produced from images generously made available by the internet archive. transylvanian superstitions. transylvania might well be termed the land of superstition, for nowhere else does this curious crooked plant of delusion flourish as persistently and in such bewildering variety. it would almost seem as though the whole species of demons, pixies, witches, and hobgoblins, driven from the rest of europe by the wand of science, had taken refuge within this mountain rampart, well aware that here they would find secure lurking-places, whence they might defy their persecutors yet awhile. there are many reasons why these fabulous beings should retain an abnormally firm hold on the soil of these parts; and looking at the matter closely we find here no less than three separate sources of superstition. first, there is what may be called the indigenous superstition of the country, the scenery of which is peculiarly adapted to serve as background to all sorts of supernatural beings and monsters. there are innumerable caverns, whose mysterious depths seem made to harbour whole legions of evil spirits: forest glades fit only for fairy folk on moonlight nights, solitary lakes which instinctively call up visions of water sprites; golden treasures lying hidden in mountain chasms, all of which have gradually insinuated themselves into the minds of the oldest inhabitants, the roumenians, and influenced their way of thinking, so that these people, by nature imaginative and poetically inclined, have built up for themselves out of the surrounding materials a whole code of fanciful superstition, to which they adhere as closely as to their religion itself. secondly, there is here the imported superstition: that is to say, the old german customs and beliefs brought hither seven hundred years ago by the saxon colonists from their native land, and like many other things, preserved here in greater perfection than in the original country. thirdly, there is the wandering superstition of the gypsy tribes, themselves a race of fortune-tellers and witches, whose ambulating caravans cover the country as with a network, and whose less vagrant members fill up the suburbs of towns and villages. of course all these various sorts of superstition have twined and intermingled, acted and reacted upon each other, until in many cases it is a difficult matter to determine the exact parentage of some particular belief or custom; but in a general way the three sources i have named may be admitted as a rough sort of classification in dealing with the principal superstitious afloat in transylvania. there is on this subject no truer saying than that of grimm, to the effect that 'superstition in all its manifold varieties constitutes a sort of religion, applicable to the common household necessities of daily life,'[1] and as such, particular forms of superstition may very well serve as guide to the characters and habits of the particular nation in which they are prevalent. the spirit of evil (or, not to put too fine a point upon it, the devil) plays a conspicuous part in the roumenian code of superstition, and such designations as the gregynia drakuluj (devil's garden), the gania drakuluj (devil's mountain), yadu drakuluj (devil's hell or abyss), &c. &c., which we frequently find attached to rocks, caverns, or heights, attest the fact that these people believe themselves to be surrounded on all sides by a whole legion of evil spirits. the devils are furthermore assisted by witches and dragons, and to all of these dangerous beings are ascribed peculiar powers on particular days and at certain places. many and curious are therefore the means by which the roumenians endeavour to counteract these baleful influences, and a whole complicated study, about as laborious as the mastering of any unknown language, is required in order to teach an unfortunate peasant to steer clear of the dangers by which he considers himself to be beset on all sides. the bringing up of a common domestic cow is apparently as difficult a task as the rearing of any dear gazelle, and even the well-doing of a simple turnip or potato about as precarious as that of the most tender exotic plant. of the seven days of the week, wednesday (miercuri) and friday (vinire) are considered suspicious days, on which it is not allowed to use needle or scissors, or to bake bread; neither is it wise to sow flax on these days. venus (called here paraschiva), to whom the friday is sacred, punishes all infractions of this rule by causing fires or other misfortunes. tuesday, however (marti, named from mars, the bloody god of war), is a decidedly unlucky day, on which spinning is totally prohibited, and even such seemingly harmless pursuits as washing the hands or combing the hair are not unattended by danger. on tuesday evening about sunset, the evil spirit of that day is in its fullest force, and in many districts the people refrain from leaving their huts between sunset and midnight. 'may the _mar sara_ (spirit of tuesday evening) carry you off,' is here equivalent to saying 'may the devil take you!' it must not, however, be supposed that monday, thursday, and saturday are unconditionally lucky days, on which the roumenian is at liberty to do as he pleases. thus every well educated roumenian matron knows that she may wash on thursdays and spin on saturdays, but that it would be a fatal mistake to reverse the order of these proceedings; and though thursday is a lucky day for marriage,[2] and is on that account mostly chosen for weddings, it is proportionately unfavourable to agriculture. in many parishes it is considered dangerous to work in the fields on all thursdays between easter and pentecost, and it is believed that if these days are not set aside as days of rest, ravaging hailstorms will be the inevitable punishment of the impiety. many of the more enlightened roumenian pastors have preached in vain against this belief, and some years ago the members of a parish presented an official complaint to the bishop, requesting the removal of their _curé_, on the ground that not only he gave bad example by working on the prohibited days, but had actually caused them serious material damage, by the hailstorms his sinful behaviour had provoked. this respect of the thursday seems to be the remains of a deeply ingrained, though now unconscious, worship of jupiter (zoi), who gives his name to the day. to different hours of the day are likewise ascribed different influences, favourable or the reverse. thus it is always considered unlucky to look at oneself in the glass after sunset; also it is not wise to sweep the dust over the threshold in the evening, or to give back a sieve or a whip which has been borrowed of a neighbour. the exact hour of noon is precarious on account of the evil spirit _pripolniza_,[3] and so is midnight because of the _miase nópte_ (night spirit), and it is safer to remain within doors at these hours. if, however, some misguided peasant does happen to leave his home at midnight, and espies (as very likely he may) a flaming dragon in the sky, he need not necessarily give himself up as lost, for if he have the presence of mind to stick a fork into the ground alongside of him, the fiery monster will thereby be prevented from carrying him off. the finger which ventures to point at a rainbow will be straightway seized by a gnawing disease, and a rainbow appearing in december is always considered to bode misfortune. the greek church, to which the roumenians exclusively belong, has an abnormal number of feast-days, to almost each of which peculiar customs and superstitious are attached. i will here only attempt to mention a few of the principal ones. on new year's day it is customary for the roumenian to interrogate his fate, by placing a leaf of evergreen on the freshly swept and heated hearthstone. if the leaf takes a gyratory movement he will be lucky, but if it shrivels up where it lies, then he may expect misfortune during the coming year. to ensure the welfare of the cattle it is advisable to place a gold or silver piece in the water-trough, out of which they drink for the first time on new year's morning. the feast of the epiphany, or three kings (_tre crai_) is one of the oldest festivals, and was solemnised by the oriental church as early as the second century, fully 200 years before it was adopted by the latins. on this day, which popular belief regards as the coldest in the winter, the blessing of the waters, known as the feast of the jordan, or _bobetasu_ (baptism) feast, takes place. the priests, attired in their richest vestments, proceed to the shore of the nearest river or lake, and bless the waters, which have been unclosed by cutting a greek cross some six or eight feet long in the surface of the ice. every pious roumenian is careful to fill a bottle with the consecrated water before the surface freezes over, and preserves it, tightly corked and sealed up, as an infallible remedy in case of illness. particularly lucky is considered whoever dies on that day, for he will be sure to go straight to heaven, the door of which is supposed to stand open all day, in memory of the descent of the holy ghost at the baptism of christ. the feast of st. theodore, 11th of january (corresponding to our 23rd of january), is a day of rest for the girls, and whichever of them transgresses the rule is liable to be carried off by the saint, who sometimes appears in the shape of a beautiful youth, sometimes as a terrible monster. the wednesday in holy week is very important. the easter cakes and breads are baked on this day, and some crumbs are mixed up with the cow's fodder; woe to the woman who indulges in a nap to-day, for the whole year she will not be able to shake off her drowsiness. in the evening the young men in each home bind as many wreaths as there are members of the family: each of these is marked with the name of an individual and thrown up upon the roof. the wreaths which fall down to the ground indicate those who will die that year. skin diseases are cured by taking a bath on good friday, in a stream or river which flows towards the east. in the night preceding easter sunday witches and demons are abroad, and hidden treasures are said to betray their site by a glowing flame. no god-fearing peasant will, however, allow himself to be tempted by the hopes of such riches, which he cannot on that day appropriate without sin. on no account should he presume to absent himself from the midnight church service, and his devotion will be rewarded by the mystic qualities attached to the wax candle he has carried in his hand, and which when lighted hereafter during a thunderstorm will infallibly keep the lightning from striking his house. the greatest luck which can befall a mortal is to be born on easter sunday while the bells are ringing, but it is not lucky to die on that day. the spoon with which the easter eggs have been removed from the boiling pot is carefully treasured up, and worn in the belt by the shepherd; it gives him the power to distinguish the witches who seek to molest his flock. perhaps the most important day in the year is st. george's, the 23rd of april (corresponds to our 5th of may), the eve of which is still frequently kept by occult meetings taking place at night in lonely caverns or within ruined walls, and where all the ceremonies usual to the celebration of a witches' sabbath are put into practice. the feast itself is the great day to beware of witches, to counteract whose influence square-cut blocks of green turf are placed in front of each door and window.[4] this is supposed effectually to bar their entrance to the house or stables, but for still greater safety it is usual here for the peasants to keep watch all night by the sleeping cattle. this same night is the best for finding treasures, and many people spend it in wandering about the hills trying to probe the earth for the gold it contains. vain and futile as such researches usually are, yet they have in this country a somewhat greater semblance of reason than in most other parts, for perhaps nowhere else have so many successive nations been forced to secrete their riches in flying from an enemy, to say nothing of the numerous veins of undiscovered gold and silver which must be seaming the country in all directions. not a year passes without bringing to light some earthern jar containing old dacian coins, or golden ornaments of roman origin, and all such discoveries serve to feed and keep up the national superstition. in the night of st. george's day (so say the legends) all these treasures begin to burn, or, to speak in mystic language, to 'bloom' in the bosom of the earth, and the light they give forth, described as a bluish flame resembling the colour of lighted spirits of wine, serves to guide favoured mortals to their place of concealment. the conditions to the successful raising of such a treasure are manifold, and difficult of accomplishment. in the first place, it is by no means easy for a common mortal who has not been born on a sunday nor at midday when the bells are ringing, to hit upon a treasure at all. if he does, however, catch sight of a flame such as i have described, he must quickly stick a knife through the swaddling rags of his right foot,[5] and then throw the knife in the direction of the flame he has seen. if two people are together during this discovery they must not on any account break silence till the treasure is removed, neither is it allowed to fill up the hole from which anything has been taken, for that would induce a speedy death. another important feature to be noted is that the lights seen before midnight on st. george's day, denote treasures kept by benevolent spirits, while those which appear at a later hour are unquestionably of a pernicious nature. for the comfort of less-favoured mortals, who happen neither to have been born on a sunday, nor during bell-ringing, i must here mention that these deficiencies may be to some extent condoned and the mental vision sharpened by the consumption of mouldy bread; so that whoever has during the preceding year been careful to feed upon decayed loaves only, may (if he survives this trying _régime_) be likewise the fortunate discoverer of hidden treasures. sometimes the power of discovering a particular treasure is supposed to be possessed only by members of some particular family. a curious instance of this was lately recorded in roumenia relating to an old ruined convent, where, according to a popular legend, a large sum of gold is concealed. a deputation of peasants, at considerable trouble and expense, found out the last surviving member of the family supposed to possess the mystic power, and offered him, unconditionally, a very handsome sum merely for his assistance in the search. the gentleman in question, being old, and probably sceptical, declined the offer, to the great disappointment of the peasant deputation. the feast of st. george, being the day when flocks are first driven out to pasture, is in a special manner the feast of all shepherds and cowherds, and on this day only it is allowed to count the flocks and assure oneself of the exact number of sheep. in general, these numbers are but approximately guessed at, and vaguely designated. thus the roumenian shepherd, interrogated as to the number of his master's sheep, will probably inform you that they are as numerous as the stars of heaven, or as the daisies which dot the meadows. the throwing up of wreaths on to the roofs, described above, is in some districts practised on the feast of st. john the baptist, the 24th of june (july 6th), instead of on the wednesday in holy week. fires lighted on the mountains this same night are supposed to protect the flocks from evil spirits. the feast of st. elias, the 20th of july (august 1), is a very unlucky day, on which the lightning may be expected to strike. if a house struck by lightning begins to burn, it is not allowed to put out the flames, because god has lit the fire and it would be presumption if man were to dare to meddle.[6] in some places it is believed that a fire lit by lightning can only be put out with milk. an approved method for averting the danger of the dwelling being struck by lightning is to form a top by sticking a knife through a piece of bread, and spin it on the floor of the loft during the whole time the storm lasts. the ringing of bells is likewise very efficacious, provided, however, that the bell in question has been cast under a perfectly cloudless sky. as i am on the subject of thunderstorms, i may as well here mention the _scholomance_, or school supposed to exist somewhere in the heart of the mountains, and where all the secrets of nature, the language of animals, and all imaginable magic spells and charms are taught by the devil in person. only ten scholars are admitted at a time, and when the course of learning has expired and nine of them are released to return to their homes, the tenth scholar is detained by the devil as payment, and mounted upon an _ismeju_ (dragon) he becomes henceforward the devil's aide-de-camp, and assists him in 'making the weather,' that is to say, preparing the thunderbolts. a small lake, immeasurably deep, lying high up among the mountains to the south of hermanstadt, is supposed to be the cauldron where is brewed the thunder, and in fair weather the dragon sleeps beneath the waters. roumenian peasants anxiously warn the traveller to beware of throwing a stone into this lake lest it should wake the dragon and provoke a thunderstorm. it is, however, no mere superstition that in summer there occur almost daily thunderstorms at this spot, about the hour of midday, and numerous cairns of stones round the shores attest the fact that many people have here found their death by lightning. on this account the place is shunned, and no roumenians will venture to rest here at the hour of noon. whoever turns three somersaults the first time he hears the thunder will be free from pains in the back during a twelvemonth, and the man who wishes to be ensured against headache has only to rub it against a stone or knock it with a piece of iron. the polish harvest custom of decking out a girl with a wreath of corn ears, and leading her in procession to the house of the landed proprietor, is likewise practised here, with the difference that instead of the songs customary in poland, the girl is here followed with loud cries of 'prihu! prihu!' or else 'priku!'[7] and that whoever meets her on the way is bound to sprinkle the wreath with water. if this detail be neglected the next year's crops will assuredly fail. it is also customary to keep the wreaths till next sowing time, when the corn is shaken out, and mingled with the grain to be sowed will ensure a rich harvest. the feast of st. spiridion, the 12th of december (corresponding to our 24th), is an ominous day, especially for housewives, and the saint often destroys those who desecrate his feast by manual labour. that the cattle are endowed with speech during the christmas night is a general belief, but it is not considered wise to pry upon them and try to overhear what they say, or the listener will rarely overhear any good. this night is likewise favourable to the discovery of hidden treasures, and the man who has courage to conjure up the evil spirit will be sure to see him if he call upon him at midnight. three burning coals placed upon the threshold will prevent the devil from carrying him off. christmas carols and dramas are also usual among the roumenians, under the name of kolinda, supposed to be derived from kolinda or lada, goddess of peace.[8] amongst the parts enacted in these games, are those of judas, who stands at the door and receives the money collected, and that of the bull, called turka or tur,[9] a sort of vague monster fantastically dressed up, half bull, half bear, with a clattering wooden bill, and a dash of herod about his character, in so far as he is supposed to devour little children, and requires to be propitiated by a copper coin thrust into his bill.[10] in many districts the personating of these characters is supposed to entail a certain amount of odium upon the actors, who are regarded as unclean or bewitched by the devil during a period of six weeks, and may not enter a church nor approach a sacrament till this time has elapsed. a leaf of evergreen laid into a plate of water on the last day of the year when the bells are ringing will denote health, sickness, or death, during the coming year, according as it is found to be green, spotted, or black on the following morning. the girl whose thoughts are turned towards love and matrimony has many approved methods of testing her fate on this night. first of all she may, by cracking the joints of her fingers, accurately ascertain the number of her admirers, also a freshly laid egg broken into a glass of water will give much clue to the events in store for her by the shape it adopts. to form a conjecture as to the shape and build of her future husband, she is recommended to throw an armful of firewood as far as she can from her; the piece which has gone furthest will be the image of her intended, according as the stick happens to be tall or short, broad or slender, straight or crooked. if these general indications do not suffice, and she wishes to see the reflection of his face in the water, she has only to step naked at midnight into the nearest lake or river. very efficacious is it likewise to stand at midnight on the dunghill with a piece of christmas cake in her mouth, and listen for the first sound of a dog's barking which reaches her ear. from whichever side it proceeds will also come the expected suitor. of the household animals, the sheep is the most highly prized by the roumenian, who makes of it his companion, and frequently his counsellor, and by its bearing it is supposed often to give warning when danger is near. the swallow is here, as elsewhere, a luck-bringing bird, and goes by the name of _galinele lui dieu_ (fowls of the lord). there is always a treasure to be found near the place where the first swallow has been espied. the crow, on the contrary, is a bird of evil omen, and is particularly ominous when it flies straight over the head of any man.[11] the magpie perched upon a roof gives notice of the approach of guests,[12] but a shrieking magpie meeting or accompanying a traveller denotes death. the cuckoo is an oracle to be consulted in manifold contingencies. this bird plays a great part in roumenian poetry, and is frequently supposed to be the spirit of an unfortunate lover. it is never permissible to kill a spider, as that would entail misfortune. a toad taking up its residence in a cow-byre is assuredly in the service of a witch, and has been sent there to purloin the milk. it should therefore be stoned to death; but the same liberty must not be taken with the equally pernicious weasel, and if these animals be found to inhabit a barn or stable, the peasant must endeavour to render them harmless by diverting their thoughts into a safer channel. to this end a tiny threshing-flail must be prepared for the male weasel, and a distaff for his female partner, and laid at a place the animals are known to frequent. the skull of a horse placed over the gate of the courtyard,[13] or the bones of fallen animals, buried under the doorstep, are preservatives against ghosts. the place where a horse has rolled on the ground is unwholesome, and the man who steps upon it will be speedily attacked by eruptions, boils, or other skin diseases. black fowls are always viewed with suspicion, as possibly standing in the service of a witch, and the brahmaputra fowl is curiously enough considered to be the offspring of the devil with a jewish girl. if a cow has gone astray it will assuredly be eaten by the wolf, unless the owner remembers to stick a pair of scissors in the centre rafter of the dwelling-room. as a matter of course, such places as churchyards, gallow-trees, and cross-roads are to be avoided, but even the left bank of a river may under circumstances become equally dangerous. a whirlwind always denotes that the devil is dancing with a witch, and whoever approaches too near to this dangerous circle may be carried off bodily, or at the very least will lose his head-covering. but the roumenian does not always endeavour to keep the evil one at arm's length; sometimes, on the contrary, he invokes the devil's assistance, and enters into a regular compact with him. supposing, for instance, that he wishes to ensure a flock, garden or field against thieves, wild beasts, or bad weather, the matter is very simple. he has only to repair to a cross-road, at the junction of which he takes up his stand, in the centre of a circle he has traced on the ground. here, after depositing a copper coin as payment, he summons the demon with the following words:-'satan, i give thee over my flock (garden or field) to keep till----(such and such a term), that thou mayest defend and protect it for me, and be my servant till this time has expired----' he must, however, be careful to keep within the circle he has traced, until the devil, who may very likely have chosen to appear in the shape of a goat, crow, toad, or serpent, has completely disappeared, otherwise the unfortunate wretch is irretrievably lost. he is equally sure to lose his soul if he die before the time of the contract has elapsed. an apothecary of this town (hermanstadt) told me that he was frequently applied to for a magic potion called _spiridusch_, which is said to have the property of disclosing hidden treasures to its lucky possessor. only a few weeks ago he received the following letter, published in one of the local papers, and which i have here translated as literally as possible. worthy sir,--i wish to ask you of something i have been told by others--that is, that you have got for sale a thing they call _spiridusch_, but which, to speak more plainly, is the devil himself. and if this be true, i beg you to tell me if it be really true, and how much it costs; for my poverty is so great and has brought me so far that i must ask the devil to help me. those who told me this were weak, silly fellows, and were afraid, but i have no fear and have seen many things in my life before; therefore i beg you to write me this, and to take the greeting of an unknown man.--n. n. here, as elsewhere, thirteen is an ominous number. it is unfortunate to meet an old woman or a roumenian pope; the meeting of a protestant or catholic clergyman is indifferent, and brings neither good nor evil. it is bad luck if your path be traversed by a hare, but a fox or wolf crossing your road is a good omen. likewise, it is lucky to meet a woman with a jug full of water, while an empty jug is unlucky; therefore, the roumenian maiden who meets you on the way back from the well will, smiling, display her brimming pitcher as she passes, with a pleased consciousness of bringing good luck; while the girl whose pitcher is empty will slink past shamefacedly, as though she had a crime to conceal. every orthodox roumenian woman is careful to do homage to the water-spirit, the _wodna zena or zona_, which resides in each spring, by spilling a few drops on the ground, after she has emptied her jug. she will never venture to draw the water against the current, for that would strike the spirit home and provoke her anger. the roumenian in general avoids the neighbourhood of deep pools of water, especially whirlpools, for here resides the dreadful _balaur_, or the _wodna muz_, the cruel waterman who lies in wait for human victims. each forest has likewise its own particular spirit, its _mama padura_,[14] or forest mother. this fairy is in general supposed to be good-natured, especially towards children who have lost their way in the wood. less to be trusted is _panusch_ (surely a corruption of the greek god pan?), who haunts the forest glades and lies in wait for helpless maidens. ravaging diseases, like the pest, cholera, &c., are attributed to spirit called the _dschuma_, to whom is sometimes given the shape of a fierce virgin, sometimes that of a toothless old hag. this spectre can only be driven away if a red shirt, which must be spun, woven, and sewed all in one night by seven old women, is hung out at the entrance of the afflicted village.