I] "would
at this time also gladly let thee understand what I think above the rest of the
last ode of this number, or, if thou wilt, ballad, in my book, for both the great
master of Italian rhymes, Petrarch, and our Chaucer, and other of the upper
house of the Muses, have thought their canzons honoured in the title of ballad;
which for that I labour to meet truly therein with the old English garb, I hope
as able to justify as the learned Colin Clout his IlouTulrlay." This Ballad of
Agincpurt gave our ancestors a fine foretaste of Tennyson, vide The Ch^argc of
tJte Light Brigade.
t [iv. 1412].
j In his Faii'y Mythology of Sfuihesjjeare (p. 123), Hazlitt reprints an old
chap-book. The Singular Adventures of Sir Oawen, which he takes to be a
ramification of one of the histories concerning the Arthurian knight Gawain.
§ An outlaw as famous in Inglewood, near Carlisle, as Robin Hood sub-
sequently became in Sherwood. See Percy's Reliques for " Adam Bell, Clym of
the Clough, and William of Cloudesley."
THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON. 115
though *' honest Mantiian " and his compatriot bards had never been.
But Drayton was slow in fully realising the fact that he was not a
Iloman citizen. Shakespeare, by A Midsummer Night's Dream,
made a new revelation of faerie in 1592 (?), and we can hardly believe
that Drayton's fancy was not fertilised thereby ; yet Shakespeare's
pen was stayed for ever, before Drayton wrote the elfin poetry on
which so much of his best fame depends. In 1592 his Pegasus had
been stabled for about two years in London, and he must have been
already in some sort notorious on account of his Hamionie of the
Church (Scripture paraphrases of "linked sweetness long drawn
out''), so discordant to some that the whole edition was by public
order condemned to be destroyed ; and it is only because forty copies
were seized by the then Archbishop of Canterbury that we have a
sole surviving specimen for bibliophilists to rejoice over, in George
the Third's library in the British Museum.* It was wisely done of
Drayton that when he next tried to charm the hearts of men he
tuned his lyre to another pitch and was content to deal with lighter
themes. He now " told his love," his hapless love, and, under the
name of Rowland, posed amongst such Cotswold shepherds as do not
seem to have been puzzled by an allusion to the phoenix ; who were
supposed to be able to appreciate a reference to the " fat olive tree,"
and to be as familiar with the deities of the heathen world as
Lempriere himself.
" Shepherds of late are waxed wond'rous neat," f
was Moth's not uncalled-for criticism.
Without doubt it is necessary to go back to the days before Pan
was dead in order to taste the sweetness of pastoral society ; but we,
my brethren, would willingly have foregone the pagan polish of these
swains for rustic talk with a liberal seasoning of folk-lore. How dis-
appointing it is when we hear from Perkin that
" Learned Colyn lays his pipes to gage,
And is to Fayrie gone to Pilgrimage," %
* See Hooper's, still incomplete. Complete Worlti of Miclmel Drayton (1876),
vol. i. Introd. pp. xiv,-xvi.; also suh " Drayton," Encyelopeedia Britannicay 9th
edition.
t Eclogue, v. [iv. 1398]. % Eclogue, iii. [iv. 1393].
I 2
116 THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON.
and are, perhaps, expecting another Midsummer NighVs Dreamy to
find nothing whatsoever subsequently recorded respecting that
pilgrim's progress ; and to be obliged to believe that we have merely
an allusion to Spenser and his Faerie Queen. How we long, and
long in vain, to have some details of the experience of the " lowly
sort " amongst whom Gorbo piped ;
" Those silly herd-grooms who have laughed to see
When I by moon-light make the Fairies sport." *
It is really curious to remark that it was more than thirty years after
this before Drayton treated his readers to anything more than most
cursory glances at the elves with whom he ended by making them so
well acquainted.
But return to the Eclogues. A folk-lore student pricks his ears
when in the ninth,| and most English of them, the poet begins to
speak of the significance of flowers. The time is June.
" Who now a posie pins not in his cap ?
And not a garland baldrick-wise doth wear ?
Some of such flowers as to his hand doth hap,
Others such as a secret meaning bear :
He, from his lass him lavender hath sent,
Showing her love, and doth requital crave ;
Him rosemary, his sweetheart, whose intent
Is that he her should in remembrance have.
lloses, his youth and strong desire express ;
Her sage, doth show his sov'rcignty in all ;
The July-flower declares his gentleness ;
Thyme, truth, the pansie, heart's ease maidens call."
One of Drayton's contemporaries, whom he did not suflfer gladly,
wrote :| " Louers when they come into a Gardeine, some gather
Nettles, some Roses, one Tyme, another Sage, and eueryonc that for
♦ Eclogue, iv. [iv. 1398].
f [iv, 1430.] Here we arc told that at shcaring-timc the father of the flock
proudly bore a nosegay in his horns, the bell-wether going no less bravely. He
was accounted King of the Shepherds whose charge had produced the earliest
lamb; and, as we learn from Polgolhion (xiv. [iii. 937]), he wore a "gay bauld-
rick " when he sat down to the shearing-feast, spread ** upon a green that
curiously was squared," as the Eclvyue says.
X See Of Poets and Poe.\i/ [iv. 1250], and Ei/jf/ituK (Arber's reprint), p. 224.
THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON. 117
his Ladyes fauour that he fauonreth : insomuch as there is no Weede
almoste but it is worne."
Let us reason of the meaning of those that our flower-loving poet
has named.
Lavender, "hot lavender," as Perdita* calls it, when she is busied
as these shepherds were about the floral adjuncts of a sheep-shearing,
has cordial properties which no doubt made our forefathers fancy that
it was of use in other than mere physical disorders of the heart.
Rosemary and rue were likewise given by the maiden to her guests :
" these keep," she said —
" Seeming and savour all the winter long :
Grace and remembrance be to you both."
There is not one of us who has not bethought himself of poor
Ophelia's, t "There's rosemary: that's for remembrance, pray love
remember." The peculiar and long-abiding scent of this plant has no
doubt had much to do in determining its significance, for what revives
an ail-but dead memory more effectually than the breath of an odour
which hung about us somewhile, long ago ? The present form of the
name rosemary disguises the fact that its original meaning was sea-
dew. J Dr. Brewer § states that it was believed to have sprung from
the foam as Venus did, and to share her influence in amatory affairs,
he cites Butler (Hudibras, part ii. c. i,):
** Hence some reverend men approve
Of rosemary in making love."
The Rose, Jlos jlorum, was, and is, most fittingly fios Veneris also.
Story-tellers, pious and otherwise, of various nationalities, give as
many differing accounts of its origin. Drayton has his own pretty
fancy for the nonce. |{ In the Quest of Cynthia,^ the seeker relates
that he saw a beautiful bed of roses, and that, on asking who inspired
them with their virtue, he was told —
* Tlie Winter's Tale, act iv. sc. 4.
t Hamlet^ act iv. sc. 5.
X Skeat's Etymological Dictionary.
§ Dictionary of Phrase and Fahle.
II In the ninth Nymplial [iv. 1515] he assents to Ovidean theories respecting
the genesis of hyacinth, laurel, and sunflower. He says Daphne " scorns her
father's thunder.*'
t [»• 622.]
118 THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON.
" As the base Hemlock were we such
The poysoned'st weed that grows,
Till Cynthia by her god-like touch
Transform'd us to the Kose."
It is possible that some confusion between the word sage = wise,
good, which comes to us through the French from sapius, and sage,
the aromatic plant, which is in Latin salvia, may have led to the
latter being accepted as an emblem of wisdom and prudence. If so
the giving of it by a lady to her love, " to show his sov'reignty in
all," certainly betokened her ])ossession of the sageness and discern-
ment which should characterise one who —
" If she rules him, never shows she rules."
What Drayton meant when he wrote " July flower " I cannot
pretend to decide : I incline to think that he meant what Shake-
speare did by *' gillyvors "; * and seeing that Warwickshire men and
the folk of many other counties call wallflower {Cheiranthus cheiri)
gilly-flower at this day, I thought, until not very long ago, that the
inference was plain. But then the wallflower can hardly be called
the blossom of July, and one ought to bow before the opinion ex-
pressed in the Dictionary of English Plant-Names (with which
Messrs. Britten and Holland have enriched the English Dialect
Society), that Chaucer, Spenser, and Shakespeare's gillyvors were a
small kind of carnation, and that it was only later writers who trans-
planted the name to stocks and wallflowers. Drayton, himself, seems
to confirm this by writing : f
" The curious clove July-flower,
Mlioste kinds hight the carnation
For sweetness of most sovereign power,
Shall help my wreath to fashion."
I know not whether he invented the name July-flower, but whether
he did, or another did, it is a fine specimen of what the fashion of the
day calls folk-etymology, being an attempt to make something
• The Winter's Tale, act iv. sc. ,3, " Our carnations and sweet gillyvors."
t MvgcH ElyKivvi, Nynnth. v. [iv. 1487]; see also Pol. xv. [iii. 94G]:
" The brave carnation then of sweet and sovereign power,
So of his colour called although a July flower."
IF
THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON. 119
'* understanded of the people " ont of gillyflower which comes from
the ill-used Latin caryophillumy a clove. The soothing aromatic scent
of the, say, July flower, be it Cheiranthus, Dianthus, or Matthiola,
may have won for it its association with gentleness.
I confess I cannot see what thyme has to do with truth, unless we
use the word to pun with, and agree with the Tyrwhitt and Trevelyan
motto that " Tyme tryeth troth," about which there can be no manner
of doubt.*
Miss Rossetti f sings sweetly enough —
" The lily has an aii',
And the snowdrop a grace,
And the sweetpea a way,
And the heartsease &face ; "
but I cannot accept Miss Yonge's \ suggestion that it is probably to
the very smiling face of this purple-capped gentleman that the flower
owes its name of heartsease. I do not know why it was bestowed,
unless from the supposed cardiac virtue of the plant; but it has a
comfortable sound which might well commend the blossom to lovers
if even they were unmindful of its significance as pansy — " that's for
thoughts." §
Drayton has other plant-lore than that which is in the Eclogue
and I will make up a bouquet of it now.
To " wear the willow " is still an expression indicative of the
condition of one who has, in any sense, lost the object of his (or
her) heart's best love. The fourth, Nymphal, \\ of the Muses
Elysium opens with an inquiry referring to what was in earlier times
no mere figure of speech —
" Why how now, Cloris, what thy head
Bound with forsaken willow."
* There are lines beginning
" Eche thing I se hath time which time must trye my truth,
in TotteVs Miscellany, 1557 (Arber's reprint), p. 168.
t Sing-Song, p. 74.
X Herb of the Field, p. 27.
§ Hamlet, act iv. sc. 5.
II [iv. 1479.J
120 NOTES AND QUERIES.
Benedick offers to accompany Claudio to the next Nvillow, and asks
hira, *' Wliat fasliion will you wear the garland of ? About your
neck like an usurer's chain ? or under your arm like a lieutenant's
scarf ? You must wear it one way, for the prince hath got your
Hero." *
(To he continued.)
NOTES AND QUERIES.
Notes from Weardale, Durham.
Frogs. — Boys Avere frightened from killing frogs by being told that
they would be visited in bed by a form, that would cut a hole in their
backs.
Toads. — These reptiles were looked upon as being so extremely
vindictive that if their solitude was disturbed they would spit venom
at the intruder.
Sty. — As in Ireland, touching with a wedding-ring was considered
a good remedy.
Blnchhirds were very unpopular with boys ; a party of birds-nesters
falling in with a " black-throstle's " nest would have no hesitation in
taking it If eggs were found, it was the custom to lay one upon the
ground; a boy was then blindfolded, a stick put in his hand; and he
had three " tries " to break it. Turns would be taken by the boys
until all the eggs were broken. If newly-hatched birds, called " raw-
gorlins," or unfeathered, were found, they were taken out of the nest,
a piece of wood was placed upon a stone in " see-saw " fashion, with
the young bird on one end, a heavy stick was then used to give a
sharp blow on the other end, when the bird was jerked high in the
air, generally falling quite dead. This was called " spang-hewing."
The eggs or young of sparrows were served in the same manner. It
was not customary to treat other birds so.
J. G. Fen WICK.
♦ Much Adfl About Xothing, act ii. sc. 1.
NOTES AND QUERIES. 121
Lochcarron — Superstitions concerning Suicide. — An elderly
woman, the wife of Donald M'Kae, crofter, township of Erbers.iy,
parish of Lochalsh, committed suicide by hanging herself on Thursday
last. Great difficulty was experienced in getting a tradesman to make
the coffin, owing to the superstitious belief entertained by the natives
that it is not " lucky " to make a coffin for a suicide. Any tradesman
known to make a coffin for a suicide will get no employment from the
natives afterwards. — The Scotsman, January 31, 1884.
Witchcraft in the North. — A curious instance of the survival of
superstition was revealed on Monday at the Inverness police-court.
An elderly Highland woman, named Isabella Macrae, or Stewart,
residing at Muirtown Street, Inverness, was charged with assaulting
a little girl. The evidence showed that the little girl had used insult-
ing language to the prisoner, while the prisoner, on the other hand,
had alluded to the little girl's grandmother as a witch. Towards the
close of the case great amusement was caused in court by the accused
producing a clay image, or coiy creagh, which she believed was made
by the so-called witch. The legs had been broken off the image, and
since then the prisoner believed that her own legs were losing their
strength. A gentleman who wished to purchase the image after the
accused had left the court was promptly told that on no account would
she part with it, for if anything happened to it in this gentleman's
possession she might die, and she was not prepared to die yet. She
therefore wished to keep the image in safety so long as it would hold
together, for so long as the image lasted she believed its baneful
influences upon her would be ineffectual. Her husband had died some
time ago, and also three horses, and she grieved to think that all these
calamities were attributable to witchcraft. The image was about four
inches in length; green worsted threads containing the diabolic charm
were wound around, while pins were pierced through the part where
the heart should be. Bailie Mackay, notwithstanding the illustration
of demonology which he witnessed, found the accused guilty, and
passed sentence of fine or imprisonment. — Macclesfield Coime}\
December 22, 1883.
Couvade in Yorkshire. — We heard lately, from a source that is
above suspicion, of the survival in a certain district of Yorkshire of a
122 NOTES AND QUERIES.
practice bearing no little resemblance to the couvade. When an ille-
gitimate child is born, it is a point of honour with the girl not to
reveal the father; but the mother of the girl forthwith goes out to
look for him, and the first man she finds keeping his bed is he.—
Academy, IGth February, 1884.
Witchcraft. — I have just met with the following horrible bit of
folk-lore in Drakard's Stamford News for October 15, 1833. A poor
man residing at Woodhurst, Huntingdonshire, a short time since had
a sow which brought a litter of pigs, and, as it not unfrequently does
occur, a day or two afterwards the sow and pigs appeared to be very
ill : his neighbours assured him that they were bewitched, and by
their persuasion he was induced to the horrible act of actually roasting
one of the little creatures to death, as the only means of saving the
rest and finding out the witch, whom they asserted would be sure to
appear during the ceremony. In this they were disappointed, of
course, but the sow and the pigs recovered, as the poor little sufferer
no doubt would have done had it not been so inhumanly destroyed.
Edward Peacock.
Bottesford Manor, Brigg.
Ploughing Day at Mouldshaugh, Felton. — At this farm on
Feb. 25th there was witnessed by a considerable number of agricul-
turists and others from the locality an interesting gathering of plough-
men on the occasion of a day's ploughing on the farm which has been
let to Mr. Arthur S. Donkin, Bywell. The respect which the family
of the entering tenant has gained throughout a wide circle naturally
brought forward a very strong muster of ploughs, sent from far and
near in strong and powerful teams.
Ploughing Day at Bartlehill. — Messrs. W. and J. Ormston,
Smailholm Mains, who have recently taken a lease of the fine farms of
Bartlehill and Kingsrigg, received from their friends and neigh-
bours the compliment of a day's ploughing. At an early hour about
seventy ploughs appeared on the ground, and succeeded in turning
over nearly the whole of the stubble break.
Fasten E'en Ball.— The playing of a hand-ball in the streets of
Duns, in observance of the ancient festival of Fasten E'en, took place
on Tuesday. The weather was fine, and a largti crowd gathered at
3
NOTES AND QUERIES. 12
the Town Hall, at two o'clock in the afternoon, where the lord of the
manor (Mr. Hay, of Duns Castle) threw off the first ball. Play was
carried on with spirit, the married men striving to carry the ball to the
kirk as their goal, and the unmarried men to one of the meal-mills in
the parish as their goal. The first ball was " kirked " and the second
" milled." Another ball was afterwards put up, and aiForded amuse-
ment until dusk.— Kelso Chronicle, 29 Feb. 1884.
Football Day at Alnwick. — From time immemorial Shrove Tuesday
at Alnwick has been dedicated to the ancient pastime of kicking the
football, and this year there was no departure from the celebration of
this time-honoured custom. Before the Alnwick Improvement Act
came into operation, over fifty years ago, the game was played in the
streets cf the town, a custom which resulted in much damage to win-
dows, &c., the reparation of which was defrayed by the lord of the
manor. The magistrates, after the passing of the Act, prohibited the
playing of the game in the streets, and in consequence the Duke of
Northumberland instituted an annual match between the married and
unmarried freemen, also a match for the townspeople, and this custom
was carried on until 1847, when the Duke of Northumberland died
at Alnwick Castle in the month of February, and no game was played
the following year. Subsequently, however, the sport was resuscitated,
the players to be the parishioners of St. Michael's v. the parishioners
of St. Paul's. And so it has continued until now, on Shrove Tuesday,
in the " Pasture," or north demesne, by permission of his Grace the
Duke of Northumberland. On Tuesday at half-past one, the com-
mittee assembled at the barbican of the castle, and received the ball
at the hands of the porter, and immediately afterwards, headed by the
duke's piper, playing various airs on the Northumberland pipes, pro-
ceeded to the north demesne, where the ball was kicked oiF from the
centre of the goals, which were placed as near as convenient to the
extreme ends of the demesne. After an arduous struggle, kept up
with much of the old spirit, a goal was scored by St Michael's parish ;
and the other two goals were not played for. After the prizes had
been paid the ball was thrown up, to become the property of any one
who succeeded in carrying it away. This feat was performed by John
Lundie, who got the ball up the river and under the bridge, and it
124 NOTES AND QUERIES.
became his prize. The schclars of the duke's school also played a
game on the ground. On the termination of the sport the committee
adjourned to the guest hall at the castle, where they were entertained.
— Kelso Chronicle, 29 Feb. 1884.
Football at Chester-le-Street. — The annual football match between
the " up-street" and " down-street" inhabitants of Chester-le-Street took
place on Shrove Tuesday. The " up-street " people, it need scarcely be
said, live on the level, the " down-streeters" occupying the banks of
the burn ; and the struggle takes place in the street, the windows
along the route being barricaded. At one o'clock Mr. Joseph Murray,
in front of the Queen's Head Hotel, kicked off the ball, which was at
once taken down the street, when it got into the burn ; but the com-
batants rushed into the water, where a scrimmage took place, and the
leather was soon taken on to the rising ground beyond, and thence to
the residence of Mr. Marshall at Castle View. At this point a hare
ran across the path, and was caught. Recrossing the burn, the ball,
after a short deviation along Pelton Lane, was driven up the bank,
and the " up-streete.rs" for the time were successful. The "down-
streeters" soon brought back the ball to their own locality, however;
and during the remainder of the day it did not reach the up-town
territory more than two or three times. The advantage all day
indeed, was with the "down-streeters."
Football at Sedgefield. — It has been the custom from time imme -
raorial for the Sedgefield church clerk and jsexton to find a football to
be played for by the tradesmen and countrymen of that village on
Shrove Tuesday. This year the ball was provided by Mr. G. liobinson,
who holds both offices. The tradesmen's goal is at the south end of
the village, near Spring Lane; and the countrymen's a "pond" at
the north end. The ball was put through the bull-ring in the middle
of the village green exactly at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, by Mr. G. Robin-
son, and was then in for play. Both sides were determined to win or
die, as it were ; and more reckless play we have not witnessed. No
rules were adhered to, and scraped shins became the order of the day.
After play lasting three hours and fifteen minutes, the tradesmen were
declared the victors, they having succeeded in passing the ball over
the pond.
NOTICES AND NEWS.
Ausfiihrliches Lexikon der Griechischen und Eomischen Mythologie im
Verein mit den Namhafster Gelehrten herausgegehen von W, H.
Eoscher. Mit zaJdreichen Ahhildungen. Parts 1 and 2. 1884.
Leipzig, B. G. Teubner. London, David Nutt.
The want of a systematic guide to the whole field of classical myth-
ology has long been felt. Our existing text-books are almost entirely
out of date, and the student who wishes to familiarise himself with
the latest investigations must seek for information in the often almost
inaccessible pages of German, Russian, and Italian periodicals, or
from numberless privately printed dissertations and pamphlets.
Preller''s well-known handbooks, admirable as they are, do not repre-
sent the present state of opinion on many points ; besides which, the
Griediischen Mythologie is out of print. Indeed, the only compara-
tively recently published work dealing with the whole range of myth-
ological subjects, as far as Greece is concerned, is Decharme's Myth-
ologie de la Grec Antique, a careful and well-meaning but assuredly
not exhaustive work. All students will therefore welcome the new
lexicon ; they will find in it the minute and laborious accuracy, the
fulness of bibliographical reference, the carefulness of quotation, the
exhaustiveness of method which characterise so honourably modern
German scholarship. Every help is afforded to the student engaged
in independent and original investigation, and desirous of testing the
conclusions of the author of each article ; whilst at the same time
the information is given in such a clear and definite form, and the
various theories are so truly stated, as to make the work of great
value to the scholar who, without being a specialist himself, wishes to
keep au courant of the researches of specialists. As might be ex-
pected, the present is a lexicon almost as much of classical archaeology
as of mythology in the usual sense. It is only within comparatively
recent times that the importance of the plastic and figured side of
mythology has been fully recognised, and most students will agree
that this is the most promising and fruitful branch of mythological
investigation. The present instalment carries the work down to
" Anios." Of especial importance and fulness arc the articles on
126 NOTICES AND NEWS.
** Achilles " (52 pages), in which the author decides for the original
river-god character of the hero; on " iEneas " (44 pages) ; on the
" Amazons " (12 pages), in which the author comes to the conclusion
that the various traditions cannot possibly be referred to one source,
either mythic or historic, but are of different origins ; on " Ammon,"
Avhich, like the remaining Egyptian and Eastern articles, is the Vvork
of Professor E. Meyer, the author of the excellent monograph recently
published on the identity of the Gardharvas and the Centaurs, &c.
Flowers and Floiver-Lore. By the Kev. Hilderic Friend. London,
1884. (Sonncnschein.) 8vo. 2 vols, pp.- xvi. 352, 353-704.
The contents of these handsome volumes are as follows : — Biblio-
graphy — Introduction — cap. i. The Fairy Garland ; ii. From Pixy to
Puck ; iii. The Virgins' Bower ; iv. Bridal Wreaths and Bouquets ;
V. Flowers for Heroes, Saints, and Gods ; vi. Traditions about
Flowers ; vii. Proverbs of Flowers and Plants; viii. Flowers and
the Seasons ; ix. The Magic Wand ; x. Superstitions about Flowers ;
xi. Flowers and Showers ; xii. Curious Beliefs of Herbalists ; xiii.
Sprigs and Sprays in Heraldry : xiv. Strange Facts about Plants'
Names; xv. The Language of Flowers; xvi. Rustic Flower
Names ; xvii. Peculiar uses of Flowers and Plants ; xviii. Witches
and their Flower-Lore ; xix. Flowers and the Dead ; xx. Wreaths
and Chaplets ; Critical and Biographical Notes ; Index to illustra-
tions ; Index to names and matter ; additions and corrections.
Although Mr. Friend is careful to tell us that he does not pretend
to be exhaustive, there can be no doubt th&t he has fulfilled his task
well, and has produced a book which must for some time to come yet
be the text-book on the subject. We know that Mr. Britten has
worked long at this subject, and we may expect some day to see the
result of his researches ; but still Mr. Friend has proceeded along a
path of his own, and has some considerable claims to be considered a
pioneer. Flowers might be expected to produce a wonderful growth
of superstitious fancy and belief, but perhaps few would have expected
that there was so much to be said about them and so much still left
unsaid. Mr. Friend's travels in China and elsewhere have shown
him personally how much is to be gained from comparative folk-lore,
and he is not slow to utilise this experience, by which we have pre-
NOTICES AND NEWS. 127
sented to us many curious examples of parallel beliefs between savage
and civilised. There are some parts of the book which might with
advantage have been extended, and we must confess to a little dis-
appointment that Mr. Friend has not given something like a summary
of his results— some key to the anthropological importance which
flower-lore must undoubtedly possess. But perhaps this is expecting
more than Mr. Friend intended in this first study of a very big subject.
He seeks to be popular rather than exhaustive, and in this he has
thoroughly succeeded. The reader has much to please him throughout
the whole of these interesting pages, and also much to learn, for
Mr. Friend's labours have been directed chiefly to the work of collect-
ing materials both from literary sources and from the peasantry them-
selves. There can be no doubt of the great value of Mr. Friend's
collection, many items of which are, we think, entirely new and have
never yet been printed ; but still the student will miss many things
that are requisite in books of this sort, which must inevitably find
their way to students' shelves. For instance, the quotations from
authors are rarely accompanied by full references, although ample
acknowledgment is given in the notes, and a very useful and toler-
ably complete bibliography is printed at the beginning. For all this
extra care and labour on Mr. Friend's part we are most grateful, and
if we have appeared somewhat to grumble it is that we have learnt
just sufficient from this book to make us wish to learn more.
Spain bids fair to take the first rank in the study of folk-lore. On
the 1st of February was held a meeting in Corunna, under the presi-
dency of the celebrated novelist, Sra. Da. Emilia Pardo Bazan, to
initiate the Gallician Folk-Lore Society. The lady president delivered
an eloquent address on folk-lore, first showing what it is not, and then
what it is, and then who can give a helping hand in the work.
Another society has been formed in Madrid for Castile, with Sr. Don
Gaspar Nunez de Arce as president, and a strong executive. There
are eleven sections in the society, viz. the literary, law, fine arts,
botany, zoology, geology, mathematics, education, physical and che-
mical, geographical and medical. There are now three societies
in Spain, or rather three branches of one society, "El Folk-Lore
128 NOTICES AND NEWS.
Espanol," in a great measure set on foot a few years ago by Sr. Don.
A. Machado y Alvarez.
Shortly will be published Greek Folk-Songs, from the enslaved
provinces of Greece. Literal and metrical translations, by Lucy M.
J. Garnett ; revised and edited, with an Introduction and Annotations,
by John S. Stuart-Glennie, M.A. These translations by Miss Garnett,
wlio lias resided for many years in the Levant, are so selected and
arranged as to give a comprehensive view of all classes of Greek folk-
songs. These, like folk-songs generally, fall into three great natural
divisions — (I.) Mythological, (II.) Domestic, and (111.) Historical,
and, thus arranged, a systematic view is given of the whole life of the
people, so far as it is expressed in their songs.
In the last number of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal^
just to hand, is a valuable article on *' Panjabi Death Customs," by
Sirdar Grudyal SingTi.
Bihle Folk-lore^ by the author of liahhi Jeshua, will presently be
published. This work claims to be an original inquiry into the myths
and miraculous stories of the Old and New Testament, which are com-
pared throughout with their parallels in the literature of Egypt,
Assyria, Phoenicia, Persia, and India (Vedic and Buddhist).
There is in the press a volume of Wide-awake Stories, a collection
of tales told by little children, between sunset and sunrise, in the
Panjab and Kashmir, by F. A. Steel and R. C. Temple. In this
book are collected together, in a literary form, adapted to the use of
both adults and children, the folk-tales published by the authors from
time to time during the last four or five years in the Indian Antiquan/.
An introduction will be given to the book explaining (inter alia) the
method of collection pursued by the authors, and it will be published
with explanatory notes and an index.
We are glad to see that M4lusine is to reappear, the first number of
the second volume being announced for the 5th April next, to be fol-
lowed by monthly issues on the first of each month. British sub-
scribers are requested to remit their subscription by an international
money order to Monsieur A. F. Staude, manager of Melusine, 6, rue
des Fosses-Saint' Bernard, Paris. They can also subscribe through a
bookseller.
MALAGASY FOLK-TALES.
By the Rev. James Sibree, Junior.
|HE preceding specimens of the Folk-Tales of the Malagasy
have been all given in full, and probably are sufficient to
show the general character of these productions. We
shall only add two or three more to these examples, and,
in order to economise space, shall give them in outline, as all the tales
are more or less wordy and full of repetitions which add nothing to
the main purport of the story.
The following tale, from the name of the hero, may be called
Isilakblona, although it is not so named in Mr. Dahle's collection.
It will be seen that in some points it resembles the story of Itrimobe
and Rafara already given.
IsiLAKOLONA.
This is a story in which the hero is the youngest of four sons, and
is only half a man, one side of him being of wood. The other sons
propose to their father that this strange brother of theirs should be
cast off and disinherited, to which he agreed ; but the mother would
not consent to be parted from her child, and said" that he must divorce
her if he persisted in his intentions. This the father does ; and the
youngest son goes away with his mother, and keeps a number of
dogs.
Some time afterwards the three sons propose to the father that they
should perform some difficult feat, and ask him what they should do.
He replies that they had better do what no one else had been able to
accomplish, viz. bring to him a white guinea-fowl, some red bees (or
wasps), a bull named Ilaisambilo, and three mysterious creatures
named lampelamananbho. They agree to this, thinking they will easily
Vol. 2. — Part 5. k
130 MALAGASY FOLK-TALES.
accomplish the task. On their way to hunt the white guinea-fowl
they pass by the hut of their brother, and fetch him out to go with
them. He consents, and tells his mother not to allow his dogs to
starve, but to kill a bullock for them every day. And he also points
out a banana-tree, which is to be a sign of his condition; its withering
being a proof that he would be ill, its dying away a sign that he would
be dead. Off the four brothers go to hunt; but the bird flies far away
into the forest. The three soon gave up the chase; but Isilak6lona,
invoking his ancestors, caused the guinea-fowl to approach him. The
bird obeyed; he secured it, and goes off home with his prize. On the
way, however, his brothers threaten him with death if he does not give
it up to them, which he is obliged to do, and he then goes home
without anything to show for his pains.
The same kind of thing happens when they go to procure the red
bees ; the three brothers ask the youngest one to accompany them.
Again he assents, but when the three hear the loud hum of the bees
they run off. But Isilakblona threw a large empty gourd into the
midst of the bees, and, invoking his ancestors, commands the insects to
enter peacefully into the gourd. This they do, and he thereupon
takes them home. But again the three elder brothers threaten him
with loss of life unless he gives up the bees to them. He is obliged
to consent, and they take the gourd to their father.
After a time again the three go to hunt the bull llaisambilo. Again
the younger brother is fetched, and goes, although against his
mother's wish. This feat is a more difficult one to accomplish, but
by getting up into a tree Isilakblona succeeds in leaping upon the
bull's back, and patting his head he binds him securely and brings
him away. Again he is made to yield his spoils to his brothers by
threats of their killing him, and for the third time he returns home
empty.
At length, for the fourth time, the brothers go away to perform the
last difficult task given them to do. They again fetch the youngest
brother, and again the mother objects to his going. He tells her that
it is the last time, and that he will take his chief dog, and that if the
other dogs bark she is to let them go, as that will be a sign that he is
in danger ; and again he cautions her to look carefully at the banana-
MALAGASY FOLK-TALES. 131
tree. The brothers at last came to the dwelling-places of the three
sisters (apparently witches), and looking into first one and then
another they at last find one which is unoccupied, and sit down to
cook their rice. After a little while the witches return, and cry
out, " Here are strangers come, whom we will eat ! " The three
brothers ask Isilakolona to get them out of their peril, promising to
give him oxen and sheep when they get back home. So he asks one
of the witches foj* water and it is brought to him. But he refuses to
drink, saying that it is not the kind of vessel he is used to drink from.
So they bring him different kinds of things, but still he refuses.
After some time the witch asks, " What then do you drink from ? "
He replies that he only drinks out of a net. So the three witches go
to fetch water in a net. Meanwhile the four brothers rise and go oflf
home, taking with them a round pebble, a reed, a rush and an egg.
During this time the three witches are trying to draw water in a
net, but as fast as they draw it it of course runs out again. At length
they become angry as they find out the trick played upon them. They
return to the house, but finding the brothers gone set off in pursuit,
their coming being known by the storm which arose. To prevent
being captured, Isilakolona plants the reed, and, invoking his ancestors,
commands the reed to become a great forest. This comes to pass,
but the pursuers cut it down and pass onwards. Then the rush is
planted, and commanded to become a dense thicket ; this is also done,
and stops the enemy for a while, but is at length also cleared away.
Then the egg is thrown down and becomes a great lake, but the
pursuers drink it up and soon pass on in pursuit. Then Isilakolona
puts down the pebble, and, standing upon it with his brothers, com-
mands, and the stone rises up and becomes an immense rock. Then
the sisters come up and beg to be taken upon the top, but are
refused.
So the brothers wait there a long time and at length become very
hungry. At that time the mother happened to look at the banana-
tree, and saw that it was beginning to wither, and the dogs also began
to growl. One after another the dogs were sent off, but as fast as
they came up the witches destroyed them. Then the three brothers
begged Isilak6lona to devise some new plan. He bids them make
k2
132 MALAGASY FOLK-TALES.
ropes of their clothes,* and calls to the witches to fix some spears in
the ground, and then to take hold of the ropes which he would let
down. Two of them do this ; but the brothers cut the ropes when
their enemies have nearly reached the top, upon which they fall down
and are killed.
Then Isilabdlona commands his dog to go down and lay hold of the
remaining witch by the tail (sic)-, this he does, and waits for the
arrival of the brothers. The rock is commanded to descend ; the
brothers leave it, and Isilak6lona binds the remaining witch, and
takes her home. Again the three brothers threaten the youngest one,
and demand that he would give up his prize to them, but he now
refuses; so they go home to their father, telling him that the three
first tasks are accomplished, but the fourth was impracticable, and in
fact that they had barely escaped with their lives. The father then
commands that the people be gathered together to rejoice with him;
but at the same time asks the three brothers if any one went with
them to help them. They deny this, protesting that they alone had
done the work.
ITie people being assembled, the father presents the three brothers,
asking if any one helped them to get the white guinea-fowl. So Isila-
k6lona rose and said that he alone caught the bird, which was taken
by them from him by force. The same questions were put about the
red bees and the bull, and the same answers returned; and then the
father inquired about the witches, to which Isilak6lona replied that he
had captured lampelamunanbho, and had her then in his house. So
he brought her to his father. Then Andnanjatbvo decided that the
three brothers should be cast off and become the slaves of their
youngest brother, because he had achieved great feats never before
accomplished, while they had deceived the king. So Isilak6lona was
exalted and became king, because of his patience in bearing the
injuries done to him by his three brothers.
The last story of which we shall give an outline is entitled—
• The native loin-cloth is often of considerable length, and the lamba can
easily be torn into long narrow strips.
r
MALAGASY FOLK-TALES. 133
Rap Aran 6mby.
The hero of this story, a chief named Andriamihamina, is desirous
of getting a third wife, and, being unsuccessful, goes for advice to an
old man named Ranguhibeatbdihao. The old man, in return for a
small service (commonly enough rendered by one native to another,
but needless to be particularised here), tells his visitor to go along the
banks of a large river, and then go up to a town he will see, together
with all kinds of musical instruments. There he will find two women
who are mother and daughter, but who are so alike that it is impos-
sible to tell which is the younger. But he gives him a wasp, which
he is to let go ; the daughter will cry out, " Oh dear ! I'm killed,
mother ! " so that she will be immediately known.
Andriamihamina accordingly goes off, rows down the river, comes
to the town, and goes up to it with drums and music. Arrived at the
gateway, he sends in word that a stranger is come to visit the chief.
He is received with the usual native hospitality, an ox is killed for
him and his followers, and he eats. After the meal, the chief, father
of the girl his visitor wishes to marry, inquires the errand of his
guest. The latter says that he has come to seek a wife, and inquires
whether his host is willing to give him one. The chief replies that he
is perfectly willing, but his wife and daughter are alike in appearance,
and he must find out which is the daughter, and, if successful, he
shall take her for his wife. Andriamihamina tries to find out, but is
unable ; so he sets free the wasp, the daughter cries out as the old
man had predicted, and he claims her for his wife, to which the father
consents, and in due time he sets off to take her home. Before their
departure, however, the mother warns the bridegroom that his wife is
a girl who will not fetch fuel or pound rice, or collect manure or do
work in the field, so that if he cannot put up with this he had better
leave her. But he replies that if she will do none of these things he
will do the work himself, and then she will surely join him. To this
the mother agrees, and gives her daughter a slave-girl named Itam-
barira to attend her. So they went off home.
The journey back was made by canoe, and, as they came near to the
old man's house, Itambarira proposed to Rafara that they should
134 MALAGASY FOLK-TALES.
bathe as the day was hot. Raf^ra refused at first, but as the slave-
girl pressed her she at length consented, Andriamihamina being asked
to go on. As the girls bathed the slave proposed that they should
dive, and that the one that did not go deep should be pinched. So
Ilafara dived, but Itambarira immediately rose up and put on her
mistress's clothes and ornaments, and followed Andriamihamina,
calling out to him to wait for her. This he did, but did not know her
to be the slave, as the two were very much alike. And as they passed
the old man's house he called out to him that he had obtained his
desire.
After some time Rafara emerged from the water, but could not find
her slave-girl, nor her clothes and ornaments. But she went on her
way, inquiring of the old man as she passed his house if he had seen
her slave, and explaining how she had been deceived, and telling her
perplexity. He advised her to follow, telling her she should overtake
in the end. She accordingly did so, calling out to her husband that
he had taken the evil and left the good. But, although Andriami-
hamina heard her call, he took it to be the voice of a bird, and bid the
rowers ply their paddles.
As soon as Rafara perceived that, she invoked her ancestors, and
commanded that there should appear many oranges growing in front
of them. This came to pass, and Andriamihamina wished to stop and
pluck them, but Itambarira said she would not eat, but others could
do as they liked. The husband, however, would not stay as his wife
(as he supposed) did not care for the fruit. So they went on. In a
little while Rafara came up, but was astonished to find that the
oranges were untouched, so she called again ; but again her husband
thought it the voice of a bird, and bade them row faster.
Then Rafara invoked her ancestors again, and willed that ripe and
large sugar-canes should appear before the canoe. Again her husband
wished to stay to get some ; again the slave girl refused to eat, and
again they proceeded on their way. And again Rafara came up,
astonished to find her stratagem unsuccessful, and called to her
husband to stop, but with the same result as before.
As they were now nearing home Rafara again invoked her ancestors,
and commanded that young and tender vegetables (anamamy) should
MALAGASY FOLK-TALES. 135
grow up before the party ascending the hill. So it came to pass.
Again Andriamihrlmina wished to stay to gather some ; again the
slave-girl refused to eat any ; and again they proceeded on their way.
The party now came near the town, messages were sent for food to
be cooked, clean mats to be spread, and the people to make ready to
receive their chief. All this was done and they entered, being received
with honour. After a little while Eafara arrived at the foot of the
hill and sat down near the spring where water was drawn ; going up
presently into a tree near it, she invoked her ancestors again, and
willed that as the party in the town ate there should be no water, not
even any saliva ; and also that the tree might become dense and thick.
And so it came to pass.
Meanwhile they could not induce Itambarira to eat, but when at
last pressed she said she liked grasshoppers. Andriamihamina
accordingly ordered some to be sought for, and when they were
brought he inquired whether she liked them fried or stewed. But she
replied that she wished every one to go outside while she ate. So
every one was sent out except a little slave-girl, who was concealed
under some firewood. Itambarira then broke off the tails of the
grasshoppers, and ate them all in that fashion. And when the people
were again admitted the child began to chatter, " Oh dear, the chiefs
wife has a tail ! " upon which she was scolded by the people.
And as soon as Andriamihamina entered, he called for water to
wash out his mouth. So they looked for some in the water-pits, but
there was none ; then they sought in the neighbouring houses, but
there was none there ; so they sent a slave-girl to fetch water. But
when she came she saw the reflection of Rafara's face in the pool, and,
thinking it her own shadow, said, " Such a handsome girl as I am
not going to draw water"; so she threw down her water-pot and broke
it. Then the chief sent his mother, but she was astonished at what
she thought the reflection of her own face, and said, " What a hand-
some woman I am, although I am old ! " and also broke the vessel.
Then the chief's father was sent, but he was also deceived, and broke
the water-pot. At last he determined to go himself, seeing he could
get no water ; and there he was called by Rafara, who requested he
would bring her her jewels. He accordingly returned and demanded
136 MALAGASY FOLK-TALES.
them of Itambanra, and took them to Rafara. He then claimed her
as his wife, but she refused to be so unless he killed the slave-girl,
and brought her blood as a proof of having done so. He consented,
but attempted to deceive her, bringing successively the blood of a
fowl, of an ox, and of a sheep ; but could not deceive her. At length
he drew some blood from the hand of the slave-girl, and Rafara came
at last into the town. They were received with feasting and rejoicing;
but the mistress at length caused the slave-girl to be put to death,
and then was married to Andriamihamina, who thus obtained bis
desire and was glad.
The Malagasy folk-tales now given, both in full and in outline, must
here suffice as specimens of this hitherto " unwritten literature " of
the people of Madagascar. My knowledge of folk-lore literature is,
I regret to say, far too limited for me to attempt to point out the
points of resemblance or of contrast which these Malagasy stories
present to the folk-tales of other parts of the world ; and the comple-
tion of these translations in Mauritius, while waiting to return to
Madagascar, has prevented me from making any reference to books on
the subject, or from gaining the help of folk-lorists on this point. I
hope, however, that, as Madagascar is on various grounds now exciting
considerable attention in England, some students of comparative folk-
lore may think these tales worth their study, and may, possibly in
some future issues of the Folk-Lore Journal, give the members of
the Society the benefit of their examination of them. My object in
making these translations will have been accomplished if those now
offered excite a greater interest in the people of Madagascar, and
especially if they induce others to do in a more complete form what I
have here attempted in a very imperfect fashion.
IbotIty.
Although given in Mr. Dahle's collection among the folk-tales, one
of these stories is so like our English children's play of ''The House
that Jack built," that it may be more appropriately given in this
place. It is as follows: —
Once upon a time this Ibotity went and climbed a tree; and when
r
MALAGASY FOLK-TALES. 137
the wind blew hard the tree was broken ; whereupon Ibotity fell and
broke his leg. So he said, " The tree indeed is strong, for it can
break the leg of Ibotity."
Then said the tree, " I am not strong, for it is the wind that is
strong." Then said Ibotity, " The wind it is which is strong ! for^the
wind broke tree, and the tree broke the leg of Ibotity."
" I am not strong," said the wind, " for if I were strong should I
be stopped by the hill? " " Ah, it is the hill which is strong ! " said
Ibotity, " for the hill stopped wind, wind broke tree, the tree broke the
leg of Ibotity."
" Nay, I am not strong," said the hill, " for if I were strong I
should not be burrowed by the mice." " Ah, it is the mouse which is
strong 1 " said Ibotity, " for mouse burrowed into hill, hill stopped
wind, wind broke tree, tree broke the leg of Ibotity."
" Nay, I am not strong," said the mouse, " for am I strong who
can be killed by the cat ? " "Ah, it is the cat which is strong! " said
Ibotity, "for the cat killed mouse, mouse burrowed into hill, hill
stopped wind, wind broke tree, tree broke the leg of Ibotity."
" Nay, I am not strong," said the cat, " for am I strong who am
caught by the rope and cannot escape ? " " Ah, it is the rope which
is strong," said Ibotity, "for the rope caught the cat, cat killed mouse,
mouse burrowed into hill, hill stopped wind, wind broke tree, tree
broke the leg of Ibotity."
" Nay, I am not strong," said the rope, " for am I strong and am
cut by the iron ? " " Then it is the iron which is strong," said
Ibotity, "for the iron cut rope, rope caught cat, cat killed mouse,
mouse burrowed hill, hill stopped wind, wind broke tree, tree broke
the leg of Ibotity."
" Nay, I am not strong," said the iron, " for am I strong which
am softened by the fire." " Ah, it is the fire which is strong," said
Ibotity.
" Nay, I am not strong," said the fire, " for am I strong and am
put out by water ? " " Ah, it is the water which is strong," said
Ibotity, *' for water quenched fire, fire softened iron, iron cut rope,
rope caught cat, cat killed mouse, mouse burrowed hill, hill stopped
wind, wind broke tree, tree broke the leg of Ibotity."
138 IKISH FOLK-LORE.
But it would be tedious to give every detail in full ; suffice it to say
that the greatest power is shifted successively from the water to the
canoe, from the canoe to the rock, from the rock to mankind, from
mankind to the sorcerer, from the sorcerer to the tangena (poison
ordeal), and from the tangena to God. The last and complete para-
graph reading thus : —
" Nay, I am not strong," said the tangena, " for God overcomes
me." '* Ah, it is God who is strong,* said Ibotity, " for God ovei-
came tangena, tangena killed sorcerer, sorcerer overcame man, man
broke rock, rock broke canoe, canoe crossed water, water quenched fire,
fire softened iron, iron cut rope, rope caught cat, cat killed mouse,
mouse burrowed hill, hill stopped wind, wind broke tree, tree broke
the leg of Ibotity."
So Ibotity and all things agreed that God is the strongest of all,
and governs all things in the world, whether in the heaven above, or
on the earth beneath, or underneath the earth, or to the verge of the
sky, for God will bear rule for ever and ever.
IRISH FOLK-LORE.
[Reprinted from A Statistical Account or Parochial Survey of Ireland, drawn
from the communications of the Clergy, by William Shaw Mason. Dublin,
London, and Edinburgh. 1814-1819. 8vo. 3 vols.]
1. Parish of Aghahoe {Queen's County).
St. Canice's Well was in my orchard in Aghaboe : there the pedlars
laid down their packs and said their prayers. About a quarter of a
mile distant from the town was a group of thorn-bushes, called after
St. Canice, there likewise the poor people performed their devotions.
—(Vol. i. p. 42.)
2. Parish of Ardhraccan {Meath).
At Telltown (Tailtean) games similar to the Olympian were held
IKISH FOLK-LORE. 139
for fifteen days before and fifteen days after the 1st of August, and
young persons were given in marriage. — (Vol. i. p. 95.)
Multitudes of the pious assembled at St. Bridget's Cross, on the
lands of Martry, on the 1st of February, to offer up their supplications
to this holy personage. This custom has been for some years dis-
continued ; however, a considerable number of the Popish clergy con-
tinue to assemble and to perform the rites of their religion on the
saint's day (1st February) at a farmer's house near the place where
the cross was situated. — (Vol. i. p. 96.)
3. Parish of Ardstraw.
The castle above Newtown Stewart belonged to Henry O'Neal, who,
according to tradition, was King of Ulster in the fifth century ; he
had a sister who is represented as having an elegant person but the
head of a swine : and hence called the female monster. Henry,
anxious to get rid of an object that mortified his feelings and his
pride, adopted the plan of offering her in marriage to any person who
should seem inclined to propose for her, but on condition that after
having seen her he should either marry or hang. Accordingly nine-
teen persons, among whom was a captive prince, who had agreed to
the condition, were all executed on the platform before his castle;
and tradition says the twentieth and last person who proposed for
her was the son of his own cowherd, who was tempted by the mag-
nitude of her dowry, but who on seeing her immediately exclaimed,
•' Cur sous me ! cur sous me ! " — that is, " Hang me ! hang me ! "
The young man, however, was spared, and the unfortunate princess
put to death.— (Vol. i. p. 116.)
With respect to customs, among the lower orders, the married women
are generally called by their maiden names ; strolling-beggars will
enter the house of a farmer or gentleman with as much ease and
freedom as if they were part of the family. — (Vol. i. p. 123.)
There are no patrons nor public sports except playing at common
— this diversion resembles hurling in the south. The ball they play
with is a small wooden one, which they strike with sticks inflected at
one end. In the south of Ireland the curve of the hurl is broad,
and the ball large and of a soft substance covered with leather.
140 IRISH FOLK-LORE.
Formerly they spent here eleven days successively at Christmas-time
in this exercise, now they spend only one. Fires are lighted on Mid-
summer's Eve round which they drive their cattle to preserve them,
as they believe it will, from accidents during the year ; they believe
also in the existence of fairies, and are very cautious not to say any-
thing disrespectful of them. If any article of household furniture
happens to be misplaced, they attribute it to the wee-people, as they
call them, who stood in need of it at the time.
A friend of mine who lived a few years ago in a mountainy situa-
tion, assured me of the following fact : That his wife stepped quietly
one day into a neighbouring house, when the family were out at work,
and put an egg and an oaten-cake to the fire, inverting at the same
time all the little furniture of the place. Soon after, conversing
with the old woman of the family, she endeavoured in an indirect
way to find out what impression the incident had made on her ; but
the woman, though communicative in other matters, kept this a pro-
found secret, from which it was inferred that she was afraid to mention
it lest her little friends might not pay her another kind visit. — (Vol. i.
pp. 123-125.)
4. Parish of Ballintog.
There are no patrons nor patron days, nor any particular customs,
except that on Christmas day and on the first of the year a great
concourse of people assemble on the strand, at White Park, to play
common or shinny. — (Vol. i. p. 157.)
5. Parish of Clonmany.
The titular saint, or, as some express it, the guardian saint of this
parish, is Columbkill. The 9th June is his festival day, and is
observed most ceremoniously by some of the old people in the parish :
on that day they circumambulate certain places, repeating certain
prayers, deified, as it were, by him. Men formerly drove down their
cattle to the beach on that day, and swam them in that part of the
sea into which runs the water of St. Columb's Well, which is thereby
made holy water ; but this custom of late has not been practised.
There is also a traditional story told here, that the earth of a little
hillock {tempo desh), on the right of the road leading from the chapel
IRISH FOLK-LORE. 141
to the church, formerly expelled all mice and rats, until the earth of
it was vended, when its expelling power ceased ; still, however, they
carry all their dead around it, as being an ancient custom. There is
a circular flat stone in the centre of the churchyard, about fourteen
inches in diameter, on which are two round little hollow places, which
they say are prints of St. Columb's knees. — (Vol. i. p. 185.)
6. Parish oj Dungiven.
There is a curious fragment of an Irish poem preserved among
the mountaineers respecting the name of the Roe (^Ahrain Ruabh).
According to this, it is derived from the name of a Saxon heroine,
called Ruadh, who, having by her martial prowess carried terror and
desolation through the adjoining counties, was at length drowned in
crossing the Roe during a flood. The river is here celebrated for
having overcome this terrible fair one, whom the Lagan and the mighty
Bann had been unable to restrain. The most remarkable circum-
stance in the poem is a prophecy, in which it is foretold that this
stream will be more destructive to the lives of men than the largest
rivers in the North — a melancholy prediction, which the loss of above
twenty valuable lives within the memory of persons now living has
but too faithfully and fatally fulfilled.— (Vol. i. p. 285, note.)
The poems attributed to Ossian and other bardic remains are still
repeated here by the old Senachies (as they are called) with visible
exultation. Eight of them have been written down at my rec[uest
by a young mountaineer named Bernard MacLoskie, from whose
acquaintance with the native traditions, customs, and language, the
writer derived much assistance in this Survey : he is himself a good
Latin scholar, and possesses by every account a critical knowledge of
the ancient Irish, These poetic records have been handed down from
time immemorial by tradition alone, nor is it apparent whether they
ever existed here in manuscript.
A curious evidence of the accuracy of tradition in preserving these
remains may be noticed. Two of the poems transcribed, namely,
Deirdri (the Darthula of Macpherson) and Tailc, had been already
published from southern manuscripts in a volume entitled Trans-
actions of the Gaelic Society. This book, which was accidentally in
the writer's possession, afforded an opportunity of comparing the
142 THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON.
poems taken from viva voce recitation with the printed copy; and,
strange as it may seem, they were found to agree together word for
word, with the exception however of a few lines in Deirdri and four
entire stanzas in Tailc, which the written record has evidently lost
and tradition preserved.
The manner of preserving the accuracy of tradition is singular and
worthy of notice. In the winter evenings a number of Senachies fre-
quently meet together and recite alternately their traditionary stories.
If any one repeats a passage which appears to another to be incorrect
he is immediately stopped, when each gives a reason for his way of
reciting the passage. The dispute is then referred to a vote of the
meeting, and the decision of the majority becomes imperative on the
subject for the future.— (Vol. i. pp. 317-318.)
(To be continued.)
THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON.
PART I. — Drayton's attitude with regard to Folk-Lore
Romances — Ballads — Plants — Springs, &c. — (Continued
from page 120.)
N annotating Aubrey's Remaines of Gentilisme and Juda-
isme* Dr. White Kennett bore testimony to the existence
of the practice of wearing the willow in his time : *' The
young man, whose late sweetheart is married to some
other person, does often in a frolique literally wear a willow garland,
as I have seen in some parts of Oxfordshire." Centuries earlier the
Jews of the Babylonish Captivity had hung their silenced harps on —
if our translators were right— the willows,f which were by the rivers
of their land of exile : may be because the bowed down or weeping
* See PuhlicatUms of tlui Folk-Lore Society, No, iv. p. 75.
t Psalm cxxxvii. 2, Bible version.
THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON. 143
habit of one variety causes it to look as though it had a special
sympathy with sorrow. Love-lorn Ophelia met her end in an endeavour
to place a garland of nettles and what-not on the boughs of a willow
that grew aslant a brook.* Another reference, Drayton has, to what
his friend Spencer f spoke of as
" The willow wome of forlone paramours,"
in what seems to me to be an interesting passage on the plants
appropriate for chaplets J —
" The garland long ago was worn,
As time pleased to bestow it,
The laurel only to adorn
The conqueror and the poet.
The palm his due who uncontroul'd
On danger looking gravely,
When fate had done the worst it could.
Who bore his fortunes bravely.
Most worthy of the oaken- wreath
f The ancients him esteemed,
Who in a battle had from death.
Some man of worth redeemed.
About his temples grass they tie
Himself that so behaved,
In some strong siege by th' enemy,
A city that hath saved.
A wreath of vervain heralds wear,
Amongst our garlands named,
Being sent that dreadful news to bear,
Offensive war proclaimed.
The sign of peace who first displays.
The olive wreath possesses :
The lover with the myrtle sprays
Adoi-ns his crisped tresses.
In love the sad forsaken wight
The willow garland weareth :
The funeral man, befitting night,
The baleful cypress beareth.
To Pan we dedicate the pine.
Whose slips the shepherd graceth :
Again the ivy and the vine
On his swol'n Bacchus placeth."
* Hamlet, act iv. sc. 7. f Faerie Queen, book i. chap. i. v. 9.
X Nymphal, v. [iv. 14851.
144 THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON.
In the sixth Eclogue * Winken speaks of the " mournful cypress "
and "sad widowing yew;" widowing, I suppose, because of its pre-
sumed fatal effect on any shepherd who might be tempted to sleep in
its shape. *' Yew," wrote Dodoens, in his Historie of Flants,-\ " is
not profitable for man's bodie, for it is so hurtfull and venemous that
such as doe but only sleepe under the shadow thereof become sicke,
and sometimes they die, especially when it bloweth : in Gascoigne it
is most dangerous." The epithet " sad," applied to the cypress, has
become proper from the association of the tree with oriental burial-
places, and with our own cemeteries. Perhaps, originally, it may
have been planted by graves as a type of immortality, for the wood is
very long-lasting, and I have seen Theophrastus quoted to the effect
that the roofs of some ancient temples became famous because they
were made of it ; the timbers of the rafters being everlasting, and free
from rot and cobweb and other evils to which wood generally is
liable.
Of bridal flowers we have a lengthy list in the stirring account of
one of the many watery weddings in which the reader of the
Polyolbion is supposed to interest himself, that of Tame and
Isis. J For the adornment of the bridegroom, wild blossoms were
chosen as being in keeping with his manly nature ; but all the spoils
of the garden were woven into the •* anadems " § and other devices
which were to do honour to the bride. I do not give the passage at
length because, though there is no doubt one might distil significance
from every bud that was pressed into the service of " the happy pair,"
Drayton does not give any hints to help one, and the nymphs and
naiads seem to have used whatever came to hand, merely making the
distinction I have named between wild and cultivated flowers. It
may be well, however, to record the names of the herbs that were
strewn about on the occasion by the bridesmaids as the poet tells us
they were such ** at bridals us'd that be." || I do not know that there
t P. 557 of the translation by Henry Lyte (1578).
X Pol. XV, [iii. 945, &c.l § Chaplets.
II In the poem concerning the marriage of Tita and the Fay {Nymjfhal, viii.
[iv. 1511-13]), mention is made of the customs of breaking cake over the bride's
THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON. 145
is as complete a catalogue of wedding strewments to be found else-
where in verse, but Tusser's* list of " Strowing lierbes of all sorts "
answers to the same end in prose.
" The healthful balm and mint from their full laps do fly,
The scentful camomile, the verd'rous costmary ; t
They hot muscado J oft with milder maudlin § cast;
Strong tansy, fennel cool, they prodigally waste :
Clear hysop, and therewith the comfortable thyme.
Germander || with the rest, each thing then in her prime ;
As well of wholesome herbs as every pleasant flower,
Which nature here produc'd to fit this happy hour.
Amongst these strewing kinds some other wild that grow
As burnet % all abroad, and meadow wort ** they throw."
Of wort-cunning Drayton has some store : let us hear what he has to
tell us : tt—
" Of simples in these groves that grow,
We'll learn the perfect skill.
The nature of each herb to know.
Which cures and which can kill."
How much of the knowledge imparted was picked up from old
head, drinking posset, catching points from the bridegroom, and scrambling for
nuts. These observances seem to have been omitted at the otherwise well-
appointed nuptial of Tame and Isis. Short-cake, or bride-cake, is still showered
over the heads of some northerly brides (Henderson's Font-Lore of the Northern
Counties (F.L.S.)? P- 36; Gregor's Folk-Lore of the North-East of Scotland
(F.L.S.), p. 99; Brand's Popular Antiqiiities (Bohn's edition), vol. ii. pp. 101,
102).
* See Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandrie (E.D.S.), p. 42.
f Tanacetuvi balsatnita, or, as Gerarde says, Balsaniita mas,
X Muscadine, or muscadel, wine was drunk in church at a wedding (see
The Taming of the Shrew, act iii. sc. 2) ; but here, I think, we have reference
to some herb ; may be to Ei'odium moschatrim. Lelipa, making a wreath in
the fifth Nymphal, mixes muscado with lavender, bay, &c. amongst —
" Germander, marjoram, and thyme.
Which used are for strewing,"
§ Balsamitafem. or vnlgans.
II Teucrium chamcedrys.
\ Sanguis orhia officinalis.
** Spirea ulmaria.
tt Q^iest of Ognthia [ii. 626].
Vol. 2.— Part 5. l
146 THE FOLK-LOllE OF DKAYTON.
wives, and how much culled from books — from Gerarde and Dodoens
to wit— we need hardly stay to inquire.*
The hermit of Arden, whose praise is in Polyolbion, sallies forth
with a little maund to gather herbs which have sundry strange effects
upon mankind. f He finds "on an oak, rheum-purging polypode "
{Pohjpodium vulgare)^ which, according to Clarinax, another recluse
herbalist, is also good " to purge old rotten humours." J After re-
marking that the kind which grows on an oak is accounted best,
though its rarity interferes with the common use of it, Culpepper
quaintly exclaims, § "And why, I pray you, must Polypodium of the
oak only be used ? Gentle CoUedge of Physitians, can you give me
but a glimpse of reason for it ? Is it only because it is dearest ? Will
you never leave your Covetousness till your lives leave you ? The
truth is, That which grows on earth is best ('tis an Herb of Saturn,
and he seldom climbs Trees) to purge Melancholy ; if the humour be
otherwise, choose your Polypodium accordingly."
Keeping an interested eye on the selections of the hermit, and com-
paring them with the simples in favour with Clarinax, we learn that
fumitory (Fumaria officinalis) and eyebright (^Euphrasia officinalis)
are good for the sight. Yarrow figures as a styptic, though
curiously enough it has for centuries been popularly called nose-bleed,
and it has the reputation of producing sanguinary results in any
nostril into which it may be introduced. Its fame as a medicinal
agent is of very ancient date : it actually owes its botanical name,
Achillea millefolium^ to the legend that Achilles discovered it, and
applied it for the benefit of wounded men, who, to return to Drayton,
may also be helped by centory (Chlora perfoliata). Tutsan
{Clymenon Italiorum) is thought by Gerarde || to signify Tout sain,
* •* Of these most helpful herbs yet tell we but a few
To those unnumb'red sorts of simples here that grew,
Which justly to set down even Dodon short doth fal ,
Nor skilful Gerard yet shall ever find them a.l\:*—PoL xiii. [iii. 920].
t Pol. xiii. [iii. 919, &c.]
X Nymph. V. [iv. 1490].
§ The Engligh Phyftitian Enlarged (1661), p. 193.
II Tlie Theater of Plants, or an Uhivermll and Compleat Herball (1597) ,
p. 435.
THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON. 147
from the all-healing qualities which it shares with "blessed betony "
{Stachijs hetonica) —
" Whose cures deserven writing."
An extraordinary number of virtues are attributed to it in one of the
First-English MSS. translated by the late Rev. Oswald Cockayne : it
is remarked, "it is good, whether for the man's soul or for his body."*
" Holy Vervain " ( Verbena sacra) the hermit regarded as a specific
for megrim or aching of one side of the head, if the sufferer bound it
round his head as a coronal. It was also efficacious in cases of witch-
craft, and so was " wonder-working dill " f {Anethrum graveolens),
" Which curious women use in many a nice disease."
Moly {Allium molt/), called by Gerarde, sorcerer's garlic, lunary
{Lunaria biennis^ or BotrycJiium lunaria), and nightshade {Atropa
belladonna), were likewise valuable to produce enchantments, of which
I shall have more to say presently. The effect of henbane {Hyoscy-
amus niger), poppy and hemlock (Conium maculatum), in " producing
deadly sleeping," was not unknown to Clarinax. These he did —
" Minister with fear,
Not fit for each man's keeping,"
his cautious nature standing in the stead of a Sale of Poisons Act.
Garlic (Allium sativum) by the way is called " the poor man's
Mithridate," or preservative against poison, in the twentieth Song of
Folyolbion.lf.
Adder's tongue {Ophioglossum vulgatum) was created "its own like
to cure": it was for the benefit of those " with newts, or snakes, or
adders stung." Probably there is no belief which is more firmly held
by country-folk than that here subscribed to by Drayton, that newts
are poisonous. I well remember being awe-stricken as a child on
being told that a woman had her arm " venomed " by a newt, although
she never touched the reptile with anything more sensitive than the
head of a mop, the stick, as far as it was given to me to understand
the story, having acted as a conductor of the subtle bale. The Rev.
J. G. Wood, in Common Objects of the Country,^ gives some amus-
• Leechdoms, Wort cunning, and Star craft in Early England, p. 71.
t See also Nyviphidia [ii. 463] .
X [iii. 1040.] § Pp. 49-52.
l2
148 THE FOLK-LOUE OF DRAYTON.
ing instances of the same kind of thing. Another medicament for
sorpent-stings was agrimony or ogrimony {Agrimmia Ewpatorid),
which with saxifrage {Saxifraga granulata), hart's tongue {Scolop-
endrhim vulgare), and "the herb we call St. John " (^Hypericum per-
foratum), was given with hope of cure to those afflicted with calculous
disease. Valerian ( FaZ«r?"ana officinalis) was cropped and duly bruised,
" T'apply unto the place that's haled with cramp."
Mugwort {Artemesia vulgaris) came into use both in magic and in
the nursery ; and humble chickweed (^Stellaria media) was, for external
application, accredited with the cooling property of Rowland's costly
Kalydor ; whilst sorrel {Eumex acetosa) assuaged internal heat. The
power of mandrake (Atropa rnandragord), in philtres, to procure love,
and, worn about the body, to correct barrenness, was unduly recognised.
The spleen and liver derived comfort from horehound (^Manmhriiim
vulgare), and so— at least mentally — did he who was bitten by a
rabid dog. Dictam {Dictamnum creticum) had the power of expelling
darts, &c. : " the Hart being pierced with the dart," says John Lyly *
(who has a greater charm for the present writer than he had for
Drayton), "runneth out of hand to the hearb Dictamnum, and is healed."
Dodder (Cusenta) was a remedy for ague ; mallow (Malva s}/lvestris)
was applied to sudden tumours ; whilst Mercury {Chenopodium bonus
Henricus) and hellebore {Hellehonis niger) mundified old ulcers, the
latter having, as we shall hear directly, another virtue —
" To him that hath a flux of shepherd's purse f he gives,
And mouse ear \. unto him that some sharp rupture grieves ;
And for the labouring wretch that's troubled with a cough,
Or stopping of the breath, by phlegm that's hard and tough ;
Campana § here he crops approved wondrous good,
As comfrey || unto him that's bruised, spitting blood,
And from the falling ill by five-leaf ^ doth restore,
And melancholy cures by sovereign hellebore."
Culpepper ** remarks of five-leaved grass, " Some hold that one
leaf cures a Quotidian, three a Tertian, and four a Quartan Ague, and
» Eiipkues (Arber's edition), p. 61. f Pera pattoru,
\ Ilieracium jfUosella. § Lychnis.
II Symj)hytum officinale. 5 Fotentilla reptam.
** The English Physitian Enlarged, p. 69.
THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON. 149
a hundred to one if it be not Biascorides, for he is full of Ruch whim-
sies; The truth is, I never stood so much upon the number of the
leaves, nor whether I gave it in powder or decoction ; if " — continues
this common-sense Englishman — " Jupiter were strong, and the moon
applying to him or his good Aspect at the gathering, I never knew it
miss the desired effects." Jupiter and the moon ; there was the rub !
According to Drayton, ♦ it was one of the privileges of the antediluvian
age that^-
" In med'cine simples had that power,
That none need then the planetary hour
To help them in their working."
Having completed our examination of the worthy hermit's maund of
simples we may take leave of him and of Clarinax ; but before turning
from the subject of herbs altogether I must point out a passage f in
which the use of them is referred to in the figurative manner which
Drayton so much affected ; it is that touching the long persevered-
in treatment of " grim Goodwin " (sands), who, ever resentful of the
Norman Conquest, foams and frets with hatred to France and strives
to swallow up the sea-marks —
" The surgeons of the sea do all their skill apply
If possibly to cure his grievous malady :
As Amphitrite's nymphs their very utmost prove
By all the means they could his madness to remove.
From Greenwich to these sands some scurvy grass % they bring,
That inwardly apply'd s a wond'rous sovereign thing.