[15] the body of a drowned man can only be found again by sticking a lighted candle into a hollowed-out loaf of bread and setting it afloat at night on the river or lake. there where the light comes to a standstill will the corpse be found. until this has been done the water will continue to rise and the rain to fall. at the birth of a child each one present takes a stone, and throws it behind him, saying, 'this into the jaws of the strigoi,' which custom would also seem to suggest saturn and the swaddled-up stones. as long as the child is unbaptised, it must be carefully watched over, for fear of being changed or otherwise harmed by witch. a piece of iron or a broom laid under its pillow will keep evil charms away. even the roumenian's wedding day is darkened by the shade of superstition. he can never be quite sure of his affection for his bride being a natural, spontaneous feeling, since it may or will have been caused by the evil influence of a witch. also at church, when the priest offers the blest bread to himself and his new-made wife, he will tremblingly compare the relative sizes of the two pieces, for whoever chances to get the smaller one must inevitably be the first to die. but nowhere does the inherent superstition of the roumenian peasant find stronger expression than in his mourning and funeral ceremonies, which are based upon a totally original conception of death. among the various omens of approaching death are the ungrounded barking of a dog or the crowing of a black hen. the influence of the latter may, however, be annulled and the catastrophe averted if the bird be put in a sack and carried thrice round the house. roots dug up from the churchyard on good friday are to be given to people in danger of death. if, however, this and other remedies fail to save the doomed man, then he must have a burning candle put into his hand; for it is considered to be the greatest of all misfortunes if a man die without a candle--a favour the roumenian durst not refuse to his most deadly enemy. the corpse must be washed immediately after death, and the dirt, if necessary, scraped off with knives, because the dead man is more likely to find favour with god if he appear before him in a clean state. then he is attired in his best clothes, in doing which great care must be taken not to tie anything in a knot, for that would disturb his rest; likewise, he must not be allowed to carry away any particle of iron about his dress (such as buttons, boot nails, &c.), for this would assuredly prevent him from reaching paradise, the road to which is long, and is, moreover, divided off by several tolls or ferries. to enable the soul to pass through these a piece of money must be laid in the hand, under the pillow, or beneath the tongue of the corpse. in the neighbourhood of fogaras, where the ferries or toll-bars are supposed to amount to twenty-five, the hair of the defunct is divided into as many plaits, and a piece of money secured in each. likewise, a small provision of needles, pins, thread, &c., are put into the coffin to enable the pilgrim to repair any damage his clothes may receive on the way. the mourning songs, called _bocete_, usually performed by paid mourners, are directly addressed to the corpse and sung into his ear on either side. this is the last attempt made by the survivors to wake the dead man to life, by reminding him of all he is leaving, and urging him to make a final effort to arouse his dormant faculties--the thought which underlies all these proceedings being, that the dead man hears and sees all that goes on around him, and that it only requires the determined effort of a strong will in order to restore elasticity to the stiffened limbs, and cause the torpid blood to flow again within the veins. in many places two openings, corresponding to the ears of the deceased, are cut out in the wood of the coffin to enable him to hear the songs of mourning which are sung on either side of him as he is carried to the grave. this singing into the ears has passed into a proverb, and when the roumenian says, _i-a-cantat la wechia_ (he has sung into his ears), it is tantamount to saying that prayer and admonition have been used in vain. the _pomana_, or funeral feast, is invariably held after the funeral, for much of the peace of the defunct depends upon the strict observance of this ceremony. at this banquet all the favourite dishes of the dead man are served, and each guest receives a cake (_colac_) and a jug (_ulcior_), also a wax candle, in his memory. similar _pomanas_ are repeated after a fortnight, six weeks, and on each anniversary for the next seven years; also, whenever the defunct has appeared in dream to any member of the family, this likewise calls for another _pomana_; and when these conditions are not exactly complied with, the soul thus neglected is apt to wander complaining about the earth, and cannot find rest. these restless spirits, called _strigoi_, are not malicious, but their appearance bodes no good, and may be regarded as omens of sickness or misfortune. more decidedly evil, however, is the vampire, or _nosferatu_, in whom every roumenian peasant believes as firmly as he does in heaven or hell. there are two sorts of vampires--living and dead. the living vampire is in general the illegitimate offspring of two illegitimate persons, but even a flawless pedigree will not ensure anyone against the intrusion of a vampire into his family vault, since every person killed by a _nosferatu_ becomes likewise a vampire after death, and will continue to suck the blood of other innocent people till the spirit has been exorcised, either by opening the grave of the person suspected and driving a stake through the corpse, or firing a pistol shot into the coffin. in very obstinate cases it is further recommended to cut off the head and replace it in the coffin with the mouth filled with garlic, or to extract the heart and burn it, strewing the ashes over the grave. that such remedies are often resorted to, even in our enlightened days, is a well-attested fact, and there are probably few roumenian villages where such has not taken place within the memory of the inhabitants. first cousin to the vampire, the long exploded were-wolf of the germans is here to be found, lingering yet under the name of the _prikolitsch_. sometimes it is a dog instead of a wolf, whose form a man has taken either voluntarily or as penance for his sins. in one of the villages a story is still told (and believed) of such a man, who driving home from church on sunday with his wife, suddenly felt that the time for his transformation had come. he therefore gave over the reins to her, and stepped aside into the bushes, where, murmuring the mystic formula, he turned three somersaults over a ditch. soon after this the woman, waiting in vain for her husband, was attacked by a furious dog, which rushed, barking, out of the bushes and succeeded in biting her severely, as well as tearing her dress. when, an hour later, this woman reached home alone she was met by her husband, who advanced smiling to meet her, but between his teeth she caught sight of the shreds of her dress which had been bitten out by the dog, and the horror of the discovery caused her to faint away. another man used gravely to assert that for more than five years he had gone about in the form of a wolf, leading on a troop of these animals, until a hunter, in striking off his head, restored him to his natural shape. a french traveller relates an instance of a harmless botanist who, while collecting herbs on a hillside in a crouching attitude, was observed by some peasants at a distance and taken for a wolf. before they had time to reach him, however, he had risen to his feet and disclosed himself in the form of a man; but this, in the minds of the roumenians, who now regarded him as an aggravated case of wolf, was but additional motive for attacking him. they were quite sure that he must be a prikolitsch, for only such could change his shape in such an unaccountable manner, and in another minute they were all in full cry after the wretched victim of science, who might have fared badly indeed, had he not happened to gain a carriage on the high road before his pursuers came up. we do not require to go far for the explanation of the extraordinary tenacity of life of the were-wolf legend in a country like transylvania, where real wolves still abound. every winter here brings fresh proof of the boldness and cunning of these terrible animals, whose attacks on flocks and farms are often conducted with a skill which would do honour to a human intellect. sometimes a whole village is kept in trepidation for weeks together by some particularly audacious leader of a flock of wolves, to whom the peasants not unnaturally attribute a more than animal nature, and one may safely prophesy that so long as the real wolf continues to haunt the transylvanian forests, so long will his spectre brother survive in the minds of the inhabitants. many ancient roumenian legends tell us that every new church or otherwise important building became a human grave, as it was thought indispensable to its stability to wall in a living man or woman, whose spirit henceforward haunts the place. in later times people having become less cruel, or more probably, because murder is now attended with greater inconvenience to the actors, this custom underwent some modifications, and it became usual in place of a living man to wall in his shadow instead. this is done by measuring the shadow of a person with a long piece of cord, or a ribbon made of strips of reed, and interring this measure instead of the person himself, who, unconscious victim of the spell thrown upon him, will pine away and die within forty days. it is an indispensable condition to the success of this proceeding that the chosen victim be ignorant of the part he is playing, therefore careless passers-by near a building place may often hear the warning cry 'beware, lest they take thy shadow!' so deeply engrained is this superstition that not long ago there were still professional shadow-traders, who made it their business to provide architects with the necessary victims for securing their walls. 'of course the man whose shadow is thus interred must die,' argues the roumenian, 'but as he is unaware of his doom he does not feel any pain or anxiety, so it is less cruel than walling in a living man.' the superstitions afloat among the saxon peasantry of transylvania relate oftenest to household matters, such as the well-being of cattle and poultry and the success of the harvest or vintage. there is more of the quack, and less of the romantic element to be found here, and the invisible spiritual world plays less part in their beliefs. some of the most prevalent saxon superstitions are as follows: 1. whoever can blow back the flame into a candle which has just been extinguished will become pastor. 2. in going into a new-built house one must throw in a dog or a cat before entering, otherwise one of the family will soon die. 3. if a swallow fly under a cow straightway the milk will become bloody. 4. whoever enters a strange house should sit down, were it only for a second, otherwise he will deprive the inhabitants of their sleep. 5. whoever has been robbed of anything and wants to discover the thief, must select a black hen, and for nine consecutive fridays must, as well as the hen, abstain from all food. the thief will then either die or bring back the stolen goods. (this is called taking up the black fast against a person.) 6. it is not good to point with the finger at an approaching thunderstorm; likewise, whoever stands over-long gazing at the summer lightning will go mad. 7. a person ill with the fever should be covered up with nine articles of clothing, each of a different colour and material: he will then recover. 8. another way to get rid of the fever is to go into an inn or public-house, and after having drunk a glass of wine to go out again without speaking or paying, but leaving behind some article of clothing which is of greater value than the wine drunk. 9. drinking out of seven different wells is likewise good for the fever. 10. or else go into the garden when no one is looking, shake a young fruit tree and return to the house without looking back; the fever will then have passed into the tree. 11. any article purposely dropped on the ground when out walking will convey the fever to whoever finds it. this method is, however, to be distrusted (we are told by village authorities), for the finder may avert the illness by thrice spitting on the thing in question. spitting on all and every occasion is in general very efficacious for averting spells and other evils. 12. a hailstorm may sometimes be stopped by a knife stuck into the ground in front of the house. 13. a new servant must be allowed to eat freely the first day he or she enters service, otherwise their hunger will never be stilled. 14. it is bad luck to rock an empty cradle. 15. when someone has just died the window must be opened to let the soul escape. 16. it is not considered good to count the beehives or the loaves when they are put into the oven. 17. when the master of the house dies, one must go and tell it to the bees, and to the cattle in the stables, otherwise some new misfortune is sure to happen. 18. if the new year's night be clear the hens will lay many eggs during the year. 19. it is not good to whitewash the house when the moon is decreasing, for that produces bugs. 20. who eats mouldy bread will be rich and longlived. 21. rubbing the body with garlic is a preservative against witchcraft and the pest. 22. licking the platter clean at table will bring fine weather. 23. a funeral at which the bells are not rung brings hail. 24. when foxes and wolves meet in the market-place then prices will rise (naturally, since wolves and foxes could only be so bold during the greatest cold, when prices of eggs, butter, &c., are always at their highest). 25. to keep sparrows off a field or garden it is only necessary to sprinkle earth taken at midnight from the churchyard over the place. 26. a broom put upside down behind the door will keep away the witches. 27. it is bad luck to lay a loaf upside down on the table. 28. in carrying a child to church to be christened it is important to carry it by the broadest streets, and to avoid narrow lanes and byways, else when it is big it will become a thief. 29. if a murderer be confronted with the corpse of his victim the wounds will begin to bleed again.[16] 30. avoid a toad, as it may be a witch. 31. little children's nails should be bitten off instead of cut the first time, lest they learn to steal. 32. an approved sort of love charm is to take the two hind legs of a green tree-frog, bury these in an anthill till all the flesh is removed, then tie them up securely in a linen handkerchief, and whosoever touches this linen will be seized at once with love for its owner. 33. to avert many illnesses which may occur to the pigs, it is still customary in some places for the swineherd to dispense with his clothes the first time he drives out his pigs to pasture in spring. a newly elected clergyman, regarding this practice as immoral, tried to forbid it in his parish, but was sternly asked by the village bailiff whether he was prepared to pay for all the pigs which would assuredly die that year in consequence of the omission. 34. the same absence of costume is likewise recommended to women assisting a cow to calve. the night of st. thomas (21st of december) is the date consecrated by saxon superstition to the celebration of the games which elsewhere are usual on all-halloween. every girl puts her fate to the test on this evening, and there are various ways of so doing (too lengthy to be here described), with shoes, flowers, onions, &c. for the twelve days following it is not allowed to spin, and the young men who visit the spinning-room of the girls have the right to break and burn all the distaffs they find, so it has become usual for the maidens to appear with a stick dressed up with wool to represent the distaff instead of a real spinning-wheel. some of the saxon customs are peculiarly interesting from being obviously remnants of paganism, and are a curious proof of the force of verbal tradition, which in this case has not only borne the transplantation from a far distant country, but likewise weathered the storm of two successive changes of religion. a very strong proof of the tenacity of pagan habits and train of thought is, i think, the fact, that although at the time these saxon colonists appeared in transylvania, towards the second part of the twelfth century, they had already belonged to the christian church for more than three hundred years, yet many points of the landscape in their new home baptized by them have received pagan appellations. thus we find the _götzenberg_,[17] or mountain of the gods, and the _wodesch_ and the _wolnk_ applied to woods and plains, both evidently derived from wodan. many old pagan ceremonies are still clearly to be distinguished through the flimsy shrouding of a later period, and their origin unmistakable even through the surface-varnish of christianity which was thought necessary to adapt them to newer circumstances, and like a clumsily remodelled garment the original cut frequently asserts itself, despite the fashionable trimmings which now adorn it. in many popular rhymes and dialogues, for instance, it has been clearly proved that those parts now assigned to the saviour and st. peter originally belonged to the old gods thor and loki; while the faithless judas has had the personification of a whole hoard of german demons thrust upon him. it is likewise strongly to be suspected that st. elias who in some parts of hungary, as well as in roumenia, servia, and croatia, is considered the proper person to be invoked in thunderstorms, is verily no other than the old thunder god thor, under a christian mask. one of the most striking of the christianised dramas just mentioned is the _todaustragen_, or throwing out the death, a custom still extant in several of the transylvanian saxon villages, and which may likewise be found still existing in some remote parts of germany. the feast of the ascension is the day on which this ceremony takes place in a village of this neighbourhood. it is conducted in the following manner:-after forenoon church on that day, the school-girls of the parish repair to the house of one of their companions, and there proceed to dress up the 'death.' this is done by tying up a threshed-out corn-sheaf into the rough semblance of a head and body, while the arms are simulated by a broomstick stuck horizontally. this done, the figure is dressed up in the sunday clothes of a young village matron, the head adorned with the customary cap and veil fastened by silver pins; two large black beads, or black-headed pins, represent the eyes, and thus equipped the figure is displayed at the open window, in order that all people may see it, on their way to afternoon church. the conclusion of vespers[18] is the signal for the girls to seize the figure and open the procession round the village; two of the eldest girls hold the 'death' between them, and the others follow in regular order two and two, singing a lutheran church hymn. the boys are excluded from the procession, and must content themselves with admiring the _schöner tod_ (handsome death) from a distance. when all the village streets have been traversed in this manner, the girls repair to another house, whose door is locked against the besieging troop of boys. the figure death is here stripped of its gaudy attire, and the naked straw bundle thrown out of the window, whereupon it is seized by the boys and carried off in triumph to be thrown into the neighbouring stream or river. this is the first part of the drama, while the second consists in one of the girls being solemnly invested with the clothes and ornaments previously worn by the figure, and like it, led in procession round the village to the singing of the same hymn as before. this is to represent the arrival of summer. the ceremony terminates by a feast given by the parents of the girl who has acted the principal part, from which the boys are again excluded. according to popular belief it is allowed to eat fruits only after this day, as now the 'death,' that is, the unwholesomeness, has been expelled from them. also the river in which the death has been drowned may now be considered fit for public bathing. if this ceremony be ever omitted in the villages where it is customary, this neglect is supposed to entail the death of one of the youths or maidens. this same ceremony may, as i have said, be found still lingering in many other places, everywhere with slight variations. there are villages where the figure is burnt instead of drowned, and passion sunday (often called the dead sunday), or else the 25th of march, are the days sometimes chosen for its accomplishment. in some places it was usual for the straw figure to be attired in the shirt of the last person who had died, and with the veil of the most recent bride on its head. also the figure is occasionally pelted with stones by the youth of both sexes; whoever hits it will not die during the year. at nuremberg little girls dressed in white used to go in procession through the town, carrying a small open coffin, in which a doll was laid out in state, or sometimes only a stick dressed up, with an apple to represent the head. in many of these german places, the rhymes which are sung apply to the advent of summer and the extinction of winter, such as the following:- and now we have chased the death away and brought in the summer so warm and so gay; the summer and the month of may we bring sweet flowers full many a one. we bring the rays of the golden sun, for the dreary death at last is gone. or else, come all of you and do not tarry the evil death away to carry; come, spring, once more, with us to dwell, welcome, o spring, in wood and dell! and there is no doubt that similar rhymes used also to be sung here, until they were replaced by the lutheran hymns. some german archæologists have attempted to prove that 'death' in these games is of more recent introduction, and has replaced the 'winter' of former times, so as to give the ceremony a more christian colouring by the allusion of the triumph of christ over death, on his resurrection and ascension into heaven. without presuming to contradict the many well-known authorities who have taken this view of the case, i cannot help thinking that it hardly requires such explanation to account for the presence of death in these dramas. nowadays, when luxury and civilisation have done so much towards equalising all seasons, so that we can never be deprived of flowers in winter, nor want for ice in summer, we can with difficulty realise the enormous gulf which in olden times separated winter from summer. not only in winter were all means of communication cut off for a large proportion of people, but their very existence was, so to say, frozen up; and if the granaries were scantily filled, or the inclement season prolonged by some weeks, death was literally standing at the door of thousands of poor wretches. no wonder, then, that winter and death became identical in their minds, and that they hailed the advent of spring with delirious joy, dancing round the first violet, and following about the first cockchafer in solemn procession. it was the feast of nature which they celebrated then as now--nature mighty and eternal--which must always remain essentially the same, whether decked out in pagan or christian garb. another remnant of paganism is the _feurix_ or _feuriswolf_, which lingers yet in the mind of these people. according to ancient german mythology the _feuriswolf_ is a monster which, on the last day, is to open his mouth so wide that the top jaw touches the sky, and the lower one the earth; and not long ago a saxon woman bitterly complained in a court of justice that her husband had cursed her over strongly, in saying, 'der wärlthangd saul dich frieszen;' literally, 'may the world-dog swallow thee!' the gipsies take up a different position as regards superstition from either roumenian or saxon, since they may be rather considered to be direct causes and mainsprings of superstition, than victims of credulity themselves. the tzigane, whose religion is of such an extremely superficial nature that he rarely believes in anything as complicated as the immortality of the soul, can hardly be supposed to lay much weight upon the supernatural; and if he instinctively avoids such places as churchyards, gallow-trees, &c., his feelings are rather those of a child who shirks being reminded of anything so unpleasant as death or burial. that, however, these people exercise a considerable influence on their saxon and roumenian neighbours is undoubted, and it is a paradoxical fact, that the same people who regard the gipsy as an undoubted thief, liar, and cheat, in all the common transactions of daily life, do not hesitate to confide in him blindly for charmed medicines and love-potions, and are ready to attribute to him unerring power in deciphering the mysteries of the future. the saxon peasant will, it is true, often drive away the fortune-teller with blows and curses from his door, but his wife, as often as not, will secretly beckon to her to come in again by the back door, in order to be consulted as to the illness of the cows, or to beg from her a remedy against the fever. wonderful potions and salves, in which the fat of bears, dogs, snakes and snails, along with the oil of rain-worms, the bodies of spiders and midges rubbed into a paste, and many other similar ingredients, are concocted by these cunning bohemians, who will sometimes thus make thrice as much money out of the carcass of a dead dog as another from the sale of three healthy pigs. it has also been averred that both roumenian and saxon mothers, whose sickly infants are thought to be suffering from the effects of the evil eye, are frequently in the habit of giving the child to be nursed for a period of nine days to some gipsy woman, who is supposed to be able to undo the spell. there is not a village which does not boast of one or more fortune-tellers, and living in the suburbs of each town are many old women who make an easy and comfortable livelihood only by imposing on the credulity of their fellow-creatures. the gipsies, one of whose principal trades is the burning of bricks and tiles, are often accused of occasioning lengthy droughts to suit their own purposes. when this has occurred, and the necessary rains have not been produced by soundly beating the guilty tziganes, the roumenians sometimes resort to the _papaluga_, or rain-maiden. this is done by stripping a young gipsy girl quite naked, and dressing her up with wreaths of flowers and leaves which entirely cover her up, leaving only the head visible. thus adorned, the papaluga is conducted round the villages in procession, to the sound of music and singing, and everyone hastens to water her copiously. if also the papaluga fails to bring the desired rain, then the evil must evidently be of a deeper and more serious nature, and is to be attributed to a vampire, who must be sought out and destroyed in the manner described above. the part of the papaluga is also sometimes enacted by a roumenian maiden, when there is no reason to suspect the gipsies of being concerned in the drought. this custom of the rain-maiden is also to be found in servia, and i believe in croatia. it would be endless were i to attempt to enumerate all the different sorts of superstition afloat in this country; for besides the three principal definitions here given, the subject comprises innumerable other side branches, and might further be divided into the folk-lore of shepherds, farmers, hunters, miners, fishermen, &c., each of these separate callings having its own peculiar set of signs, customs, charms, and traditions to go by. superstition is an evil which every person with a well-balanced mind should wish to die out, yet it cannot be denied that some of these fancies are graceful and suggestive. nettles and briars, albeit mischievous plants, may yet come in picturesquely in a landscape; and although the stern agriculturist is bound to rejoice at their uprooting, the softer-hearted artist is surely free to give them a passing sigh of regret. e. gerard. ---------[footnote 1: 'der aberglaube in seiner mannigfaltigkeit bildet gewissermassen eine religion für den ganzen niederen hausbedarf.'] [footnote 2: this would seem to suggest a german (or celtic) origin. donar, as god of marriages, blesses unions with his hammer.] [footnote 3: this spirit corresponds to the polednice of the bohemians and the poludnica of the poles and russians. grimm, in speaking of the russians, in his german mythology, quotes from boxhorn's _resp. moscov._: 'dæmonem meridianum moscovitæ et colunt.'] [footnote 4: this is also usual in poland, moldavia, and the bukowina.] [footnote 5: the roumenian peasant does not wear shoes or stockings, but has his feet swaddled up in linen rags, which are kept in their place by a rough sandal made of a flat piece of leather.] [footnote 6: also believed in poland.] [footnote 7: archæologists have derived this word from _pri_, which in sanscrit means fruitful, and _hu_, the god of the celtic deluge tradition, also regarded as a personification of fruitful nature.] [footnote 8: the council of constantinople, 869 a.d., forbade the members of the oriental church to keep the feast of the pagan goddess, kolinda, occurring on the shortest day.] [footnote 9: called turon by the poles, who have many similar games.] [footnote 10: this detail would seem to bear some resemblance to saturn devouring his children, and being cheated by stones thrown into his jaws.] [footnote 11: likewise in bavaria.] [footnote 12: also believed by most slav nations.] [footnote 13: the original signification of this seems to have gone astray, but was probably based on former worship of the horse, long regarded as a sacred animal by indians, parsees, arabs, and germans.] [footnote 14: so in india the matris, also known amongst the egyptians, chaldeans, and mexicans. a corresponding spirit is likewise found in the scandinavian and lithuanian mythologies; in the latter under the name of _medziajna_.] [footnote 15: also practised in poland.] [footnote 16: also believed by the roumenians.] [footnote 17: the word _götzen_ in german signifies pagan deities.] [footnote 18: afternoon church is always called vespers by the saxon villager, though i believe it has no resemblance to the chanted vespers of the roman catholics.] transcriber's notes the original text was published in: the nineteenth century, kegan paul, trench & co., london, july-december 1885, pp. 130-150. the transcriber made a very few changes to the text in order to correct obvious errors (before/after): [p. 135]: ... this is also usual in poland, moldavia, and the bukowinq. ... ... this is also usual in poland, moldavia, and the bukowina. ... [p. 147]: ... is the todanstragen, or throwing out the death, a custom still extant ... ... is the todaustragen, or throwing out the death, a custom still extant ... an address to men of science; calling upon them to stand forward and vindicate the truth from the foul grasp and persecution of superstition; and obtain for the island of great britain the noble appellation of whence mankind shall be illuminated, and the black and pestiferous clouds of persecution and superstition be banished from the face of the earth; as the only sure prelude to universal peace and harmony among the human race. in which a sketch of a proper system for the education of youth is submitted to their judgment. by richard carlile london: printed and published by r. carlile, 55, fleet street. 1821. price one shilling. address, gentlemen, in addressing a letter to so distinguished and so important a part of the community, it becomes me to say, that, i am not myself a man of experimental science, neither, out of the ordinary occupations of my past life, have i ever seen a scientific experiment made in any one department of chemistry, or natural philosophy; all that i know, with the above exception, has been acquired by reading and meditation. my present address is chiefly confined to those philosophers, who study and practice the sciences of chemistry and astronomy. i shall endeavour to point out to them that, they are bound by duty, by common sense, and by common honesty, to make known to mankind, or, more particularly their fellow countrymen, whatever discoveries they may make to prove that the others are following a system of error, or that they are acted upon by a system of imposture. i shall make it appear plain to them, that they have not hitherto done this, and that they have openly countenanced systems of error and imposture, because the institutions of the country were connected with them; or, because they feared to offend those persons who might be deriving an ill-gotten profit from them. this subject will form the first head of my address. in my second head, i shall shew that the present system of educating children is entirely on a wrong basis, and their youthful time is so far wasted, as to leave them, when advanced to the years of maturity, in a state of comparative ignorance. i shall shew that if in their school exercises they were made acquainted with nothing but the elements of astronomy, of geography, of natural history, and of chemistry, so that they might at an early period of life form correct notions of organized and inert matter, instead of torturing their minds with metaphysical and incomprehensible dogmas about religion, of which they can form no one idea but that of apparent absurdity and contradiction, they would be prepared to make a much greater advancement in the arts and sciences, and to improve their condition in society much more than can be now possibly done. these shall not be altogether theoretical ideas, their practicability will reach the mind of every rational being, or he who takes the liberty to think and reason for himself. many new plans and schemes for education are daily starting up, but the whole, of which i have any knowledge, have the above common error; for the subjects upon which our youth are taught to read and write, and those in which the dead or foreign living languages are taught, are by no means calculated to expand the mind, or to give it a knowledge of nature and her laws; and thus the most important of all opportunities is lost, and much time actually wasted, in which their minds might be prepared for the reception and knowledge of natural and useful truths. what is the knowledge of the present school-boy, in what is called classical literature, when compared with a useful instruction 'in chemistry and the laws of nature? of what use to society at large is a classical scholar? or one well versed in the ancient mythologies, for this, after all, is the chief part of classical knowledge? it neither gives a polish to manners nor teaches morality. it fills the mind with a useless jargon, and enables the possessor now and then to make a tinsel and pompous declamation in half a dozen different languages; which, if it were to undergo a translation into one language, and that which we call native, would be found to be a mass of unintelligible and unmeaning trash--words of sound, to which it would be difficult to attach an idea, and in which all correct notions are wanting. it makes a man a pedant only. such men have been most aptly termed spouters of froth. my present object is to lay down a sketch of what seems to me a more instructive and useful system of education. i submit this sketch to the judgment of men of science, with an idea that every schoolmaster ought to be a man of science, and not a parish priest, as mr. brougham would have. this is the outline of my second head, on which in due order i hope to enlarge most satisfactorily. in my first head i shall address myself first to the chemists of this island, and finish by a distinct allusion to the students and practitioners in the science of astronomy. of all the advancements made in science of late years, perhaps the most pre-eminent and the most important to mankind, stands that in the science of chemistry. our chemists have proved themselves the greatest of all revolutionists, for they have silently and scientifically undermined all the dogmas of the priest, upon which the customs and the manners of society seem hitherto to have been entirely founded. every species of matter has been brought to dissolution, and its elementary properties investigated, by their crucibles and fires, or their galvanic batteries, and we have been practically and scientifically shewn in what manner nature performs her dissolutions and regenerations. as far as i understand, but one of the phenomena of nature remains unexplored, and that is the properties of the electric fluid, or the real cause of the solar light and heat. i do not despair of this being reached, and i have the stronger hope, as it will lead at once to a knowledge of the cause of our existence, and that of every animal and vegetable substance. it will shew the cause and process by which inert matter becomes organized, and how all the variegated beauties of nature start into life. however, at present, we know quite enough to authorize the rejection of all our priestly cosmogonies, we know quite enough to set at nought the notion that the planetary system of the universe has existed but six thousand years--we know that matter is imperishable and indestructible, for, although, a fire to a common understanding seems to destroy combustible matter, yet such is not the case, for after any combustible substance has passed through the fiercest fire, the whole of its component parts still exist to their former full extent; the fire has only separated them and changed their relative situations; they are dispersed in their gaseous state, and again ready for the operations of nature, to amalgamate with some new living and growing substance, to which their qualities can be assimilated.* * the latter part of this sentence might appear preposterous when addressed to the chemist, or to the man of science, but it is probable that this address might be read by some individual who might not comprehend the assertion that matter is imperishable and indestructible; therefore the writer has taken the liberty to introduce this slight explanation. he confesses that but two years since he startled himself at the assertion, and asked the assertor whether fire did not destroy matter. we know that the planetary system of the universe has existed to all eternity as to the past, and must exist to all eternity as to the future. for, although, that solar system of which our habitation is a part, or other solar systems, might go through great changes, yet its effect is but as the falling of a hair from our heads, and cannot be said to disturb the great whole. instead of viewing ourselves as the particular and partial objects of the care of a great deity, or of receiving those dogmas of the priest which teach us that every thing has been made for the convenience and use of man, and that man has been made in the express image of the deity, we should consider ourselves but as atoms of organized matter, whose pleasure or whose pain, whose existence in a state of organization, or whose non-existence in that state, is a matter of no importance in the laws and operations of nature; we should view ourselves with the same feelings, as we view the leaf which rises in the spring, and falls in the autumn, and then serves no further purpose but to fertilize the earth for a fresh production; we should view ourselves but as the blossoms of may, which exhibit but a momentary splendour and beauty, and often within that moment are cut off prematurely by a blast. we are of no more importance in the scale of nature than those myriads of animalcules whose natural life is but for the space of an hour, or but a moment. we come and pass like a cloud--like a shower--those of us who possess a brilliancy superior to others, are but as the rainbow, the objects of a momentary admiration, and a momentary recollection. man has been most aptly compared to the seasons of the year, in our own climate, the spring, is his infancy; the summer, the time af his ardent manhood; the autumn, his decline of life; and the winter, his old age and death--he passes, and another series comes. he is produced by, and produces his like, and so passes away one generation after another, from, and to all eternity. how ridiculous then is the idea about divine revelations, about prophesies, and about miracles, to procure proselytes to such notions! to what generation do they apply, or if they apply to all future generations, why were not the same revelations, prophesies, and miracles, necessary to all the past generations? what avail the dogmas of the priest about an end to the world, about a resurrection, about a day of judgment, about a heaven and hell, or about rewards and punishments after this life, when we assert that matter is imperishable and indestructible--that it always was what it now is, and that it will always continue the same. answer this, ye priests. come forward, ye men of science, and support these plain truths, which are as familiar to your mind, as the simplest demonstration in mathematics is to the experienced and accomplished mathematician. future rewards and punishments are cried up as a necessary doctrine wherewith to impress the minds of men, and to restrain them from vice: but how much more impressive and comprehensible would be the plain and simple truth, that, in this life, virtue produces happiness, and vice nothing but certain misery. away then with the ridiculous idea, and the priestly dogma of immortality. away with the contemptible notion that our bones, our muscles, and our flesh shall be gathered together after they are rotted and evaporated for a resurrection to eternal life. away with the idea that we have a sensible soul which lives distinct from and after the dissolution of the body. it is all a bugbear, all a priestly imposture. the chemist can analyse the body of man, and send it into its primitive gaseous state in a few minutes. his crucible and fire, or his galvanic battery, will cause it to evaporate so as not to leave a particle of substance or solid matter, and this chemical process is but an anticipation, or a hastening, of the workings of nature; for the whole universe might be aptly termed a great chemical apparatus, in which a chemical analysis, and a chemical composition is continually and constantly going on. the same might be said of every organized body, however large, or however minute; its motions produce a constant chemical analysis and composition, a continual change; so that the smallest particle of matter is guided by the same laws, and performs the same duties, as the great whole. here is an harmony indeed! man alone seems to form an exception by his vicious conduct and demoralizing character. by assuming to himself a character or a consequence to which he is not entitled, and by making a pretension to the possession of supernatural powers, he plays such fantastic tricks as to disturb every thing within his influence, and carries on a perpetual war with nature and her laws. after those few observations upon the properties of matter either organized or inert, (to which i know every chemist in the country, whose science has conquered the bigotry of his education, will give his assent) i would call upon them all and every one to stand forward and teach mankind those important, those plain truths, which are so clear and so familiar to their own minds. it is the man of science who is alone capable of making war upon the priest, so as to silence him effectually. it is the duty of the man of science to make war upon all error and imposture, or why does he study? why does he analyse the habits, the customs, the manners, and the ideas of mankind, but to separate truth from falsehood, but to give force to the former, and to extinguish the latter? why does he search into nature and her laws, but to benefit himself and his fellow man by his discoveries, by the explosion of erroneous ideas, and by the establishment of correct principles? science must be no longer studied altogether as an amusement or a pastime, which has been too much the case hitherto; it must be brought forward to combat the superstitions, the vices, and the too long established depravities among mankind, whence all their present and past miseries have emanated, and unless the former can be destroyed, the latter will still ensue, as a regular cause and effect. it is evident that men of science have hitherto too much crouched to the established tyrannies of kingcraft and priestcraft. speaking generally they have adopted some of the aristocratical distinctions of the day, and have supported the frauds upon mankind, which it was their peculiar duty to expose. this has given room to the advocates of superstitiop, to put forward as an authority-for their dogmas, the names of bacon, of newton, of locke, and many others. they say that it is no disgrace even to err with such men, and thus, for the want of a more decided and determined character in the advocates of science and philosophy, the enemy has built a strong hold within our lines, and has taken an important advantage of our irresolution. i will not believe that bacon, or newton, or locke, in the latter part of their life, had any other ideas of the christian religion, or any other religion, than i have. in their days, the faggots had scarcely been extinguished, nor was the fuel which supplied them exhausted. they might therefore deem it prudent to equivocate as a matter of safety. besides, the two former were in the employ of a court, and consequently under the trammels of kingcraft, which ever has, and ever will find its interest in the support of superstition and priestcraft. i would appeal to any man who calls himself a conscientious christian, and ask him whether he thinks such a man as himself could write the following paragraph: "atheism leaves a man to sense, to philosophy, to natural piety, to laws, to reputation: all which may be guides to an outward moral virtue, though religion were not; but superstition dismounts all these, and createth an absolute monarchy in the minds of men: therefore atheism did never perturb states; for it makes men wary of themselves, as looking no farther, and we see the times inclined to atheism (as the time of augustus cæsar) were civil times: but superstition hath been the confusion of many states, and bringeth in a new _primum mobile_, that ravisheth all the spheres of government." this is lord bacon's apology for atheism, and, in my humble opinion, he wrote it feelingly, conscientiously, and upon principle, as an atheist, which word has no other meaning than a seceder from all mythologies, although the ignorant and interested make so much ridiculous clamour and fuss about it. to shew that newton was thoroughly ignorant of the chemical properties of matter, i will quote again a paragraph, which i quoted in page 341, vol. ii. of "the republican," in the answer to the rev. thomas hartwell home's pamphlet, entitled "deism refuted," &c. it is thus: "all things considered, it appears probable to me, that god in the beginning created matter in solid, hard, impenetrable particles; of such sizes and figures, and with such other properties, as most conduced to the end for which he formed them, and that these primitive particles, being solids, are incomparably harder than any of the sensible porous bodies compounded of them; even so hard as never to wear, or break in pieces: no other power being able to divide what god made in the first creation. while these corpuscles remain entire, they may compose bodies of one and the same nature and texture in all ages; but should they wear away or break in pieces, the nature of things depending on them would be changed: water and earth, composed of old worn particles, or fragments of particles, would not be of the same nature and texture now, with water and earth composed of entire particles at the beginning; and, therefore, that nature may be lasting, the changes of corporeal things are to be placed only in the various separations, and new associations of these permanent corpuscles." the chemists of the present day must smile at this notion of sir isaac newton, about what god did in the beginning: it is evident, that he knew but little about chemical analysis and composition; or, rather, that his ideas upon the subject were quite erroneous and hypothetical, when he might have obtained a demonstration quite conclusive, if he had studied chemistry with other parts of his philosophy. such, in my opinion, is the importance of the science of chemistry in the pursuit of truth and in the investigation of nature and her laws, that the first proper step towards philosophical studies must be an acquaintance with its elements and powers. we need nothing further to convince us of the struggle which existed between science and superstition in the mind of sir isaac newton than the following creed, which i have met with quite _a propos_, or in the midst of writing this address, in a weekly provincial paper, and which, i imagine, has been put forth at this moment as one of those little anxieties to prop the declining superstition of the age. it is thus headed, _sir isaac newton's creed_: "the supreme being governs all things, not as soul of the world, but as lord of the universe; and upon account of his dominion, he is stiled the lord god, supreme over all. the supreme god is an eternal, infinite, absolutely perfect being; but a being, how perfect soever, without dominion, is not lord god. the term god, very frequently signifies lord; but every lord is not god. the dominion of a spiritual being constitutes him god; true dominion, true god; supreme dominion, supreme god; imaginary dominion, imaginary god. he is not eternity and infinity, but eternal and infinite. he is not duration and space, but his duration of existence is present, and by existing always and every where, he constitutes duration and space--eternity and infinity. since every part of space, and every indivisible moment of duration, is every where; certainly the maker and lord of all things, cannot be said to be in no time, and no place. he is omnipresent, not by his power only, but in his very substance; for power cannot subsist without substance. god is not at all affected by the motions of bodies, neither do they find any resistance from the omnipresence of god. he necessarily exists, and by the same necessity he exists always and every where. whence also it follows, that he is all similar, all eye, all ear, all brain, all arm, all sensation, all understanding, all active power; but this, not in a human, or corporeal form, but in a manner wholly unknown to us, therefore not to be worshipped under a corporeal representation." here is the creed of sir isaac newton! and who can read this, and for a moment believe that he was a christian when he wrote it? i am not about to approve all this jargon and contradiction; i despise it; i pity the man of science that could write such nonsense; and rather than i would be called the author of it, i would relinquish as much fame as sir isaac newton obtained in other respects. the foregoing ideas of sir isaac newton on the properties of matter are equally unintelligible, contradictory, and ridiculous. lord bacon's definition of christianity, or the essentials of the christian religion, which i have seen printed as a religious tract, but which i have not at hand for reference or quotation, is just of the same stamp, and rather than be called the author of such trash, i would consent to be considered an idiot. yet lord bacon as a natural philosopher, and sir isaac newton as a mathematician and astronomer, were eminent in the highest degree, when the age in which they lived is considered. the conduct of both evinces the mischievous effect of superstition on the human mind, particularly where that mind is brilliantly adapted for making a progress in science and scientific discoveries. it is impossible to analyze the creed of sir isaac newton relative to deity, or found any one idea upon it. it is a string of words that have no application, and independent of their contradiction, all that can be said of them is, that they describe nothing. the writer of such a creed must have been an atheist in disguise, or perhaps unknown even to himself. its total amount implies that there is no god such as priests teach, and bigots and fools imagine and believe. mirabaud, in his system of nature, has brought forward several quotations from newton's writings, and has commented on them to shew that he was what is vulgarly called an atheist: that he was what every man of science must be, _a seceder from the idolatry of the ignorant_. such i believe he was in his latter days, and in his private opinion, but he had not the honesty to avow himself such. it is unquestionable that newton in his youth possessed much superstition, and it is equally unquestionable that the progress he had made in science in his advanced age, had entirely conquered that superstition and banished it from his mind, although, i am sorry to say, that he was not honest enough to make a full and conscientious confession of the change to which his theological opinions had been subjected. perhaps i cannot make a deeper impression on the mind of the reader as to the real character of newton, than by quoting an anecdote from william whiston's memoirs written by himself. "sir hans sloane, edmund halley, and myself, were once together at child's coffee-house, in st. paul's church-yard, and dr. halley asked me, why i was not a member of the royal society? i answered, because they durst not choose an heretic. upon which dr. halley said to sir hans sloane, that if he would propose me, he would second it: which was done accordingly. when sir isaac newton, the president, heard this, he was greatly concerned; and, by what i then learned, closeted some of the members, in order to get clear of me; and told them, that if i was chosen a member, he would not be president. whereupon, by a pretence of deficiency in the form of proceeding, the proposal was dropped, i not insisting upon it. nay, as soon as i was informed of sir isaac's uneasiness, i told his bosom friend, dr. clarke, that had i known his mind, i would have done nothing that might bring that great man's 'grey hairs with sorrow to the grave:' nor has that society ever refused to let me come, and lay any of my papers or instruments before them, whenever i desired it; without my being an actual member: which, considering my small ability to pay the usual sums for admission, and annual dues, was almost as agreeable to me, as being a constant member. now if the reader desire to know the reason of sir isaac newton's unwillingness to have me a member, he must take notice, that as his making me first his deputy, and giving me the full profits of the place, brought me to be a candidate, as his recommendation of me to the heads of colleges in cambridge, made me his successor; so did i enjoy a large portion of his favour for twenty years together. but he then perceiving that i could not do as his other darling friends did, that is, learn of him, without contradicting him, when i differed in opinion from him, he could not, in his old age, bear such contradiction; and so he was afraid of me the last thirteen years of his life. see my authentic records, page 1070, 1071. he was of the most fearful, cautious, and suspicious temper, that i ever knew: and had he been alive when i wrote against his chronology, and so thoroughly confuted it, that nobody has ever ventured to vindicate it, that i know of, since my confutation was published, i should not have thought proper to publish it during his life-time: because i knew his temper so well, that i should have expected it would have killed him. as dr. bentley, bishop stillingfleet's chaplain, told me, that he believed mr. locke's thorough confutation of the bishop's metaphysics about the trinity, hastened his end also." whiston was the early friend of newton and succeeded him at cambridge in the professor's chair in the science of the mathematics. newton when young was a firm adherent to the ridiculous doctrine of the christian trinity, and so useful as figures were to him in his mathematical and astronomical discoveries, and to such an extent, beyond all predecessors, could he carry them, yet superstition could persuade him, that three could be explained to be but one; and one to comprise three! the science of whiston in the mathematics was almost equal to that of newton, though i believe the former had not so fertile a genius as the latter, and was obliged to acquire by labour what to the other was natural. yet whiston, although he had superstition enough to make him a honest and conscientious christian, knew the proper use of arithmetic, and would not allow three to be one, nor one to be three: he rejected the doctrine of the trinity in the godhead. whiston honestly and openly combated this impossibility, and avowed himself an arian, and contended under much persecution throughout his lifetime that such were the sentiments of the early christians, and that the doctrine of the trinity was but a corruption of the church after it had been long established. such tenets were then called blasphemous, and whiston was expelled from his professor's chair, and from the university of cambridge altogether, and had to endure more clamour about blasphemy than ever i had, or have any reason to fear in future. this circumstance connected with a rivalry in the mathematics occasioned the breach between whiston and newton, but ridiculous as even whiston's superstition appears to me, i think him a much more honest man than ever was newton, and as a member of society much more useful to the age in which they lived. newton courted distinction and popularity by servilely succumbing to all the despotisms of the day: whiston was a man of principle, and lived and died poor for the satisfaction of writing and speaking what he thought and believed. the one has been too much flattered and applauded; the other too much vilified and degraded, and the clamour by which both circumstances have been effected has been equally disgusting and disgraceful to the country. i have contrasted the conduct of whiston and newton, and have made my observations on the latter to shew that even his name carries no weight with it in the support of superstition, i trust i have sufficiently shown that superstition and science can never amalgamate, which also justifies the inference that, morality and religion never can amalgamate. superstition corrupts and deteriorates all the human passions: science alone is qualified to amend and moralize them. the man of science who knows his duty, and what is conducive to the interest of mankind, will ever boldly and openly set himself in opposition to the priest. this has not been sufficiently done hitherto, and i hope that even my appeal will not be altogether useless, but that, it will rouse some latent spirit among the men of science in this island to assert their own dignity and importance; and silence the foul, the wicked, and the mischievous clamour of priestcraft. it is beyond doubt that locke was hostile to the system of government, both in church and state, and the odium which he incurred from a certain quarter, was quite equal to that which has fallen upon thomas paine, or those who, since the american and french revolutions, have travelled so much farther in their opposition. opposition to ill-founded establishments, possessing power, must necessarily be progressive. locke was thought to have gone to an extreme in his time, but i now consider his writings to be scarcely-worth reading, as far as they apply to toleration in matters of opinion, or to political economy and political government. the sentiments which i have put upon paper would have been called high treason a century ago, and the author hung, beheaded, embowelled, and quartered, with the general approbation of the people; and a person of the name of thomas, matthews was actually hung for writing and printing what was called a treasonable libel, in the reign of george the first; which libel, or a similar one, would not now bethought seditious by the attorney general himself. such is the effect of general instruction among the people--such is the progressive power of the printing press, that, i feel a moral conviction that the sentiments which i have avowed will became general in another generation. the circumstance is as sure as that no one will now condemn the political opinions of john locke, as going too far, but rather as weak and insipid, and not going far enough in honest principle. then come forward, ye men of science, it is reserved for you to give the death blow, or the last blow to superstition and idolatry. now is the time--you are safe even from momentary persecution, if you stand forward numerously and boldly. you will have a people, an all mighty people, with you, a circumstance which no philosopher could ever heretofore calculate upon. you have nothing to fear, and nothing to lose, but every thing to gain, even that which is most dear to you, the kind reception of your instructions, the adoption of your principles, founded in truth and the nature of things. kings and priests have, in some cases, made partial pretensions to patronize the arts and sciences, as a cloak for their enmity towards them. they ever were, and ever will be, in reality, their direst foes. an advanced state of science cannot benefit them. their present distinctions, and misery-begetting splendour, could not be tolerated, when mankind shall so far be illuminated as to know the real cause and object of animal-existence. common sense teaches us that good government requires none of those idle distinctions; for why should the servants, or the administrators of the laws of society, be distinguished above those whence those laws should emanate? it is the duty of the man of science to attack those distinctions, to combat all the established follies of the day, and endeavour to restore society to its natural state; to that state which first principles will point out; the mutual support, the comfort, the happiness, and the protection of each other. at present we are but as so many beasts of prey, each strengthening himself by the destruction of his weaker fellow. the many unnatural distinctions which kingcraft and priestcraft have brought into society, have totally undermined the first object of the social state. in addition to this universal evil, those two crafts have set themselves up as a bar to all useful improvement. they countenance no change but that which swells the amount of their depredations, (for the manner in which their incomes are extorted deserves no other appellation.) societies can obtain no real or lasting strength under the sway of those two crafts, for every improvement that has been made in their several