From Shepey, sea-moss § some to cool his boiling blood ;
Some, his ill-seasoned mouth that wisely understood,
Rob Dover's neighbouring cleeves of samphyre, || to excite
His dull and sickly taste, and stir up appetite."
In this chapter of vegetable virtues it is right to mention the folk-
lore of S. Winifred's Well, because the moss growing thereby was as
Drayton relates accounted of value against infectious damps. ^ It was
worn as pomander, that is in a scented ball, compounded of various
ingredients— apples frequently being one— which it was formerly the
• Noah's Flood [iv. 1526]. f Pol. xviii. [iii. 1021].
X Cochlearia officinalis. § Ulva latissima.
II Crithmwn marinvm. % Pol. iv. [ii. 731].
loO THE FOLK-LORE OP DRAYTON.
fashion to carry about on the person. The poet gives the legend of
chaste Winifred,* who, when endeavouring to evade tlie amatory
attentions of Caradoc, a seventh-century Prince of Wales, was cruelly
beheaded by him. Her tears into a fountain turned —
" The pure vermilion blood, that issued from her veins,
Unto this very day the pearly gravel stains." f
and her hair was changed into tlie moss aforesaid. Whatever living
thing may be thrown into this well will float, and with its waters
diseases may be washed away. The, probably, real story of this lady,
as given by Mr. Baring-Gould,J is not quite as marvellous as the one
just told ; he says the so-called blood-streaks are caused by iron § in
the stone, and declares that the moss has lost its savour. Moreover.
" it is remarkable that in the Survey of Domesday Book which
includes the county of Flint, neither church, chapel, nor well of S.
Winifred is mentioned; affording the presumption that the story and
celebrity of the saipt are of later date than the Norman Conquest."
James the Second came on a pilgrimage to S. Winifred's Well, and
touched for the Evil on its steps, the curative power of regal hands,
having been left, as Drayton chronicles, an heirloom to the English
throne by Edward the Confessor. || An intermittent spring at Giggles-
wick,^ which sometimes falls and rises three times within an hour,
and, though thirty miles from the sea, has a range of three-quarters
of a yard between high and low water-mark, was, teste Drayton,
originally a nymph, who, like S. Winifred, fled from a lover until
being fairly out of breath she was pitied by " the topick gods " and
turned into water, to ebb and flow —
" Even as the fearful nymph then thick and short did blow."
* Pol. X. [iii. 846, 847].
t When wet the earth at Hastings is still red (Pol. xviii. [iii. 981]); and at
Borough bridge no grass gi'ows where the Barons were defeated (T/te Baronn
Warn, book ii. v. 51 [i. 120]). Nature has a good memory.
X Lives of the Saints, part i. pp. 69-72.
§ Mr. Askew Roberts, well-known as the author of A Oogsijnng Ghade to
Wales, attributes them to the growth of Byssus loUthus, and says the moss is
Jungerma nnia asplenitim,
II Pol xi. [iii. 870]. ^ Pol. xxviii. [iii. 1197].
THE FOLK-LORE OF DU AYTON. 151
The same authority would also have us believe that *' the holy
springs " of Harlweston,* — one salt, the other sweet, that good for
dimness of sight, this for disorder of skin, — are the essences of two
nymphs beloved of sylvan deities, who in fond remembrance of the
fair ones bestowed on the waters the healing qualities for which they
are still locally respected.
It would be ultra crepidam for me to inquire whether Drayton
himself credited such tales as these and others that I might repeat f
until time should fail; but I would that I knew which of them he
made " out of his own head." The account of the parting of
Marceley Hill,J how that it burst asunder in vexation at not being
invited to the wedding of Lug and Wye, was probably one of them ;
for the earthquake which happened at the same time as the land-
slip took place § in Drayton's day, and a tradition would hardly
have rooted concerning it as early as 1612, when the first instalment
of Polyolhion was printed. To the credit of this myth, then, I think
Drayton may very fairly lay claim. What tale they tell in the West-
Country about Marceley in this present year of grace I have no means
of hearing ; but I venture to assert that here was a germ of folk-lore
which the more favourable conditions of earlier ages than those in
which Drayton sang would not have permitted to perish.
* Pol. xxii. [iii. 1058, 9].
t Exempli gratia: the fourteen daughters of Brecan were turned into as
many rivers, which, in all their maiden purity, fall into the Severn —
" And from the seas with fear they still do fly,
So much they yet delight in maiden company." — Pol. iv. [ii, 728].
Tenet (Thanet) was a daughter of Albion, and when he went to Gaul to fight
with Alcides, of whose fame he was emulous, she was only kept from following
by the widening of a channel which might before be crossed afoot. — [Pol. xviii.
[iii 1020]. Rolright Stones, near Towcester, are, Drayton says {Pol. xiii. [iii.
925] ):
" A witness of the day we won upon the Danes."
On which Selden, annotating the Polyolhion, remarks somewhat contemptuously,
methinks " He means Rollritch Stones ... of which the vulgar there have
a fabulous tradition that they are an army of men, and I know not what great
general among them, converted into stone not having his superior in the ranks
of untruths " [iii. 925].
X Pol.yn. [ii. 788; note, 794] .
§ Selden's note says in 1575; another authority in 1671. In Cider, book i.
Philips recommends apple-growers to distrust this '* deceitful ground."
152
TABULATION OF FOLK-TALES.
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NOTES AND QUERIES.
The Rejuvenating Elixir. — Can any of your correspondents give
me some information respecting the, probably French, source of the
following fairy tale? A lady possessed an elixir, a few drops of
which were sufficient to rejuvenate a person. Her maid found the
potion and drank the whole of it ; the consequence being that she
became a little child, she having taken an over-dose. Where has
this story first been told. C. A. Buohheim.
Magpies as a Cure for Epilepsy. — The following singular adver-
tisement appears in the Deutsch-Kroner Zeitung of December 11th,
1883 : — " Magpies shot between December 24th and January 6th are
used as a remedy against epilepsy. The undersigned, with whom this
medicine is prepared, will be greatly obliged to every one who will
send him as many magpies as possible, pro\dded they have been shot,
and not killed by persons or caught in traps. — Castle Tutz, December
5th, 1883. (Signed) Theodore Count Stolberg."
Robert Brown.
Bible and Key. — At the Thames Police Court, a woman named
Lyons was charged with violently assaulting a woman named O'Brien,
by striking her over the head with some heavy instrument, tearing
out some of her hair, and knocking her down. The prisoner admitted
the assault. The dispute, she explained, arose out of the loss of her
shawl, which had disappeared in a mysterious way. She felt certain
that it had been stolen, and she therefore made up her mind to find
out the thief by means of the ** Bible and key," a test which never
failed. She accordingly invited several friends to her room. She
got a key and a Bible, and, laying the Bible upon the table, she took
the key, and, after tying a piece of string to it, placed it inside the
Bible with the wards flat upon the leaves. She then closed the book,
and, sitting so that those in the room could see her, she took in her
NOTES AND QUERIES. 157
hand the part of the key which she had left projecting, and pro-
nounced the names of the persons she was acquainted with, repeating
after each name the words " Turn, Bible, turn, turn round the key ;
turn, key, turn, and show the name to me." She repeated several
names, but no sign was given. At last she mentioned the name of
Mrs. O'Brien, and then the key gave such a turn that it twisted itself
out of her hand and fell on to the floor. She picked it up and re-
placed it, and then in the same way she got the name of the pawn-
broker where her shawl was pledged, Ultimately the magistrate
bound both the women over to keep the peace. — St. Jameses Gazette,
April 16th, 1884. Egbert Brown.
Early mention of traditional ballads. — " That which follows
[about Athelstan] I have learned from old ballads popular through
succeeding times." — William of Malmeshury, lib. ii. cap. vi. G.
Saint Patrick and the Devil. — Can any one give the legend about
St. Patrick and the Devil ? I used to hear it in the neighbourhood
of the Shannon when a boy, but forget it. It was somewhat like the
story of Andriamatoa in the Journal for January, page 45, being a
trial of skill. All I remember is, the saint gave the devil a number of
things to do, all of which he succeeded in, till at last he told him to
make a rope of sand. This he failed in, and the remains of the devil's
rope is the Eskers that stretch across Ireland from Dublin to Galway
Bay.
I think one of the feats was to make in a day as many islands as
there are days in the year — which he did in Clew Bay. And another
to make in the same time as many lakes as there are days in the
year, which he did in the plain of Connemara, between Clifden and
Koundston. G. H. Kinahan.
A Universal Panacea. — The annexed extract is from a work by
" William Clouues, Mayster in Chirurgery," and afterwards *' one of
her Maiesties Chirurgions," published in 1588. I am more than half
inclined to believe that the '' lewde woman " did not repeat the real
charm, although straightly charged to do so:—
" I reade likewise of another lewde woman, which was accused of
witchcraft ; the cause was for that she did commonly take upon her
158 NOTES AND QUERIES.
to cure men, women, children, and beasts by a certayne charme, the
whiche they saye she would do onely for a penny in money and a loafe
of bread. This was misliked of many good men in the countrey
where she did dwell, and for that cause she was upon suspition of
sorcery and witchcraft brought to the Assizes and there arrayned
for it. The simplicity of the old woman was somewhat considered
by the whole bench : then the judges and the justices graunted her
this favour, that if she would surely declare unto them what manner
of charm it was she used she should be deliuered: and beyng in greate
feare and doubt of her life forthwithe in the presence of them all
declared it to be as followeth : —
" First (sayd she) after I had receyued the penny in money and the
loafe of bread, then my charme was this : —
The Charme.
,1. My lofe in my lappe,
1 2. My Penny in my pnrsse,
1 3. Thou art never the better,
1 4. Nor I am neuer the wurse.
" Immediately after the judges with the rest perceued it to be meere
deceit and cosenage, then they did straightly charge her upon payne of
great punishment to leave off her delusions and cosenage of the people
and so she was discharged as is there said." D'Arcy Power.
Notes from Weardale, DvLTha.m.—Ci'amp Bone. — Children were
very eager to obtain this charm from the head of a goose, when the
dinner was a giblet-pie. It is the top of the neck column, and was
carried in the pocket.
Fox and Geese. — This game was common to children of both sexes,
and generally a night-game, when there was moonlight, or not very
dark. A gathering of children would select a fox and a goose, then the
fox would place himself in front of the geese. The leader of the geese
would step forward, and address the fox in a loud voice.
Goose. Fox a fox, a fummelary, how many miles a mummelary ?
Fox. Eight and eight, and other eight.
Goose. How shall I get home to-night ?
Fox. Fly your stumps, and you'll get home in candle-light.
The geese then would " fly " to reach the goal behind the fox ; the
NOTICES AND NEWS. 169
first goose caught joined the fox, changing sides, until all the geese
were captured. J. G. Fenwick.
Legend of Slain Warriors. — In which paper was there lately some
correspondence about the rising of slain warriors in the evening to
fight over again their battles ? It is a northern legend occurring in
the Edda; does it also occur in an English book ? There is a legend
about a Norman hero who had the gift of inheriting the talents,
capacities, &c., of his antagonists whom he had slain in battle. What
was his name? In which book is there an account of him ?
C. A. BUOHHEIM.
NOTICES AND NEWS.
Melusine, revue de mythologie, litterature populaire, traditions et usages.
Dirigee par H. Gaidoz et E. Holland. Paris, 1884. (Vol. ii.
No. 1.)
It is a sign of the times that Melusine, which had stopped for six
years, has again commenced publication, and we are heartily glad to
welcome this first number. It will be our duty to chronicle the
contents of each number in these pages "as it appears, and we hope
our readers will render all the aid they can to our French contem-
porary. After a few words of introduction by the learned editors we
have articles on " De I'importance des usages populaires juridiques," a
particularly important subject, " L'origine des puces," " L'embrouille-
ment des pieds," conte Basque, " L'arc-en-ciel," " La legende de
Pontoise," " Lafemmeau serpent," conte des sauvages de I'Amerique
du Nord, " Un legende serbe sur les moustiques."
Sefior Machado y Alvarez is contributing to the Madrid journal
el America a series of articles upon Dr. Pitre's " Children's Games
in Sicily." He identifies the games played by the muchachos of
Spain with the pastimes familiar to the ragazzi of Italy, and these
latter have been shown in our pages to be the same as the games of
160 NOTICES AND NEWS.
English boys. To name one example only, Hop-Scotch is as much a
favourite in Spain as it is in Italy and England, though of course its
name varies with the meridian under which it is played.
A lecture on " Ballad Lore " was given by Mdme. Hoffman at
Exeter Hall. Songs of the minstrels, quaint street cries, the Morris-
dance, old tunes, and modern ballads, were commented upon and
illustrated.
The following are the titles of folk-lore notes in Panjdb Notes
and Queries {January) : Marriage ceremonies, birth customs, donkeys,
donkey-ride punishment, well-finding by goats, omens (jackals,
spiders), silk unlawful for Muhammadans, chnrel ghosts, Chank, cures
for sore throat, recipes for fever, nazar (evil eye, cause and anti-
dote, black, protection against nazar), seed-grain, birth custom, kana,
one-eyed man unlucky, omens, dreams, folk-lore from difficult sources.
{Fehniary): Marriage ceremonies, holy stones, nazar (women not
subject), use of surma and kajal, nazar in parents, disgusting objects
fatal to nazar, opprobrious names, a cure, birth custom, death cus-
t<jms (female infants), spilling salt, overturned shoes, horses shaking
the head, dreams, oaiens, crows, earwigs, wagtail, snake brain oil,
metamorphosis, pheasants, magic squares, storms, first-born children,
Panjabi proverbs, folk-lore from difficult sources. (March) : Maratta
marriages, birth custom, new moon, hare-luck, cross beams, luck,
Ri-thlen murders, Machhi Baon storm-raising fairy, burning houses
to secure male issue, nazar, seven stones, cures, deformities, remedies
in the case of personal beauty, cattle disease, fish feeding in illness,
snakes, dogs, ants, magic squares, Shi'ahs bread, rain keeping off,
customs of the Woddaru, nazar wattu, Panjabi proverbs, folk-lore
fiom difficult sources.
In the China Review for March there is a paper on Hakka folk-
lore and another on Hakka songs.
In the transactions of the Society of Cymmrodorion, vol. vi. part
11, there is a paper on Welsh fairy tales by Professor Rhys.
In the Montgomeryshire collection of the Powys-land School of
Art (April 1884) is a paper by the Rev. Elias Owen, on " Folk-lore,
Superstitions, or what not," in Montgomeryshire.
MALAGASY FOLK-TALES.
By the Kev. James Sibree, Junior.
BamAitsoanAla.
NCE upon a time, 'tis said, Eavbrombe (that is, " Big-
bird " ) arose and built a house in the midst of the
water. And when she had finished the house she
bought Iketaka to be liousekeeper. And after Iketaka
had remained long there, Ravbrombe went away to seek for prey;
and, thus occupied, she swept up everything she saw belonging to
men, and brought it to her dwelling. After some time she laid eggs
and sat on them ; and after sitting some time the eggs were hatched,
and the young birds went oif to fly; but one eg^ alone remained
unhatched, so she thought it addled, and removed it, placing it in
the cover of a basket. After she had forgotten where it was, Ike-
taka said, " The addled egg is there in the basket, and we have for-
gotten to cook it." Ravbrombe replied, "Let it be until to-morrow,
for this rice is all finished." So she stopped her. On the morrow
they forgot it again ; and the same on the following day. And after
a little time longer she looked, and behold ! it was hatched, and had
produced a human creature ! Then Iketaka was astonished, and called
to Ravbrombe, " Come quickly, for this egg is hatched, and has pro-
duced one of human kind ! " So she came and looked, and saw that
it was really so. Then she said, " This is my offspring ; and her
name shall be Ramaitsoanala (that is, * Green in the Forest '). But
there is no one to give it suck; so I'll go and steal a cow for milking,
that she may feed on milk." So she went and swept off a cow in
milk, and got it for her child's sustenance; for she had no breasts,
being a bird. Then she made a little box for the child and placed it
there, bidding Iketaka to mind it. Then she went away again seeking
Vol. 2.— Part 6. m
162 MALAGASY FOLK-TALES.
for prey; and whenever she saw anything beautiful belonging to
people she swept ofif with it and brought it to her child. And when
she came to her house she cried out, " Ramaitsoanula there ! Ramiiit-
soanala there ! Why, say I, don't you peep out, and why don't you
look about? " But there was no answer, for it was still an infant, and
how could it speak and stand up?
So she came in, and spoke again, " I smell humankind, I smell
humankind ! " Then said Iketaka, " Who has come in but we two,
that you say, ' I smell humankind ' ? " The bird replied, " Did not
I think that there was some one here, and that you had been taken
away by them? " Then she spoke again and said, " But haye you
given the child its milk? " " Yes," replied Iketaka. So she stopped
there a while. But after a time she went away again to seek for prey;
and brought again the precious things belonging to people, and gave
them to her child. And, coming home, she called again, " Ramait-
soanula there ! Ramuitsoanula there ! Why, say I, don't you peep
out, and why don't you look about? "
But again there was no reply, for the child was little, and how
could it answer? So she came in and said, *' I smell humankind, I
smell humankind ! " Then said Iketaka, " Who has come in but we
two, that you should talk thus? " The bird replied, " Did I not
think there was some one come to fetch you away? " Then she
stopped there, and said, " But how is my child? Is it getting big or
not?" Then Iketaka answered, "It is getting rather big now, and
in a little time will be able to walk."
Then she went off again, and the child also began to learn to walk.
And then she came again, and called according to her custom, but
none answered, for the child was still little. And after a time there
came Andriambahbaka from the north, and looked from the water's
edge, and said, " Oh dear ! there seems to be something very won-
derful yonder on that island ; come, let us get a canoe, and go there,
and see what kind of a thing it is." And on arriving there he asked
Iketaka, "Whose child is this, that I may take it for a wife?"
Iketaka replied, " This is Ravbromb^'s child, for its mother is a bird,
and it is still little. But, pray go away. Sir ; for the day is windy,
and its mother will be here directly ; so pray go away for a time, for
MALAGASY FOLK-TALES. 163
she will devour you all ; pray begone, and come again another time,
for the child is still little."
So Andriambahbaka arose ; and when he had only gone a little way,
Kavbrombe came back, and called the child as she used to do; but,
as there was no reply, she said, " I smell humankind, I smell human-
kind." And Iketaka, coming in, said, " What person can 'have been
here? for every time you come in you speak thus!" She replied,
" Did I not think that some one had come in and taken you both
away ?" at the same time opening the box, and looking at her child,
whom she saw to be getting big. Then she said, " Do you stay here,
for I will go and look for ornaments for Ramaitsoanala, for she is
growing up." So she went away.
And Andriambahbaka spoke to his two wives and to his people
thus : " There is a beautiful young lass, and I am going to take her
for a wife, for we are most unfortunate in having no children. And
so after a fortnight I shall be back ; so bid the servants fatten fowls
and pound rice in abundance, for when I return I shall marry her,
therefore make all preparations." So he set off, and coming to the
water's edge he sent for canoes and crossed over ; on arriving there
he was welcomed by Iketaka, and he spoke to Ramaitsoanala thus :
" What do you say. Miss ; if I take you for my wife, will you be
willing, or how?" She replied, "Nonsense, Sir; you can't manage
me ; so let it alone. Sir." He said, " Tell me why I could not
manage you." She replied, " This is why you could not : my mother
is a bird." Andriambahbaka replied again, " If that is all, Miss, I
am equal to it ; so come now, let us go." Then said Iketaka, " But
if you marry her. Sir, will you not let her wait first for her mother ? "
But he replied, " Let us go, for when she comes she can follow." So
when the two could not resist him, Ramaitsoanala went away, and
Iketaka was left to keep the house.
Then they went and took white rice and indian-corn and beans to
deceive the mother on the road until Andriambahbaka should get
home, lest the girl should be overtaken by her mother on the road and
brought back. And after a while, back came the mother, and called
again as she was used to do. Then Iketaka replied from the house
** Ramaitsoanala is not here, but has been taken away by some one."
M 2
1G4 MALAGASY FOLK-TALES.
" Who has taken her, and where has she gone ?" asked Rav6rombe.
" Andrianibahbaka from the north has taken her, and northwards has
she gone." So away went Ravbrombe to the north. And as she
was getting near the child, Ramaitsoanala said, " Here comes my
mother, and so the day is stormy ; just scatter some of the rice." So
they scattered it about, and went on their way. But when the
mother came up, she said, " Dear me, here is rice she has scattered,
and I am forsaken by her." So she sat down to gather it up ; and
then returned to take it back to the house, and after that went back
to follow her child. But again Ramaitsoanala knew by the wind
which blew that her mother was following her, and so the indian-corn
was scattered on the road, and was also gathered up and taken back
by Ravbrombe ; and so again with the beans.
By this time her child had come near Andriambahbaka's village;
so he sent people forward, and said, " Bid the people make ready,
for Andriambahbaka has come south of the village." So the people
made preparations, and the pair came up. And as the people sat
there, Andriambahbaka's wife would not look into the house, for she
said, " How should a bird's offspring come in ? " And as the pair
were sitting comfortably there, up came the mother, and said, " How
is it, child, you have got a husband, and did not wait for me at all,
and did not even consult me at all ? " And her child made no
answer. Then she rose, and took the child's eyes, and stripped off
her skin, and departed. But the child stood stripped there, and spoke
to Andriambahbaka thus: " Is not this that I asked you, 'Can you
bear with me, whose mother was a bird ' ? " But Andriambahbaka
replied, *' Nevertheless, I can still bear with you." So when his
wives heard that they said, ** Nonsense ! what sort of a wife is this,
with nothing but bones, and without eyes ? We do not consent ; but
let the household property be divided." Then they brought her
some hisatra (the strong, tough peel of the papyrus) to make a mat.
And so Ravbrorabe's child sat down; and when the mother was
going to cook rice the eyes of her child dropped down tears from above
the hearth; for it was there she had placed the eye-balls, and the
mother could not by any means light the fire. And when she saw that
she said, " Come, let me go ; for indeed sore trouble has befallen my
MALAGASY FOLK-TALES. 165
child, because this falling down of her eyes is extraordinary ! " So
she went away; and, coming in, she said, ** What is it has happened
to you that I cannot light the fire ? " Her child answered, " Why,
mother, the people are dividing the household goods ; but I have no
eyes, and that is why I am weeping." So the mother said, '* Where
is it that I may do it ? " Then she plaited the mat quickly, and it
was finished, and she went away.
After that Andriambahbaka's wives said, " Come, work away, and
give her some silk " (for spinning or weaving). But again Ramait-
soanala wept, and her mother could not light the fire. So she came
again, saying, " What is the matter with you now, child, that I cannot
light the fire ? " She answered, " Why, mother, they have brought
me silk." Then her mother finished the silk for her ; and when it was
finished she went oflf again, and began to tend the fire on the hearth.
And after a little while again Andriambahdaka's wives brought cloths
and dresses for Ramaitsoanala to sew, and said, ** Will she be able to
finish these; for if we bring many things afterwards, won't she run
away ? " But they thought that when she brought them they would
not be finished. Then Ramaitsoanala wept again and said, " Oh dear,
but this is too difficult ! " So her tears again flowed down upon the
hearth, and again her mother rose up, saying, " What ever can this
be again happening to my child? " and away she went; and on coming
to her daughter and inquiring she showed her the clothes and the
dresses, which the mother finished and went away as before.
And after waiting a little Andriambahbaka's wives said, "Come, let
us three be compared together, for we two are put to shame by this
child of a bird; for people called her very beautiful, although she had
her eyes put out, and has only bones ! " But Andriambahbaka said,
" Enough of that, Ramatoa ; for what will you do,^say I, to shame
her ? Enough of that." But she would not be quiet, but spoke all
the more. And as Andriambahbaka could not prevent the two women
from speaking, he said, " When then will you be compared ?" The
two answered, " On Thursday " ; and, going away to Ramaitsoanala,
he told her she should be compared with the other two on the Thurs-
day. Then Ramaitsoanala wept, and again her mother could not
light any fire ; upon which she rose up and came to her daughter ;
166 MALAGASY FOLK-TALES.
and, on being informed about it all, she said, " If that is all, be not
sorrowful, for I will go and fetch ornaments for you, and then you
can stand comparison with the others." So she went away, and
brought her daughter's eyes and skin, and coral beads, and gold and
silks, and all kinds of beautiful ornaments she brought ; and she also
brought a golden chair for her to sit down upon. And when the
appointed time arrived she adorned her daughter, putting in her eyes
and replacing her skin, and allowed no person to see her.
And so the three women were fetched to go in the open space to be
compared, for the people were gathered together. And the two wives
did not adorn themselves at all, for they hoped thus: '• This woman
without eyes is coming; and what of her?" at the same time getting
up and standing on the eastern side. Then came also Ramuitsoanala
and went to the northern side ; but as soon as she showed her face
the two women fled away, and ran oflf into the fosse, for they were
ashamed, and died there. And so Andriambah6aka took Eam^itso-
anala home and wedded her.
And she bore a child and had a son, whose name they also called
Andriambah6aka, for he succeeded his father at his death. But the
father rejoiced, for he obtained what he had desired.
The Wild Hog and the Chameleon.
One day as a wild-hog was setting oflf to hunt he met with a
chameleon on the road by the side of a watercourse, and as he looked
at the chameleon he exclaimed, " Dear me ! what a strange way of
walking you have, friend ! Judging from the way you walk one
would think you could never get enough food, friend, for you walk
80 slowly ; so take good care lest some big furious beast comes by
and tramples you suddenly to death, for you are both weak and very
slow in moving about. So I think we two will separate here at this
watercourse; and although I don't walk at all quickly, but go along
quite gently, just look, for when I have crossed over this valley you
will even not have crossed the bed of this little stream."
The chameleon replied in his turn, ** True enough, friend, that I
seem to you to be very weak and to go very gently indeed. At the
MALAGASY FOLK-TALES. 167
same time, remember that we each possess what is most fitting for us ;
and so you are able to get food to satisfy you, and I also obtain food
to satisfy myself."
And then the chameleon spoke again, and said, " Excuse me. Sir,
for while I am not a little one challenging a big one, yet, if it would
not make you angry, let us two play a little along this watercourse."
The wild -hog replied, " But what sort of play would you like us to
have?"
The chameleon said, " Although you are certainly swift of foot, and
I go very slowly, come, let us make a bet about our racing, elder
brother."
Then the wild-hog was inwardly angry, and said, " Come, then, let
us two go up yonder a little higher to try our speed, for there is a
spacious common, while it is boggy where we are just now ; and if
you should be struck even by the mud thrown up by my feet you will
be hurt. So let us go yonder to that spacious ground, and if you
overtake me, then take me and all my family for your servants."
Then the chameleon answered, " Why are you angry, elder
brother ? For you alone I cannot be a match, for you make me
afraid ; how much more, then, if I had all your family as my ser-
vants ? But if it is only play we are to engage in, let us then go up
yonder to try our speed."
So they went up to the wide common, and agreed together, saying,
" At yonder tree-trunk, where the long vei-o grass is growing, let us
make our goal, to see who comes in first." And that being settled,
they both arranged themselves in good order, the wild-hog saying,
" Now, shall we run off ? "
Then said the chameleon, " Wait a little first, that I may look
well at yonder stepping-place." But the chameleon was crafty, and
climbed up the long grass close to the mane of the wild-hog. And
when he was securely fixed in the mane, he said, " Now run, elder
brother ! " And as the wild-hog galloped away the chameleon kept
fast hold of his mane and tail ; and when he came yonder to the
appointed place he leaped off on to the long grass. So, as the wild-
hog stood looking behind him, the chameleon said, " Don't look
behind for me, elder brother, for here I am in front of you " ; so the
168 NOTES ON GREEK FOLK-LORE.
wild-hog was both astonished and angry, and ran off fast again. Bnt
again the chameleon held fast by his mane as before.
And so, after they had thus gone to and fro for a long time, the
wild-hog was dead with fatigue, while the chameleon retained his
shrewdness ; for the wild-hog was " killed by his strength, like the
axe," and did not think of the cunning of his companion, but only of
his own size. — (Translated from a contribution to Publications of the
Malagasy Folk-Lore Society^ by Rev. W. C. Pickersgill.)
NOTES ON GREEK FOLK-LORE.
BuBiAL Customs,
NTERMENTS in Greece must take place within twenty-
four hours after decease, and therefore, as soon as pos-
sible after the event, printed placards are posted on the
walls of the church in which the customary funeral-
rites are to be performed, and in various parts of the city, town, or
village, as also upon the door of the house in which the death has
occurred, inviting all friends and relations in the names of the family
of the departed (all the different members of which are specified) to
assist at the ceremonial. The body of the deceased is always arrayed
in the choicest garments he or she possessed, the greatest care being
taken that it should present the best appearance possible. This is
the more essential because the body is displayed in an open coffin,
borne upon a low bier, and is therefore in its transit first to the
church, and subsequently to the cemetery, exposed to the gaze of all.
In the chamber in which a death takes place candles or lamps are
immediately lighted, and kept burning for three days and three nights
afterwards, it being supposed that the spirit of the departed still
lingers for that time in the precincts of its old abode, or may probably
return there. In some parts, as in Crete not long since, in the out-
lying districts, food and drink was also placed near the body in the
interval before the burial, lest the spirit, if it returned, might feel
grieved at being neglected and forgotten.
NOTES ON GREEK FOLK-LORE. 169
In the country villages in Cyprus a small lozenge-shaped tile, upon
which are inscribed the initial letters of Xinaros 'averrTt], is placed
between the teeth, which custom took the place of the coin which in
heathen times occupied the same situation as payment to the ferryman
Charon.
As the funeral procession leaves the house an earthen jar or vase is
thrown from one of the windows as a preservative charm against death
coming again to that home.
Ten or twelve years since it was the custom in Athens for all
classes to engage a band of music to accompany the procession. Poor
people clung to this expensive demonstration with tenacity, and
thought it equal in importance to the priest and religious ceremonial,
and often to secure it involved themselves in debt. This is however
no longer allowed, and only the military, or those who have been deco-
rated for any cause, are considered entitled to it.
The lid of the coffin is borne along in the procession, and when the
grave is reached, the clothes, previously to placing on the lid, are
entirely destroyed or rendered valueless by being snipped with scissors,
or saturated with oil. This w^as formerly alleged as necessary in order
to prevent the cupidity, or frustrate the malice of demons. The pre-
caution however is salutary against cupidity other than that of demons,
when, as in the case of wealthy ladies, they are clothed in rich satin
with adornment of costly lace, as I have frequently seen.
In every cemetery and on every grave in most parts of Greece will
be observed broken earthen-vases. That these are thrown down with
the same intent as those from the windows above mentioned there can
be no doubt, namely, to scare away evil spirits, or as a charm, but
in Athens the custom has survived the meaning attached to it, at
least many whom I asked professed to know of no meaning, only
that they always did it. There is an allusion to this custom of
breaking jars in one of their poets, Antoniades, who describes it
in his Creteid as being done to frighten away the demons, " who
are always hovering around a newly-departed spirit to bear it off to
hell." *
Forty days after the interment there is a service held in the church,
* KpriTt)tQ* AvTOvioi) Avroviadov.
170 NOTES ON GREEK FOLK-LORE.
called " Mvtifioovvov,^' because until that time it is considered that the
final place of habitation for the departed spirit has not been deter-
mined upon.
In Cyprus and in many of the islands they make funeral-cakes,* which
are prepared from boiled com, and which are ornamented upon the top
with pomegranates, or other fruits where these are not obtainable,
arranged in a kind of mosaic pattern, over which is sprinkled sesame
seed. These cakes are placed on a salver near the altar to be conse-
crated. They are then cut up and distributed, not only to friends but
to passers-by, the wealthy sending them through their servants, and
for the poor, special ones are made and distributed to them also in the
streets from baskets. This custom takes place on the 3rd, is repeated
on the 9th and the 40th day after death, at the MvTjfioavvov,^ on the
anniversary, and upon All Souls Day. A Greek friend residing in
Nicosia has but lately assisted in this commemoration, on occasion of
his own father's anniversary. He considers it analogous to ro Shttvov
TTjg 'EKciTrjc in the festival of Hecate, where food was distributed in the
streets, and to the poor.J The materials of which the Ko\Xw/3a is com- '
posed also bear a resemblance to the dishes of boiled pulse or beans,
TTvava, during the festival of Apollo in October.
A letter from Angostoli, lately received, informs me that in an out-
lying district called Pillarnio they still employ hired weepers if no
neighbours volunteer, and that in the same part they occasionally put
a small copper coin (Charon's fee) into the coffin.
In Cyprus, after the funeral has passed out of the street they pour
from a large vessel the water which it contains, and then throw down
the vessel. This custom is referred to the basins of lustral water,
* KoXXv/Sa. This custom of " KoXKvfia " was introduced (according to the
present Archbishop of Cyprus) not at first for the funeral service, but as a clean
food (being simply boiled com), during the times of fasting, by Theodore Tyro to
evade the intentions of the Emperor Maximian, a.d. 297, who, being desirous to
reintroduce paganism, ordered meat and butter to be mixed with all food sold,
making it thus unclean. In order to defeat this, Theodore resorted to the plan of
feeding the Christians ivithin the churches upon boiled corn — "KoXXy/3a."
Afterwards it was retained as a pure food for funeral ceremonies only.
t Mvij/i^ervvov.— Requiem service.
X At the festival of Uvavi^ta and in commemoration of events under Theseus.
NOTES ON GREEK FOLK-LORE. 171
"x«P»"^«,"* which were placed at the doors of the house in which there
was a deceased person, to be used by those who had touched the
body, but with the Cypriotes it is thought to be for the refreshing
of the soul that has left the body, or, according to another version,
for the washing off the blood from the sword of the Archangel
Michael, who is supposed to pass invisible after having taken the
soul of the dead. The breaking of the vessel is there held symbolical,
and means that thus should evil be broken and done away, and, by
not using again a vessel used at a funeral, death removed. When
a funeral passes along, people in Cyprus who happen to be at their
doors will often hasten to break a vessel in like manner.
In Cyprus they do not cast vases on the graves, which custom
seems to be more prevalent in Attica than elsewhere.
Some Greek Folk-Lore.
There are just a few things which Mrs. Walker in her interesting
paper, " Some Greek Folk-Lore," has not touched upon. One in
connection with belief in the evil eye, is the dislike to have any pos-
session or belongings praised. The possible harm following such indis-
cretion is only to be averted by the gift of the article, which is often
amusing or inconvenient to the receiver.
Country people still account some men amongst them to be endowed
with powers of second- sight upon looking on the shoulder-bone of a
black lamb. Black animals are not in favour in many cases.f On
lonely, hilly places in Crete J demons hover about under the form of
black donkeys ; ind, if any unwary or belated traveller is seduced by
the apparent readiness of the animal to relieve his weariness and
fatigue by offering a ready mount, it is only a pretext by which many
people benighted on the hills have been carried off to hell.
All the hills are more fruitful in such like beliefs than the plains.
The Nereids are still believed to inhabit the sides of streams among
the hills of Crete, and are often said to decoy the shepherds tending
* Euripides.— "AXic."
t It is interesting to note how in modem Greek the word *' fiavpog " is used
quite as often to express misery and wretchedness as to denote anything black.
172 A CUUI0U8 SUPERSTITION.
their flocks near, when they are induced to follow whither the sound
of music leads them, and to join in the dance with those beings who
are always as beautiful as they are malicious.
What we call " Will o' the Wisps " or « St. Elmo's Fires " arc
considered to be the souls of unbaptised infants, who, dying in their
birth, or untimely strangled by wicked mothers, are carried off imme-
diately by demons who are waiting, all ready and on the look-out for
such a possibility.
Healing waters are also widely believed by the peasantry to exist, if
only their locality could be discovered. These healing waters will, if
obtained, cure every malady and sorrow which has baffled the care
and skill of the most experienced physician and of the most careful
nursing.
E. M. Edmonds.
A CURIOUS SUPERSTITION.
LEMENS ROMANUS,* speaking of the idolatry of the
ancient Egyptians, states that ** alii .... crepitus ventris
pro numinibus habendos esse docuerunt." Minucius
Felix f also bears testimony to this, as well as Lactantius,
Origines, Hieronymus,| and others. C8esarius§ attributes the same
superstition to the Greeks: irap "EXXi/o-t .... yatrrpos Trvevfiara fiefirj-
vuT€s tKdeia^ovrat. Among the Romans such an occurrence during
religious ceremonies was of evil omen. Cato in his " Oratio de Sacri-
legio commisso"! lays down the etiquette of the subject minutely:
" Domi cum auspicamus," he says, " servi, ancillae, si quis eorum sub
centone crepuit, quod ego non sensi, nullum mihi vitium facit. Sicut
ibidem servo aut ancillae dormienti evenit, quod comitia prohibere
solet, ne is quidem mihi vitium facit." Martial in one of his Epi-
• Jt/coffnitiones, v. 20. Cf. also Clementina Hbmilia, x. 16.
f Octavius, cap. 28.
% Lactantius, v. 20. Origines, Contra Celtiim, torn. 5 ; Heiron. Ad Esaiae,
cap. 40,
§ Dialog, I. Respong. ad Interog. 19. Cf. Nicarchus, Epigram 20.
II Cato, cited in Festns, s.v. prohibere.
HOLY WELLS IN SCOTLAND. 173
grams * ridicules a certain ^thon, who, for committing this impro-
priety in the temple of Jove, was condemned to three days' humble
fare (trinoctiali domicenio) ; and the same idea was likely present to
Horace's mind in the concluding lines of Satire i. 8.
It would be interesting to know how far this superstition can be
traced in more modern times. Some superstitious dread certainly was
associated with this act by our English peasants at one time ; for
Home Tooke f speaks of " the vulgar country custom of saying upon
such occasions, *And joy go with you ! ' " J. W. Crombie.
HOLY WELLS IN SCOTLAND.
I HE new volume of Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries
of Scotland (1882-3, vol. v. New Series. Edinburgh,
1883) contains references to certain Holy Wells which I
think may be fitly noted for future guidance.
In a paper on " Holy Island and the Kunic Inscriptions of St.
Molio's Cave, County of Bute," Dr. Daniel Wilson cites a passage,
inter alia, from Professor Cosmo Innes's Origines Parochiales Scotia',
(ii. 245), the " cave elevated about 25 feet above the present level of
the sea, its inscription, a shelf of rock within it called the saint's bed,
a large flat stone near it called his table, and his well — celebrated for
its healing virtues — are still shown ; while the Baul Muluy (the stone
globe of St. Molingus), a smooth green stone about the size of a
goose's eggf which was believed to have the virtue of causing diseases
and of procuring victories for the Macdonalds (whose chaplain the
saint is said to have been), has now disappeared." Proceedings, vol. v.
p. 47. The well is sometimes called the " bath" of the saint; but Dr.
Wilson says (p. 55), " as the well is close by the sea-shore its use
as a bath was unnecessary, unless for the purpose of rendering its
miraculous virtues available, and it may, therefore, be more correctly
designated the well of St. Molio." Dr. Wilson mentions other holy
* Martial, Epigram xii. 78. f Diversions of Purley, vol. ii. p. 67.
174 HOLY WELLS IN SCOTLAND.
wells celebrated for curative powers, siicli as the Well of St. Wallack.
" Both the bath and well of St. Wallack still remain near the ruined
aisle of Wallakirk, parish of Glass, Aberdeenshire. The saint's bath
is cut in the rock to a depth of nearly four feet, and supplied with
water by a small spring which flows into it. The well was annually
resorted to until a very recent date, on the saint's day, for the cure of
diseased eyes, and weakly children dipped in the bath were believed
to be restored to vigour " (p. 56).
Mr. J. Russel Walker, F.S.A.Scot.j contributes to the same
volume a very valuable paper on ** Holy Waters in Scotland," but as
it extends to sixty pages I cannot attempt to analyse it here. He re-
cords the reported medicinal value of many of these wells, and gives
a modem instance of faith in the water of St. Anthony's Well,
Edinburgh : — " To an incident which showed that the faith and belief
in the healing virtues of the wells is still strong, the writer was but a
few months ago an eye-witness. While walking in the Queen's Park
about sunset I casually passed St. Anthony's Well, and had my
attention attracted by the number of people about it, all simply,
quenching their tlirst, some possibly with a dim idea that they would
reap some benefit from the draught. Standing a little apart, however,
and evidently patiently waiting a favourable moment to present itself
for their purpose, was a group of four. Feeling somewhat curious as
to their intentions, I quietly kept myself in the background, and by-
and-by was rewarded. The crowd departed and the group came for-
ward, consisting of two old women, a younger woman of about thirty,
and a pale sickly-looking girl — a child of three or four years old.
Producing cups from their pockets, the old women dipped them in the
pool, filled them, and drank their contents. A full cup was then
presented to the younger woman, and another to the child ; then one
of the old women produced a long linen bandage, dipped it in the
water, wrung it, dipped it in again, and then wound it round the
child's head, covering the eyes ; the youngest woman, evidently the
mother of the child, carefully observing the operation and weeping
gently all the time. The other old woman not engaged in this work
was carefully filling a clear flat glass bottle with the water, evidently
for future use. Then after the principal operators had looked at each
IRISH MYTHOLOGY. 175
other with an earnest and half-solemn sort of look, the party wended
its way carefully down the hill " (pp. 163-1 64). Mr. Walker's paper
is made especially useful by careful notes of the measurements of
wells he has himself visited, and by many excellent illustrations. He
appends an alphabetical list of Holy Wells in Scotland,
William George Black.
Glasgow.
IRISH MYTHOLOGY ACCORDING TO A
RECENT WRITER.*
RISH traditional and mythological literature has been
singularly little studied in this country, where its richness,
its antiquity, its fancy and beauty, have won for it few
friends. But it cannot be too much insisted upon that the
native Irish literature is not only by far the oldest, but is also by far the
fullest and most valuable of all our sources of information concerning
the beliefs and the customs of those Celtic races which form such an
important element of our nationality. As a matter of fact the Irish
Celts are, with the Greeks, the only European people of xVryan race
of whom a considerable body of pre-Christian national epic poetry
has come down to us. With the solitary exception of Beowulf, the
Teutonic racial sagas did not assume epic form until the consciousness
of the race had been profoundly modified by Christianity, the fragments
which have been preserved to us from the heathen stage of develop
ment being in their essence dramatic rather than epical. But the
Tain bo Cuailgne and its fellows are at once truly epical in character,
and almost untouched by Christian thought.
Of the three great cycles of Irish romantic literature — the pseudo-
historical pre-Christian annals, the Ulster cycle, of which Cu-Chu-
laind is the chief hero, and the Ossianic — the first has had the least
♦ H. d'Arbois de Jubainville, Le oercle mytJiologiqne Irlandais ct la
mythologie Celtique. 8vo. xiii. 411 pages. Paris, E. Thorin. London, D. Nutt.
176 IRISH MYTHOLOGY.
attention vouchsafed it. The mingled dulness and absurdity of the
euhemerising chroniclers of the eleventh and following centuries, with
their portentous lists of kings stretching well-nigh up to the Flood,
tlie obvious artificiality of the whole system, may explain why up to
now this portion of Irish literature has escaped searching and critical"
study. The materials are plentiful, and as old, diplomatically, as any
other branch of Irish literature. It is from the two great vellums,
the Leabhar na liUidhre (L. n. H.), and the Book of Leinster (L. L.),
written down, the one at the beginning, the other towards the middle
of the twelfth centmy, that we derive our information. From the
latter we get the fullest text of what seems to be the earliest sys-
tematic attempt to euhemerise the entire Irish mythology, and to
present it in pseudo-historical shape, the Lebar Gabhala, or Book of
Invasions (L. G.); in it, too, we chiefly find the poems of Eochaid
hua Flainn (+ 984), representing an earlier stage in the development
of the legends, and those of Flainn Manistrech ( -f 105G), and of Gilla
Coemain (+ 1072), which seem to be the foundation upon which the
L. G. is built.
It has long been remarked, and by many writers, that the major
j)ortion of these elaborate annals must be simply rationalised myth-
ology ; the mythic character of the Tuatha de Danann, for instance, is
apparent to every educated student. But M. d'Arbois de Jubainville
has been the first to deal with this literature as a whole, and to
attempt to resolve it in its entirety into mythological elements. I
will try and state as concisely as possible the main points of his
argument.
Irish mythology is, in its essence, dualistic. It conceives of a
perpetually recurring strife between a good and an evil principle, the
former of which proceeds from and is antagonistic to the latter. The
father, god of night, and that counterpart of night, death, is overcome
by the son, god of the bright day and the clear heaven, patron of art
and poesy. But he retains his sway in the land of death, and the
heroes who depart thiiher after this life dwell in his kingdom. Even
so Hesiod represents Kronos, father of the sky-god Zeus, but dethroned
by him, reigning over the happy shades of dead lieroes in the isles of
ocean. This kingdom of the dead, known to the Irish Celts as Mag
IRISH MYTHOLOGY. l77
Mor, or Mag Meld, the great or the pleasant plain, was placed by
them in the western ocean. Thence came the different races of men
who conquered and dwelt in Ireland — life proceeds from death, the
day from the night, Ireland is peopled from out the country of the
dead. A later generation, bent on euhemerising their ancient tradi-
tions, substituted Spain for this mysterious land. From out the
Great Plain three races came to colonise Ireland ; that of Partholan,
that of Nemedh, then the Tuatha de Danann. In the Greek fable, as
set forth by Hesiod in the " Works and Days," three races had held
possession of the earth prior to the arrival of man, one of gold, one of
silver, one of brass ; after which heroes and demigods occupy the earth
and fit it for man. To the race of gold of the Greek correspond the
Tuatha de Danann; to the race of silver, Partholan and his tribe ; to
the race of brass, that of Nemedh. The latter occupies the same posi-
tion in both systems, but that of the other two is reversed. The
Greek heroic race is represented in Irish mythology by Miledh and
his sons.
The oldest mention of Partholan is that of Nennius, who speaks
of him as coming from Spain with a thousand companions, who
rapidly increase in numbers, but are carried off by an epidemic within
one week. When he reached Ireland, according to Eochaid hua
Flainn (L. L.), the country was composed of but three lakes, nine
rivers, and a plain ; during his time three plains were added to it.
The earliest race of gods it is which- shapes and fashions the earth.
Partholan must fight against the Fomore, demons of death and night,
monsters of gigantic size : these he overcomes, but succumbs in turn
to pestilence. The second coloniser of Ireland, Nemedh, comes like-
wise from Spain, according to Nennius, and returns thither after a
certain number of years. The oldest Irish form of the legend pre-
served in a poem of Eochaid hua Flainn (L. L.), makes him land in
Ireland with his companions, all of whom, after a while die — i.e. they
return to the land of spirits whence they came, or to Spain in the
euhemeristic version of Nennius. The Lebar Gahbala, and other
contemporary texts, relate at length the struggles of Nemedh with
the Fomore. Victorious in four battles, his descendants are, after his
death, overcome by them and cruelly oppressed. Two-thirds of their
Vol. 2.— Part 6. n
178 IRISH MYTHOLOGY.
children, two- thirds of their corn and milk, are exacted as tribute,
payable on the 1st of November at the feast of Samain, the beginning
of winter, the symbol of death. The stronghold of the Fomore is an
island, Tor-inis, in the north-west of Ireland. They are described in
an ancient tract preserved in the L. n. H. as gobor-chind, goat-headed;
and they may be compared as personifications of darkness and death
with the bull-headed Minotaur, who dwells likewise in an island, and
to whom a tribute of youths and maidens is due each year by Athens.
At length the race of Nemedh revolt, and under the leadership of
Fergus attack Conann, chief of the Fomore, in his island stronghold,
capture his tower -fortress, and slay him, but are in turn overcome by
More, another Fomore chieftain. According to Nennius, who places
the combat between the deities of life and light, and those of night
and death after the arrival of the sons of Miledh, the tower was of
glass, defended by quasi homines, who spake no word. This glass
tower, with its silent indwelling shapes, is the impregnable fortress of
the other world.* After the destruction of the race of Nemedh, one
would expect to find in the Irish annals the history of the third of the
three legendary races which preceded, according to Irish belief, the
actual ancestors of the Irish nation, namely, the Tuatha de Danann,
corresponding to Hesiod's race of gold. But curiously enough there is
intercalated the story of the colonisation of the country by one of the
two antagonistic races we find dividing Ireland between them in his-
toric times. This race, that of the Firbolg, or Fer Domnann, is found
at a later period representing the short, dark-haired aborigines dispos-
sessed by the fair tall sons of Miledh. To the invading Celts the natives
were of demoniac nature, and the strife between Milesian and Firbolg
is essentially the same as that between Partholan or Nemedh and the
Fomore, a strife between light and darkness. The later annalists, in
their zeal for euhemerising the ancient national mythology, trans-
ferred the historic struggle between Celt and pre-Celt into what was
really the region of pure mythology. In the same way the conquering
Aryan, descending upon the plains of India, applied the word Dasyu
indifferently to demons and to the native races.
♦ M. d'A. de J. might have compared the Glagburg in Teutonic folk-faith
as a symbol of the other world. See Grimm, BeuUche Mythologies p. 686.
IRISH MYTHOLOGY. 179
The mythologic character of the Tuatha de Danann— in reality the
third of the mythic races, although a semi-historic people, the Firbolgs,
is intercalated between them and the race of Nemedh — has long been
recognised. Eochaid hua Flainn (L. L.) is in doubt if they come
from out the sky or from the earth. They overcome the Firbolgs,
who take the place of the deities of death and night which they
worship, and for a while rule over Ireland in undisturbed sway.
" Folk of the God of Dana," as their name implies, they descend from
Dana, daughter of Dagde, or the "good god"; their chief warriors
are Ogme, to whom is ascribed the invention of writing; Lug, to
whom the first of August was sacred, in whose honour Lyons, and
Ley den, and Laon were named ; Dian Cecht, the god of medicine ;
Goibniu the smith, Mannanan Mac Lir, son of the sea, Nuadu of the
silver hand. The chief incident in their history is the battle of Mag-
Tured, in which they overcome the Firbolgs. At first they dwelt in
peace with these older inhabitants of the island, and had accepted the
overrule of the Fomore Bress, but the latter by his avarice and
tyranny discontented the poets and artists of Ireland — ignorance is a
type of night and death, and the Fomore king is a natural enemy of
arts and sciences, children of light and life — who stir up the people
against him, and he had to flee for aid to the other chiefs of the Fomore.
Indech and Balor of the mighty blows answer his appeal: of the latter
one eye is ever shut; when it opens, the look is death — symbol of the
thunder-cloud which opens but to send forth the death-dealing
lightning. In the battle which ensues the arms of the Tuatha de
Danann are wrought by a trinity of skilful workmen, Luchtine,
Creidne, Goibniu; in three strokes they turn out a lance— even so in
the Greek myth the three Cyclops, Brontes, Steropes, and Arges
forge the thunder-bolts which ensure the victory of Zeus over the
Titans, Zeus being the Greek counterpart of the Tuatha de Danann,
the Titans that of the Fomore-Firbolgs. Balor with his deadly glance
wounds Nuada, the Tuatha de Danann king, but before he can raise his
eyelid again is slain by a stone slung by Lug, even as Hermes (the
Greek Lug) slays Argus the hundred- eyed, symbol of the starry night
sky, with a stone. Lug may be compared again with Bellerophon, the
bane of BelleroSf the fire-breathing monster, whose name and attribute
n2
180 IRISH MYTHOLOGY.
recall Balor^ the lightning-dealer, or to Perseus, slayer of Medusa,
whose look, like Baler's, is death.
The victory of the Tuatha de Danann seems the final triumph of
the light gods over those of darkness, but, as in Greek mythology,
Zeus, overcomer of Kronos, is in turn assailed by Prometheus the
Titan on behalf of the race of men, so Miledh, son of Bile (i.e. Balor,
or the storm god), and his sons, dispossess the immortals. They too
come from Spain, according to Nennius, i.e. from the land of death,
and after a threefold invasion, thanks to the mighty charms of the
file Amairgen, who invokes and compels earth and ocean and all
living beings to his service, overcome the Tuatha de Danann com-
pletely. But the latter, in the popular traditions, enjoy a mysterious
and immortal existence, unheeded of by the senses of mortals. They
are found at all stages of the legendary history, down even to the
seventh century, playing the same part in the strife of the heroes as
is played by the dwellers on Olympus in the struggle of Greek and
Trojan, in the fortunes of Jason and Odysseus, in the labours of
Theseus and Herakles. But although the chief personages in tiie
Irish Pantheon, their worship did not kill out that of the gods of
darkness and death any more than the Milesian Celts killed out the
pre-Celtic Firbolgs. Such a god was worshipped in Ireland down to
the days of St. Patrick, under the name of Cenn Cruach (Bloody Head)
or Cromm Cruach (Bloody Bow).* The first-born children were sacri-
ficed to it to obtain fine weather, milk, and corn (L. L.) This recalls
the tribute of children made to the Fomore by the sons of Nemedh
and the Gaulish sacrifices mentioned by Lucan and Caesar.
Irish mythology may be described in brief as a series of variations
upon the same theme : the struggle of the gods of light, life, and
learning, against the gods of death, darkness, and storm, from whom
they nevertheless proceed, and whom they never entirely overcome, as
the latter retain their sway in that other world to wWch heroes go
after their death, and to which they may sometimes penetrate in this
* M. cVA. de J. has not mentioned O 'Curry's interpretation, Cromm Cruach
(Bloody Maggot or Worm), though it would fit in well with his theory, the serpent
being associated with the lightning and storm gods whom Irish mythology groups
with the Fomore.
r
IRISH MYTHOLOGY. 181
life. This mythological dualism is complicated by the historical
dualism of Celt and pre-Celt, the latter of whom are assimilated to
and sometimes confounded with the deities of death by their invading
conquerors.
I have only been able to indicate the outlines of M. d'Arbois de
Jubainville's argument. The book itself must be read to fully under-
stand the nature and method of the euhemerising process by which
eleventh and twelfth-century writers turned the mythology of their
race into history with as minute and precise a chronology as that of
the house of Hanover. This is indeed the most valuable portion of
the work, and it would have been well if the author had devoted far
more space to a critical sifting of his authorities. The process which
went on in Ireland from the ninth to the twelfth centuries is paralleled
by the contemporary transformation of Kymric legends into the
pseado-history of Geoffrey of Monmouth, and, curiously enough, Nen-
nius is our earliest authority for many of the initial stages in the
development of both groups of traditions. There is a great deal of
scattered and fragmentary criticism of sources in M. d'Arbois de
Jubainville's work; but much remains to be done in this direction
before the foundation can be said to be properly laid for such an
elaborate superstructure as he has reared.
The author's main contention almost imposes itself — the pre-Milesian
annals are rationalised mythology. But what about the Milesian or
heroic period ? A large part of the book is devoted to proving the
mythic character of the Tuatha de Danann by showing how Irish folk-
faith pictured them living through and taking part in the combats of
the heroic age ; but the author does not commit himself to the
opinion that Cu-Chulaind and Connal Cearnach, Fionn and Oisin,
are themselves as mythic as Lug or Balor. He will doubtless treat
the subject in a subsequent volume, and will, I believe, be necessitated
to adopt this conclusion. He will have against him Heinrich Zimmer,
who in his last work says : " Fiir mich sind Ailill, Medb, Conchobar
mac Nessa, Cuchulainn, Finn mac Cumail, eben solche htstorische
Personlichkeiten wie Arminius, Dietrich von Bern, und Etzel, und ihre
Zeit ist eben so bestimmt wie die der genannten Helden und Konige "
{Celtische Studien^ ii. 189), and Professor Windisch, who in his recent
182 IRISH MYTHOLOGY.
" Summary of Celtic Language and Literature " in Ersch and Gruber's
Encyclopcedia, mentions with approval (p. 139) the tradition of the
Spanish origin of the Milesians, and repeats the opinion he had
previously expressed in 1878 as to the, in the main, historical cha-
racter of the Irish heroic cycles. Nevertheless I believe that the latter
are in reality as mythical as the mythological cycle properly so called.
The personages may have lived, but the feats attributed to them are
older, and in their origin mythical. 1 will cite one instance: the
turning-point of the great epic, the Tain bo Cuailgne, is the fight at
the ford between the Ulster hero Cu-Chulaind, the Celt par excellence^
and the Firbolg Ferdiad. The two had been companions in arms, their
friendship had been of the closest ; opposed now to one another they
are well nigh equally matched ; it is only when Cu-Chulaind hurls the
enchanted Ga-bolg at his foe that he overcomes him. What is this
but a double of the fight between Lug, the Tuatha de Danann, and the
Fomore Balor whose kinsman he is, and whom he slays with a stone ?
M. d'Arbois de Jubainville treats at some length the Conception of
Cu-Chulaind from the L. n. H., the translation of which I have
printed, Folk-Lore Record, vol. iv* pp. 22-25. I refer him to my
comments upon the story as illustrating some points he has over-
looked. I likewise refer him for a Cymric parallel to the tradition of
Tuan mac Cairill, oldest of men, who had been first stag, then wild
boar, then eagle, lastly salmon, and who has witnessed all the history
of Ireland, to the Mabinogi of Kilhwch and Olwen, where the hero
seeks counsel of the ousel of Cilgwri, and she refers him to the stag
of Redynvre, and he to the owl of Cwm Cawlwyd, and he to the eagle
of Gwern Abwy, and he to the salmon of Llyn Llyw, for the record
of old events. Although neither the animals, nor the order in which
they are placed, coincide, both traditions have, I believe, a common
origin. Lastly, he should notice the reflex of the Irish invasion
legends in the cauldron-sa<7« found in the Mabinogi of Branwen,
daughter of Llyr, which I have analysed and commented upon,
Folk-Lore Record, vol. v. Alfred Ndtt.
r
TABULATION OFFOLK-TALES.
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187
NOTES AND QUERIES.
Legend of Slain Warriors. — I would refer Dr. Buchheim to my
paper in the Folk-Lore Record, volume v. on the Mabinogi of Bran-
wen, more especially to pages 5, 23, 29, 30, 31, and the supplementary
note, pages 149, 150. For fuller discussion of the legend Dr.
Buchheim should turn to Symons's edition of Gudrun, published last
year at Halle. All the examples of the legend known to me as
occurring in these islands are Celtic, and the majority are noticed in
my paper. Alfred Nutt.
Syrian and Arab Folk-Lore. — The valuable book of Captain C. K.
Conder, R.E., on Heth and Moah (London : Bentley, 1883), contains
two chapters (ix. and xi.) on " Syrian Superstitions " and "Arab Folk-
Lore," respectively, with notes on the following heads : —
Jewish : " Nail Cutting," p. 274. " Sanctification of the Moon,"
p. 275. *' Hand of Might " (painted on doors, &c. for good
luck), p. 275. " Birth Ceremonies," p. 276.
Syrian : " Marriage Customs (Maronite), pelting bride," p. 285.
" Lucky Days" (Maronite), p. 285. "The Evil Eye," charm
for, in the East, p. 286. " Passing through " (cf. " New
Birth," Mr. W. G. Black's Folk Medicine); " Pillars," p. 292 ;
" Palms," p. 292 ; " Doorways," p. 293 ; "Dolmens," p. 293 ;
" Treading on thresholds unlucky," pp. 293-4.
Arab : " Trial by Ordeal," still in use, p. 343. " Legends,"
p. 346, et seq. " Colour in Folk-lore," pp. 286, 860, and 409.
Frederick E. Sawyer.
Warwickshire Folk-Lore,— The following scrap of folk-lore is, I
think, of interest, as it is recent, and I can vouch for its authenticity.
A few months ago, in a village not far from Stratford-on-Avon, I
noticed a quantity of chaff before a house door ; on my return home I
mentioned that I supposed so-and-so was moving, when I was at once
met with the reply, " Because of the chaff at his door ? Oh no, that
is the way our people show their feelings for wife-beaters."
188 NOTES AND QUERIES.
In the same village until the last few years the stocks were in
constant requisition, but instead of being fixed they were placed on a
trolly and were moved round to the more conspicuous and open places
so that the neighbours might see the occupant to the greatest advantage
with the least trouble to themselves. Also I have a proverb which
may perhaps be of use to the Proverb Committee, viz. : — " What you
gain by dancing you lose by turning round," that is to say, '' More
haste, less speed." D'Arcy Power.
'Nointer or 'Nainter. — A word used by natives of the town of
Watlington (to which it seems to be strictly confined) to signify a
troublesome person.
Instances: — (1.) David Loveday, Lord Macclesfield's shepherd at
Shirbum Model Farm, names his dog " 'Nainter," because it is
troublesome as a sheep-dog, barking at the wrong time, and some-
times worrying the sheep. Loveday comes of an old Watlington
family. On being asked the meaning of the name which he had
given to the dog, he explained that it meant a '* reg'lar Bedlam."
(2.) Mrs. Hoare, of Watlington, calls her grandchild a " 'nointer"
when she is troublesome and restless. Mrs. Hoare feared that a lady
would have great trouble in painting the child because she is such a
" 'nointer."
Many people have wondered as to the real meaning of the word,
and some have taken trouble to find it out. The word is not used
by natives of Shirburn or Lewknor or other places near Watlington.
The true explanation is at once apparent in the following quotation
from Dr. Plot's Natural History of Oxfordshire (1677), page 204,
paragraph 32. I was enabled to make out the explanation by reading
this quotation to Miss Mary Watson, of Shirburn Model Farm. Miss
Watson kindly gave me the above-mentioned instances, and had
herself often wondered about the word : —
" Yet but a few miles off, at the Town of Watlington^ 1 was told of
a sort of Sectaries^ perhaps never heard of in the world before; which,
if so, is as strange as the thing itself, for one would have thought
there could have nothing been so absurd in Religion but what must
have needs been embraced already. These by the rest of the people
are called Anointers, from the ceremony they use of anointing all
NOTES AND QUERIES. 189
persons before they admit them into their Churchy for which they
allege the fifth of St. James, v. the 14 and 15. Is there any sick
among you (which it seems they account all people to be but them-
selves), let him call for the Elders of the Church, and let them pray
over him, anointing him with oyl in the name of the Lord; and the
prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up,
and if he have committed sins they shall be forgiven him: which Elders
amongst them are some poor Tradesmen of the Town, and the oyl
they use, that commonly sold in the shops, with which the Proselyte
being smeared over, and fired with zeal, he presently becomes a new
Light of this Church; which I could not but note, these people being
as remarkably mad as those of Bright-well are good.'*
Edward B. Poulton.
Oxford.
Notes from Weardale. — Here are some variants from Gregor,
Folk Lore of North-East of Scotland, p. 16 :
" John Smith, fellow fine,
Can ye shoe this horse of mine ?
Yes I can, and that I can,
As well as any other man.
There's a nail in his toe.
That's to make him trot and go.
There's another in his heel,
That's to make him gallop weel.
There's a nail, and there's a stob.
That horse is well shod."
This rhyme was generally repeated to children who resisted having
their clogs put on.
On page 133 we find —
the variant is—
" Kettie Beardie had a cow ;
" Willie Wylie had a cow,
And he had nought to give her.
He took his pipes and played a tnne,
And bad the cow consider.
The cow considered very well,
And gave the piper a penny
To play the same tune over again,
The * Com riggs are bonny.' "
190 NOTES AND QUERIES.
Here is a variant of " countings out" : —
" Yen tane, tether me, leather me, dick.
Ceaser, lazy cat, or a horn, or a tick.
Yen a tick, tane a tick, tether tick, mether tick, bub.
Yen a bub, tane a bub, tether bub, mether bub, jiggett."
This was stated to be the way in which a Highlander counted a score
of sheep.
On page 58 the story of working out tailors is told. Fifty years ago
the perambulating tailor was in great request, and to see three or four
of them marching out of Stanhope to some distant farmhouse was of
common occurrence ; their work might extend over several days, during
which time they lived with the family. The following lines addressed
to an applicant tells its own story : —
" The twenty-ninth of last September,
Your letter came to hand as I remember,
Desiring that I'd lend my aid,
To make and mend as is my trade,
All which I'll do without a failure
Or else I am not Page the tailor.
Anne Emmerson you will kindly tell,
Shall have her coat made soon and well ;
And compliments to Master Beadle,
Whom I will serve with my best needle."
Fixing the day on which his working party would begin their work,
he finished thus : —
" And when that Monday does come in,
We'll cut and stitch through thick and thin.
Till all the jobs are duly mended.
Then to return I must engage.
I am your servant,
Corbet Page."
The newest fashions in dress and factory-made clothing have I expect
extinguished the itinerating tailor. J. G. P^enwick.
Moorlands, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Superstition in Ireland. — Ellen Cushion and Anastatia Rourke
were arrested at Clonmel on Saturday charged with cruelly illtreating
a child three years old, named Philip Dillon. The prisoners were
taken before the Mayor, when evidence was given showing that the
neighbours fancied that the boy, who had not the use of his limbs,
was a changeling left by the fairies in exchange for the original child.
NOTES AND QUERIES. 191
While the mother was absent the prisoners entered her house and
placed the lad naked on a hot shovel under the impression that this
would break the charm. The poor little thing was severely burned,
and is in a precarious condition. — Daily Telegraphy 19th May, 1884.
Overlooking, — At Bridgwater, on Saturday, a woman named
Thomas was fined 1/. for assaulting a man named Winter. She
pleaded that she was " overlooked " by the complainant, and that
"the only cure for that was to draw blood." — Echo, 19th May, 1884.
The May-pole at Bream. — A new May-pole was erected on May-
day. The sports which were to have taken place for the benefit of
the juveniles of the village had to be abandoned owing to the late
hour at which the proceedings came to an end.
May Dew. — The old custom of " Maying " was indulged in by a
few of the young people of Hawick. Like the " May-pole Dance,"
the idea of rubbing the face in the morning dew, whereby twelve
months of rosy cheeks may be secured, is gradually dying out. Year
by year the devotees of " May morning " are becoming less and less,
and it may reasonably be predicted the next generation will know
little of the secret of how rosy cheeks were sought for on early May
mornings. — Hawick Advertiser, 3rd May.
May Queen at Chelsea. — The May Queen elected by the students
of Whiteland's College, Chelsea, received from Mr. Ruskin a gold
cross and thirty-six volumes of his works.
May Queen at Knutsford.— The old custom of crowning the May
Queen was performed at Knutsford, in the presence of some thousands
of spectators. The picturesque ceremony was enhanced in interest by
the circumstance that Lord Tennyson had written Mr. Lever, of
Culcheth Hall, Cheshire, a warm, sympathetic letter, expressing his
hope that the Knutsford people might long continue their time-
honoured festival. The prettiest child in the village was crowned
Queen of the May.
May Day in Shrewsbury. — Although the weather was hardly such
as the poets universally associate with "blithe May-day," still the
annual festival was not passed by without some notice in this town.
At three o'clock several members of the Corporation visited the Cor-
poration yard in Coleham, and inspected " the live and dead stock.