conditions, has been evidently from the force of natural and scientific knowledge, and in an exact ratio with the diminution of kingly and priestly influence. this assertion is evident if we examine the decay of their influence for the last three centuries, in this or any other country. the printing press has come like a true messiah to emancipate the great family of mankind from this double yoke. this messiah is immortal, and its saving powers must be universal and perpetual. by this, and by no other messiah, can man be saved from ignorance and misery; the only hell that he has to fear. it will prove the true messiah of the jew, of the christian, of the mahometan, and of the pagan. it is a messiah for all, and it will go on to unite under the name and title of man and citizen the whole human race, or all those animals who have the gift of speech, and its consequent, reason. i hope to see the day, or i fear not but it will arrive, when every man of property shall consider a printing-press, a necessary piece of furniture in his house; and prize it more than our present aristocrats prize their hounds and horses. in support of my assertion, that men of science have hitherto crouched too much to the established impostures of the day, i have merely to remark, that i am not aware of any one instance in which any chemist of this country has made a public attack upon them, or called them in question in any public manner. another proof of my assertion might be found in the medical and surgical professions. from the best information, i have learnt, that, with a very few exceptions, the whole body of those gentlemen in the metropolis, have discarded from their minds all the superstitious dogmas which priestcraft hath invented, and that they have adopted those principles which have a visible foundation in nature, and beyond what is visible and comprehensible, their credence does not extend. yet, when that spirited young man, mr. lawrence, having obtained a professor's gown in the college of surgeons, shew a disposition in his public lectures to discountenance and attack those established impostures and superstitions of priestcraft, the whole profession displayed that same cowardly and dastardly conduct, which hath stamped with infamy the present generation of neapolitans, and suffered the professor's gown to be stripped from this ornament of his profession and his country, and every employment to be taken from him, without even a public remonstrance, or scarcely an audible murmur! it is conduct such as this which gives courage and permanence to the despots who strive to enslave both our bodies and our minds. it is this base disposition of making truth crouch before established and antique error, which has hitherto characterized the searchers after and lovers of the former, that has given force and longevity to the latter. it is the bounden duty of every man openly to avow whatever his mind conceives to be the truth. if he shrinks from this he is a coward--a slave to the opinions, of other men. shall the enemies of mankind boldly tell us that they perceive truth in their mysterious and incomprehensible dogmas, and shall we shrink from the publication and support of those truths which we perceive to have an evident foundation in nature! shall we shrink from the avowal of truths because despotism and ignorance have granted stipends to the propagators of falsehood, and because those stipends might be endangered? forbid it, nature! let every lover of truth and the peace and happiness of the human race forbid it. i may be told that the man of science had much better pursue his studies and experiments in silence and private, and not expose himself to the persecution of bigots. the idea is slavish--disgraceful. science has made sufficient progress in this country, and has a sufficient number of followers and admirers, to enable them by a single breath to dissipate all the bigotry in the country, or, at least, to silence all the idle clamour of the bigoted and interested about blasphemy and atheism, or any of their nonsense. is the progress of science to be submitted to an excise, and are all discoveries to be treated like contraband goods, lest the trade and the tithes of the priest be injured? shame on that man who can tacitly submit to such a system. and yet this is just what we are called upon to submit to, and threatened with punishment, and even banishment, if we murmur. i, as an humble individual, have resolved to break through those trammels, to violate all those degrading and disgraceful laws, and shall the man of science be silent, and see all that he values most dear, persecuted in my person, just because he will not proclaim that i am right, and that my enemies, and his enemies, are wrong? now is the time for him to speak out--now is the time when he can do it effectually. my humble efforts have alarmed the whole of corruption and falsehood's hosts, and half frightened them to death, let but a few eminent and distinguished men of science stand forward and support me, and i have no fear of finishing well, what i have endeavoured well to begin. i aspire to nothing more than to become the humble instrument of sounding and resounding their sentiments. i am anxious to sound a loud blast in the cause of truth, of reason, of nature and her laws. i will give every man of science an opportunity of publishing his sentiments without any direct danger to himself: i will fill the gap of persecution for him, if a victim be still necessary to satisfy the revenge of dying priestcraft. this is an age of revolutions, and where those revolutions have not yet displayed themselves, it is not for want of the mind having been sufficiently revolutionized, but because it is kept down by a superior acting force in the shape of fixed bayonets and despotic laws. throughout europe the mind of the people has been long revolutionized from its wonted ignorance, and wherever it finds an opportunity, it displays itself. this march of the mind will be progressive, and it is evident that it has already begun to spread itself among the very instruments of those despots called kings, by which they vainly hoped to have checked its course. every march of the russian troops into the south of europe will but tend to enlighten them, and by and bye they will become wise enough to return and revolutionize their own country; by adopting the representative system of government, and by making their present emperor what he is so well adapted for--a regimental tailor. the horror which was so lately expressed by the emperor of austria at the progress of science, and at the revolution which sir humphry davy had made in the science of chemistry, is a specimen of that feeling which pervades all such men. this imbecile idiot quivered at an observation of his own physician about the state of his own constitution, and forbade him ever to use the word in his presence again! yet it is by such men as this, that the inhabitants of europe are held in a state of bondage and degradation! will ye, men of science, continue to truckle before such animals? will ye any longer bend the knee to such baals--to such golden calves as these? will ye bend your aspiring minds to prop the thrones of such contemptible, such ignorant, such brutish despots? shame on you, if you can so far debase yourselves! up, and play the man, boldly avow what your minds comprehend as natural truths; and all the venom of all the despots and priests on the face of the earth, shall fly before you as chaff before the wind. the science of chemistry has so far explored the properties of matter in all its variety, and has so far ascertained all its powers, purposes, and combinations, as to banish the idea of its having been formed from any chaotic state into its present form and fashion. the chemist would smile at such a notion in the present day, even if he feared to encounter the priest and his dogmas about the world having been created out of nothing. creation is an improper word when applied to matter. matter never was created--matter never can be destroyed. it is eternal both as to the past and future. it is subject to a continual chemical analysis, and as continual a new composition. for a full comprehension of these assertions, it is necessary to have a knowledge of the elements of chemistry: therefore, if any other person, but those to whom this letter is addressed, should read it, let him not hastily reject without a full consideration and enquiry. mr. parke's chemical catechism, or dr. ure's chemical dictionary, will explain all my assertions on the properties of matter. the elements of chemistry have been published by a variety of other chemists, to any of whom i would refer the reader, as it will not answer the purport of my address to enter into a fuller explanation on this important head, or to fill these pages with an elemental description of chemistry. i address myself to men of science, not as one of them, but as an individual who has obtained a sufficient insight into the various departments of science, through the medium of books, to convince him that all the dogmas of the priest, and of holy books, are false and wicked impostures upon mankind. he therefore calls upon men of science to stand forward and unfold their mind upon this important subject. he offers himself as a medium through which they might escape the fangs of the attorney general, or the society for propagating vice, and pledges himself that there is no truth that any man of science will write, but what he will print and publish. he has a thorough contempt and indifference for all existing laws and combinations to punish him upon this score, and will set them all at defiance, whilst they attempt to restrain any particular opinions. he will go on to show to the people of this island, what one individual, and he a very obscure and bumble one, can do in the cause of propagating the truth, in opposition to falsehood and imposture. i have now gone through the first part of my first head, and i should have been happy if i could have made an exception in the general conduct of the chemists of this island. i am not aware that any one of them has ever made himself the public advocate of truth, of scientific philosophical truth, in opposition to the false and stupifying dogmas of priestcraft or holy books. in the medical and surgical professions i have found one exception, and but one, although i almost feel myself justified in calling on many by name to come forward, and among them my namesake stands most conspicuous, in that cause which is nearest their hearts. i have introduced the names of bacon, newton, and locke, under this part of my address, not as practical chemists, which i believe they were not, or if they knew any thing of the elements of chemistry, that knowledge is not now worthy of mention, but because they are now claimed as the patrons of superstition. newton certainly deserves to be called a great astronomer, but as he endeavoured to make even his knowledge in astronomy subservient to his bigotry, i have thought proper to treat him as a wavering and dishonest fanatic, rather than as a man of science. the theological and metaphysical writings of bacon and locke, are completely ambiguous, and form no key to the mind of the writer, or to any abstract and particular opinions. as i have said before, they equivocated as a matter of safety; whatever others might think of them, i feel no pride in saying they were englishmen. thomas paine is of more value by his writings, than bacon, newton, and locke together. in calling upon the astronomer to stand forward and avow his knowledge, that all the astronomical dogmas of holy books are founded in error and ignorance of the laws... ==================================================== pages 23 and 24 are missing from all available copies ===================================================== ...properly be termed a species of madness. whatever opinions prevail in the minds of men which have no foundation in nature, or natural laws, they can merit no other designation than insanity. insanity, or madness, consists in unnatural or incoherent thoughts and actions, therefore, as no species of religious notions have any alliance with nature, it is but a just inference to say, that they individually or collectively comprise the term _madness_. in mild dispositions it may be but a harmless melancholy aberration; in the more violent it becomes a raging delirium, which destroys every thing that comes in its way, and for which it has sufficient strength. it destroys all moral and natural good which comes within its influence, and madly proclaims itself the _summum bonum_ for mankind! as yet there is scarcely sufficient reason among mankind to restrain this madness. it has so mixed itself up with all political institutions that there is no separating the one without revolutionizing the other. this is the chief cause of the frequent convulsions in society, as this madness cannot possibly engender any thing but mischief, and it is well known, that, in madness, there is no rest; it is always in a state of motion, unless there be a sufficient power at hand to curb and restrain it. reason, or a knowledge of nature, is the only specific for it, and he who can throw the greatest quantity into the social system will prove the best physician. several quacks have made pretensions to give society relief from this madness but they have only tortured the patient without checking the disease. thomas paine, and a few american and french physicians, have been the only ones to treat it in an effectual manner, and by the use of their recipes, and the assistance of men of science, i hope at least effectually to destroy the contagious part of the disease. mathematics, magic, and witchcraft, were formerly denounced by superstition as synonymous terms, and the mathematical student has been often punished as a conjuror! astronomy and astrology were also considered one and the same thing. such were the fantasies and delusions which superstition could raise in the minds of men, and such has been the wickedness of priests, who could always perceive and even acknowledge that human reason was inimical to their views, and whoever possessed or practised it ought to be destroyed as the enemy not only of themselves but of their god too! as philosophy has left us no doubt that their interest was and still is their god, they have so far acted consistently, but it is now high time that philosophy should triumph over priestcraft. it is now evident that philosophy has sufficient strength on her side for that purpose, as her supporters are now more numerous than the supporters of priestcraft. let men of science stand forward and shew the remaining dupes of priestcraft, that the mathematics are nothing more than a simple but important science, and that astronomy has no affinity to that bugbear called astrology. the priests and judges of the present day are men of the same disposition as the priests and judges of the seventeenth century, who imprisoned galileo for asserting the sphericity of the earth, and its revolution round the sun, contrary to the tenets of the holy bible, and who burnt old women as witches because they might have had the misfortune to be old, ugly, or deformed. such is the power and progress of truth, that those very men are brought to confess that galileo asserted nothing more than an important philosophical fact. on this point i will briefly notice the misgivings of one of our living judges. mr. justice best in his judicial circuit through the northern district, at the late lent assizes for cumberland, on a trial for libel, made the following assertion, after attempting to contrast the state of freedom in this country at this time, with what existed at rome when galileo was imprisoned in the inquisition, for stating "a great philosophical truth," his judgeship observed: "now in this country any philosophical truth, or opinion, might be stated and supported without its being considered libellous." this is a most glaring and a most abominable falsehood, when the quarter from which it came is considered. mr. justice best in the month of november 1819, sat as a judge in the court of king's bench, and advised the sending me to the gaol of dorchester for three years and the imposing a fine upon me of fifteen hundred pounds for stating and supporting a great philosophical truth. not content with the imposition of this enormous fine and tremendous imprisonment, he also immediately sanctioned the issuing of a writ of _levari facias_, on the very same day, by which my business and my property was destroyed, and by which: cause i am at present deprived of all visible means of making up that fine. yet, mr. justice best, had the effrontery to say from the bench, which should ever be sacred to truth and justice, that no philosophical truth stated and supported in this country, would be considered libelous! i do aver, and i challenge any man of science to contradict me publicly, if he dares, that the two volumes, for the publication of which i am now suffering imprisonment, and for which i have been so excessively fined and robbed, contain nothing more than philosophical truths, as plain, as, simple and as important, as those for which galileo was imprisoned by the christian inquisition, about two hundred years since. i appeal to mr. justice best himself--he knows the truth of what i now write--yet he has had the effrontery, in contempt of the good sense and discernment of the whole country, to put forth this vile falsehood--still more vile, because he himself partook in the order for my punishment, galileo was told in the seventeenth century by the magnificent inquisitor general that, his astronomical ideas were not in unison with the holy scriptures, and that he must not promulgate them. mr justice best told me in november 1819, that he would not sit on the bench as a judge and hear a particle of the bible called in question. then where is the difference in the conduct of those two magnificent inquisitors general, and between my case and that of galileo? the judges who condemned galileo were quite mild and humane when compared with mine, they did not rob him of all his property and fix a fine with a hope that he would never be able to pay it: they merely, in addition to his imprisonment, ordered him to repeat, aloud the seven penitential psalms once a week! canst thou mr. justice best read this statement and these observations, and again take thy seat as a judge in a court of law or what ought to be a court of justice? blush! best! blush! every man of science--every lover of great philosophical truths, will proclaim thee a liar for thy assertion on the bench at carlisle in cumberland. the very name of the place might have reminded thee of the grossness of that assertion! neither will it become me here to lay down the elements of astronomy, my appeal is to the astronomer, and i have merely to remind him, that, if he supports the dogmas of the priest, or the astronomical blunders of any holy book, he is a corrupt and wicked hypocrite, and a disgrace to the science which he studies, practises, or teaches. science and truth ought to be synonymous terms, and neither the one or the other ought, upon any consideration whatever, to pay the least respect or deference to established error. to those same persons whom i have given a reference for the elements of chemistry, i would also refer to other works for the elements of astronomy. they are now published in a variety of shapes and forms, and i am much pleased to see that a number of gentlemen are giving lectures on astronomy in all our towns and cities of any note. such men are worthy of support in preference to the priest, and although they may jointly, from fear, or other motives, attempt to mix up religious dogmas with their scientific lectures, i know that it must tend to a due enlightenment of the public mind. an eidouranion or orrery to have been displayed a few centuries ago would have gathered a pile of faggots for the lecturer, and he would have been burnt as a daring blasphemer, and his machine with him, as the devil's workmanship. such is the rapid progress of natural knowledge, that i almost doubt whether the person, that shall now stand forward and publish thomas paine's age of reason, and elihu palmer's principles of nature, in the same open and determined manner as i published them, would find even imprisonment for it, let him do it openly and i will commend him, and be almost answerable for him in point of loss or suffering. it is not a sufficient excuse for men of science to plead established institutions, or to say that priestcraft is powerful because six millions of money is wrung from the people in the shape of direct taxes to support it, and about as much more levied in the shape of voluntary contributions upon that class of people called dissenters. shew the people that they are imposed upon, and they will no longer be robbed and laughed at, they will soon perceive that the money which this priestcraft takes from their pockets would be sufficient for a splendid execution and administration of the laws and government of the country. abolish priestcraft, and the expense which now attends it will cover all the other necessary expences of the state. this twelve millions of money is spent for the very worst of purposes, for it does not civilize society, but rather brutalizes it, by setting its members one against the other, upon different points of belief, all of which are proved to be erroneous and to have no foundation in nature. the man of science ought not to look at, or respect, any thing but the discovery and propagation of truth. instead of respecting mischievous and erroneous establishments, he, of all men, is bound, by every honourable tie, to make an exposure of them, and to teach the people right from wrong. his knowledge and discoveries should be like the benefits of nature dispensed alike to all without price or reward. he ought to be the patron of truth, and the enemy of error, in whatever shape it might appear, or whatever effect it might produce. like nature herself, he should be no respecter of persons or of things individually but collectively. i have now gone through the first head of this address, and i trust that i have performed what i promised under it. i have shewn that men of science, either from having their minds tinged with superstition, or from the fear of offending those who might labour under that malady, have deprived society of many of those benefits which it was their bounden duty to have conferred upon it. they have withheld from the public the most important discoveries, because, as the christian inquisition said to galileo, such discoveries, or such doctrines, were contrary to those of the holy bible. shame upon such dastardly principles, say i--they are a disgrace to mankind, which assumes a superiority over all other animals. we had better never have possessed the gift of speech, and its consequent reason, if we are only to use it for the propagation of falsehood, and the production of misery, to the majority of the species. i have broken through the trammels of priestcraft publicly, i bid defiance to all the persecution it can inflict upon me, and i now call upon the men of science in this island to stand forward and support me. however it might affect the momentary interest of individuals, ought not to be a question, it is certain that superstition would not linger another year, if the philosophers of the country would stand forward and make war upon it: they would then find that the extortions of the priesthood would be willingly given for the erection of temples of science, and the support of competent professors in the arts and sciences; and that a mutual instruction in every thing that can benefit a society would be the first and last object in view, both individually and generally. i come now to the second head of my address, in which i have undertaken to shew, that, all existing systems of education are imperfect and improper, and further, to give a sketch of a system that shall be more proper. in the first place i would remark that, in all the schools of this country, or with scarce an exception worthy of mention, the youth are subjected to a certain system of religious study and exercise. they have to attend certain ceremonies called public worship or prayers--they have to get those prayers by heart, and also a catechism of religious belief, or i should rather say religious dogmas, as there can be no real belief where there is no comprehension of the object in contemplation or discussion; however, altogether, about these religious ceremonies, one half of the time of youth is wasted; for the lessons in reading, lessons in grammar, copies for writing, and even those lessons in which foreign languages are taught, have their subject matter founded upon religious dogmas, either ancient or modern. here and there a moral precept is thrown in, but the dogmas of religion have a decided preponderance, and more than half of the time of youth is wasted upon them. it is evident that these religious dogmas make not the least impression upon the minds of youth, further than to stupify them by so dull and so constant a repetition, and the reason of this is, that these religious dogmas have no foundation whatever in nature. they neither instruct, amuse, interest, or delight, because the youthful mind has no comprehension of their object, and can perceive no real utility arising from them. they are viewed but as a matter of school discipline, and the youth returns to them with a loathing. still they are continually pressed upon him as long as he remains under parent or tutor, and he grows up with a mind soured by an habitual distaste of that which he is told to venerate. if you were to instruct a child in the elements of chemistry, you would find that it would be constantly amusing itself with such simple chemical experiments as its childhood could practise and comprehend: it would feel an interest in all the little experiments it could make, and that interest would lead on to a self-importance, to industry, to a knowledge and due comprehension of the value of time, about which children think so little, or rather think nothing at all, under the present system of education. they are exhorted to set a value on their time by written precepts, but they have no inducements to that object, owing to their system of education being one dreary monotony. no part of it is calculated to kindle the fire of genius, or to cherish the aspiring spirit of youth. it is from such a system of education that true genius has become so very scarce, and is so seldom seen: it blunts and stupifies the mind, and obscures that radiance to which the system i now propose would have given energy and opportunity to display itself. many of nature's nobles have passed through life unknown and unheeded entirely from the influence of a superstitious and genius-destroying education! from the evident disposition of children to imitate all the actions of grown persons, from their little scientific propensities to produce in miniature what they see in magnitude, from the delight which they feel, and the deep interest which they take in all their little works and playful amusements, it is certain that nothing more is required to put them in the channel of correct ideas than to give them such instruction, and to bend their minds to such objects as shall at once employ, amuse, and delight, and at the same time form a playful and healthful exercise for them; whilst it is calculated to expand their minds in the knowledge and comprehension of those objects which are above all things conducive to the interests of society, and which relate to the progressive improvement and advancing state of the arts and sciences. the objects to which i allude, are chemical experiments, and experiments in every other branch of natural philosophy: and a study of natural history by observation and examination of natural subjects. i need not enumerate the various branches of natural history, suffice it to say, that i would have a system of education that should embrace the whole successively; and here a wide field would be open for the conversion of priests to professors in the various departments of this science; and this science alone is so far infinite as to make the life of man a continual system of education and research. independent of the foregoing sciences there are geography, astronomy, mechanics, and all the lesser branches which are commonly and necessarily taught to youth in the present system of education. this i consider would be a natural and proper system for the education of youth, and this system has all the degrees which are as well adapted to the comprehension of infants or children of three and four years old, as to the most mature age and knowledge. the beauty of scientific pursuits is, that there is always a novelty in them--that discoveries in them will ever be infinite, and that the further you proceed the more you see before you, and the more ardour you feel in those pursuits. it is the best of all amusement and pastime, because, it produces universal advantage and universal satisfaction, whilst it neither fatigues the follower nor injures his neighbour. other amusements and pastimes are apt to occasion individual injury and even misery, but this cannot. the sportsmen cannot hunt or shoot, without damaging the cultivated property of others, and whilst in the pursuit of his game his mind allows no obstacles to be just. with the man of science the case is different, his amusements and experiments are made within a narrow sphere, and the result is calculated to benefit all without injury to any. chemistry i deem to be the foundation of all other science, and in a manner pf speaking to comprise all other branches of science. as matter and motion comprise everything we can behold or conceive, and as chemistry is an investigation of the properties of matter, with the causes and effects of its various combinations, it is evidently the most important part of science, or rather, the first and last part of it. the cultivation of the earth--the cookery of our food--its quantity and quality, and every thing connected with feeding the body--the preservation of our health, and the very preparation of our clothing, may be said to be comprised in the terms chemical analysis and composition. there is no one part of the arts and sciences, but to which chemistry has relation, and even the most important relation. in all manufactures, whether wood or metal--clay or stone--wax or glass--paper or cloth, or what not, the knowledge of chemistry is essential. it is to the science of chemistry that we owe all our artificial productions, it is to the science of chemistry that we owe all our knowledge and comprehension of natural productions, and their adaption to our several uses. it is therefore of the first consequence that we should commence our studies in this all important science, even in our infancy. as the science of chemistry embraces so extensive a variety of objects, it is not without a class simple enough for the comprehension of children. the burning of a candle is a chemical experiment for the production of light--the burning of the fuel which keeps up our fires, is but a chemical experiment for the production of heat; to which a thousand might be added equally simple, a definition of which could not fail to be of the greatest importance in the education of children. and why might not even the first lessons of children be comprised of these and similar simple chemical experiments, which beyond every other subject must instruct and amuse, attract the child's particular attention, and expand its mind by filling it with correct ideas? i would banish from our school-books every word about god or devil--heaven or hell, as hypocritical and unmeaning words, mere words of sound, and confine the attention of children and youth to such subjects, as an every day's experience shall evince to them to have a foundation in nature. moral precepts might, be necessary and useful but even morality might, in my opinion, be taught much better by example than by precept. therefore, i would say, that the books of children had better be filled with scientific subjects than with moral precepts, as the former are infinite and cannot be too early entered upon, or too closely studied, whilst the latter might be comprised in a few expressions, and taught better, and with more impression by colloquy and example, than in lessons for reading and writing. however, lessons on moral virtue might be most appropriately mixed up with lessons on scientific subjects. they lead to one common end--the happiness and welfare of the human race in society. let no one imagine that i hold moral virtue in light esteem, or that i deem it a secondary object, no, the possession of moral virtue with the grossest ignorance on every other subject, is preferable to the most extensive knowledge connected with an immoral and vicious character. moral virtue should form the foundation of every motive, and every action in life. it is from the conviction that scientific pursuits, or a scientific education, must naturally lead to the extension of moral virtue, that i have been induced to submit this sketch to men of science. moral virtue is with me a _primum mobile_ in all things. it forms the beginning and the end of all my views, and, according to my conceptions, of all the principles i advocate and teach. but i would most strenuously exhort the reader to abandon the idea, if he does hold it, that morality is dependent on religion, or that the former cannot exist without the latter. i solemnly and deliberately assert, that religion is rather the bane than the nurse of morality. i have imbibed this impression from the deepest reflection and the closest observation of mankind. to those who think lord bacon an authority worth notice, for what i assert, i would refer them to a quotation from his writings on a former page. however, i want no written authority, nor no name, to convince me of the truth of my assertion; we have but to look around us with an impartial eye, and we might read it in the every day actions of the majority of mankind. i would also banish from our schools homer, hesiod, horace, ovid, and virgil, and every volume that makes the least allusion to the mythologies of greece or rome, or any-other part of what have been called the pagan mythologies. if such books are amusing or instructive in ancient history, it will be time enough to read them after having gone through a scholastic education. they should make, no part of the school routine. i do not here mean to dispute the propriety of children been taught the dead languages, although i must confess, that i consider them no farther useful than to teach the etymology of our own language. paine, franklin, and cobbett, are powerful instances that they are by no means essential to an enlarged mind. however, if the dead languages continue to be taught in our schools, i could wish them to be taught through a different medium than at present. those languages might be taught on other subjects than wars, famines, and massacres, immoral mythologies and the history of base and vicious characters. it has been the common misfortune of historians to take especial notice of base and vicious characters. hitherto profligacy has been the chief passport to immortality, and the virtuous few have passed through life unheeded before or after death with but very few exceptions. the very books which are called holy and divine are filled with descriptions of human monsters, and scarce any set off or contrast to exhibit the benefits and beauties of moral virtue among mankind. i am sensible that at present no books exist, such as i point out for the use of schools, embracing the elements of the arts and sciences, and free from allusion to all kinds of mythology and superstition, among which i wish to be understood as including the mythology and superstition of the christians, but no task can be more simple than for a few men of science to compile them. of late some brief and partial descriptions of the arts and sciences have been introduced into school-books, but it has been mingled with so much trash about religion and superstition, as to render it of no avail, and but as a secondary or useless object. it is high time that the subject was taken in hand by men of science, and that such books, in the various departments of science, should be compiled, as to be adapted for all the different stages of education. none but he who is skilled in any particular science can be equal to the task of compilation. he alone can judge of the best method of introducing that particular science to the youthful mind. it will not be necessary that i should here draw out any specific plan for this system of education; i submit the outline to the judgment of men of science. my meaning is too clearly stated to be misunderstood or cavilled with. the subject is a proper one to attract the attention of any legislature that emanates from, and legislates for, the benefit of the people, and he that shall move it as an amendment to mr. brougham's proposed system, which has no other object than to become a new prop for decaying superstition, will at least deserve well of his country and every lover of science and real liberty, whether he succeeds or not. it is a subject that no honest man need be ashamed of. it is by no means a theoretical subject; if it be a novel one, its practicability, and its importance, must reach every mind that has the least idea about science, and its utility. i break in upon the present system of education no further than that i would change the medium through which the lessons for reading, exercises in grammar, copies for writing, and that in which the dead, or even living foreign languages are taught: the medium which i would substitute, should treat exclusively of scientific subjects, so as to leave the mind in a continual state of exercise upon the subject of science, and that alone. unlike religion, science can never weary the mind: the dreary monotony of the former is a perfect contrast to the life-inspiring power of the latter. every step you take in science, stimulates you to further pursuit. the vast volume of nature, that book of books, that only revelation worthy the attention of man, is always open to the man of science; and in this book the child can find a language that shall be intelligible, and adapted to his youthful capacity. he can read here without stupifying his senses, and gain useful information without corrupting his manners. i would even exclude all historical subjects from our schools, as very little of what is left us can be relied on as true, and such as is true, is of very little consequence to a rising generation. however far it might be useful in the shape of example, or amusing and instructive to grown persons, it forms but a waste of time with children at school. general history is but ill adapted to correct the bad or stimulate the better passions of mankind. it displays scarce any thing but the ignorance and brutality, the massacres and superstitions, which have been so common to mankind hitherto. it is rare indeed to find a sketch of a virtuous character. i am of opinion that we could not do better than draw a veil as close as possible over the past, and endeavour to start upon a system that our posterity shall not blush to read when impartially stated. who can read the history of the past, without blushing and pitying the madness of that animal man, for making so bad a use of his gift of speech and its consequent reason? i must confess that i cannot. in teaching geography it is by no means necessary to describe the ancient division of the earth into empires, kingdoms, principalities, &c, or the customs of their former several inhabitants, as they have been subject to a continual change, to trace which, serves but to distract the mind without filling it with any useful information: it would be sufficient for all purposes in studying this science, to become acquainted with the present divisions of the earth, and the present customs, manners, and distinctions of its inhabitants. the same rule applies to astronomy, it is by no means necessary, but as a matter of curiosity, to trace and study its history: it is sufficient to acquire all the present information that can be obtained in that science, and to stand prepared to make further discoveries or to receive the discoveries of others. by cutting off all that part of the present system of education which forms but a waste of time, you will gain so much the more time for making fresh advances in the various arts and sciences. of course, i do not expect that under my proposed system, one individual can become an adept in all the various branches of all the sciences--no--it would be still necessary that some individuals should confine themselves to one particular science, and some to another, as their peculiar abilities and dispositions might suggest, as the best means for a further and a quicker improvement and advance in the whole. it is sufficient that they all begin right, and waste no time about unmeaning and useless trash; but, by an assiduous application to their several branches, make the farthest possible progress. that infinity of experiments which chemistry opens to our view, and that infinity of subjects for examination in natural history, makes it necessary to begin at those two sciences as early as possible. the elements of chemistry, a knowledge of which is so essential in all the relations of life, might be simplified for an adaption to the meanest capacity, and even to that of children beginning to read, of which i have before pointed out two familiar instances, upon which a more enlarged explanation might be made, and to which a thousand others equally simple and instructive might be added. in natural history what a vast field is open? wherein "to teach the young idea how to shoot." here every thing both in the animal and vegetable world, which comes under the every day observation of the child, or even the grown person, might be familiarly described and explained in our school-books by a regular classification and arrangement. by such a system of education as this, the youth would instinctly and involuntarily read a useful lesson in every object that came within his view; his mind would be incessantly led to a contemplation of nature, a knowledge of which can alone lead a man to true and substantial happiness. no part of matter would then escape the scrutinizing disposition of man, he would explore the ocean and the rivers, the mountain and the valley, the forest and the plain, the bowels of the earth and its atmosphere, and even the surface and atmosphere of other orbs to gratify his scientific and laudably insatiate curiosity. the blade of grass, the leaf, the tree, its fruit, the flower-bed with all its vivid tints and animating effluvia, with all the infinite variety both in the vegetable and animal world, would alike form matter for his scientific research, and objects for him to explore. here in contemplating the stupenduous organization which constitutes animal and vegetable life in nature's infinite variety, all varying, yet all connected by one common link, operating by one common cause, and to one common end, a successive production and decay, decay and production, the human mind might find an exercise as infinite, and have ideas stirred up equally stupendous. i cannot help exclaiming: this is the path of nature: tread here, o man! and be happy. the works of nature though infinite are strictly analogous, and human reason is produced by the same laws as every other natural product. the culture of the mind, by which human reason is produced, bears a strict analogy to the culture of the soil, by which we subsist in each nature will produce to a certain degree, but the aid of art is necessary to produce a sufficiency, and to reach refinement and perfection. it is therefore of the utmost importance that we begin right, that all the ideas of our infancy and youth be founded in nature, and that the poisonous effusions of priestcraft be carefully weeded, and kept from our minds. we should guard our minds against those destructive enemies of human reason, the priests, as we would our fields and gardens against the destructive powers of the locusts, or similarly destructive insects and animals. our interest and happiness is as much at stake in the one instance as the other, for the priest is not content with destroying our happiness, but he must be also fed by our labour. he takes on an average an eighth of all our produce. the children or the man might here learn that the organization of the vegetable is not less stupendous than that of the animal--that the life and the death of the vegetable is as near alike the life and the death of the animal as that the life and the death of any two animals of a different species are alike each other--that there are animal-vegetables and vegetable-animals, or living substances, in life and vegetation, that partake both of the properties of animals, and vegetables--that this is an evident link between animals and vegetables which unites them in the great chain of nature--that they exist by the same cause, for the same purpose, and to the same effect, he might also learn, that the organization of the smallest insect and animalcule is equally stupendous with the organization of man himself; that it is alone from a peculiar organization that the different animals have the power of uttering so many different sounds, and that man is indebted to the power of uttering a greater variety of sounds for his gift of speech, and for a greater degree of reason, than any other animal possesses, as its consequent. let the child, or the man even, be taught to reason in this manner, and he will soon feel himself humbled down into his proper sphere in the scale of nature. he will leave off all the mad tricks which now daily and hourly occupy his time, he will occupy his time by a self and social improvement, and will perceive that a study of science can alone lead him to true happiness. why might not the linuean system of classification, arrangement, and description, both of animals and vegetables, with all the improvement which has already been made, or which might be made in future, upon that system, be taught in our schools to children? what can be more simple, more amusing, or more useful, and more instructive? what other system of education can be so well calculated for a proper expansion of the juvenile mind? how much more advantageous to society would such a system of education be, connected with a knowledge of chemistry, astronomy, geography, geometry, and the mathematics, than all that lying and stupifying lore about religion and its offspring; for the support of which mankind are so excessively robbed? if religion be a word that has any substantial definition, or if it be a proper word, and can be made applicable to nature in its meaning, or the action it indicates, i have no hesitation to say, that the system of education which i now propose forms the basis of the only true, the only rational religion. the word religion implying a fixed faith or belief, and having its etymology in the latin verb _religo_, to bind fast, there can be no true, no just, no rational religion, but that which applies to something we can comprehend, and which has its foundation in nature and her laws. we cannot strictly speaking fix our faith on a phantom, unless we admit faith itself to be but a phantom of the mind, yet such is the pretence of all those who make so much clamour about the word religion. a study of nature and her laws, alone forms any substantial faith or religion. this study i would make the basis of all education, to the exclusion, or explosion, of all the remaining mythological nonsense of the day. arithmetic, geometry, and the mathematics, being taught in figures, admit no change in the system of teaching, or at least in the medium: the same might be said of algebra, which has the simplicity of the alphabet for its medium for instruction and practice. this forms the only part of education that the priests have not corrupted, and the reason is because they could not; and these figures being above their reach to corrupt or destroy will prove their overthrow. the science of the mathematics has given a fatal blow to priestcraft, and this science, connected with astronomy, was the first which, began to undermine the dogmas of all priests. the science of chemistry has come to its aid, by proving that matter is indestructible and imperishable, and must have existed as it now is, to all eternity as to the past, and will exist as it now is, to all eternity as to the future. the sciences of physiology and zoology have convinced us that the organization of the animal called man, is not more wonderful than that of every other animal and vegetable, nor is he of more importance in the scale of nature. all that can be said of him is, that he is superior in mental strength to any other animal, and his superiority over the lion, the tiger, or the elephant, is not more than the superiority of those animals over the lesser beasts of the forest. man only possesses the highest degree in the rank of animals. it is high time to teach man what he really is in the scale of nature, and no longer allow him to play such fantastic tricks as he does play, by pretending to be something beyond other animals, and to possess supernatural and immortal powers of existence. man has nothing but the dogmas of superstition in support of his future sensible existence--these dogmas are false and wicked impostures. no appeal can be made to nature in support of them. man, as a part of a whole, or as an atom of matter, is immortal, but with whatever he might amalgamate after his frame has passed its dissolution, and has evaporated like a dunghill, or a bed of rotten vegetables, that atom can retain no sense of a former existence. the system of pythagoras would have been strictly true and rational, if he or his disciples had not imagined a sense of former existence, or that an animal under one shape could retain a sense of his existence under a former shape, although the two might form two distinct animals of a different species. pythagoras, and his followers, have erred only on this point. i would bring the whole race of mankind back to a conviction that they exist to no other purpose, and by no other cause than every other animal and vegetable. let mankind be once sensible of this important fact, and they will cease to persecute, to harass, to rob, and to destroy each other. they would then make the best use of their time, and view their animal existence but as a moment in the space of eternity. they would sedulously endeavour to increase the sum of human happiness, and lessen the sum of human misery, and this alone would form the first and the last object of their wish and existence let our youth be educated upon this basis, and let even grown persons, re-educate themselves in the same manner, and we shall soon see mankind in its proper character. that character will be the opposite of what it is at present. the representative system of government will be found to be the only necessary government amongst them, and the chief part of legislation will consist in an advancement of the arts and sciences. i have now completed the task which i set out by promising, and whatever reception my address might find among men of science, i feel assured that i have misstated nothing, and that nothing which it contains can bear contradiction. i neither fear the critic or the caviller upon the ground-work of my address. i have performed a task which i have many months had in view, and the more i have considered the subject, the more i have felt its importance. i submit the whole, not to the prejudices of the bigot or the priest, but to the clear impartial judgment of men of science. i have kept much within bounds in noticing the advanced state of science, and i feel assured that what i have recommended can be easily and immediately reduced to practice. the breath of philosophy is now sufficiently strong to puff out the glimmering superstition of priestcraft. the philosopher should no longer bend the knee to this or any other corrupt power. there is a keen public appetite for philosophical truths. i feel satisfied that i have the daily thanks of thousands for rescuing their minds from the horrible dogmas of superstition and priestcraft. i have so strong an assurance of the rapid decay of superstition, and the powerful effect of the books and pamphlets which i have thrown into the social system, that no persecution, no punishment, no fines, shall deter me from proceeding to the utmost of my power and abilities. i am happy to see others following in the same path, as i rather court assistance and emulation than dread it. i am ever pleased at the extensive circulation of those publications to which mine are exposed, as it is of the first consequence to stimulate mankind to read, to examine, and to discuss the pretensions of all principles. the bible society might circulate its millions of books, and not a member of that society shall feel more pleasure at the circumstance than myself. i do not wish that any of my publications should fall into the hands of any individual, but he who can read the bible, and who is fully acquainted with its contents, and all the dogmas which the priests of this country teach. it is on this ground that i wish to try the force of those principles which i advocate and no other. i feel assured that no impartial and disinterested man ever read a copy of thomas paine's age of reason without having his faith shaken in the christian religion, and if ever he has read mirabaud's system of nature he will find his faith shaken on the subject of all religion. he will see that the whole has arisen from one common fault--the ignorance and credulity of mankind. for instance, when the use of the telescope and the advanced state of the science of astronomy has given us ocular and mathematical demonstration, that every orb we see revolving in the wide and infinite expanse of space, and that each of that infinite number of orbs, which something more than hypothesis convinces us do revolve in space, corresponds with a portion of that solar system, of which our parent earth is a part, that they are guided by the same laws and composed of the same species of matter, by which we infer that they bear the same productions, does not the query arise in our minds, which must inevitably strike down the fabric of the christian religion, that if it was essential for a jesus christ, the only begotten son of god, as old as his father, to pass through the virgin-womb of a woman, to be buffeted, scourged, and put to an ignominious death by a sect of superstitious bigots, who have constantly for the space of eighteen hundred years denied all knowledge of such a person, for the purpose of procuring the future happiness of those animals on this orb whom we call human, and their salvation from the eternal torments which he and his father had prepared for those who should reject them; was it not also essential, that this same jesus christ, this only begotten son of god, as old his father, should have submitted to a similar incarnation in a virgin-womb, and have been buffeted, scourged, and executed, as a criminal malefactor, according to the respective customs of treating such characters on the several orbs, or the peculiar part of them on which he might chance or choose to inhabit; was it not essential that he should have performed a similar mission for the similar salvation and future happiness of the several inhabitants or animals denominated human on each and every one of those orbs? can any priest answer this question? the man of science i know will smile at it, and pity the credulity and ignorance of all who have believed, who do believe, or who may believe, such ridiculous nonsense. then let him come forward and preach up his scientific knowledge, and silence the dogmas of the priest. it is reserved for the man of science to rid mankind of this horrid ignorance and credulity, and to impress upon their minds the all-important subject of scientific knowledge. man does not naturally delight in ignorance and credulity, but he naturally strives to free himself from those vices. there is no truth that you can impress upon the mind of man, but what he will rejoice at feeling it to be truth, and himself undeceived as to former error. it is the interested hypocrite alone, that is alarmed at the progress and power of truth, he whose very trade is the known propagation of falsehood and delusion, the tyrants tool and scourge. all tyranny, oppression, and delusion, have been founded upon the ignorance and credulity of mankind. knowledge, scientific knowledge, is the power that must be opposed to those evils, and be made to destroy them. come forward, ye men of science, ye must no longer remain in the back ground as trembling cowards, ye must no longer crave protection from, and creep at the pleasure of, your direst foes; grasp at tyranny, at oppression, at delusion, at ignorance, and at credulity, and you shall find yourselves sufficiently powerful to destroy the whole, and emancipate both the mind and the body of man from the slavery of his joint oppressors. the latter of the before-mentioned works is a most important one, and has hitherto passed through several editions without molestation by the attorney general, or the society for propagating vice. whatever they may attempt, it will defy the malice of either. many other very important publications are now in full sale, and from the appetite which i find still exists for them, i have been induced to make this bold appeal to men of science, calling upon them to stand forward and vindicate the truth, from the foul grasp and persecution of superstition; and obtain for the island of great britain, the noble appellation of the focus of truth; whence mankind shall be illuminated, and the black and pestiferous clouds of persecution and superstition be banished from the face of the earth; as the only sure prelude to universal peace and harmony among the human race. dorchester gaol, may 1821. eighteenth month of the author's imprisonment, and the fourth month of the imprisonment of his wife. mountain moggy; the stoning of the witch, by william h g kingston. ________________________________________________________________________ this is quite a short book, taking only 2.5 hours to read, yet it packs quite a punch. it is devoted to the theme of forgiveness. on a remote mountainside in wales there dwells a broken-down old woman, whom the local children believe to be a witch. as such she will live for ever, and cannot be hurt, so they amuse themselves by going to her hut, taunting her, and throwing stones at the hut. one evening one of these stones knocks a burning stick from the fire, and sets fire to the old woman, but by chance a young midshipman who has lost his way, is nearby, helps her, and takes word to the village that she is badly hurt. the local clergyman had previously been a medical doctor, and rushes up to the hut to see what can be done. one of the local women helps with old mountain moggy as well. old moggy shows true forgiveness to william, one of the doctor's sons, even though he had been one of the ringleaders in taunting her. william is very much moved by this. time goes on, and on his next leave the young midshipman brings one of his shipmates, tom, to share his holiday with him. tom tells the story of how he had been brought up, and mountain moggy tells her story, as well. the story has a happy ending, after a fashion, literally on the very last page of the book. ________________________________________________________________________ mountain moggy; the stoning of the witch, by william h g kingston. chapter one. the succession of mountain ranges, precipitous and rugged, which extend from the shores of the irish sea to the boundaries of england, rising tier above tier, and culminating, at different points, in the heights of snowdon, cader idris, and plinlimmon, gives to wild wales that romantic beauty for which it is so justly celebrated. that mountain region, too, guarded by the strong arms and undaunted hearts of its heroic sons, formed an impassable bulwark against the advance of barbarian invaders, and remained for many years, while saxon england was yet pagan, the main refuge of that christian religion to which britain owes its present greatness. yet subsequently, on account of the inaccessible nature of the country, the inhabitants, separated from their more enlightened fellow-subjects, remained for a long period almost as ignorant as their ancestors in the dark ages; and, till of late years, retained many of the grosser superstitions and customs of those times. a young traveller was climbing