192 NOTICES AND NEWS.
and very shortly after the whole proceeded to the Square. Here also
assemhled the horses and drays of the railway companies and of
different firms in the town, and a procession was made up. The pro-
cession proceeded up Pride-hill, along Castle-foregate, through Castle
Fields, back up the Gates, and down Pride-hill, Mardol, and Frank-
well; and then again back to the centre of the town. In several
schools of the town *' May Queens " were chosen and adorned with
flowers.
NOTICES AND NEWS.
The ancient custom of singing an anthem on May morning from
tlie top of Magdalen Tower, Oxford, was observed this year.
Mr. Charles Leland is carrying on his researches into Red Indian
folk-lore. He has promised a book on the subject, in which he hopes
to establish the influence exercised by early Scandinavian settlers on
the traditions of the North American Indian tribes. Mr, Leland
intends to pay a visit to England during the summer.
Prof. C. T. Newton commenced on May 2nd, at University College,
a course of lectures on Greek myths as illustrated by vases.
English folk-lorists will be glad to learn that Italy now has a Folk-
Lore Society. The name chosen is that of " Society per lo studio
delle Tradizioni popolari in Italia," the seat of the Society being
Palermo. An annual volume will be published, containing the
transactions of the Society, a copy of which will be sent to every
member paying five francs per annum ; and other publications will
appear, bearing on Italian traditions. The Committee consists of nine
members, including Dr. Giuseppe Pitre, whose well known and dis-
tinguished name is almost a guarantee for the success of the under-
taking.
We are glad to hear that the London Library are collecting all
their Folk-lore books into one room.
IRISH FOLK-TALES.
By James Britten, F.L.S.
{Continued from Folk-Lore Journal, vol. i. p. 324.)
No. VI. — The Story of John and the Amulet.
\_This story was written down, like the jfrecedlng, by John Hannen, at the
dictation of his father.']
OW there was once a Shoundrec * travelling in Ireland,
and one night, not knowing where to sleep, he went for a
night's lodging to a house up in the mountains. They
took him in and gave him food. Now that night there
was a child born in the house, and the Shoundree went out and con-
sulted the stars. He came in and said that the child was horn under
an unlucky planet, and he then wrote upon a slip of parchment the
child's fate. It was that he would be devoured by a four-footed beast.
*' Now," said the Shoundree, *' when the boy grows up, send him to
school, and hang this parchment in a purse round his neck, and tell
him on no account to open it."
The baby grew up and was called John, and he was sent to school
with the amulet round his neck. One day he chanced to think of the
purse round his neck and wondered what was in it. At last he got
so curious that he opened it and read what was in it. That night
when he went home his father noticed how sad he was looking, and
said, " What ails you, John ? " " Nothing, father," he replied. " Have
jou opened the purse, John ?" said the father. " Yes, father," said
he, "and I wish that whatever you have to give me as a legacy will
be given to me now." His father gave him some money and he went
off. In the evening, as he was wandering in the woods, he came
across a little open plot of grass. " Here," he said, "I will lie, and
* Prophet, wise man.
Vol. 2. — Part 7. o
194 IKISH FOLK-TALES.
then if the beast devours me in the night, passei-s-by will see my body."
Just then he saw a light in the woods. " I will go there," said he,
" and tell the people of the house where to find my body." He went
there and the man of the house came out, and seeing John so sad made
him tell him the reason for it. John told him that it was his fate to
be torn to pieces by a four-footed beast. The man said, *• Come in
and I will try to protect you from the beast." John went in, and
the man gave a good supper to John, and a bitch called Fiss.* Then
he said to the bitch, " Fiss, go and guard this house to-night, and
don't let any man or beast come near it." Fiss went, and in the night
a great bull came, tearing up the ground, and roaring and snorting,
l)ellowing and pawing with his foot, and when he came near the house
he commanded John to be brought out, and said that all the world
would tremble at the sight of what he would do to him. Fiss attacked
him, and before morning the bull had to go away defeated. So for
that night John was safe. In the morning, the man of the house said
to him, •* John, go to my brother's house now, but take my little
bitch, Fiss, with you to protect you." John took the bitch and went
to the brother's house. The brother asked him why he looked so sad,
and John told him that it had been prophesied of him that he was to
be killed by a four-footed beast. The man told him to come in and
that he would protect him for the night. John went in, and the man
said, ** Whose dog is that? it looks like my brother's. " John an-
swered, " Oh, he gave it to me to guard me against the beast." The
man said, '' All right," and gave him and his bitcli, and his own bitcli,
Lice,t a good supper. In the night the bull came roaring and
bellowing, snorting and tearing up the ground ten times fiercer than
before. He demanded John to be sent out, and he said that all the
world would shake at the sight of what he was going to do to him.
Then the two bitches, Fiss and Lice, who had been connnanded to
watch the house, flew at him, and a terrible battle was fought, so that
the bull had to go away before morning, beaten. So John was again
safe. " Now," said the man, next morning, " go to my brother's house,
and since my brother has been so kind to you I will give you this
bitch. Lice." So John travelled on till he came to the third brother's
♦ Knowledge^ t Cure.
IRISH FOLK-TALES. 195
house. He went in, and the man asked liini why he looked so down
in the mouth. He told him about the prophecy that ** he was to be
put to death by a four-footed beast." The man told him to come in,
and then asked liim whose bitches they were that he had, because they
looked like his two brothers' bitches. John said that they had been
given him by the two brothers. The man said "All right," and then
gave John, and his two bitches, and a dog of his own, called Nart,* a
good supper. Then he told the dogs to guard the house, and in the
night the bull came, ten times fiercer than ever he had come before,
and demanded John to be sent out, and then the dogs set on him, and
such a terrible battle was fought that with their feet the hard ground
was made soft, and the soft ground was made hard. But before the
morning the bull had to go away defeated. "Now," said the man,
" since my two brothers have been so kind to you, I will give you my
dog, Nart." So they bade good-bye to one another, and John went
off.
He had now three dogs — Fiss, Lice, and Nart — (knowledge, cure,
and strength), and as he was walking along he met a gentleman who
asked him if he wanted any employment. John said he did, and
the gentleman asked him what he could do. John answered that he
could mind cows. The gentleman said that he wanted a herd, so John
engaged with the gentleman. Then Fiss, who knew everything,
whispered to John, " Be careful of that man, for he is your enemy
though he does not know that he is, because it is his daughter who
sends the bull after you ; so take my advice, never get drunk, make an
agreement that we are to sleep in the same room always with you, and
never lose your presence of mind or get off your guard, but always
take us about with you. Another thing, when you go into the farm-
yard with the gentleman to see his stock, be very careful of the bull,
which is enchanted. The gentleman will tell you to take us away or
else the bull will kill us. Do not, but tell him that if he likes you
will set us at the bull. We will fly at him, and then when he sees his
bull near killed he will ask you to call us off. Then call us off."
John went the next morning to see his master's stock, and when the
bull saw him it began roaring and pawing the ground. " Take your
* Strength.
o2
196 IRISH FOLK-TALES.
dogs away," said the gentleman, '*or it will kill them." "Never
mind," said John ; " if you like we will set the dogs on him and have
some sport."
After some hesitation, the gentleman agreed, and Nart grahbedthe
bull and held him down by the nose, while Fiss and Lice tore at the
diflferent parts of his body. After a while the gentleman said, " Call
off your dogs." John called them off, and they came and stood in a
circle round John.
John went on with his work after this, and did all that the bitch
had told him. Now, after a long time, it happened that John was
going to get married to the gentleman's daughter. Before the mar-
riage, Fiss again came up to warn him. She said, " Whatever you
do, don't drink any of the wine they'll give you, and don't get drunk.
Also notice the little lap-dog the lady will have in her arms. It is
the bull changed into the shape of a dog. She will come up to you
and show you the dog to admire. Admire it, but keep your eyes on
the dog, which will stare you in the face. Presently you will see the
princess loosen her arm and the dog preparing to fly at your threat-;
then with a sweep of your arm knock him under the table to us, and
being a lap-dog he will only have the strength of a lap-dog, and we
will soon manage him."
The next day John was married to the lady, and in the evening, at
the marriage-feast, he didn't taste a drop of wine or other strong drink.
Soon the princess came up with a handsome little dog in her arms.
** Isn't he a pretty little dog ? " said the princess. " Oh ! very beau-
tiful, very handsome dog," said John, as he saw the dog crouching for
a spring at his throat. Then he saw the princess's arms loosen a bit,
and with a backhand smack of his arm he sent the dog sprawling
under the table. A few yells, and all was over. But Fiss, who knew
everything, began to grind and destroy every little bit of the lap-dog,
for she knew that so long as there was any particle, however small,
left of him, he would still be alive. For all poor Fiss's trouble, how-
ever, there was a tiny splinter of bone left, and the princess put that
in John's bed. In the night, when John went to bed, the splinter shot
up through his body and poor John was dead — dead as a door-nail.
The poor dogs could not help him now> because, thinking all danger
FOLK-LORE PUBLICATIONS IN ENGLISH. 197
to have ended with the death of the bull, he had let them be locked
up in another room. When the funeral had started, carrying poor
John to his grave, Nart broke open the door where they were, and
the three rushed out after the funeral. When they came up with it,
the men who were carrying the coffin were so frightened that they
dropped it. Nart tore off the lid and drew the splinter of bone. Then
said he to Lice, " Lick the wound." Lice licked it and John sprang
up, as well as ever. As soon as he stepped out of the coffin, Fiss
and Lice changed into the most beautiful ladies that were ever seen,
and Nart became a strong handsome young man and went and killed
the princess. They had been enchanted by the bull, and, now that he
was really dead, changed into their own shapes. Then John married
Fiss, and they lived happily ever afterwards.
BIBLIOGEAPHY OF
FOLK-LOKE PUBLICATIONS IN ENGLISH.
By G. L. Gomme, F.S.A.
{Continued from vol. i. p. 394.)
Archaeologist, The, and journal of antiquarian science. Edited by
James Orchard Halliwell. Nos. i. to x. London, 1842. 8vo. pp. iv.
292 ; 194.
The following articles relate to folk-lore : —
**A description of the King and Queene of Fayries, 1635 " (pp. 24-26) — Old
ballads (30-33)— Wise men of Gotham (129-130)— Fairy mythology (170-174)
—Pageant play of St. George (176-183)— A legend of Camac (213-215)—
Prosecution of witches (23-28).
Crypt, The : or receptacle for things past : an antiquarian, literary
and miscellaneous journal. Ringwood, 1827-1828. 12mo. Vols, i.-iii.
The following are the folk-lore items : —
Vol. i. — Fourme of Byddyng the Common Prayers— On the mode of adminis-
tering oaths.
Vol. ii. — Legend of Canterbury Cathedral — Ceremony of the prize besome
at Shaftesbury— The mysteries of mumming — The queen of the West Saxons;
a legend of Corfe Castle — Lin-Crocking ; a Dorsetshire custom — The devil of
Ferrara.
Vol. iii. — Agatha Latour ; a tradition of St. Giles' Hill, Winton — Singular
custom of Warebam Manor — Fairy songs.
198 BIBLIOGRAPHY OF FOLK-LORE
Crypt, The, or receptacle of things past, and West of England
magazine. New series. Vol. i. Winchester [1829], 8yo.
Contents : The custom of shaking hands— Ancient characteristics of months
and seasons — The Tong Bell ; a Shropshire legend.
D'Alwis (James). Notes on the mythological legends of the Singhalese.
Jouimal of the Ceylon branch of Royal Asiatic Society^ 1858-9,
pp. 10-42.
Dalyell (John Graham). Darker superstitions of Scotland, illus-
trated from history and practice. Edinburgh, 1834. 8vo. pp. xii.
700.
Chapters: i. Of an evil eye, invocations and maledictions. ii. Occult
infection and cure of malaclies. iii. Miscellaneous remedies, or antidotes
to disease, iv. Amulets, v. Analogies to propitiatory sacrifice, vi. Propi-
tiatory charms, vii. Faculties ascribed to sorcerers, viii. Sujierstitions
relative to marriage, ix. Doctrine of sympathy, x. Ingredients and instru-
ments of superstition and sorcery, xi. Mystical plants, xii. Mystical animals,
xiii. Mystical mankind, xiv. Prognostication, divination, xv. Imaginary
beings, xvi. Spectral illusions, xvii. The tongues, xviii. Tests, trials, con-
viction and punishment of sorcery. Addenda. Index.
The darker superstitions of Scotland.
Glasgow, 1835. 8vo. pp. xii. 700.
[Same contents as above.]
Damant (G. H.) Bengali folk-lore. Indian Antiquary ^ vol. i. (1872),
pp. 115-120, 170-172, 218-219, 285-286, 344-345.
Bengali folk-lore. Legends from Dinajpur. Indian
Antiquary, 1873-5, vol. ii. pp. 271, 357-360; vol. iii. pp. 9-12,
320-321,342-343; iv. 54-59.
(1) The two Ganja-eaters. (2) The story of the touchstone. (.3) The two
bhuts. The jackal and the crocodile. The king who married a Pali woman.
The farmer who outwitted the six men. (4) The minister and the fool. (5) The
tolls of Goiiil Hat. (6) The finding of the dream.
Sword worship in Kuchar. Indian Antiquary,
1875, vol. iv. pp. 114-115.
The two brothers : a Manipuri story. Indian
Antiquary, 1875, vol. iv. pp. 260-264.
The story of Khambaand Thoibi: a Manipuri tale.
Indian Antiquary, 1877, vol. vi. pp. 219-226.
Danaeus (Lambertus). A dialogue of witches, in foretime called lot-
tellers and now commonly called sorcerers ; wherein is declared
breefely and effectually whatsoeucr may be required touching that
argument. Written in Latin l)y Lambei-tus Danaeus and now
translated into English. Printed by R. W. 1575, 12mo. black
letter, a 3 leaves ; r.-L in eights, the last two leaves blank.
rUBLICATIONS IN ENGLISH. 199
D'Anvers (Henry). Solomon's proverbs English and Latin, alpha-
betically collected for help of memory, fitted for the use of schools.
By H. D. London, 1676, sm. 8vo. 4 in eights.
[Prefixed is an epistle to the reader explaining the use of proverbs.]
Darrell (John). Survey of certain dialogical discourses about devils.
1602. 4to.
[" Here are many remarkable things about witches and spirits in this tract." —
Note by Thomas Hearne ; see his catalogue of books printed in Appendix xvii.
to Bliss's Itcliquiac HernlanaCy vol. iii. p. 290.]
Dasent (Sir George Webbe). Tales from the Fjeld. A second
series of popular tales from the Norse of P. Chr. Asbjornsen.
London, 1874. 8vo. Pp. xv. 375.
Contents : Osborn's pipe— The haunted mill and the honest penny — The
death of chanticleer and the greedy cat — Peter the forester and Grumble
Gizzard — Peter's three tales : Father Bruin in the corner, Reynard and
Chanticleer, Goodman Axchaft — The companion — The shopboy and his
cheese— Peik — Karin's three stories : Death and the doctor, The way of the
world, The pancake — Peter's beast stories : Pork and honey, The hare and
the heiress. Slip root. Catch Reynard's foot, Bruin Goodfellow, Bruin and
Reynard partners, Reynard wants to taste horseflesh — Master Tobacco— The
charcoal-burner — The box with something pretty in it — The three lemons —
The priest and the clerk — Friends in life and death — The father of the
family — Three years without wages — Our parish clerk— Silly men and
cunning wives — Taper Tom — The trolls in Hedale Wood — The skipper and
Old Nick— Goody gainst the stream — How to win a prince— Boots and the
beasts — The sweetheart in the wood — How they got llairlock home — Osborne
Boots and Mr. Glibtongue — This is the lad who sold the pig — The sheep and
the pig who set up house — The golden palace that hung in the air — Little
Freddy with his fiddle — Mother Roundabout's daughter — The green knight
— Boots and his crew — The town-mouse and the fell-mouse— Silly Matt—
King Valemon, the white bear — The golden bird.
— ^ Popular tales from the Norse.
With an introductory essay on the origin and diffusion of popular
tales. Edinburgh, 1879. 8vo. Pp. Ixxxviii. 432.
Contents : Introduction. True and untrue — Why the sea is salt — The old
dame and her hen — Boots who ate a match with the troll — Hacon Grizzle-
beard — Boots who made the princess say " That's a story ! " — The giant who
had no heai-t in his body — l.'hc fox as herdsman — The mastennaid — The cat
on the Dovrefcll — Princess on the glass hill — How one went out to woo —
The cock and hen — The master smith — Buttercup — Taming the Shrew —
Shortshanks — Gudbrand on the hill-side— The blue belt — Why the bear is
stumpy-tailed — Not a pin to choose between them — One's own children are
always prettiest— The three princesses of Whiteland— The lassie and her
godmother — The three aunts — The cock, the cuckoo, and the blackcock —
Rich Peter the pedlar — Gertrude's bird — Boots and the troll — Goosey Grizzel
— The lad who went to the North Wind — The master thief — The best wish —
The three billygoats— Gruff— Well done and ill paid — East o' the Sun and
West o' the Moon — The husband who was to mind the house — Dapplegrim —
Farmer Weathersky — The two step-sisters — Lord Peter — The seven foals — The
widow's son — Bushy bride— Boots and his brother— The twelve wild ducks.
200 BIBLIOGRAPHY OF FOLK-LORE
Davenport (John). The witches of Huntingdon, their examinations
and confessions, exactly taken by his Majesties justices of peace
for that county, whereby will appeare how craftily and dangerously
the devill tempteth and seizeth on poor soules. London, 1646. 4to.
A — c, 2 in fours.
[This is in the British Museum Librarj'.J
Davids (T. W. Rhys). Buddhist birth- stories, or Jataka tales : the
oldest collection of folk-lore extant : being the Jatakatthavannana,
for the first time edited in the original Pali by V. FausboU, and
translated by T. W. Rhys Davids. London, 1880, pp. ciii. 388.
Contents : Translator's Introduction. The book of hirth-storics and their
migration to the West. The birth-stories in India. Supplementary tables.
The Ceylon compiler's introduction. The birth stories : — Holding to the
truth— the sandy road— The merchant of Seri— The story of ChuUaka the
treasurer — The measure of rice— On true divinity — The story of Makha
Deva— The happy life— The story of beauty— The banyan deer— The dart of
love — The greedy antelope — The deer who would not learn — The cunning
deer— The wind— On offering food to the dead — On offering given under a
vow— The monkeys and the demon— The wily antelope — The dog who
turned preacher — The Bhoja thoroughbred — The thoroughbred war-horse —
The horse at the ford — PWil communications corrupt good manners — The
elephant and the dog — The bull who won the bet— The old woman's black
bull — The ox who envied the pig — On mercy to animals — The dancing
peacock — The sad quarrel of the quails — The fish and his wife— The holy
quail — The wise bird and the fools — The partridge, monkey and elephant—
The cruel crane outwitted— Nanda on the buried gold — The fiery furnace.
Davie (John Constance). Letters from Paraguay: describing the
settlements of Monte Video and Buenos Ayres ; the presidencies of
Risja Minor, nombre de Dios, St. Mary and St. John, &c. with the
manners, customs, religious ceremonies, &c., of the inhabitants.
Written during a residence of seventeen months in that country.
London, 1805. 8vo. pp. vii. 293.
[There is nothing of importance in this book.]
Davis (Sir John Francis). Chinese novels, translated from the
originals ; to which are added proverbs and moral maxims collected
from their classical books, and other sources ; the whole prefaced
by observations on the language and literature of China. London,
1822. 8vo. pp. 250.
[The proverbs occupy pp. 225-250.]
Dawson (James). Australian aborigines ; the languages and customs
of several tribes of aborigines in the western district of Victoria,
Australia. Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide, 1881. 4to. pp. viii.
110, and ciii.
Contents : Cap. i. Tribes, ii. Population, iii. Chiefs, iv. Property
V. Clothing, vi. Habitations, vii. Cleanliness, viii. Domestic furniture
ix. Cooking and food. x. Tools, xi. Laws of marriage, xii. Children,
xiii. Names of persons, xiv. Superstitions and diseases, xv. Death and
burial, xvi. Avenging of death, xvii. Great meetings, xviii. Amuse-
PUBLICATIONS IN ENGLISH. 201
raents. xix. Weapons, xx. Animals, xxi. Meteorology, astronomy, &c.
xxii. Native mounds, xxiii. Anecdotes— Conveyance of 100,000 acres of
land— Vocabularies— Notes to chapters xi. xii. xiii. and xiv.- Reports of
Government inspectors of aboriginal schools.
Day (Rev. Lai Behari). Folk-tales of Bengal. London, 1883.
Pp. xii. 284.
Contents : Preface. Life's secret — Phakir Chand — The indigent Brahman —
The story of the Rakshasas— The story of Swet-Basanta — The evil eye of Sani
— The boy whom seven mothers suckled — The story of Prince Sobur — The
origin of opium — Strike but hear — The adventures of two thieves and of their
sons— The ghost Brahman — The man who wished to be perfect— A ghostly
wife — The story of a Brahmadaitya — The story of a Hiraman — The origin of
rubies — The match-making jackal — The boy with the moon on his forehead —
The ghost who was afraid of being bagged — The field of bones— The bald
wife.
Delamothe (G. N.) The French alphabet, teaching in a very short
time by a most easie way to pronounce French naturally, to reade it
perfectly, to write it truly, and to speake it accordingly ; together
with the treasure of the French tongue, containing the rarest
sentences, proverbes, parables, similes, apothegmes and golden
sayings of the most excellent French authors as well poets as
orators, by G. D. L. M. N. London, 1631. 12mo. pp. 159.
De Loier (Peter). A treatise of specters, or strauiige sights, visions,
and apparitions appearing sensibly unto men. 1605. 4to.
[I have not seen this. A copy is in the Bodleian; see Hazlitt's Handhooh to
Early English Literature, p. 152; and recently a copy was offered for sale by
Brown, of Edinburgh, at £1 15*. ; there is not a copy in the British Museum.]
Dendy (Walter Cooper). The philosophy of mystery. London, 1841.
8vo. pp. xii. 443.
In the form of conversation under the following chapters : The challenge —
Nature and motives of ghosts — Prophecy of spectres — Illusion of spectres —
Phantasy from mental association — Phantasy from cei'ebral excitement —
Phantasy from cerebral congestion — Poetic phantasy— Phantasy from sym-
pathy with the brain — Mysterious forms and signs — Analysis and classification
of spectral illusion— Illusions of art — Illustration of mysterious sounds — Fairy
mythology —Dem(mology — Nature of soul and mind — Nature of sleep —
Sublimity and imperfection of dreaming — Prophecy of dreams — Moral causes
of dreaming— Anachronism and coincidence of dreams — Intense impression —
Influence of dark blood on the brain — Incubus or nightmare — Somniloquence
and somnambulism — Imitative monomania — Reverie — Abstraction of in-
tellect — Somnolence, trance, and catalepsy — Premature interment— Trans-
migration — Mesmerism — Sibylline influence.
[There does not seem to be much of value in this volume.]
Denham (Michael Aislabie). A collection of proverbs and popular
sayings relating to the seasons, the weather, and agricultural pursuits,
gathered chiefly from oral tradition. London (Percy Society),
1856. 8vo. pp. iv. 73.
Contents : Preface— General adages, proverbs, &c. — General proverbs in
rhyme — Dayes of the weke moralysed — [months]— addenda: a song for
Chnstmas day.
202 BIBLIOGRAPHY OP POLK-LORE
Denham (Michael Aislabie). Slogans of the North of England.
Newcastlo-on-Tync, 1851. 4to. pp. xxx. 32.
I ^-^— Folk-lore : or a collection of local
rhymes, proverbs, sayings, prophecies, slogans, etc. relating to
Northumberland, Newcastle-on-Tyne, and Berwick-on-Tweed.
Richmond, in com. Ebor. 1858. 8vo. pp. xii. 142 (last two not
numbered).
[Only fifty copies printed of this. There is no name or nom ile plume on
this book.]
— — A revelation or charact. Durham,
1854. 8vo. pp. 3.
[A charm. This is signed M. A. D.]
A chapter of cuckoo cries endeavoured
by M. A. D. Durham, 1854. 8vo. pp. 11.
To all and singular the ghosts, hob-
goblins, and phantasms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland these brief pages are fearlessly inscribed in utter
defiance of their power and influence by their verie humble ser-
vaunte to command M. A. D. [Durham, 1851.] 8vo. pp. G.
Folk-lore, or manners and customs 'of
the North of England. By M. A. D. Newcastle-on-Tyne, 1850.
8vo. pp. 2 leaves, 22.
[Only fifty copies printed.]
Folk - lore, or manners, customs.
weather proverbs, popular charms, juvejiile rhymes, ballads, &c.
in the North of England. By M. A. D. Newcastle-on-Tyne,
1851. 8vo. pp. 12.
Odd names of places in the North of
England. By Autolycus. Durham, 1856. 8vo. pp. 4.
I'll Neville you," &c. [By M. A. D.
Durham, 1851]. 8vo. pp. 4.
Supplement to the local rhymes,
proverbs, sayings, &c. of the county of Durham. Durham, 1859.
8vo. pp. 8.
[Only fifty copies printed.]
Rhymes and proverbs relating to
hawking and the chase. [By Autolycus (no place), 1857.] 8vo. pp. 2.
[Only fifty copies printed : there is no title-page.]
To Old Father Christmas and Janus
the double-faced god, this tract of the rhymes and proverbs of
Yule-tide and the New Year is right humbly inscribed. [Durham,
1853.] 8vo. pp. 12.
[There is no title-page. ]
rUBLICATIONS IN ENGLISH. 203
Denham (Michael Aislabie). A few popular rhymes, proverbs, and
sayings relating to fairies, witches, and gipsies. [Durham, 1852.]
8vo. pp. 8.
[Only fifty copies printed : there is no title-page.]
A few fragments of fairyology, shewing
its connection with natural history. Durham, 1859. 8vo. pp. 7.
[Only fifty copies printed : signed M. A. D.]
To Oberon and Titania, king and
queen of fairies, and the whole fairy court, dwelling in the greater
Mona, I dedicate this little tract on the popular rhymes, proverbs,
sayings, &c. of their native ysle. [Durham, 1850.] 8vo. pp. 17.
[There is no title-page : signed M. A. D.]
Folk-lore, or manners, customs,
weather proverbs, i)opu]ar charms, juvenile rhymes, &c. of the
North of England. By M. A. D. Durham, 1852. 8vo. pp. 21.
[Only fifty copies printed.]
>- English surnames obtained from
matters of war and chivalry. By M. A. D. Durham, 1854. 1 slip.
— — Folk-lore, or manners, customs,
weather proverbs, popular charms, juvenile rhymes, &c. in the
North of England. [Richmond, in com. Ebor. 1858.] 8vo. pp. 31.
[Only fifty copies printed : there is no title-page.]
As an offering in honour of the manes
of the families of Hylton and Conyers, I dedicate this tract on
the feudal and border rhymes, proverbs, sayings, &c. &c. of the
bishoprick of Durham. [Durham, 1850]. 8vo. pp. 12.
[Only fifty copies printed : there is no title-page.]
This littel tractate on ye rimes, pro-
uerbes, sayings, &c. &c. of ye oulde aunciente citty of Duresme is
ryghyte hvmble wise dedicated to ye clargy, lawyers, and olde maids
of ye afore-named cittie to whom respectively and respectfully he
wishes golden prebends, fatt briefs, and good hvsbandes by their
most hvmble bedesman and oratour the collector. [Durham, 1851.]
8vo. pp. 28.
[Only fifty copies printed : there is no title-page.]
In honour of Joseph Ritson, Esquire,
the earliest collector and chronicler of our Palatine anthology, I
dedicate this tract : Rare and popular rhymes, proverbs, sayings,
characteristics, reproaches, &c. &c. relating to the inhabitants of
certain towns and villages, and also to particular families and
individuals in the bishoprick of Durham. [Durham, 1851.] 8vo.
pp. 78.
[Only fifty copies printed : there is no title-page.]
204 BIBLIOGRAPHY OF FOLK-LORE
Denniston (Captain James). Legends of Galloway ; being a series of
traditions illustrative of its ancient history, customs, manners and
superstitions. Edinburgh, 1825. 8vo. pp. xiv. 294.
Contexts: The preface— The standard of Denmark; a tale of Cmggleton
Castle — The miller of Eldrig — The battle of Caimholy.
[The preface, p. xii. says: " It would be unworthy his [the author's] character
to permit the following pages to go abroad into the world under the impression
that they are literal transcriptions of the legends he has given. That their
basis rests on popular tradition he avows to be true, but he begs leave at the
same time to state that their getting up, or rather amplification, has been
entirely his own."]
Tlie battle of Craignilder, a very ancient
Gallovidian ballad ; arranged for publication with an introduction
and notes. Edinburgh and Glasgow, 1832. 8vo. pp. 1. 104.
Contents: Preface. Introduction. Battle of Craignilder.
First line : heard ye o' that gallant fray
* * *
Last line : To deck the deadly flail, man.
Notes,
Denton (Rev. W.), see Mijatovies (Madam C.)
Devonshire Association, for the advancement of science, literature
and art, report and transactions of, Plymouth, v. y. 8vo.
First report of committee on Devon.shire folk-lore, vol. viii. (1876), pp. 49-58..
Disraeli (Isaac). Curiosities of literature : a new edition, edited with
memoirs and notes by his son the Right Hon. B. Disraeli. London,
1867. 3 vols. 8vo.
These volumes contain the following articles on subjects relating to folk-lore:
vol. i. legends, pp. 89-94 ; on the custom of saluting after sneezing, pp. 126-
128 ; trials and proofs of guilt in superstitious ages, pp. 1 61-166 ; singularities
observed by various nations in their repasts, pp. 170-173 ; English astrologers,
278-283; alchymy, 283-287 ; mysteries, moralities, farces and sotties, 352-362.
Vol. ii. modes of salutation and amicable ceremonies observed in various
nations, pp. 12-15; drinking cu.'stoms in England, 292-300.
Vol. iii. the philosophy of proverbs, 32-65.
Dodds (George). The translation of an ancient formula of magical
exorcism written in cypher. Reliquary, vol. x. pp. 129-138.
Dorman (Rushton M.) The origin of primitive superstitions and their
development into the worship of spirits, and the doctrine of spiritual
agency among the aborigines of America. Philadelphia and
London, 1881. 8vo. pp. 398.
CONTENTS: Cap. 1. Introductory, ii. and iii. Doctrine of spirits, iv.
Fetichistic superstitions, v. Rites and ceremonies connected with the dead,
vi. Animal worship, vii. Worship of trees and plants, viii. Worship of
remarkable natural objects, ix. Sabaism. x. Animistic theory of meteor-
ology, xi. Priestcraft, xii. Conclusion. Index.
Douce (F.) The ceremony of the feast of fools. Archaeologia, vol. xv.
pp. 225-233.
PUBLICATIONS IN ENGLISH. 205
Douce (F.) Ancient marriage customs. Archaeologia, vol. xvii.
pp. 124-127.
Drake (Samuel Adams). A book of New England legends and folk-
lore in prose and poetry. Boston, 1884. 4to. pp. xviii. 461.
Contents : Boston legends— Cambridge legends— Lynn and Nahaut legends
— Salem legends — Marblehead legends — Cape Ann legends — Ipswich and
Newbury legends — Hampton and Portsmouth legends — York, Isle of Shoals,
and Boor Island legends — Old Colony legends — Rhode Island legends — Con-
necticut legends — Nantucket and other legends.
Draxe (Thomas). Bibliotheca scholastica instructissima, or a treasury
of ancient adagies and sententious proverbs, selected out of the
English, Greeke, Latine, French, Italian, and Spanish, ranked in
alphabetical! order, and suited to one and the same sense. Londini,
1654. Sm. 8vo. pp. 247.
Drummond (Robert). Illustrations of the grammatical parts of the
Guzerattee, Mahratta and English languages. Bombay, 3 808.
Folio, pp. 134 [not paged in type.]
[A selection of Guzerattee proverbs extend from page 20 to page 36.]
Du Chaillu (Paul B.) Explorations and adventures in Equatorial
Africa; with accounts of the manners and customs of the people
London, 1861. 8vo. pp. x. 479.
[The customs are mentioned during the narrative of travel.]
The land of the midnight sun : summer and
winter journeys through SAveden, Norway, Lapland and Northern
Finland, with descriptions of the inner life of the people, their
manners and customs, the primitive antiquities, &c. London, 1881 .
2 vols. 8vo. pp. xvi. 441; xvi. 474.
[The customs are mentioned during the narrative of travel.]
Dyer (T. P. Thiselton). British popular customs, present and past;
illustrating the social and domestic manners of the people ; arranged
according to the calendar of the year. London, 1876. 8vo. pp. ii.
520.
English folk-lore. London, 1878. 8vo. pp. viii.
290.
Contents : Cap. 1, Plants, ii. The moon. iii. Birds, iv. Animals, v.
Insects — reptiles, vi. Charms, vii. Birth — baptism, viii. Marriage, ix.
Death, x. Days of the week. xi. The months and other weather-lore. xii.
Bells, xiii. Miscellaneous folk-lore.
Domestic folk-lore. London, 1881. [Cassells
shilling monthly library]. 12mo. pp. viii. 180,
Contents : Birth and infancy — Childhood — Love and courtship — Marriage —
Death and burial— The human body — Articles of dress — Table superstitions
— Furniture omens— Household superstitions — Popular divinations— Common
ailments— Miscellaneous household- lore.
206 THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN.
Dyer (T. F. Thiselton). Folk-lore of Shakespeare. London [1883].
8vo. pp. ix. 526.
Contents : Cap. i. Fairies, ii. Witches, iii. Ghosts, iv. Demonology and
devil-lore. v. Natural phenomena, vi. Birds, vii. Animals, viii. Plants, ix.
Insects and reptiles, x. Folk-medicine, xi. Customs connected with the
calendar, xii. Birth and baptism, xiii. Marriage, xiv. Death and burial.
XV. Rings and precious stones, xvi. Sports and pastimes, xvii. Dances,
xviii. Punishments, xix. Proverbs, xx. Human botly. xxi. Fishes,
xxii. Sundry superstitions, xxiii. Miscellaneous customs, &c. — Index.
Dykes (Oswald). Moral reflexions upon select English proverbs,
familiarly accommodated to the honour and manners of the present
age. London, 1708. 870. dedication, pp. xl. 280, and index.
[The preface is "An Essay upon the nature and use of proverbs." There
are 52 proverbs, each forming the heading of a chapter of moral reflections.]
English proverbs, with moral reflexions, in imita-
tion of Sir Roger L'Estrange's ^sop, familiarly accommodated to
the humour and manners of the age. The second edition to which
is added the union proverb, occasioned by the late French expedi-
tion to Scotland, and several other proverbs never before printed.
London, 1709. 8vo. pp. xl. 312, and index, and separate pagina-
tion of 14 pages and preface.
[The preface is as before. There are 57 proverbs. Tbe Union Proverb is a
separate pamphlet, and is a dissertation on ** When Skiddaw has a cap, •
Scruifell wots full well of that," applicable to the Union of Scotland and
England, and is said to be by Defoe.]
. The same. The third edition. London, 1713. 8vo.
[The same as the second edition, with a new title-page.]
THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN.
By Emma S. Buchheim.
|T has of late become the fashion to celebrate the anniver-
saiy of any important historical or legendary event, and
the people of Hamelin, not to be outdone, intend this
year to celebrate the memory of one of the darkest days
in their annals. On the 2Gth of June it will be six hundred years
since, according to a legend made popular in England by Browning's
well-known poem, " The Pied Piper of Hamelin," the injured rat-
catcher led away the children of the town, thereby causing much grief
THE PIED PIPER OP HAMELIN. 207
to their parents and much perplexity to historians. As public atten-
tion is thus called to the legend it may not be uninteresting to English
readers to learn the results of recent investigations undertaken in
Germany by several scholars, more especially by Dr. Otto Meinardns,
in a treatise entitled Der histonsche Kern der Hameler Rattenfangersage,
and by Herr M. Busch in the Grenzboten, with a view to ascertaining
whether or no the legend rests on an historical basis.
The Piper and the rats have always been considered an essential
part of the story. It seems impossible that the man on whom we
have always looked as the cause of the catastrophe should in reality
be only a secondary personage; but on turning to what is considered
the earliest record of the tragedy of Hamelin we find it is merely to
the effect "that on the 26th of June, 1284, one hundred and thirty
children vanished into Mount Calvary," afterwards called the " Koppel-
berg." There is no doubt whatever that the above record was made a
long time after the occurrence of the event, for the mystical element
has already made its appearance in the statement that the children
disappeared into the mountain. The entries concerning the Piper do
not occur till some years after the first record was made, and the rats
are not mentioned at all in the archives of the town. We are then
not unjustified in taking for granted that, if any part of the story is
true, it is the disappearance of the children, and that the Piper, the
scourge of the rats, and the broken treaty, were added to account for
a fact whose real cause was long since forgotten.
We will first see whether any satisfactory explanation presents itself
of that part of the story which we have already relegated to the rank
of fable, and here we find that the Piper who by means of his music
destroys obnoxious animals is not the sole property of the people of
Hamelin. Like Wilhelm Tell he is common property in the realm of
fiction. It is not only that the Piper recalls the malicious gnomes and
elves who delight to steal children, or that his gay costume reminds us
of the love these creatures have for bright-coloured cloth, he has his
actual counterpart in the legends of other countries. In France there
is a story of a monk who freed a town from a plague of rats. The
people withheld the promised reward, and with the help of his horn
the monk led away their cattle and their domestic animals. In
208 THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN.
Ireland we actually meet with a legend of a bagpipe- player who decoyed
a number of young people in the same manner that the ratcatcher of
Hamelin led away the children. In many Teutonic myths we find that
the soul leaves the body in the shape of a mouse, and it has occurred to
one writer that the Piper is the god of death of tbe Aryan races, who
is followed by the souls of the dead, represented in the legend as rats.
Without going so far as to look upon the Avhole legend as a new form
of the dance of death, we may consider that the musician whose magi-
cal attributes give him power over man and beast belongs to the same
category as elves, gnomes, and other mythical creatures, who love to
mislead human beings. We shall presently see how he came to be
connected with our legend.
As regards the historical basis of the tale some historians en-
deavoured to bring it in connection with a battle fought in 1259 or
1260 between the Bishop of Minden and the people of Hamelin at Sede-
munde. The latter were defeated, and a number of them having been
taken prisoners they were led away, " disappearing behind the moun-
tains," and returning after some time by the roundabout way of Tran-
sylvania. There are two objections to this explanation which has found
very general acceptance. The dates of the two occurrences do not
coincide, and the battle has been fully described in the chronicles. It is
scarcely probable that an event so well remembered as the battle of Sede-
mimde should have given rise to a distinct legend. It seems therefore
that we must seek for another interpretation of the legend, and this is to
be found by connecting it with the strange psychological epidemic
which prevailed to such an alarming extent in the Middle Ages,
namely, the dancing mania. Men, women, and children, seized by
this disease, danced till they fell down utterly exhausted. Then they
slept, and awoke refreshed. The disease was epidemic; sometimes
the crowd numbered from 500 to 1000 dancers who did not always
remain in one place, but wandered dancing from town to town. They
were much excited by music, and the authorities sometimes hired
musicians in order that they might hasten the exhaustion which pre-
ceded the healing sleep. Though the disease did not attain its full
height till some centuries after the date ascribed to the Hamelin
incident, we know that it had already broken out. In 1237 the young
THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN. 209
people of Erfurt were attacked, left their homes, and were found
again at Arnstadt, where they had fallen down in the streets worn out
by their exertions. May not a similar occurence have led to the loss
of the children of Hamelin ? It seems that these dancers were called
" Dancers of St. John " (Johannes tanzer). From the 24th to the
26th of June the Midsummer festivals were held, at which many of
the ancient heathen customs were carried out. Wild dances formed
an essential part of the festival, for whoever danced through a burning
fire was free from illness for that year. Such occasions as these might
easily give rise to the dreaded epidemic, and hence probably the name
" Dancers of St. John." We must remember that it was on the 26th
of June, the last day of the Midsummer festival, that the children of
Hamelin vanished. Is it not probable that the youth of the town
were celebrating the festival, and that musicians were among them ?
Whether the mania originally began at Hamelin, or whether dancers
from other districts infected the people of that town, is difficult to
decide. We will assume that they were infected, and that, headed by
a musician wearing the gay dress of his class, the young inhabitants
of Hamelin began their journey, and disappeared from sight behind
the Koppelberg. The story of the Erfurt children leads us to think
that the Hamelin children in their wanderings may have gone to a
distant place fixed by popular fancy in Transylvania, and have been
brought back from there. When the old chronicler subsequently
wrote down the brief record of what had taken place the children were
said to have disappeared not behind but into the mountain. Beside
such a wonder other circumstances seemed trivial indeed in the eyes of
the people ; it was impossible that such a simple thing as dancing
should lead to such a catastrophe. How was it brought about? The
Piper who led the crowd became the cause of the tragedy, the vague
memory of myths and traditions came to the aid of the people ; the
Piper became a man with magic powers who revenged himself on the
people of Hamelin when they refused to give him his promised reward,
and the legend assumed the shape in which it has come down to us.
June 20th, 1884.
Vol. 2.— Part 7.
210
IRISH FOLK-LORE.
[Reprinted from A Statistical Acc&unt or Parochial Survey of Ireland, drawn
from the communications of the Clergy, hy William Shaw Mason. Dublin,
London, and Edinburgh, 1814-1819. Svo. 3 vols. Continued from
page 142.]
Parish of Dungiven.
HE traditionary story of O'Cahan's possessions (a family
who rose into consequence when the O'Connors became
obscure) is this : The chief O'Neal granted to O'Cahan,
as a reward for some important service {Go rasir capell
ciar)y " as far as your brown horse can run in one day." This he
accepted, and took a direct line eastward from Bum ToUaght, in the
parish of Comber, to the river Bann, including the whole of that
fertile district which lies between the mountain and the sea. The
fishery of the Bann was also a part of this possession ; and to accom-
modate him in drawing his nets a certain tribute of salt for the use
of the castle of Grianan Oiligh was taken in exchange for as much
land as an oxhide would enclose ; this, aided by the old Cartha-
ginian device of cutting the hide into small thongs (an hereditary
artifice, no doubt), extended his territory considerably beyond the river.
In Camden's description of the county of Coleraine (Gibson's Camden^
folio 1018) we have the following : " The Cahans were of greatest
authority in these parts, tlie chief O'Cahan being the person
who (in the barbarous election of O'Neal, performed with barbarous
ceremony on a high hill in the open air) has the honourable office of
throwing a shoe over the head of the O'Neal then chosen." Throwing
a shoe after a person setting out on a journey or other enterprise is
still considered by the common people as lucky and conducive to
success.— (Vol. i. pp. 321-322.)
At the baptising of Ossian the office was perfomied by St. Patrick,
who, being of a great age at the time, walked with a pole which had
in the end a long sharp point of iron to secure his steps. Whilst in
IRISH FOLK-LORE. 21 1
the act of officiating, the saint inadvertently leaned his staff, without
perceiving it, on Ossian's foot, so that the spike ran quite through it
to the ground. When the service was finished, on turning away the
holy man discovered the unlucky accident, and, being struck with the
greatest concern and surprise, he hastily inquired of Ossian why he
had not noticed it or shown any sign of uneasiness, " I thought,
father," replied the chief with unvarying composure, " that this too
had been part of the ceremony ! " — (Vol. i. p. 327.)
Early almost every Sunday morning, from St. Patrick's day until
about Michaelmas, a number of devotees surround the well called
Tubber Patrick, and, after bowing towards it with great reverence,
walk round it a certain number of times, repeating during their pro-
gress a stated measure of prayer. They then wash their hands and
feet with the water and tear off a small rag from their clothes, which
they tie on a bush overhanging the well. From thence they all pro-
ceed to a largo stone in the river Koe, immediately below the old
church ; and, having performed an ablution, they walk round the stone,
bowing to it and repeating prayers as at the well. Their next move-
ment is to the old church, within which a similar ceremony goes on,
and they finish this rite by a procession and prayer round the upiight
stone already described. — (Vol. i. p. 328.)
Parish of Kilmanalieen.
The last Sunday in July is a patron day, when a number of people
assemble at Lahinchy. They amuse themselves with horse-racing on
the strand, dancing, &c. near it. This Sunday is called Garlic
Sunday, but for what reason is not known. On Saturday evening
preceding this Sunday numbers of people, male and female, assemble
at St. Bridget's well, and remain there the entire night. They first
perform their rounds, and then spend a good part of the time in
invoking this Saint Bridget over the well, repeating their prayers and
adorations aloud and holding their conversations with the saint, &c.
When this ceremony is over they amuse themselves until morning
by dancing and singing. They then (on Sunday morning) repair to
Lahinchy, distant from this well at least three miles, to conclude their
merriment. This well is also resorted to on the 1st of February. —
(Vol. i. p. 494.)
p2
212 IRISH FOLK-LORE.
Parish of Maghera.
As to customs, we have no controversy here, about regaling our-
selves witli the juice of the barley on St. Patrick's day ; eating
pancakes on Shrove Tuesday ; a goose at Michaelmas, and nuts and
apples on Hallow e'en ; on the Sunday before Easter, palm twigs ;
on the 17th of March, a green shamrock 5 and on the 12th of July,
orange-lilies arc worn. On Shrove Tuesday, and a few days before it,
the Roman Catholics usually marry, being prohibited to do so in Lent
or Advent.
On the 1st of May from time immemorial, until the year 1798, a
large pole was planted in the market-place at Maghera ; and a pro-
cession of May-boys, headed by a mock king and queen, paraded the
neighbourhood, dressed in shirts over their clothes, and ornamented
with ribbons of various colours. This practice was revived last year,
and the May-boys collected about seventeen pounds at the different
places where they called : this defrayed the expense of a public dinner
next day.
On the 23rd of June bonfires are kindled in all du'ections througli
the country. On the 24th June, being St. John's day, the Freemasons
assemble, walk in their insignia, and dine together. On the 12th
July, the anniversary of the battle of Aughrim, the Orangemen
assemble, walk in their insignia, and dine together. On the 29th
September, being Michaelmas day, the few hounds in the neighbour-
hood are collected, and there is a hunt ; and on the 31st of October,
being Holy Eve, or, as the Scotch call if-, " Hallow e'en," various
tricks are played by the young people, who are anxious to know what
husbands or wives they are to get.
Entertainments are given by all descriptions of people here at
christenings, weddings, wakes, and funerals ; cheese and ale are the
usual beverage at the Scotch christenings, cakes and whiskey at the
Irish. The weddings are observed with considerable gaiety, and a
dangerous compliment is paid to the bridal-party, at what is called
the infair or bringing home. They are saluted with shots from
muskets and pistols in every village, or cluster of houses, through
which they pass. This joke often turns out a serious one, for it has
been repeatedly the cause of unhorsing some of the joyful train, who
r
IRISH FOLK-LORE. 213
always ride at full gallop on these occasions, contending for the honour
of arriving first at the bridegroom's house.
At the Irish wake here, the body of the deceased is laid on the
earth, and covered with a sheet ; two candles are placed near it, and
the company is entertained with pipes, tobacco, and snuff. — (Vol. i.
pp. 593-596.)
Parish of Annahilt.
One peculiar custom generally prevails : the giving a merry convoy
home to the bride and groom after marriage, and the struggle is often
great between the friends of the former and of the latter who shall
first arrive at the destined goal. — (Vol. ii. p. 16.)
Parish of Balh/mascanlon.
There are two patrons, one on the first of February, in honour of
St. Bridget, on Foughart Hill, and the other on the fifteenth of
August, in honour of the Virgin Mary, at Piedmont. Near each
patron place is what is called a holy well, named after the saint, at
which the people do penance. — (Vol. ii. p. 72.)
Parish of Bally moyer.
Some remains of Pagan superstition still exist, as also the belief in
fairies, and in lucky and unlucky days. A girl chasing a butterfly
was chid by her companions, saying, " That may be the soul of your
grandfather." Upon inquiry it was found that a butterfly hovering
near a corpse was regarded as a sign of its everlasting happiness. —
(Vol. ii. p. 83.)
Parish of Cahircorney.
In this parish assemblages are held on the tops of the highest hills
on every St. John's Eve, when they light up clears, which are bundles
of straw tied to long poles, and as all the most elevated places for
forty miles around appear one blaze of fire the effect is very brilliant.
It is a Pagan custom, and is conjectured to be a mode of worehip paid
to the heathen deity Baal, as the Irish at this day call the first of May
« La Baal tine," that is, « The day of Baal's fire."— (Vol. ii. p. 98.)
{To he continued.)
214
TABULATION OF FOLK-TALES.
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TABULATION OF FOLK-TALES.
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TABULATION OF FOLK-TALES.
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NOTES AND QUERIES.
Superstitions from Corea. — In spite of the early civilisation of
the country, the only subject of historical interest which we saw in
our travels was a curious structure resembling a rude altar, consisting
of one massive slab, placed horizontally on small blocks of granite,
which supported it on three sides, leaving the other side open and a
hollow space some sixteen feet by ten feet beneath. Of these quasi-
altars several were standing in the valleys ; but, though it must ha7e
cost immense labour to place these stones in position, no legend was
current to account for their existence, except one which connected them
with the Japanese invasion at the end of the sixteenth century, when
the invaders were said to have erected them to suppress the influences
of the earth (ti chi). Whatever their origin, they have been left
undisturbed.
Of the influence of superstition over the people constant evidence is
seen, in offerings to the spirits of the mountains in the shape of rags
tied to branches of shrubs, heaps of stones at the top of mountain
ridges, long ropes hanging from trees, shrines two or three feet high
placed by the roadside, and, most quaint of all, in thick planks set
in the ground, with one face rudely hewn and painted to repre-
sent a human head, with teeth fiercely prominent. These figures
are said to be intended to keep foxes out of the villages, and thus
protect the people from their spells and witchery. Beyond these
few objects and a Buddhist temple, near a fine figure of Buddha cut
in the rock not far from the north gate of Soul, there was no trace of
any religious feeling having any hold upon the people. Had we
gone a few miles farther north we were assured we should have found
at Chin Kang Shan not only the most beautiful scenery in Corea, but
mountains thickly studded with temples, to which pilgrims throng in
summer ; but we neither saw any such nor any trace of religious
observances among the people even at the new or full moon. We
were told, however, of sacrifices being offered to the mountain spirits
NOTES AND QUERIES. 219
before a mine was opened. Graves as a rule are placed close together
on the slope of a hill, without any stone or mark to identify them ;
but occasionally a horse- shoe clearing is seen in the woods, where
some distinguished person lies buried, whose name and birthplace are
given on a rough slab of stone. The funerals that we met were of
the simplest character, and at one village the remains of the body of
an old woman, who had, been eaten by a tiger, were being burnt on a
fire of brushwood, lighted on the spot. — Report hy Mr. Carles on a
Journey in two of the Central Provinces of Corea in October 1883.
Roumanian Customs, Charms, Remedies. — At a marriage or any
other festival a Roumanian peasant will always pour out some wine,
and spill it on the ground, before giving to his guests, or himself
drinking. Is this an offering to the gods ? When asked why they do
this, the answer is, " So it must be."
If you say that a baby is pretty, you must spit on the ground im-
mediately, or you will give it the evil eye.
To stop bleeding from the nose : Hold to the nose a living spider
twisted up in a linen cloth.
For swelling of the stomach : Gather black snails in a forest, and
place them on the stomach ; this remedy must be renewed several
times.
To bring back a husband's love for his wife : Take the heart of a
partridge and a piece of the root of a wallflower ; make into a small
ball, and let it be eaten by the offender ; he will never again either
scold or beat his wife.
To make a child's second teeth come straight and well : Bury its
first teeth, as they fall, at the foot of a straight oak-tree.
E. B. Mawr,
Witchcraft in Scotland. — In illustration of the gross ignorance and
superstitious beliefs of the smuggling fraternity, it may be stated that,
on account of his success in unearthing smugglers, the official who
discovered the worm which had been so ingeniously secreted had made
himself so obnoxious to that class that a few years ago an attempt was
actually made to remove him by means of the occult and mysterious
agency of witchcraft. The means adopted in order to compass the death
of this obnoxious official was the well-known corp creadh, or clay image.
220 NOTES AND QUERIES.
the efficacy of which, when properly gone about, to destroy life, is still
implicitly believed in by the bulk of the population in the more rustic
parts of the Highlands. The modus operandi consists in the operator
modelling an image in clay of the person whose death is desired, and,
having muttered the appropriate incantation over it, placing it in
water running towards the east, the idea being that the body of the
victim wastes away in exact proportion as the water wears away the
clay of the image. When a sudden death is desired the image is
placed in a rapidly-running stream. If, on the other hand, a long
lingering and painful illness should be desired, a number of pins and
rusty nails are struck in the chest and other vital parts of the image,
which is then deposited in comparatively still waters. Should, how-
ever, the corp creadh happen to be discovered in the water before the
thread of life is severed, it at once loses its efficacy; and not only does
the victim recover, but, so long as the image is kept intact, he is ever
after proof against the professors of the black art. That the attempt
had miscarried in the case of the officer in question is attributed by
(;he believers in witchcraft to the fact that a pearl-fisher, in the course
of his legitimate calling, happened to discover the image before it had
been many days in the water. — Glasgow Herald ^ May 12, 1884.
J. G. Fenwick.
Notes on some Customs of the Aborigines of the Albert District,
New South Wales.— By C. S. Wilkinson, F.G.S., F.L.S.— Mr. W.
H. J. Slee, the Government Inspector of Mines, has given me the fol-
lowing particulars regarding a singular ceremony which the aboriginal
tribes of the Mount Poole district perform, when, as is often the case
in that arid region, they need rain.
In many parts of that country gypsum occurs abundantly in the
soil, but the fibrous variety known as Satin Spar is comparatively
rare. The latter is highly prized by the natives, and is called by them
" rain-stone," for they believe that the Great Spirit uses it in making
rain, and probably also because they regard it as solidified rain on
account of the resemblance of its fibrous or striated structure to heavy
rain ; the more pronounced are the striations the more the stone is
valued.
About two years ago, Mr. Slee, when warden of the Mount Poole
NOTES AND QUERIES. 221
goldfield, was specially invited by the principal chiefs of the Mount
Poole and Mokely tribes to attend a ceremony of " making rain." On
the day appointed the natives, with the exception of the females, who
are not allowed to see either the rain-stone or the ceremony, assembled
and formed in a circle, in the centre of which stood the oldest chief
and Mr> Slee, no other person being permitted to enter the circle.
After a great deal of talking, dancing, singing, and mystical per-
formances had been gone through by all the natives, the old chief
produced the " rain-stone," which had been carefully kept wrapped up in
leaves and a piece of rag, and showed it to Mr. Slee, but would not
let him touch it. He then buried it in the sand.
On one of the creeks near the diggings are some marks of a high
flood, which the natives said took place after they had performed the
above-mentioned ceremony over an unusually large rain-stone. — From
Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, vol. viii. pp.
43G-437. {Feb. 21, 1884.) James Britten.
Jottings from Bliss's Reliquise HearniansB. — Great Marlow, in
Bucks, tho' a poor market and but a poor town, is yet very pleasantly
situated upon the Thames. There is plenty of fish, corn, and wood
there, whence the people there commonly say: Here is fish for catching,
cornjor snatching, and wood Jor fetching . — Vol. ii. p. 154.
[Feb. 27, 1722-3.] It hath been an old custom in Oxford for the
scholars of all houses, on Shrove Tuesday, to go to dinner at ten
o'clock (at which time the little bell, called pancake bell, rings, or at
least should ring, at St. Maries), and at four in the afternoon ; and it
was always followed in Edmund Hall, as long as I have been in
Oxford, till yesterday, when they went to dinner at twelve, and to
supper at six, nor were there any fritters at dinner, as there used
always to be. When laudable old customs alter 'tis a sign learning
dwindles. — Vol. ii. p. 156.
They have a custom at Northmore, near Witney, in Oxfordshire, for
men and women, every Easter Sunday, after evening service, to throw
in the churchyard great quantities of apples, and those that have been
married that year are to throw three times as many as any of the rest.
After which all go to the minister's house, and eat bread and cheese
(he is obliged to have the best cheese he can get) and drink ale.
222 NOTES AND QUERIES.
(iVo<«. This custom still prevails, and my good friend, the present
professor of Anglo-Saxon, who is vicar of Northmore, tells me that
on Easter Sunday last (1822), being ignorant of the usual warfare,
and so neglecting to make good his retreat after evening service, he
came in contact with a stray shot or two, much to the entertainment
of his parishioners, all of whom, old as well as young, religiously take
part in the contest.) — "Vol. ii. p. 215.
At Sunningwell, near Abbington, in Berks, they have a custom
(which I suppose was formerly in other places, tho' I do not know of
any else where it is now) every Shrove Tuesday, at night, in the dusk
of the evening, for the boys and girls to say these verses about the
village :
Beef and bacon's
Out of season,
I want a pan
To parch my peason ;
which they repeat several times, and then throw stones at all people's
doors, which makes the people generally to shut up their doors that
evening, the custom beginning much about the dusk thereof. — Vol. ii.
p. 218.
What we commonly say as merry as a grig, perhaps should be as
merry as a Greek. " Levium Grsecorum mentio apud antiquos scrip-
tores, et quidem ipse Tullius in oratione pro L. Flacco levitatem
Grsecorum propriam esse monuit. — Vol. iii. p. 122.
Alice B. Gommb.
Gipsy Burial Custom. — In accordance with a gipsy custom, all the
property belonging to the dead queen of a gipsy band encamping near
Elizabeth, N.J. was burnt a few days ago. It comprised silk and
satin dresses, jewellery, lace, a valuable waggon, &c. valued in all at
nearly 2,500 dols. — Yorkshire Gazette^ 21 June, 1884.
Superstition at Ohio. — Ohio, which is still suffering from the effects
of the earthquakes, is now visited by another calamity. A large
number of lemon and orange trees, which form one of the chief
resources of the island, are attacked by an unknown disease, and
specialists are being sent by the Minister of Commerce to make
investigations into the matter. Meanwhile, the pious inhabitants
NOTICES AND NEWS. 223
are having recourse to supernatural remedies. Having chartered a
special steamer, they have brought from one of the monasteries of
Mount Athos a miracle-working girdle of the Virgin, and a grand
procession, headed by the Orthodox Metropolitan, is bearing the
sacred relic through the orchards. — Yorkshire Gazette^ 14 June,
1884.
NOTICES AND NEWS.
Folk-lore of Modern Greece : the Tales of the People. Edited by the
Eev. E. M. Geldart. London, 1884. (Sonnenschein.)
Mr. Geldart presents the lover of fairy tales with a very acceptable
book ; and if the publishers could have been induced to put it into
suitable covers we should have been all the better pleased. But if the
covers please the children the stories will be acceptable to many who
have long passed the stage of childhood. They are translations from
the Greek text of Von Hahn's collections. Modern Greek folk-lore
is interesting and valuable in many ways. Primarily it would show
us the relics of old classical beliefs and be of infinite service in eluci-
dating the popular life of marchen. Secondarily it would show signs
of the non-Greek element which has absorbed so much of later Greek
life. In this last subject it appears to us that these Greek stories are
particularly valuable. Several story-incidents unmistakeably belong
to some other origin than the classical sources with which most of us
are familiar. One or two are identical with incidents in the mediaeval
collection of stories known as the Seven Wise Masters^ the literary
history of which has been so thoroughly traced. But beyond these
accidental parallels, if we may thus qualify them, there are also plain
indications of that wide-spread class of belief in Kackshasis, the can-
nibal demons, which takes us back to pre- Aryan life, and which abounds
so greatly in Hindu folk-tales. Altogether we should think few more
generally interesting collections of tales have been issued for some
considerable time. One question we would ask Mr. Geldart is.
Whether the word " dragon " is the correct translation of the Greek
original ; should it not rather be "ogre " ? The stoiy list is as follows :
224 NOTICES AND NEWS.
The Two Brothers and the Forty-nine Dragons ; the Nine Doves; my
Lady Sea; Little Saddleslut (Cinderella) ; Starbright and Birdie; the
Golden Wand ; the Snake, the Dog, and the Cat ; Sir Lazarus and
the Dragons ; the Lion, the Tiger, and the Eagle ; the Little Brother
who saved his Sister from the Dragon ; the Bet with the Beardless ;
the Knife of Slaughter, the Whetstone of Patience and the Unmelting
Candle ; the Fox on Pilgrimage ; the Husbandman, the Snake, and
the Fox ; the Princess who went to the Wars ; the Twins ; the Goat-
Girl ; the Bayberry ; the Prince and the Fairy ; the Golden Stud ;
the Golden Casket ; the Cunning Old Man ; the Shoemaker and the
Princess ; the Tale of the Dragon ; Little John, the Widow's Son;
the Scab-pate; Constantes and the Dragon; the Crazy Priestess with
her Crazy Daughters ; the Man without a Beard.
Mdlusine for May contains the following articles : Popular super-
stitions in the Liber Scarapsus (a treatise attributed to S. Pirmin,
who died in 753), by M. S. Berger; notes on popular melodies;
on the great bear ; on the rainbow ; the magician, a song from
C6tes du Nord ; Germaine, a song from Loiret; a Greek tale from
Asia Minor, a tale " L'embrouillement des Pieds." The June
number contains : Contes Nagos, by M. I'Abbe P. Bouche ; notes on
popular melodies ; " les vedas reduits u leur juste valeur"; folk-lore
of Finland ; the great bear ; and the rainbow.
The Council in their Annual Report state that the Right Reverend
the Bishop of St. John's Kaffraria (Dr. Henry Callaway) has very
kindly presented to the Society about eighty copies of his very valu-
able Zulu Nursery Literature, and about five hundred copies of his
Religious System of the Amazulu. This most generous and acceptable
gift will enable the Council to send a copy of the latter work to each
member of the Society; and, with reference to the Zulu Niirsery
Literature, the Council propose to offer it for sale to members of the
Society at half-a-guinea, any copies that may remain being offered to
the general public at one guinea net. As this book is exceedingly
scarce and valuable, members who wish to purchase a copy should
send in their names at once.
THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON.
PART II. — Minerals — Animals — Portents. — ( Continued from
page 151.)
ELIEF in tlie esoteric properties of stones and gems is
now, I think, but very loosely held in England. Here
and there we may have it somewhat incredulously hinted
that good or bad fortune is connected with this or that
particular specimen of precious crystal (the Koh-i-nUr for instance),
and that opals are pierres de malheur is a fancy that not infre-
quently crops up ; but it is certain that cost and beauty are with
most people the only attributes of gems ; and it may be suspected that
the most superstitious of fair ones would rather *' witch the world " in
opals than suff'er any eclipse for lack of them. One reason, I suppose,
why the folk-lore of gems has lost its vigour is that it probably never
gained good root-hold in the soil that would best have fostered it.
Supposed influence of diamonds or of rubies had but little to do with
the every- day experiences of men and women of the class which down
to this age of universal schooling has unlearned even less than it has
learned. It is there that the natural life of folk-lore is sustained-
folk-lore which exists in independence of it is like a gathered flower
which, at best, soon becomes nought " to the general," but a curiosity
in a hortus siccus,
Drayton has considerately embalmed much of the creed of his time
concerning gems as a curative, prophylactic, and talismanic agents.
Verily, as Dr. Thomas Browne * remarks, *' he must have more heads
than Rome had hills that makes out half of those virtues ascribed unto
stones."
Tlie nymphs of the Muses Elysium f are our poet's mouth-pieces,
and they hymn the results of his reading to Apollo :^
" No gems from rocks, seas, running streams
(Their numbers let us muster),
* Pseudodoxia Epidemica, book ii. ch. 5, p. 73.
t Nymphal, ix. [iv. 1516-18J.
Vol. 2.— Part 8. q
226 THE FOLK-LORE OB^ DRAYTON.
But hath from thy most perfect beams
The virtue and the lustre;
The diamond the king of gems
The first is to be placed,
That glory is of diadems,
Them gracing, by them graced;
In whom thy power the most is seen
The raging fire refelling."
If I may interrupt Drayton I should like to remark that the com-
bustibility of this glorified piece of carbon is no longer questioned.
*'It burns," writes Madame de Barrera,* ''with an undulating bluish
flame ; it will evaporate entirely in a coppel with a less degree of heat
than is necessary to fuse silver, and leave no residue."
" The emerald then most deeply green,
For beauty most excelling,
Eesisting poison often prov'd
By those about that wear it."
— a property which I may say, by the way, was attributed to most of
the precious stones.
" The cheerful ruby then much lov'd,
That doth revive the spirit,
Whose kind to large extensure grown.
The colour so enflamed.
Is that admired mighty stone
The carbuncle f that's named,
Which from it such a flaming light.
And radiency ejecteth,
That in the very darkest night
The eye to it directeth."
Even Dr. Thomas Browne J did not dispute the possibility of the
carbuncle's shining in the dark, though he suspected a metaphor was
involved in the assertion that it did. In many tales of enchantment
we find ourselves in apartments which are illuminated by these
precious stones, and Madame de Barrera § remarks that the "splendour
of tlie ruby in the absence of light is, up to a certain point, confirmed
♦ Oi-vis and JewrU, p. 176.
t Carbuncles now-a-days are garnets, cut with a concave lower, and convex
upper side.
X Pucud. Ejnd. book ii. cli. 5, p. 73. § (rcms and Jewels, pp. 243-244.
r
THE FOLK-LORE OP DRAYTON. 227
by modern writers. A recent traveller tells us that at a SiameEe
court where only a subdued light was admitted the diamonds and
carbuncles on the king's person glittered and flashed like miniature
lightning." I believe that Science herself admits that the diamond
has the power of, as it were, meshing sunlight, and of keeping it for
some appreciable time in its toils, amidst surrounding darkness.
" The yellow jacynth strengthning sense,
Of which who hath the keeping,
No thunder hurts nor pestilence,
And much provoketh sleeping.
The crysolite that doth resist
Thirst, proved never failing,
The purple-coloured amethyst
'Gainst strength of wine prevailing ; "
it being the outcome of a metamorphosed nymph successful in
resisting the seductions of Bacchus, whose purple grapes, observe, are
reflected in the gem.
" The verdant gay green smaragdus.
Most sovereign over passion.
The sardonix, approved by us
To master incantation.
Then that celestial colour'd stone
The saphyr, heavenly wholly,
Which worn, there weariness is none,
And cureth melancholy."
It was perhaps in mercy to his muse, if we can suspect Drayton of
such tenderness, that he forbore to dwell on the mystic attributes of
lazulus, jaspis {sic)j onyx, topaz, beryl, opal, pearls and agate,* which
he enumerates as being worthy to adorn a priceless shrine to Apollo ;
its
" base is the carnelian,
Strong bleeding often stopping ;"
and there, too, should be found the turquoise f or
* Onyx and cornelian are, strictly speaking, agates.
f As " true as tui'quoise " is an expression in Ben Jonson's S^janm, act i.