the side of one of these mountain ranges facing the ocean, the silvery waters of which could be discerned in the distance, when he observed, far up, a hut. solitary and cheerless it looked, scarcely to be distinguished from the sombre colouring of the surrounding ground and the rocks and bushes amid which it stood. it was weather-worn and dilapidated, and appeared altogether unfit to be the abode of a human being; indeed, a thin wreath of peat smoke ascending from an aperture in the roof alone made it likely that it was inhabited. its appearance offered no temptation to the young stranger to turn aside from the path he was pursuing, and he continued his ascent till he gained a rocky pinnacle, from whence he could watch the sun dipping into the ocean; and hence he could look down, on one side, over a confused mass of barren hills and fertile valleys, rocks, and precipices, heights crowned with trees, peaks bare and rugged, and glens with sparkling torrents dashing and foaming amid them; while on the other side, towards the ocean, he saw before him a wide and smiling valley, with a stream meandering through it, and green meadows and groves of trees, from among which a church spire reared its pointed summit; and near it a cheerful village of white-washed cottages and other dwellings of more pretension; and there were sheep feeding, and cattle wending their way slowly homeward, all speaking of peace and security. "i could not have selected a more lovely spot to spend an evening in, had i been allowed a choice," said the young traveller to himself, as he took his seat on the highest point he could find. "as i cannot find my home, i could not be better off. i thought that i knew perfectly well the place my family have got to, but i am fairly puzzled with the welsh names. i ought to have kept my brother's letters in which he had clearly written it down. whether it is twrog-y-bwlch, or llwyd-y-cynfael, or dwyryd-y-ffetiog, i am sure i don't know. i hit the right post-town, of that i am nearly certain. there's a village in the bottom. i might go down and inquire, but then i probably should not find my way back again over the mountain to the inn where i left my traps. i hope that i may hit it off to-morrow. it's very tantalising, and provoking too, to be so near home, and yet not able to find it. it was very stupid to lose the letter. they do say midshipmen are very careless chaps, and that i am no exception to the rule. well, i have no reason to grumble. i haven't enjoyed such a sight as this for many a day, though it's something like being mast-headed, except with the difference that i may go down when i like. i should enjoy it more if i had a messmate to talk to about it. the air is wonderfully fine up here. it makes me feel inclined to shout out at the top of my voice, `rule, britannia, britannia rules the waves, and britons never, never, never will be slaves,' hurra! that's it. hurra, boys! `we'll fight and we'll conquer again and again.'" thus the happy young midshipman gave full scope to the exuberance of his spirits, feeling very sure that no one was listening to him. as he ceased, a curiously wild, mournful strain struck his ear, ascending from below him on the west, and forming a strange contrast to the merry notes he had been singing. it was like the noonday song of the joyous lark, as he soars into the blue sky, answered by the midnight croak of the raven as he sits on the old abbey's ivy-covered wall. he listened. it seemed rather like a continued shriek than a song, or the fearful cry of the fabled banshee as she flits by the family mansion in ireland, to warn the inmates, as is ignorantly supposed, that one of their number must prepare to quit the world, its pleasures and its sorrows. the young midshipman's mind was, however, too well trained to indulge even for a moment in any such fancies, for he owed his education to a wise, religious, and loving father. yet he was sorely puzzled at first to account for the wild strains which floated through the air, till he caught sight of the ruined hut he had observed on his way up, and discerned a large rent in the roof, through which he supposed the sounds uttered by its inmate must be ascending. he was too far off to distinguish the words; but that there were words uttered, and probably as strange as the music itself, if music he could call it, he was very certain. now the strains rose to a high pitch, now they swelled, now decreased into a low moan scarcely audible. "some poor mad creature," said the midshipman to himself. "i should think nobody but a mad person would live in such a place as that; in truth, if anybody had to live there, its solitude and its forlorn condition would be enough to drive them out of their senses; it would me, i know; only i should forthwith set to work to make it habitable. to be sure, i shouldn't be worse off than tom and i were when we were cast away on that coral island in the pacific, except that there we had summer all the year round and abundance of food of one sort or another. here it must be terribly cold in winter, and as for food, a person would soon starve if he were compelled to live only on what the hillside produces." the young midshipman had got into the habit of talking to himself, either during his night watches, or, it is just possible, while at the mast-head, at which post of honour, in some ships, the young gentlemen of his rank used to spend a considerable portion of their existence. the strange singing continued for some time. as he looked down from his rocky height he saw a number of persons coming up the hill, apparently from the village towards the hut. they appeared from their movements to be children. they got close to the hut, and were hid from his sight. now they seemed to be running away--now they returned, leaping and shouting, so that their shrill young voices reached to where he sat. suddenly he saw them all running down the hill, just as children run, jumping and pushing against each other, and evidently in high glee. the midshipman was considering that it was time for him to return to his inn for the night, when a loud shriek, which came from the direction of the hut, struck his ear, and he saw a bright light streaming through the aperture in the roof. "something is the matter," he exclaimed, as jumping from his seat he ran down the mountain towards the hut: "the cottage or its inmate is on fire; i must do my best to put out the flame, at all events." chapter two. an old woman was the sole occupant of that cheerless hut on the bleak hillside just described. she sat, on that evening, on a low stool before the hearth, on which a few clods of peat, smouldering slowly with some scarcely dry sticks on the top of them, served as an apology for a fire, and threw out the smallest possible heat to warm the shrivelled palms held up ever and anon before it. as she sat, occasionally rocking herself backwards and forwards, she sang, in a voice which sometimes sounded high and shrill, till it rose into almost a shriek, and then again sank down into a long-continued moan. she uttered words often with great rapidity, though even the poor creature herself might scarcely have been able to explain the burden of her song. the gentle breeze, pleasant in the cheerful sunshine, sighed through the rents in the tottering walls, and amid the branches of the solitary, crooked pine-tree, which bent its riven head over the building, its distorted limbs creaking and groaning as they swayed to and fro; while an owl shrieked his twit-to-hoo to the departing sun, as he prepared to go abroad with other creatures of the night in search of prey; and cold grey twilight covered the mountain-side. there still sat the lone old woman, crouching over the mocking fire. dark and drear was the hovel-floor it had none, save the damp, cold earth--nor was there a chimney or other outlet for the smoke, except a hole which a branch of the ill-favoured pine-tree had made in the roof, in one of his most restless moods. more light came through this hole than through the window, the broken panes of which were stuffed with rags, dry grass, and heather, though not tight enough to prevent the wind from whistling, and the rain, snow, and sleet from driving in upon the wretched inmate. except where the solitary gleam of cold evening light fell upon the crouching figure of poor mountain moggy, all else in the hovel was gloom and obscurity. little, however, did moggy heed the weather. winter or summer, chilling blasts or warm sunshine, the changeful seasons brought no change to her. her brain was on fire, her heart cold and forlorn, "icy cold, utterly forlorn and deserted," so she says, and all feeling for outward things has long since departed. why does moggy start, clasp her bony hands, open wide her almost sightless eyes, and mutter, "yes, yes--that's it. forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us. but it's hard, very hard to forgive our foes. does god find it so hard to forgive me?" then again she starts off in her wild song. once more she is silent, and listens to some noises outside. she seems sorely distressed. again and again she starts. the noises increase, children's feet and voices are heard around the hut, and--is it possible?--a stone comes whizzing through the glassless window across the darkened space, and a heavy thump announces that it has found a destination; another, and another follows--some come in sideways, and one striking the window bar glances off and reaches the hearth, whence it drives before it a lighted stick which sends out sparks on every side and causes a faint gleam of light in the hitherto gloomy room. shouts of laughter accompany each stone; but the sun has set, the sonorous bell of the distant church gives notice, too, that evening has arrived. the children's ears catch the sound. "away, away! home, home!" they shout, as they run off from the solitary hut. out of its window at that moment a bright light shone forth, but they did not heed it as they chased each other down the steep mountain-side, crying out, "good-night, old witch. we'll stone you again, old polly forty rags. if we hear any more of your witcheries we'll make you wish you'd kept out of this country. good-night, and bad luck to you, old mog." notwithstanding the words they used, there was terror in the voices of most of the children. some of them shouted, "she's coming after us! the witch is coming after us! she's mounting her broom, and out she'll ride. run--run--run!" on this the urchins shrieked louder, and ran faster and faster down the slope. one boy, more daring than the rest, and superior in appearance to most of them, lingered behind, and finding a stone remaining in his pocket of those with which he had, like his companions, provided himself to attack the old woman, he turned round once more, and flung it in the direction of the hut, saying, as he did so, "that's my parting gift, old moggy. ha, ha! i see the old lady is going to have a feast tonight, for she has lighted up her banqueting-hall. but i would rather not be one of the guests, though." pleased with what he considered his own wit, he shouted out again, and ran after his idle companions, a prolonged cry which came from the hut hastening his steps, for he was in no degree free from the ignorant superstition of the rest of the urchin troop. chapter three. a good log was burning brightly on the hearth, and filling with its glowing, cheerful light the dining-room of dr morgan, the new rector of the parish, where he with his wife and the younger members of his family were collected. the rector sat in his easy-chair, his book had fallen from his hand, for he was dozing after a hard day's work of physical and mental labour in the abodes of the sick and afflicted of his widely-scattered parish. his wife had a cradle by her side, but she held its usual occupant in her arms, putting it to sleep with a low lullaby, while a group of older children, boys and girls, sat at the table variously occupied. charles and anna having some fresh foreign postage-stamps, arranged them in a book according to the different countries from whence they came, and were preparing a short account of each--a plan their father had recommended, so as to give an interest to this otherwise very useless pursuit. "this must surely be american," said anna, holding up a stamp. "how like a well-done photograph is the head. can it be that of washington?" on this william, who was engaged professedly in learning his lessons for the next day, looked up. the rest decided that although the stamp was american, as it was the head of a somewhat sour-looking old gentleman it could not be that of the great washington, but of one of the later presidents of the united states. the children were talking in an undertone, so as not to disturb their father. "old polly forty rags, the witch, came from america," said william. "but it was from some place which the english don't know about; a wild, barren sea-coast, just like the mountain-side up there, where they say that she used to practise her witch tricks on the vessels which came near, and many and many's the one she has sent to the bottom or driven on the rocks." "how did she practise her witch tricks?" asked arthur, who did not very clearly understand his brother's meaning. "how!" exclaimed william. "that's more than i can tell. i'm only repeating what those who know all about the matter say." "isn't she a very wicked old woman then?" asked mabel, with simplicity. "wicked? i should think so! as wicked an old hag as you ever heard of," answered william. "it would be a good thing to rid the world of such a monster; but they say she can't be killed; not if she was soused over head and ears in the river or thrown into the fire. that's the nature of witches." anna, who was giving the finishing rub to a stamp just put in, heard the last words, and, looking up, inquired with a slight tone of irony in her voice, "what did you say about witches, willie? who has been telling you those remarkably wise things about them?" "oh, the people about here, and the other fellows at school," answered willie in a low tone and somewhat hesitating manner, for he was not fond of having to reply to his sister's pointed questions. "oh, the people about here," said anna, repeating his words. "is it possible they can believe such nonsense?" willie did not reply. "anna wouldn't think it nonsense if she was to see old polly forty rags," he muttered. after being silent for some time he added, "if ever there was an old witch she is one." "you said she came from america, willie. why, that's where frank's ship has been to, isn't it?" said arthur. "of course it is," cried willie, as if a bright thought had occurred to him. "i wonder whether he heard anything of her there? he'll soon be at home, and then he'll tell us." "if she didn't send his ship on the rocks," remarked arthur. "she'd better not have tried to do it, or we'd pay her off for it," said willie, as if speaking of some heroic purpose. "but i thought you said that she couldn't be killed; and if she couldn't be killed, she couldn't be hurt, i should think," observed arthur, who was called the philosopher of the family. "well, i don't know: they say witches can't be killed, and that old polly forty rags has lived hundreds and hundreds of years," said willie, justly considered the most thoughtless of the family. "nothing does hurt her either. you can't think what fun it is to hear the stones bounce against her, just as if she was made of straw. if anything could hurt her, i know a big stone i sent in at her window this evening would have given her a cracker she wouldn't forget in a hurry. it's my belief that she didn't care for it more than she would if it had been a pea out of a pea-shooter." anna's attention was again drawn to her brother's whispered conversation. "what are you saying about throwing stones?" she asked. "at whom have you been throwing stones?" "why at old mountain moggy, of course, or polly forty rags as they call her. who else should i throw at? she's as hard as she is wicked; and they say she has a whole suit of elephant's skin under her rags, and that's one of the reasons the stones don't hurt her." anna had been so busy examining some little three-cornered cape of good hope stamps, that she had not till now clearly comprehended what willie was speaking about. "you throw stones at mountain moggy!" she said in an incredulous tone. "of course we do, and awful fun we had this very evening," answered william, boldly. "we heard them go in at the window and thump against the old witch. the clock struck, and we had to run away, or we should have given her more of it. but it was just as well that we were off, for some of the fellows saw her lighting up her house for her witcheries, and there's no doubt but that she'd have sent down some of her imps after us if we hadn't made good use of our legs to get off." "what do you really mean, willie?" said anna, now quite interested. "you cannot tell me that you have been stoning that poor miserable old woman on the mountain?" "haven't we though," said willie, carelessly, crossing his arms on the table and beginning to pore over his book. "willie says that she's a wicked black witch, with red eyes and a blue tongue," remarked little mabel. "don't stuff the little ones' heads with such abominable nonsense, will," said charles, looking up from his book. "there's nothing i hate to hear so much; it's wrong, and you have no business to do it." "no, indeed; it's very wrong to tell stories about her, even in fun," remarked anna. "nonsense and stories, indeed!" cried willie, indignantly. "they are neither one nor the other. if she isn't black she's near it; and i never said she had red eyes and a blue tongue; but if you two were to hear her screech and howl, as i have, you'd confess fast enough that she was a witch." and willie turned back to his book with the air of an injured person. poor boy, he had not had the advantages of his brothers and sisters, though worldly people would have said that his prospects were far better than theirs. they had been carefully trained in the way they should walk from their earliest days by their parents, who, though not possessed of worldly wealth, felt that they might yet give them the richest of heritages. william had not, like the others, been brought up entirely by his parents. his godmother, miss ap reece, had offered to leave him her property, provided she might have entire charge of him, and his parents somewhat hastily consented. by her he had been well fed and well clothed, but not well educated. she was capricious, fond of gossip, and self-indulgent; and continually she would, in order to be rid of him, send him down amongst the servants, who, as her country residence was in a remote village, were more than usually ignorant. there he imbibed many of their prejudices, and learned to believe in many of their superstitions. meanwhile, happily, the good seed sown in his earlier days was not entirely eradicated, though he and his brothers and sisters always exhibited in their subsequent lives the different systems of cultivation to which they had been subjected. the residence of william with miss ap reece was brought to an abrupt termination by the failure of the county bank, in which most of her money was placed. her means were in consequence so straitened that she was obliged to ask dr morgan to take william home. it was soon after this that the conversation took place which we have already recorded. mrs morgan had been too much absorbed with her infant, and a book she occasionally read, to listen to the undertone conversation carried on by the rest of her children. her husband continued dozing in his chair, but his sleep was soon interrupted, as was the conversation of the young people, by the violent ringing of the hall-door bell. a servant came in directly afterwards to say that the doctor was wanted immediately. dr morgan at once left the room, and when william, sent by mrs morgan, went out to inquire why he was summoned, it was found that he had quitted the house without leaving any message to say where he had gone. so startled were the younger ones by the sudden noise, that arthur upset the gum-bottle over the beautiful new stamp-book. the little fellow looked very much alarmed at what he had done, and possibly in some families angry words and blows would have warned him to be more careful for the future; but charles and anna had learned that "he that ruleth his spirit is greater than he that taketh a city"; and the constant practice of this principle made it now easy for them to say to their brother, who sat crying and looking very sorrowful, "never mind, little fellow; we shall soon make it clean." then warm water had to be procured, and the injured book cleansed, and a few more stamps stuck in, and the rest put away, and scraps and writing materials cleared off the table. books were then got out, and lessons looked over for the next day. mrs morgan left the room for some time to hear the younger children say their prayers, and to see them put to bed. when she re-entered the room, dr morgan had not returned. dr morgan's prolonged absence did not create any alarm. he was a doctor of divinity, but he had also, in his younger days, devoted much time to the study of medicine and surgery, so that he was qualified to become a regular practitioner. however, he had taken orders in the church of england, but he never regretted the time he had spent in walking the hospitals, for, biding his time, he had now a means of access, which he otherwise might have lacked, to even the most hardened and profligate. those who would not have called him in as a christian minister to advise them regarding their souls, were thankful to get him to attend to the ailments of their bodies. once in a house he never left it without making himself beloved and respected by its inmates, and insuring for himself, and for his glad tidings, a favourable reception. although he was not looked upon as a popular preacher, it was observed that wherever he went there was a marked change in the religious conduct of the people. such was dr morgan. his great difficulty was to give that superintendence to the education of his children which he felt they required, without at the same time neglecting the multifarious duties of his position. his parishioners gained what his family lost. but the strict discipline by which he endeavoured to make amends for the want of that constant watchfulness so important in training the youthful mind did not answer the same purpose. yet after all he could do, he knew that he must fail altogether, had he not gone daily, constantly, to the throne of grace for strength and wisdom for himself, and for protection and guidance for those committed to his charge. mrs morgan had returned to the sitting-room; the elder children had put down their books. it was bed-time. they always waited for family prayers. when the doctor was absent mrs morgan or charles read them, but as he was momentarily expected, his wife and son were unwilling to usurp his office. at length the hall-door bell rang. it was the doctor. he appeared unusually sad and serious. the family assembled. his voice, generally so firm, trembled as he prayed. when he rose from his knees, shading his eyes with his hand, he said, after he had given them his blessing-"go to bed immediately, and be up betimes, for i wish you to breakfast an hour earlier than usual, and to accompany me directly afterwards to visit a sick, and i fear a dying person." the younger children would all have been well pleased at this invitation, had it not been for their father's very grave manner; yet no one ventured to ask him the cause of this, and it was, perhaps, not without a slight misgiving that some of the party laid their heads on their pillows that night. chapter four. dr morgan gave no explanation of what had occurred till charles and anna had left the room. he then called his anxious and ever helpful wife to his side. "i much want your assistance, dearest maria," he said in a tone which showed the depressed state of his feelings; "i was summoned just now to visit a person in a most melancholy condition. you have heard of the forlorn old creature--moggy, she is called by the country people--who lives in that wretched hovel we can see high up on the side of the mountain. she has been dreadfully burnt." the doctor's wife, ever ready with help and sympathy, in spite of the numerous maternal cares to which she had to attend, immediately exclaimed, "poor old creature! i am sure that she much wants comforts. shall i not at once send up some sheets and cotton wool? and is there anything else you can think of?" "the comfort that is wanted, dear maria, is nearer home," answered the doctor, taking his wife's hand. "i have a sad story to tell you. on reaching old moggy's hovel i found her with her hands and feet horribly burnt; so much so, that, should she survive, which i think it possible she may not, she will, i fear, never recover their use. i found that sturdy old welshwoman, jenny davis, watching by her, and tending her with the care of a daughter. after i had dressed the poor creature's burnt limbs, and done all i could to alleviate her sufferings, jenny told me that when crossing the mountain that evening on her way home, and having nearly reached the bottom, she observed an unusual light streaming out of the window of old mountain moggy's hovel. believing that the hut must be on fire, she hurried up towards it, though she feared that she should be too late to render any effectual assistance to its half-witted inmate. so indeed she would, had not another person most providentially arrived before her. on looking in at the window as she passed she saw a young gentleman--a tourist, she supposed--kneeling down by the side of the poor creature; his great-coat was off, he having with it extinguished the flames with which he said that he had found her almost surrounded. happily, from the great number of under-garments she wore, only the outer rags had caught. he had been sitting on a rock above the hovel, and hearing a scream, and seeing a light break forth through a hole in the roof, he ran down, on the chance of something being wrong, and was undoubtedly the means of saving the poor creature from instant destruction. he and jenny together lifted moggy on to her straw bed, and in so doing a piece of burnt stick still smouldering fell out from among her clothes. this was evidently what had set her on fire, but how it had come there, was the question. jenny was loud in her praise of the young gentleman. he was so gentle, and kind, and didn't mind touching the dirty old creature, and helping to place her in an easy position. he took out his purse, and observing that he hadn't much money, he gave her a handful of shillings, as he said, to help to pay the doctor and to buy her some proper food and clothing. fortunately he saw a boy crossing the mountain, and running after him he gave him a shilling to go and call a doctor. the lad naturally came to me. the young gentleman would not tell jenny his name, saying, `names don't signify.' he had to get back to his inn on the other side of the mountain, and as it was growing dark he could wait no longer; but, as jenny said, ran off as fast as a deer up the steep, singing and jumping as merry as a lark. he told jenny that, if he could, he would come back to learn how the poor old creature might be getting on, but that he feared he should be living too far off to reach her on foot. this account was, i own, like a gleam of sunshine, though it threw into a yet darker shade the sad account of an act of which i am compelled to tell you. having dressed old moggy's hurts, i observed several stones, some lying on the bed, and others scattered about the floor of the hut. a large one i especially remarked on the hearth, and which i had no doubt had struck the embers of the fire, and been the immediate cause of its bursting into a flame, and igniting the poor creature's clothes. i asked jenny if she could account for the stones being, as they were, scattered about in every direction; and she then gave me a history of a piece of barbarous cruelty, the result of a thoughtlessness and an amount of ignorance i should scarcely have expected in the actors. jenny, though in most respects a true welshwoman, is free from the ignorant superstition which forms so sad an ingredient in the character of the uneducated peasants of these mountain districts, and was grieved when she found that poor old moggy had become the victim of the gross superstition of her neighbours, by whom she is reputed to be a witch who has flown across the sea from distant parts for the purpose of taking possession of the wretched hovel on the mountain. `i do think, sir,' said jenny, `if the poor creature had had the power of flying, she'd have flown to a better sort of a place than this poor shed, scarcely fit to shelter a gipsy's donkey from a snow-storm. when once the mind strays away from the truth, it's impossible to say what follies it won't believe. people don't seem to see the foolishness and nonsense of their own stones. if they'd seen her, as i have, in her right mind, they'd know that a friend of the evil one couldn't talk as she talks; and as for flying, poor old creature! she can scarcely drag one foot after the other,' jenny davis is a thoughtful and sensible woman, though her exterior is somewhat rough," observed the doctor, who was evidently unwilling, sooner than he could, to repeat the story he had heard. he continued, however: "jenny gave little heed to these foolish stories, till one day one of her boys came from playing on the mountain-side, with a scared look, and almost breathless, saying that the witch had run after him, shrieking out, and uttering the most dreadful threats. on cross-questioning the child, she found that he did not actually see moggy running after him, but that his companions said she was, while the shrieks and cries were the result of his imagination. she determined, however, to go and see the old woman herself. being a woman of action, she immediately set off. when she got near the hovel she found a number of boys yelling, hooting, and throwing stones at it. on her demanding why they did so, they said that the old witch was within, and had done them all some mischief. she had stolen the ducks of the mother of one of them, had milked the cows of a second, and a third declared that she had prevented the butter from coming in his mother's churn. one urchin asserted that his father's horse had died in consequence of her incantations, and another, that she had given his younger brother the croup; indeed, every one had some sort of complaint to make, and vehemently declared that they would pay her out. whilst she was arguing with them the door opened, and old moggy appeared, an unattractive figure, bent with age, covered with rags, and her countenance weather-beaten and scared, and expressive of a melancholy, wild, and restless spirit. the boys, on catching a momentary glimpse of her (for she instantly again closed the door), turned round, and scampered down the mountain. jenny confessed that she at first felt inclined to follow them, but once more the door slowly opened, and the poor creature looked out to ascertain if her tormentors had gone off. not seeing them she came out, and jenny heard her in a plaintive voice thanking god for having delivered her from her enemies; then she broke into a low wail, the words she uttered being disconnected and incoherent. she was on her knees, with her hands clasped and her countenance upturned towards heaven. jenny's heart was more touched than she had expected. going up to the old woman, she said, `these bad boys have been teasing you sadly, i fear, moggy.' a vacant stare was at first the only reply she received, but on repeating her words moggy seemed to gather their meaning, and answered, `ay, sadly, sadly; but ye knows what we have been taught to say by one who loved us, and died for us. "forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us." so ye see that i forgive them, and i pray for them. i pray that they may never be poor and helpless as i am, that they may never be so afflicted in mind and body, and that no evil may fall on their heads; and god will hear my prayers just as much as he will the prayers of the great, and wealthy, and learned, and young, and strong, and happy,' then she suddenly stopped, and began to shriek wildly and wring her hands, moaning out, `no father, no husband, no child--all, all gone. oh, my child, my boy, my hope, my pride!' jenny tried to soothe and comfort her, and after a long time succeeded in leading her back into the hut, where she became more tranquil, but still apparently was unable to give any connected account of herself. jenny then, from the basket she was carrying to market, gave her some food, for which she looked grateful, but said nothing. after this, by little acts of kindness, jenny gradually obtained the helpless creature's confidence; and daily, whenever able, went at the same hour to disperse the boys, who after school hours have, it sterns, been in the habit of assembling, for their amusement, to torment her. jenny had often threatened to complain to the parents of the boys, and, should they not attend to her complaints, to place the whole case before the magistrates. she had complained to several whose children she recognised, but they either took no notice of what she said, or were very angry with her; and she had therefore resolved, the next time she found any boys ill-treating the old woman, to put her threat into execution. `yes, sir, and that i must do, even though some be gentlefolks' sons; one be your son, sir, and sorry i have to speak it. it's that young master william of yours, and he is the most daring and outrageous of the lot,' she added. `it's a shame, sir, i'm sure you'll allow, that they should go on so; for a more harmless sorrow-stricken soul i have never met in my life than poor old moggy here. all she's gone through would make a book, and it's not to be wondered at that with all her trials, and care, and the cruelty she meets, she is often crazy like. maybe she's listening now, and knows what i say, for at times she has got as much sense as any one; and it's then that she feels her loneliness, and poverty, and wretchedness, and that makes her go off again as bad as ever, so it seems to me, sir.' i would not at first believe the truth of the accusation brought against william, but on closely questioning jenny, i found that, without doubt, it is unfortunately the fact that one of our children is capable of thus cruelly ill-treating one of his fellow-creatures; and that he is so ignorant as not to be aware of his crime; indeed he has a vague idea that he was rather performing a meritorious act." after sitting silent for some time, and grieving over the delinquencies of her son, mrs morgan, like a tender mother, endeavoured to find some excuse for his conduct; for one of the hardest trials which parents--who have learned to look upon sin in its true light--have to bear, is to discover that any one of their children is guilty of a crime. the doctor, however, upright himself, and having a clear and distinct view of right and wrong, would not allow himself to find any excuses for the crime, though anxious as his wife for the good of the criminal; nor did he fail to blame himself, as mrs morgan blamed herself, for allowing their child, during the most impressible years of his life, to go from under their charge. "still," argued the doctor, "william has been told what is right and wrong; he has read the scriptures. he has infringed one of the chief commandments in a most cruel and cowardly manner. i must not be indulgent towards a crime which, if his victim dies, the legal authority of his country will pronounce to be manslaughter. i will endeavour, however, first to ascertain how far he is sensible of his fault by showing him its consequence. should he give no proof of penitence i must resort to severer measures. i purpose to take all the children with me to-morrow morning to old moggy's hut, and i trust that the sight william will there witness will prove, as it must if his heart is not hardened, a sufficient punishment for his act." "i hope and pray it may," said mrs morgan. "i fear, though, that miss ap reece was most injudicious in her management of him, and that he has now been allowed a long course of self-indulgence; and i believe that nothing more effectually hardens the heart and makes it indifferent to the feelings of others, to their sorrows and physical sufferings, than such a mode of treatment." long did the doctor and his wife talk over the subject, and then kneeling, they earnestly placed the matter before the throne of grace, seeking from thence guidance and strength. how little, in many instances, are prosperous, healthy, happy children aware that the chief cause of their prosperity, health, and happiness, is to be found in the earnest, trustful prayers of god-fearing parents. unhappy the children who have not praying parents! thrice blessed those who have, and who, at the same time, set high value on their parents' prayers, and learn betimes to pray aright, and to pray for them as well as for themselves. chapter five. the sky was bright and blue; a fresh breeze, invigorating and pure, came from the distant sea; the sun, just risen above the mountain tops, shone down with undiminished lustre on the smiling valley, and all nature sparkled with life and light, as the young morgans, having finished breakfast, assembled at the hall-door to accompany their father on his proposed walk. the elder ones remarked that he looked graver than usual, but hoped that the fresh air and exercise would soon restore his spirits. they all enjoyed a walk with him, for he generally took care to make it interesting, by giving them information on one or more of the various natural objects they met with. there was not a tree, a flower, or a stone, about which he had not something to say which was well worth hearing. charles called them "father's peripatetic lectures." this morning, however, the doctor was unusually silent. his daughter anna walked by his side, affectionately waiting, in the hopes of an opportunity to bring forward some subject to enliven him. charles also accompanied him. the rest of the children kept behind, wondering where he was going; willie especially sauntering at some distance, and thinking that he would rather have been out by himself or with some of the boys with whom he had lately associated. charles, finding that his father was not inclined to give one of his lectures, bethought him of a subject likely to interest him. "i say, father, i wonder when frank will be here. his ship was expected at plymouth every day. i sent a letter for him to fox, giving him full directions how he was to find his way here, so that if he could get leave he might come up at once. my only fear is that he may not have any cash for his journey. i begged fox to advance it, but frank may not think of asking him. he'll have a great deal to tell us about the pacific and the coral islands, the sandwich islanders, and the other natives, once horrible savages, now mostly christians. and those people of fiji--the black cannibals of the pacific as they were called--i want to know if they are as bad as has been represented." "yes, your brother frank will have much to say," remarked the doctor, and again relapsed into silence. "i hope he may bring tom holman with him. i should like to see the man who saved his life, that i might thank him as he deserves for his bravery," said anna. "dear frank, if it had not been for holman we might never have seen him again." "yes, indeed, i should like to see holman, the fine and gallant fellow," exclaimed charles. "the puzzle will be how to get him here. i know that seamen have difficulty in obtaining leave till their ship is paid off, and then there is the expense of the journey. however, i will do my best to manage that." "and i will help you," said anna. "i will sell some of my fowls, and the egg money of last year, which i have never spent, and old mrs taffety's present, which mamma says i have a right to do just what i like with. oh, there will be no difficulty about money matters if frank can get leave for tom holman. it will be very nice to see him and to thank him, though it will be difficult to thank him enough." dr morgan had not joined in the conversation of his elder children. he appeared to be absorbed in his own thoughts. once or twice he glanced round to ascertain if william was following. he continued for some time along the road leading to the village, and then suddenly turned into a path leading up the mountain. william began to feel not very comfortable when he saw this. still his father might possibly intend to cross over the mountain. he lingered still farther behind, and when he saw him turn off again up the uneven path which led to poor old moggy's hut he was strongly inclined to run away. surely his father would not wish to go inside the hut. what could he have to say to the old woman? however, go on he must. fortunately, charles dropped behind the doctor, and anna and william hurried up to him. "charley, is papa really going into the witch's den?" he exclaimed in a tone of alarm. "she will be doing him some harm, i am sure." "nonsense, willie," answered charles. "i did not fancy that a fellow with a head on his shoulders could be such a goose." "goose or no goose, i don't wish to fall into the old witch's clutches, nor papa, nor any of us either," muttered william, as charles walked on again rapidly to catch up their father, and to give a helping hand to the two younger ones. willie's foolish fears increased when he saw his father walk up to the door of the hut, and still more alarmed did he become when the doctor, lifting the latch, went in, and then turned round and beckoned to him to enter, though arthur and mabel were allowed to remain outside. most unwillingly he obeyed; but when he got inside the door, not a step farther could he bring himself to advance, and from the furtive glances which he ever and anon cast through the doorway, it was very evident that he would make his escape if he dared. even charles and anna drew back from the pitiable object which met their sight. the light streaming through the window fell on a low pallet, on which, covered with a sheet, lay the form of mountain moggy. by her side sat jenny davis, whom william recognised as her champion who had threatened him and his companions with condign punishment if they ever again attacked the old woman. something dreadful was going to happen-william scarcely knew what. a glance his father cast at him made him understand that he must not move. of course jenny davis had told everything. after exchanging a few words with jenny, the doctor lifted the sheet from off moggy's feet. "william, come here and witness the effects of your cruelty," he said in a stern voice, very unlike that in which he was accustomed to address his children. "now look at those poor burnt hands. you, and those with you, i have no doubt, caused all the pain this poor woman is now suffering; and should she die, at whose door, think you, will the guilt lie?" william could not answer. the doctor, taking out some salves he had brought with him, began to dress the poor creature's limbs. anna could not refrain from tears, while she went forward to assist her father and kind jenny. william stood by without uttering a word, and feeling as he had never felt before. when the sufferer's hands and feet were once more covered up, the doctor directed charles to call in the younger children. "listen to what jenny davis will tell you," he said, when they were all assembled round the bed. "ah, sir, i have a tale to tell which would soften a heart of stone; but i hope none of these young people have hearts of that sort," remarked jenny, fixing her eyes on william. "she has told me how it all happened, and it may be a warning to that young gentleman never to throw stones at any human being, even though they may be deserted; or, for that matter, at any living creature. they cannot tell where the stone may strike, and what harm it may do. well, sir, old moggy was sitting at her poor fire when those cruel boys came up here again to play off their cowardly tricks. they talk of her imps doing mischief, though they were the imps, and they were doing the mischief, i'm thinking. stone after stone was thrown in on her. at last one struck the hearth and sent a burning stick under her feet. while she stooped down to remove it, another large one gave her a blow on the head which must have stunned her, for she fell to the ground and her clothes began to burn. the agony she was suffering brought her in some degree to her senses again, when she found herself surrounded by flames, and believed that she was going to be burnt to death. there was nobody near that she knew of to help her, and she couldn't help herself; she knew that, so she prayed for the help of god. just then the door burst open, and the young gentleman i told you of ran in, and throwing his coat over her, put out the fire. i came in soon after, and helped to put her on the bed. i think that the young gentleman burnt his own hands not a little in tearing off the burning clothes which his coat couldn't cover, but he said it was just nothing, and wouldn't let me look at them even before he went away." "what a brave, noble fellow!" exclaimed charles. "i should like to have made his acquaintance." "so indeed should i," cried anna. "do not you know his name, jenny?" "no, my sweet miss, i don't," answered the welshwoman. "but i think i know where it's written, and that's where the names of the cruel, and selfish, and heartless will never be found." "god bless him! god bless him!" said a deep voice from the bed. the children started; it was the voice of old moggy. they had not supposed she was listening, much less that she was capable of speaking. the rest of the children remembered william's remarks on the previous evening, and all eyes were turned on him. he stood white as ashes, and trembling in every limb. while they had before been speaking, the window had been darkened by a person passing before it. william had remarked it, and he had taken it into his head that it was that of a person come to carry him off to prison for his misdeeds. the rest had been so interested in what they were hearing that they had not observed that a stranger was near them. "ye said that she knows the truth; ay, that she does, and practises what the word of truth tells us; for instead of railing she blesses, and from her heart forgives them who have ill-treated her," said jenny. "poor, harmless, weary soul that she is! those young ones who stand there can know little of the sorrows and trials she has been called on to endure. she has seen loss of parents, and property, and husband, and child, and her good name, and all that we think makes life pleasant; and now that she has found her way to this lone place, to die in peace, the evil one has made these lads come up here to mock and torment her. i mind reading of a good prophet going to a certain village in a foreign land, and the lads came out and mocked him, and called him old bald-head, and what do ye think happened? why, two she-bears came out of a wood and destroyed forty and two of them. i don't mean to say that old moggy is like the old prophet, but yet she is aged and friendless; and those who abuse and ill-treat her are, in the eyes of the almighty, doing a great wickedness; that they are, i'm sure." while jenny was speaking, the lips of the sufferer were seen to move; and in the same deep tones which had before been heard, the words came forth, "but forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. yes, yes: oh, i forgive them; they didn't know any better; they thought i was a witch; they thought i could work charms, and had bad power. oh! they would not have done as they did if they had known of my weary, weary, aching heart; my poor boy underneath the sea--my husband drowned before my eyes--my sad, sad days, my sleepless nights-my wandering brain--my hunger and thirst--my wretched, wretched life for long, long lonesome years. all these things you did not know of, young gentleman, when you and your companions threw stones at me. don't think i would curse you for it. no, no. come near, my children. i bless you, ay! from my heart, all of you. you who ill-treated me and you who never did me harm." slowly and reluctantly, with awe in their countenances, the children drew still nearer to the bed. the old woman's voice had dropped through weakness and exhaustion, yet she continued-"my lot has been very hard, very hard; yet i have had a friend above who has upheld and comforted me. and yet i have had many trials, many trials, many trials. my brain reels and wanders. i think of my husband and my boy, my only boy, many fathoms deep beneath the cold, cold waves, and then my head turns and my heart changes into stone, and i forget where i am and what has happened." the old woman began to ramble, and suddenly burst forth in the wild song which she had been singing on the previous evening. jenny davis shook her head, observing, "she'll not be right after this for some time. when the fit comes on her there's no more sense to be looked for till she has had some rest." "i will send her up a quieting draught and some wholesome food, which will probably do her more good than any medicine," said the doctor, taking anna's hand, and motioning the others to move towards the door. william had hitherto not spoken a word. "papa, may i take her up the medicine and food?" he said, and big tears rolled down his cheeks. "yes, william, you may," was the answer. dr morgan and his children had got outside the hut, and were on their way down the steep side of the mountain, when they heard a cheery shout behind them. turning round, anna instantly sprang up the hill, and in another moment was in the arms of a young gentleman who was running down to meet them. "it is frank! it is frank!" burst from the lips of the rest. "why, father! charley! who would have thought it?" cried the young stranger, warmly greeting them; "and willie, and mabel, and arthur! what big people they have become! i little expected to have found you so soon; and you were in that poor old woman's hut, too! well, that is curious! the truth is, i am lost, or rather i couldn't find you. i mislaid charley's letter, and though i thought i knew the name of the place, i found, when i got into the country, that i hadn't the slightest notion of what it was; and after wandering about for a couple of days, i determined to write to old evans, at bangor, and to await his answer at the inn on the other side of the mountain." "then, frank, you are the young gentleman who saved old moggy's life," said anna. "how delightful!" "oh, did i? i merely threw my jacket over the poor creature's legs, and put out the fire which had caught her clothes and would have burnt her," answered the midshipman. "i am very glad i was of use, though it's not a thing to be proud of. it was very fortunate, however, for me, for i don't know how otherwise i should have found you. there is one thing i should like to do, and that is to thrash the heartless young monkeys who threw stones at the poor woman. if i can find them i will." william looked down, overwhelmed with shame, and almost wished that frank _would_ thrash him. "then what brought you back to the hut, my boy?" asked the doctor. "oh, to look after the poor old woman," said frank, "i understood from the nurse--jenny davis she told me was her name--that she has no friends, and so i thought it was but right and proper to come back and see how she was getting on. i dropped a bundle with some old shirts and other things in at the window; but seeing some people there, not dreaming that they were all of you, i of course wouldn't go in. i waited, expecting you soon to go away, and fortunately i made you out, or i should have gone back to my inn, and not known that i had been close to you." "bless you, my boy, bless you! may you ever act in the same way from principle, and not merely from the impulse of the heart, good as that may be," said the doctor, warmly, pressing frank's hand, and undoubtedly feeling the contrast between his conduct and that of william. "and now let us hear something about yourself," he continued, in a more cheerful tone than he had hitherto been speaking in. the young sailor had plenty to talk about, though, as he remarked, he found his words apt to block up the hatchway, he was in such a hurry to get them out of the hold. charles and anna were eager to hear about tom holman, and william would have liked to hear what his brother was saying, but, in shame, he hung back some way behind the rest, and when they reached the house his father told him to go to his room, and wait there till summoned frank saw that there was something wrong, but forbore to inquire, hoping soon to have an opportunity of pleading for the culprit. "ah, that comes, whatever it is, of his being brought up by old becky ap reece," he thought to himself. "i am heartily glad he is free of her, though he may never get a farthing of her money. he was a plucky little chap, and with good training something might be made of him; but she treated him like one of her poodles, and would soon have made him of no more use in the world than a puppy dog." though frank morgan was thoughtful, he was one of the merriest fellows under the sun, and among the lightest of heart though not of head. frank's return brought life and spirit into the house; for charles, though highly esteemed, was grave and somewhat reserved; anna was sedate and quiet; and william, since his return home, had been very troublesome, and was looked upon generally as an arrant pickle; while the doctor and mrs morgan were so much occupied that they were unable to think of amusements for their children. everything, however, was to give way in order to make frank enjoy his short visit at home; and picnics and several pleasant excursions were planned that he might find the time as pleasant as possible. chapter six. dr morgan loved william fully as much as he did the rest of his children, but he saw that correction was necessary to cure him. instead of being allowed to welcome frank with the rest of the family, william was sent to his room, where he remained by himself, not knowing what was next to happen. he was very sorry for what he had done; he had seen the fearful consequences of his cruelty, by which he might have deprived a fellow-creature of life; indeed, he knew not even now whether old moggy might not die; and he also saw his own folly in believing that a poor weak old creature, who could not preserve herself from injury, could injure others in the way she was accused of doing, and he wished that he had not thrown stones at her. these thoughts made him very uncomfortable, and he would have been glad to go anywhere, or do anything which would enable him to cast them away from him. it was a great relief when his father came with the medicine and other things for old moggy, and told him that he might take them to her, but must return immediately to his room, without stopping to talk to any one. "solitude is good for our spiritual welfare, to allow of reflection, but we must not permit it to hinder us in the performance of the active duties of life," observed the doctor to his wife, when he told her how he purposed treating william. "he wished to take the things to her, and he is the fittest person to do so. it is well that he should feel that he is useful and doing his duty; but at the same time it is necessary that he should understand that the so doing cannot exonerate him from the consequences of his transgressions." william hastened out of the house with his basket. he knew that if he met any of his school companions they would ask him how long he had turned apothecary's boy, what wages he got, and whether he made the pills as well. he determined not to mind. still he anxiously looked about, fearing some might appear. he ran on, therefore, till he reached the steep part of the path up the mountain. as he climbed up his heart again failed him, for he began to fear that jenny davis would at all events scold him, and that perhaps moggy, seeing him alone, would say something disagreeable. still, as he had volunteered to go, it would be arrant cowardice if he turned back. he reached the hut and looked in at the window. jenny saw him, and saw that he had a basket in his hand. "come in, come in, my good young sir," she exclaimed. the words encouraged william, and he entered. "it's like your father's son to come and visit the poor and the afflicted," she added. "i'm sure i thank ye, and so does she who lies there, though she's ill able to speak now." moggy, whose senses had by this time returned, heard her. "ay--bless you, young gentleman! bless you!" she muttered. "i forgive you, and thank you, and am your debtor; and there's one above who'll forgive you if you go to him." it surprised and puzzled him that moggy bore him no ill-will, after all the injury he had inflicted on her. he did not stop to inquire how this was, but, having left the contents of his basket, bent his steps homeward. as he wound his way by the path down the mountain-side, at a far more sedate pace than was his wont, he thought over the matter. suddenly the words of the lord's prayer occurred to him--"forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us." "that's it; she has been very wicked, and so she forgives me that she may be forgiven," he said to himself. "but then i have been very wicked too, and i have nobody to forgive. i don't know anybody who has done me harm; i wish that somebody would, and then i might forgive them." he reached home, and made his way to his room again. no one came near him all day. at dinner-time anna stole up with a plate of meat and vegetables. she placed it before him, but he felt very little inclination to eat. anna was about to quit the room; willie stopped her. "i know i am very wicked, but i don't know what to do!" he exclaimed, sobbing. "i wish that papa would come and tell me." anna reported these words to their father. the doctor might have hastened at once to willie, but he judged it wiser to allow the good impression that had been formed to take root. he therefore sent him up the bible, by anna, and begged him to read the answer of paul to the gaoler at philippi. anna showed him other texts of scripture--"blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy"; and then pointed out warnings against those who wrong and oppress the poor and the afflicted. "i know, i know that i have done very wrong, and am very wicked," sobbed william. "do you think god will pardon me? i do not feel as if i could do anything to make god forgive me, or love me, or be kind to me again." anna stopped to collect her thoughts before she spoke; she then said-"i am very sure that you never can do anything to make god forgive you, dear willie; and yet i am sure that god _will_ forgive you if you seek him through the mediator he has given us. god loves to be gracious. if you really are sorry for what you have done, if you repent, not because your fault has brought you into trouble and disgrace, but because you have offended god, then god will assuredly pardon you, for he has promised in his holy word to do so. he says `knock and it shall be opened to you, seek and ye shall find'; so you see, dear willie, you may be pardoned if you seek it in the right way." and she spoke of god's love in sending his blessed son to save us from our sins, and of the holy spirit that he gives us to soften our hard hearts and make them tender, as well as to teach us always what we ought to do. when she ceased speaking he was sobbing, but not bitterly. "pray for me, anna," said he; "i am not able to pray for myself." "oh, be sure all those who love you will pray for you," she answered, kissing him. "papa and mamma pray for us night and morning, i am certain of that; and it makes me very happy and confident to think so. but still, dear willie, remember always that we must pray for ourselves." "yes, i know, and i will try," said william, as his sister left the room. the evening approached. charles brought him up some tea and bread-and-butter, but said nothing. no one else came near him, not even frank. he thought that frank might have come, but still he could not complain. how different had been his brother's conduct and his own towards poor old moggy! he had thought her a witch, and thrown stones at her, and called her all sorts of bad names; while brave frank had risked burning himself to save her, and had kindly treated her, and given her money, and come back to see how she was faring. "and they say that there are no such things as witches, or ugly ghosts wandering about, or such-like