In reference to this passage Gifford quotes Swan's Speculum Mundi : — " Turcois
is a compassionate stone : if the wearer of it be not well it changeth colour and
looketh pale and dim, but encreaseth to his perfectnesse as the wearer recovereth
to his health."
Q2
THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON.
" turkesse, which who haps to bear
Is often kept from peril.
The selenite of Cynthia's light,
So named with her still ranging,
Which as she wanes or waxeth light
Its colours so are changing."
Of the selenite I shall have something more to say anon ; let us
now revert to pearls which Drayton tells us elsewhere * may be found
by the river Irt, in "Westmoreland. He calls them " orient pearls,"
and would have us believe that they are made of dew (deaw, as our
text-book has it) sucked in by shining shells, an origin almost as
fanciful as that ascribed to the Austurian steeds, which, in consequence
of their swiftness,
" Some have held to be begotten of the wind." f
Drayton seems to have shared the belief of his age about the origin
of crystal, which was seriously accepted as ice, as its name denotes. He
refers to it in that one of the Heroical Epistles \ he penned in the
character of Edward the Fourth to Mrs. Shore : —
" How silly is the Polander and Dane
To bring us crystal from the frozen main
When thy clear skin's transparence doth surpass
Their crystal as the diamond doth glass."
" Whether crystal be ice or some other liquor I omit to dispute,"
says the cautious and learned Selden,§ commenting hereupon ** yet
by the example of amber and coral there may be such an induration,
for Solinus out of Pliny men,tioneth that in the northerly region a
yellow gelly is taken up out of the sea at low tides which he calls
Succinum, we amber. So likewise out of the Ligustick deep, a part
of the Mediterranean sea, a greenish stalk is gathered which, hardened
in the air, comes to be coral, either white or red. Amber, notwith-
standing, is thought to drop out of trees," &c. Drayton || speaks of a
" bastard coral," that belongs to the vegetable world, and " breeds on
the moist(!d skirt with sea-weed fringed about." When
" drawn out of the brack
A brittle-stalk becomes from greenish turned to black,"
* Pol. XXX. [iii. 1224]. f Pol. vi. [ii. 776, note 782].
X [i. 329]. ^ [i. 333]. || Pol. ii. [ii. 686J.
THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON. 229
and this the ancients, for the love they bare to Isis, called her hair.
Of it, as our poet fancies —
" the Naiads and the blue Nereids make
Them taudrics for their necks."
Now return we to the Selenite which is so ruled by Cynthia.
Cynthia herself — all one with Selene the moon — in conversing with
Endymion,* refers to the sympathy that gems have with her phases,
and makes special mention of this her namesake, now called adularia
by mineralogists, from Adula, a mountain-peak near St. Gotthard,
where it is to be found. It is a kind of feldspar; and it reflects and
refracts light with much the same effect as an opal. The lady fur-
thei-more asserts that the palm and olive shoot forth new branches
with her increase and declare her power; and claims that she, like her
brother Apollo, has a flower {Selenotr opium) whose opening and
closing correspond with her rising and setting. ''A Louer," writes
Lyly,f " is like ye hearb Heliotropium, which alwaies enclyneth to
that place where the Sunne shineth, and being deprived of the Sunne
dieth ; for as Lunaris hearbe as long as the Moone waxeth bringeth
forth leaues and in the waning shaketh them off": so a Louer, whilst he
is in the company of his Lady, wher al joyes encrease, vttereth manye
pleasaunt conceites, but, banyshed from the sight of his Mistris, wher
all mirth decreaseth, eyther lyueth in Melancholic or dieth with despe-
ration." As examples of her influence on the animal kingdom Cynthia
declares :
Whilst,
" The cruel panther on his shoulder bears
A spot that daily changeth as I do."
The nimble babion,t mourning all the time,
Nor eats between my waning and my prime.
The spotted cat, whose sharp and subtil sight,
Pierceth the vapour of the blackest night,
My want and fulness in her eye doth find.
So great am I and powerful in that kind.
* The Man in the Moon [iv. 1334].
Ihiphves (Arber's edition), p. 412. X Baboon.
230 THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON.
As those great burghers of the forest wild,
The hart, the goat, and he that slew the child *
Of wanton Mirrah, in their strength do know
The due observance nature doth me owe."
That the panther had a spot on his liide which bore the form of the
moon, and that, like her, it regularly increased to full and then
diminished to a crescent, was an error at least as old as Pliny ,t who
likewise tells us of a species of ape that became quite melancholy when
the moon was on the wane, and leapt for joy at the time of new moon,
and adored it. That the domestic cat and other felidcB have pupils
which are but narrow lines in sunshine and are at night dilated is a
fact which Science recognises. It was mainly on account of this pecu-
liarity, as I believe, that cats were chosen for the steeds of the Teu-
tonic goddess Freyja, J who ruled the night, as her brother Fro or
Freyr, in some sort, ruled the day.§ So Pussy was a kind of symbol of
lunar influence; and, as that influence is great on tides, seafaring men
pay great respect to cats. ||
Another bit of folk-lore about the panther is to be found in NoalCs
Flood ; f it is referred to as an animal
" whose delicious scent
Oft causeth beasts his harbour to frequent;
But having got them once into his power,
Sucketh their blood and doth their flesh devour."
* The boar, which slew Adonis.
t Natural Ilutory (Bohn's edition), vol. ii. pp. 274 and 348.
X Grimm's Teutonic Mytlwlogy. (Stallybrass's translation), vol. i. p. .305. For
the way in which fairies utilised cats' eyes see Nympliidia [ii. 452]. I shall
discuss the passage later on.
§ " Snorri says rain and sunshine arc in the gift of Freyr (as elsewhere of
Wuotan and Donar)." A boar was one of his attributes, and the animal was
sacrificed both in his worship and in that of Freyja. — See Teutonic Mytlwlogy y
vol. i. pp. 212-213, and 304.
II This is only a theory of my own. Another is broached by Mr. Karl Blind
in " New Finds in Shetland and Welsh Folk-Lore " {Gentleman' g Magazine for
March, 1882, p. 356). He points out that in Shetland the cat is called vancga =
him or her that goes on the water ; and that Germanic talcs identify her with the
sea. She who "goes on the water " is well represented by a cat if a cat sym-
bolise the moon, for the moon goes on the sea just as a cat likes to do — high and
dry above it 1
f [iv. 1532].
r
THE FOLK-LORE OP DRAYTON. 231
This supposed fact was made use of by the Early Church " to point a
moral." In a Bestiary * of the thirteenth century, founded on a Latin
Physiologns of Theobaldus, we read that the beautiful panther, having
eaten his fill, goes to sleep for three days in his cave : —
" than after the thridde dai
he riseth and remeth lude so he mai
nt of his throte cumeth a smel
that ouer-cnmeth haliweic
with swetnesse ic gu feie
and al that eure smelleth swete
be it drie or be it wete."
This odour entices many animals to come to him ; but the dragon lies
trembling in his den. Thus manipulated, the story is made to teach
that Our Lord, the fair Panther, came* forth from the tomb, after lying
there for three days. He drew men unto Him by the sweetness of
His love, the dragon (Satan), meanwhile hiding himself for fear
Great use is made of this scent by Reynard the Fox in his figment
concerning the treasures of which he pretended he had been robbed.f
" I fonde ... in my fadres tresour ... a combe . . . this combe myght
not be too moche preysed. Hit was made of the bone of a clene noble
beest, named Panthera, whiche fedeth hym bytwene the grete Inde
and erthly paradyse ; he is so lusty fayr and of colour that ther is no
colour vnder the heuen but somme lyknes is in hym therto ; he
smelleth so swete that the sauour of him boteth all syknessis, and for
his beaute and swete smellyng all other beestis folowe hym, for by
his swete sauour they ben heled of alle sykenessis. This panthera hath
a fair boon brode and thynne ; whan so is that this beeste is slayn al
the swete odour restid in the bone, which can not be broken, ne shal
never rote ne be destroyed by fyre, by water, ne by smityng, hit is so
hardy, tyht, and faste, and yet it is lyght of weyght. The swete odour
of it hath grete myght, that who that smelleth it sette nought by none
other luste in the world, and is easyd and quyte of alle manor of
diseases and Infirmytes." Reynard's report of the effect of the odour
* An Old English Miscellany (E. E. T. S.), pp. 24-25.
t Reynard tlic Fox, translated and printed by William Cax^on (Arber's
edition), p. 83.
232 THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON.
is more in accordance with the Bestiary than is Drayton's, but Lyly*
is with the latter in speaking of " a sweet panther with a devouring
pouch," and they botli follow Pliny.f Spenser pens more scandal : —
" The panther knowing that his spotted hide
Doth please all beasts, but that his looks them fray.
Within a bush his dreadful head doth hide,
To let them gaze whylest he on them may pray."J
If we remain standing by the door of Noah's Ark § we shall see other
animals approach and hear instructive comments : —
" The unicorn || leaves off his pride and close
There sets him down by the rhinoceros,"
the pachyderm that has in these latter days usurped the name of the
graceful creature which, since the time of James the First, has so well
performed its part in supporting the royal arms of Great Britain and
Ireland. Drayton was too much of a poet and too little of a naturalist
to combine the two. He should have spoken of the cat that secreteth,
not of '*the cat that voideth civet"; and when he lets slip the expres-
sion, " th'uneven legged badger," we can only tell him that Dr. '
Browne f finds the opinion that this creature " hath the legs of one
side shorter than of the other . . . repugnant unto the three determi-
nators of truth — authority, sense, and reason," and that modern
zoologists do not note an inequality. Here comes " the iron-eating
ostrich," •• here " the constant turtle," whose reputation has survived
the ruthless scoff of Watertonift "The soot-black crow is just aa
* Dvphves (Arbor's edition), p. 54.
t Natural History (Bohn's edition), vol. ii. p. 274.
X Sonnet liii. Observe that Spenser makes "whylest" = " until"— a dreadful
solecism now-a-days.
§ See Noah's Flood [iv. 1533, &c.]
II " Mertilla. that the horns of all these herds we see
Were of fine gold, or else that every horn
Were like to that one of the unicorn,
And of all these not one but were thy fee " —
Nymphal, iv. [iv. 1482].
% Pseud. Epid. book iii. ch. 5, p. 94.
** There is no error in the belief that ostriches will swallow iron ; but our
forefathers thought they fed on it.
ft Essays on Natural History (1838), pp. 145-146.
THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON. 233
chaste and affectionate and constant as the snow-white dove itself."
Next have we
" The careful stork, since Adam wondered at
For thankfulness to those where he doth breed ; "
for — as Drayton explains to us in an aside—" the stork used to build
on houses, leaveth ever one behind him for the owner." This is illus-
trated by a yet living creed.* In North Germany and in Swabia
people sometimes prepare a nest for a stork by twisting boughs about
the spokes of an old cart-wheel. It is said that when this is done the
grateful bird gives a feather the first year of its tenancy, an egg the
second, and a young stork the third, by way of rent ; it then repeats
the series. Our attention is now called to—
" the loving pelican,
Whose young ones poison'd by the serpent's sting,
With her own blood to life again doth bring."
The bird likewise points a moral in The Owl.'\ "In her piety," or
" vulning herself," as heralds have it, the pelican was much used in
mediaeval sculpture, &c., J as a figure of Him who was pierced that His
children might be saved, by His blood, from the power of the Serpent.
That close observer to whom we have lately turned, Mr. Waterton,
utterly discredits the idea of the young birds being nourished from
their mother's veins, and the story referred to by Drayton deserves to
be similarly treated by all who are of the Gradgrind way of thinking.
" 'Tis a wonder — a strange wonder," — writes the naturalist,§ " how
such a tale as this could ever be believed. Still we see representations
of it in pictures drawn by men of science. But enough of infant peli-
cans, sucking their mamma in the nursery. I consign them to the
fostering care of my great-grandmothers."
" There came the halcyon whom the sea obeys,
When she her nest upon the water lays,"
a fiction, this, which took great hold on Drayton's fancy, and was
* " Bird Lore," All the Year Btnmd, new series, vol. xx. p. 368,
t [iv. 1303-4].
% Sometimes the bird represented is like unto a vulture. Some interesting
correspondence on this point may be read in The Academy of Feb. 9th, Feb. 16th,
and April 5th, 1884.
§ Essays on Natural Histoiy, 3rd series, p. 26.
234 THE FOLK-LORE OF DEAYTON.
used by him several times * to ornament Lis verse. I suppose his
belief t was the same as Montaigne's, '* God has ordered that the whole
ocean should be stayed, made stable, and smooth'd without waves,
without winds or rain, whilst the Halcyon broods upon her young
which is just about the solstice, the shortest day of the year,| so that
by her privilege we have seven days and seven nights in the very
heart of winter when we may sayl without danger. Their females
never have to do with any other male but their own, whom they
always serve and assist without ever forsaking him all their lives : if
he happen to be weak and broken with age they take him upon their
shoulders and carry him from place to place and nurse him till death.
But the most inquisitive into the secrets of nature could never yet
arrive at the knowledge of the wonderful fabrick and architecture
wherewith the Halcyon builds her nest for her little ones, nor guess at
the matter. Plutarch, who has seen and handled many of them,
thinks it is the bones of some fish which she joyns and binds together,
interlacing them some lengthwise and others across, and adding ribs
and hoops in such a manner that she forms at last a round vessel fit
to launch ; which being done, and the building finished, she carries it
to the wash of the beach, where the sea, beating gently against it,
shows her where she is to mend what is not well jointed and knit,
and where better to fortify the seams that are leaky, and that open at
the beating of the waves ; and on the contrary what is well built and
has had the due finishing, the beating of the waves does so close and
♦ NoaTCg Flood [iv. 1646]. " Elegy upon the noble Lady Agton*g departure
for Spain" [iv. 1251]. England*s Ileroical Epistles, "Mortimer to Qaeen
Isabel" [i. 251]. Pol. xxiii. [ill. 1107]. Pol. xxvii. [iii. 1182].
t Essay Ixviii. " Of Cruelty."
X Hence the propriety of Milton's celebrated lines in the Hymn on ChrisVs
Nativity : —
" But peaceful was the night
Wherein the Prince of Light
His reign of peace npon the earth began :
The winds with wonder whist,
Smoothly the waters kist,
Whispering new joys to the mild ocean,
Who now hath quite forgot to rave,
While birds of calm sit brooding on the charmed wave."
FOLK-LORE IN MODERN GREECE. 235
bind together that it is not to be broken or crack'd by blows either of
stone or iron without very much ado. And that which is more to be
admired is the proportion and figure of the cavity within, which is
compos'd and proportioned after such a manner as not possible to
receive or admit any other thing than the bird that built it : for to
anything else it is so impenetrable, close and shut, that nothing can
enter, not so much as the water of the sea." Can we wonder at a
" pious opinion " being grounded on facts as circumstantially authenti-
cated as these ?
" The charitable rcbinet in came,
Whose nature taught the others to be tame."
{To he continued.')
FOLK-LORE IN MODEEN GEEEOE.*
[iHIS is in all respects a work which proclaims the age
that has produced it. It is the production of a Society
of erudite Athenians, who have shown that they in no
respect fall short of other associations for corresponding
pursuits, whether they be found in Paris or London, Berlin or Rome,
and yet scarcely half a century intervenes between the actual Athens
which has sent forth this learned and elegant book and the fallen city
which Lord Byron saw and deplored — a city of rude huts and ruder
pallikaria, governed by a low Turkish official, a Disdar who was to
obtain a bad immortality little inferior to that of him " who fired the
Ephesian dome," he being in fact the man whose potshots at the
Theseus of the Parthenon were to inflict irreparable injuries upon that
masterpiece of Pheidias, the dull times affording this too energetic
administrator no other sufficient amusement or occupation.
* Transactions of the Historical and Ethnological Society of Greece
(^AeXriov rrje 'IcTopeinjg Kal 'E,6vo\oytKrJ£ 'Fjraipiag Tfjg 'EXXj^j/tK^g). Fasciculi
land 2. Published by Perre Brothers. Athens, 1883.
236 FOLK-LOKE IN MODERN GREECE.
M. Philemon, the editor of these Transactions, states in the Pro-
logos that the object of the Society is to investigate Hellenic life in
all its long ages. We are therefore not surprised to find, as we do,
that folk-lore has taken its place among the contents of this volume.
And as it is avowedly our own subject, we naturally turn more exclu-
sively to the pages which the Transactions have devoted to it.
The first paper agreeably reminds us of our Mr. Black's learned
and interesting work on " Folk Medicine," published by the Folk-
Lore Society. This paper, written by the distinguished archajologist,
M. Polites, treats of " illnesses according to the myths of the Greek
people." A perusal of it shows that the resemblance between the
curative theories of English bumpkins and Greek peasants is identity
itself, due probably to the parent theories having existed at epochs of
immeasurable antiquity in the great Aryan race, which was the pro-
genitrix of the theorists as we now know them. There is the same
fond conviction in Greece as in England that a disease can be induced,
by processes far from difificult, to pass from the human subject into
trees, or men, or animals, nay even into inanimate nature ; the
Greeks believing also that epidemics, like plague and cholera, may bo
conveniently relegated into desert places, there to explode their
noxious activity without injury to the community.
M. Mariannes supplies a short collection of Athenian Paramythia
(fairy tales), collected by himself. The first, entitled Tolpetsa (a
proper name), is chiefly interesting for containing the western
mediaeval incident of an old king being treated for his leprosy by
means of a bath of child's blood.
No. 2, entitled " The much exalted Ogre"(6 7ro\v(j>ov^€(rfiivos AfmKos)^
is interesting as being a rendering probably antique, and taking its
origin in Byzantine times of the Homeric story of Polyphemus, whose
name is played upon in the epithet given to him. He is not unnatu-
rally represented as a drunken ogre (dracos) living with his sheep in
a lonely cave.
No. 3, The Fay (Avepaiba), is an interesting narrative of a prince
who refuses marriage, though the queen mother introduces into his
chamber at separate times three beautiful damsels, whom however he
FOLK-LORE IN MODERN GREECE. 237
treats with an absolute indifference, explained afterwards by the simple
fact of his being unable even to see them, from having been secretly
married to a fay who has taken from him his power of seeing any
other woman but herself. This enchantment is subsequently removed
through the intrepidity of the youngest of the three damsels. The fay
renounces all right to her husband, restores to him his true vision, and
allows him to marry the mortal who has been instrumental in his
disenchantment. The whole incident is quite unknown to western
fairy-lore.
No. 4, The thrice noble Lady and the three Citrons. This is a veiy
good tale, made up of the incidents of three popular Italian fiahe^ the
best known being of the same title.
Then follows an interesting paper by M. Kondylakes upon the
*' Neo-Hellenic Mythology of Crete." Besides the beliefs common to
Greeks in general the Cretans claim the Hercules of the Middle Ages,
Digenes, to be a native of their island. They represent him to have
been a fighting giant, and affect to show his tomb.
They believe in the existence of dracoi (or ogres), and imagine
that they live in caves like the Cyclopes. They are males and females.
Man overcomes them by means of his superior intelligence. Their
leading characteristic is their fondness for human flesh. The dracos
in fact is the better known orco of Italy.
The Cretans believe in Moirai and Nereides, in fates and fays.
They also imagine that there are arapides, monstrous blacks, who are
man-eaters, live in mysterious towers or underground mansions, keeping
talking-dogs and talking-horses, and they guard hidden treasures.
They possess magic powers, and have a water that confers immor-
tality.
M. Polites has a paper entitled " Hellenic folk-tales compared with
those of other peoples." Its one subject, " The bald-headed boy," is
a curious story of the Eeynaert series, and is accompanied by a learned
commentary.
Next we have the most interesting tales of the fasciculus, " Athenian
folk-tales, collected by M. Kampourales." These have especial merit.
No. 1 is. The man made of Sugar.
A princess who has moulded the figure of a beautiful man out of
238 FOLK-LORE IN MODERN GREECE.
sugar obtains by her prayers the grace from the Almighty tliat it shall
become a real man, and she is married to him. A neighbouring
princess falls in love with him on hearsay and kidnaps him to her
own palace, where he is married de novo to the new aspirant. The
original princess, finding that her husband does not return, sets out
in search of him, taking with her (mirahile dictu) exact counterparts
of Pcau d'Ane's three marvellous dresses. She reaches the city where
her husband now lives, and is accepted into the service of the king
and queen as goose-girl. There she eventually bribes the queen by
means of the three dazzling dresses to let her sleep in the king's
chamber on three successive nights, on the third of which she
succeeds in making the king sensible of her presence, and the pair
make their escape to their own kingdom.
This is a well-known Italian ^aJa. It is curious also for its con-
taining a reflection of Peau d'Ane and for its inversion of the antique
myth of Pygmalion and Galatea.
No. 3, The thrice Accursed, i.e. the devil.
This is the same story as the various Italian versions of Blue Beard,
wherein the objectionable husband is always a devil.
In this Greek tale Belzebub marries a princess who is too proud
to accept any one else. He takes her off in a ship (a more Greekish
conveyance than a coach and four) to his abode in a desolate mountain,
and there shows her, by way of preliminary monition, to borrow Lord
Penzance's phraseology, a woman hanging up. This was his former
wife, another princess, to whom he had given a man's heart for a
meal, and on her failing to eat it had killed her. He tries his new
wife with a similar dainty, and then departs for the chase. When
he returns she tells him that she has eaten the heart, but is con-
tradicted by the heart itself who testifies against her.
On this evidence the new wife is hung up like her predecessor.
The devil now marries successively his wife's two sisters; and the
Greek story proceeds on the same lines as the Italian. The youngest
wife outwits the devil, and escapes from his mountain abode. Her
escape however is brought about not by her own subtilty, as in the
Italian tale, but by the assistance of strangers, as in Perrot's French
version.
FOLK-LORE IN MODERN GREECE. 239
No. 4, The Queen of the Gorgons. Though this title breathes the
classic lore of old Greece, this tale is intrinsically Eastern.
An envious prince sets a vizier's son three tasks, apparently impos-
sible, which, however, the other accomplishes. One of them is to
abduct for the prince a lady who turns out to be the Queen of the
Gorgons. In the result the queen gives herself in marriage to the
vizier's son.
No. 5, The Princess who was a witch (or more properly a demon).
This is the same as a story in Ralston's Russian Tales, where a
similar female demon in a family eats up every human being within
her reach, her own family included. The Greek story is the better
told of the two.
No. 6, The Black Man.
A poor old woman hands over to a mysterious black man her idle,
good-for-nothing son. The latter is taken to his master's abode in
the bowels of the earth, and there meets with a beautiful princess, by
whose instructions he foils his master's attempts to destroy him. He
eventually rescues the princess, and is married to her.
No. 7, King Sleep.
This is a strange story of a prince who refuses to marry, and is
interesting only because it introduces one of the fates (moirai) as an
actor in the drama. A curious reminiscence of antiquity.
No. 8, The Enchanted Lake.
Three princes are commanded by their father to mount the roof of
the palace and shoot each an arrow into space. Wherever an arrow
falls, the prince who has launched it will find his wife. The two elder
princes succeed in getting wives in this way. The arrow of the
youngest travels a great distance and enters a lake. When the prince
comes up he finds that a frog has seized it. He takes up the frog and
conveys it to his own room. The frog is really an enchanted princess.
When the prince goes out in the day she appears as a beautiful girl,
cleans the room, and cooks the produce of his last chase. The prince,
being surprised at this, watches for her, and catches her in the act.
She tells him her history — that her family is royal, but God has cursed
them, and condemned them to live in the lake. The prince's eldest
brother determines to give a dinner on his father's birthday and invites
240 FOLK-LORE IN MODERN GREECE.
his youngest brother. As the latter comes alone he is asked why he
lias not brought his wife, whereupon he runs home and tells her. She
directs him to go to the lake and make a peculiar cry to which he will
receive an answer. He must then say " Your daughter has sent me.
Give me a gold rod and a silver one ; a goose's eggj and two hen's
eggs. Bring them home." He follows her directions, obtains all the
enchanted objects, and returns home with them. She strikes the
ground with the gold rod, and three female slaves appear. She strikes
again, and another female slave appears with a basket full of magni-
ficent clothes, and the prince and princess dress themselves in these.
The princess then strikes the ground with the silver rod, and a coach
with four white horses appears. In the meantime the sisters-in-law
arc laughing in expectation of the frog princess's coming, but they
are to be disappointed. The carriage drives up to the door, the
expected frog, now a brilliantly attired young princess, is handed out
by her brothers-in-law, and is introduced to the king. She gives the
eggs to them and they become presents of inestimable value. The
marriage of the youngest prince and his bride is straightway celebrated,
and the king and queen from the lake send their daughter a marriage
portion (TrpoKa).
This is the same as a story in Imbriani's Florentine collection.
We cannot overlook also the riscontro between Cinderella's coach and
horses, produced so conveniently for the heroine in the Italian and
French stories.
No. 9, The Cats.
A poor old beggar-woman goes home supperless one night to her
little house, but, as there is nothing there for her to eat, hunger
drives her out again into the street. After wandering about for some
time she sees a light at a distance. She makes for it, thinking that
there is some wedding festivity going on. She knocks at the door,
and a great black cat opens it. She enters and goes up stairs, and in
a beautifully funiished room sees two lady-cats, each sitting on her
own sofa and smoking respectively a chibouque and a narghileh. The
old woman apologizes, but the cats receive her kindly and tell her to
fetch her sack. She goes out and borrows one of a friend, telling her
that some one has given some flour. On her return with the sack
FOLK-LORE IN MODERN GREECE. 241
the cats fill it with gold pieces, and give it her back and dismiss her.
As soon as she gets home she empties the sack as she thinks and
returns it to the lender, who on searching it through finds that a gold
piece has been left in it, whereupon she goes to the old woman and by
threats of the police extorts from her an avowal of the truth. Upon
this knowledge slie goes herself to the house of the cats, and threatens
to denounce them if they do not fill her sacks (she had brought two)
with gold also. The cats order their servant to do so, and dismiss the
woman, enjoining her not to open the sacks until she gets home. She
follows the direction, and when she opens them, lo ! snakes jump out
of them and eat her up, leaving nothing of her but her skeleton.
This story in its motif is the same as Imbriani's Tuscaa^ia — " II con-
vento dei gatti." The Greek fiction is, however, the more picturesque
of the two.
No. 10, The King of the Birds.
A king who has three daughters promises them all something, as
the other father does in the Italian version of " Beauty and the
Beast," and on his return duly delivers his presents. The youngest
daughter takes hers (a jonquil) to her chamber and places it in a pot.
After a little while a golden eagle emerges from the flower. This
straightway turns into a beautiful young man, who tells her that he is
king of the birds and the reptiles. He ofi'ers her marriage, and is
accepted. He then visits her every day, and explains to her how he
may be summoned when she shall require him. The sisters discover
the secret, and lay a snare for the prince, by which, when he is next
summoned, he is cruelly cut with broken glass. The prince, being
enraged at this strange treatment, tells his wife that he abandons her,
and then disappears. She starts in search of him, and in the course
of her wanderings she overhears some snakes talking together about
what has befallen their king. They say that the remedy for his hurts
would be obtained by some person killing one of them and taking out
his fat. She goes further, and overhears some birds talking in the
same way as the snakes. She accordingly kills one of the snakes and
one of the birds, and takes out of each some of his fat, and then
hastens on to the palace of the suffering king. There she is admitted,
on her declaring that she can restore him to health, and she applies
Vol. 2.— Part 8. r
242 FOLK-LOKE IN MODERN GREECE.
the remedies. Tlie king is cured, and the pair are re-united. This
is a well-known Italian fiaha.
No. 11, The Sleeping Prince.
A king leaves his beautiful daughter in his palace while he is absent
on a distant expedition. As she sits embroidering an eagle appears
and carries her off to a beautiful palace. She enters a golden chamber
where a prince lies dead asleep. On a table is a paper which says,
" Whoever enters here and feels for the prince must sit by and watch
over him for three years, three months, three weeks, three days, and
three hours, without going to sleep." Night comes on, the palace
lights up of itself and a table appears covered with viands, but nobody
is seen. The princess resolves to watch by the prince for the appointed
time. On the period passing away a little female slave appears, and
the princess lays herself down on her knees, telling her to wake her as
soon as the king sneezes. The king wakes up, and, seeing the slave-
girl, asks her what has happened. She tells him that she has tended
him during his sleep, and that the princess is her slave. The king
believes the false story, and says that she shall be his wife. Tha
princess is sent off to become a goose-girl. The king then prepares to
depart on some expedition, but previously asks the goose-girl what
present he shall bring her on his return. She names three things,
one of them being a rope to hang herself with. Tlie king on his
return delivers this sorry present, and in the evening overhears the
poor princess telling her sad story to it and asking its advice. The
rope tells her unreservedly to hang herself, and while she is doing
so the king bursts into the room and prevents her. They are of course
married, and the slave-girl takes her turn at goose-keeping.
Besides what we have excerpted and referred to there are very
many papers in this volume of exceeding merit and of deep interest to
scholars and archaeologists, but, as these are not within our more
limited province, we content ourselves with this general reference only.
From our foregoing summaries the reader will have seen that the
Nco-Hellenic ;)a7*a7/iy</iia and the Italian /aJe in many instances con-
tain identical fictions. This identity is not confined to the examples
given in these pages, but is discernible in a host of other stories
common to both nationalitios, that universal favourite of Europe, la
p
AMERICAN SONGS AND GAMES. 243
Cenerentolttf which is both Greek and Italian, being one only of the
more striking of these affinities. This general fact, once established,
raises a question of some interest to folk-lorists. Of these and other
sister tales which are the prototypes, the Greek or the Italian ? Both
cannot be original. The question has already been mooted in Dr.
Pitre's Arcliivio, where it has attracted deserved attention, in the case
more particularly of La Cenerentola, the Greek Stachte. The whole
question deserves the best attention of our Englisli folk-lorists also,
the more especially as abundant material is now perfectly accessible to
all of them who have mastered the modern idiom of Hellas, and the
study of this really graceful language will probably, besides leading to
a solution of an important literary crux^ induce our countrymen to
abandon in the pronunciation of ancient Greek the abhorrent super-
stition descended to our times from the day when Sir John Cheke
initiated his audacious vocal reformation, which, like many other
alterations, nobody asked for. H. C. Coote.
AMERICAN SONGS AND GAMES.*
jHE " existence of any children's tradition in America, inde-
pendently of print, has hitherto been scarcely noticed."
This opening remark of the editor of the collection to
which I wish to call attention has been fully confirmed by
my own experience. Some years ago, when engaged in writing an
article on " Folk -Lullabies" {Eraser's Magazine, "Eo. 613), I asked
many American friends if they could put me in the way of obtaining
the inedited songs of American nurseries, but the answers were vague
and inconclusive. The most interesting piece of information then
received was from Mr. Bret Harte, who said that he had heard at
Crefield on the Khine a Dutch mother singing her child to sleep with
a song that struck him as strangely familiar, and which after listening
for a moment he recognized as one he had often heard sung amongst
* Oameg and Songs of American Children, collected and compared by William
Wells Newell. New York : Harper and Brothers. 1884.
ii2
244 AMERICAN SONGS AND GAMES.
his own kindred of Dutch extrtoction in the United States. Bat the
difficulty of getting news of songs did not persuade me that none
such existed. The folk-lore student is accustomed to this kind of
discouragement, and he may fairly trust his own intuitions rather than
the statements, however positive, of unqualified persons. Now, though
at first sight so young a country as America might be pronounced
an unfruitful field, a little reflection suffices to show that in reality it
ought to be the very reverse. America has been cut off in a great
measure from the action of those disintegrating forces which have
broken up so large a part of European, and especially of English,
traditions. There are quiet nooks in New England where the English
hamlet of two or three hundred years ago is not less perfectly repre-
sented than is old rural France in the neat homesteads of the hdbitana
of Canada. What more admirable picture of antiquated village life
could be desired than that given in what it is hardly rash to call the
most memorable of recent fictions — "Cape Cod Folks"? Americans
who are freshly come over to Europe — even those, sometimes, who
imagine themselves the personification of the New Idea — are apt to-
strike one chiefly by a strange but chai'ming archaism of speech,
manner, and mode of thought. The reiterated ** Sir*' is only a relic of
byegone courtesy ; and, as has been proved over and over again, nine-
tenths of " Americanisms " are to be found in Shakespeare. Thus we
have a good right to expect, now that folk-lore is beginning to attract
serious notice across the Atlantic, that our knowledge will be enriched
by many valuable additions and corrections.
Mr. NewelPs instalment is welcome, both on account of the matter
contained and of the agreeable and conscientious way in which it is
presented. Under the head of " Introductory" the editor writes of
the characteristics of child-nature with an insight that shows him to
have dived deep into its secrets. A child's imagination is, as he truly
says, infinitely more on the alert than that of a grown-up person.
Children, who are destined to become very ordinary and matter-of-fact
men and women, arc surrounded by a world of gracious unreality of
which a few years are enough to efi*ace even the memory. Only poets
preserve through life somewhat of the enchanted castle of childhood.
Then again, within certain bounds, children's powers of acquirement
AMERICAN SONGS AND GAMES. 245
are not inferior but superior to those of their elders. The rapidity
with which they acquire languages is a case in point. There was
Probably nothing phenomenal in the fact of John Stuart Mill's reading
Greek with facility when he was five years old, though, of course,
the desirability of thus forcing the willing brain of infancy is another
question. Mr. Newell mentions the elaborate and most difficult
languages wliich children will sometimes make out of their own heads.
The amusement is not unknown in England, — one instance of it has
come under my personal notice ; but it seems to be still more in
favour in America, and the examples cited of the "cat" and other
strange tongues are not a little curious. With all this astonishing
mental activity how is it, asks our author, that nevertheless we see
the same identical rhymes and games transmitted, with but few varia-
tions, from furthest antiquity, and diflfused over the face of continents ?
The explanation he proposes seems to be a very just one. By the side
of the inventiveness of children has to be reckoned their inherent con-
servatism. No new-fangled toy, for instance, however perfect in
mechanical ingenuity, will ever give the amount of pleasure afforded
by the immemorial doll. Mr. Newell calls to mind some early
allusions to that indispensable adjunct to little-girl life: amongst
others, the exquisite lines from the Greek anthology that refer to the
custom which required of a little girl who had reached the years of
discretion (seven years is said to have been the all too-early term) to
offer her " maids," as her dolls were called, at the altar of her
heavenly patroness, Athene or Artemis, Diana or Venus, as the case
might be. Mr. Newell might have added to his citations what has
always struck me as a rather pathetic reference to the antique doll,
that; namely, of Plutarch, who says, in proof of the angelic goodness
of his short-lived little daughter Timoxena, " when she was very
young she would frequently beg of her nurse to give the breast not
only to other children but to her babies or dolls, which she considered
as her dependents and under her protection."
As with toys so with games. Children respect the ancient ritual
out of an almost superstitious veneration. " The formulas of play
are scripture, of which no jot or tittle is to be repealed." Thus it
happens that there are incipient dramas which, like the first in Mr.
246 AMERICAN SONGS AND GAMES.
Newell's collection, " the Knights of Spain," are still acted, not only
throughout England and the United States, but also in Spain and
Sweden, in Italy and Ireland, among the Baltic Finns and the Moravian
Sclavs. The " Knights of Spain " was originally based on the idea
of a courtship conducted in the strictly mercantile spirit which probably
pervaded the next stage of marriage-making after the primitive
carrying off of the bride. Of that earlier system there are also
reminiscences in some surviving games and in many popular customs.
At Bocking, in Essex, the parents of the bride keep studiously out
of the way at the time of the marriage ceremony. I remember the
surprise, not to say horror, of an old gardener, who was asked why
he did not attend his daughter's wedding. " Such a thing was never
heered of in this here parish I " said he ; by which he meant among
people of his own sort, for a little higlier in the social scale there is
no rule of parental abstention. A version of the *' Knights of Spain "
was included in the Bocking Singing Games which appeared in the
Folh-Lore Record (iii. 169); and it is interesting to note that four
other songs of that small collection figure in Mr. Newell's work. They
are: " Nuts in May," " Thread the Tailor's Needle," " Milking Pails,"
and "Jenny Jones." It is more than hazardous to endeavour to fix the
precise route followed by any particular song in the course of its
migrations; still it may not be irrelevant to point out that the very
steadily kept-up intercourse between the English eastern counties and
America would lead us to" expect the community of traditions which
we thus find them to possess. In the village of Bocking, at the
present time, there is hardly a poor family which has not kindred
settled in the United States. Many went out from this part on the
fall of the Commonwealth. A few years back a gentleman wrote
from Rhode Island to ask after his ancestors who had lived in
Bocking. A few facts were brought to light by diligent hunting in
the old registers and parish books: one ancestor, charitably disposed,
had given sixpence " To the rescue of Englyshe men out of Turkish
slaverie." But the most important trace was not of a wholly satis-
factory nature: a "comer" in the neighbourhood where three roads
met was discovered to be popularly called by that gentleman's not
common namc^ and report said that a man was once buried there with
AMERICAN SONGS AND GAMES. 247
a stave through his body, having committed suicide. It is not always
good to investigate the past too closely.
" Jenny Jones " in America becomes Miss Jennia Jones, " Jennia "
being understood to be a contraction of " Virginia" ! Mr. Newell thinks
that Jones was originally Jo (joy, *'joie"), an old English word for
sweetheart. He is further of the opinion that the song was in the
first place a love-tale of the kind of the well-known Venetian
Bosettna. Taking this view, there is another southern love-ballad
which seems to have a sort of affinity with " Jenny," the '*Bela Sabe"
or "Belle Isabelle" of the Mediterranean coast. It will be remembered
that the symbolical sense of different colours plays a chief part in all
versions of " Jenny Jones " ; one colour after another is proposed but
rejected as unsuitable ; at last black is accepted in the English text
and white in the American— white being "for death " or " for angels."
Subjoined is a literal transcript of " Bela Sabe " :
" SaU, bela Sabe,
To my wedding come I pray I "
" At your wedding I'll not be
But the dance I mean to see."
" If the dance you join to-night,
Come attired all in white."
In a robe of charming hue
The bela soon is drest ;
And if 'tis good the blue,
For Hope the green is best.
At the first note of the tambour,
The bela joins the ball ;
At the next note of the tamboui*,
In death they see her fall.
" Sabb, be/a Sabb,
Do you die by force, ah, say? "
" It is not by force I go.
Love of you has laid me low."
** If for my true love you die
So for your true love will I."
Then out his knife he drew,
And his heart he ran it through.
Playing at death and at mourning is a very old game, perhaps one
of the oldest of all. I have no doubt that the little cliildren of Juda\a
played at something like " Jenny Jones," and that to this refers tlio
248 AMERICAN SONGS AND GAMES.
text " children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,
and saying, *We have piped unto you and ye have not danced; we
have mourned unto you and ye have not lamented.' " (Matthew xi.)
In connection with the mourning for Jenny (which in England is
signified by a low wailing sound, a tnie keening) Mr. Newell mentions
that " in a Flemish town, a generation since, when a young girl died,
her body was carried to the church, and thence to the cemetery by her
former companions." He is probably not aware that the same custom
prevails to this day in several parts of Italy. The first time I wit-,
nessed the bearing of a bier by women was at Varese; on that occa-
sion they were young married women, the body being that of a young
mother who had died in childbirth. The shrill voices of the mourners
as they chanted the litany for the dead, moving in slow procession from
the lake-shore to the church of San Vittore, produced a strikingly
touching effect. But it is stranger to see, as I have seen more recently
at Spezia, the little coffin of a child carried to the grave entirely by
children of from six to ten years old, and followed also exclusively by
a string of little ones, dressed nicely in their best frocks, of whom one
or two would carry a bright posy, or a wreath of flowers. I could
never see any older person accompanying the cortege, except one man
who walked at a certain distance, it may be to keep order; but his
presence did not seem necessary, for the children appeared to know
quite well what to do, and performed their office with great propriety,
though without any afiectation of particular sadness. When they
came back they skipped over the strip of grass by the new sea-wall,
seeing who could pick the most daisies.
In the Gaines and Songs of American Children there is so much of
interest that I have been obliged to limit myself to the discussion of a
very few points. I must however, in conclusion, allude to the especially
suggestive remarks on the assignment of certain stated periods of the
year to the playing of certain games. Climate or other circumstances
may have originated the usage, but it is adhered to with automatic
regularity where the cause has long since disappeared and been for-
gotten. It seems a case of " hereditary memory," not perhaps without
its bearings on the migrations of birds and other instances of animal
instinct. Evelyn Martinengo-Cesaresco.
TABULATION OF FOLK-TALES.
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NOTES AND QUERIES.
Threading the Needle at Ripon Cathedral. — Where can I find an
account of "the practice of 'threading the needle' in Ripon Cathe-
dral," mentioned in Captain Conder's new book, Heth and Moab ?
Charlotte S. Burne.
Laying a Ghost. — I shall be glad of information as to the procedure
observed to successfully "lay a ghost." What prayers (if any) were
used, and was it indispensable to have a clergyman ? I have come
across one case, at Burwash, in Sussex, where four Puritan ministers
held a fast, but the further procedure is not explained. {Suss. Arch.
Coll. xviii. Ill to 113.) What is meant by "laying a ghost in the
Red Sea " ? This is said to have been done in the case of the ghost of
Mrs. Segison, at Cuckfield Plate, Sussex.
Brighton. Frederick E. Sawyer.
Folk-Medicine. — The following, recorded in the last issued part of
the Archaeologia, is worth notice. In a paper by Mr. Edward Cun-
nington, of Dorchester, read March 30, 1882, an account is given of a
hoard of bronze, iron, and other objects that have recently been dis-
covered at Belbury Camp, in Dorsetshire. Two of the bronze objects
represented animal foims, probably oxen. After they were found, as
is but too common in such cases, they became dispersed. Mr.
Cunnington says: — "Having heard of the discovery, I paid a visit to
the old woman, who was reported to possess several of the objects. On
inquiring of her for them, she told me that she ' hadn't a' got 'em.'
On my asking what had become of them, she said * Well, there ! I was
obliged to send 'em to my poor boy, for he was ter'ble bad, and did
sort o' pine for 'em ; and a' thought if a' could have thic there little
dog, and nail un up over the door, a' would be better.' I then went to
the son's house, where I duly found the animal nailed over the door."
— Archaeologia, vol. xlviii. p. 117. Edward Peacock.
Scottish Folk-lore. — In the recent book of Her Majesty, More
254 NOTES AND QUERIES.
Leaves from the Journal of a Life in the Highlands^ I find the
following scraps of folk-lore : —
P. 197: " Brown .... espied a piec3 of white heather, and jumped
oflf to pick it. No Highlander would pass by it without picking it,
for it is considered to bring good luck."
P. 281 : " Two little girls put down bunches of flax for me to walk
upon, which it seems is an old Highland custom."
On the latter subject I should be glad of some further information.
What is the origin of the custom? Frederick E. Sawyer.
Brighton.
Superstition in Sicily. — A Naples correspondent writes: "In the
province of Catania (Sicily), the festival of San Filippo, the patron
saint of Calatabiano, is celebrated in a strangely superstitious manner.
The ignorant population of that district believe that San Filippo had
the power of restoring to health all those afflicted with epilepsy,
insanity, or other nervous maladies. On the day of the festival such
afflicted persons from all the country around are brought by their rela-
tions to be cured instantaneously at the church of Calatabiano. On
arriving they are seized by robust peasants, who attempt to make them
kiss the image of the saint, and cry ** Viva San Filippo ! " Some
struggle furiously in the hands of their captors, who then resort to the
most savage means of compulsion, tearing off their clothes, pulling
their haur, and even biting them, continuing the torture throughout
the day, until the victims pronounce the sacramental words. This
year the same scene was repeated, but was soon put a stop to by a
police- constnble, who in the name of the law arrested all who refused
to renounce the barbarous custom. — Rotherham Advertiser^ 7 June,
1884.
Hearne's opinion of John Aubrey.— The late Mr. John Aubrey,
who began the study of antiquities very early when he was gentleman
commoner of Trinity College in Oxford, and had no inconsiderable
skill in them ; and the world might have expected other
curious and useful notices of things from him had not
he by his intimate acquaintance with Mr. Ashmole in his latter years
too much indulged in fancy and wholly addicted himself to the
whimseys and conceits of astrologers, soothsayers, and such like
NOTICES AND NEWS. 255
ignorant and superstitious writers, which have no foundation in nature,
philosophy, or reason. — Hearne in LelancTs Itinerary, ii. 93.
Alice B. Gomme.
Witchcraft in France.— A woman of Thueyts, in the Ardeche,
had taken in a child to wet nurse, when her milk suddenly failed her.
She imagined that she had been bewitched by an old woman of eighty
in the neighbourhood, and had her brought to the house by her husband.
The man suspended the unfortunate creature by the pot-hook in tlic
chimney, and roasted her feet, and as this treatment did not produce
a fresh flow of milk for the child, the peasant and his wife put the old
woman's feet into an iron pot filled with water which was made to
hoil—Shefield Telegraph, July 10th, 1884.
NOTICES AND NEWS.
In the Land of Marvels: Folk- Tales from Austria and Bohemia. By
Theodor Vernaleken. With Preface by E. Johnson. London,
1884 (Swan Sonnenschein), 8vo. pp. 363.
There can be no question but that this collection of Folk-tales is a
welcome and valuable volume, and the publishers are to be praised for
the agreeable form in which this translation is presented. Mr. John-
son's preface, though travelling over ground well known to members
of this Society, has something of value to say as to the origin of
miirchen, or folk-tales, and his brief summary of objections to the
" sun and dawn " theory is admirable. The notes, too, at the end of
the volume, though of course they could be easily amplified, are good
and thoroughly to the point. The stories are variants of old favourites,
but variants which we are glad to get because they contain their own
local colouring which must lend its aid towards the elucidation of the
history of folk-tales. The story list is as follows : Hondiddledo and
his fiddle — Wintcrkolble — Kruzimiigeli — The blackbird — The seven
ravens — The dog and the yellowliammer — The three wondrous
fishes — The marvellous white horse — The dog and the wolf ^ The
nine birds — The wishing rag, the golden goat, and the hat soldiers—
Martin's Eve — The little tailor — The tailor and the hunter— The
256 NOTICES AND NEWS.
thirteen brothers — Stupid Peter — The magic pot and the magic ball —
The shepherd and the dwarfs — How a shepherd became rich — The
three boxes — For one krenzer a hundred — The goat and the ant —
The wild cat of the forest — The stolen princess — The wonderful
deliverance — Tlie outcast son — The two sisters — Moriandle and
Sugarkandle — The three eggs — The wondrous tree — The seven roes —
The dwarf delivered — Besom-cast, Brush-cast, Comb-cast — The
sounding tree — The cobbler's two sons — One strikes twelve, twelve
strike nine-and-forty — Hans guesses riddles — The three millers — The
three tasks — Piping Hans — Mr. Cluck — Hans with the goitre — The
king does not believe everything — The present of the wind — The
fisher's son — The Judas she-devil — The three white doves— The
maiden of the crystal mountain — How Hans finds his wife — The
drummer — The fairest bride — The accursed garden The enchanted
sleep — The three princesses —The suitor — The mouth-cure — The
bead-merchant — They dance to the pipe — The hopping night-cap—
Sepple with the golden hair.
Captain R. C. Temple will publish shortly a Dictionary of Hindu-
stani Proverbs, including many Marwari, Panjabi, Maggah, Bhojpuri,
and Tirhuti Proverbs, by the late S. W. Fallon, Ph.D., Halle.
" Dr. Fallon's collection of proverbs .... will be of immense use to
European officials, as teaching them the real people's speech and
opening up to them the hitherto sealed book of the native mind. If
a young civilian had such a collection put before him on his ai-rival
here, instead of the nauseous rubbish of the Prem Sagar and Bag-o-
Bahar, he would come to know as much about the language in a year
as is now ordinarily known even by the best scholars in ten or fifteen
years." — John Beames. It is expected that the work will be com-
pleted in five parts, to appear as nearly as possible at intervals of two
months. Triibner & Co. are the London agents.
Mr. Swainson has sent in his MS. of the " Folk-lore and Provincial
Names of British Birds."
A MS. collection of Herefordshire Folk-lore, by the late Reverend
Mr. Kilveet, has just been sent to the Honorary Secretary through
the kindness of Mr. William Henderson.
CONNEMARA FOLK-LORE.
Child-Birth.
|HILE the woman is sick no stranger must take anything
out of the house, especially a coal of fire, or the woman
will die or become a cripple, or meet with some other
great affliction. Beggars and others coming to the house
for anything are at once sent away: they would not have come to
the place if they knew that a woman was sick. The child, the
moment it is bom, is spit on by the midwife. It should be christened
the first mass after it is born, and should be called after the name of
the saint whose day is nearest to its birth. As there are two Lady's
days in the year, more girls are called Mary than any other name ;
while, as Michaels are so numerous, more boys seem to be born near
his day than in any other time of the year. If boys are bom near a
doable saint's day, such as St. Peter's and Saint Paul's, they should
have both names, except in the case of twins, when one should be
called Peter and the other Paul. I do not know how they manage
in other cases of twins. If a child just bom sneezes it will live ; if it
has a caul the latter is a charm against a number of diseases. Any one
coming to see the child should bring a present, usually an egg or a
pat of butter or some such trifle, and should say, " God save you I " and
spit on it. Those who do not do so bring it bad luck. If born at
midnight it ought to be sprinkled with holy water every night and
watched for seven days, lest it may be changed by the " good people."
If a child is an idiot, especially if a boy, it brings good luck. Many
instances are given of people being quite poor before an idiot came,
while afterwards they became suddenly rich. Three children at a
birth bring luck.
Churning.
No stranger should take anything out of a house, but especially
fire, while milk is being churned, as they will take away the butter.
Vol. 2.— Part 9. s
258 CONNEMARA FOLK-LORE.
Any stranger coming into the house while churning is going on
should say, '* Bless the work! " and take a few turns at tlie dash. If
the butter will not come you should put a hot ploughshare or a hot
tongs or a coal of fire under the churn. There seems sense in this, as
the heat will help to make the butter come. Some people are able to
take away your butter by churning water while you are churning your
milk ; also by carrying away fire out of the house or by certain
charms. Difi*erent people are said to have charms for taking it away;
but no one allows they know what they are; that they have charms
is proved by their always having more butter than their neighbours,
although they have fewer cows.
Hares.
When going out of a morning, if a hare is coming to meet you,
turn back at once, as you will fail in what you were going to do. If
he crosses your path from the right, you will have luck ; if from the
left, you will be neither lucky nor unlucky. If a hare scares an
enceinte woman the child will have a hare-lip. Hares are often
witches, and milk the cows and such like. A hare that is always
about a house is sure to be a witch, and ought to be destroyed if
possible. A dog cannot catch a witch hare, which is often a white
one.
Magpie and Cuckoo.
It is unlucky to kill ar magpie or rob its nest : because if either are
done they will kill all your chickens and geese. Magpies are useful
in a wild country, as they give you warning when the fox is afoot
after the lambs, kids, or fowl. I have seen people abused, and even
pelted, for shooting a magpie at a village. The cuckoo is also a
sacred bird, it is very unlucky to shoot one.
An ancient Irish Saying.
" Ireland was thrice beneath the ploughshare ; thrice it was wood,
and thrice it was bare " (O'Flaherty, Yar Connaught). Evidently it
was twice under wood, as we have records in the bog of two distinct
forests ; while in history we read of later woods that were cut down
after the time of James I. by the English adventurers.
r
CONNEMARA FOLK-LORE. 259
King of the Otters,
mentioned by 0' Flaherty in his History of Yar Connaughtj " of which
kind the white-faced otter is very rare. It is never killed, they say,
but with the loss of man or dog ; and its skin is mighty precious."
It is larger than ordinary, and has a white breast : it is called the
king of the otters. A great virtue of its skin is that the owner is
always fortunate in battles, and victory is always on his side.
Fish not Flesh.
The sea-birds, such as the guillemot, which never flies over the
land, but lives altogether in the cliffs or on the sea, is considered to
be a fish and not a fowl, and is eaten on fast days.
Seals.
In very ancient times some of the Clan Coneely, one of the early
septs of the county, were changed by " art magick " into seals ; since
then no Coneely can kill a seal without afterwards having bad luck.
Seals are called Coneelys, and on this account many of the name
changed it to Connelly.
Rats, called French Mice.
It is said that at one time there were none in Ireland. O'Flaherty,
in his History of Yar Connaught, written in 1684, says there are no
rats in it.
Captive Stone.
On the shore of MacDara's island there is a stone called the
" Captive's Stone," where, until very lately, women during low water
gathered ililuk. This was supposed to gain the intercession of the
saint for a friend in captivity. MacDara is the patron saint of the
sailor, and sailors when passing the island always dip their sails thrice,
if not they arc sure to be shipwrecked.
St. MacDara's real name was Sinach, a fox. Of his name Hardi-
man thus writes : — **It is a curious coincidence that the name of this
favourite saint of our western fishermen should be that of an animal
which, of all others, they most abhor. So great is their aversion to a fox,
s2
260 CONNEMARA FOLK-LORE.
hare, or rabbit, that they never so much as mention their names them-
selves nor endure even to hear them named by others. If a fisherman
of Claddagh happened to see one of these animals or hear its name
mentioned he would not on that day venture to sea : and the cause of
this strange superstition they neither know themselves nor can any
one else account for it." A butcher of Galway is said to have taken
advantage of it, and had a fox carried through Claddagh every
Friday, thus preventing the men going to sea that day, and thereby
kept up the price of meat on the Saturday market.
Raising the Wind.
If you want a fair wind bury a cat to its neck in the sand on the
sea-shore, turning its face to the point from which the adverse wind
blows, and leave it there to die. Or, erect a pile of stones on the
shore, bearing a resemblance to one of the goblins, and expect a fair
wind in return ; but this is a serious affair, and never can be done
by the same individual twice. — Hardiman's Notes to 0' Flaherty' s
History.
Wells.
Wells dedicated to saints are held in great veneration, and patrons
are held at them on their saint day. Some are good for the eyes,
some for sores, and some for various ailments, even for sterile women
and cattle. St. Patrick's. Well, in Maumean, cures murrain in cattle,
while a well on Bendouglas or Benlettery makes a person's head hoar
if they wash in it. Some are evidently pre-Christian : one on
Cashla Bay has a large conical mound or kitchen-midden, over fifty
feet high, made up of sea-shells; as part of the obligation is to live
on shell-fish while attending the patron — which are cooked on the
top of the mound.
Stonb Celts,
called soigheds, or " fairy darts," are used by the " good people,"
and any one that is " fairy struck" has been hit with one of them.
If you find one, either on the ground or in the tillage, you should not
bring it into the house, or bury it, or throw it away, but you should
CONNEMARA FOLK-LORE. 261
put it carefully in a hole in the field wall, or ditch, or in a tree, where
it will not bo easily found, otherwise something will happen to you.
Aranmore is a great place for soigheds, and they are greatly vene-
rated, although many of them apparently are of recent make. Seals,
when they were plentiful along the west coast, were an article of food,
as we learn from the Book of Lismore, and other authorities.
The Aranites and inhabitants of some of the other Galway islands
wear pampootcrs, which are slippers, now made of the raw hides of
the ass, calf, and cow, but formerly of the seal skin; and the celts
made on Aran, of a black silicious shale, were used for skinning them
— even at the present day I have seen them used while skinning a
calf. The Aranites very often carry a soighed with them when they
are going to a patron on the mainland, and leave it behind them at
the holy well as a votive offering. Pampootie, as a name for the
slipper, is said to have been introduced some two or more hundred
years ago by an East Indian ship-captain, who settled on the island —
the old Irish name is brog-le-har — Anglice^ coarse shoe of fresh or
untanned leather.
St. Flanning's Church.
In Errisflanning are the ruins of St. Flanning church and a grave-
yard — " This church admits of no burial within its walls"; that is, if
any one is interred therein his body is found above ground next
morning. This is also a common belief elsewhere. In the grave-
yard of Ballytober abbey, co. Mayo, there is a space no one would
bury in, as " their body would be cast up."
Lizard and Cricket.
The lizard is a vicious animal, always trying to get down people's
throats ; it will even try to steal into houses where children are that
it may get down their throats. A cricket ought not to be disturbed
or killed. If either is done, its fellows will come and eat the clothes,
especially of the person who injured the cricket.
The Fairy Mound, Glendalouqh.
On the south side of Gorumna Lough, Connemara, there is a large
moat or barrow, said to be inhabited by the " good people." In the
262 CONNEMARA FOLK-LORE.
centre of the top there is a green spot, said to be the entrance to it,
on which the natives would be afraid to stand. About fifteen years
ago there was a man in the village had a cow and a newly-born calf,
and the cow died. But after it was dead, cut up, and salted, at night
they used to hear a cow in the barn, while the calf throve well,
although it would take no food that was offered it. At first every one
was afraid to go near the cowhouse at night to see what was going
on ; but at last the man took courage and went, and to his great
astonishment he found his cow alive and suckling the calf. When it
saw him it tried to rush out of the door ; but as it passed he seized it
by the tail, and was pulled by it to the fairy mound and into a
brightly lit-up room, in which were assembled the queen and her court.
The queen asked, " What do you want ? " To which he answered,
" In the name of God, my cow." To which she replied, " Take it,"
and the cow immediately went with him, the name of God destroying
the spell. My informant, one of the innumerable Joyces, offered to
swear he had seen the cow alive; afterwards dead, cut up, and salted,
and had even eaten part of it, yet afterwards he saw it alive. A rag
tied round the tail of a newly-calved cow keeps away the fairies.
On the east of Lough Corrib, near Castle Hackett, is Knockmaa,
or the hill of the plain, which is a great fairy haunt; and at times of
an evening great flights of the " good people " pass over Connemara
to the gathering at it. When they are passing is easily known, as you
feel a rush of warm wind passing you, accompanied by a rustling
noise. Fairies should always be called " good people," as fairies is a
term of disrespect. When throwing water out of a door you must say,
" By your leave," lest one of the " good people" was outside, and you
might chance to wet it. A lighted coal of turf, carried on a stick or
in a tongs, after dark, keeps away the fairies.
Giants.
The highest group of hills in Connemara, or the Twelve Pins or
Stacks, are called Bennabeola, after a giant of that name. Beola
seems to have been a person of importance, as Great Man's Bay is
said to be also called after him, and his earn was at Toombeola, but
was taken away by the monks to build an abbey; and the latter was
CONNEMARA FOLK-LORE. 263
pulled down by the "cruelty to animal Martin" to build a salmon
weir.
Beola had a great friend, a giant, on Aranmore, and every morning
at sunrise they saluted one another. One morning, however, Beola
overslept himself, and his friend threw a stone at him to wake him,
which so enraged Beola that he hurled a shower of stones at him,
which fully accounts for the number of large Connemara granite
blocks on Aranmore. The Aranmore giant had a numerous family,
who took to using these stones as seats, which fully accounts for the
pedestal of limestone under each block, as their feet wore away the
rock around each block.
About halfway between Corcogemore and Slieve Moidaun is a large
long block of rock, standing on end, called Clogh-na-Curreel, or the
stone of Curreel. Its size may be judged by its being easily mistaken
for an old castle, until you are quite close to it. Curreel and Moidaun
were great friends, but one day the latter, when on a visit to Curreel
at Corcogemore, ran off with his wife. Curreel, who was asleep, woke
up, and missed the wife and Moidaun; but, on looking across the plain,
he saw them making off to Slieve Moidaun, whereupon he seized up the
stone he used for his pillow and hurled it after them. The truth of
the story is evident, as the marks of his five fingers and thumb can be
seen under the south-east coiiier of the stone. It may here be observed
that in the co. Donegal the giants are all said to have had five fingers
besides the thumb; but on the three "giants' stones" that I have
seen in that county there are seven impressions instead of six.
A giant whose name is now forgotten lived at Leam. He was
famous for his great feats of strength. One day the devil came and
challenged him to show his power. After various trials, in which they
were both equal, the giant proposed that they should jump over a wide
chasm with his pillow on his back, the pillow being a stone about six
feet long. One side of the chasm was higher than the other, and
both succeeded in jumping down; but after the giant had jumped up,
just as the devil was springing off, the giant tripped him up, and he
fell into the chasm, hurting his back. The stone stuck up in the bog,
and was there until some years ago, when it was stolen by a mining
captain who was working at the Glengoala mine. The place, after the
264 CONNEMARA FOLK-LORE.
jumping feat, was called Learn (a leap); while it is said the marks of
the giant's hands and the devil's paws were to be seen on one side of
the stone, impressed while holding it on their backs.
Ancient Irish Games.
There are old Irish games very like acftalpa, or game of ball, men-
tioned in the Folk-Lore Journal of February, 1884, page 59.
There are three or more players on each side, two stones or holes
as stations, and one lobber. The lobber lobs either a stick about three
inches long or a ball — (the ball seems to be a new institution, as a
stick was always used when I was a boy)— while the batsman defends
the stone or hole with either a short stick or his hand. Every time
the stick or ball is hit, the boys defending the stones or holes must
change places. Each one is out if the stick or ball lodges in the hole
or hits the stone ; or if the ball or stone is caught ; or if it can be
put in the hole or hits the stone while the boys are changing places.
This game is also played with two lobbers, that lob alternately from
each end. The game is won by a certain number of runs.
This game is sometimes called cat ; but the regular cat is played
with a stick four inches long, bevelled at each end, called the cat.
This bevelled stick is laid on the ground, and one end hit with a stick
to make it rise in the air, when it is hit by the player, who runs to a
mark and back to his station. The game is made by a number of
runs ; while the hitter is out if he fails three times to hit the cat, or
if he is hit by the cat while running.
Another form of the first game is a circle of stones, according to
the number of players, generally five or seven each side. One of the
out party stands in the centre of the circle, and lobs at the diflferent
stones in rotation ; each hit a player gives all his side must change
stations, in some places going round to the left and in others to the
right. The stones are defended by the hand or a stick, according as
a ball or stick is lobbed. All the players are out if the stone is hit,
or the ball or stick caught, or one of the players is hit while running.
In different counties or places these games are more or less modified.
These games I have seen played over half a century ago, with a lob-
f.tick, but of later years with a ball, long before a cricket-club existed,
CONNEMARA FOLK-LORE. 265
in Trinity College, Dublin, and when the game was quite unknown in
a great part of Ireland. At the same time, they may have been
introduced by some of the earlier settlers, and afterwards degene-
rated into the games mentioned above ; but I would be inclined to
suspect that the Irish are the primitive games, they having since been
improved into cricket. At the present day these games nearly every-
where are succeeded by cricket, but often of a very primitive form,
the wickets being stones set on end, or a pillar of stones ; while the
ball is often wooden, and very rudely foraied.
An old game called Croohj was formerly played at Portarlington,
Queen's co. and Kilkee, co. Clare. Fifty years ago it was played
with wooden crooks and balls, but about twenty-five years ago, or a
little more, mallets were introduced at Kilkee ; while subsequently
the name was changed to croquet. I have heard it stated that this
game was introduced by the French refugees that settled at Port-
arlington.
Another old Irish game was Duck-stone. A number of stones, one
less than the number of players, were placed close together in a row ;
one player was told off to guard the stones on which smaller stones
were placed. All of the players, except the guard, stood in a place
about twelve or fifteen feet from the row of stones, and with their
duck (stones) tried to knock off the smaller stones, which the guard
had to replace as fast as possible, because if any of the small stones were
off the duck-holders could carry in their ducks ; but if all the stones
were on, if one of the duck-holders tried to carry in his duck and he
was tipped by the guard, he had to take the guard's place, who joined
the duck-holders.
Hurl was a very ancient Irish game, as we have many places called
after it : such as, Killahurla, the hurlers' church ; Gortnahurla, the
field of the hurlers ; Greenanahurla, the sunny place of the hurlers;
this, however, is now generally corrupted into hurling-green. The
hurling-green where the famous match was played by the people of
Wexford against those of Cather (now divided into the counties of
Carlow and Wicklow), and where the former got the name of yellow
bellies from the colour of the scarfs they wore round their waist, is a
sunny flat on the western side of North "Wicklow Gap, on the road
266 THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON.
from Gorey to Trinnahely. There are also many other diflferent names
that record the game.
Jack-stones, played with three or fom- small stones that are thrown
up in the air and caught again, seems to have been a very ancient
game, as the stones have been found in the crannogs or lake-dwellings
in some hole near the fire-places, similar to where they are found in a
cabin at the present day. An old woman, or other player, at the
present time, puts them in a place near the hob, when they stop their
game, and go to do something else. G. H. Kinahan.
THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON.
PART II. — Minerals — Animals — Portents. — (Contimied from
page 235.)
" The charitable robinet in came,
Whose nature taught the others to be tame."
Its work of love, everybody knows, on the evidence of the Babes in
the Wood, is that of burying the dead :
" Coveriiig with moss the dead's unclosed eye,
The little Redbreast teacheth charity,"
as Drayton says elsewhere.* I have a secondhand quotation f from a
play of Webster, who was for some years his contemporary:
" Call for the robin and the wren,
Since o'er shady groves they hover,
And with dead leaves do cover
The friendless bodies of unburied men."
• The 07vl [iv. 1291].
t From " English Ballads," an article in an Aunt Jvdy's Magazine of un-
remembcred date.
THE FOLK-LOEE OF DRAYTON. 26V
A few years later Robert Herrick wrote : *
" When I departed am ring thou my knell,
Thou pittifuU and pretty Philomel ;
And when I'm laid out for a corse, then he
Thou sexton. Red brcst, for to coA-er me."
I may be pardoned for repeating his prayer to Robin : f
" Laid out for dead, let thy last kindnesse be
With leaves and mosse-work for to cover me;
And while the wood nimphs my cold corps inter,
Sing thou my dirge, sweet warbling chorister.
For epitaph in foliagCj next write this,
Here, here the tomb of Robin Herrick is."
In Webster's lines, and in many a popular rhyme, the robin and the
wren are coupled as though they were natural helpmates ; and with
equal disregard of propriety Drayton J talks of —
" The gaudy Goldfinch and his courtly mate,
My Madam Bunting ;"
but here, I suspect, there is some political allusion. He does, how-
ever, make the Wren,
" Which simple people call Onr Lady's hen," §
confess that Robin is not her lawful mate ; a state of things which
never used to be suspected in the nursery, whatever may be the case
ifi these enlightened days. She also tells her gossip, the Hedge-
sparrow, that when the Eagle oils his feathers || and soars aloft to
confer with Jove, he unwittingly bears, concealed among his down,
her nimble Robinet, who thus hears the secrets of Olympus, which,
with untired wings, he carries back to his paramour ;
" And by this means we two will rule the state."
Politics again, perhaps ; but nevertheless there seems to be a savour
of the old story of how the wren became king.^ If I may tell it as I
* Poetical Works (Pickering's edition, 1825), vol. i. p. 154.
t WorJiS, vol. i. p. 24. J The Owl [iv. 1299]. § TJie Owl [iv. 1308].
II The Owl [iv. 1308-9]. Waterton flatly denies that birds do oil their
feathers. — See Essays on Natural Historj/, -pip. 60-64: ; 2nd series, p. 130, &c.;
3rd series, pp. 268-269.
^ The spider of Krilof's fable, " The Eagle and the Spider," made use of the
big bird in the same way as Drayton's robinet did, and as did the cunning wren
of the story. — See Ralston's Kr'dof and his FahlcSy p. 107.
268 THE FOLK-LORE OF DEAYTON.
have told in print before, it runs : —The feathered sages assembled to
choose a ruler, and they decided on accepting the candidate who should
attain the highest flight. Off started the eagle and the wren, and up,
up, up they went. A.t first the latter appeared to have the advantage
because he rose in a straight line, while his antagonist, as his manner
is, described great circles in his flight. After a time, however, the
little wings grew weary, and the crafty wren, all unfelt, dropped down
on the labouring eagle's back. When the huge bird was tired, he
stopped. " Where art thou, wren ? " he said. ** Here, above thee I "
was the answer, as the cunning tiny one spread his wings and made
his last spurt. So the wren was king ; and king he is called iu most
European languages.
When Drayton says that the Falcon " loved the Owl, and held
him only dear," * and refers to Pliny as his authority, I suppose
he is thinking of what that authority sets down in his chapter f con-
cerning the owlet. When surrounded by more enemies than it can
overcome, the owlet " throws itself on its back, and so, resisting with
feet and rolling up its body into a mass, defends itself with the beak
and talons, until the hawk, attracted by a certain natural affinity,
comes to his assistance and takes its share of the combat." J Pleasant
hours must Drayton have spent poring over Holland's translation of
the credulous old naturalist, who, however, throws no light (as far
as I can find) on the meaning of his disciple's assertion, —
" The hens (to women) sanctity express,
Hallowing their eggs."
* The Owl [iv. 1295].
t Book X. ch. 19. In the Owl and tlie NightingaUy pp. 4, 5 (Percy Society),
the owl is reproached with having laid its**fole ey" in the "faukun's" nest,
and with causing a domestic broil in consequence. The hen-falcon declares —
"I-wis it was ure ozer brother,
The zond that haved that gretc heved."
The poem probably belongs to the latter end of the twelfth century.
X Although the action of The Owl takes place in May, the birds arrange for
the consummation of their matrimonial designs at St. Valentine — rather a long
engagement in such an unconventional society as theirs must be. — Cf. iv. 1289,
1291, &c.
THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON. 269
Amongst creatures ^Yhicll come to Noah's assembly but have not the
entree of modern zoological society, we have " the huge ruck," * pro-
genitor, no doubt, of Sindbad's friends ; also,
" The Salamander to the Ark retires,
To fly the flood it doth forsake the fires."
t '* That a Salamander is able to live in flames, to endure and put
out fire, is an assertion not only of great Antiquity, but confirmed by
frequent and not contemptible testimony," says Dr. Thomas Browne.
" .... All which, notwithstanding there is on the negative
authority and experience." Neither did that astute gentleman give
credit to the story of the cockatrice, the half-bird, half-serpent (now
only legitimately hatched at Heralds' College), which like the fabled
snake, called basilisk, | had death in its glance ; though in the Ark, as
Drayton assures us, the power was most happily suspended. I may
conclude what I have to say about Noah's live stock, by mentioning
that that fearsome item of folk-lore, the dragon — the fabled guardian
of so many hoards of fabulous treasure —
*' The watchful dragon comes the ark to keep,"
precisely as if he were in the police force of patriarchal times ; and
" Lulled with murmur gently falls asleep,"
just as naturally as if he belonged to that of the nineteenth century.
Drayton's faith in the phoenix was completely orthodox, but he did
not put her in the ark, and one wonders what became of her during
the Deluge. She was, said his Owl,§ following Claudian de Phcenice,
" parent and infant to herself alone," and it is well that she was
* See also The Battle of Aginconrt [i. 13].
f Pseud. Epid. book iii. ch. 13, p. 113.
X In justice to Drayton I must remark that he was rather advanced in his
knowledge of the slow-worm. He writes, " The small-eyed slow-worm, called of
many blind." — Noali's Flood [iv. 1538]. As it is still sometimes called the
blind-worm, I suppose its possession of the faculty of sight is yet doubted. The
Key. J. G. Wood states "it is anything but blind, and its eyes though small are
brilliant." — Common Objects of the Country,^. 34. Poisonous, however, Drayton
thought it was.
§ Tlw Owl [iv. 1301]. The Parrot and the Vulture are gossips, and worse,
in this satire of Drayton's.
270 THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON.
solitary, or it is plain that the Parrot and the Vulture would have
raised some scandal about her. King John"* did not scruple to tell his
wooed Matilda —
" The Arabian bird that never is but one,
Is only chaste because she is alone."
The Earl of Surrey ,t writing (by Drayton) to the Lady Geraldine,
has a dainty reference to the bird which
" from her spiced flame
Kenews herself in that she doth consume " ;
and other allusions, are indicated below.J
Drayton's idea of the vara avis was very much like that set forth
by S. Clement of Rome, who introduces it into his first Epistle to the
Corinthians § as a type of the Resurrection. One wonders whether
either or neither really credited its existence, or whether it was merely
honoured as one of those things which, as Maundrell said of Dead
Sea apples, serve for a good illusion and help the poet to a simi-
litude.
Let us quote St. Clement : —
" 1. Let us consider that wonderful type of the resurrection which is
to be seen in the Eastern countries, that is to say, in Arabia.
"2. There is a certain bird called a phoenix ; of this there is never
but one at a time, and that lives five hundred years. And when tlie
time of its dissolution draws near that it must die, it makes itself a
nest of frankincense and myrrh, and other spices, into which, when its
time is fulfilled, it enters and dies.
*' 3. But its flesh putrefying, breeds a certain worm, which, being
nourished with the juice of the dead bird, brings forth feathers ; and,
when it is so grown to a perfect state, it takes up the nest in which
the bones of its parent lie and carries it from Arabia into Egypt to a
city called Heliopolis.
* Eng. Heroic. Epis. [i. 233],
t Eng. Heroic. Epis. [i. 360-361]. The date palm is also called phojnix,
because when burned to the ground it has the power of springing up again.
Perhaps Drayton may have been thinking of this at p. 361.
X Mean, xvi. [iv. 1265]; Eclogue ii. [iv. 1388]; Ec, iii. [iv. 1394]; Nymplial
iii. [iv. 1467]; Nympli. viii. [iv. 1506].
§ Chap. xii.
THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON. 271
" 4. And flying in open day in the sight of all men, lays it npon
the altar of the sun, and so returns from whence it came.
'* 5. The priests then search into the records of the time and find
that it returned precisely at the end of five hundred years.
" 6. And shall we then think it to be any very great and strange
thing for the Lord of all to raise up those that religiously serve Him
in the assurance of a good faith when even by a bird He shows us the
greatness of His power to fulfil His promise ? "
Another bird which had (has ?) ascribed to it an origin to the full
as fabulous as that attributed to the phoenix is what naturalists now
call the Anser leunopsis, or barnacle goose, and what Drayton spoke
of as the tree goose, from its supposed vegetable inception. The
histoiy of the myth of these
" fowles from planchers sprung," *
placed by the poet of the Polyolhion amongst the wonders of our native
isle, has been so fully and so recently set forth by Max Miiller in
Lectures on the Science of Language,^ that it is unnecessary for me
to do more than refer my readers to that work if they do not already
know with whom Drayton shared his belief, and how that belief arose.
About Furness \ he informs us are —
" scatter'd trees which naturally partake
The fatness of the soil (in many a shiny lake
Their roots so deeply soaked), send from their stocky bough
A soft and sappy gum from which those tree-geese grow,
Call'd barnacles by us, which like a jelly first
To the beholder seeme them like the fluxine nurst.
Still great and greater thrive until you well may see
Them tum'd to perfect fowles, when dropping from the tree
Into the merey pond which under them doth lie,
Wax ripe and taking wing away in flockes do fly,
Which well our ancients did among our wonders place."
Of this process Gerarde has a most sensational picture, which Dray-
ton, no doubt, had seen ; it has been very correctly copied for Max
Miiller's book. When I was sojourning at Bournemouth, during the
* Pol. iii. [ii. 711]; see also Pol. xxv. [iii. 1157].
f 8th ed. vol. ii. pp. 583-60-t. Barnacle is said to be a corruption of lUbcr-
niece or Hiherniculce, i. e, Irish.
X PoL xxvii. [iii. 1190].
272 THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON.
autumn of 1874, a piece of timber literally alive with Cirrhopodes
lepadidiv was cast ashore, and I viewed it with some sympathy for
the popular error. Before leaving geese I will show how Drayton deals
with superstitions, dealt with by Sir Walter Scott long afterwards in
one of the best-known passages in Marmion^* I mean that in which
the nuns of Whitby told —
" how of a thousand snakes each one
Was turned into a coil of stone.
When holy Hilda pray'd
Themselves within their holy bound,
Their stony folds had often found.
They told how sea-fowls' pinions fail
As over Whitby's tovpers they sail,
And sinking down with flutterings faint
They do their homage to the saint."
In the early part of the seventeenth centuiy the same poetic mate-
rial was thus employed, the proud North Riding being the speaker. f
*• Like Whitby's self I think there's none can show but I
O'er whose attractive earth there may no wild geese fly.
For presently they fall from off their wings to ground.
If this no wonder be, where's there a wonder found ?
And stones like serpents there, yet may ye more behold
That in their natural yres are up together roird."
A rationalistic exjilanation of the check in the flight of the birds is
that they are weary after a long journey over the sea, and glad to
lower their sails on reaching Whitby scar. The snakes are fossil
ammonites.
In the song of the dying swan, Drayton had the staunch belief that
becomes a poet and his verse. " Let pyes and daws," he said —
" sit dumb before their death,J
Only the swan sings at the parting breath."
There are other natural history specimens which wc can hardly
afford to miss. Perhaps the animal which we should least suspect of
enjoying any special revelation as to the benefits of abstinence is the
* Canto ii. 14. f Pol. xxviii. [iii. 1202].
X Elegy to Mr. George Sandys [iv. 1326J; sec also Eclogue^ vi. [iv. 1412J;
Eff^. Heroic. EpU, [i. 379]; Pol. xxv. [ii. 1167].
THE FOLK-LORE OP DRAYTON. 273
pig ; yet in the account of the murrain * which came upon plague-
stricken Egypt we are helped to realize the hapless strait to which
domesticated animals were reduced when we read —
" The swine which nature secretly doth teach,
Only by fasting sicknesses to cure,
Now but in vain is to itself a leech."
Early surgeons chose to perform many of their dissections on
swine —
"As likest the human form diyine,"
but I was not aware that pigs were ever held up by the faculty of any
age as being examples of judicious temperance. Drayton seems to
think, too, that the wit of mankind would never have devised a
sledge had it not been for hints given by the habits of the beaver.f
This remarkable beast submits to lie on his back and to have his
upper surface laden with timber, kept from falling by means of his
mighty tail, whilst he is dragged home by his comrades who haul at a
stick which he grips enduringly between his jaws. Other creatures
from which Drayton suspects man learned useful arts were the kite,
whose guiding train " prescribes the helm"; the crane, who by bur-
dening his craw with sand and gravel suggested ballast ; the martin,
whose mission was to recommend mud-dwellings ; and the nightin-
gale, who first taught music. J
That hart's tears were held precious in medicine we learn from the
thirteenth Polyolbionic song,§ the difficulty of collecting being no
doubt contributory to their virtue. We have only to consult Cockayne's
Leechdoms, \\ &c. to find out what an important factor the hart was in
the pharmacopoeia of long ago. Now-a-days, indeed, we still have
great faith in hartshorn in domestic practice, but the drug has no
more come from the hart than cheap sherry has from Xeres.
There is, as poor dear Mrs. Malaprop might say, a nice derangement
of caparisons in a letter written by Drayton % in the character of virtuous
♦ Moses, his Birth and Miracles, book ii. [iv. 1588]. Since writing the
above I have seen this swinish temperance mentioned in a modem book without
reference to our text,
t Pol. vi. [ii. 769]. % The Owl [jv. 1279]. § [iii. 918.]
II Vol, ii. t Eng. Heroic. Epis. [i. 238].
Vol. 2.— Part 9. t
274 THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON.
Matilda Fitzwalter to the less admirable King John. The " allegory
on the banks of the Nile " is the type of one who afiFects to regret that
which his own evil passions have brought about.* I give the passage
in full as it is rich in unnatural history —
" The dead man's grave with feigning tears to fill,
So the dcTOuring crocodile doth kill.
To harbour hate in show of wholesome things,
So in the rose the poison'd serpent stings.
To lurk far off yet lodge destruction by,
The basilisk so poisons with its eye.
To call for aid and then to lie in wait,
So the hyaena murders by deceit.f
By sweet enticement sudden death to bring.
So from the rocks alluring mermaids sing."
The belief that the dove had no gall gave that bird an importance
with sentimentalists which it has now lost. Lovers were formerly
pleased to attribute the same physiological defect to their mistresses,
and consequently Drayton did not neglect to credit his " Idea " there-
with.J
" A milk-white dove upon her hand she brought.
So tame t'would go, returning at her call.
About whose neck was in a collar wrought
' Only like me, my mistress hath no gall.' "
The Bestiaries made good use of this and of other idiosyncrasies of
the dove in likening it to the Holy Spirit, of whom it may be
accounted the self-chosen symbol. Raulin,§ an eccentric French
preacher who died in 1514, gave many reasons why the bird was thus
highly honoured ; the first being, " A dove is without gall and is
* " The crocodile shrowdeth greatest treason under most pitiful teares: in a
kissing mouth there lyeth a galling minde." — Euphtieg (Arber's edition), p. 75.
t At the present day people in Palestine believe that this animal " posts itself
near a road, and, by an irresistible power of fascination which it can exercise on
human beings, it obliges a traveller to follow it, leading him through rough and
thorny places that he may fall and bleed to death or be worn out by fatigue, and
so become a defenceless prey/*' If the man at once cry out for help the beast
runs off howling, for "its magnetic force has no power on the person." — Pierotti's
Customs and Traditions of Palestine, p. 40.
X Eclogtw, ix. [iv. 1435] ; see also T/te Owl [iv. 1313].
§ Post-Medi(eval Preachers, by S. Baring-Gould.
THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON. 275
harmless, and therefore represents the character of those bom of the
Spirit."
The raven has long been looked upon as the antithesis of
the dove, and has a wide reputation as being a bird of ill omen.
Drayton * makes Noah's sooty messenger return to the Ark from its
fruitless errand; Jewish tradition shows it remaining aloof to feed on
carcases. Bishop Wordsworth f seems to favour the opinion that it
did not re-enter the Ark, but merely hovered thereabout. Wodan^ the
supreme deity of Teutonic mythology, had in his character of god of
victory two ravens, Huginn and Muninn, who were brave, cunning,
and wise, and who sat on his shoulders and whispered into his ears
whatsoever they saw and heard. It is also said that they were heralds
of death to heroes ; and what with their black plumage, croaking
voices, and uncanny ways, it is not surprising that their appearance
was associated with misfortune. Darkness and cacophony may well
fill the soul with a sense of coming horrors.
" The greedy raven that for death doth call,"§
says Drayton in The Owly wherein we have likewise
" The shrieking litch-owl that doth never cry
But boding death."§
In the Mooncalf \\ we are told that the night crow " boded great mor-
tality to men" ; and in the Barons Wars% we have, amongst the con-
catenation of portents which presented themselves to Edward II. in
captivity, —
" The ominous raven often he doth hear,
Whose croaking, him of following horror tells,
Begetting strange imaginary fear
With heavy echoes like to passing-bells:
The howling dog a doleful part doth bear,
As though they chim'd his last sad burying knells.
Under his cave the buzzing scritch-owl sings,
Beating the windows with her fatal wings."
♦ Noah's Flood [iv. 1548].
f B^oly Bible, with Notes, sub Gen. viii. 9, &c.
% Grimm's Teutonic Mythology (Stally brass's translation), vol. i. p. 147.
§ \\y. 1297.] II [ii. 510.] t Book v. v. 42 [i. 176],
t2
276 THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON.
On the morning of the day when Aginconrt was fought * the game-
some lark seemed as if she were singing with the double object of
awaking the English and of making intercession at heaven's gate for
their success. Flocks of ravens roused the drowsy Frenchmen by
croaking in such wise that all the country-side could hear. By our
foes this was taken as a sign, not that the birds would feast on their
dead bodies, but that English flesh should be the prey. The poet
was full of portents. Earthquakes, floods, storms, famines, plagues;
monstrous births, comets, armies in the air, blood issuing from the
ground : these are a few of the methods nature adopts to hint at
what is coming. I append references, so that those who will may
take their fill of such horrors.f
Concerning the minor portents, which come under the head of
weather-lore, Drayton gives a few hints :
" The strutting peacock yawling 'gainst the rain," f
made so much noise on entering the ark that the most unbelieving
antediluvian must have felt sure that wet weather was imminent, par-'
ticularly as the brawling of the carrion-crow supported the assurance
of the peacock. We learn from Polyolhion § that when Pendle's head
is free from clouds the people thereabout expect a halcyon day, and
that those on the banks of the Can (or Kent?), in Westmoreland, can
tell what weather to look for from the voice of its falls. ||
*' For when they to the north the noise do eas'liest hear,
They constantly aver the weather will be clear;
And when they to the south, again they boldly say,
It will be clouds or rain the next approaching day."
St. Swithin's reputation as a weather indicator is not forgotten in
♦ The Battle of Agincourt [i. 41].
t The Baronst Warx, book i. v. 10 [i. 92]; book i, v. .S3 [i. 97J ; book ii. v. 15
[i. Ill]; book iv. V. 41 [i. 158]; Miseries of Queen Margaret [ii. .389, 391];
Eng. Heroic. Ejns. [i. 301]; Pol. ii. [ii. 689] ; see, too, note, p. 701; Pol.
xxii. [iii. lOGfi]; Legend of T. Cromwell, Earl of Essex [ii. 590]; the ilfwrn-
6W//[ii. 479].
X Noah's Flood [iv. 153G, 1537]. § xxvii. [iii. 1182].
II Pol. XXX. [iii. 1222].
r
A FOLK-TALE FROM ABERDEENSHIRE. 277
the twenty-fourth song of Polyolbion* where Drayton supplies a long
catalogue of British— -I use the word in its pre-Freemanic sense-
worthies whose names are no longer within the ken of the Folk.
A FOLK-TALE FROM ABERDEENSHIRE.
The Wifie an Her Kidie.
HE following folk-tale has been communicated to me by
Mr. James Moir, M.A. Rector of the Grammar School,
Aberdeen. . A form of it under the title of " The Wife
and her Bush of Berries " is given in Popular Rhymes of
Scotland^ pp. 57-59, by Robert Chambers (1870).
There wiz a wifie, an she sweipit her hoosie clean an fair, an she
fan twal pennies. An she geed till the market, an she bocht a kid.
An she said : — " Kid, kid, rin hame, leuk the hoose, an come again,
till I gedder a puckle sticks to my fair firie."
" Niver a lenth," said the kid, "will I rin hame, leuk the hoose,
an come again ; ye can dee't yersel."
An the wifie said to the dog : — " Dog, dog, bite kid ; kid winna
rin hame, leuk the hoose, an come again till I gedder a puckle sticks
to my fair firie."
" Niver a lenth," said the dog, " will I bite the kid ; the kid niver
did me ony ill."
" Stick, stick, ding dog. Dog winna bite kid, kid winna rin
hame," &c.
" Niver a lenth," said the stick, " will I ding dog ; dog niver did
me ony ill."
*' Fire, fire, burn stick; stick winna ding dog, dog winna bite kid,
kid winna rin," &c.
" Niver a lenth," said the fire, " will I bum the stick ; the stick
niver did me ony ill."
" Watter, watter, quench fire ; fire winna burn stick, stick winna
ding dog," &c.
* [iii. 1134, 1135.]
278 SOME DERBYSHIRE PROVERBS AND SAYINGS.
" Niver a lenth," said the waiter, " will I quench fire ; fire niver
did me ony ill."
" Ox, ox, drink watier ; waiter winna quench fire; fire winna burn
stick," &c.
" Niver a lenth," said the ox, " the waiter niver did me ony ill."
" Aix, aix, kill ox ; ox winna drink waiter ; watier winna quench
fire ; fire," &c.
" Niver a lenth," said the aix, " the ox niver did me ony ill."
" Smith, smith, smee aix ; aix winna kill ox; ox," &c.
" Niver a lenth," said the smith, " the aix niver did me ony ill."
" Rope, rope, hang smith ; smith winna smee aix ; aix winna," &c.
" Niver a lenth," said the rope, " the smith niver did me ony ill."
" Moosie, moosie, gnaw rope ; rope winna hang smith ; smith," &c.
Noo, a' this time the cattie wiz sittin i' the ingle-neuk singin a
sang till hersel.
■ So the wifie said : — " Bonnie cattie, gin ye wud tak moosie, I wud
gie you some fine milk an breed t' yersel."
So the cattie t' the moosie, an the moosie t' the rope, an the rope
t' the smith, an the smith t' the aix, an the aix t' the ox, and the
ox t' the watier, an the waiter t' the fire, an the fire t' the stick, an
the stick t' the dog, an the dog t' the kid, an the kid ran hame, leukit
the hoose, an cam again till the wifie gedderii a puckle sticks till her
fair firie.
Another version of the ending is : — An the kiddie ran ower the
brig o' the waulk-mill an broke her neck. Walter Gregor.
SOME DEKBYSHIRE PROVERBS AND
SAYINGS.
" If St. Paul be fine and clear,
It doth betide a happy year ;
But if that day it snow or rain,
Then will be dear all sorts of grain."
r
SOME DERBYSHIRE PROVERBS AND SAYINGS. 279
If the sun shines through the apple-trees on Christmas-day, the
year following will be a productive one.
Alluding to the wet usually prevalent about the middle of July, the
saying is—" St. Mary Magdalene is washing her handkerchief to go
to her cousin St. James's fair."
" Between the sickle and the scythe
What is bom will never thrive."
Bees.
" A swarm in May
Worth a load of hay.
A swarm in June
Worth a silver spoon.
A swarm in July
Not worth a fly."
" Derbyshire born,
Derbyshire bred,
Strong i' the arm,
And thick i' the head."
" Rain before seven,
Fine before eleven."
At Codnor Park there is a large pond believed never to fail.
" When Codnor's Pond runs dry,
The Lords may say good-bye."
The outside of Hardwick Hall has so many windows that it looks
like a lantern.
" Hardwick Hall,
More window than wall."
" Friday night's dreams, Sunday told.
Sure to come true however old."
The following Proverbs are common among the lower classes :—
Dirty grate makes dinner late.
Too much bed makes a dull head.
Watch pot never boils.
Experience makes fools wise.
280 SOME DERBYSniRE PROVERBS ANI> SAYINGS.
A fool's money is soon parted.
A foolish man lights his candle at both ends.
You never miss the water, till the well runs dry.
A spark may raise an awful blaze.
Never trouble trouble, till trouble troubles you.
On seeing crows flying : —
" One for sorrow,
Two for mirth,
Three for a wedding,
Four for a birth,
Five for a funeral.
Six for a dance.
Seven for old England,
Eight for France."
Said to be a very rare thing to see eight crows flying together.
Never pass under a ladder, if possible ; if obliged to do so, spit
three times and wish.
Very unlucky to burn evergreens.
Never burn a tooth without covering it with salt.
If the first lamb you see in the spring has its head turned towards
you, it forbodes good ; if its tail is towards you, evil.
Unlucky to spill salt, or to cross knives on the table.
" Help to salt, help to sorrow."
When any one- sneezes, say God bless you.
Always spit on money when given to you.
When you see a crow flying, bow to it, or ill-luck is sure to follow.
If you kill a black beetle (out of doors) it is certain to rain.
The first time you see the new moon, bow to it three times, and
turn over your money in your pocket, if you have any.
Always kill a devil's-hcad beetle, as one of them preceded Judas to
the garden where Our Lord was, on the night before the crucifixion,
and when near our Lord it turned up its tail, thus discovering him to
the betrayer. R. C. Hope.
TABULATION OP FOLK-TALES.
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TABULATION OF FOLK-TALES.
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NOTES AND QUERIES.
Folk-lore Terminology. — In the August number of Milusine^ M.
Gaidoz draws attention to tlic great importance of determining the
terminology of the science of comparative mythology. There can be
no doubt that this work is very much needed, but not more so, I
would venture to suggest, than the determination of the terminology
of the science of folk-lore. It will be gathered from this way of
putting it that I claim for folk-lore a distinct and separate existence
from " Comparative Mythology " ; and though I know that in most
minds, and I should judge in that of M. Gaidoz himself, the two
terms are synonymous, or nearly so, yet I would urge that the settle-
ment of this very question of terminology would set at rest all doubts
about this primary question. It seems a little curious that after six
years of existence for the Folk-Lore Society we should not yet have
satisfactorily settled the proper meaning of the term " Folk-lore."
Mr. Lang has over and over again protested against its misuse, but I
think that even his definition of it as a study of survivals does not
comprehend all the functions that the science of folk-lore properly
includes. I have been studying this question for some time past with
a view of writing an introduction to the science oj folk-lore, which is
now far advanced towards completion ; but the many difficulties and
the many differences of opiiiion on most subjects connected with the
study of folk-lore have made me hesitate to promulgate my own
opinion as one which should govern folk-lorists. Still there can be no
doubt that the subject wants taking up in this way ; and I shall bo
happy to lead off the discussion in these columns by printing my own
definition of folk-lore, if by so doing I can obtain the opinions of
other Members of the Society, and by. this means thrash the question
out.
Besides, however, the primary question as to the scope and meaning
of the science of folk-lore, there are several subsidiary points in folk-
lore terminology to settle. The Folk-Tale Committee was met at the
very outset by the difficulty of a standard title for stories which
belonged to one class — such as, we will say, the Cinderella class. All
286 NOTES AND QUERIES.
stories being variants of the Cinderella story should be known by some
standard title. Then again there is the terminology for incidents in
folk-tales. The incidents in folk-tales have been neglected, while the
form, plot, and construction have been studied for years. But we
cannot study the incidents of folk-tales until we get a proper termi-
nology. I should like to see compiled (and to get it done by co-
operation with Members of the Society, just as the tabulation is being
done) an index of folk-tale incidents; but such a task is hopeless
unless first of all a common terminology is agreed upon.
I have just thrown these few thoughts together with the ope that
by discussion we may arrive at something like a process of settlement ;
and if no one else comes forward with any definition I will gladly
commence with mine. G. L. Gomme.
Threading the Needle at Ripon Cathedral.— (^Ini^, p. 253.) —
There is a crypt beneath Ripon Minster which is believed by those
best competent to judge to be of early Saxon architecture. In this
crypt, connecting one part with another in a way not easy to describe
without a plan, is a passage raised above the ground. The late Mr.
John Richard Walbran, in a paper which he read before the Yorkshire
and Lincolnshire Architectural Societies on September 14, 1858, says
that " the easternmost niche in the north wall has, at some period
subsequent to its original construction, been perforated and enlarged
through the wall to the passage behind, so as to form that renowned
place of ordeal to which tradition tells -us that those ladies who loved
'not wisely but too well' were occasionally subjected The
purposes to which this very singular place has been successively
applied are not certainly ascertained, though there seems no doubt
but that originally it was intended to serve as a place of retirement,
humiliation, penance, and prayer. Camden was told, within memory
of the Reformation, that women were drawn through * the Needle' as
an ordeal of their chastity — the culprit being 'miraculously' detained ;
or, as Fuller wittily observed, * they pricked their credits who could
not thread the needle.' As far, however, as the contraction of space
was concerned, the frailest of the frail might have rioted in intrigue
unconvicted. A conspicuous reluctance to assume the necessary
prostrate position was, I apprehend, the real difficulty." — Reports of
NOTES AND QUEKIES. 287
Associated Architec. Societies^ 1859, pp. 82, 83. Cf. Walbran's Guide
to Ripon, 12th ed. 1875, p. 67. Edward Peacock.
Plax in Folk-lore. — {Ante» p. 254). — Perhaps the following extract
from my Flowers and Flower-lore ^ vol. i. p. 134, may throw light
on the subject. " We are told that it is customary in one part
of Germany for the bride to place flax in her shoes, that she may
never come to want. In another place she will tie a string of flax
around her left leg, in the belief that she will thereby enjoy the full
blessing of the marriage state." See also page 180 for the associa-
tion of this plant, with other branches of folk-lore. From Liddell
and Scott we learn that the word \ivov was used metaphorically to
signify the thread spun by the Fates, so that flax has long had a
mysterious association with the well-being of man. In fact, as Count
A. de Gubernates says : "Le lin est symbole de vie de vegetation facile
et abondante." Vide Mytliologie des Plantes, vol. ii. p. 199. It is one
of the famous springwurzel, whence we find it known iu Wiirtemburg
as springlein and schliessleiny both interesting words in this connexion.
Worksop. HiLDERic Friend.
Notes from Leland's Itinerary (Hearne).— At Kenchester Roman
money found there " the people cawUeth Dwarfes mony." — Vol. v.
p. 62. " The first river be side Tyue that I passid over was Clardue.
I saw ii hillettes, thorough the wich Clarduy passith, wher
they fable that a Gigant striding was wont to wasch his hondes, and
that Arture killid hym. The Dwellers say also that the Gigant was
buried therby, and shew the place." — Vol. v. p. 78. " To Borow
Hilles [from Burton Lazar] more than ii miles [it] is
duble dichid and conteinith within the Dishe to my estimation a iiii
score Acres To thes Borow Hilles every yere on Monday
after Whitesonday cum people of the Contery therabowt, and shote,
renne, wrastel, dawnce, and use like other Feates of exercyse." — Vol. v.
p. 100. " Mougreve Castelle stondith on a Craggy Hille, and on each
side of it is an Hille far higher then that whereon the Castelle stondith
on. The North Hille on the Toppe of it hath certen stones com-
munely cauUid Waddes Grave, whom the people there say to have
bene a Gigant and Owner of Mougreve." — Vol, i. p. 60.
Alice B. Gomme.
288 NOTES AND QUERIES.
Revival of Witchcraft in Ross-shire. — A correspondent sends us
the following: — The belief in witchcraft, which has never become
quite extinct in the more remote parts of the Highlands, has recently
been revived in a certain parish on the west coast of Eoss-shire.
Some time ago a party of gipsies, who had been encamped in the
locality in question, took the liberty of grazing their horses on pasture
belonging to a township of small tenants in the immediate neighbour-
hood of their camp. This unwarranted encroachment on their rights
the tenants resented, and drove away the obnoxious intruders, hag and
baggage, from the place. On taking their departure some of the
gipsies were heard to remark that the tenants might not be quite so
conservative of their pasture, which ere long they would have no cattle
to consume. At the time no notice was taken of this implied threat.
Soon after, however, three valuable cows belonging to one of the
tenants died one after the other in quick succession, suddenly and
under mysterious circumstances, while two of the other tenants lost a
cow each under similar circumstances. A respectable farmer, noted
in the district for uprightness and integrity of character, and who is
considered an authority in veterinary matters, had been called to see
one of the animals shortly before it died, and, having carefully examined
the beast, at once pronounced it to have been " witched," as the
symptoms were those of no known disease. On the strength of this
statement on the part of one who is looked on as an authority in such
matters, coupled with the ominous language made use of by the gipsies,
a considerable section of the community unhesitatingly attribute the
death of the cattle to the agency of witchcraft ! As a charm against
the evil influences at work one of the tenants, acting on the advice of
the initiated, had the door of his byre changed from one side of the
house to the other, but with what result remains to be seen. Pending
the eflBcacy of this charm a young man has proceeded to one of the
western isles, with the view of consulting a famous witch-doctor said
to be in practice there. As an indication of the prevalence of the
belief in witchcraft it may be stated that in the district in question
there are two witch-doctors residing within a distance of twenty miles
of each other. — Glasgow Herald, 28 July, 1884.
Glas"-ow. William Qeoroe Black.
THE PHILOSOPHY OF PUNCHKIN.*
N the first rule of this Society its object is defined as the
preservation and publication of popular traditions, super-
stitions, old customs, and other alHed matters. To such
objects the work of this and kindred societies is neces-
sarily limited. They can do but little in the way of collecting materials ;
they can do much in giving collectors encouragement, in securing a
permanent place for their results, and in supplying means of inter-
course between isolated workers in a common field. For the material
which it is desired to preserve needs delicate handling. It eludes the
grasp of those who seek it in official garb and magnify their office.
A Royal Commission may be empowered to record the whereabouts of
ancient monuments and to protect them from the hand of the restorer
and the ploughshare of the peasant, but the immaterial and ofttimes
more venerable relics of bygone customs, traditions, and beliefs, are
not to be thus secured. The illiterate who are their custodians will
show their treasures only where some common base of sympathy is
established; and whilst there remains a story to be taken down, a
superstition or outlying custom to be noted, we shall continue depen-
dent upon the curiosity, the circumspection, and the enthusiasm, un-
mixed with bias, of the individual. That the collectors of folk-lore
have not always suspected the importance of the material which they
gather with such zeal and patience is not without advantage. We
are all too apt to see the thing for which we look ; to find, like the
Empress Helena in her search for the True Cross, that for which we
seek. We may, with no intentional bias, pass the matter received
through the prism of our preconceived notions or theories of mythology
and history; so that when the collector is of the curious species only —
* A paper read before the Folk-Lorc Society.
Vol. 2.— Part 10. u
290 THE PHILOSOPHY OP PUNCHKIN.
without passion, without prejudice — the material reaches us uni'c-
fracted; unaflfected by what the astronomer calls " personal equation."
In the publicity which its records secure to such results is the
service of this Society best rendered. Now and again, working in the
spirit of Old Mortality, it may recover some mildewed MS. or forgotten
tome in which exist materials of priceless worth gathered from districts
whence now the screech of the locomotive-whistle has driven the
fairies ; materials by the recovery of which some missing pages in the
history of humanity's slow and toilsome upward career are replaced.
Thus regained and classified in order, customs, phrases, " wise saws,"
fireside tales, and nursery songs familiar to those of us whose childhood
was passed in the country, come back with added and newer mean-
ings, and that which terrified or amused our childhood becomes the
serious study and fruitful instnictor of our manhood in tracing the
zigzag course of human progress. That for which it was most prized
in the days of our fathers is now of no account ; that within it which
they passed by we secure as of permanent worth.
But whilst the Folk-Lore Society must be primarily a publishing
society, it does not exceed its province in now and then pausing in
front of the mass of material already gathered and asking what it all
means. Can that material be dealt with as the geologist, who,
detaching a fragment here and there from various strata, learns the
story of their structure and the conditions which placed them in their
several layers ? or who, dealing with the rocks en massey classifies the
several formations, determines their order and succession, and their
leading characteristics ? I think this twofold method is applicable to
the material of folk-lore ; it is ample enough for classification upon
some broad general principles, whilst its component parts are clear
enough in their structm*e to show what crude philosophy, science, and
theology are crystallised or fossilised within them.
To continue the parallel : as with the crust of the earth so with
folk-lore. The rocks, infinitely varied as they are, are compounded of
but few elementary substances ; the mass of folk-tales is reducible in
essential details to a few incidents. They are what the chemist terms
allotropic, as in the case of the diamond and charcoal, built up of the
same substances, but in such varying molecular arrangement that
THE PHILOSOPHY OF PUNCHKIN. '291
whilst the one is a priceless gem the other is " trodden under foot of
men." And in their identity of material a witness is brought to the
like behaviour and attitude of the mind at corresponding planes of
culture, to the like explanations of common phenomena which it
then gives.
In this view we do well, I think, on occasions when the members
assemble, to take stock, as it were, and inquire to what larger result
the labours of the student of folk-lore tend — what generalisations
may be deduced from the evidence which he has collected. An
attitude like this is possible only when we regard our mission as a
serious one ; when we recognise that there is some larger meaning than
lies on the surface of the material, some deeper thought at the heart
of it. So long as the folk-tale was looked upon as the vagrant of
fancy, sober treatment of it was not possible. But now that it, with
its allied forms of legend and tradition, are seen to be necessary
products of human imagination and speculation in their efforts towards
certitude, the study and comparison of its varied, yet, at centre, related
specimens, takes rank among the inquiries of our time to be prosecuted
on strictly scientific lines.
Guided by this spirit I venture to ask you to consider with me what
philosophy of man's in the past may possibly be extracted from a
group of allied stories not unfamiliar to the student of folk-tales, and
to which the name of Punchkin, as the title of one of the older
specimens, may be generically given. It will be convenient to present
an outline of the more prominent variants, and then, after indicating
how widespread are the several members of the group, suggest those
conclusions which it appears to me may legitimately be drawn from at
least one incident common to the whole.
In the story of "Punchkin," given in Miss Frere's Old Deccan
DaySy a Rajah has seven daughters, and, his wife dying when they
were quite children, he man-ied the widow of his prime minister. The
children had treated her harshly in her time of need, and to escape her
revenge they ran off to a jungle, where seven neighbouring princes who
were out hunting found them, and each took one of them to wife.
After a time the husbands again went hunting, and did not return.
So when the son of the youngest princess, who had also been enchanted
U 2
292 THE PHILOSOPHY OF PUNCHKIN.
5iw3,y, grew up, he set out in search of his mother and father and
uncles, and at last discovered that the seven princes had been turned
into stone by the magician Punchkin, who had shut up the princess
in a tower because she would not marry him. Recognising her son by
a ring, she plotted with him to feign agreement to marry Punchkin if
he would tell her where the secret of his life was hidden. Overjoyed
at her yielding to his desire, the magician told her that it was true he
was not as others. " Far, far away, hundreds of thousands of miles
from this, there lies a desolate country covered with thick jungle. In
the midst of the jungle grows a circle of palm-trees, and in the centre
of the circle stands six chattees full of water, piled one above another ;
below the sixth chattee is a small cage, which contains a little green
parrot ; on the life of the parrot depends my life, and if the parrot is
killed I must die." But, he added, this was not possible, because
thousands of genii " surround the palm-trees, and kill all who approach
the place." The princess told her son this, and he set forth on his
journey to the jungle. On the way he rescued some young eagles from
a serpent, and the grateful birds carried him until they reached the
jungle, where, the genii being overcome with sleep by the heat, the
eagles swooped down. " Down jumped the prince ; in an instant he
bad overthrown the chattees full of water, and seized the parrot, which
he rolled up in his cloak," then mounted again into the air, and was
carried back to Punchkin's palace. Punchkin was dismayed to see
the parrot in the prince's hands, and asked him to name any price he
willed for it ; whereupon the prince demanded the restoration of his
father and uncles to life. This was done. Then he insisted on
Punchkin doing the like to all whom he had thus imprisoned, when,
at the raising of the magician's wand, the whole garden became
suddenly alive.
" Give me my parrot I " cried Punchkin. Then the boy took hold
of the bird and tore oflf one of its wings ; and, as he did so, the
magician's right arm fell off. He then pulled off the parrot's second
wing, and Punchkin's left arm fell off: then he pulled off the legs,
and down fell the magician's right leg and left leg. Nothing remained
of him save the limbless body and the head ; but still he rolled his
eyes and cried " Give me my parrot ! " " Take your parrot, then,"
THE PHILOSOPHY OF PUNCHKIN. 293
cried the boy ; and with that he wrung the bird's neck, and threw it
at the magician, and, as he did so, Punchkin's head twisted round, and,
with a fearful groan, he died. Of course all the other characters
" lived very happily ever afterwards," as they do in the plays and the
novels.
In the stories of *' Chundun Rajah " and of " Sodewa Bai " (the
latter corresponding to the Cinderella group), in the same collection,
the dependence of life upon the retention or removal of a sacred
necklace which holds the soul is a main incident. When the ranee,
jealous of her husband's love for Sodewa Bai, asks her why she always
wears the same golden beads, she replies, — " I was born with these
beads round my neck, and the wise men told my father and mother
that they contained my soul, and that if any one else wore them I
should die." The ranee instructs her servant to steal the beads from
the princess while she sleeps ; whereupon she dies, but her body does
not decay, and in the end she is restored to life by the recovery of
her necklace.
A not unlike idea occurs in the story of " Truth's Triumph." The
children of a village beauty, whom the rajah had married, are changed
into mango-trees, to save them from the fury of the jealous ranee,
until the time of danger was passed.
In Miss Stokes's collection of Indian Fairy Tales we have
variants corresponding more closely to Punchkin. In " Brave
Hiralalbasa," a rakshas (the common name for demon, or ogre, but
sometimes used as a euphemism for protection) is induced by female
wiles, not unfamiliar to the daughters of Eve, to reveal the secret of
his life. " Sixteen miles away from this place is a tree ; round the
tree are tigers and bears, and scorpions and snakes ; on the top of the
tree is a very great flat snake ; on his head is a little cage ; in that
cage is a bird, and my soul is in that bird." By enchantment
Hiralalbasa reaches the tree and "took the little cage, and came
down again. Though the rakshas was far off he knew at once that
something had happened to his bird. Hiralal pulled off the bird's
right leg, and the rakshas's right leg fell off, but on he hopped on one
leg. Then the rajah's son pulled off the bird's left leg, and off fell
the rakshas's left leg, but still he went on towards his house on his
294 THE PIIILOSOniY OF TUNCHKIN.
hands. Then Hiruljil pnllcd off the bird's wings, and the rakslias's
two arms fell off. And then, just as the rakshas reached the door
of his house, Hiralal wrung the bird's neck, and the rakshas fell
dead."
In the tale of " The Demon and the King's Son," also from Miss
Stokes's collection, the prince falls in love with the monster's daughter,
who is dead all day and alive all night through her father's magic
power. The prince says to her, — " Suppose one day your father made
you dead, as usual, and that he was killed before he had brought you
to life, what would you do? You would always be dead then."
" Listen," she said ; " no one can kill my father." " Why not ?" said
the boy. " Listen," she answered. "On the other side of the sea
there is a great tree ; in that tree is a nest, in the nest is a maind (or
starling). If any one kills that maind, then only will my father die.
And if, when the maind is killed, its blood falls to the ground, a
hundred demons would be bom from the blood. This is why my
father cannot be killed." By the aid of a fakir the prince crossed the
sea, climbed the tree and took down the nest. " The demon, who'
was far away, knew it at once, and said to himself, ' Some one has
come to catch and kill me.' " He set out at once for the tree. The
prince saw him coming, so he wrapped the 7naind up in his handker-
chief, that no blood should fall to the ground. Then he broke off one
of its legs, and one of the demon's legs fell ofif. Still the demon came
on. Then he broke off the other leg, but the demon walked on his
hands. The boy saw him come nearer and nearer, so he wrung the
bird's head off, and the demon fell dead.
In the Rev. Behari Day's recently issued Bengali Folk-Tales under
the head of "Life's Secret," a rajah's favourite wife gives birth,
miraculously, to a boy, whose soul is bound up in a necklace in the
stomach of a boal-fish. In this instance, as in that of Sodcwa Bai,
the jewel is stolen, and while worn by the thief the prince is lifeless,
but he returns to consciousness with the recovery of his necklace.
Before passing from India one felt curious to know whether tales at
all corresponding to these exist in the Buddhist birth-stories. My
friend Dr. Rhys Davids informs mo that they do not, because the idea
of a soul, whether in the body or dwelling in something outside it, is
THE PHILOSOPHY OF PUNCHKIN. 295
quite foreign to the philosophy which the Jdtakas teach. The nearest
approach is when in one or two isolated cases the karma of a human
hcing is spoken of as immediately transferred to an animal.
Turning to the ITorseland tales, the one in most striking corre-
spondence with the Punchkin group is that of " The Giant who had
no heart in his body." This monster turns six princes and their wives
into stone, whereupon the seventh and only surviving son, Boots, sets
out to avenge their fate. On his journey he saves the lives of a raven,
a salmon, and a wolf ; and the wolf, having eaten his horse, compen-
sates Boots by carrying him to the giant's castle, where the lovely
princess who is to be his bride is confined. She promises to find out
where the giant keeps his heart ; and by blandishments and divers
arts known to the fair sex both before and since the time of Delilah
she worms out the secret. He tells her that " far, far away, in a lake
lies an island, on that island stands a church, in that church is a well,
in that well swims a duck, in that duck is an egg, and in that egg lies
my heart, you darling ! " Boots, taking fond farewell of the princess,
rides on the wolf's back to the island. Then the raven he had
befriended flies to the steeple and fetches the key of the church ; the
salmon, in like return for kindness, brings him the egg from the well
where the duck had dropped it. Then the wolf told him to squeeze
the egg, and as soon as ever he did so the giant screamed out.
" Squeeze it again," said the wolf ; and when the prince did so the
giant screamed still more piteously, and begged and prayed so prettily
to be spared, saying he would do all that the prince wished if he
would only not squeeze his heart in two. " Tell him if he will restore
to life again your six brothers and their brides you will spare his life,'*
said the wolf. Yes, the giant was ready to do that, and he turned the
six brothers into king's sons again and their brides into king's daugh-
ters. " Now squeeze the egg in two," said the wolf. With ques-
tionable morality, doing evil that good might come. Boots squeezed
the egg to pieces, and the giant burst at once.
Asbjornsen's " New Series " gives a variant in which a troll who
has seized a princess tells her that he and all his companions will
burst, as did the Heartless Giant, when there passes above them ** the
grain of sand that lies under the ninth tongue in the ninth head " of
296 THE PHILOSOPHY OF PUNCHKIN.
a certain dead dragon. Tlic grain of sand is found and passed OYor
thcni, wlien the troll and all his brood are destroyed.
In the Gaelic stories, for which we are indebted to the skill of an
early worker in this field, Mr. J. F. Campbell, that of the young
King of Easaidh Ruadh, locates the secret thus : " There is a great
flagstone under the threshold. There is a wether under the flag.
There is a duck in the wether's belly and an egg in the belly of the
duck, and it is in the egg that my soul is." In "the Sea Maiden "
there is a " great beast with three heads " which cannot be killed until
an egg is broken which is in the mouth of a trout, which springs out
of a crotv, which flies out of a hind, which lives on an island in the
middle of the loch.
In his valuable collection of Russian Folk-Tales^ which is
enriched by comparative notes, Mr. Ralston supplies some interesting
variants of Punchkin. Koshchei, called ** the immortal or deathless,*'
is merely one of the many incarnations of the dark spirit which takes
so many monstrous shapes in folk-tales. Sometimes his death — that
is, the object with which his life is indissolubly connected — does exist
within his body. In one story he carries off a queen, of whom her
three sons go in search one after the other. The elder two did not
return, so that the father was reluctant to part with Prince Ivan, the
youngest, but at last gave him his blessing, and sent him on his sad
eiTand. He at last discovers the house where his mother dwells, and
at the approach of Koshchei the mother hid away her son. With
the acute sense of smell characteristic of the race the monster sniffs
" the blood of a " Russian, and cries out, " Who has been with you?
Wasn't it your son? " " What are you talking about ? God bless
you ! You've been flying through Russia and got the Russian air up
your nostrils, that's why you fancy it's here," answered Prince Ivan's
mother, and then she drew nigh to Koshchei, addressed him in terms
of affection, asked him about one thing and another, and at last
said : ** Whereabouts is your death, O Koshchei ? " " My death,"
he replied, " is in such and such a place. There stands an oak, and
under the oak is a casket, and in the casket is a hare, and in the
hare is a duck, and in the duck is an egg^ and in the egg is my death."
After sundry adventures Prince Ivan gets hold of the egg^ loses
THE PHILOSOPHY OF PUNCHKIN. 297
it in the deep sea, recovers it, and takes it to his mother's. When
he got there they greeted each other lovingly, and then she hid him
again as before. Presently in flew Koshchei the deathless and said :
" Phoo ! phoo ! No Russian bone can the ear hear or the eye see,
but there's a smell of Russia here." " What are you talking about,
Koshchei ? There's no one with me," replied Prince Ivan's mother.
A second time spake Koshchei and said, " I feel rather unwell." Then
Prince Ivan began squeezing the eggj and therefore Koshchei the
deathless bent double. At last Prince Ivan came out from his hiding-
place, held up the egg and said, " There is your death, Koshchei
the deathless! " Then Koshchei fell on his knees before him, saying,
" Don't kill me, Prince Ivan, let's be friends ; all the world will lie at
our feet." But these words had no weight with Prince Ivan ; he
smashed the egg and Koshchei the deathless died.
In another story Koshchei is killed by a blow on the forehead,
inflicted " by the mysterious egg, that last link in the magic chain by
which his life is darkly bound." While upon this subject Mr. Ralston
quotes a Transylvanian-Saxon story concerning a witch's life, which is
a light burning in an egg inside a duck, which swims on a pond inside
a mountain, and she dies when it is put out. In the Bohemian story
of *'The Sun-horse," a warlock's strength lies in an egg which is
within the duck, which is within a stag, which is under a tree. A
seer finds the egg and sucks it. Then the warlock becomes as weak
as a child, " for all his strength had passed into the seer."
In Serbian folk-tales the strength of a baleful being who had stolen
a princess lies in a bird, which is inside the heart of a fox ; and, when
the bird was taken out of the heart and set on fire, that moment the
wife-stealer falls down dead, and the prince regains his bride.
From the same source we have the story of " The golden-haired
Twins," with an incident akin to that occurring in Punchkin. When
the stepmother of the king buries the two twins whom she had stolen
from their cradle there spring from the spot where they lie living trees
with golden leaves and golden blossoms. The king's admiration of
them aroused her jealousy, and she had them cut down; but in the
long run his golden-haired princes are restored to him.
Thus far my illustrations, which could be multiplied largely, have been
298 THE PHILOSOPHY OF PUNCHKIN.
drawn solely from the folk-tales of the wide-spread Indo-European races,
and we may pause to note that the likeness running through these, as
through other groups, is explicable on no theory of borrowing, and
finds its sole and rational explanation in the possession of a common
stock of folk-lore by the several ancestors of the Aryan race. After
allowing for local colouring and for changes incident to the lapse of
time, they are the variants of stories related to children in the Aryan
fatherland at a period historically remote, and moreover are told in
words which are phonetically aldn.
Turning for a moment or two to non- Aryan sources, we have the
Tatar story of the demon-giant who could not be slain, for he did not
keep his soul in his body, but in a twelve-headed snake carried in a
bag on his horse's back. The hero finds out the secret, kills the
snake, and then the giant dies too. In one of the Samoyed tales a
man had no heart in his body, and could recover it only on restoring
to life the mother of him whom he had killed. Then the man said to
his wife : " Go to the place where the dead lies ; there you will find
a purse, in that purse is her soul, shake the purse over her bones and '
she will fcome to life." The woman did as she was ordered, and the
mother of the Samoyed revived; then he dashed the heart to the
ground, and the man died.
More elaborate than these however are the stories from The
Thousand and One Nights, as those of the Princess Parizade and of
Seyf-el-Mulook and Bedua-el-.Temal. In this latter tale, when Seyf-
el-Mulook would flee with Dolet-Khdtoon, she replies, " By Allah I
we cannot do that. If we fled to the distance of a year's joiu-ney
this accursed wretch (speaking of Jinni) would bring us back imme-
diately, and he would destroy us." So Seyf-el-Mulook said, ** I will
hide myself in a place, and when he passeth by me I will smite him
with a sword and slay him." But she replied, " Thou canst not slay
him unless thou kill his soul." " And in what place," said he, "is his
soul ? " She answered, " I asked him respecting it many times, but
he would not confess to me its place. It happened however that I
urged him one day, and he was enraged against me, and said to me,
* How often wilt thou ask me respecting my soul ? What is the
reason of thy question respecting my soul? ' So I answered him,
THE PHILOSOPHY OF PUNCHKIN. 299
* O Halim, there remaineth to me no one but thco, except God, and I
as long as I live would not cease to hold thy soul in my embrace; and
if I do not take care of thy soul and put it in the midst of my eye
how can I live after thee ? If I knew thy soul I would take care of
it, as of my right eye.' And thereupon he said to me, * When I was
born the astrologers declared that the destruction of my soul would bo
effected by the hand of one of the sons of the human kings. I there-
fore took my soul and put it into the crop of a sparrow, and I impri-
soned the sparrow in a little box, and put this into another small box,
and this I put within seven chests, and the chests I put into a copper
of marble within the verge of this circumambient ocean ; for this part
is remote from the countries of mankind, and none of mankind can
gain access to it. Now 1 have told thee, and tell not thou any one of
this, for it is a secret between me and thee.' " By the aid of Suleyman's
seal-ring Seyf-el-Mulook raised the cofifer, and, taking forth the
sparrow from the little box, strangles it and it dies, the body of the
Jinni falling upon the ground a heap of black ashes. In some tales
not included by Galland or Lane, which Mr. Kirby of the British
Museum has translated and edited under the title of the New
Arabian JSights^ we have a variant of the above under the title of
" Joadar of Cairo and Mahmood of Tunnis." Joadar is bent on the
release of his enchanted betrothed, and this he achieves by also
strangling a sparrow, the ogre of the story being simultaneously
dissolved into a heap of ashes.
But the most venerable illustration of the leading idea in the
Punchkin group is found, although in more subtle form, in the
Egyptian tale of " The Two Brothers." This is contained in the
papyrus known as the d'Orbiney, first described by the Vicomte de
Roug^, and supposed to be of the fourteenth century b.c. Summaries
of this are given by Mr. Goodwin in Cambridge Essays for 1858, and
by Professor Mahafify in his Prolegomena to Ancient History, pp. 331 ff.
These summaries must, for the present purpose, be epitomised. There
were two brothers, Anepou and Satou, joined as one in love and
labour. One day Satou was sent to fetch seed-corn from Anepou's
house, when he found his brother's wife adorning her hair. She urged
him to stay with her, but he refused, promising however to keep her
300 THE PHILOSOPHY OF PUNCHKIN.
wicked invitation secret. When Anepoii returned at even, she, being
afraid, made herself to seem as a woman that had suffered violence,
and told lier husband exactly the reverse of what had happened. His
wrath was thereby kindled against Satou and he went out to slay him,
but Satou called on Phra to save him, and the god placed a river
between the brothers, so that when day dawned Anepou might hear
the truth. At sunrise Satou tells his story, and, mutilating himself,
he says that he will leave Anepou and go to the valley of the cedar,
in the cones of which he will deposit his heart, " so that if the tree be
cut his heart would fall to the earth and he must die." He then tells
Anepou how to find and revivify his heart after seven years, and
departs. Anepou going home slays his wife and casts her to the dogs.
In the second part of the story Satou marries a woman given him
by the gods, but her beauty causes the king to covet and possess her,
and she tries to get rid of Satou in vain. The king cuts the cedar
down and Satou dies, but Anepou finds his heart under a pod or cone
and revivifies it. Satou then assumes the form of the Apis bull and.
gets the chance of speaking to his wife. She, terrified, has the bull
slain, and from two drops of his blood spring two fine persea-trees on
the great staircase of the palace. One day one of the trees addresses
her, and she persuades the king to cut it down, when a chip of it flies
down her throat and she becomes the mother of a child who is really
Satou in a new form. " In due time the king flew up to heaven " ;
then Satou, as his successor, executes the queen and lives happily
with Anepou.
What, let us now ask, is the philosophy of Punchkin ? These folk-
tales, however romantic, — however, in their details, the product of
imagination that ran riot when feeling was dominant and the judgment
scarce awakened, when the first impressions of phenomena were un-
challenged by the intellect,— are not primary. 'Tis a far cry from the
primitive man to the first story-teller. And at the back of the world's
folk-tales lie the relics of barbaric notions concerning the nature of
man and his relation to external things which first supplied the motif
or raw material of the fiction. They are therefore the dramatic
presentment of that eaily groping when man was, as his savage repre-
sentatives extant arc, in a state of **fog" concerning the nature and
THE PHILOSOPHY OF PUNCHKIN. 301
relation of what is in the mind to what is outside it ; when he has
notliiug in his slender vocabulary corresponding to the terms '' objec-
tive " and '' subjective." Mr. Spencer aptly describes this low mental
stage in his Principles of Sociology : — " He does not think about
thought : neither his faculties nor his language suffice for this.
During early stages he merely thinks without observing that he
thinks ; and therefore never asks how he thinks and what it is which
thinks. His senses make him conversant only with things externally
existing and with his own body ; and he transcends his senses only
far enough to draw coiKrete inferences respecting the actions of these
things. An invisible, intangible entity, such as mind is inferred to
be, is a high abstraction unthinkable by him, and inexpressible by his
vocabulary." (P. 147.)
These tales thus embody that early system of thought, if system it
can be called, which confuses ideas and objects, illusions and realities,
substances and shadows; and which, often under the precarious life of the
savage, induced by bodily ailment, indigestion born of gorging, or
delirium born of starving, gives local habitation and a name to airy
nothings, spectres of diseased or morbid imagination. Modern works
on anthropology abound with illustrations of that confusion between
things and their symbols which causes men at low levels of culture to
regard the name as an integral part of oneself, so that it must not be
told, lest it be stolen, or lest the adversary work evil charms through
it. Still more noticeable is this confusion in the reluctance of bar-
barous folk to have their portraits taken, in the feeling that thereby
part of a man's self has gone ; the better the likeness the more has
virtue gone out of him. Catlin relates that he caused great commo-
tion among the Sioux by drawing one of their chiefs in profile.
** Why was half his face left out ? " they asked ; " Mahtocheega was
never ashamed to look a white man in the face." The chief himself
did not take offence, but Shouka the Dog taunted him, saying, — " The
Englishman knows that you are but half a man : he has painted but
one-half of your face, and knows that the rest is good for nothing."
This led to a quarrel, and in the end Mahtocheega was shot, the fatal
bullet tearing away just that part of the face which Catlin had not
drawn ! He had to make his escape, and the matter was not settled
302 THE PHILOSOPHY OF PUNCHKIN.
till both Shouka and his brother had been killed in revenge for Mah-
tocheega's death.
Such general statements as the foregoing concerning the low intel-
lectual stage of the savage may clear the way in showing how he will
interpret phenomena of a more complex order, and why he can inter-
pret them only in one way. The central idea of the Punchkin group
of stories is the dwelling apart of the soul or heart, as the seat of
life, from the body, in some secret place in some animate or inani-
mate thing, often an egg or a bird, sometimes a tree, flower, or
necklace, the fate of the one involving the fate of the other. Now,
stripped of all local additions and detail, this notion of the soul
existing apart from the body and determining its fortunes is the
survival of primitive belief in one or more entities in the body, yet not
of it, which may leave that body at will during life, and which per-
chance leaves it finally, to return not, at death.
It is now generally admitted that this belief is referable to the
interpretation of dreams by the barbaric mind as real events. They
are of the precise character to excite and sustain that feeling of
mystery which attends every endeavour of man to interpret the
meaning of his surroundings. Whilst for us they fill an empty
moment in the telling, albeit now and again nourishing such remains
of superstition as cling to the majority of us, they are to the savage
as solid as the experiences of his waking moments, true not only
" while they last," but for ever aftenvards. The limits of his lan-
guage only accentuate the confusion within him when he tries to tell
what he has seen, and heard, and felt, and where he has been, for
the speech cannot transcend the thought, and therefore can represent
neither to himself nor to others the difference between the illusions of
the night and the realities of the day. The dead relations and friends
who appear in dreams and live their old life, with whom he joins in the
battle or the chase, with whom, the toils over, he sits down to feast,
not like the Psalmist in the presence of his enemies, but on succulent
slices of the enemies themselves ; the foes with whom ho struggles ;
the wild beasts from whom he flees, or in whose grip he feels himself ;
the long distances he travels to dream-lands beyond and above — are all
real, and no " baseless fabric of a vision." The inference drawn there-
THE PHILOSOPHY OF PUNCHKIN. 303
from is clear. Besides that waking self of which the savage is hazily
conscious there must be another self, which, roaming the world while
the body moves not, sees the things that are dreamed. Daily expe-
rience, if indeed it has not created the belief in this phantom-self, this
ghost-soul, is ever confirming it. There are the suspensions of con-
sciousness witnessed in swoon, apoplexy, catalepsy, and other forms of
insensibility ; there are the phenomena of shadows, of reflection, of
echoes ; whilst the analogies noticed between men and animals enlarge
the belief in another-self to a world-wide doctrine of souls in the lower
animals, indeed, of souls vegetal as well.
This is the philosophy which, I believe, lies at the heart of the
Punchkin tales. The passage of the life -principle from princess or ogre
to casket or to parrot is easy where imagination creates fellowship not
only between man and brute but between man and lifeless things ;
while in the crediting of these with life, with power to change their
form and nature, lies the germ of those more elaborate theories of
transmigration and metempsychosis which have been developed among
more or less civilised peoples.
Whether one be right or wrong in this interpretation of what seems
the central idea crystallised in Punchkin and its variants, one cannot
be at fault in claiming serious treatment for the folk-tales of the world.
In so far as they aid us in determining what was the intellectual stage
of man in the childhood of the race, and how far it finds correspond-
ences in the intellectual stage of existing barbaric races, they are to
be included in that study of myth which is neither more nor less than
the study of the mental and spiritual history of mankind.
Edward Clodd.
304
FOLK-TALES OF INDIA.
Translated from the Pali Jataha, oi' Booh of Birth-Stories, edited by
Prof. Fausboll, of Copenhagen,*
DpAMMADDHAJA JATAKA.f
The Holy Crow.
N days long gone by, when Brahmadatta reigned at Benares,
the Bodhisat was reborn among the bird kind. When
he was grown up he had about him a retinue of birds,
and Hved on an island in the middle of the ocean. On
a time some merchants, residents of the Kasi country, were sailing
over that ocean with a foreign crow on board, when their vessel was
wrecked in mid-ocean. The foreign crow took refuge on the aforesaid
island and thought to itself, " I'll act craftily towards this assemblage
of birds, and so manage to eat both their eggs and young ones."
Whereupon he flew down into the midst of the birds, and, with open
mouth, stood on the ground on one leg. " Who are you, sir ? " asked
the birds. *' I am a saint," replied the crow. " Why do you stand
on one foot ? " said they. The crow made answer, " Were I to put
both feet down the earth (on account of my sanctity) would not bo
able to support me." " But why," asked the birds, " do you stand
with your mouth wide open ? " The crow replied, " Because I eat no
* The Joitaka Book is a very ancient collection of Buddhist fables, which,
professing to have been told by Gotama Buddha, narrate his exploits in the 550
births through which he passed before attaining enlightenment or Buddhahood.
For the relation of these tales to Indo-European folk-lore generally, consult Dr.
Rhys Davids's Buddhist Birth- Star iis (Triibner and Co.) and the translator's
article on " The Book of Birth-Stories," Contemporary Ri-virn; May, 1881.
t Jataha Book, vol. iii. No. 384, p. 267. The Bi/ara Jataha (to be given in
the next part) contains a similar story ot a " Jackal and Rats."
FOLK-TALES OP INDIA. 305
other food, but merely drink in air." When he had said this he
thus addressed the birds : ** I'll give you good advice, listen to me."
By way of exhortation he spake the following gdtha : —
" walk in virtue's ways, my friends,
Would ye your highest good secure I
Here may the virtuous happy be
And bliss hereafter sure enjoy."
Then the birds, not aware that the crow said this only in order to
deceive and eat them, praised him in the following gdtha : —
" blessed bird is this indeed,
Adorned with virtue's noblest gifts !
On one foot stands he all the day.
And teaches us the law divine."
The birds, having the fullest confidence in that wicked crow, before
they went in search of food said to him, " Since, sir, you take no
special food but only feed upon air, perhaps you'll be good enough to
look after our eggs and young ones." " I'll do that," said he. As
soon as they had gone the worthless crow ate his bellyful of eggs and
young brood. Before they returned he put himself straight (as if
nothing had happened), and, as before, stood on one leg with his mouth
wide open. When the birds came back and saw not their young ones
they made a great outcry. " Who on earth can have eaten them ? "
they wondered. Not for a moment did they suspect that this holy
crow had done it. But one day the Bodhisat thought to himself,
** Formerly we had no accidents here with regard to our eggs and
young ones, but since this outlandish crow came here we have not
been without some misfortune. I must endeavour to see if he is at
the bottom of the mischief and expose him." The Bodhisat pretended
to go with the other birds in search of food, but stayed behind and
remained concealed. When the crow felt assured that the birds were all
gone, he flew up and devoured both eggs and young ones. Returning
to his former position he stood on one leg with his mouth open. When
the birds came back, their leader called them together and said, '< To-
day I have found out the destroyer of your young ones. I actually
saw that wicked crow eating them, therefore now seize him." Having
brought up all the flock of birds and surrounded the crow, the chief
Vol. 2.— Part 10. x
306 FOLK-TALES OF INDIA.
said, " If he tries to escape yon must hold him firmly." Then he
spake the following gdtlia : —
" On trust yo took this crow's good deeds,
Without due proof ye sang his praise.
Good things the vile crow speaks with tongue,
Yet do his deeds his words belie.
The smooth in words, but hard in heart.
Like snake in grass doth hidden lie ;
Before men's eyes he virtue flaunts,
And blinds the eyes of foolish folk.
With beak and wings, and eke with feet,
Come strike and slay this caitiff crow.
As warning to all hypocrites.
With us to live he is unfit."
Thus having spoken the old bird himself now sprang up and with
his beak struck the crow on the head ; the rest with beak, feet, and
wings beat him, and in that very place he came to an untimely end.
The KaccAni JItaka.*
The sorrows of a Mother-in-law who thought that Justice was dead,
and made Offerings to its Manes.
In days gone by, when Bralimadatta reigned at Benares, there lived
a certain young man who came of a good family and was virtuously
disposed. On the death of his father he became his mother's guar-
dian angel ; he took the greatest care of her, attended to all her
wants, performed for her the most menial oflBces, and provided her
with suitable and nourishing food. " My dear," said his mother to
him one day, '< there are other duties pertaining to the master of the
house (besides attending to me) ; pray get a wife of the same caste
as yourself; she'll take care of me, and you will then have time to
attend to your own afifairs." To which he replied, " Mother, dear, I
am looking after my own interests and happiness in caring for you.
Who else, think you, will have the same solicitude for you as I ? "
" That's all very well, my son," said she, " but you ought to do some-
thing to promote the welfare and prosperity of your family." He
♦ Jdtaka Book, vol. iii. No. 417, p. 422.
FOLK-TALES OF INDIA. 307
replied, " I want not to be troubled with family cares, so I'll e'en
watch over you now, and after your death I'll turn monk." The
mother did not make her son change his mind, nor gain his con-
sent, without much importunity. At last her wish was gratified by
her son's bringing home a wife, who, like himself, was respectably con-
nected, and the old mother continued to live with her son and
daughter-in-law. The young wife (not quite satisfied with this
arrangement) bethought herself, " My spouse is very attentive to his
mother, so (to humour him) I'll wait zealously upon her."
The husband was much pleased with his wife's behaviour and
zealous attention to his mother, and brought her also numerous
little dainties and delicacies as marks of his approval. Then she said
to herself, " My husband keeps a good table both for me and his
mother; I expect he finds this expensive and must be anxious indeed
to get rid of the old dame ; I'll devise some means to make her leave
the house." Bent upon this she said to her spouse, " Husband, when
you are away your mother abuses me." To this he made no reply.
" I'll stir up this old woman," quoth she, " and make her disagreeable
to her son." From that time forth when she fed her mother-in-law
she gave her the gruel too hot or too cold, with too much salt or none
at all in it. " My dear," said the old lady, " you've made it too hot
and too salty." Then the other fills up the bowl with cold water.
" Now it's too cold and not salt enough ! " she cries. Again an altera-
tion is made. " It's too hot and too salty now," says she. She made
a great noise (about it when her son came home), saying, " Who on
earth will have the patience to put up with such a careless creature ? "
Another time the naughty young wife made the bath-water too hot,
and poured it down the old mother's back. " You've scalded my back,
child I " she cried. Then the other added cold water. " Now youVe
made it too cold," says she. " Oh, what are you about?" she cries;
" it's too hot now." Again she shrieked out, " You nasty thing ! now
you've made it icy cold." Whereat she asks her neighbours whether
any one but herself would put up with such disrespectful treatment.
On another occasion the mother-in-law complains that her bed
swarms with fleas, whereupon the other brings out the bed and beats
her own over it (and sends another lot of fleas into it, and so increases
x2
308 FOLK-TALES OF INDIA.
the pest). The bed is put back into its proper place, and the old lady
is informed that it has been well beaten; but on going to rest
she soon found a worse state of things than before, and she passed
the whole night sitting up, like an eminent devotee, almost eaten
up by the double set of fleas. *' 0, my dear I " said she to her
daughter-in-law, " all night long I was bitten by those fleas ; not a
wink of sleep did I get for them." " Well," replied the other,
" 1 gave your bed a good beating yesterday, more than once too."
Then she muttered to herself, " that some one would relieve me of
waiting upon this disagreeable old thing ! " Then the naughty
daughter-in-law determined to set the son against his mother, so she
began to spit and do other nasty things about the place, and scatter
grey hairs all over the house. The husband, on seeing this, wanted
to know who had been guilty of such filthy tricks. "It's your
mother," said the wife ; " you must make her stop this." Talking in
this way she soon brought about a quarrel. " I can't live in the
same house with such an old hag," said she to her man ; " you must
keep either her or me, for only one of us can stop here." After
listening to his wife's version of the affair he decides that his mother
is at fault, so he says to her, " Mother, I find that you are continually
stirring up strife in this house ; you must go away, and choose some
other place you please to live in." She took him at his word and left
the house in tears. Hiring herself to a family Idndly disposed towards
her, she barely managed to get a living. After the departure of the
old woman the daughter-in-law found herself likely to become a
mother, and she goes about telling her husband and gossips, ** When
that witch was here there were no signs of my having a child, now it
is otherwise." In the course of time she gave birth to a son, and said
to her husband, " While your mother was living with us here I had
no child, but now I have one. You may indeed know by this that she
was a witch and brought us ill luck." When the old woman heard
that her daughter-in-law had borne a son, shortly after she was turned
out of house and home, she thought, " Surely in this world justice is
dead ; for, if justice be not dead, she who beat and cast out the old
mother would neither have a son nor be living in ease and comfort, so
I'll offer to Justice the food due to its departed shades."
FOLK-TALES OF INDIA. 309
One day she took tila-meal, rice, a small cooking-pot, and a spoon,
and went to that part of the cemetery where the bodies are left to rot
(uncremated), and there with three human skulls she made an oven
and kindled a fire under it. Then she went to the tank, bathed her
head, washed her clothes, and returned to the oven. There she let
down her hair and began to wash the rice. At that time the Bodhisat
was Indra, the king of the gods. He, at that moment, for Bodhisats
are indeed ever on the alert, looking down on the world, saw that
woe-begone woman, who thought that " Justice was dead," and was
therefore desirous of presenting to it the food offered to the manes.
" To-day I'll let her see my power," said he. Disguised as a brahman
he appeared to her in the high road and stood before her as she was
stepping aside to let him pass and said, " Surely, mother, you are not
going to cook food in a cemetery. What will you do there with meal
and boiled rice ? " By way of beginning a conversation he uttered the
following gdtha : —
" O clothed in white, with hair so dank and long,
O clean Kaccani say what means this pot,
This meal so fine, and rice you wash with care ;
On whose account is all this food prepared ? "
Then she answers his question in the following gdtha : —
" This meal you see, well-cooked shall be I trow,
But not for my own use, O brahman learned.
Just law is dead, its ghost I'll now appease.
And offer here the food its shades demand."
Indra then replies : —
" Your duty do, when once what's right you've leiirnt.
Who says to thee, I pray, that ' Law ' is dead ?
Of matchless might the * Thousand-eyed ' yet lives ;
He just and even-handed is forsooth."
On hearing this the other makes answer : —
" Full well I know, no doubts here trouble me.
The ' Law ' is dead, O brahman wise and true.
The wicked live in peace and bliss on earth.
For she who ban-en was, and me expelled,
Is now the joyful mother of a child.
She lords it now o'er all the house I ween,
While I an outcast live and woman lone."
310 FOLK-TALES OF INDIA.
Then the god replies : —
** In truth I live, who says I'm dead doth lie 1
On thy account I pay my visit here.
She, that did bear a son., ill-treated thee ;
Her with her bairn I'll quick to ashes turn."
The woman having heard this exclaims, " For shame ! why speakest
thou thus ? I would, were it possible, do my best to make my grand-
son live for ever." Then she utters the following gdtha ;—
" If good it seems to thee, O lord of lords,
On my behoof to come, then grant my wish.
My son, his wife, and self, with grandson dear,
In one house let us dwell at peace for aye."
Then Indra makes answer : —
" Have here thy wish, Kaccani, fond and true;
No wrong thou'lt do, though others treat thee ill.
Go join thy son at once and all thy kin,
And live at home with those thou lov'st so well."
And now having thus spoken, Indra, by his divine power, stood in
the air arrayed in all his glory, and addressed the old wife: "Kaccani,
fear not ! By the exercise of my mighty power I'll cause thy son and
his wife to meet thee on the road and to sue for thy forgiveness.
They will receive it and go back in peace. Live vigilantly." When
he had thus spoken he returned to his own realms. Then the young
couple, moved by Indra*s divine power, recollected the old mother's
good qualities. " Where's our mother ? " they inquired of the
villagers. " She's gone in the direction of the cemetery," said they.
On hearing this they went in search of her, calling out " Mother 1
mother I " While on the way to the cemetery they espied her, forth-
with fell at her feet, and propitiated her with these words : "O mother,
pardon our ofifence." She forgave them, and moreover caught up her
little grandson and embraced him. So they went home the best of
friends, and from that time forward lived together in perfect harmony.
The following is the Buddha's verse : —
" This old Kaccani true and her son's wife
In perfect peace do dwell all in one house.
Both son and grandson wait on her full well,
By Indra's will and by his power divine."
( To he continued.')
3U
FOLK-LOEE TERMINOLOGY.
HE question raised in the last number of the Journal by
Mr. Gomme is one of great importance. It is expedient
that a precise and authoritative definition should be forth-
coming both of the word folk-lore itself and of the chief
terms usually employed by folk-lorists.
According to Rule iN'o. 1 of our Society, our object is " the pre-
servation and publication of popular traditions, legendary ballads,
local proverbial sayings, superstitions and old customs, and all
subjects relating to them." There would, therefore, be warrant in
affirming that folk-lore is the study of popular traditions, &c. &c.
But does the term as commonly employed bear such a wide significa-
tion ? and should it, if strictly employed, bear such a narrow one ?
Both questions must, I think, be answered in the negative. Such a
definition as I have indicated would, we instinctively feel, be wanting
both in scope and precision. I would venture to define the term as
follows : — " Folk-lore is anthropology dealing with primitive man."
I do not include biology in anthropology. Biological phenomena are
the same in man as in all other animals ; psychological phenomena,
on the other hand, are undoubtedly different. Anthropology, the
science of man, confines itself legitimately to what is special to man.
With this exclusion, however, I use the word anthropology in its
widest sense. One other word in my formula requires itself to be
defined — the word '' primitive "; I use this somewhat loosely,
not as designating rigidly and precisely the absolute first stage of
culture, but nevertheless an essentially low stage, the dominant
characteristic of which is that in it all knowledge is at once empirical
and traditional. If we examine ourselves closely, we find that next to
312 FOLK-LORE TERMINOLOGY.
nothing of our store of knowledge has been acquired either empiri-
cally or traditionally; on the contrary, the whole tendency of our
education has been to replace in our minds the impressions derived
from our senses and the facts gathered from folk-tradition, by con-
ceptions due to the deliberate and trained exercise of reason. We are
" civilised men"; the vast majority of our fellows are in this sense not
civilised. Using the word very roughly, the Murri, the Maori, the
Aztec, the Dorsetshire hind, may all be said to be in a " primitive "
stage, and the study of man in such a stage is folk-lore.
If this is so, folk-lore must, if the study is to be rendered practicable,
be split up into different branches, each of which will correspond to
a section of anthropology dealing with civilised man. I would suggest
some such division as follows : —
(1) Folk-belief, corresponding . to the study of religion and phi-
losophy, and embracing every form and manifestation of popular faith.
(2) Folk-wont, corresponding to the study of law and institutions.
(3) Folk-leechdom, corresponding to the study of medicine.
(4) Folk-tradition, corresponding to the study of history.
(5) Folk-fancy, the study of the folk-tale, the folk-song, the folk-
play.
(6) Folk-wit, the study of proverbs, riddles, jests, local sayings, and
quips.
These last two classes may be grouped together in one, and called
Folk-literature.
(7) Folk-craft, corresponding to the study of art and industry.
(8) Folk-speech, corresponding to the study of philology, grammar,
rhetoric, and metre.
I should prefer another term for No. 4, folk-tradition, but can think
of no other.
It will be seen that I give a very much wider scope to the word
folk-lore than is usual, and that I look upon as legitimately belonging
to it subjects with which the Society has never dealt. I feel some
doubt about my class 8. If the study of speech be really, as many
philologists hold, a physiological rather than a psychological science,
it should be excluded on the same ground upon which I have already
excluded biology. In any case it may be practically excluded, as its
FOLK-LORE TERMINOLOGY. 313
interests are already well cared for by active and capable workers.
But the Society should, I maintain, look upon the other seven classes
as its province. If mine, or any equally far-reaching definition, be
adopted, an authoritative statement to that effect should be made, and
the Society should press upon all Members the importance of only
using the term in the sense stated, and should insist upon their doing
so in all communications addressed to the Journal.
If my definition be good, it is, of course, absurd to speak of folk-
lore and comparative mythology as being synonymous. At the most
it can be urged that folk-belief and comparative mythology touch
each other at a great many points, a fact which by no means neces-
sitates the confounding together of the two studies. The relation
between them may be stated thus : all, or nearly all, the facts of
comparative mythology are to be found in folk-belief in solution;
a great many facts of folk-belief are to be found in comparative
mythology crystallised. The facts are essentially the same in both
cases, but the one study deals with them at one, the other at another
stage. It is when they have become at once rigid and systematised
by passing through the hands of an hierarchical class, yet capable of
development by falling under the artistic influence of the craftsman
and the philosophic influence of the thinker, that comparative
mythology has to do with them ; before then they are but a portion
of folk-belief. The two studies thus go hand-in-hand, and cannot be
carried on at all without perpetual reference from one to the other.
With respect to terminology, I do not think I can do better than
reprint the following notes, originally printed for use of Members of
the Folk-Tale Committee alone : —
" There is no exact English equivalent for the German word Sage ;
neither ' myth ' nor * tradition ' conveys the full meaning. Sage
enters in German into a number of compound words, such as Sagforrriy
a term which comprehends every species of mythic expression; Sagwis-
senschaft, for which we only have in English the clumsy * comparative
mythology ' or * storyology,' neither of which is adequate ; Sagzug,
which takes in the idea of our ' incident,' and a great deal more, as
it denotes not only separate parts of the action but also the pictorial
features, e.g.j the hammer of Thor is a Sagzug, just as much as his
314 FOLK-LOBE TERMINOLOGY.
casting it at the Midgard snake. The Sagzug is the unit of a Sag-
gliederung, and several SagzUge combine into a Sage (in its more
restricted sense), which may bo defined as the story of the adventures
of a god or hero. Many Sagen clustering around one person form a
SagJcette^ and the connection of several such Sagketten a Sagkreis
(cycle). The Sagschatz (Sagtreasure) of a people comprehends the
entirety of Sagkreisen, Sagketten^ independent Sagen, and independent
SagzUge. Thus, the Odysseus Sage, viewed as a whole, is made up of :
the Sagkette of Odysseus' adventures before Troy; the Sagkette of his
wanderings; the Sage of the punishment of the wooers; whilst it is
a member of the Trojan Sagkreis, and a portion of the Hellenic
Sagschatz.
** Other compounds of the Sage follow: Sagbildung, Sagentwickel-
ung, Sagverwandlung, Sagumgestaltung, Sagverwandtschaft, Saggat-
tung, Sagstofif, Saggotter or -helden, Weltsage, Gottersage, Heldensage >
Ortssage, Cultussage, Sagenmasse, Sagenhaft — all of which have in
German a definite and precise meaning, and to scarcely any of which
is there an exact English equivalent. It is necessary, however, if'
folk-lore is to be treated scientifically, that the ideas contained in the
German words given above should find expression in English. In
some cases this can perhaps best be done by borrowing words from
comparative philology or the natural sciences.
" The precise equivalent of the German word mdrchen should be
fixed. The English term * folk-tale ' has at once a wider and a more
limited meaning, e.g., it would be used of many jest-tales which the
Germans would range under the heading * Schwank ' (another word
for which there is no recognised English equivalent), and it would not
be used of the Odyssey tales, many of which are genuine mdrchen.
The German Thierm&rchen (story in which the characters are animals)
has likewise no English equivalent, our word ' fable ' denoting quite a
diflferent species of composition. Another German word which calls
for precise translation is the already mentioned * Schwank.' This is
the more necessary, as J. G. v. Hahn divides the whole of what we
call folk-tales into ' Marchen,' and * Schwiinke,' a division coitc-
sponding in the main to Mr. Ralston's * mythological ' and * non-
mythological * classes (a terminology which has the defect in my eyes
FOLK-LORE TERMINOLOGY. 315
of begging the question whether any of these tales be ' mythological '
in the strict sense of that word or no).
" J. G. V. Hahn looks upon Mdrchen and ScTiwank as organically
different forms of expression, the first being a variety of the Sagform,
the latter not ; and conclusions drawn from a study of the one class
being in no way applicable to the other. The main difference between
the two classes is stated by him to be as follows : a mdrchen presents
a complete action, and is an organic whole; its tendency is edifying,
and the requirements of poetical justice are strictly preserved, what-
ever cause of offence may be given to modem ideas by the moral
conduct of the actors. In the Schwanh, on the other hand, the action
is of secondary importance, the presentment of a comic motif being
the main point. Its tendency is humorous, and poetical justice is
disregarded. It is heard with pleasure by men, whilst the mdrchen's
true home is where women and children assemble. It will be seen
therefore that an exact definition of these two words will in itself be
an important contribution to classification."
I would make one suggestion as far as the word myth is concerned.
Among the Members of the Society workers on the New English
Dictionary are doubtless to be found. Will not some of these come
forward and work out in these pages an exhaustive lexicographical
account of the word ? This will show better than anything else the
chaotic variety of meanings attached to the word, and will, at the
same time, furnish materials for a fresh definition, which, it is to be
hoped, may become the standard one. I hold by the definition I gave
in the fourth volume of the Folk-Lore Record, p. 39 : a myth embodies
in human form primitive man's conception of a non-human action,
until a better one is forthcoming, and I should never use the word
save in that sense.
The above remarks will, I hope, serve as a starting-point for a
fruitful discussion. Alfred Nutt.
316 FOLK-LORE TERMINOLOGY.
As an instance of the necessity for some decision as to what folk-
lore really aims at, I would refer to the following letter in the Library
Journal of August 1884: —
" The Place of Folk-Lore in a Classification. — A Problem, by C. A.
Cutter. — I have a division Legends, under Literature, and I had put
in a division Folk-lore under Religions. It would be by no means easy
to say of some books whether they should go in the one or the other.
But I have long been dissatisfied with this classing, though I find
others have adopted the same. Mr. Dewey, for instance, in his index,
refers from Folk-lore to Comparative mythology, Greek and Roman myth-
ology, Norse mythology ; Mr. Perkins refers to Mythology in general.
Oriental, Classical, Scandinavian, German, blank; Mr. Smith, to
Belles-lettres, division i^?c<2*ow,'sub-division Folk-lore, fairy tales, nursery
rhymes, &c., adding a reference to Comparative mythology. But there is
much in folk-lore that is not religion or literature. There is much medi-
cine and natural history, and a good deal that illustrates manners and
customs and sports. Folk-fore is the philosophy, the religion, the
science, and the literature of the people ; of the uninstructed, the un-
trained, the blundering, the confused. It is unphilosophical philosophy,
superstitious religion, unscientific science, and unwritten literature
Why should its science be put under religion, or its religion and
science under literature, or its natural history under philosophy?
Why should it be put in any class ? Why should it not be a class by
itself ? And, if it is allowed an independent standing, it should come,
since like Lord Bacon it takes all knowledge to be its province, not
in any of the six great divisions, but in what I have called Generals
and Preliminaries, where the Encyclopaedias and books of " universal
erudition " are to go. If it were to be put under one of the main
classes, I might present the claims of Primitive culture as a division
of Anthropology, itself a division of the compound class Zoology, or of
Antiquities, and Manners and Customs, one of the side historical
sciences. I think I have given a sufficient variety of choice ; but
perhaps the reader can add some other place."
This, it appears to me, sets forth the practical inconvenience of the
present uncertainty. G. L. Gomme.
317
NOTES AND QUERIES.
Round about our Coal Fire. — In a tract of 1740 recently re-
printed by Messrs. Fisher Unwin, it is related how the judges and
benchers on Candlemas Day performed a very curious ceremony,
which included dancing round the fire and singing an old song. The
Gentleman's Magazine, 1734, p. 103, calls it an " old French song."
Wynne, in his Eunomus : or Dialogues on Law, &c. 1774, vol. iv.
p. 107, says "the ancient song." Would any reader of the Journal
tell me where I can find the words of this song^ or where, other than
the authorities I have quoted, I can find a description of the cere-
mony. G. L. GOMME.
Mr. Nutt's Paper on Irish Mythology. — In the June number of
the Journal, p. 180, Mr. Nutt remarks that M. de Jubainville has
taken no notice of O'Curry's interpretation of Cromm Cruach (bloody
worm or maggot). The word should be written Cruim, and is feminine.
As the text in the Book of Leinster and elsewhere shows that cromm
is used as a masculine word, the meaning of " worm " is untenable.
He is also called cromm crin, "withered cromm." — L.L. 213^.
In the next page Mr. Nutt expresses his doubts as to the historical
existence, among others, of Fionn and Oisin. There is a passage in
the Booh of Leinster, though I have unfortunately lost the reference,
which inferentially bears him out. It states that with one exception
the Feini left no descendants. As they were considered to be a very
numerous body, they could, therefore, hardly have been mortals.
J. Abercromby.
Maypoles. — I was passing through the village of Wellow, Notts, a
day or two ago, and was attracted by the appearance of a very tall
pole in the centre of the village-green. It would appear to be sixty
or more feet in height, and had cross-bars, three in number, at
inteiTals near the top. I found it was a real Maypole, and that the
present one, which had been standing about a quarter of a century,
318 NOTES AND QUERIES.
replaced the old one which had become rotten and tottering. Thus it
is in the old succession, and not merely a new whim. Many of the
people remember the day when the old customs of dancing round the
pole, climbing it when greased, and other games were in full vigour.
Wellow and the neighbourhood is famous for the age which its
inhabitants attain, as well as for the fact that it is in close proximity
to Sherwood Forest, with its wealth of traditionary and historic lore.
I am told that a Maypole also stood, not many years ago, at another
Tillage called Famsfield, only a few miles distant, situated near the
cathedral town of Southwell, but this had never been replaced. I
should be glad to know if a list of standing village Maypoles has ever
been drawn up, and, if not, whether Members would kindly supply
reliable information on the subject. Hilderic Friend.
Worksop.
Some Chinese Superstitions. By the Rev. J. E. Walker, Shan-
Wu, China. — In China every Foo city is supposed to have two
pagodas. In the city of Foo-chow one of the pagodas is situated
about a quarter of a mile to the north-east, and the other as far to the'
north-west, of the south gate. I once asked a coolie what these
pagodas were for ; he answered, " To pin down the loong. In the
ground," he said, " is a loong ^ or dragon, and if he were not pinned
down he might move about, and give rise to prodigies." I put the
same question to a literary man, and he replied, " They are the homes
of the loong ; and," he continued, " the two wells just inside the south
gate are his eyes, while the two moats outside the gate are his feelers
or whiskers." The loong^ or dragon, as it is commonly translated, is
to the Chinese nation all that the eagle is to us, and a great deal
more. It is a mysterious, fabulous creature — in many respects like
the dragon of Western fables, but far surpassing it. Not only
supernatural, but almost divine qualities are attributed to it. It is
intimately associated with many of the mo«t ancient superstitions of
China ; among these is the foong-shooy or wind-water superstition.
Foong-shooy concerns the shape and location of cities, houses, roads,
canals, groves, graves, &c., with a view to warding off evil and seciu*ing
good fortune. In very ancient times it may have referred simply to a
proper regard for wind and water in selecting sites, but at the present
NOTES AND QUERIES. 319
time it is an unmitigated superstition. What is the connection that
is supposed to exist between foong-shooy and the loong I do not know.
The " pulse of the loong " is a very vital point in the foong-shooy of a
city. All changes in the landscape must be made with caution, lest
harmful modifications of ^q foong-shooy take place. Foreign buildings,
constructed in utter disregard of it, are viewed with dislike ; while
there is no telling what confusion and disaster might arise from the
making of a taiboad through the country. — The Missionary Herald
(quoted in The Church of Scotland Home and Foreign Missionary
Record, 1 Sept. 1884).
Irish Gaines of Ball. — The Irish games of ball (or stick), described
at p. 264 of the September number of the Folk-Lore Journal, will be
found referred to in Strutt's Sports and Pastimes, under the names of
^^ stool-hall " and *' tip-catj^ See also Brand's Observations on Popular
Antiquities for a description of the game of cat and dog, as played in
Angus and Lothian, extracted from Jamieson's Etymological Dictionary,
The cat is well known in Yorkshire ; and a form of stool-ball, under
the name of rounders, is a sport common to both boys and girls in this
district. Duck-stone also is played here. C. Staniland Wake.
The Wifle and her Kidie. — I have met with another version of
" The Wifie and her Kidie," which varies slightly from the one given
at pp. 277, 278, vol. ii. of the Folk-Lore Journal. It was communi-
cated by Mrs. Walker, aged 76, Aberdeen. It begins thus : —
There wiz a wifie sweipit her hoosie clean, an she fan twal pennies,
an she geed to the market an she bocht a kidie, an she said to the
kidie : " Noo, kidie, ye'U rin hame, till I gaither a puckle sticks to
my ain fire- en."
*' Niver a lenth," said the kidie. " I hiv as muckle need o' sticks
to my ain fire-en."
Then the story goes on almost word for word till the wifie appeals
to the cat : — " O cat, gin ye wid catch that moose, I wid gee you milk
fin I milk the coo." So the cat to the mouse, &c. and the kidie ran
hame till the wifie gaithert sticks till her ain fire-en.*
Walter Gregor.
* See for such cumulative folk-tales Bihlioteca de las Ib'adioiones Fppulares
Uspanoles, vol. iv. pp. 123-126.
320
NOTICES.
Bihlioteca de las Tradiciones Populares Espanolas. Tom. ii. and iii.
Director : Antonio Machado y Alvarez. Madrid : Libreria de
Fernando Fe, Carrera San Jeronimo, 2. 1884.
The two Tolumes of this series now published are as valuable as
the first. Vol. ii. contains three articles, " El Folk-lore de Madrid,"
por Eugenio de Olavarria y Huarte ; " Juegos infantiles do Extre-
madura," recogidos y anotados por Sergio Hernandez de Soto, to tho
number of sixty-one. This article is continued in vol. iii. to the
number of eighty, including variants. The game-rhymes as well as
the descriptions of the games are given. The third article is " De los
malificios y los demonios," de Fr. Juan Nyder, siglo XV. Obra
vertida del latin al castellano, por J. M. Montoto, which is continued
in vol. iii. Besides these two continuations, vol. iii. contains a valu-
able article, " El Mito del Basilisco," por Alejandro Guichot y Sierra,
in which all that is known concerning this creature is collected, and
arranged in a very interesting way. It is illustrated by a plate of the
animal. It is hardly necessary to say that all folk-lorists should
possess themselves of this series, both on account of the sterling
worth of the books themselves, and for the purpose of helping the
Spaniards in the good cause which they have taken up with such
spirit, and which they are caiTying out with such energy. Other
volumes of the series, equally important, are in the press.
Jogos e Rimas, Bihliotheca d*educacao nacional. Publicada por F.
Adolpho Coelho. Porto : Livraria Universal de Magalhaes &
Moniz, editores, 12, Largo dos Loyos.
This is an exceedingly interesting collection of Portuguese children's
games and rhymes for tho use of schools. It is to be hoped that the
day is not far distant when folk-tales, children's games, and rhymes
will be taken advantage of as a means of education to a far greater
extent than they have hitherto been. Children delight in them.
AVhy not use them, and turn them to the training of the young, and
thus break, if nothing else is done, the monotony of the school-book
and school-drill ? A good beginning has been made in this little
book.
OLD CLEM" CELEBRATIONS AND
BLACKSMITHS' LORE.
HE ancient craft of a smith has had its heroes and legends
from the days of Tubal Cain, " an instructor of every
artificer in brass and iron,"* and Vulcan, down to S.
Clement, who has been adopted by the smiths as their
patron saint, and whose festival is annually celebrated on Nov. 2ard.
The well-known legend, of S. Dunstan seizing the devil by the nose,
is generally connected with Glastonbury; and Bishop Stubbs observes,!
that the story is so famous one can hardly doubt that it had some
foundation; and it seems not unlikely that S. Dunstan may have taken
some one by the nose, and the identification was an afterthought. In
modem times, however, Mayfield, in Sussex, is assigned as the place
of the occurrence, and the tongs are still shown there. As Mayfield
was undoubtedly an archiepiscopal possession, and a residence of S.
Dunstan, besides being the centre of the Sussex ironworks, it is pos-
sible the legend originated in some Sussex forge.
Saint Clement, whose name appears in the Calendar on Nov. 23rd,
was the third Bishop of Kome, and is referred to by S. Paul.| He
died in 100 a.d. and his emblem is an anchor, on account of his being
drowned with one round his neck, and consequently an anchor forms
the vane of the church of S. Clement Danes, London. This church
is specially connected by English blacksmiths with their craft. The
Kev. W. J. Loftie, in his History of London, \ states, this church was
so called, either on account of the settlement here of a colony of
* Gen. iv. 22.
t Memorials of S. Dunstan, Archhishop of Canterbury (Rolls Series),
Introduction, p. Ixv.
t Phil. iii. 3. § 2nd edit. 1884, vol. ii. p. 71.
Vol. 2.— Part 11. y
322
christianised invaders under Sweyn and Canute, or on account of the
number of Danes, including Harold Harefoot, who were buried in it.
Stow reports a tradition, that some marauders were slain here on their
way home to Denmark with their booty.
The blacksmiths' legend is quite different. One version says : *
" * Old Clem' was a Dane by birth, and a blacksmith by profession, and
very clever at his trade; he realised a fortune, and built that little
church in the Strand, London, at his own expense. He also forged
all the ironwork with his own hands; and afterwards went into the
cloisters and devoted his life to God's service, having made over the
church to the Pope. He died on 23rd November ; about the year we
are not quite sure. After his death the Pope placed him in the
Calendar as S. Clement, and called the church S. Clement le Dane.
Since that time *01d Clem' has been honoured by the smiths meeting
every year on his day."
Another legend is furnished by a Sussex blacksmith : f "On the
17th March, a.d. 871, when good King Alfred ruled this land, he
called together all the trades (seven in number) and declared his
intention of making that trades-man King over all the trades who
could best get on without the help of all the others for the longest
period. He proclaimed a banquet to which he invited a representative
from each trade, and made it a condition that each should bring a
specimen of his work, with the tools he used in working it.
1st. The blacksmith brought his hammer and a horseshoe.
2nd. The tailor brought his shears and a new coat.
Srd. The baker his peel and a loaf.
4th. The shoemaker his awl and a new pair of shoes.
5th. The carpenter brought his saw and a deal trunk.
6th. The butcher his chopper and a joint.
7th. The mason his chisels and a corner-stone.
" Now the tailor's coat was of such surpassing beauty of colour, and
exquisite fashion, that all the guests, with one consent, declared it a
♦ The writer is indebted for this to Mr. D. Thomson, foreman, smiths' depart-
ment. L.B.&S.C. Railway Co.'s Works, Brighton.
t This was kindly taken down in 1883 by Edmund Young, Esq. M.R.C.S. of
Steyning, from the lips of a poor fellow in a deep decline.
AND blacksmiths' LORE. 323
marvel of workmanship, and entirely eclipsing the handicraft of all
the others. Upon which the horseshoe, bread, shoes, trunk, meat,
and comer-stone were all thrown on one side as unfit for competition.
Upon this the tailor was unanimously pronounced by the good king,
and the general company, the fittest to be king of the trades, and was
duly installed. This decision made the blacksmith very jealous and
angry, and he declared that he would do no more work whilst the
tailor was King ; so he shut up his forge and ' sloped,'* no one knew
whither.
" Now it came to pass that King Alfred was the first to need the
services of a blacksmith, his horse having cast a shoe, but he could
gain no admittance. Then came one trade, then another, in fact all
the six, each having broken his tools, thereby preventing him from
carrying on his business until he could get them mended. The last
of the six who came to grief was the tailor, who had broken his shears
and was compelled to stop working. This all happened on the 23rd
November (8. Clement's day) in the same year.
" Now King Alfred and all the trades determined to break open the
forge and do the work themselves. So the King began to shoe his
horse. The tailor began to mend his shears, and each trade in succes-
sion essayed to repair his tools, but all failed. The horse kicked the
king ; the tailor bruised his fingers. The fire would not bum, and
everybody got into everybody's way. The butcher began to shove t
the baker, he shoved the shoemaker, who in his turn shoved the
carpenter, and the latter revenged himself by shoving the mason, who
passed the compliment on to the tailor, until in the general confusion
the anvil was knocked over and exploded.
" At this juncture m walked S. Clement, with the blacksmith on his
arm, the latter looking very angry at the wreck of his once tidy forge.
" S. Clement said nothing, but seemed to enjoy the discomfiture of
the King and his company.
" At length the King, making a humble bow to S. Clement and the
blacksmith, said : — ' I have made a great mistake in allowing my
judgment in this important matter to be governed by the gaudy colour
* i.e. absconded or went away. t push.
y2
324
and stylish cut of the tailor's coat, and in justice to the blacksmith
(without whom none of us can do) proclaim him King.'
" Immediately all the trades, except the tailor (deposed), begged the
blacksmith to mend their tools. So he shod the King's horse, and
obligingly mended the tools of all who asked him ; but he made and
presented to the tailor a new pair of shears ! This presentation took
place at a feast given by the King to celebrate the event, who, in a
neat speach, admitted having been taken in by the tailor's beautiful
coat, but now felt the greatest pleasure in announcing that for all time
the blacksmith should be regarded as the King of all the trades. * So
let us all drink good health, and long life to the jolly blacksmith.'
" The King then proposed, that to restore the harmony each should
sing a song, and called upon the blacksmith to make a beginning, who
sang the following : —
The Jolly Blacksmith.*
1. Here's a health to the jolly Blacksmith,
The bestf of all fellows,
Who works at his anvil
"While the boy blows the bellows;
For it makes his bright hammer to rise and to fall,
Says the Old Cole % to the Young Cole and the Old Cole of all.
Choru9. Twankie dillo, twankie dillo, dillo, dillo, dillo, dillo, dillo.
With a roaring pair of bagpipes made of the green willow.
2. K a gentleman call his horse for to shoe
He makes no denial to one pot or two ;
For it makes his bright hammer, &c. Chorus.
3. Here's a health to the pretty girl the one he loves best.
She kindles a fire § all in his own breast,
Which makes his bright hammer, &c. Chorus.
4. Here's a health to King George and likewise his Queen,
And all the Royal Family wherever they're seen,
Which makes, &c. Choriis.
* The words of this song have been supplied by several Sussex correspondents,
and the version now given is corrected and collated from four versions slightly
differing.
t " Prince " in one version. J ** Clem " in one version.
§ One version gives it, "carries a fire.''
AND blacksmiths' LORE.
325
.,__i_^s_^
:^=t
]z\^^=^:\
Here's a health to the jol-ly Blacksmith, the best of all fellows, Who
il3E*±tHE5;Ej!i
-t^-1^
^^^^
B±4=^^=n
~p~P~f^ — *"
-1 — 1 — r
-s-i-\
f— ^
_J^ l|:
tJ
works at his
anvil while the
boy blows the bellows, For it makes his bright
f -S^-i- -yi-T-tt-zir+r-r-r-'F
^^ — — Ld-^—
■^ \ ^ ^-
^--f-r-
^-Srd
Jzp=
-) 1 ,-1-
i
:fcq=q:
J — ^
[ZZilZStllt
:^-i^
isqvl
:e=p:
i^ztz:
hammer to rise and to fall. Says the Old Cole to the Young Cole, and the
E^^ll^
SESlfc
3^
I
:^=(!t
I t^-i^
P=^
i^stz^zc
Old Cole of all. Twankie dil-lo, twankie dillo, dillo, dillo, dillo, dillo,
m
^-^
:jb-»:
^-zk^ zru^zz^ z^Li^z^i ^z^ih
:«=^:
fEfei^J
zn^^iBiz^
4- J ^-
zi-^m-^
dil - lo. With a roar-ing pair of bagpipes made of the green willow.
•t^-t-
326 "OLD clem" celebrations
[The spirited mnsic, which is traditional, and does not occur in
Chappell's Popular Music of the Olden Time, was kindly written down
by Mr. Samuel Willett, of Cuckfield, Sussex, and is confirmed by
several Sussex people.]
" Whilst this song was being sung, the tailor crawled under the
table and slit up the blacksmith's leather-apron with his new shears
into a regular fringe, and from that day no blacksmith ever wears an
apron which is not so ornamented or mutilated."
Two points in this interesting, and original legend, require special
notice, viz. " the explosion of the anvil," and " the apron fringe."
Mr. Young observes that there is in all anvils a deep depression, or
hole, which on S. Clement's day is filled with gunpowder, and a plug
of wood is driven in tightly ; a hole is next bored through the plug,
a little powder poured in, and it is then ignited. This is called "firing
the anvil." As regards the slits in the apron, they are almost inva-
riably to be seen in a blacksmith's apron, and most of them believe
they originated as stated in the legend. One correspondent,* however,
says : " You may probably notice at the present day blacksmiths*
leather-aprons have five slits in the comer signifying the lion's paw.
Having the lions on their smithy is said to constitute a freehold. In
olden times many of the smithies were small erections put up on the
waste by the roadside."
Another informant says : " When Solomon's Temple was built, all
the trades met together at a supper, and everybody was asked to go
except the smiths. The latter left off work in disgust, and when the
other workmen wanted their tools mended the smiths refused, so
Solomon gave a second supper, and had the tags (or fringe) cut in
their aprons, which he gilded."
In Sussex on S. Clement's day (Nov. 28rd) there was an old
custom of going round from house to house asking for apples and
beer, and it was called Clemmening. The Rev. W. D. Parish observes :
" The children in some parts of East Sussex still keep up the custom
of Catterning and Clemmening, and the Sussex blacksmiths are par-
ticularly active in commemorating their patron saint ; the anvils are
♦ Mr. Henry Colgate, of Fletcbing, Sussex.
AND blacksmiths' LORE. 327
fired with a loud explosion, and at least a half-holiday is kept. At
Burwash, a few years ago, it was the custom to dress up a figure with
a wig and beard and pipe in his mouth, and set it upon the door of
the inn where the blacksmiths feasted on S. Clement's day. This
figure was called Old Clem.''*
The rhyme sung on these occasions is thus quoted by Mr. Parish :
" Cattem' f and Clemen' be here, here, here,
Give us your apples and give us your beer.
One for Peter,
Two for Paul,
Three for him who made us all.
Clemen' was a good man,
Cattem' was his mother.J
Gives us your best,
And not your worst,
And God will give your soul good rest."
In the Clog Almanacks a pot is marked against Nov. 23rd in
allusion to this custom of going about to beg drink with which to
make merry.
The following notes on the modern observance of the day are
furnished by Mr. Thomson : —
" A supper takes place on the 23rd Nov. annually. I have made
inquiries of the oldest smith in my shop. From him I gather that
it is customary in some places to personate ' Old Clem,' particularly
in the Government dockyards. § In many private establishments it
has also been the custom for the masters to give the smiths a way-
goose,] that is, a leg of pork with the bone drawn and the pork stufi*ed
with sage and onions, and roasted. This has been the custom in
Bristol, Liverpool, and even in Brighton. In all cases it is usual for
the oldest blacksmith to take the chair, and the youngest the vice-
chair.
* Dictionary of the Sussex Dialect.
f S. Catherine, whose day is Nov. 25th.
% This is of course erroneous. S. Catherine was a virgin saint, and died
A.D. 307 ; S. Clement died A.D. 100.
§ Cf. Brand's Poimlar Antiquities (edit. Sir Henry Ellis), vol. i. pp. 408-409.
II The word is thus spelt by Halliwell, who defines it as an entertainment given
by an apprentice to his fellow-workmen. It is now generally spelt wayz-goose.
328 " OLD CLEM " CELEBRATIONS, &C.
The first toast is : —
' Here's to old Vulcan, as bold as a lion,
A large shop and no iron,
A big hearth and no coal,
And a large pair of bellowses fall of holes.*
Then follows the song, * Here's to the Jolly Blacksmith.'
The next toast is : —
* True hearts and sound bottoms,
Checked shirts and leather aprons.'
This is followed by a song : —
• Tubal Cain our ancient father
Sought the earth for iron and ore.
More precious than the glittering gold,
Be it ever so great a store.'*
The chairman rising, says, ' Gentlemen, I invite you to drink with
rae the toast of the evening, * To the memory of * Old Clem ' and
prosperity to all his descendants.' ' "
These customs have been observed by the Brighton Eailway Com-
pany's smiths in recent years in celebrating the memory of ' Old Clem ' ;
but lately the dinner has been transferred to Jan. 25th (the birthday
of the poet Robert Burns) " out of compliment to their foreman, an
Ayrshire man, whose birthday also occurs on that day."
Another toast used on these occasions is, ** May the face of a bright
hammer and anvil never rust for the want of a job."
A London smith says : " A supper is held at the White Horse,
Castle Street, London (the latest in 1883), and one of the farriers is
dressed in a new apron with gilt tags. The anvil is not now fired.
There is a special drink at this supper, which is compounded of gin,
eggs, ginger spices, &c. * Old Clem ' was the first man who ever
shod a horse."
Mr. E. Packham (Messrs. Packham and Son), Brighton, writes as
follows : — " About sixty years ago, when I was a child, I was present
at one of the annual celebrations of the feast which was then held in
our smiths' shop in Church Street (now the Foundry), the place used
* The writer has not yet succeeded in obtaining the complete words of this
song.
SOME OLD FARMING CUSTOMS, &C. 329
for shoeing horses being converted into a commodious supper-room.
In Sussex, it appears, the day has been, or used to be, commemorated
chiefly by the supper. I do not think that effigies have been used in
our neighbourhood ; but one of our men, who has worked for a dock-
yard contractor at Woolwich, tells me that it was customary there to
have * Old Clem ' dressed up, and carried in procession. The custom
of firing the anvils with gunpowder was continued by our men on the
saint's day, until forbidden by the authorities.'
Frederick E. Sawyer, F.R.Met.Soc.
SOME OLD FARMING CUSTOMS AND
NOTIONS IN ABERDEENSHIRE.
N the day the plough was first put into the soil — " streekit,''
or "strykit"* after harvest — a few cakes of oaten bread
were baked. To make them a little more dainty, they were
commonly rubbed with cream before they were placed on
"the girdle" over the fire to be baked. Cream, which, if scarce, was
saved up with much care, was churned, and made into butter. When
the bread and the butter were ready, the guidwife took some of them,
along with a "kebback" and whisky, and went to the field to the
ploughman, — commonly the guidman himself or a son, for in those old
days in many districts each family tilled its own holding. He cut the
cheese, and partook of the dainties carried to the field. A piece of
the cakes was given to each horse, if the animal was accustomed to eat
them. The whole household partook at supper of the bread, the
butter, and the cheese. — (Told by one whose mother carried out the
custom in Pitsligo, Aberdeenshire.)
2. Here is a somewhat different form of the ceremony, and it comes
♦ Folk' Lore of the North-East of Scotland^ p. 181.
330 SOME OLD FARMING CUSTOMS
from the parish of Aboyiie, in Aberdeenshire. Two brothers and a
sister, all well stricken in years, and full of " frets," held a small
farm. They required a man-servant. He entered their service at the
Whitsunday term, and, therefore, had to begin the work of ploughing
after harvest. When harvest was finished, he proposed about the
beginning of the week to one of the brothers to begin ploughing.
" Oh, na, ye needna be in sic a hurry ; there's guid time yet." So
the servant turned his attention to something else. Next day the
same proposal was made by the servant, and with the same result.
Next day leave was asked to begin the work. " Oh, aye, ye can
begin on Saiterday." When Saturday came, the servant again asked
if he would now yoke his horses. " Ye needna be in ony hurry. Jist
step oot our, an begin about nine o'clock." The servant obeyed his
orders, and, by the time he was at the end of the field with the first
furrow, his master was beside him carrying bread, cheese, and a
bottle of whisky. The servant partook of the bread and cheese, and
then received a glass of the whisky. The old man drank a glass
himself, then filled the glass again, and poured it over the bridle of
the plough, and repeated the words, " Weel fah the lawbour." A
piece of bread and cheese was then carefully wrapped up in paper, and
firmly tied to the beam of the plough by the farmer, who, at the same
time laid strict injunctions on the servant not to take it ofi". " It may
fah afi" o't sell, or the dogs may eht it. Nae maitter, but dinna ye
touch it." When all this was done and said, the master added,
" Noo, jist tak ye anither fur, an syne louse. Ye'll be ready for yir
wark on Muninday's mornin." — (Told by Mr. Sim, farmer, Gateside,
parish of Strachan, and he learned the story from the servant.)
3. In ploughing, a stone sometimes gets fixed between the coulter
and the sock. Such a stone thrown over the dwelling-house prevents
the cream when churned from becoming butter. — (Pitsligo.)
4. Besides putting fire and salt on the threshold of the byre-door
before a cow the first time she left the byre after dropping her calf,
some guidwives had the habit of cutting a little of the hair from the
animal's tail, and placing it over the byre-door in the " eezin o' the
wa." — (Pitsligo. Told by one who followed the custom, which she had
received from her mother.)
AND NOTIONS IN ABERDEENSHIRE. 33 1
5. A mare should be taken outside the stable to drop her foal.*
The animal that was brought forth inside the stable would not cross a
ford, or, if forced into it, would lie down in it. The quality of crossing
a ford quietly was of much value in a horse at a time when there were
few bridges. Hence comes the proverb about one who is too ready to
desert his friends in the hour of need, " He's nae ta ride the water
on."— (Pitsligo.)
6. All shepherds agree in saying that, before a storm comes, sheep
become frisky, leap, and butt or " box " each other.
7. It was a not uncommon notion that chickens did not thrive to a
woman during the year she had a child. Hence the saying, " Bairns
an chuckens dinna thrive in ae yeer." — (Pitsligo.)
8. It is said that, if it thunders when chickens are within a short
time of being hatched, they die in the egg.f
9. Among the poorer crofters and small farmers, when their meal
fell short, as it sometimes did, and when they had not grain ready for
grinding, it was quite common to borrow from a neighbour as much as
would tide over the difficulty. The meal was willingly given, and
most punctually returned, and not unfrequently with interest, in
obedience to the pretty saying, " A borrow sud gang lauchin hame."
Some there were, that, if they had just taken in meal — " gotten in a
mailyar" — would not give any in loan till part of the newly-acquired
meal had been used in the household. — (Pitsligo. Told by one whose
mother followed the custom.)
10. Along the sea-board, in districts where sea-weed — "waar" — is
used as manure, the farmers showed much anxiety on New- Year's
morning to have the first load of weed that was taken from the shore .
When the first load was carted home, a small quantity was laid down
at each door of the farm-steading, and the remainder was cast into
the fields — a portion into each field. This was supposed to bring
good-fortune. — (Pitsligo. Told by one that followed the custom.)
11. On Christmas-eve all the dishes in the house must be left
clean. Any food, therefore, that might have been left over at meals
on the day before Christmas had to be carried forth, and given to the
* Folh-Lore of the North-East of Scotland, p. 131.
t J. Leite de Vasconcellos, Tra die oes popular 68 de Portugal, p. 101, No. 224.
332 FOLK-TALES OP INDIA.
pigs or poultry. It must on no account remain in the house.
Between twelve and one o'clock on Christmas morning the great dish
of "Yeel Sones" was made ready. All of the household had to
partake of it. If any remained unused it was re-cooked, and served
up with milk, forming part of the Yeel (Yule) breakfast. — (Pitsligo.
Told by one whose mother was in the habit of doing so.)
12. No bread was baked, and no clothes-washing was done, between
Christmas and New- Year's day. — (Pitsligo.)
13. The dinner on New- Year's day was always more dainty than
usual. At it was served up a hen or a duck killed that morning.
Among the first acts of the guidwife on that morning was to go to the
hen-house, select a victim, kill it, and make it ready for cooking for
dinner. Blood had to be shed on the morning of the new year.*—
(Pitsligo. Told by one who has seen her mother do it.)
14. On no account must the spinning-wheel be carried from one
side of the house to the other during the time of Christmas. — (Pitsligo.)
Walter Gregor.
FOLK-TALES OF INDIA.
{Continued from page 310.)
The Kukkuta JATAKA.f
The Wise Cock and the Artful Cat.
N former times, when Brahmadatta reigned at Benares,
the Bodhisat was reborn in the forest as a cock, and
lived there with several hundred fowls. Not far off from
him there also dwelt a she-cat, who by her cunning
artifices ate up all the fowls except the Bodhisat. He was too wary
to fall into her clutches. She thought to herself, " This cock is very
* FolJi^Lore of the North-East of Scotland, p. 202.
t Jdtaka Booh, vol. ill. No. 383, p. 266.
FOLK-TALES OF INDIA. 333
artful, but be is not aware of our wiles and cleverness in plotting.
I'll talk bim over by telling bim that I'll be bis wife, and when I get
bim into my power I'll eat him." Then the cat went to the root of
a tree on which the cock was sitting, and in coaxing terms spake this
gdtha : —
" O lovely bird, with feathers bright of hue I
Thy crest is red and high, thou fowl of heaven 1
From those tree-tops come down, my love, I pray,
I'll be thy wife, thou shalt have nought to pay."
After listening to her the cock thought, " This cat has eaten all my
kith and kin, and now by cajoling intends to make a meal of me, but
I'll send her packing." Then he replies in the following gdtha : —
" Four feet hast thou, my chaimer sweet,
Two feet have I, thou seest, my dear !
We birds pair not with quadrupeds,
Go seek another mate elsewhere."
Then thought the cat, " This fellow is very sly, but I'll get over
him somehow and eat him." Then she gave utterance to the following
gdtha : —
" Oh ! thy chaste wife full true I'll be,
You'll find me kind in word and deed.
Me wed by holy Vedas' rites,
Thy will and every wish I'll do."
Then thought the cock, *< I must rebuke this cat and cause her to
go elsewhere." So he uttered the following gdtha : —
" eater of birds and drinker of blood,
Foul thief art thou, killer of cocks ;
Thou seek'st not me, sly one, to wed
By holy scripture's sacred rites."
On hearing this the cat made ojff, and did not again dare to look
the cock in the face.
A gdtha of the Buddha says : —
" Many wiles have women clever, good men they will deceive
With soft and oily words, so cat would cheat the cock.
When danger does arise put all your wits to work,
Or else you'll come to grief and after dear it rue.
The wise will be aware, when ought that's harmful's near,
As cock did 'scape the cat, they will from foes get free."
334 FOLK-TALES OF INDIA.
The Dummedha JItaka.*
How the Worship of Tree-Sprites, was put down.
In days gone by, ^hen Brahmadatta reigned at Benares, the
Bodhisat was reborn as the son of Brahmadatta, the principal queen
being his mother. On the day appointed for naming him they called
him Brahmadattakumara. When he was sixteen years old he studied
science in Takkasila, became versed in the three Vedas, and mastered
the eighteen subjects of knowledge. Then (after a time) his father
made him a viceroy. At that time the inhabitants of Benares were
given over to the worship of tree-sprites ; they paid reverence to them,
and, having slaughtered many goats, cocks, and hogs, made offerings
to them of the flesh and blood of the victims, together with various
kinds of flowers and perfumes. The Bodhisat thought to himself
" Now beings that observe festivals in honour of tree-sprites destroy
much life. The people, I see, are, for the most part, wedded to this
bad custom ; but when, after my father's death, I come to the throne,
I will by some device (without injuring any one) not allow them to
deprive anything of life."
One day, on going out of the city in his chariot, he saw the multi-
tude assembled together at a certain large banyan-tree doing reverence
to the " sprite " that had been reborn in that tree; and desiring to obtain
(by means of oflferings, &c.) sons and daughters, fame and wealth,
or whatever else they had most set their hearts upon, he came down
from his chariot, drew near the tree, honoured it with perfumes and
flowers, made a libation of water, solemnly perambulated it, and wor-
shipped the " tree-sprite" like one of its regular devotees. Then going
up into his chariot he returned to the city. Henceforth in this way,
at intervals, he used to visit that tree and there pay due reverence to
it as if he were addicted to the worship of the sprites.
On another occasion (after the death of his father, when firmly
seated on the throne, he had abandoned the four evil ways, and, keep-
ing strictly the ten royal virtues, was ruling his subjects justly) he
thought to himself, " My great wish has been accomplished, I am
established on the throne ; but a certain matter about which I was
* Jdtaka Book, vol. i. No. 50, p. 259.
FOLK-TALES OF INDIA. 335
tonnerly very anxious I'll now caused to be carried out." Calling
together his ministers, brahmans, householders, and the rest, he thus
addressed them : " Perhaps you are aware by what means I came to
the thi'one ? " *' No, sire ; we are not acquainted with the circum-
stances," said they. " Pray did you," he asked, " ever on any occasion
see me honour a certain banyan tree with perfumes and the rest,
saluting, and paying due reverence to it ? " ** Yes, sire," they
replied. " Well, at that time I made this vow, ' If I come to the
throne I'll make offerings to thee, sprite.' By the power of this
sprite I became king, and now I'll present offerings to it ; so do ye
quickly, without further delay, prepare suitable gifts for the sprite."
" What shall we take, sire ? " they asked. He replied, " Oh ! when
I petitioned the sprite I besought it thus, * Whoever in my kingdom
shall keep up and practice the taking away of life and the rest, together
with the * five immoral practices ' included in the ' ten sinful actions '
(akusalakammapatha), them will I slay and make offerings of their
hearts and blood.' Do ye then make proclamation by beat of drum
to this effect, ' Our king, when he was even viceroy, made the follow-
ing vow, * If I gain the throne I'll put to death all my subjects who
shall be immoral, and offer them up.' He now, taking a thousand
wicked men constantly practising immoralities of the five and ten
kinds, intends, after putting them to death, to cause offerings of their
hearts and the rest to be presented to the tree-sprites. And let the
people pay attention to this matter.' After you have proclaimed this
edict, whoever henceforth shall practise such ill deeds (as have been
already mentioned), I'll take a thousand of them and make a sacrifice,
so shall I get released from my vow."
In explanation of the matter he spake the following gdtha : —
" Of fools a whole thousand I've promised to slay,
And offer to wood-sprites their hearts and dear blood.
Full many unjust I've here in my realms,
To be quit of my vow I'll sacrifice them."
When the ministers and the rest had heard the words of the
Bodhisat they promised to carry out his injunctions. They made
proclamation by beat of drum in the city of Benares for twelve
yojanas round.
336 FOLK-TALES OF INDIA.
After this edict was issued in the manner enjoined, there remained
not one individual addicted to immoral practices. Thus as long as
Brahmadattakumara continued to reign there was not to be found a
single person doing even one (bad) deed included in the five and ten
sinful actions.
So the Bodhisat, without even harming a single individual, made all
the people in his realm observe the precepts. He himself, too, after
giving meritorious gifts, passed away, at his death, along with his
retinue, and filled the city of the devas.
The Sasa JAtaka.*
The Story of the Hare in the Moon.
In days long gone by, when Brahmadatta reigned at Benares, the
Bodhisat was re-born among the hare-kind, and dwelt in the forest.
On one side of that forest there was the foot of a mountain, on another
side a river, and a border village on the other. The hare had three
special friends — a monkey, a jackal, and an otter. These four wise
creatures lived together, getting their food (during the day) each in
his own respective haunt or hunting-ground, and meeting together in
the evening. The wise hare, preaching the truth to these three
individuals, said, — " You must give alms, keep the commandments,
and observe the wj90safAa-fast." They agreed to follow his instructions.
Having entered their respective quarters in the jungle, there they
lived together. "While the time was thus passing away the Bodhisat,
looking up to the sky, saw the moon, and knew that uposatha-daj was
on the morrow, so he said to his three companions, — " To-morrow is
* fast-day * ; do you therefore keep the precepts and observe the fast.
Know, too, that for those well-established in the precepts, almsgiving
is very meritorious. Therefore when a beggar comes to you give him
of the food you've provided for your own repast, and then eat what
is left."
" Well, let it be so," they agreed, and off they went each to his own
dwelling-place. The next day, quite early in the morning, the otter
• Jdiaka Boo?:, vol. ill. No. 316, p. 61.
FOLK-TALES OF INDIA. 337
said, « I'll go in search of food"; so he departed, and made his way to
the bank of the Ganges. At that time a certain fisherman had hooked
seven red fish (i-ohitas), and when he had landed them he strung them
through with a flexible twig (withe). Then he concealed them in the
sand on the river-bank. Intent on catching fish, he wandered along
the course of the lower Ganges (leaving his fish behind). The otter,
getting scent of his prey, scratched up the sand, saw and took posses-
sion of the fish. Thrice he shouted out, — " Now does any one, I pray,
lay claim to these fish ? " Finding no owner for them he, with his
teeth, laid hold of the withe, by which the fish were strung, and
deposited them in his own jungle-retreat. " On a convenient oppor-
tunity I'll eat them." Thus saying, he lay down pondering over his
precepts.
The jackal, too, leaving his retreat in search of food, espied in a
hut, belonging to the care-taker of an adjoining field, two spits,* a
lizard, and a pot of curds. Thrice he shouted out, — " Is there now,
I pray, any owner of these goods ? " Not finding any one who claimed
them, he hung the pot about his neck (by means of the string for
lifting it up) ; between his teeth he carried the spits and the lizard,
and placed them in the jungle where he slept, saying, " I'll eat them
at the proper time." Then he lay down and throught over his com-
mandments.
The monkey also left his sleeping quarters to go into the wood in
search of food. He carried off from thence bunches of mangoes, and
placed them in his own abode in the forest, saying, " I'll eat them at
the proper time." He then lay down thinking over his precepts.
Just about that time also the hare left his quarters in search of
his food, saying " I'll eat kusa grass." But while he was even lying in
retreat he thought to himself, " I can't give grass to those that come
begging, so I'll give them the flesh of my own body.
By the power of his (the hare's) morality the white stone throne of
Indra manifested signs of heat. On considering the matter he dis-
covered the cause, and said, " I'll put the hare-king to the proof."
First he went to the abode of the otter and stood before him, dis-
* The spits were for roasting the lizard.
Vol. 2.— Part 11. z
338 FOLK-TALES OF INDIA.
guised as a brahman. " O brahman, what are you standing there
for ? " said the otter. *' If I get any food now I mean to keep upo-
satha (to-morrow) and perform the duties of a sramana,^* replied the
brahman. "Good!" said the other, "I'll give you food." While
talking he gave utterance to the following gdtha : —
" Seven fish, all red of hue, from yonder stream,
I've got, O brahman skilled in sacred lore !
This take of fish unowned is mine, I trow,
Accept it all and in the forest dwell."
The brahman made answer, " It's early as yet, let it be for the
present ; I'll see about it bye-and-bye."
Then the brahman made his way to the jackal, who said, *' Why
are you standing there ? " He gave the same reply as he did before
to the otter.
The jackal said, " Good I I'll give you food." In the course of
conversation with him he spake the following gdtha : —
" From yonder field two spits away I brought,
A lizard broil'd and eke a pot of curds.
All these are mine to give, brahman poor,
Enjoy thy fare and in this wood abide."
The brahman said, " It's very early as yet, let it be for the present;
by-and-bye I'll think about it.''
Then he went and paid a visit to the monkey, who said, " Why are
you standing there ? " The brahman made the same answer as before.
'*Good! " said the monkey, "I'll give you food.'' While talking with
him he uttered the following gdtha : —
** Some mangoes ripe and water cold I've here,
Full pleasant is the grove and cool the shade.
They all are mine, I vow, O brahman dear;
Pray have them all, and here take up abode."
The brahman, making answer as before, went off to the retreat of
the wise hare, who said, " Why are you standing there ? " He
replied: "If I get any food now I'll observe uposatha (to-morrow) and
keep the precepts."
On hearing this the Bodhisat was struck with grief (because he
had nothing but grass to give him), and said, " brahman, you have
FOLK-TALES OF INDIA 339
done well to come to me. To-day I will give such a gift as has never
before been given. Since you are ' virtuous,' and will not destroy life
(willingly or wittingly), go, father, collect wood, and when you've
made a clear fire of them then come and tell me. I'll give myself
away as a gift, and will fall into the midst of the glowing embers ;
and when my body is roasted thou shalt eat of my flesh and endeavour
to walk in the path of righteousness." In the course of conversation
he spake the following gdtha : —
" The hare is poor, no sesamum has he,
Nor beans nor rice ; full bare the larder seems.
Myself I give thee then, me take and roast,
And eat thy fill and hannt the forest wild."
When Indra heard that speech of his, he created by his own divine
power a heap of live coals and told the Bodhisat that all was ready.
The hare raised itself from the grass, approached the fire, and said,
" If there are any insects adhering to the tips of my fur let them not
be killed." Thrice did he shake his limbs, and then he presented his
whole body as an alms to the brahman. Springing upon the heap of wood
like a flamingo, he fell with cheerful heart into the heap of glowing
coals. But the fire was not able to make hot even a single hair on
the body of the Bodhisat ; he was as cool as if he had entered the
regions of frost and snow. Then he addressed Indra, " brahman,
this fire you've made is very cool, and is not able to cause a single
hair on my body to become hot. How's that ? " " O wise hare, I am
not a brahman, I am Indra, and have come here to put thy virtue to
the test." " O Indra, do thou stand there awhile. "Were all the world
combined to test me by almsgiving, assuredly they would not find me
unwilling to give." Thus saying, he uttered a mighty shout of exulta-
tion. Then spake Indra to him, " wise hare, let thy good deed be
made known during the whole halpa * {i.e. as long as the world lasts).''
Then he squeezed the mountain, and with its essence he drew on the
surface of the moon the figure of a hare. After addressing the
Bodhisat he took the hare from the fire, and in that forest, even in the
very thicket (where he used to pass the night), he set him (the hare)
* " The sign of the hare in the moon will last the whole kalpa."— Jafa^a-,
No. 20 (English translation, p. 235).
z 2
340 FOLK-LORE TERMINOLOGY.
down on a bed of tender grass, and then he (Indra) departed to his
own celestial abode. Moreover these four wise creatures continued to
live together in perfect harmony ; they fulfilled the precepts and kept
the uposatha-seryice. At their death they passed away to be rewarded
according to their deeds. Richard Morris.
{To be continued.)
FOLK-LORE TERMINOLOGY.
[See ante, pp. 285, 311.]
jHE thanks of all members of the Society, and of all
students of folk-lore, are due to Mr. Gomme for raising
this question. It has probably occupied the thoughts of
many of us at different times ; and an opportunity of
public discussion, with a view to defining the scope of our investiga-
tions and settling our terms, is one that should be eagerly welcomed.
The definition proposed by Mr. Nutt in the October number of this
Journal for the science of folk-lore is, with some slight qualification,
excellent. Anthropology undoubtedly deals with the physical as
well as the mental characteristics of mankind. We have, therefore, no
right, in using the term Anthropology, to limit its meaning to psycho-
logical phenomena ; and if we do so we shall run the risk of being
misunderstood. Accordingly, it is better, even at the sacrifice of
neatness, to express what we really mean, and say " Folk-lore is
Anthropology dealing with the psychological phenomena of uncivilised
man." Mr. Nutt uses the term " primitive man " in his definition.
The objections to " primitive " have perhaps no great weight, but I
prefer the word " uncivilised " : it conveys no notion of time-relation ;
and its reach is a little more extensive than "primitive." Uncivilized
man is ruled by his imagination and emotions rather than by his
very limited stock of knowledge, " at once em2>irical and traditional";
and it is man so dominated, whether South Sea Islander, Negro, or
Primitive Aryan, whether Hindu ascetic, mediaeval monk, or even
the English rustic of to-dny, who forms the subject of our study. In
FOLK-LORE TERMINOLOGY. 341
proportion as peoples escape from the dominion of imagination and
emotion, and become guided by knowledge and the trained reason,
they cease to be the subjects of folk-lore. This distinction is, I think,
better expressed by " uncivilised" than " primitive."
It is most convenient next to define our terms : we shall then be in
a position to classify the subjects of our study. It is perfectly true
that we have not equivalents for all the German expressions cited by
Mr. Nutt. But, let me ask, are all these technical words necessary ?
Doubtless they are highly convenient; but, unhappily, our tongue
has lost the power of combination retained by the purer Teutonic
spoken by the fellow-countrymen of Kuhn and Benfey ; and unless
these terms be absolutely necessary we must be content to do without
them, as luxuries beyond our reach. If they are not luxuries we shall
have to invent compound words of a more or less clumsy character
to express them, or import foreign words. But let us see.
The word sage is ordinarily used as the correlative of mdrchen. The
latter is a story the scene of which is laid at some undefined place and
time; it is not believed as a fact by the teller, nor perhaps by the hearers,
and it agrees in other respects with the definition of Von Hahn, quoted
by Mr. Nutt. The former, on the other hand, is generally localised in the
neighbourhood where it is told ; and frequently consists of an adventure,
or series of adventures, attributed to some well-known personage. One
or the other condition it always fulfils ; and, moreover, it is believed
in as a fact by the teller, or related by him as something which he has
heard from his elders who did believe it. May I add that a mdrchen
is clearly mythical, a sage not invariably so ? Now it is perfectly
true that we have no native words to express these two distinct
classes of folk-tales. Nursery-tale is the nearest approach we can
make to Mdrchen, and we can only indicate a Sage under the general
term Tradition. The word Saga, the Norse equivalent of Sage, has,
however, been made so familiar to us by Longfellow, and other
writers, that it has practically been adopted into the language,
and there really seems no reason why it should not be used in the
sense above indicated of Sage. Its previous literary use in a some-
what looser way need not prevent our adopting it, and giving it a
more strictly defined scientific meaning.
342 FOLK-LORE TERMINOLOGY.
Turning to the GeiTaan compounds of Sage we must not expect to
be able to manufacture phrases out of a foreign word like Saga quite
80 easily. Nor is it required that we should. We have an exact
equivalent of sag-kreis ; and when we speak of the Trojan cycUy or
the Arthurian cycle^ or the cycle of Charlemagne, we use a term which
is perfectly intelligible and accurate. There is an ambiguity in the
German Tcreis which compels definition by the prefix sag^ but there
is no such ambiguity in the English word ; and every body knows
that we mean the Trojan, or the Arthurian legendary cycle, or the
legendary cycle of Charles the Great. Then, as to sag-zug, we have
the word incident^ which expresses one-half of the idea comprised in
this compound ; and, if we only had a word to indicate the pictorial
features of a story, I am not at all sure that it would not be an
advantage to us to express the incident and the pictorial feature by
distinct terms. On the other hand, such compounds as god-saga,
hero-saga, elf-saga, ghost-saga, and even world-saga (unless theurgy,
or theogony were preferred), would present no difficulty.
With regard to mdrchen, however, I am somewhat at a loss. We
must have a word to express this, and at present I can think of no
better translation than nursery-tale. The chief objection to this is
that as a descriptive title it applies equally to a cumulative tale like
" The Wifie and her Kidie," and perhaps to some other varieties of
folk-tale. But with the exception of the cumulative tale these varieties
are of little importance, and their existence ought not to hinder our
deciding on the term suggested. The term cumulative tale itself,
though open to some objection, may stand, in the absence of a better,
to designate the class to which it relates. We shall not have to go
very far for an equivalent for schwank, as droll expresses it exactly ;
while beast-tale may render thiermdrchen. Thus we should, with a
little ingenuity, and without much loss of elegance, find or make
all the technical terms we want : some of those used by the Germans
and given by Mr. Nutt I am inclined to think we should speedily
discover to be unnecessary.
I cannot altogether accept Mr. Nutt's division of the subjects of
folk-lore, though some of the tei-ms he proposes for the classes are an
addition to oar technical vocabulary. I would rather divide the
FOLK-LORE TERMINOLOGY. 343
science first into two departments, calling the one folk-thought and the
other folk-practice^ or, still better, folk-wont. Under the former head
I reckon : —
1. Tales of all kinds, sagas (such as world- sagas, god-sagas, hero-
sagas, elf-sagas, ghost-sagas, &c.), nursery-tales, drolls, cumulative-
tales, and apologues.
2. Folk-songs, under their various heads.
8. Weather-lore.
4. Proverbs.
5. Local and personal saws, and prophecies.
6. Riddles.
The term folk-wit, suggested by Mr. Nutt to comprise the last three
classes, is excellent.
7. Folk-speech. I think the inclusion of this study, as suggested
by Mr. Nutt, may very well be defended, and at all events it would be
wise to adopt it provisionally.
Under the head of Folk-wont I reckon : —
1. Worship, corresponding very nearly to the class of sagas in
folk -thought, and including not only god- worship but luck-worship,
and every practice the object of which is to propitiate the powers which
are believed to influence man's fortunes or destiny.
2. Folk-law. Although the customs of savage and barbarous
peoples do not generally come within the juridical definition of law, I
prefer this term to that of Folk-wont, because the latter covers a larger
ground, and will be more usefully as well as accurately employed to
denote the whole range of folk-practice.
3. Folk-leechcraft, including so much of magic as is not included
under the head of worship. Leechcraft is an established word,
expressing exactly the thought, and is therefore better than leechdom.
4. Games, including dramatic representations, so far as they may
not be found under any of the classes of folk-thought.
5. Folk-craft, including, in art and industry, the art and industry of
warfare, hunting, and every other means by which uncivilized man
supports himself.
Other classes will doubtless occur to students of folk-lore; but the
above list, though imperfect, will afford sufficient indications of the
lines of the scheme. As in the physical sciences, the different classes
•^44 FOLK-LORE TERMINOLOGY.
frequently show a tendency to run into one another ; and it is some-
times difficult to say to which class a given specimen may properly
belong. This will be found particularly the case with the classes of
Worship, Folk-law, and Folk-leechcraft ; and even Folk-thought and
Folk-wont will not always be distinguishable. This is, however, a
difficulty inseparable from any mode of classification.
There is one other question of minor importance ; yet one on which it
is still desirable there should be an understanding for the avoidance of
confusion in our metaphors, if not in the minds of our readers. How
shall we distinguish the divisions corresponding to those in zoology
and botany, known as genera, species^ and varieties? The word
variant has been used for some years by writers on folk-tales ; and it
has now obtained too firm a footing to be dislodged. But there is no
need to dislodge it, as it is the very word we want. Type is, of course,
its proper correlative, and may be used to express a species , of which
the individual members are variants. In that case it would be con-
venient to call the species by the name of some well-known example,
and to take that example as the type or standard to which the other
specimens more or less nearly conform. Thus, applying this mode of
classification to folk-tales, we may speak of the Feau d'Ane ti/pe, or the
King Lear type. A number of types may be included together in a
group ; and the group may be named from the central idea which
links the types together. Thus, we may have a group of stories
known, say, as the Rejected Child group. This would include at least
four types, viz., the King Lear type, in which the conduct of the elder
children is strongly contrasted with that of the youngest ; the Joseph
type, in which the conduct of the elder children is contrasted, but the
glory of the younger chiefly dwelt on ; the King of France trjpe, in
which the story of the elder children is dropped; and the Fope
Innocent type, the adventures of an only child who has fallen under his
father's unjust anger.
I have spoken only of the application of this mode of classification
to folk-tales. I am not qualified to speak definitely as to its applic-
ability to other departments of the science. At present, however, I
know of no reason why it should not apply equally well ; but on this
point I. hope we shall have the opinions of other members of the
Society who are better able to judge. E. Sidney Hartland.
^:
FOLK-LOKE TERMINOLOGY. 345
As discussion is invited, I propose to make a few critical remarks
on the earlier part of Mr. Nutt's letter. Mr. Nutt gives good
reasons why folk-lore should have a wider scope than is given to it by-
some Folk-lorists. His suggestion that it should be split up into
different branches, each corresponding to a section of Anthropology
dealing with civilized man, is a valuable one. At the same time,
the definition of folk-lore as " Anthropology dealing with primitive
man " is not perfect. It leaves out of view the fact that Anthropology
has physical as well as psychological phenomena to deal with. A
more correct definition would be " that portion of Anthropology which
deals with the psychological phenomena of primitive man." Folk-lore
would thus be equivalent to primitive culture, which Mr. Cutter,
in his letter to the Library Journal, quoted by Mr. Gomme, suggests
the propriety of classing as a division of Anthropology. Mr. Nutt's
use of the term " primitive " is unobjectionable. It is now generally
employed as denoting early as distinguished from first^ to denote
which the term primeval is more generally used.
Whether folk-lore should, however, have so wide a definition as
proposed, or whether, as Mr. Nutt remarks, the study of man in his
primitive stage is folk-lore, is another question. What that would
require may be seen by reference to Mr. E. B. Tyler's Anthropology,
where thirteen out of sixteen chapters are devoted to the consideration
of the psychological phenomena of man. It appears to me to be very
undesirable that the scope of the Folk- Lore Society should be so
extended as to take in so large a portion of the subjects embraced by
Anthropology, especially as the Anthropological Institute is doing
such good work in the same direction. I much doubt, moreover,
whether Mr. Nutt's division (7, Folk- craft) belongs legitimately to
folk-lore. Although art and industry may, as distinguished from
l^physical phenomena, be described as psychological, yet as visible
-expressions of thought they should rather be classed as quasi-physical.
'l would substitute ioWi-science for folk-craft, which would considerably
reduce the range of subject, while providing a place for weatherAovQ
and other subjects not included in other divisions.
It is a question also whether Mr. Nutt's division (3) should stand.
Much of leechdom is magic, which Mr Tylor places with science ; and
even if magic were removed from science and relegated to belief (1),
346 FOLK-LORE TERMINOLOGY.
the result would bo merely that leechdom would come chiefly within
this division. It has some science, but still more of it is either magic
or faith. Division 8, Folk-speech, should certainly be excluded from
folk-lore, the interests of which may be injuriously affected by too
great an extension of its scope.
Let me add that the protest made by Mr. Nutt against folk-loro
being confounded with comparative mythology cannot be too strongly
supported. C. Staniland Wake.
The time has certainly arrived when the common vagueness of
ideas connected with the place of folk-lore in general classification and
the arrangement of its various sections should come to an end. That
the time is ripe for a thorough consideration of the subject is shown
by the simultaneous discussion raised by Mr. Gomme in the Folk-Lore
Journal and by Mr. Cutter in the Library Journal. I am glad to see
that my friend Mr. Nutt has helped the matter on considerably by his
interesting letter in the last number of the Folk-Lore Journal, but
whoever attempts to bring the subject under regulation is sure to lay
himself open to criticism ; in fact, if a basis is arrived at, it can only
be arrived at after a considerable amount of discussion.
It is satisfactory to find that Mr. Nutt considers folk-lore to be a
branch of Anthropology, for if we agree to this and set aside the
claims of comparative mythology the ground will be considerably
cleared. We must first have a definition of the main subject before
we can sub-divide, and this Mr. Nutt takes care to give us before
proceeding further. Every one who attempts to define knows the
difficulty he undertakes, and will not be surprised that others reject his
definition. Still, though rejected, it may help us towards arriving at
something more likely to be accepted. Mr. Nutt says, " Folk-lore is
Anthropology dealing with primitive man," This definition is too
comprehensive, in that it takes in all parts of Anthropology ; and not
comprehensive enough, in that it deals only with primitive man ; and
moreover it fails to give a reason for the aqmrate existence of folk-lore.
Certainly Mr. Nutt gives a special meaning to the vague term
*' primitive man," but then I think that as folk-lore can actually come
into existence in this nineteenth century, so it may be found among the
civilized as well as among the " not civilized." Little bits of senseless
FOLK-LORE TERMINOLOGY. 347
superstition are not confined to Maori, Aztec, or Dorsetshire hind ; and
it Avas to the men of Athens that St. Paul said, '* I perceive that in all
things ye are too superstitious."
Folk-lore must be content with a corner in the vast field of Anthro-
pology, and the study will not be advanced by being made too wide.
The cardinal idea which must not be lost sight of is the opposition of
folk-lore to literature, or to written and systematized learning. Folk-
lore is the unwritten learning of the people. This is well illustrated
in the two familiar cases of ballads and proverbs. A popular ballad,
which is sung in the country side in many versions, whose origin cannot
be traced and whose author is unknown, belongs to folk-lore; but the
poem written by the poet at his study-table, although he may style it
a ballad, belongs to literature. In the same way a proverb which is
on a thousand lips belongs to folk-lore, while an apophthegm, although
almost identical in form, belongs to literature. On these grounds I
strongly object to any such term as folk-literature. With regard to
the other terms I will not now remark further.
If Mr. Nutt will carry out the idea which he expresses in relation
to comparative mythology, he will perhaps be nearer a satisfactory
definition. He writes, — " All or nearly all the facts of comparative
mythology are to be found in folk-belief in solution ; a great many
facts of folk-belief are to be found in comparative mythology crystal-
lised.^^ In point of fact, nothing comparative can really be folk-lore,
and here I think it necessary to call attention to the title itself.
Anthropology is the science which relates to man; biology is the
science which relates to life ; but folk-lore can scarcely be called a
science at all, for it is the thing itself. One of the chief objects of the
collection and arrangement of the facts of folk-lore is to generalise and
philosophise, but the generalisations which we arrive at will not be
folk-lore; and it is a question whether we have not, in addition to
defining folk-lore and naming its sub-divisions, to find a name for the
science which is being formed by the many enthusiastic workers who
are now banded together as folk-lorists. Henry B. Wheatley.
As my letter in answer to Mr. Nutt must stand over for want of
space, I would just observe that I cannot agree with him that folk-lore
348 NOTES AND QUERIES.
should be defined as dealing with primitive man without some explana-
tion as to how it so deals. Surely folk-lore deals primarily with the
sun'ival of primitive customs and beliefs among civilized races, and is
comparable with, not identical with, the living primitive customs and
beliefs of savage races. I hope to discuss this view of the case at
greater length next month, but take this opportunity of throwing out
my suggestion as it is in opposition to that of my friend Mr. Nutt. I
strongly urge that Folk-lore is a science by itself, with distinct work of
its own to accomplish, but I must protest against its being only another
name for anthropology. The sanction at the back of folk-lore is
tradition. Thus traditional custom, traditional belief, traditional
stories — and no custom or belief originating now, whether m civilized
or savage races — can be defined as folk-lore. There can be no modern
folk-lore, whereas the psychological phenomena with which anthro-
pology deals exist now, and new facts will present themselves as
society progresses. G. L. Gomme.
NOTES AND QUEEIES.
Confirmation Folk-lore. — I cited (p. 89) in Folk Medicine a
passage from Mrs. Latham's West Sitssex Folk-Lore as to sufferers
from disease presenting themselves for repeated confirmation under
the impression that the bishop's blessing would cure anything. I find
a notice illustrative of this in Mrs. Martin's Memories of Seventy Years.
When Gilbert Wakefield was curate at Stockport, in 1 778, he relates
an anecdote of a woman, old enough to be his grandmother, who was
confirmed for ihQ fourth time, "because she found herself strengthened
so much by the bishop's hands.'' — Memories of Seventy YearSj by One
of a Literary Family. Edited by Mrs. Herbert Martin. 1883. P. 181.
Glasgow. William George Black.
St. John's Eve in Norway, — " There were curious aspects of
human life too. One night, July 2 — St. John's Day by the old
reckoning — as we lay at anchor in a gorge, which from the land must
have been inaccessible, we saw a large fire blazing and figures leaping
through the flame. It was the relic of a custom once wide as the
NOTES AND QUERIES. 349
northern hemisphere, on the festival of the summer solstice; old as the
Israelitish Prophet who saw the children passed through the fire to
Moloch. I observed the same thing forty-three years ago in the
market-place at Killarney. Thousands of years it has survived down
to these late times of ours, in which, like much besides, it will now
end, dissolved in the revolutionary acids of scientific civilisation." —
J. A. Froude, " Norway Once More," Longman's Magazine, No. xxiv.
Oct. 1884, p. 592. William George Black.
Glasgow.
Welsh Folk-lore Items.— At the Archaeological Association Con-
gress at Tenby some interesting notes were given. The party having
halted at Gumfreyston church it was noted that on the hillside, below
the church, there is one of the holy wells which are not infrequent in
Wales. Some curious old customs connected with the parish were
given in a paper prepared by Miss Bevan, from which it appears that
within the last fifty years on Easter Day the villagers used to repair
to a well called " the Pinweli," and throw a crooked pin into the
water. This was called '* throwing Lent away." The field in which
this well is situate is called " Verwel," perhaps from verwelen, Flem.,
to vault; and it therefore seems probable that it was once covered by
one of the barrel -vaulted roofs so common in Pembrokeshire. On
Lammas Sunday little houses, called " Lammas Houses," were set up
on " corse." They were made of sods, reeds, and sticks, and a fire
was lighted inside them, and apples roasted, people paying a penny to
go in and have a roasted apple. At the bottom of the street, near
the brook, is a large upstanding stone with a small round hole in the
top, and there is a saying that until you have put your finger in this
hole you cannot say you have been in St. Florence church.
Witchcraft in Dorsetshire. — On Thursday the Sherborne magis-
trates heard the charge against Tamar Humphries, a married woman,
for assaulting an old woman named Sarah Smith, on the 19th Sep-
tember. Complainant said she lived in Cold Harbour, was 83 years
of age, and lived next door to the defendant. On the 19th she was
digging potatoes in her garden when the defendant came to her, put
her hands on her shoulders, and said, " Oh, you Sal Smith, what's
thee done to my daughter? I'll draw the blood of thee,'' and further
350 NOTES AND QUERIES.
said she would do this because " she should not bewitch her daughter."
Defendant then repeatedly stabbed her with a stocking-needle about
her arms and hands and made them bleed. — Bristol Mercury^ 4 Oct.
1884.
The Divining Rod. — The Paris correspondent of The Times men-
tions the death of a Mdme. Cailhava. She may be remembered in
connection with a search for hidden treasure in the cathedral of St.
Denis, commenced by her with a divining rod, at first authorised, then
owing to public remonstrance and ridicule, forbidden. Mdme. Cailhava
has just died, in very straitened circumstances, but a believer to the
last in the virtues of the divining rod.
Dream Superstition in Staffordshire. — A singular case of super-
stition came under the notice of the Walsall borough coroner on
Thursday, whilst holding an inquest on the body of a little girl
named Brown, who was found drowned in the canal near Piatt's
Bridge, on Wednesday. The child's mother said she had kept her
little girl at home because she had ** a dread " upon her in conse-
quence of having three nights in succession dreamed of baking bread.
She had lost other children, and on each occasion had similar dreams
before the child died. Owing to her dream she had kept the girl
away from school, and had refused to allow her to leave the house. —
Shrewsbury Chronicle, 6 Sept. 1884.
Burial Superstition. — Great excitement has been caused by the
mysterious disappearance from Kilmally burial-ground, near Ennis, of
the coffins containing the remains of Mr. Marcus Deane, J.P., and
Miss Barnes, an English governess in Mr. Deane's family. The
general opinion is that the remains have been carried away and buried
in some other spot to prevent their removal out of the parish to the
new cemetery, which, according to a superstition, would entail famine
and pestilence on the parishioners. — Shrewsbury Chronicle^ 8 Oct. 1884.
Sailors' Superstitions in Shetland.— The following passages from
a letter dated from Vaila, Shetland, October 12, 1884, and commu-
nicated by Mr. J. Sands to the Glasgow Herald of 20th October last,
are worth quoting : — ** In a sequestered island like Foula, situated in
the midst of the open ocean, at a distance of fifteen miles from the
nearest land, and that land of a wild and desolate appearance,
NOTICES AND NEWS. 351
especially in the long winter, the instinctive belief in the supernatural
is certain to be more active than in the minds of those who dwell in a
crowd, and are immersed in business or occupied with frivolities.
About fifty years ago a boat with six men, when sailing from Walls
to Foula, was suddenly surrounded by an immense multitude of
curious creatures, resembling, but with fishy modifications, men,
women, horses, cattle, sheep, cats, dogs, and unicorns. The whole sea
as far as the eye could reach was alive with them. Some just peeped
above the surface, whilst others gambolled on it or stood on the waves
and bent over the boat. Naturally the crew were much astonished ;
but they had the courage to steer through the marvellous throng, and
arrived safely at Foula, where to the end of their lives they described
the extraordinary spectacle to the present generation, who are as firm
believers in its reality as the eye-witnesses were. They will not listen
to the explanation that the apparition may have been merely what
sailors call " a seal's wedding," assisted by imagination. They aver
that every animal on the land has its duplicate in the sea ; although
these marine doubles seldom appear on the surface. Upon the keel of
every Foula boat a copper coin is nailed to guard her from the attacks
of a huge monster called the Brigdy, which, from the description,
must belong to the Discoboli of the third order of fishes. It sticks
by its sucker fins to the sides of a boat, and tries to capsize her, and
nothing but copper will detach it. Where the precaution of nailing a
penny on the keel had been neglected, a clog with copper tacks in it
has been dragged in the wake of the boat, and found to be efiective."
NOTICES AND NEWS.
The Booh of Sindihdd ; or, the Story of the King, his Son, the Damsel,
and the Seven Vazirs. From the Persian and Arabic, vfith
Introduction and Appendix. By W. A. Clouston. Privately
printed, 1884. 8vo. pp. Ivi. 385.
The study of this collection of stories, on the deceits and tricks of
women, has been made accessible by the publication of the Society's
352 NOTICES AND NEWS.
volume by Professor Comparetti. That volume supplied the best
textual study, and we may say that Mr. Clouston's volume may be con-
sidered almost as its companion, supplying, as it does, the best com-
parative study. With these two volumes before liim the student has
everything at hand for his use. Mr. Clouston is well known as an
authority on Eastern literature, and his learned introduction to this
book is of the greatest interest. The " Book of Sindibad " is first
given, then follows ''the Seven Vazirs " with an appendix of stories,
"the Seven Wise Masters," and " Dolopathos." These collections,
together with notes and index, make a volume worthy of the attention
of all folk-lorists. Mr. Clouston supplies in his notes illustrations of
most of the curious customs referred to in the texts of the stories, and
he gives very ample reference to parallel stories to be found elsewhere,
besides which there is valuable bibliographical information of the
several editions of the works, and minute information as to where the
rarest of these editions are to be found. It certainly is a remarkable
fact in the history of fiction that this collection of stories should have
had such a long and wide-spread popularity, descending ultimately in
England into the penny chap-books which to our poorer classes
answer for literature; and it presents us with a most remarkable
instance of the literary migration of stories, a subject upon which Mr.
Clouston has perhaps expended more study than any other student of
folk-lore. Before concluding we cannot help adding one word of
thanks for the handsome manner in which Mr. Clouston has got up
his volume, and we trust that members of the Society will aid Mr.
Clouston's labours by their support.
Herr Otto Harrassowitz, of Leipzig, has just issued a catalogue of
books on the History of Civilization, containing a number of valuable
works on the Culture, Folk-lore, Customs, and Traditions of Greece
and Rome, the Hindus and other Oriental Peoples, with books on
Teutonic, Scandinavian, and Medieval Mythology and Folk-lore.
Copies of the catalogue may be obtained on application from Messrs.
Farrar and Fenton, 8, John Street, Adelphi, London, W.C.
FISHERMEN'S FOLK-LORE.
1. — Some Marriage Customs of the Fiseer-folk of Kosehearty,
PiTSLiGO, Aberdeenshire.
NE part of a bride's "plinisan" is a trunk, " the kist."
When her property is to be taken to her future home
this trunk is the first article taken from her father's
house, and it is often sent unlocked. If it is locked it
must be locked after being taken outside. The usual way of
removing it is to carry it out, and, without letting it touch the
ground, place it in the cart that is to convey it to the bride's own
house, and then lock it, if it is to be locked. This custom of not
locking inside the house a trunk that is to be taken away is carried
out in the case of those who are leaving home to prosecute the fishing
at other fishing stations. The trunks of the men and women are
packed inside, then carried out, and locked.
The bride should not bake the bridal bread — the oatmeal cakes,
neither ought she to do any errands, i, e. do any kind of shopping or
go messages of any sort.
When the bride is dressed for the marriage she used to set out, and
wait upon those whom she had called to the marriage, and tell them
to make ready. In doing so she must on no account hold her dress
in her hand, and, however wet the weather, she must not tuck it up.
J K 's marriage-day was a day of rain. Before setting out to
give her friends their call to the marriage, she tucked up her dress.
She entered the house of Widow R . The good widow was
amazed, at once took the bride outside, unloosed the tucking-up of
her dress and let it fall.
Vol. 2.— Part 12. 2 a
354 fishermen's folk-lore.
When the bride set out to meet the bridegroom at the hall, or
house, or church, in which the ceremony was to take place, great
attention was, and still is, paid to the " first fit." A horse is looked
upon as particularly lucky, hence the saying, " a hairy fit's a happy
fit." The man or woman the bride first met had to give her a silver
coin, and she made the person turn, and walk a short distance with
her.
The bridal-dress must on no account be changed between the time
of marriage and the time for retiring to bed.
The bridal-bed was, and is, usually made up by a woman " having
milk in her breasts," helped by one that is looked upon as having a
" guid fit " or " a lucky lian'." The custom varies.
It is regarded as very unlucky if there is a burial in the village on
the day of a marriage.
Sometimes the white bridal-petticoat was made into a dress for the
first-born child. The bridal chemise and stockings were laid up to
be put on at death.
The first clothes of the first-born were all given away to the nearest
of kin for her first-born, beginning with a sister if she required them.
So the clothes went from one to another, till they were worn out.
The mother had to go to church before she entered a neighbour's
house.
I have been told by one that she has seen a mother, who went into
a neighbour's house before going to church, put out.
Something borrowed must be put on the child at the time of
baptism, often a shawl to roll the infant in. My informant says that
she has given the loan of a shawl in accordance with this " fret."
The baptismal dress of the first-born was kept for the eldest daughter's
first-born.
2. — The Sba in its Health-qiving Vihtubs.
The sea is thought to have great health-giving powers, both in its
air and waters. It is supposed to be most efficacious in cases of
general debility, indigestion, weakness of the spine and limbs, inflam-
fishermen's folk-lore. 355
mation of the joints, contraction of the sinews, and rheumatism.
Many from the inland, visit during the summer months certain of the
sea-coast villages, some merely to breathe the air, others to enjoy
bathing as well as to breathe the air. The air is believed to have most
effect when the stomach is empty in the morning, and the health-
seekers are early astir, and along the shore " to snuff the caller air." *
It was quite common, not many years ago, to use the water as a
purgative. When the water was to be put to this purpose, it had to
be drunk in the morning before taking any food. As large a draught
as possible was drunk. This was followed by another of chalybeate
water, if a spring of such was at hand, and, if such was not to be had,
by one of spring water. A little " dulse " {^Rhodymenia palmata) was
eaten, and a walk taken. The effect was quick and wonderful, as those
who have undergone the ordeal have assured me.
Bathing is most commonly done when the tide is " flouin' " (rising),
from the belief that the water is strongest and has most effect at
that time. Bathing, when the tide is at its lowest, or even when
ebbing, is believed by some to be injurious to health, and a mother of a
large family now well-stricken in years in Rosehearty told me that she
laid strict orders on her boys never to bathe except in a " flouin* "
tide.f It was thought to be safer to take the water head first with a
dive, when the depth of water allowed, than to walk slowly into the
water, as such an act caused the blood to flow too quickly to the head.
If one had not the courage to dive, or if the water was too shallow for
that purpose, it was considered wise to drench the head — at least to
lave the forehead — before entering the water. When the bather left
the water, he ran a distance along the beach, if the nature of it
allowed him. Bathers often carried along with them a piece of oaten-
cakes — " the chatterin piece," " the shiverin piece " — which they ate
during the time they were dressing. The early part of the day was
regarded as the best time for bathing; and to bathe with a full
stomach, or in a state of perspiration, was looked on as full of
danger to health.
* Paul Sebillot, VEau dc Mcr dans les SujJerstitions et les Croyances
po]}ulaires, p. 6. ("L'Homme," 1884, No. 13, 10 Juillet.)
f In Basse Bretagne the contrary opinion prevails. Ibid. p. 6.
2 a2
356 fishermen's folk-lore.
With some (Macduff, Kosehearty), at least not many years ago, it
was a custom to throw into the water before entering it three stones
of diflferent sizes, beginning with the largest. White stones, if they
could be found, were preferred (Rosehearty). Others again threw
in a few without regard to number. Words were repeated, as the
stones were being pitched in, but my informants (Macduflf, Kosebearty)
could not recall them.*
Bathing in the sea is believed to be much more wholesome than in
fresh water. Frequent bathing in fresh water, especially if done
oftener than once a day, is looked upon as injurious to health.
8ea-water is much used as a lotion in cases of local inflammation,
weakness or stiffness of a joint, and spine disease. The water must be
drawn when the tide is " flouin," otherwise it is useless. If it is drawn
during the waxing moon, so much the more powerful are its virtues.
It is warmed, and the affected part is rubbed downwards as strongly
as the patient is able to bear, generally in the morning and evening.
By some the same water is used again and again, from the belief
that the oftener it is used the stronger grow its curative powers.
This health-giving power of the rising tide is not confined to
human beings. Lugworms (^Arenicola jnscatoi'um, Lamk.) are much
used as bait for fish. When they are not wanted immediately they
must be kept alive. It is believed that this can be done only by
keeping them among water drawn when the tide is rising. If the
water is changed daily they may be preserved alive for eight days or
more, whereas, if they are put into water taken from an ebbing or
" back-gain " tide, they die within a short time. — (Told by two
fishermen of Rosehearty.)
A sea-voyage is supposed to bring about a cure of any lingering
disease, such as that arising from indigestion or the liver. Or if a
voyage cannot be taken, a sail for a day or a few hours with a " guid
twist o' sea-sickness and a guid clean-oot " works wonders. Sea-
sickness is commonly believed to be healthful.
It is a common idea that a drenching with sea-water is followed
by no such evil consequences as arise from a drenching with fresh
• J. Leite de Vasconcellos, Tradicoet jwjttdares dr Portugal, i^^. 69, 70.
THE FOLK-LOUE OF DRAYTON. 357
water ; and one is always told that were the effects in the one case
as dangerous as in the other, fishermen and sailors could not live.*
Such are, or have been, some of the beliefs about the sea among the
folk of the north-east of Scotland with respect to its health-giving
powers. Walter Gregor.
THE FOLK-LOEE OF DRAYTON.
PART III. — Witchcraft and other things preternatural-
Astrology, &c.
{Continued from page 277.)
I OR poetical purposes, at any rate, Drayton was true to
the belief of his age, touching witchcraft, astrology, and
other allied arts. It is observable that in his Elegy \
on Lady Aston's departure for Spain, he ventures to
rate the power of his own desire — psychic force, the spiritualists
call it — respecting her good passage, as being equal in potency
to the spells of Norwegian witches, who can sell winds that will
steadily waft their sea-faring clients to a wished-for harbour. It
may be, however, that this was but a temporary boldness, induced by
hyperbole. Seldenf claims the same faculty for some "nuns "(as
Drayton § terms them) who, of yore, dwelt in the Seams,
" Gave answers from their caves and took what shapes they please ;"
and he refers to the wind-directing skill of Lapp and Finland witches
in later times. " Mother Bumby," in her contribution to the fire-side
tales told in the Mooncalf, || enters into considerable detail as to the
powers exercised by such weird women —
♦ Paul Sebillot, L'Eau de Mer dans les Stqjerstitions et les Croyanccs
populaires, pp. 5, 6.
t [iv. 1251.] An island off the coast of Brittany.
% [ii. 673.] § Pol. i. [ii. 657].
II [ii. 499.] Who was the original Mother Bamby ? Gerarde, writing years
before the Mooncalf appeared, says, sub Varvain, " It is repoi'tcd to be of
singular force against the tertian and quartaine fevers; but you must observe
Mother Bumble's rules to take just so many knots or sprigs, no more, least it
358 THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON.
" Out in the north tow'rds Greenland far away,
There was a witch (as ancient stories say)
As in those parts there many witches be;
Yet in her craft above all others she
Was most expert, dwelling in an isle
Which was in compass scarce an English mile ;
Which by her cunning she could make to float *
Whither she list as though it were a boat;
And where again she meant to have it stay,
There could she fix it in the deepest sea.
She could sell winds to any one that would
Buy them for money, forcing them to hold
What time she listed, tie them in a thread,
Which ever as the seafarer undid.
They rose or scantled, as his sails would drive,
To the same port whereas [at?] he would arrive.
She by her spells could make the moon to stay,t
And from the east she could keep back the day.
Raise mists and fogs that could eclipse the night.
And with the noonsted she could mix the night."
Even in these days of scientific meteorology there are spots where
such heterodoxy still lingers. ** I did hear of a witch in the Lewes
fifteen years agone," said an old gillie to the author of " In Assynt,"
a paper published in the Comhill Magazine, July, 1879. " She lived
at Stornaway, and did sell winds to sailors. One of our Loch Inver
boats did not get away that autumn for weeks. The wind was always
dead against them. Well, they did go to her, and what they paid her
I did not hear, but she gave them a black string tied with three knots,
and said, * Ye'll be getting aw a' to-morrow. Now, if the wind is not
strong enough loose one knot, if even then it is not enougli loose the
second, but on your life ! on your life ! dinna loose the third.' Well,
fall out 80 that it do you no good, if you catch no harm by it." I suppose the
name is used as a by-word for a credulous " old woman," masculine or feminine.
Lyly had a play. Mother Bombie, in which, as I am told, the heroine, " the
cunning woman of Rochester," was more knave than fool. Perhaps she was the
original Mother Bumby.
* Drayton believed the assertion of Giraldus, cited by Camden {Brit. vol. ii.
p. 795), that on the summits of the Snowdon range are two lakes, on one
of which floats, Delos-like, an island, whilst the other abounds in one-eyed fish,
eels, trout, and perch (Pol. ix. [iii. 830, note, 840] ). Marshland also is said to
float, and to rise and fall with the floods of the Don, &c. {Pol. xxviii. [iii. 1193]).
t Like tales were told of the Druids; scejwst.
THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON. 359
they got ofif sure enough next morning with a fair breeze, and then
the skipper loosed one knot. On the boat sprang and the wind rose.
Soon he loosed the second, and they tore over the waves, and were
very soon over the Murch near Loch Inver. They got to the entrance
of the harbour near the new stone house — ye ken it ? — on the right,
and the skipper says, * We're a'richt now ; if the deil himself with-
stands me I will loose the third ! ' He did loose it, and, though so
near home, the boat only got ashore in little bits. She was altogether
broken up. The men were all saved."
Some of the minor arts wherein fully accomplished witches were
expected to be proficient are enumerated in Elenor Cobham's furious
tirade * against Margaret of Anjou, who had called her " Beldam,
Gib, Witch, Nightmare, Trot,-' in the belief that she (at one time a
dabbler in magic) had worked evil spells against Henry VI., who
" in his cradle," according to popular opinion, "had the curse, that
where he was that side had still the worse." j- The " soft impeach-
ment " of being a witch was, as we know, by no means rare. Piers
Gaveston is made to complain that his mother was termed a witch,
and condemned to suffer as one, merely because he was thought to
have gained royal favour by inherited arts of sorcery. | Elenor
Cobham was suspected of being in league with Margery Jordan, the
Witch of Eye § and others, to melt a waxen image of the king with
the view of ensuring the sympathetic dissolution of the unlucky
monarch in proprid persona. She was also accused of being privy to
the awful profanity of a Mass offered by a priest named Hun for the
* Eng. Heroic Epis. [i. 300].
f Miseries of Qnsen Margaret [ii. 433]. See also Ihid. [ii. 422]. At St.
Albans —
" Some think that Warwick had not lost the day,
But that the king unto the field he brought;
For with the worse that side went still away,
Which had King Henry with them when they fought.
Upon his birth so sad a curse they lay
As that he never prospered in aught.
The queen wan two amongst the loss of many,
Her husband absent ; present never any."
\ Legend of Pierce Gaveston [n. Z^ii'].
§ Eng. Heroic. Epis. [i. 306].
360 THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON.
" intention"* of hallowing the magical instruments employed by Roger
Bullenbrook, sorcerer, to forward this and the like diabolical devices.
" 0, that I were a witch but for her sake," raves Elenor.
" I'faith her queenship little rest should take :
I'd scratch that face that may not feel the air,
And knit whole ropes of witch-knots in her hair:
O, I would hag her nightly in her hed.
And like a fairy pinch that dainty skin
Her wanton blood is now so cocker'd in ;
Or take me some such known familiar shape
As she my vengeance never should escape."
That not being sufficient she goes on to wish that she knew the
spells of the Druids by which they raised or calmed the sea and
wind —
" made the moon pause in her paled sphere ;
and envied
" Their hellish power to kill the ploughman's seed,
Or to forespeak whole flocks as they did feed;
To nurse a damned spirit with human blood,
To carry them through earth, air, fire, and flood I
Had I this skill that time hath almost lost,
How like a goblin I would haunt her ghost."
"When Venus of the Muses Elysiv.m'\ disguised herself as an old
witch, she was a witch of milder type than those of literature are wont
to be — in short, quite a domestic variety. She gave out that she had
skill in telling fortunes :
" And that more neatly she might with them close,
She cut the corns of dainty ladies toes.
She gave them physick either to cool or move them.
And powders too, to make their sweethearts love them.
And her son Cupid as her zany went
Carrying her boxes."
The preparation of philtres and potions was indeed a very im-
portant item in witchcraft. Misrepresented Elenor Cobham, who,
although she resented the name of witch, had, as I have already said,
a hankering after curious arts, felt it incumbent on her {crede Drayton)
to assure Duke Humphrey her husband that, although she won him,
she won him not as many thought,
• Ihiff. Heroic. Epis. [i. 302]. f Nymphal, vii. [iv. 1499, 1600].
THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON. 361
" With pois'ning philtres and bewitching drink,
Nor on thy person did I ever prove
Those wicked potions so procuring love."*
Our poet who died a bachelor, and who, it must be confessed, is
sometimes tedious and somniferous, is rather reticent as regards the
composition of love- compelling draughts, though sufficiently com-
municative as regards a sleepy drench. The fleshy mandrake,! grown
in the shade of the mystic mistletoe, and only to be uprooted with the
certainty of the act producing weird vegetable groans, | was par
excellence the love-compelling agent. Mandrake was also used for
sleeping-draughts, and so were henbane, poppy, hemlock, § and other
plants still honoured by the pharmacopoeia. When Queen Isabella
wished to procure the escape of Mortimer from the Tower this is the
conglomeration she stewed over a vestal fire to make a " night-cap "
for the warders : ||
" She plantane and cold lettuce had,
The water-lilly from the marish ground,
With the wan poppy, and the nightshade sad,
And the short moss that on the trees is found,
The pois'ning henbane, and the mandrake drad,
With cypress flowers that with the rest were poun'd ;
The brain of cranes amongst the rest she takes,
Mix'd with the blood of dormice and of snakes."
And, according to Heroical Epistles,^ that mess seemed to her to
lack perfection from the absence of many strange ingredients which
this moist and foggy clime denied.
It is hard to tell whether Drayton really believed in "the spirits
who haunt the mines,"** and in those underground gnomes who, as he
tells us in his 58th Sonnet,'\^ were formerly made guardians of treasure
by those who went off to the wars, leaving behind them no better friends
to confide in. Many a man, alas ! never returned to claim his hoard,
* Eng. Heroic. Ejns. [i. 298] . She was also accused of contriving his death
[i. 313].
t Mandragora officinalis. Nym/pTialy iii. [iv. 1467].
X Eng. Heroic Epis. [i. 368]. NympMdia [ii. 464].
§ Nymphal, v. [iv. 1489].
II The Barons' Wars^ book iii. v. 7 [i. 128].
1 [i. 243.] *• Po^.xxvi. [iii. 1176].
tt [iv. 1282.]
362 THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON.
and the faithful spirits remain true to their trust, moving further and
further away as covetous folk draw nearer and nearer to their charge.
The miner spirits seem to work, yet all their work produces no result.
There is a very curious representation of these busy gentry in a com-
partment of the frontispiece to the third impression (1688) of the
Golden Remains of the Ever Memorable Mr, John Hales, who was a
contemporary of Drayton's. Twelve spirits, overlooked by a winged
creature — possibly draconian, but with no tail to swear by — are
working diligently underground. The moral they are to suggest we
may as well hear from the " Ever Memorable" himself. * " G.
Agricola, writing de Animanitihus suhterraneis, reports of a certain
kind of Spirits that converse in Minerals, and so much interest those
that work in them ; and the manner of them when they come is, to
seem to busie themselves according to all the custom of Workmen ;
they will dig and cleanse and melt and sever Metals ; yet when they
are gone the workmen do not find that there is anything done. So
fares it with a great part of the multitude, who thrust themselves
into the Controversies of the Times ; they write books, move ques-
tions, frame distinctions, give solutions, and seem sedulously to do
whatsoever the nature of the business requires ; yet if any skilful
workmen in the Lord's mines shall come and examine their work he
shall find them to be but Spirits in the Minerals, and that with all
this labour and stir there is nothing done."
The theory connected with Incubus made too groat demands on
Drayton's credulity, as he takes occasion to inform us when speaking
of the parentage of Merlin,t and he should not be accused of incon-
sistency in that he makes Incubus responsible for that very unpleasant
conception, the Mooncalf. ^ I think, too, that the existence of were-
wolves was not an article of faith with him ; but however that might
be, English folk-lore is particularly indebted to him for the tale he
puts into the mouth of Mother Owl, § as it is " singularly barren," as
Baring -Gould says, of such stories, " the reason being that wolves
had been extirpated from England under the Anglo-Saxon kings,
* Page 45. t ^ol v. [ii. 757].
X [it. 479,] § Mooncalf [ii. 504, &c.]
THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON. 363
and therefore ceased to be objects of dread to the people."* That
wolves were not unknown animals in this country centuries after any-
body can have had the faintest claim to be called Anglo-Saxon is
now admitted ; f it was in Wales that the tribute of their heads came
to an end through the lack of supply ; but, bo that as it may,
I am not concerned to deny that stories of were-wolves are rare in
England proper. The shepherds in the Man in the Moon^ thought it
was expedient to "go about the field religiously,"
" With hollowing charins the Warwolf thence to fray
That them and theirs awaited to betray."
Had their opinion as to the etymology of the name been asked, it
is probable that they would have gladly hailed the guess that " ware-
wolves" are " wolves of which we ought to be aware,"§ but we are
bound to accept the more learned notion that wer or were is equivalent
to the Gothic vair and the Latin vii\ and that a wer-wolf is in word,
as well as in deed, a man- wolf ; unless we should venture to hold with
Mr. Baring-Gould || that were is the Norse vargr, a wolf, a godless
man, and, in a cognate language, a fiend. If I read mine author
rightly, he believes that were-wolf = demon-wolf.
Here is the sum of the tale that Mother Owl or Howlet told to her
gossips. Gammers Bumby, Eedcap, and Gurton. There was a man
living but a short time before, she said, who had studied witchcraft
and black sorcery, and who had learnt from the beldames at whose feet
he sat that a particular herb, which opened at sunset and closed at
sunrise, % would, if gathered at a certain hour and taken with the
accompaniment of a thrice-repeated spell, instantly change him into
* TJte Book of Were. Wolves, p. 100.
t " Edward I. issued his mandate for the destruction of wolves in several
counties of England A.D. 1289." — See Haydn's Dictionary of Dates, suh
« Wolves."
X [iv. 1325.J
§ Butfon's Natural History Abridged (Berwick, n.d.), vol. i. p. 139. It is
only fair to say that no uncanny origin is attributed to these ware-wolves. They
are mentioned merely as wolves that have learned to like human flesh, are "man-
eaters," as we should say of tigers.
II BooJi of Were- Wolves, p. 48. ^ See Part 11. of this paper.
364 THE FOLK-LORE OP DRAYTON.
a ** war-wolf." * He tried the experiment with success, much to his
own delight. He fed on the daintiest human morsels ; the fattest
sheep, the tenderest lambs, the most succulent of pigs, were his by
" hook or crook." So light and active was he that he distanced all
pursuit, and the whole country-side went in dread of him. One day
came by a silly ass, who, in an earlier state of existence, had been " a
very perfect man in shape and skin." Witchcraft had wrought upon
his externals, without diminishing the reason he had possessed as a
biped. Him, the werwolf captured, and tugged towards its den, but,
being just then without an appetite, the monster secured its prey in
a natural meat-safe, a brake of briers and thorns, in which the poor
brute's mane and tail soon became most satisfactorily tangled. Happily
for him, at this juncture a bevy of men and women and " curs of
various degree " — " Ball, Eatall, Cuttail, Blackfoot," and many more
unnamed — came out with bills, bats, clubs, spits, fireforks, and much
noise, to hunt for the terrible warwolf. He knowing what was happen-
ing, and " thinking this ass did nothing understand," went down
into a spring hard by, and emerged therefrom in human form. He
hid himself until part of the rabble had passed, and then contrived to
join the crowd, assuming to be as anxious as anybody to find the
enemy. The only game of moment that was discovered was the ass
entangled in the briers, and entangled in so curious a manner that
every one wondered how he came into such a plight. He could not
speak, he could only kneel, cry, make inarticulate sounds and so forth
to excite pity ; and some of the spectators jumped to the conclusion
that the animal had feeling and was longing to be set free. The
first use he made of the liberty they gave him was to seek amongst
the folk about him for the man who had been wolf, to fix his teeth in
him when found, and to drag him to the magic spring. Then he pointed
with his foot to it, and " with an ass-like noise" attempted to toll his
* The name of this simple is not given. Baring-Gould says the magical salves
usually employed for the same purpose were made of " Solanum somnifrrv7?i,
aconite, hyoscyamus, belladonna, opium, Acorvs rvlgarisy sittm. These were
boiled down with oil and the fat of little children who were murdered for the
purpose. The blood of a bat was added, but its eflfects could have been nil. To
these may have been added other foreign narcotics, the names of which have
not transpired." — Book of Wcre-Wolves, pp. 149-150.
THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON. 365
story. This the listeners were slow to take in, and he, vexed at not being
understood, jumped into the water, when wonderful to relate he became
once more man, and could step forth and use his power of speech to
reveal the truth about the warwolf. The erewhile ass was instantly a
popular hero, the monster was dragged about on the ground by the
indignant multitude, and " from his bones the flesh in collops cut."
" The subsequent proceedings interested him no more,"
but I may mention that the collops were carried in triumph on the
points of the weapons, and that amidst a song of victory the ass -man
was borne aloft.
Gammer Gurton * said she would moral the story, and so she did.
The " war-wolf " was a cruel, blood-thirsty man ; the spring, the
manner in which such an one would contrive to evade the ill-repute
attaching to his deeds ; the ass, some poor despised soul who by the
will of God brings all the evil practices to light.
" Quoth Mother Howlet, * You have hit the white ' ; "
indeed no Max Miiller or Cox could explain away a tale of horror
better. This is the more to the Gammer's credit, seeing that at the
latter end of the sixteenth century lycanthropy, or what was called so,
was especially rife in France, and there must have been much talk
concerning the trials of the beings who were suspected of it. Drayton
was, probably, with those who held that the bestial change of form
was mere hallucination.
We are indebted to Mother Bumby f for a picture of the contempo-
rary astronomer who was hardly of the same pattern as those of
Greenwich. He was
" skilful in the planetary hours,
The working knew of their celestial powers ;
And by their ill or by their good aspect,
Men in their actions wisely could direct;
And in the black and gloomy arts so skill'd
That he cren Hell in his subjection held.
♦ Was she first heard of in Still's comedy ?
t The Mooncalf [ii. 501].
366 THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON.
He could command the spir'ts up from below,
And bind them strongly till they let him know
All the dread secrets that bclong'd them to,
And what they did with whom they had to do."
Drayton believed that in the starry heavens —
" as in an everlasting book
Our ends are written "; *
and yet he not unnaturally asks,
" Why his true motion keepeth every star,
Yet what they govern so irregular ? " f
He makes Queen Isabella tell Mortimer J that their birth-fixed stars
so luckily agree that their " revolution seriously directs our like pro-
ceedings to the like eflfects." We learn that at Mortimer's " deliberate
and unusual birth" the heavens were said to have retired in council,
and to liave endued him with a spirit of insatiable aspiration. § Of
the happy night when he escaped from the Tower his Love declared,
*' Some gentle planet in that hour did reign,
And shall be happy in the birth of men
Which was chief lord of the ascendant then." ||
It may be new to some, who know well enough that " the stars in
their courses fought against Siscra," that when the Creator had deter-
mined to destroy the elder world He made the stars His instruments:
" Venus and Mars God put this work upon,
Jupiter and Saturn in conjunction,
I th'tail of Cancer, inundations threat,
Luna disposed generally to wet.
The Hiades and Pleiades put too
Their helps; Orion doth what he can do.
No star so small, but some one drop let down.
And all conspire the wicked world to drown:
On the wide heaven there was not any sign,
To watry Pisces but it doth incline." %
♦ Eleffy on the Three Sons of Lord Sheffield drowmd in Humber [iv. 1244].
t The Barons' Wars, book iv. v. 61 [i. 161]. Drayton knew of the saying
that the sun dances on Easter mom, and, 1 think, did not believe in it. — Pol. xxii.
[iii. 1091].
I The Barons' Wars, book iii. v. 53 [i. 139].
§ Ibid, book i. v. 2 [i. 94].
II Eng. Hermo. Ejus. [i. 243]. % Noah's Flood [iv. 1541, 1512].
THE FOLK-LORE OP DRAYTON. 367
There is some jtargon about the mystery of numbers in the Man in the
Moon* Phoebe (moon) says,
*' by proportion certainly I move,
In rule of number, and the most I love
That which you call full, that most perfect seven
Of three and four made, which for odd and even
Are male and female, which by mixture frame,
It most mysterious that as mine I claim ; "
and she shows how her phases are regulated with respect to this
wondrous numeral. Somewhat later we learn that Endymion sees how
the signs in their triplicities sympathise with the elements from which
our bodies take their " complexions," natures, and numbers ; so that
what men on earth call fortune is really stellar influence for evil or for
good. The treble Trine that makes up the holy theologic nine — the
nine orders of angels — is referred to in the same poem,f as also in the
very curious lines in which Drayton commended the Polyolbion of
1612 to his loyal countrymen by praising the rising hope of England.
These are so little known j: that I think I may give them at full length
without apology, although they be but weak in yield of folk-lore.
" Britaine hekold here portray'' d to thy sight ,
Henry thy best hope and the 7vorkVs delight ;
Ordained to make thy eight great Henries nine,
Who by that virtue in the trebble Trine
To his own goodnesse (in his Being) brings
Tlu'se seuerall Glories of th'' eight English Kings,
^Deep Knowledge, '^Greatness., ^long Life, ^Policy,
^Courage, ^Zcale, ''Fortune, ^awfull Maiestie.
He like great Neptune on three Seas shall roue,
And rule three Realms with triple power, like Joue.
Thus in soft Peace, thus in tempestuous Warres,
Till from hisfoote his Fam,e sJtall strike the Starres."
A sublunary mode of divination, osteomancy, which has already been
discussed before the Folk-Lore Society by Mr. Tlionis,§ is said by
Drayton to be rife in that little England beyond Wales, the Flemish
colony in Pembrokeshire. ||
♦ [iv. 1336.] t [iv- 1339.]
% They are not to be found in the 1753 edition of Drayton. I take them from
a print of the Polyolbion contemporary with him.
§ "Divination by the Blade-Bone," Folk-Lore Record, vol. i. pp. 176-179.
II Pol. V. [ii. 7G0].
368 THE FOLK-LORE OF DRAYTON.
"A divination strange the Dutch-made English have
Appropriate to that place (as though some power it gave),
By th'shoulder of a ram from ofiE the right side par'd
Which usually they boil, the spade-bone being bar'd ;
Which when the wizard takes and gazing thereupon
Things long to come fore-shows, as things done long agone
Scapes secretly at home, as those abroad and far,
Murthers, adulterous stealths, as the events of war.
The reigns and death of kings they take on them to know,
Which only to their skill the shoulder-blade doth show."
" Take this," says Selden,* commenting, " as a taste of their art in
old time" ; and he goes on to give an example from the Itinerarium
of Giraldus (i. cap. 2) touching one William Mangunel, who, in Henry
the Second's time, resided in the district of which we are speaking,
and was unhappy enough to have doubts as to the fidelity of his wife.
lie determined to resolve them, and dressing a shoulder-bone of one
of his own rams for dinner, pretending the while that it came from
his neighbour's flock, he asked the lady to divine thereby. She
examined the bone, and laughed heartily. Her husband inquired
wherefore, and she answered that she had detected unfaithfulness on
the part of the spouse of him from whose fold the ram had been
taken. " But why she could not as well divine of whose flock it was
as the other secret, when I have more skill in osteomancy I will tell
you," promises Selden.
In the infancy of Notes and Clueries,'\ M. E. F. showed that Den-
bighshire had not altogether forgotten the virtue of a blade-bone in
1850. Some natural curiosity having arisen in a family as to the sex
of an expected baby, an old woman asked permission to use a harm-
less charm to learn the secret. " Accordingly, she joined the servants
at supper, where she assisted in clearing a shoulder of mutton of eveiy
particle of meat. She then held the blade-bone to the fire until it
was scorched, so as to permit her to force her thumbs through the
thin part. Through the holes thus made she passed a string, and,
having knotted the ends together, she drove in a nail over the back-
door, and left the house, giving strict injunctions to the servants to
hang the bone up in that place the last thing at night. Then they
• [ii. 764.]
t 1st S. vol. ii. p. 20; or see Choice Notes ; Folk-Lorc, pp. 20, 21.
THE FOLK-LORE OP DRAYTON. 369
were carefully to observe who should first enter that door on the
following morning, exclusive of the members of the household, and
the sex of the child would be that of the first-comer. This rather
vexed some of the servants, who wished for a boy, as two or three
women came regularly each morning to the house, and a man was
scarcely ever seen there ; but to their great delight the first-comer
on this occasion proved to be a man, and in a few weeks the old
woman's reputation was established throughout the neighbourhood by
the birth of a boy."
Blade-bone divination however, as Mr. Thoms has shown, is
practised by other than " Dutch-made " folk. A dark spot in that
bone was formerly regarded by Irish seers as a prognostic of a funeral
from the house in which they saw it.* To this day brigands in
Macedonia have implicit faith in the prophetic power of the shoulder-
blade of the sheep or goat on Avhich they have dined. They carefully
examine it, and says one who has knowledge of their method with a
captive,! '* should there be a small hole, it represents the grave of the
prisoner and signifies that the ransom will not be paid; if there appear
small lines running in the direction of the leg bone, it denotes that
everything will go satisfactorily and the money be paid ; but should
the lines run at right angles, then pursuit and perhaps capture will be
the result of their enterprise." In 1867 I heard of osteomancy,
though not by means of the blade-bone, being resorted to in Lincoln-
shire. There was a person near Sleaford who could give in autumn
information concerning the weather of the following spring, from
observation of the breast-bones of geese, which if light prognosticated
a genial season, and if dark the contrary. "Bar Point" told the
readers of Notes and Queries, \ that in the country about Philadelphia
the same breast-bones are thought to indicate the temperature of the
coming winter. Dark-coloured marks portend cold. " Sometimes the
breast-bone is divided into thirteen equal parts by perpendicular lines
to point out the weather for each week."
{To he continued.')
* Irish Folk-Lorc, by " Lageniensis," p. 248.
f " Brigandage in Macedonia," Cornhlll 3Iagazlne, September, 1881, p. 358;
see also Henderson's Folk-Lore of tha Northern Counties, p. 175 (F.L.S.)
t 4th S. vol. i. p. 234.
Vol. 2.— Part 12. 2 b
370
FOLK-TALES OF INDIA,
{Continued from page 340.)
Notes on the " Sasa JAtaka." — (Ante , p. 336.)
1. " Then he squeezed the mountain."
Dr. Rhys] Davids, in his Buddhism, p. 198, translates (with
reference to this passage) the Pali word jnleti by *'to open." I have
never come across the verb in this sense. The corresponding term in
Sanskrit does not mean '* to open," but to squeeze, press, &c.
I have intentionally used the term squeezed because the essence or
sap (as Dr. Davids calls it) was pressed out of the mountain like
milk out of a cow (to use the old Hindd simile).
The mountain here alluded to in this story is Himavat or
Himalaya.
According to Hindu tradition it is recorded that when, in the reign
of Prithu, gods, saints, &c. milked the earth of its various treasures,
precious stones, herbs (with wonderful healing and renovating
properties), &c. Himavat was selected as the calf ox recipient of all
these good things. (See Kumdra-sambhava, i. 2.)
In this way the mountain contained the essence of the earth's
goodness, so that when Indra squeezed (or milked) the mountain lie
took from it the quintessence so to speak, the ** cream of the cream '*
of the earth's produce. Nothing else, in Fact, would have been good
enough or enduring enough to draw an everlasting figure of the hare
upon the moon.
It is worth noticing that the author of the Kumdra-sainhhava
mentions a red mineral fluid (dhdtu-rasa) obtained from Himavat for
writing letters on Bhurja-bark.
2. The moon is often called hare-marked in Hindil works. See
Kathd-Sarit-Sdgara, bk. x. ch. Ixii ; Ilitopadesa (Johnson's trans-
lation, p. 75) ; Contemporary/ Review (May, 1881, p. 781).
FOLK-TALES OF INDIA. 371
Note on the " Kaccani Jataka."
Offerings to the manes might consist of— (1) watei", (2) water and
sesamum-seed (tilanjali), (3) balls of food with water. The balls
were chiefly composed of boiled rice, or rice and sesamum-seed.
" On the first day, or the third or seventh or ninth (after the death
of a person), his kinsmen should change their raiment and bathe
out-of-doors, and offer a libation of water with (tila) sesamum-seeds."
( Vishnu-Pur dna^ bk. iii. ch. xiii.)
The Culladhanuggaha Jataka.*
The Punishment of Lust.
In days long since past, when Brahmadatta reigned at Benares, the
Bodhisat attained to the position of Indra, king of the gods. At
that time a certain brahman youth, a native of Benares, who was
studying all sciences at Takkasila, became accomplished in the use of
the bow, and was called Little-Bowman.
It came to pass that his instructor gave him his daughter to wife
because he thought him to be equal to himself in the acquisition of
science. He accepted her and set out with the intention of going to
Benares.
On the way he found that an elephant had rendered that district
uninhabitable, and no one dared to go up that way. Although folks
tried repeatedly to turn him from his purpose, nevertheless Little-
Bowman went up, along with his wife, right into the heart of that
forest. But when he got into the middle of it the elephant started up.
With an arrow he hit it on the temple ; that arrow went right through
it and came out behind, and the elephant forthwith fell down dead
upon the ground.
After rendering that place safe for wayfarers Little-Bowman came
to another forest further on ; and there fifty robbers obstructed the
road. Up he went, too, into that forest, notwithstanding that folks
tried all they could to dissuade him, and reached the place, near the
* Jataka Booh, vol. iii. No. 374, p. 219.
2 B 2
372 FOLK-TALES OF INDIA.
road, where those robbers were eating the animals they had killed and
cooked.
When they saw him coming along witli his wife, who was tricked
out in all her finery, they set about to seize them. The captain of
the robbers, who had some skill in reading men's characters, after
looking at him attentively, became aware that this was a first-rate
man, and he would not allow any one to molest him.
Little-Bowman sent his wife to the robbers and thus addressed
her : " Go bring some meat, and say to them, ' Give us too a piece of
meat.' " She went and said : " My man says, ' Give us a piece of
meat.' " The robber-chief ordered a piece of meat to be given to her
because he thought him to be an out-and-out good fellow. His men,
however, gave her a piece of uncooked meat, saying, " Shall he eat
the meat cooked for us ? " Thereupon Little-Bowman, out of a
feeling of self-respect, grew angry with the robbers because they had
given him uncooked meat. The robbers started up and in a
threatening tone exclaimed, "How's this? This is only one man;
are we women (to be afraid of him) ? "
Little-Bowman struck forty-nine men with as many arrows, and
brought them to the ground; but there was no arrow with which he
could hit the robber-chief. It is said that he had at first only fifty
arrows ; one of them he had used to strike the elephant, and with the
remainder he had killed the robbers. He knocked down the robber-
chief, sat on his breast with the intention of cutting off his head, and
drew the sword from the hand of his wife. She, at that very instant,
conceived a passion for the robber-chief, and placed the sword in the
hand of the robber and the scabbard in the hand of her husband. The
robber laid hold of the hilt, drew the sword, cut off Little- Bowman's
head, and killed him. Then, as he was going off along with the wife,
he made inquiries as to her birth. She replied, " I am the daughter
of a celebrated teacher in Takkasilu." " How came it about," he
asked, "that this man got you for a wife?" "My father," she
answered, "gave me to him, because he thought him to be quite
equal to himself in acquiring science. But I, out of friendship to
you, have caused the husband, provided with all due solemnity for me
by my family, to be killed."
FOLK-TALES OF INDIA. 373
Now the robber-chief thought to himself, " This woman has mur-
dered the husband to wliom she was given with all due ceremony by
her family; perhaps she may see another she prefers to me and serve
me exactly the same, so I must get rid of her at once."
As he was going along ho saw, in the course of his journey, a
little shallow stream, which at that moment happened to be full of
water. " There's a savage crocodile in this river," said he. " What
had we better do ? " " Master," she replied, " make a bundle of my
ornaments with my upper garment; take it across the stream, leave it
there, and then come and fetch me." " All right ! " said he. Taking
the bundle containing the ornaments he went across the stream, as if
to return, but when he gained the further bank he proceeded on his
way and left the woman behind. On perceiving this she exclaimed:
" Master, you are going away as if you meant to abandon me. Why
do you do so ? Come take me and then depart." While thus talking
with him she uttered the following verse : —
*' My jewels of gold, brahman, you've got,
The stream you have crossed all safely, I ween;
Oh I quickly return, I pray thee, at once
And take me from here, far away o'er the stream."
On hearing this the robber, standing on the opposite bank, spake
the following gdtha : —
" A man unknown I am, yet me you chose,
And off did cast your spouse, long known and tried ;
The substance you have left, the shadow seized,
I trust you not, again you may do wrong,
And me exchange, perhaps, for some one else.
Far hence I'll go and ne'er return again.
Moreover the robber said: " I'll go very far away from this place,
but do you remain where you are."
And e'en while she was crying he took and made ofif with her
articles of jewelry and the rest. To such grief did this poor fool
come through outrageous lust. Forlorn and destitute she drew near
to an E/agala bush not far off, and there she sat weeping bitterly.
At that moment Indra, who was looking round the world, beheld
that woman, afflicted with excessive lust, who had lost both husband
374 FOLK-TALES OP INDIA.
and lover, as she sat weeping and wailing, and he determined to come
and reprove that woman and put her to shame.
Taking Matali (his charioteer) and Paiicasikha (one of his musicians)
with him he proceeded to that place where the woman was, and,
standing on the bank of the stream, gave them the following instruc-
tions :
" Do you, Mutali, become a fish, and you, Pancasikha, take the
form of a bird; but 1, under the guise of a jackal, with a piece of
meat in my mouth, will go to the place exactly opposite to that woman.
Do you. Matali, when I get there, dart out of the water and fall in
front of me; then I, dropping the piece of meat that I've got in my
mouth, will make a spring to catch the fish. At that instant do you,
Pancasikha, seize the piece of meat and fly up with it into the air ;
and do you, Matali, drop into the water." " So be it, sire," they
replied. Matali turned into a fish, Pancasikha became a bird, but
Indra took the form of a jackal, with a lump of flesh in his mouth,
and went to a spot exactly opposite to that woman.
The fish leapt out of the water, and alighted in front of the jackal,
which thereupon dropped the piece of meat it had in its mouth, and
bounded forward to seize the fish. The fish sprang up and fell into
the water, and the bird seized the piece of meat and flew up into the
air with it. The jackal, that had got neither the meat nor the fish,
sat near the E^agala bush quite chap-fallen and sad. That woman
saw it, and thought to herseH — " Through its over-greediness it has
got neither the meat nor fish." Thereupon, she burst out in a roar of
laughter ; 'twas just as if she were crashing a jar.
On hearing that the jackal spake the following gdtha: —
" pray who is this that sits by the bush,
And gave such a laugh that startled us all ?
No music I bear, nor dancing, nor song ;
No cause of great mirth do I find round about ;
Ob I why, O Susso/ii, so lovely and fair,
Pray wby did you laugh when weeping you were ? "
In reply, she spake the following gdtha:—'
" jackal so brown, most stupid are you,
No skill have you got, nor knowledge, nor wit.
Yonr fisb bave you lost, your meat is all gone,
And now you sit grieving, all poor and forlorn."
FOLK-TALES OF INDIA. 875
Then the jackal spake the next qdtha: —
" Tlie faults of others easy are to see,
But hard indeed our own arc to behold.
Thy husband thou hast lost and lover eke,
And now, I ween, thou grievest o'er thy loss."
On hearing these words she replied : —
*' king of beasts most true, in sooth, thy words,
I know full well they to my case apply ;
From hence I'll go to take another spouse.
His will I'll do and faithful be and kind."
When Indra heard the speech of that dissolute woman he uttered
the concluding gdtha: —
" He who an earthen pot would basely steal.
Will take, if chance arise, a golden bowl ;
So you, who now a wicked deed hath done.
Will sin again when moved by fleshly lust."
After Indra had thus put this woman to shame, and caused her to
feel remorse (for the wrong she had done), he went immediately to his
own divine abode.
Note. — This story is perhaps the original of " The dog and the
Shadow."
See the story of Su8R07^t in Thibetan Tales, pp. 232-234, and com-
pare Pancatantra, iv. 9.
There is a Sinhalese version of the Pali story, entitled King
Maname, contained in the Koldh-kavi-pota. See The Orientalist^ for
August, 1884, pp. 184-186.
UbhatobhaWha JAtaka.*
The Covetous Fisherman.
In days long since past, when Brahmadatta reigned at Benares,
the Bodhisat was reborn as a tree-sprite. At that time in a certain
village there lived some fishermen. One day a certain fisherman took
his hook, and, along with his little boy, he went and cast his hook into
♦ Jdtalia Booh, vol. i. No. 139, p. 482.
376 FOLK-TALES OF INDIA.
a pond, where fishermen were wont to go and catch fish. The hook
got fixed in a stump hidden under the water. The fishei-man, unable
to drag it out, thought to himself, " There will be a big fish at the
end of this hook; I'll send my little boy home with a message to his
mother, and bid her pick a quarrel with her neighbours, so after that
they will not expect a share of what I may have taken." He said to
his son, " Go, my dear, and inform your mother that we have caught
a tremendous big fish, and tell her to pick a quarrel with her neigh-
bours." After he had sent off the child he was unable to get his
hook out of the stump ; for fear of breaking the lines he placed his
upper garment upon the ground and went down into the water, and in
searching for fish, through greed of fish, he struck himself against
the snags and injured both his eyes.
To make matters worse a thief even carried off the garment be
had placed on the ground. Suffering great pain and ])ressing his
eyes with his hands he came trembling out of the water and began to
look about for his cloak.
His wife, moreover, stirred up a quarrel, thinking to herself, *' I'll
manage so as no one will expect anything." So one ear she adorned
with a palm-leaf and one eye she smeared with soot off the cooking-
pot, and with a dog in her bosom she proceeded to the houses of her
neighbours. Then a certain friend said to her, ** In one ear you have
actually got a palm-leaf as an ornament, one eye is smeared, and you
are going about from house to house with a dog in your bosom as if
it were a pet child. Why surely you have gone out of your senses."
*' I have not gone out of my senses, but you abuse and revile me
without any reason. I'll go at once to the village headman and have
you fined eight kahdpanas.^' Having thus stirred up stnfo, both went
before the village headman. When he had investigated the quarrel,
punishment fell even upon the head of her who had commenced the
disturbance. " Give her the stick," was the sentence, so they bound
her and began to beat her.
A tree-sprite, who had witnessed this woman's conduct in the
village and the injury to the husband in the forest, standing within
the branches of a tree, said, <* man, your work both in the water and
NOTES AND QUERIES. 377
on the land has turned out badly. In two ways you have come to
grief." Then he spake the following gdtha : —
" Twice hast thou missed the mark to-day,
Once in the pond, once on the land ;
Thine eyes are hurt, thy cloak is gone,
And strife with friends thy wife has raised."
(^To he continued.)
NOTES AND QUERIES.
Unspoken Nettles. — Nettles in many parts of Scotland were till
not very many years ago used as food, and were looked upon as a
wholesome diet. The young and tender leaves were gathered, boiled ,
then mashed (Scotice, chappit), mixed with a little oat-meal, and
reboiled for a short time. They were cooked in the same way as
''greens," which were and are still thought to possess medicinal
virtues. In the north such a dish of nettles went by the name of
"nettle kail," as the dish of "greens" went by that of "chappit kail."
But the nettle, as in many other parts,* was used as a medicine
under the form of " nettle ale," for the cure of jaundice. The ale
was prepared in the following manner: a quantity of nettle-roots
was gathered, thoroughly washed, and then boiled for hours in water
till a strong extract was got. This extract was then treated with
yeast, "barm," fermented, "vrocht," and bottled. A man whose
mother was in the habit of making this ale lately told me he had
often drunk it, and found it quite palatable.
In one district at least the medicinal virtue of the nettle lay in its
being "unspoken," i.e. no one must speak to the gatherer of it, and
collected at the hour of midnight. The following story, communicated
* J. G. Dalyell, DarJcc?- Superstitions of Scotland, p. 28. W. G. Black,
Folk- Medicine, pp. 194, 195.
378 NOTES AND QUERIES.
to me by Mr. Alexander Walker, ex-dean of guild, Aberdeen, illus-
trates this notion. The scone of the story is in Kincardineshire.
'• Geordie Tamson, who lived near Jollybrands on the south turn-
pike, not far from the toll-bar, lay sick. After weeks of treatment by
the doctor, Geordie lay ill, without the least token of improvement.
A " skeely woman " from the Dounies, a village not far off, was called
in. She at once prescribed a supper of " nettle kail," and added that
the dish must be made of " unspoken nettles," gathered at midnight.
That very night by eleven o'clock three young men, friends of
Gcordie's, from Cairngrassie, were on their way to the Red Kirkyard
of Portlethen, where there was a fine bed of nettles. It was bright
moonlight. It happened that during the previous week Jamie Leipar,
from the Skatera, had been laid beside his fathers in the Red Kirk-
yard, and his body was being watched by his brothers, lest the body-
snatchers, or *' resurrectionists," should carry it off" for dissecting
purposes. When the three young men were nearing the kirkyard
yitt, they heard whisperings inside the wall. Up to this time they
had met no one, had been spoken to by no one. Now, if they we're
challenged, before they reached the nettles in the corner of the yard
next the sea, and filled their basket, their labour was lost, and the
herb was useless as medicine. Calling to mind who the whisperers
were, and trusting that they and their errand were known, they cried:
" Dinna spyke, dinna spyke. Ye're watchin Jamie Leipar. We're nae
resurrection fouk ; we're fae Cairngrassie, come tae gaither * unspoken
nettles ' tae mak Geordie Tamson better. Dinna spyke then : for
God's sake, dinna spyke, or ye'U spilt a'." In a moment the
whispering ceased, not a word was spoken. To the sound of the
waves breaking on the rocks behind the kirk the nettles were gathered,
carefully taken to the sick man, cooked of course, and given him. A
complete and speedy recovery followed."
Walter Gregor.
Miscellaneous Superstitions in Poula.— Isle of Vaila, Shetland,
October 30. — In my last letter I gave an account of the superstitious
customs connected with farming and fisliing, and I shall now exhibit
a miscellaneous assortment of current beliefs that have no rational
basis. A plague of moths will infest the house into which a woman
NOTES AND QUERIES. 379
newly risen from childbed enters without being invited to eat and
drink. A thread having nine knots upon it, is, when fastened round
the joint, an effectual cure for a sprain. Some are of opinion that
three threads of different colours will answer better. Three and three
times three have been magic numbers from very ancient times. A
drink of water in which a stone found in the stomach of a cod has
been boiled is a preventive of sea-sickness. A generation or two
ago a stitch in the side was cured by placing mould, taken from a
grave and heated in a kettle, upon the place affected. It was essential
that the earth should be taken from and returned to the grave after
sunset, and thereby hangs a tale. On one occasion a man named
Lawrence Robertson, who was celebrated for his skill in applying this
remedy, forgot to return the ghastly poultice to the grave in due time,
and a knock was heard at his door at midnight, when he exclaimed,
" Oh ! dat's Geordie Henry's ghost come for the moul' dat was ta'en
fnie his grave." The scum that rises from slugs kept in a bottle is a
cure for rickets. When a he-cat is killed, misfortunes of all kinds
may be anticipated — cattle, sheep, and poultry will die. When the
milk of a cow has been bewitched, and all the profit or virtue taken
out of it by some evil-disposed person acquainted with the black art,
"water should be taken from the suspected person's well, and some of it
be given to the cow, and the rest be poured into a pail of her milk.
If no one in particular be suspected, water from other wells must be
tried until the well of the delinquent be detected, and the milk restored
to a healthy state. About two years ago an Established Church
minister in Tiree refused to baptise the children of a crofter (John
MacKinnon by name) because the latter persisted in believing and
declaring that a woman had taken the profit out of his cow's milk.
Three children were left without names in consequence of their father's
obstinacy. Some women in St. Kilda are in the habit of putting a
small flower into the pail when they go to the glen to milk their cows
and ewes, to keep the milk from being bewitched by an " evil eye."
Jn Foula, when spotted lambs begin to be common it is a sign that the
flock will decrease. It is wrong to mention a cat to a man who is
baiting his lines; and if any malicious person cries to a fisherman
bound for the haaf, " There's a cat in your bnddio," no fish will be
380 NOTES AND QUERIES.
got. When eating fish never toss the bones into the fire, or the same
ill fortune will be the result. It was once the custom when a man
returned with a poor catch for the wife to kick the buddie round the
room and to scold the man, in the belief that it would occasion better
luck in future. A drink of water taken from the tops of three waves
is believed to cure the toothache. Water from the tops of nine waves
and in which nine pebbles from the shore have been boiled is believed
in Tiree to be a cure for the jaundice; but it is applied externally,
the clothes of the patient being dipped in the magical broth and put
on wet. I was acquainted with a man on whom this remedy was tried,
but failed. He died a few months afterwards. When your tooth
aches pick it with the nail of an old coffin. A drink from a knee-pan
taken from a grave cures many diseases. When the wind blows against
a funeral party it is an omen that another death will soon occur.
When a grave is dug a spade is laid across it until the body can be
interred, so as to prevent hooded crows and other carrion fowls from
carrying off the bones, it being a common belief, not confined to Foula,
that nothing evil can pass iron or steel. When a corpse is lifted the
straw on which it lay is taken outside and burned, and it is believed
that the footprint of the person who is fated to die next will be seen in
the ashes. When a sick person talks about his ailments, the listener,
to prevent the transference of the diseases to himself, keeps spitting in
a covert way. If a man mentions any misfortune that has happened
to himself or to others, the same precaution is used, with some such
comment, if reference is made to a third party, as ** His ain case be't."
It is unlucky to give anything out of a house on a Monday, and none
but a fool would marry on a Friday. When an infant is teething, live
peats for kindling should not be given to a neighbour, else the child's
teeth will stop growing. Burning peats should not be turned when
lovers are in the house, otherwise the young man will become dis-
enchanted and never call again. Cinders should not be piled on the
top of the fire, or the rent will be raised. When a cat scratches the
floor observe where she looks, for from that direction the wind will
blow. — J. Sands. — Glasgow Herald ^ 10th November, 1884.
Bible Divination. — A man named Noake has just been arrested at
Sedgeley under extraordinary circumstances. A neighbour named
NOTES AND QUERIES. 381
Griffiths lost some bed-linen, and, suspecting Noake of stealing it, she
took a Bible and key to his house, and took her garter off her left leg
and placed it around the Bible. A ceremony having been gone
through, the Bible, it was alleged, turned round to defendant, and he
was arrested on a warrant. — Westmoreland Gazette, November 8th.
Jan Dark. — A young servant of mine living in a small Cornish
village near Penzance asked leave last Wednesday (5th November)
to go home to see her mother. The weather suddenly changed, and it
turned into a very wet, dark night. " It was so dark," she said, " that
had she gone ' Jan Dark ' would have carried her off." I asked her
who "Jan Dark" was. "Oh, no one, Miss Courtney; it is only a
saying in the country." Could this possibly be a survival of the days
when Jeanne d'Arc was burnt for a witch ? M. A. Courtney.
Lilias-day at Kilbarchan. — Yesterday was the anniversary of what
was known as Lilias-day in Kilbarchan. For a period of nearly a
hundred years it was customary on this day for the villagers to erect
floral arches across the streets. These were very tastefully got up,
and as they were kept untouched till the following Monday, they were
the means of drawing a large number of strangers from the sm-roun-
ding towns into Kilbarchan. It was found, however, to be very
inconvenient to have a week's holiday at this time, because most of
the inhabitants, being weavers, were again thrown idle during Paisley
Fair season. Accordingly, Lilia>day has almost died out." — Glasgow
News, 31st July, 1884. William George Black.
Oak and Nettle Day in Nottinghamshire.— A custom now dying
out existed in Nottinghamshire on the twenty- ninth of May, or " Oak
and Nettle day," as it is termed in Nottinghamshire. The rising
generation sally out in the morning, their caps and buttonholes
adorned with sprigs of oak. They also provide themselves with a
bunch of nettles. They request all persons whom they meet with " to
show your oak." If a single leaf even is produced they are permitted
to pass on unmolested, but snp230sing they arc unprovided with the
necessary sprig or leaf their face, neck, and hands are well " nettled."
When punishment has been bestowed for disloyalty, a slip of oak is
presented to the offending party, who is thus provided with protection
from the next gang of youths and lads they meet. This nettling
382 NOTICES AND NEWS.
business is only perfonned up to midday. It is not recognised as
" lawful " to nettle afterwards. Some, who are unable to procure it,
endeavour to avoid the penalty by wearing dog oak (maple), but the
punishment is always more severe on the discovery of the imposition.
A more unpleasant custom prevailed in the northern portion of the
county about twenty years ago. Those who did not conform to the
usages of the *' Royal Oak day" were pelted with rotten eggs. In
order to be well supplied with the " needful" for that day, the young
men would hoard up hen eggs for about a couple of months before
they would be brought into requisition, so that the eggs would become
rotten before they were required. This custom was in time carried to
such an extent that the " strong arm of the law" was often brought
into requisition to suppress it, the rough young folk pelting persons
indiscriminately. Smaller eggs are still used by the school-lads on
" King Charles' day." E.
Folk-Lore Terminology. — (Ante, p. 348). — I have been prevented
from completing my letter on this subject owing to pressure of woik,
but I hope to have it ready for the January issue. G. L. Gomme.
NOTICES AND NEWS.
Custom and Myth. By Andrew Lang. London, 1884. (Longmans,
Green & Co.) 8vo. pp. 312.
Folklorists have for some time past been expecting from Mr. I^ang
an exposition of his views on folk-lore ; views which, having been
often expressed in essays and controversial letters in the Academy
and elsewhere, have proclaimed him as the chief champion of those
students who think that folk-lore is something more than mythology,
and that mythology is something more than diseased language. To
many this book on custom and myth will be disappointing, because
Mr. Lang does something more than hint that it is to take the place,
at all events for the present, of a larger book and a more comprehensive
study. Recognizing, as all must, that Mr. Lang has every right to
expound his theory of folk-lore and its teaching, it must also be
NOTICES AND NEWS. 383
admitted that in these fragments from his workshop he does not do
full justice to his subject nor to his position as our most distinguished
folklorist. A book from him, however, is sure to be welcome ; and
just now, we must admit, it is sorely needed, for the comparative
mythologists have had it all their own way so far as books are
concerned.
We shall be anxious to learn what the school of Mr. Max Miiller
and Mr. George Cox will say to the searching criticism, the cogent
reasoning and the accumulation of evidence, which Mr. Lang has pro-
duced in this volume. Many of our members are no doubt followers
of the mythological school ; but the writer of this article, not being
so, must be allowed to say that nothing that has yet appeared in print
so worthily champions as this book does, thos3 who believe that
folk-lore and mythology are two different and distinct studies. Mr.
Lang does not, it is true, attempt any detailed exposition of folk-lore ;
he does not define it ; he even hesitates to accept its classification as
a science ; but he gives us a complete study of several very important
folk-talcs which makes the book serve as an admirable stepping-stone
to those who are inclined to go into further detail and into further
fields of research.
Mr. Lang examines the myths of the Bull-Roarer; Cronus ; Cupid,
Psyche, and the Sun Frog ; the three tasks, as it may perhaps be
called ; Apollo and the Mouse ; Star Myths ; Moly and Mandragora ;
the "Kalevala"; Hottentot Mythology ; besides which there are studies
on the Divining Rod, Fetich ism and the Infinite, the Early History of
the Family and the Art of Savages. Throughout these chapters Mr.
Lang explains myth by obsolete customs. He says, for instance, that if
the ancient Greeks told a story to account for a mouse being the symbol
of Apollo, they told it at a time when they had passed the stage
when the mouse was a totem fetish of a tribe. He says that certain
customs, marriage customs and clan customs, have existed among all
types of savage society in much the same general fashion — the result
of nearly the same causes ; and that these customs survive in recol-
lection and tradition long after the tribe or people have passed the
savage stage. If we were to suggest one chapter more telling than
another it would be that on Cupid, Psyche, and the Sun Frog. Com-
384 NOTICES AND NEWS.
parative mytliologists examine the natncs of the story-beroes, and
come to several different conclusions, Mr. Max Miiller, for instance*
seeing a myth of sun and da-svn, Kuhn a fire-myth. Mr. Lang takes
for his text the incident in the story where in the Sanskrit version
Urvasi says to her mortal husband, " Never let me see you without
your royal garments, for this is the custom of women.^' He then
proceeds to examine this " custom of women " among savage people,
and explains the story from the results hereby obtained. Of course,
the answer of the comparative mythologists to this reasoning may be
tliat they might explain the story by a totally dififerent set of customs
from those chosen by Mr. Lang, and that hence the same fatal
objection will apply to this method as to theirs, namely, that scholars
disagree even when using the same method of research ; but we are
content to leave this to them, and in the meantime to accept Mr.
Lang's exposition of custom and myth as the ablest yet extant.
The Council have decided to issue the Folk Lore Journal quarterly
instead of monthly. The days of issue will be January 1st, April 1st,
July 1st, and October 1st. As the first number to be issued in
January will give so little time for preparation, it is probable it may
not be ready until about the 15*h January. Members may have the
Journal yearly by giving notice of such a wish to the Honorary
Secretary, Mr. Granger Hutt.
We have sincere pleasure in announcing that in consideration of
his distinguished services on behalf of folk-lore. Dr. Pitre, of Palermo,
has just been made a knight (cavaliere) by King Umbert. As the
Doctor has so many admirers in England, this royal act cannot fail to
give much satisfaction here as well as in Italy. It is certainly the
first instance of a folk-lorist having been knighted for his special
studies.
Some delay has unfortunately occurred in the issue of the Society's
volume for 1884, Magyar Talesy by the Rev. W. H. Jones and Mr.
Lewis Kropf. It is hoped, however, that the volume may now be in
the hands of members shortly.
385
ik 4^jIIi-<Iint ^uu%
SIXTH ANNUAL EEPORT OF THE COUNCIL,
14 JUNE, 1884.
The publications for the year 1883 were Mr. William George
Black's Folk Medicine, and the Folk-Lore Journal issued to the
members in monthly parts. The first-mentioned volume is one
of the most important yet published by the Society. With refer-
ence to the Folk-Lore Journal the Council are glad to report
that the result, financially, has been successftd. At the same
time the Council have to repeat their expressions of regret con-
veyed in the Annual Report last year, that more active co-ope-
ration is not forthcoming among the members of the Society.
The Folk-Lore Journal is an excellent medium of inter-commu-
nication, and the Council cannot but think that many members
might be able to render important service if they would place
themselves en rapport with the Council and with the Folk-Tale
Committee. To the various contributors of papers to the Folk-
Lore Journal the Society is much indebted.
The Folk-Tale Committee continue to receive most active
assistance in the work of tabulation from Mr. William John
Crombie, Mr. George L. Apperson, Mr. E. Sydney Hartland,
and others. Some of these tabulations have been selected for
printing in the Folk-Lore Journal. As a result of this experi-
ment, the work of printing appeared to the Committee so
important to the success of their labours that their recommen-
dation to the Council to utilize the Journal for this purpose was
2c
386 SIXTH REPORT, JUNE 1884.
at once adopted. It is therefore hoped that in the future a
greater amount of space may be obtained for printing these
tabulations of Folk-Tales. In the meantime new workers are
urgently needed to aid those already in the field, and thus help
to bring the results of the Committee's plan more quickly before
students of this important branch of Folk-Lore. The Committee
cannot begin to classify and arrange until at all events all
the principal collections of Folk-Tales are completely tabulated.
The bibliography of Folk-Lore has been printed in the Journal
as far as the letter C (authors' names). Letter D is ready for
press, and considerable progress has been made witli the subse-
quent portions. The object of printing these sections in the
Journal is to ensure correction of any errors, and the addition
of titles not included by the Editor, and members may materially
help the Society in this branch of its work. It is hoped that
more rapid progress with this important compilation will be made
this year.
The Council last year expressed an opinion that the time had
not come for the appointment of Local Secretaries, and it is not
yet prepared to arrange such a complete organisation as might
be wished. As a first step, however, it is thought that some
arrangement should be made for the appointment of Local
Secretaries for the chief divisions of the British Isles and for
India, and they accordingly have appointed the following
gentlemen : —
Mr. William George Black for South Scotland.
Rev. W. Gregor . . . ,, North Scotland.
Mr. G. H. Kinahan . . „ Ireland.
Mr. J. Fisher . . . . „ Wales.
Captain R. C. Temple . . „ India.
The Council have to report that the Right Reverend the
Bishop of St. John's, Kaffi-aria (Dr. Henry Callaway), has very
kindly presented to the Society about eighty copies of his very
valuable Zulu Nursery Literature^ and about five hundred copies
SIXTH liEPORT, JUNE 1884. 387
of his Religious System of the Amazidii. This most generous
and acceptable gift will enable the Council to send a copy of the
latter work to each member of the Society ; and with reference
to the Zulu Nursery Literature, the Council propose to offer it
for sale to members of the Society at half a guinea, any copies
that may remain being offered to the general public at one
guinea net.
The Council passed the following resolution and forwarded it
to the Bishop : — " Resolved unanimously, That the Council
desire to express their best thanks to the Right Reverend the
Bishop of St. John's, Kaffraria, for his kind and valuable pre-
sent, and to assure him that the members of the Society will be
greatly pleased at being able to procure a copy of his important
collection of Zulu Folk-lore."
The work selected for the 1884 issue, in addition to the Folk-
Lore Journal^ is a collection of Magyar Folk-tales, by the
Reverend W. H. Jones and Mr. Lewis Kropf.
It frequently occurs that reference is made to Folk-Lore in
the Reports of Her Majesty's Diplomatic and Consular Agents
abroad, and it has occurred to the Council that a representation
might be made to the Government to urge upon them the
advisability of asking their agents to notice matters likely to be
be of interest. If this can be done, the Council will formulate
a code of questions which might be sent for the guidance of
those who would be called upon to report.
At the last Annual Meeting the Council were empowered to
appoint a second Honorary Secretary, to take charge of the
financial business of the Society, and they are glad to report
that Mr. A. Granger Hutt has kindly consented to take this
office.
The work of the Society for the past year, though not so
extensive as could have been wished, is in the opinion of the
Council satisfactory. During the last year a great deal of
encouragement has been given to the study of Folk-Lore in
2 c2
388 SIXTH REPORT, JUNE 1884.
foreign countries. In Spain, Portugal, Italy and France,
either through the establishment of a Folk-Lore Society or
the publication of a journal specially devoted to the study, the
movement begun by this Society has been extended. A pro-
posal has also been made to establish a Folk-Lore Society
in the United States ; and in India tlie publication of Captain
Temple's Panjdh Notes and Queries promises to be as useful
to Hindu Folk-Lore as our own Notes and Queries has been in
the past to English. Of private collectors it may be useful to
note that Captain Conder has obtained a great quantity of
Arab Folk-Lore ; Sir Arthur Gordon has brought from Fiji
some important materials ; Mr. Karl Krohn is now travelling in
the Baltic provinces of Russia collecting Esthonian and Lettish
Folk-Lore ; and the Royal Colonial Institute of the Hague has
resolved to request replies to a code of questions on proverbs
addressed to all the Dutch colonies.
In conclusion, the Council would observe that it behoves evefy
member interested in the study and anxious to preserve the
position which this Society has held up to the present time, to
exert himself to the utmost to secure additional members. There
is plenty of work to do, and it must be done quickly.
SIXTH REPORT, JUNE 1884.
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SIXTH UEPOliT, JUNE 1884. 391
STATEMENT OF THE AUDITORS.
2Qth May, 1884.
We, the Auditors appointed to examine the Accounts of the
Folk- Lore Society, hereby certify that the Treasurer has pro-
duced to us the Bankers* pass-book and the accounts and vouchers
for the year ending 31st December, 1883, and we also certify
that the above statement of Receipts and Expenditure is correct.
We have also had presented to us a Balance-sheet; but without
examining this in detail we are satisfied as to its correctness in
principle and certify accordingly.
(Signed) John Tolhurst.
J. S. Udal.
392
ANNUAL MEETING.
The Sixth Annual Meeting of the Folk-Lore Society was held
on Saturday, 14 June, 1884, at the residence of the President,
13, Belgrave Square, at 4 o'clock p.m.
The Right Honourable Earl Bbauchamp, F.S.A., President,
took the Chair.
The Pkesident moved the adoption of the Report of the
Council, which was seconded, and carried unanimously.
The Honorary Secretary then read the Treasurers' Account
and the Statement of the Auditors.
It was proposed, seconded, and resolved unanimously, "That
the Account and Statement be approved and adopted, and
that the thanks of the Meeting be given to the Auditors and
Treasurer."
It was moved, seconded, and resolved unanimously, " That
Mr. A. Lang, M.A., Mr. W. R. S. Ralston, M.A., and Dr.
Edward B. Tylor, F.R.S., be the Vice-Presidents of the Society.
" That Mr. Edward Brabrook, Mr. James Britten, Mr. Ed-
ward Clodd, Sir W. R. Drake, Mr. G. L. Gomme, Mr. J. T.
Micklethwaite, Mr. Alfred Nutt, Rev. Professor A. H. Sayce,
Mr. Edward Solly, Mr. William J. Thorns, Mr. W. S. W. Vaux,
and Mr. Henry B. Wheatley, be elected Members of tlie
Council for the ensuing year."
It was moved, seconded, and resolved, " That Mr. John
Tolhurst and Mr. G. L. Apperson be the Auditors of the
Society for the ensuing year."
ANNUAL MEETING, 1884. 393
It was moved, seconded, and resolved unanimously, " That
the thanks of the Society be given to Mr. W. J. Thorns for his
services as Director."
It was proposed by Professor Sayce, seconded, and carried
unanimously, " That this Meeting desires to express its best
thanks to Earl Beauchamp for his kind and valuable services as
President of the Society."
1884-1885.
PEESIDENT.
THE RIGHT HON. EARL BEAUCHAMP, F.S.A.
VICE-PRESIDENTS.
A. LANG, M.A.
W. R. S. RALSTON, M.A.
EDWARD B. TYLOR, LL.D., F.R.S.
COUNCIL.
EDWARD BRABROOK, F.S.A.
JAMES BRITTEN, F.L.S.
EDWARD CLODD.
SIR W. R. DRAKE, F.S.A-
G. L. GOMME, F.S.A.
J. T. MICKLETHWAITE, F.S.A.
ALFRED NUTT.
PROFESSOR A. H. SAYCE, M.A.
EDWARD SOLLY, F.R.S., F.S.A.
WILLIAM J. THOMS, F.S.A.
W. S. W. VAUX, M.A.
HENRY B. WHEATLEY, F.S.A.
DIEECTOE.— WILLIAM J. THOMS, F.S.A.
TEEASUEER.— SIR WILLIAM R. DRAItE, F.S.A.
HONOEAET SECEETAEIES.
G. L. GOMME, F.S.A., 2, Park Villas, Lonsdale Road, Barnes, S.W.
A. GRANGER HUTT, F.S.A., 8, Oxford Road, Kilburn, N.W.
AUDITOES.— John Tolhurst, F.S.A. G. L. Apperson.
BANKEES. — Union Bank of London, Charing Cross Branch.
FOLK-TALE COMMITTEE.— Messrs. Apperson, Britten, Blind, Clodd, Uartlaud,
Nntt, Lang, Ralston, Sonnenschein, Wheatley, Solly, Wake, Gomme.
OFFICERS AND MEMBERS. 395
MEMBERS. (December, 1883.)
Hon. J. Abercromby, 21, Chapel Street, Belgrave Square, S.W.
George H. Adshead, Esq., Fern Villas, 94, Bolton Road, Pendleton.
A. Percy Allsopp, Esq., Hindlip Hall, Worcester.
Dr. Antonio Machado y Alvarez, Sevilla, O'Donnell, 22.
J. A. Anderson, Esq., 46, Warwick Gardens, Kensington, W.
J. B. Andrews, Esq., Villa Pigauti, Mentone.
The Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House, W.
George L. Apperson, Esq., 5, Homefield Road, Wimbledon (Auditor).
Astor Library, New York.
Edward I. Aydon, Esq., 31, Westgate Road, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
James Backhouse, Esq., West Bank, York.
Jonathan E. Backhouse, Esq., Bank, Darlington.
J. Davies Barnett, Esq., Port Hope, Ont., Canada.
Thos. Barwell, Esq., The Woodlands, Kirby Muxloe, Leicester.
M. Rene Basset, 22, rue Raudon, Algiers.
The Earl Beauchamp, 13, Belgrave Square, S.W. (President).
Miss Bell, Borovere, Alton, Hants.
Berlin Royal Library, per Asher and Co., 13, Bedford Street, Covent Garden.
William Bethell, Esq., Rise Park, Hull.
T. B. Birchall, Esq., 7, Park Terrace, Park Lane, Croydon.
Birmingham Library, care of C. E. Scarse, Esq., Union Street, Birmingham.
Birmingham Pree Library, Ratcliffe Place, Birmingham.
William George Black, Esq., 1, Alfred Terrace, Hillhead, Glasgow.
Dr. Karl Blind, 3, Winchester Road, South Hampstead, N.W.
The Boston Athenaeum, Boston, U.S.A., per Messrs. Triibner, Ludgate Hill, E.C.
Boston Public Library, U.S.A.. per Triibner and Co., Ludgate Hill, E C.
Charles P. Bowditch, Esq., 28, State Street, Boston, Mass. U.S.A.
H. Courthope Bowen, Esq., M.A., 3, York Street, Portman Square, W.
Dr. D. G. Brinton, Media, Penna, U.S.A.
James Britten, Esq., F.L.S., 18, West Square, Southwark, S.E.
F. A. Brockhaus, Esq., Leipzig.
Henry Thomas Brown, Esq., Chester.
Dr. Robert Brown, F.L.S., Fersley, Rydal Road, Streatham, S.W.
M. Loys Brueyre, 134, Boulevard Haussmann, Paris.
Dr. Brushfield, The Cliff, Budleigh-Salterton, Devonshire.
E. W. Bulkeley, Esq., Summerficld, Didsbury, Manchester.
Miss Burne, Pyebirch, Eccleshall, Staffordshire.
Burton-on- Trent Institute, Union Street.
Miss R. H. Busk, 16, Montague Street, Portman Square, W.
396 OFFICERS AND MEMBERS.
E. Caddick, Esq., Wellington Road, Edgbaston.
The Countess of Caledon, Tottenhanger Park, St. Albans.
The Right Rev. Bishop Callaway, Caffraria, South Africa
Rev. J. L. Carrick, Spring Hill, Southampton.
Rev. J. W. Cartmell, Christ's College, Cambridge.
The Countess Martinengo Cesaresco, Palazzo Martinengo, Salo' Lago di Garda,
Italia.
Cheltenham Library, Royal Crescent, James T. Pressley, Esq., Librarian.
Thomas Chorlton, Esq., 32, Brazennose Street, Manchester.
Rev. George Christian, Redgate, Uppingham.
Hyde Clarke, Esq., D.C.L., 32, St. George's Square, S.W.
Edward Clodd, Esq., Rosemount, Tufnell Park, N.
John Collett, Esq., 12, Fopstone Road, South Kensington, S.W.
Harvey T. R. Combe, Esq., Oaklands, Battle, Sussex.
Signor Domenico Comparetti, Firenze, Via del Maglio, Italia.
The Library of Congress, Washington, U.S. per E. G. Allen, Esq.
Moncure D. Conway, Esq., Inglewood, Bedford Park, Chiswick.
James W. Cook, Esq., Wentworth House, Hollybush Hill, Snaresbrook, Essex.
Mrs. Coote, 13, Westgate Terrace, Redcliffe Square, S.W.
F. W. Cosens, Esq., F.S.A., 7, Melbury Road, Kensington, W.
R. B. Cragg, Esq., Langbar End, Ingleton, via Camforth.
W. J. Craig, Esq., 8, Grenville Street, Brunswick Square.
John W. Crombie, Esq., M.A., Balgownie Lodge, Aberdeen.
James Curtis, Esq., 12, Old Jewry Chambers, E.C.
Mrs. Damant, Bedford House, Cowes, Isle of Wight,
Daniel Daulby, Esq., Biggleswade, Beds.
Sir William R. Drake, F.S.A., 46, Parliament Street, S.W. (Treasurer).
Dalrymple Duncan, Esq., 211, Hope Street, Glasgow.
A. W. V. Duncombe, Esq., The College of Vicars Choral, Hereford.
Rev. T. F. Thiselton Dyer, Beckland, West IJnd Lane, N.W.
Charles J. Elton, Esq., F.S.A., 10, Cranley Place, Onslow Square, S.W.
Charles W. Empson, Esq., 3, Cleveland Gardens, W.
Viscount Enfield, 34, Wilton Place, S.W.
John Evans, Esq., LL.D., F.R.S., V.P.S. A., Nash Mills, Hemel Hempstead, Herts.
Rev. W. Featherstonehaugh, Edmondbyers Rectory, Blackhill, Durham.
John George Fenwick, Esq., Moorlands, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
David Fitzgerald, Esq., 3, Porten Road, Hammersmith, W.
Augustus W. Franks, Esq., M.A., F.R.S., F.S.A., British Museum.
Edwin Freshfield, Esq., F.S.A., 5, Bank Buildings, E.C.
Rev. H. Friend, Worksop, Notts.
Charles W. George, Esq., 24, Aberdeen Terrace, Clifton, Bristol.
OFFICERS AND MEMBERS. 397
Miss Gibb, Lockwood, Garteosh-by-Glasgow.
Gilbert and Field, 18, Gracechurch Street, E.G.
The Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P., Whitehall, S.W.
Glasgow University Library, per Messrs. MacLehose, 61, St. Vincent St., Glasgow.
F. W. Goddard, Esq., Metropolitan Board of Works, Spring Gardens, S.W.
G. L. Gomme, Esq., F.S.A., 2, Park Villas, Lonsdale Road, Barnes, S.W. (Hon.
Secretary).
Hellier Gosselin, Esq., Blakesware, Ware, Herts.
The University Library, Gottingen, per Asher and Co.
Rev. Walter Gregor, Pitsligo, Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire.
Mrs Grindlay, 26, Royal Circus, Edinburgh.
J. Wyllie Guild, Esq., F.S.A. Scot., 65, St. Vincent Street, Glasgow.
Arthur Gunn, Esq., 31, Gloucester Road, Regent's Park.
Mrs. Gutch, Holgate Lodge, York.
James E. A. Gwynne, Esq., F.S.A., 97, Harley Street, W.
Edward Hailstone, Esq., F.S.A., Walton Hall, Wakefield.
James Hardy, Esq., Oldcambus, Cockburnspath, N.B.
Miss Harrison, 80, Gower Street, W.C.
Professor J. M. Hart, Cincinnati, per B. F. Stevens, Esq., 4, Trafalgar Square.
E. Sidney Hartland, Esq., Beresford House, Swansea.
Harvard College Library, per Triibner and Co., Ludgate Hill, E.C.
William Henderson, Esq., Dunholme, The Park, Cheltenham.
J. Newby Hetherington, Esq., 62, Barley Street, W.
John Hodgkin, Esq., 9, Dynevor Gardens, Richmond, S.W.
E. D. Hodgson, Esq., 3, Temple Gardens, E.C.
Robert Holland, Esq., Mill Bank, Frodsham, Cheshire.
Robert Charles Hope, Esq., F.S.A., Albion Crescent, Scarboro'.
Miss Hoppus, 11, Maitland Park Villas, Haverstock Hill, N.W.
David Howard, Esq., Rectory Manor, Walthamstow, E.
Hull Subscription Library.
E. Hutchings, Esq., Carlton Buildings, 17, Cooper Street, Manchester.
A. Granger Hutt, Esq., F.S.A., 8, Oxford Road,Kilbum, N.W. (Hon. Secretary).
Rev. Francis W. Jackson, Botton Percy, Tadcaster.
Joseph J. Jenkins, Esq., 67, Hamilton Terrace, N.W.
The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, U.S., per E. G. Allen, Esq.
John Joseph Jones, Esq., Abberly Hall, Stourport.
William Kelly, Esq., F.S.A., Ivy Lodge, Alexandra Road, Stoneygate, Leicester.
G. H. Kinahan, Esq., M.R.I. A., Lurgyback, Letterkenny, Ireland.
Mrs. Henry Kingsley, 10, Ridgway Place, Wimbledon, Surrey.
Herr Klincksieck, Paris, per Longmans & Co., Paternoster Row, E.C.
Rev. J. Ilinton Knowles, Srinagar, Kashmir.
398 OFFICERS A14D MEMBERS.
Dr. Reinhold Kohler, Weimar.
Kev. W. S. Lach-Szyrma, M.A., St. Peter's Vicarage, Newlyn, Penzance.
Alexander Laing, Esq., LL.D., Newburgh-on-Tay, Scotland.
A. Lang, Esq., M.A., 1, Marloes Road, Kensington.
James Lawson, Esq., Mission House, Oldbury, near Birmingham.
Rev. W. E. Layton, Cranboume, Westerfield Road, Ipswich.
Henry C. Lea, Esq., 706, Sansom Street, Philadelphia.
F. de M. Leathes, Esq., 17, Tavistock Place, W.C.
Victor Lewis, Esq., 35, Sinclair Road, W.
J. H. Stewart Lockhart, Esq., Assistant Colonial Secretary, Hong Kong.
The London Institution, Finsbury Circus.
The London Library, St. James' Square, S.W.
Rev. J. Long, 19, Adam Street, W.C.
Sampson Low & Co., Crovni Buildings, Fleet Street, E.G.
Sir John Lubbock, Bart., M.P., F.R.S., High Elms, Beckenham, Kent.
Alex. MacBain, Esq., M.A., Rainings School, Inverness.
Edgar MacCulloch, Esq., F.S.A., Guernsey.
Alex. Mackay, Esq., Trowbridge, Wilts.
Dr. Mackinlay, 6, Great Western Terrace, Kelvinside, Glasgow.
Surgeon-General Mackinnon, 6, Whitehall Yard, S.W.
R. Craig Maclagan, Esq., 5, Coates Crescent, Edinburgh.
Alexander Macmillan, Esq., F.S.A., Bedford Street, Covent Garden, W.C.
John Mac Nair, 33, Moray Place, Edinburgh.
Capt. Alex. MacNeil, 3, Whitehall Gardens, S.W.
Sir Henry Sumner Maine, K.C.S.L, LL.D., F.R.S., 27, Cornwall Gardens.
Manchester Free Library, King Street, Manchester.
E. Marston, Esq., Crown Buildings, Fleet Street.
Mrs. E. B. Mawr, 5, Strada Fortuna, Caimata, Bucharest, Roumania.
The Mercantile Library, Philadelphia, U.S. per E. G. Allen, Esq.
J. T. Micklethwaite, Esq., F.S.A., 15, Dean's Yard, Westminster.
Middlesbrough Free Library.
J. Middleton, Esq., Westholme, Cheltenham.
The Mitchell Library, Glasgow.
Miss Monteiro, 7, Hill Road, N.W.
Howard W. Moore. Esq., Junior Reform Club, Tempest Hey, Liverpool.
James Earl Moreton, Esq., F.R.C.S., Tarvin, near Chester.
Rev. R. Morris, LL.D., Lordship Lodge, Wood Green, N.
Munich Royal Library, per Asher and Co.
James Napier, Esq., Maryfield, Bothwell.
The Lady Caroline Nevill, Mailing House, Maidstone.
The Newcastle Literary and Philosophical Society, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
€
OFFICERS AND MEMBERS. 399
Robert Cradock Nichols, Esq., F.S.A., 5, Sussex Place, Hyde Park.
James Nicholson, Esq., Thornton, Berwick-upon-Tweed.
Nottingham Public Library.
Alfred Nutt, Esq., Rosendale Hall, Dulwich.
W. Oakley, Esq., Newhall, Derbyshire.
Cornelius Paine, Esq., 9, Lewes Crescent, Kemp Town, Brighton.
His Excellency W. G. Palgrave, per Messrs. Macmillan & Co., Bedford Street,
Covent Garden, "W.C.
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W. R. S. Ralston, Esq., M.A., 8, Alfred Place, Bedford Square, W.C.
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INDEX.
Abercromby (Hon. J.): Irish bird-lore,
65-67 ; Irish stories and charms,
33-39 ; Mr. Nutt's paper on Irish
mythology, 317
Aberdeenshire farming customs, 329-
332; fishermen's folk-lore, 353-357;
folk-tales, 68-74, 277-278
Adder's tongue in Drayton's plant-
lore, 147
Agricultural charms, 105 ; folk-lore,
329-332
Agrimony in Drayton's plant-lore, 148
All Hallow Een, 23
Alnwick, football at, 123
American songs and games, 243-248;
superstitions, 23-24
Ancestor, soul of, in butterfly (Ireland),
213
Ancestors, invoking of, folk-tale inci-
dent (Malagasy), 130, 131, 134, 135
Animal, bronze figure of, used as
charm, 253 ; folk-lore in Drayton,
229-235; flesh used in folk-medicine,
98; heroes in folk-tales, 79-81, 166-
168
Animals, man in the form of, 364
Apperson (G. L.) : Tabulation of folk-
tales, 152-154, 183-186, 216-217
Apple-throwing custom, 221
Arab folk-lore, 187
Arthur legend in Drayton, 113
Aubrey (John): Hearne's opinion of,
254
Aunt Sally game, 85
Australian Aborigines, customs of,
220-221
Baker, trade legend about, 322-326
Ball, game of (Ireland), 264, 319
Ballads, early mention of, 157
Barnacle goose, Drayton's conception
of, 271
Barrow called fairy mound, 261
Bathing customs and ideas, 356
Battle traditions, 150, 159, 187
Bees, rhyming proverb on, 279
Bell legend, 20-22 ; superstition
(America), 24
Bent (J. Theodore) : Modern Greek
games, 57-59
Berks, Shrove Tuesday custom in, 222
Bevis of Southampton, legend in
Drayton, 113
Bible, kissing the, in oath-taking, 63
Bible and key divination, 156, 380-381
Bibliography of folk-lore, 197-206
Bird legend (India), 302-306
Bird-lore, 65-67, 156. 232-235, 258,
266-272, 274-276
Birds, impounding wild, folk-tale,
19-20; see " Blackbirds "
Birth, customs at (Connemara), 257 ;
Jewish, 187 ; farming notions at
times of, 331 ; superstition connected
with, 25-26, 378 ; from mother's
side, folk-tale incident, 50
Black (W. G.): Confirmation folk-lore,
348 ; St. John's Eve in Norway,
348-349 ; holy wells in Scotland,
173-175 ; Lilias-day at Kilbarchan,
381 ; Turcoman folk-lore, 43-45 ;
revival of witchcraft in Ross-shire,
288
Blackberries blighted by the phoca, 26
Blackbirds, unpopularity of, 120
Blacksmiths' lore, 321-8 ; custom on
shoeing horse (Scotland), 109
Blade-bone, divination by the, 367-369
Blood, custom of shedding on New
Year's day, 332 ; drawing from
witch, 349-350
Boat keel, copper coin nailed to, 351
Boroughbridge, tradition of battle
there, 150
Bridal flowers, 144-145
Bride capture (Ireland), 212
Bridget (St.), worship of in Ireland
139, 211-213
2 D
402
INDEX.
Brigdj, monster so-called by sailors,
351
Britten (James): Some cnstoms of the
aborigines of the Albert district of
New South Wales, 220-221 ; change-
lings in Ireland, 91 ; Irish folk-tales,
193-197 ; on why the cliffs of Eng-
land are white, 23
Brown (Robert) : Bible and key dirina-
tion, 156 ; magpie as a cure for
epilepsy, 156
Buchheim (C. A.): Legend of slain
warriors, 159, 187; the rejuvenating
elixir, 156
Buchheim (Emma S.): Pied piper of
Haraelin, 206-209
Bucks, local proverb, 221
Bumby (Mother), a cunning woman,
357
Burial-custom, gipsy, 222 ; customs
(Greek), 168-171 ; customs (Ireland),
212 ; not permitted in St. Flannings
church, 261 ; superstition, 350
Burmese ordeals, 89-90
Bume (Charlotte S.): Threading the
needle at Ripon cathedral, 253, 286 ;
two folk-tales told by a Hereford-
shire squire, 20-23 ; variant of the
three noodles, 40-43
Butcher, trade legend about, 322-326
Butter, charm for, 34
Butterfly, residence of soul in, 213
Cake, broken over bride*8 head, 144
Cakes, funeral (Greek), 170
Camels'-hair charm, 45
Candle, burning of, omen, 25
Candlemas-day custom at the Temple,
317
Candles, ordeal by, 89
Carpenter, trade legend about, 322-326
Cat, game of (Ireland), 264
Cat, used for raising the wind, 260 ;
omens from killing of, 379 ; fisher-
omens, 379
Cats, folk-lore of, 230
Cats, king of the, folk-tale, 22-23
Cattle affected by witchcraft, 288;
driven round fires, 140
Celts, stone, superstitions concerning,
260
Changeling, fairy, 91, 190, 257
Chaplets, plants for, 143
Charms, 158 ; Cornwall, 31 ; Hunga-
rian, 104; Irish, 33-34; Roumanian,
94, 219; Turcoman, 43
Chelsea, May Queen, 191
Chester-le-Street, football at, 124
Chickweed in Drayton's plant-lore, 148
Child life, notes of, 244-245
Chinese superstitions, 318
Chio, superstition at, 222
Christmas-day proverb, 279
Christmas-eve household custom, 331
Christmas play in Sussex, 1-8
Churning superstitions, 259
Cinderella incident in Greek folk-tale,
238
Clan, totemism relic of (Ireland), 259
Clem of the Clough legend in Drayton,
114
Clement (St.), the blacksmiths' patron,
323-326
aiffs, white, of England, 23
Clodd (Edward): Philosophy of Punch-
kin, 289-303
Clothes, omens from (America), 24
Clouston (W. A.) : Book of Sindihad
reviewed, 351-352
Cockatrice, Drayton's conception of,
269
Coelho (F. A.), Jogog e Mimas re-
viewed, 320
Collection of folk-lore, 289-290
Colour in folk-lore (Arab), 187
Columbkill (St.), tradition of, 140-141
Common, game so called, 139-140
Conder (Captain C. R.): Beth and
Moah quoted, 187
Confinnation folk-lore, 348
Connemara folk-lore, 257-266
Convulsions caused by evil spirits, 97
Coote (H. C.) : Children's games in
Sicily, 82-88 ; folk-lore in modem
Greece, 235-243
Copper coin nailed to boat-keel, 351
Corea, superstition in, 214
Com, custom with, 23
Cornwall, charms for toothache, 94 ;
folk-lore, lectures on, 31 ; "Jan
Dark" in, 381; folk-tale from,
19-20
Costume of mummers, 2
Countings out, 190
Courtney (M.A.) : Jan Dark, 380-381
Couvade in Yorkshire, 121
Cow, bewitching of, 379 ; legend of a
fairy, 262 ; omen from, 24
Cradle, rocking empty (America), 24
Cretans, beliefs of the, 237
Cricket, superstition concerning (Ire-
land), 261
Cricket, Greek game resembling, 59
Crombie (J. W.) : A curious sui^er-
stition, 172-173 ; tabulation of folk-
tales, 155, 214-215, 249-252, 281-284
INDEX.
4o:
Crooky, game of (Ireland), 265
Cross-road superstitions, regard for,
101
Crow pound, enclosure so called, 19-20
Crows, rhyming proverb on, 280
Crystal, folk-lore of, 228
Cuckoo, superstition concerning, 258
Cypress tree in folk-lore, 144
D'Arbois du Jubainville, Lc cercle
mythologique Irlandau, critique of,
175-182
Death, playing at, among children,
247
Denbighshire, divination by blade-
bone in, 368
Dew on May morning, 191
Dictam in Drayton's plant-lore, 148
Dill in Drayton's plant-lore, 147
Divination by Bible and key, 156 ; by
blade-bone, 367-369
Divining-rod, 350
Doctors in folk-medicine, 99
Dodder in Drayton's plant-lore, 148
Dog, flesh of used in folk-medicine, 98
Dog, omen from (America) , 24
Donegal, hare superstition in, 25-26 ;
May-eve custom, 90 ; red hair in, 63
Dorsetshire folk-medicine, 253 ; witch-
craft in, 349
Dove, folk-lore of, 274
Dragon, Chinese superstition about,
318 ; Drayton's conception of, 269
Drayton, folk-lore of, 111-120, 142-151,
224-235, 266-267, 357-369
Dream prognostication, 90 ; supersti-
tion in Staffordshire, 350 ; inter-
pretation of, by savage mind, 302
Dress, bridal, omens and superstitions
about, 353, 354 ; stolen from bathing
maidens, folk-tale incident, 12
Duck-stone, game of (Ireland), 265
Duns, Fasten E'en ball at, 122
Durham, folk-lore notes from, 120, 158-
159, 189-190
Dwarf es money, Roman coins so called,
287
Easter Sunday custom, 221
Edmonds (E. M.): Greek folk-lore,
168-172
Eggs, game with, 85
Elixir, rejuvenating, 156
Epilepsy, cure for, by magpies, 156 ;
in Sicily, 254
Epitaphs, omen from reading (Ame-
rica), 24
Evil eye beliefs (Greek), 171 ; cure
for, 379 ; spittal used to avert, 219 ;
(Syrian), 187
Eye, bad, charm for, 31
Eyebright in Drayton's plant-lore, 146
Eye-brows, meeting, power of, 102
Fairies, beliefs (Ireland), 213, 262;
changelings, 91, 190, 257 ; in Dray-
ton,116; implements, 260; in Ireland,
140
Fairy mound, barrow so called, 261
Farming customs (Aberdeenshire), 329-
332
Fasten E'en ball, 122
Feast on St. Clement's day, 327-328
Fenton (John) : Folk -tales, 93
Fenwick (J. G.) : Notes from Wear-
dale, Durham, 120, 158-159, 189-190;
witchcraft in Scotland, 219
Festival offering to gods, 219
Festival plays, 1-8
Fife, proverbial rhymes in, 91
Fionn and Oisin in Irish mythology, 317
Fire, charms placed in the, 104 ; child
jumping into, folk- tale incident, 50;
not to be taken from house during
churning, 257; carried round corn-
fields, 23; not to be taken out of the
house at childbirth, 257; supersti-
tion, 34, 380
Fires on May eve, 90 ; on St. John's-
eve, 348-349 ; on Midsummer-eve,
140, 212, 213
Fish, superstitions connected with, 380
Fishermen's folk-lore (Aberdeenshire),
259, 353-357
Flax in folk-lore, 287 ; highland cus-
tom of walking on, 254
Flower-lore in Drayton, 116-120
Flower-superstition, 90
Folk-lore terminology, 285-286, 311-
316, 340-348
Folk-tales (Greek), 237
Football at Alnwick, 123 ; Chester-le-
Street, 124 ; at Sedgefield, 124
Forgetfulness by charm, folk-tale in-
cident, 16
Foula, superstitions in, 378-380
Foundation of villages, &c. China, 318
Fowl, flesh of, used in folk-medicine, 98
Fox, fishermen's dislike for, 259
Fox and geese, game of, 158
France, witchcraft in, 255
Frenzy, cure of, 101
Friend (Hilderic): Flax in folk-lore,
287 ; May-poles, 317-318 ; Flowers
and Flower-lore, review of, 126
404
INDEX.
Frogs, notion concerning, 120
Fumitory in Drayton's plant-lore, 146
Funeral customs (Greek), 168-171 ;
superstitions, 380
Games (American), 243-248 ; charms
used during children's, 105 : of pins
(Cornwall), 32; Durham, 168; modem
Greek, 57-59; ancient Irish, 264-
266 ; on 1st August, 139 ; purling,
139-140; children's, in Sicily, 82-88 ;
of ball on Fasten E'en, 122
Garlic Sunday, 211
Geese turn into maidens, 12
Geldart (Rev. E. M.): Folk-lore of
Modern Greece reviewed, 223
Gems, folk-lore of, 224
George (St.), character in tipteerers'
play, 7
Ghost, laying a, 253
Giants, legends of, 262-264, 287
Gipsy burial custom, 222
Gomme (Alice B.): Heame's opinion of
John Aubrey, 254 ; jottings from
Bliss's Reliquiie Hearnianse, 221-
222 ; notes from Leland's Itinerary,
287
Gomme (G.L.): Bibliography of folk-
lore publications in English, 197-206;
folk-lore terminology, 285-286, 316,
348, 382 ; Gentleman's Magazine
Library reviewed, 27-28 ; round
about our coal fire, 317
Goodwin Sands, legend of, 149
Goose, cramp-bone of, used as charm,
158
Grass (five-leaved) in Drayton's plant-
lore, 148 .
Grave, mould taken from, used as cure
for stitch, 379
Great Marlow, local proverb on, 221
Greek folk-lore, 28, 168-172, 235-243
Gregor (Rev. W.): Some old farming
customs and notions in Aberdeen-
shire, 329-332 ; fishermen's folk-
lore, 353-357 ; a folk-tale from Aber-
deenshire, 277-278 ; three folk-tales
from Old Meldrum, Aberdeenshire,
68-74 ; hippie folk-lore from the
north-east of Scotland, 106-109 ; un-
spoken nettles, 377-378 ; Scottish
folk-tale, 319
Griechischen und Riimischen Mytho^
logic, Lexicon der, review of, 126-
126
Gurton (Gammer), mentioned by Dray-
ton, 364
Guy of Warwick legend in Drayton, 113
Halcyon, Drayton's conception of, 233-
235
Hamelin, pied piper of, 206-209
Hampshire Christmas mystery, 7
Hand of might superstition (Jewish),
187
Handy Dandy, game of, 84
Hare folk-lore, 25-26
Hares, omens from, 258, 260
Hart in folk-medicine, 273
Hart's tongue in Drayton's plant-lore,
148
Hartland (E. Sydney): Folk-lore termi-
nology, 340-344
Hastings, mumming in, 1 ; tradition of
battle there, 150
Heads and tails game, 84
Heame's Diaries, notes from, 221
Hearth superstition, 34
Heather (white), highland custom of
plucking, 254
Hebrew folk-lore items, 187
Hellebore in Drayton's plant-lore, 148
Hemlock in Drayton's plant-lore, 147
Henbane in Drayton's plant- lore, 147
Hen (crowing), omen from (America),
24
Herefordshire folk-tales, 20-23
Hill legends (Ireland), 262
Hill or mountain spirits in Corea, 214
Hills, superstitions about, 171
Hindostani proverbs, 26
Hope(R.C.): Some Derbyshire proverbs
and sayings, 278-280
Horehound in Drayton's plant-lore, 148
Horse folk-lore in Scotland, 106-109;
customs at foaling-time, 331 ; omen
from seeing, 354 ; proverbs on the,
64; water- (Irish), 61-62; shoe charm
(Hungarian), 104 ; shoe charm (Tur-
coman), 43 ; whitefooted, 26
Hot cockles game, 84
House customs at Christmas, 332 ; con-'
nected with ploughing customs, 329-
330; occupying new one (America),
24 ; omens, 66
" House that Jack built " (Malagasy),
136-138
Houses, decorated with flowers, 90;
(Lammas) erected in Wales, 349
Hungarian folk-medicine, 97-105
Huntingdonshire, witchcraft in, 122
Hurling game in Ireland, 139, 140,
265
Image, clay, use of in witchcraft, 121,
220
Impounding wild birds, folk-tale, 19-20
INDEX.
405
Incantation in folk-medicine, 103
India, folk-tales of, 304-310, 332-340,
370-377
Influenza, cure for, in folk-medicine,
104
Invei-ness, witchcraft at, 121
Ireland, blackberries in, 26 ; change-
lings in, 91, 190 ; hare superstition
in, 25-26 ; legend of St. Patrick and
the devil, 157 ; bird-lore, 65-67 ;
folk-lore, 138-142, 210-213, 257-266;
folk-tales, 193-197 ; games of ball,
319 ; legend, 60-61 ; May-eve cus-
toms, 90 ; mythology, criticisms
upon, 175-182, 317 ; stories and
charms, 33-39
Iron, evil cannot pass, 380
Isle of Wight custom, 25
Isumbras legend in Drayton, 113
Italy, Folk-lore Society in, 192
Jack stone, game of (Ireland), 266
James II. touching for king's evil by,
150
Jan Dark, a Cornish goblin, 381
Jdtaka Book, folk-tales from, 304-310,
332-340, 370-377
Jaundice, cure for, 380
Jenny Jones, game of, 247
Jewish folk-lore items, 187; sleeping
north and south, 93
Johnny Jack, character in tipteerers'
play, 7
Jones (Rev. W. H,): Sz6kely Folk-
Medicine, 97-105
July flower in Drayton, 118
Kentsham Bell, folk-tale, 20-22
Kinahan (G. H.) : St. Patrick and the
devil, 157 ; Connemara folk-lore,
257-266; on Irish water-horse, 61-62;
Donegal Reds, 63; May Eve cus-
toms, 90
King of the cats, folk-tale, 22 23
King's evil, touching for by James II.
150
Knockmaun, legend of, 60-61
Knutsford, May Queen, 191
Krebs (H.): German folk-lore expres-
sion, 94
Laing(Alex.): Proverbial rhymes from
the north of Fife, 91
Lammas-day customs (Wales), 349
Lanarkshire, white-footed horses in, 26
Lancashire name for wakes, 25
Lang (A.): Custom and Myth reviewed,
382-383
Lark, portent from, at Agincourt, 276
Lavender, flower-lore, 117
Lead-casting in folk-medicine, 101
Legal customs, 317
Legend of Knockmaun, 60-61
Leite de Vasconcellos (J.): Tradigoes
populares de Pomigal reviewed,
63-64
Lilias-day at Kilbarchan, 381
Lincolnshire, divination by bladebone
in, 369
Lizard, superstition concerning (Ire-
land), 261
Local proverb, 221
Love potions, 361
Lucky days (Syrian), 187
Machado y Alvarez (A) : Bihlioteca de
lasTradiciones Popular es Espanolas
reviewed, 320
Madness in folk-medicine, 97
Magpie, superstitions concerning, 258
Magpies as a cure fcr epilepsy, 156
Malagasy folk-tales, 45-57, 75-81, 129-
138, 161-168; classical variant of,
109-110, 157
Mallow in Drayton's plant-lore, 148
Mandrake in Drayton's plant-lore, 148;
use of, in love potions, 361
Manes, offerings to the, 371
Mantica (N.): Raccolta di Proverhi e
Bittati ijjpici reviewed, 63
Marriage customs of Aberdeenshire
fisher-folk, 353-354; Ireland, 212,
213; (Syrian), 187; festival offering,
219
Martinengo-Cesaresco (Countess Eve-
lyn): American songs and games,
243-248 ; the wise choice, 109-110
Mason, trade legend about, 322-326
Mason (W. S.): Statistical Account
of Ireland, folk-lore from, 138-142,
210-213
Mawr (E, B.) : Roumanian charms,
94; Roumanian customs, 219
May-day customs, 31
May dew at Hawick, 191
May-eve customs, Donegal, 90
May morning custom at Oxford, 192
May Queen at Chelsea, 191; Knutsford,
191; Shrewsbury, 191
May, 29th, in Notts, 381-382
May-pole at Bream, 191, 212, 317,
318
Measurements, land, 210
Medicine, folk-, 156 ; Dorsetshire, 253 ;
Greek, 28, 236 ; Irish, 33-34 ; Sicily,
254; Turcoman, 44; Szekely, 97-106
406
INDEX.
Memory, omen as to loss of (America),
24
MSlusine reviewed, 159
Merlin legend in Drayton, 1 13
Michaelmas-day, blackberries not eaten
after, 26
Midsummer-eve fires, 140
Midsummer fires, 212.213
Mineral folk-lore in Drayton, 224-229
Minerals, milked from the earth
(India), 370
Mining spirits, 361
Moly in Drayton's plant-lore, 147
Moon in folk-medicine, 100 ; hare in
the, Indian folk-tale, 336-340 ; sanc-
tification of the (Jewish), 187
Morris, (Rev. Dr. Kichard) : Folk-tales
of India, 304-310, 332-340, 370-377
Mountain or hill spirits in Corea, 214
Mouse, omen from gnawing by
(America), 24
Mugwort in Drayton plant-lore, 148
Mummers play (Sussex), 1-8
Mundic as a charm, 31
Music to blacksmiths' song, 324-325
Myth, meaning of the word, 315
Mythology (comparative) and folk-
lore, 313
Mythology of Ireland, 175-182
Nail cutting (Jewish), 187
Nails, omen from specks on (America),
24
Names, maiden, used by married women,
139
Neot (St.), legend of, 19-20
Nettle, oak and, day (Notts), 381-382
Nettles, unspoken, 377-378
New South Wales aborigines, customs
of, 220-221
New Year custom, 31 ; farming custom,
331; wassal song, 26
Newts considered poisonous, 147
'Nointer, or 'Nainter, use of word,
188-189
Noodles, three, variant of the story of,
J 0-43
Northmoor (Oxon), custom at, 221
Norway, St. John's eve in, 348-349
Nose-bleeding, cure for, 219
Nottinghamshire, May-poles in, 317-
318; oak and nettle-day in, 381-382
Numbers, magic, 379
Nursery-rhymes, Aberdeen, 59-60
Nutt (Alfred): Folk-lore terminology,
311-315; Irish mythology according
to a recent writer, 175-182 ; legend
of slain warriors, 187
Oak and nettle day (Notts), 381-382
Oaths (Burmese), 90
Obstacles to pursuit, folk-tale incident,
(Malagasy) 131
Offering to gods at festivals, 219
Ogres, Greek belief in, 237
Omens, American, 24
Oranges and lemons, game of, 87
Ordeal, trial by (Arab), 187
Ordeals, Burmese, 89-90
Ossian, legend of, 210-211
Ossian poems in Ireland, 141
Otters, superstition concerning, 259
Overlooking, 191
Owl, folk-lore of, 268 ; omen from
(America), 24
Oxford, May-day anthem at, 192 ;
Shrove Tuesday custom, 221
Oxfordshire customs, 221 ; word
'Nointer, 188-189
Pancake-bell at Oxford, 221
Panjab folk-lore, 32, 64, 160
Panjah Notes and Queries reviewed,
27
Panther, folk-lore of, 229-232
Patrick (St.) and the devil, legend of,
157
Peacock (Edward): Folk-medicine, 253;
threading the needle at Ripon cathe-
dral, 286 ; witchcraft in Hunting-
donshire, 122
Pembrokeshire, divination by blade-
bone in, 367
Pengelly (Wm.): Charm for toothache,
94 ; impounding wild birds, 19-20
Philosophy of Punchkin, 289-303
Phoenix, folk-lore of, 269-271
Pied piper of Hamelin, 206-209
Pig, Drayton's conception of, 273 ;
excrement of, used in folk-medicine,
98
Pindar of Wakefield legend, 113
Pins, game with, 32
Pinwell customs, 349
Plant-lore in Drayton, 116-120, 143-
149
Plants used in folk-medicine, 98
Ploughing-day customs, 122, 329-330
Polish folk-tale, 1-18
Polyphemus, Homeric story of, 236
Poppy in Drayton's plant-lore, 147
Portents from Drayton, 274-276
Potions, preparation of, by witches,
360-361
Poulton (Edward B.): 'Nointer or
'Nainter, 188-189
INDEX.
407
Power (D'Arcy): Sleeping north and
south, 93 ; a universal panacea, 157-
158 ; Warwickshire folk-lore, 187-
188
Priestcraft in folk-medicine, 101
Property, huming of, at gipsy-burial,
222.; disposal of, folk-tale incident,
76
Proverbs, local, 221 ; merry as a grig,
222 ; on the horse, 107-108 ; Derby-
shire, 278-280 ; German, 94 ; In-
dian, 26; Scottish, 9, 29, 59-60;
Warwickshire, 188
Punchkin, philosophy of, 289-303
Pursuit, obstacles to, folk-tale incident,
15 ; Malagasy, 131
Quinsy, charm for, 94
Rain, superstition, 220
Rats, Irish notion concerning, 259
Raven, cry of, an omen, 25 ; folk-lore
of, 275 ; omen from, 65
Red preventive against enchantment,
102
Red hair of Donegal girls, 63
Red Sea, laying a ghost in, 253
Rejuvenating elixir, 156
Rhyme in folk-tale, 18, 21
Rhymes, nursery (Aberdeen), 59-60
Rhyming custom, 23
Rhyming formulae, 6, 26, 68,73, 74,91,
189, 222, 327
Ripon cathedral, threading the needle
at, 253, 286
River legend, 141 ; superstitions (Greek),
171
Rivers, traditional origin of, 151
Robin, folk-lore of, 266-267
Robin Hood legend in Drayton, 113,
114
Roe, legend of the (Ireland), 141
Rollrich stones, legend of the, 151
Roman Catholic folk-tales, 93
Roman coins called Dwarfes money,
287
Rosemary in flower-lore, 117
Ross-shire, witchcraft in, 288
Roumanian charms, 94; customs, 219
Round (J. H.): On All Hallow E'en
custom, 23
Russell (Isabel): Nursery rhymes and
proverbs, 59-60
Sacrifice, relic of, in Scotland, 332
Sailors' folk-lore, 259; superstitions in
Shetland, 350-351
St. John's eve in Norway, 348-349
St. John's herb in Drayton folk-lore,
148
St. Stephen's day customs, 31
Salamander, Drayton's notions of, 269
Sawyer (Frederick E.): Old Clem cele-
brations and blacksmiths'-lore, 321-
328; laying a ghost, 253; Scottish
folk-lore, 253-254 ; Sussex " tip-
teerers' " play, 1-8; Syrian and Arab
folk-lore, 187
Scotland, Fasten E'en ball in, 122 ;
folk-lore of the horse, 106-109; holy
wells in, 173-175; witchcraft in, 121,
219, 288; see ^' Lanarkshire "
Scottish farming customs, 329-332;
fishermen's folk-lore, 350-351, 353-
357; folk-tales, 68-74, 277-278; su-
perstition concerning suicide, 121;
proverbs, 59-60, 91
Sea, health-giving virtues of, 354-357
Seals, totem superstition concerning,
259
Seal's wedding, a sailor's superstition,
351
Secrecy, necessary in folk-medicine, 99
Sedgcfield, football at, 124
Seven Champions of Christendom,
variant of, 1-8
Seventh-son superstition, 31
Sheep, foretell storms, 331
Shetland, superstitions in, 378-380 ;
sailors' superstitions in, 350-351
Shinny, game so called, 139, 140
Shoe, throwing for luck, 210
Shoeing of horses, customs at, 109
Shoemaker, trade legend about, 322-
326
Shoes worn by Irish of Branmore, 260
Shoulder-bone, divination (Greek), 171
Shrewsbury, May Queen, 191
Shropshire, burial superstition, 350 ;
stories, variants of, 22, 23
Shrove Tuesday customs, 31, 32; cus-
tom at Oxford, 221; custom at
Sunningwell, 222 ; football on, 123,
124
Sibree (Rev. James): Malagasy folk-
tales, 45-57, 75-81, 129-138, 161-168
Sicily, children's games in, 82-88 ;
superstition in, 254
Sieves and knives, omens from, 25
Sleeping north and south, 93
Slugs, cure for rickets, 379
Snails used in folk-medicine, 219
Sneezing, omen from (America), 24 ;
at childbirth, 257
Soldiers, children's game of, an omen
(America), 24
408
INDEX.
Somersetshire, overlooking in, 191
Sompting (Sussex), yersion of matum-
ign play from, 7
Song, blacksmiths', 324-325 ; on
Caadlem is-day at the Temple, 317
Sorrel in Drayton's plant-lore, 148
Soul dwelling apart from the body,
302
Souls, transmigration of (Ireland), 213
Spain, folk-lore in, 127
Spider, used to stop nose bleeding, 219
Spittal, custom at child-birth, 257 ;
used to avert evil eye, 219 ; used in
folk-m3dicine, 102, 103 ; proverbs
connected with, 280
Staffordshire, dream superstition in,
350 ; folk-tale, 40-43
Stars, counting of, cause wens, 97 ;
notions of, in Drayton, 365-367
Stcjel, evil cannot pass, 380
Stitch, cure for, 379
Stone circles, game of (Ireland), 264 ;
impressions on, 141, 263
Stones, legends about (Ireland), 259,
263 ; pile of, raised to obtain wind,
260 ; thrown into sea before bath-
ing, 356 ; legends of the Rollrich,
151
Stork, folk-lore of, 233
Stranger in house (America), 24
Sty, remedy for, 120
Suicide, superstition concerning, 121
Snnningwell, Shrove Tuesday custom
at, 222
Sunstroke in folk-medicine, 103 104
Sussex, blacksmiths' lore, 321-328 ;
laying a ghost in, 253 ; tipteerers'
play, 1-8
Swan maidens, folk-tale incident, 12
Syrian folk-lore, 187
Szekely folk-medicine, 97-105
Tabulation of folk-tales, 152-155, 183-
186, 214-217, 249-252, 281-284
Tailor, trade legend about, 322-326
Tasks (three), folk-tale incident, 13,
46-48, 165 ; Malagasy, 129
Teeth, casting of, by children (Ame-
rica), 24 ; omen from position of
(America), 24
Teething charm, 219
Temple (R. C): Burmese ordeals, 89-
90 ; on proverbs, 26 ; Punjab Notes
and Queries reviewed, 27
Terminology of folk-lore, 285-286, 311-
316, 340-348
Thomand and One Nights, tale from,
298
Threading the needle at Ripon cathe-
dral, 253, 286
Threshold, charms at the, 104 ; custom j
at the, 330, 33 1 ; treading on (Syria),
187
Thump, Lancashire name for wakes,
25
Thyme in flower-lore, 119
Tipteerers' play (Sussex), 1-8
Toads, notion concerning, 120
Toothache, charms for, 31, 33, 94 ; cure
for, 380 ; omen of, 24
Totemism, relic of (Ireland), 259
Trade legends, 322-326
Tradition, accuracy of, 141-142
Transmigration, Drayton's stories
about, 364 ; of souls (Ireland), 213
Tree sprites, worship of (India), 334-336
Turcoman folk-lore, 43-45
Turquoise, folk-lore of, 227
Tutsan in Drayton's plant-lore, 146
Unexpected (Prince), a Polish tale, 9-
18
Valerian in Drayton's plant-lore, 148
Vernaleken (Theo.lor): In the Land of
Marcels reviewed, 255
Vervain in Drayton's plant-lore, 147
Vicarirtl sacrifice in folk-medicine, 104-
105
Wake (C. Staniland): Folk-lore termi-
nology, 345-346 ; Irish games of ball,
319
Wakes, Yorkshire name for, 25
Wales, St. Winifred's well, tradition,
150
Warts, charm for, 31
Warwickshire folk-lore, 187-188
Wassal, song on New Year's day, 25
Water, charms for fairies, 92 ; ordeal,
89 ; pouring out, used in folk-
medicine, 102 ; superstition, 171-
172, 220 ; worship, 149-151 ; horse
(Irish), 61-62; king, folk-tale incident,
10
Waters, local medicinal, in folk-
medicine, 100
Weardale, Durham, notes from, 120
Weather-lore, 331 ; Derbyshire, 278-
279 ; from Drayton, 276
Well worship, 211, 213; Ireland, 138,
140,260
Welte, of St. Winifred, 149-150; in
Scotland, 173 - 175 ; superstition
(Wales), 349
Welsh folk-lore, 349
IND£X.
409
Wens, cause of, 97
Wheatley (Henry B.): Folk-lore ter-
minology, 346-347
Whistling, Turcoman notice of, 44
Whitsunday games, 287
Whooping-cough, charm for, 33
Wife-beaters, Warwickshire custom
respecting, 187
Willow, in Drayton's poems, 142; in
plant-lore, 119
Wind, raising the, 260
Winifred (St.), well of, 149-150
Witchcraft, 157-158, 191; from Dray-
ton's works, 357-360; in Dorsetshire,
349; France, 255; Irish, 34; Lan-
cashire, 26; Ross-shire, 288; Scot-
land, 121, 219
Witches turn into hares, 258
Wolf used in folk-medicine, 98
Wolves, were-, 362-365
Word charm, 158; formula5 in folk-
medicine, 101, 102, 103, 106
Wort-cunning in Drayton, 145
Wratislaw (liev. H. H.): Prince Un-
expected, 9-18
Wren, folk-lore of, 267-268; omens
from, 66, 67
Yarrow in Drayton's plant-lore, 146
Yorkshire, couvade in, 121 ; name for
wakes, 25
Youngest, success of, in folk-tale
(Malagasy), 129-131
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