creatures," he thought to himself. "i always fancied there were, but papa must be right, and i am sure i hope that there are not. and as god loves us i don't think he would let such things be, to come and frighten us, certainly not to harm or frighten those who love him. how very, very foolish i have been, to believe all the nonsense i have heard." with these thoughts, repentant willie fell asleep. he did not see that his parents entered, when the rest of the family were gone to bed, and bending over him observed how placidly he slept. then they knelt down together and earnestly prayed for his spiritual welfare. he had sorely felt their absence all day, and was inclined to believe that their love was estranged from him. how far was this from the truth! thus it is that our heavenly father deals with his erring children. he shuts himself out from them. he allows evil to overtake them, but not the less does he love them. he thus afflicts them that they may more fully feel their dependence on him, and return like the prodigal to his arms. chapter seven. frank had to return to his ship, but after a short cruise he wrote word that he had again got leave to go home; and this time he hoped to be accompanied by his shipmate, the preserver of his life, tom holman. the family at the rectory were as eager to see tom as they were before. some changes had taken place among them. willie was very different to what he had been. his masters remarked that he was much improved. from being the most idle, he was now one of the most attentive and obedient of their scholars. his parents, too, believed that they had discovered a real change of heart. his godmother, miss becky ap reece, had died and left him her heir, her property realising a far larger sum than had been expected; indeed, it was surmised that the poor lady must have lost a considerable portion of her income at cards, or she would have been able to live in better style, or have done more good with it than she had done. as soon as william heard that cousin becky's property had been left to him, though of course he was ignorant of its value, he entreated that he might give it to old moggy to make her comfortable. "what, all, willie? all your fortune?" asked his father, with a feeling of pleasure about his heart. "o yes, papa, i do not think that i have a right to spend any of it on myself, while she is suffering in consequence of my wickedness," answered willie, with perfect sincerity. "i rejoice to hear you say so, my dear boy, but the matter is not left in your power, nor indeed in mine. until you are of age, the interest of the capital can alone be spent; and i, as your guardian, have authority only to expend it on your proper maintenance and education. it is only, therefore, by denying yourself all luxuries and amusements, and by saving pocket-money, with which i am directed to supply you, that you can help poor moggy as you desire." "oh then, that is what i will do," exclaimed willie. "don't give me any pocket-money, or let me have any amusements which cost money. that's almost what i wanted to do; though i should like to set her up as a lady, or in a comfortable house, with a servant to attend on her." "that would not be wise, willie," remarked dr morgan. "you would expend all your means on one person, giving her more than she requires; and though it would save you trouble, you would be prevented from benefiting others; whereas you should calculate the means at your disposal, and take trouble to ascertain how much good you can possibly do with it. i am also bound to give you your pocket-money, provided i do not find that you make a bad use of it. you must decide how it is to be spent, and of course you are at liberty to return it to me to spend for you." "oh, that will do, that will do!" exclaimed willie, with pleasure in his tone. "but you will help me, papa, in doing what is best with it?" "i have already anticipated some of your wishes with respect to poor moggy, and we will see what more can be done to make her comfortable. she says that she prefers windyside to any other spot on earth, and has no wish to move from it." on a fine day, when the sun was shining brightly over mountain and moor, and his beams were lighting up the pine-trees and the once dark, ruinous hovel on the hillside, dr morgan with most of his children took their way towards old moggy's abode. it was greatly changed for the better. a chimney was now to be seen rising above the roof, which had been fresh tiled; there was glass in the window, a latch on the door, which had been repaired, and the lichen-covered walls had been scraped, fresh pointed, and white-washed. when the party got inside they discovered an equally agreeable change. a thick curtain divided the room; a screen kept off the draught when the door was opened; the walls were whitened, and there was a cupboard, and a table and chairs, and several shelves, on which rested some neat crockery. on the inside of the curtain there was a comfortable bed, and some thick matting on the floor. old moggy was seated in a large easy-chair, with her feet on the old stool, which before was one of her sole articles of furniture, and good jenny davis was making up a nice fire of coals, on which to cook some wholesome meat and vegetables which she had just brought from the market. "she's getting quite strong and hearty, with the good food and kindness," answered jenny to the doctor's question, "how is moggy to-day?" "she can talk to ye as clear and sensibly as any one; ay, and there are some glorious things she has been saying to me, which have done my soul a world of good." "ay, doctor morgan, in one thing jenny speaks truth. i don't feel the poor demented creature i was a few short months ago," said moggy; "and it's your tender kindness, and that of your dear boy, master willie, and the rest of your children, has brought about the change which ye see in me. i am clothed, and in my right mind; and yet, through the mercy of god, i never, even when my mind was wrong, was cast out from him. i still sought him, and found him. he watched over me and protected me." "be assured, moggy," said the doctor, "that we are well repaid for what we have done for you. but i must not stay. i came up with my children to-day to see how you were. you require no doctoring, and so i must away. anna, however, will remain with the rest, as she has brought up a book to read, which may interest you." when the doctor had gone anna took a seat by moggy's side, and willie begged jenny to give him some employment which might be of use. "there's little enough, my sweet young master, that is fit for you to do," answered jenny. "there are those few pots and pans to clean, and some cups and saucers, and plates and spoons, and knives and forks, but sure that's not work fit for a young gentleman's hands." "oh, any work is fit for me, if it is to serve moggy," said william, rubbing away at the articles which were placed by his side. anna read on in her sweet, low voice. the book contained a true history of one who bore suffering and affliction with patience and perfect resignation to the divine will for long, long years, till health came back and she enjoyed peace and happiness in this world, and departed full of joy and hope. moggy, who seemed deeply interested, instantly applied the history to herself. "that's me, that's me," she muttered. "i have got peace and comfort, and it's a happiness to have all these loving, dear children round me." she paused and sighed deeply, as if a recollection of the past had come suddenly on her, for she added, "but ah, who can bring back the dead-those who lie far, far away in their ocean grave? no joy for me here till i know that i am departing to meet them." "dear moggy," said anna, interrupting her gently, and fearing that she might give way to her feelings too much, "you have more than once promised that you would give us some of your past history. we should very much like to hear it, provided you do not dwell too long on the more painful portions." moggy looked up at her with a sad expression in her eyes. "ah, sweet miss anna, you do not know what you ask," she answered. "if i were to tell you my history without the sad portions there truly would be little to tell; but i will not therefore deny you. it will do me good, maybe, to know that those i love are acquainted with my griefs, and can pity me, and as it were share them with me." "we know that you have had sore troubles, and we pity you for them, and we have all learned to love you because you bear them so patiently," said anna; "therefore if it gives you pain do not talk of your past history." "ay, that is kind in you, miss anna, to say, but i have the wish now to tell you all; what i have been, and how i came to be as i am," said moggy. "master willie, ask master charles to come in (charles had returned outside the cottage to botanise), then i'll tell ye all, yes, all. often and often i've thought of the past, so it does not seem strange to me as it will to you, dear miss anna, but ye will not weep for me, for it's long, long since i wept for myself." a shout from william made anna run to the door, and from thence she saw charley shaking hands with their brother frank, and willie running down the hill towards them. another person stood by, who must be, she was certain, tom holman. looking into the cottage again, and crying out, "frank has come! frank has come!" she also ran down the hill towards her brothers. there were warm greetings, and smiles, and laughter; and then frank sang out, "hillo, tom, come up here. my brothers and sister want to thank you for enabling me to get back and see them; and tell them how you picked me out of the water and saved my life, and have taken such good care of me ever since." tom had, with true politeness, gone some way off out of ear-shot of the brothers and sister when they met. the latter words were addressed to him, and with the activity of a seaman he sprang up the hill towards them. he did not quite come up to the idea anna had formed of him. though dressed as a seaman, he was somewhat different to the commonly-received notions of what a british tar is like; still less could he be compared to a refined pirate or dashing rover of romance. he was an ordinary sized, sunburnt, darkish man of middle age, with a somewhat grave expression of countenance. when he spoke, however, a pleasant smile lit up his firm mouth, and his eyes beamed with intelligence. anna, charles, and willie went forward, and putting out their hands one after the other, shook his cordially, and thanked him, in a few simple words, for the manly services he had rendered frank; each hoping to find means of proving their gratitude in a more substantial way than by words alone. tom answered them in a pleasant voice, evidently gratified by the way they had treated him. "why you see, miss morgan and young gentlemen, it was your brother first did me a service, and a very great one too, and so i felt very grateful, and a liking to him, and that made me have my eye oftener on him when there was any danger abroad, and be oftener talking to him; and so, do ye see, all the rest followed in course." "we never heard of frank doing anything for you," answered anna. "we thought that the obligation was all on his side." "come, tom, don't talk about that just now," cried frank. "i say, anna, how's old moggy? i'm glad to see that you have painted up her abode. i must go up and see her at once, and introduce tom to her; she'll like to hear about the foreign parts he has been to." saying this, he ran up the hill towards the hut. the rest of the party followed more slowly. tom remained outside; the young morgans entered. they found frank seated opposite to moggy, talking away to her, and telling her how happy he was to see her so comfortable. the poor old woman was much gratified with the attention paid her. "but where is tom?" cried frank. "willie, tell him to come in. i want to introduce him to moggy. he will be interested in her, for a kinder heart than his does not beat in the bosom of any man, woman, or child that i know of." tom soon made his appearance, doffing his tarpauling as he entered, and taking a seat to which frank pointed, nearly opposite moggy. for a minute or more after tom had taken his seat moggy was silent, when bending forward, and shrouding her grey eyebrows with her withered hand, with unexpected suddenness she said, in a deep, low voice, and a strange inquiring expression in her countenance-"who are you, and where do you come from?" "a seaman, mother," answered tom, "and shipmate for many a year with young mister morgan here." the old woman scarcely seemed to understand what was said, but kept muttering to herself, and intently gazing at tom. "come, moggy, you'll stare my shipmate out of countenance, for he's a bashful man, though a brave one," cried frank, who fancied that his friend did not like the scrutiny he was undergoing. frank produced the effect he wished, and moggy at once resumed the placid manner she had of late exhibited. "your pardon, sir; strange fancies come over me at times, though it's seldom now i get as bad as i used to be," said moggy. "i forgot how time passes, ay, and what changes time works, but i will not trouble you with my wild fancies. your honoured father has shown me how i may put them to flight by prayer, by looking to him who died for us, and then all becomes peace, and joy, and contentment." "moggy was just going to give me an account of her early days when you arrived," said anna. "i shall like very much to hear all about her, if moggy will put off her history till another day," remarked frank. "i promised to return home again without delay, so we must not remain any longer." "remember, children dear, time is in god's hand, not ours. we propose, but he disposes as he knows best. he may think fit to let me live, to enjoy the comforts you have provided for me in my old age, or he may think fit to call me home; but while i live my wish will be to please you if i can benefit you, and my last prayers will be for your welfare." "oh, you must live on for many a day, and we must hear your story over and over again, till we know it by heart," cried frank, about to go. "once for me to tell and once for you to hear would be enough, my dear lad," said moggy, shaking her head. "good-bye, mother, good-bye," said tom, his heart evidently touched by the poor old woman's condition. "fare thee well, my son, fare thee well. may heaven prosper thee and guard thee on the perilous waters," answered moggy, gazing intently at him as before. "so like thy countenance, and thy manners." the rest of the party uttered their farewells, and leaving the hut, took their way down the mountain. chapter eight. frank was the life of the family in the drawing-room, and tom interested and astonished the inmates of the kitchen with the accounts he gave them of his own adventures and his young officer's exploits and gallant deeds. it is possible that some of his companions might have preferred hearing him sing a rollicking sea song, and seeing him dance a hornpipe, as most seamen are represented as doing on all possible occasions; but they soon found out that such was not tom holman's way. he could talk, though, and laugh, and be very merry at times, and never seemed unhappy; and mary jones, mrs morgan's old nurse, declared that he was the pleasantest, and nicest, and quietest, ay, and more than that, the best young man she had seen for many a day. not that he was very young, for he was certainly over forty. tom holman was more than pleasant--he was an earnest, christian seaman. happily there are many such now-a-days, both in the royal navy and in the merchant service--men who are not ashamed of the cross of christ. tom and mrs jones soon became fast friends, and it was through her that the way in which he and frank first became intimate was known to mrs morgan and the rest of the family. "you see, mrs jones," said tom, as he sat with her in the housekeeper's room, "i was pretty well a castaway, without friends, without home, without any one to care for me, or show me the right course to sail on. i had got hold of some books, all about the rights of man, sneering at religion, and everything that was right, and noble, and holy; and in my ignorance i thought it all very fine, and had become a perfect infidel. all that sort of books writ by the devil's devices have brought countless beings to destruction--of body as well as of soul. our ship was on the coast of africa, employed in looking after slavers, to try and put a stop to the slave trade. i entered warmly into the work, for i thought that it was a cruel shame that men, because they had white skins, more power, and maybe, more sense, should be allowed to carry off their fellow-men and hold them in bondage. i was appointed as coxswain of the boat commanded by mr morgan. often we used to be sent away in her for days together from the ship, to lie in wait for slavers. the officers on such occasions used to allow us to talk pretty freely to one another and to express our minds. one day i said something which showed mr morgan what was in my mind--how dark and ignorant it was. he questioned me further, and found that i was an infidel, that i had no belief in god or in goodness, and that i was unhappy. some officers would have cared nothing for this, or just abused me, called me a fool, and let me alone; others, who called themselves religious, would have cast me off as a reprobate. but mr morgan, whom i always thought only a good-natured, merry young gentleman, did neither; but he stuck to me like a friend. day after day, and night after night, he talked to me, and reasoned with me, and read to me out of the blessed gospel, for he never was without the book of life in all our expedition. [see note 1.] whenever he could get me alone he pleaded earnestly with me, as a friend, nay, as affectionately as a brother. in spite of myself, he made me listen to him, and i learned to love and respect him, even when i thought myself far wiser than he was. he persevered. i began to see how vile i was, how unlike a pure and holy god; and then he showed me the only way by which i could become fit to dwell with god. it seemed so plain, so simple, so beautiful, so unlike any idea man could conceive, that i, as it were, sprang to it, just as a drowning man springs to a rock, and clutching it, lifts himself up clear of the tangled weeds which are dragging him to destruction. from that moment i became a changed man, and gained a peace and happiness of which i knew nothing before." "dr morgan's regards, and he hopes you'll step into the dining-room, mr holman," said the parlour-maid, opening the door. tom was soon seated among the family circle, his manner showing that he was perfectly at his ease without the slightest show of presumption. "tom, they want to hear about our adventures, and i've told them that i must have you present to confirm my account, lest they should suppose i am romancing," said frank, as tom entered. "they wouldn't think that, mr morgan," answered tom. "but, however, i'll take the helm for a spell if you get out of your right course." "i don't doubt you, old shipmate," said frank. "but before i get under weigh with my yarn i want you to give them a few pages out of your log before you and i sailed together." tom guessed what this request meant. "well, sir, if your honourable father and mother and you wish it, i'll tell you all i know about myself. for what i know to the contrary, i was born at sea. my first recollections were of a fearful storm on the ocean. we were tossing about in a boat. one of them, whom i for a long time afterwards thought was my father, had charge of me. he was a kind-hearted man, and looked after me most carefully. he went by the name of jack johnson, but sailors often change their names, especially if they have deserted, or have done anything for which they think that they may be punished. he always called me tom, and i didn't know that i had any other name till he told me that my name was holman, that he had known my father, who was a very respectable man, who, with my mother, and many other people, had been lost at sea. he said that he had saved me, and that we, with a few others, were the only people who had escaped from the wreck. we had been picked up by a ship outward bound round the horn. two of the men died, the rest entered on board the whaler, and as the captain could not well pitch me overboard he was obliged to take me; for indeed jack, who was the best seaman of the lot, refused to do duty unless i was put on the ship's books for rations. it was a rough school for a child, but i throve in it, and learned many things, though some of them i had better not have learned. the captain seemed a stern and morose man, and for many months he took no notice of me; but one day as i was trying to climb up the rattlins of the lower shrouds i fell to the deck. he ran to me, lifted me up, and carrying me to his cabin, placed me on his own bed, and with an anxious countenance examined me all over to find where i was hurt. he rubbed my temples and hands, and jack, who followed him into the cabin, said he looked quite pleased when i came to again. i was some weeks recovering, and he watched over me all the time with as much care as if i had been his own child. "`ah! the man's heart is in the right place, and i'd sooner sail with him than with many another softer-spoken gentleman i've fallen in with,' remarked jack one day after i had recovered. "we heard from one of the crew, who had before sailed with the captain, that he had a little son of his own killed from falling on deck, and this it was which made him take to me." "yes, god has implanted right and good feelings in the bosoms of all his creatures," observed the doctor. "but when they are neglected, and sin is allowed to get the better of them, they are destroyed. none of our hearts are in their right place, as the saying is. they are all by nature prone to ill. the same man who was doing you the kindness might in other ways have been grievously offending god." "ay, sir, it might have been; but it would not become me to find fault with one who had rendered me so great a service," said tom. "after i was well, he used to have me into his cabin every day to teach me to read and write, and the little learning i ever had i gained from him. we had been out four years, and the ship had at last got a full cargo, and was on the point of returning home, when we fell in with another ship belonging to the same owners. the captain of her had died, and the first mate had been washed overboard, and so the supercargo invited our captain to take charge of her. as he had no wife nor children living at home, this he consented to do, and thus it happened that i remained out in the pacific another four years. tom for my sake went with him to the other ship. we were nearly full. "`one more fish, and then hurrah for old england, lads,' sung out the captain, as three sperm whales were seen spouting from the mast-head. "all the boats were immediately lowered. jack was in the captain's boat. away they pulled from the ship in chase. those sperm whales are sometimes dangerous creatures to hunt. we saw that the captain's boat was fast, that is to say, he had struck the whale. away went the boat, towed at a great rate. suddenly she stopped--the whale rose. the captain pulled in to strike another harpoon into her. the monster reared her powerful tail and struck the boat a blow which split her clean in two. we had not a boat left to go to our shipmates' assistance; the other boats were far away in other directions. the wind was light, but we were able to lay up towards the spot where the accident had occurred. we could at length see the wreck of the boat and two men clinging to her. i hoped that one might be jack and the other the captain; for they were, i may well say, the only two people i cared for in the world, or who cared for me. eagerly i looked out. `it's jem rawlins and peter garvin,' i heard some one say. my heart sank within me. jem and peter were got on board. they were, of all the crew, those i had the least reason to like. they told us that the poor captain had got the line entangled round his leg, and had been drawn down when the whale sounded, and that jack had been killed by a blow from her tail. it seemed wonderful that they themselves should have escaped, considering the fury with which the whale attacked the boat. thus was the last link broken which, as it were, connected me with my lost relations, and i might say that i had not a friend in the world. all i knew about myself was that jack had saved me from the wreck of a ship called the `dove,' which, with my name, `tom holman,' he had tattooed on my arm. he had also put into a tin case the belt i had on and one or two other little articles, which tin case was in his chest. it was unanimously agreed on board that i should be his heir, so i succeeded to the chest, the chief article of value in which was the tin case. i took it out, and have ever since preserved it carefully, though with little hope of finding it of use. i had become very fond of reading, and had read all the books in the captain's cabin. there were not many of them, and there was not one which had religion in it, and i am very certain that there was not a bible on board. i only knew that there was such a book from the captain, who had read it at home, and i heard him only a few days before his death regretting that he had not got one. i believe our ship was not worse than others, and to the best of my belief not one of the south sea whalers we fell in with had a bible on board. the crews, as a rule, were lawless reprobates, and the masters petty tyrants, who cared nothing for the men, provided they would work to get their ships full. we sailed for england by the way of cape horn. i wished to go there because i wished to see what sort of a country it was, and to enjoy the amusements of which i heard the men talking. we had a prosperous passage till we were in the latitude of the falkland islands, when we were caught in a heavy gale, and after knocking about for some time in thick weather, when no observation could be obtained, we found ourselves with breakers under our lee, and a rocky shore beyond. the masts were cut away and anchors let go, but to no purpose; the ship parting from her anchors was driven on the rocks. nearly half the crew were washed away, and the rest of us succeeded in gaining the shore, soon after which the ship went to pieces, and all the cargo which we had toiled so hard to collect was returned to the sea from whence it was obtained. very few provisions came on shore, but there was a fair supply of canvas and plenty of ropes. we at once therefore put up a tent for ourselves, and placed all our more valuable possessions under cover. with some spars which came on shore we formed a lofty flagstaff, on which we hoisted a flag, in the hope that it might be seen by some passing vessel. there were springs of good water near the shore, and as long as our provisions lasted we got on pretty well, but when they began to fail the men looked at each other and asked, `what next?' "`oh, some ship must be passing soon, and will take us off,' cried out two or three, who were unwilling to be placed on reduced rations. "`but suppose no ship does pass, lads, what will you do? i have to tell you that, with the greatest economy, our provisions will not last another ten days,' said the first mate, who was now captain. `it is barren and sandy here, but maybe, if we push our way across the island, we may find a richer country, and some animals on which we may live.' "some agreed to the mate's proposal, others determined to remain on the sea-shore. i accompanied the mate. the provisions were equally divided, and those who remained said they would try and catch some fish, in case theirs ran short. "`try and catch them at once, then,' said the mate; `don't wait till you are starving.' "in our party was a man who had been in south america, and could use the lasso with dexterity. he and another man fitted two lines for the purpose, in the hope of finding some wild animals. the rest laughed at them, declaring that in an island where there was not a tree to be seen, and only some long tufts of grass, it was not likely that we should find anything but snakes and lizards. we had made good some ten miles or so, when we came upon a scene of desolation such as i have seldom elsewhere met with. far as the eye could reach the surface of the ground was one black mass of cinders. the men looked at each other. "`little prospect of finding any animals hereabouts,' observed one of the men. "`not so sure of that,' said the mate, kicking up the ashes with his foot. under them appeared some blades of green grass just springing up. "`to my mind the fire has run across the island at this part, which seems to be somewhat narrow, for from the top of that rock i climbed i could make out the sea on either hand; and thus, you understand, it may have driven the animals, if there are any, over to the other parts beyond, where i hope we may find them.' "`but how is it that the animals didn't run our way?' asked one of the men. "`because the country where we have been is barren and sandy, and they have gone to the opposite side, which is very different. to the best of my belief we shall find herds of wild cattle feeding on the other side if we bravely push on. here goes, who'll follow?' "saying this, the mate walked on quickly into the sea of cinders. i ran after him, and the rest followed. the mate supposed that the fire had occurred only a short time before we reached the island, and had been put out by the storm which had driven us on shore, or rather by the rain which accompanied it. we had to sleep that night in the middle of the cinders, without a drop of water to drink. some of the men grumbled, but the mate told them that they ought to be thankful, because there was no chance of our being burned, which there might be if we were sleeping in the long grass. "`ah, lads, every situation has its advantages, if we will but look for them,' he remarked; and i have often since thought of that saying of his. "on we went, the mate leading, the men often unwilling to proceed till he uttered a few words of encouragement. at last the sun's rays, bursting out from between the clouds, fell on some green grass which clothed the side of a hill before us. it was a welcome sight; and still more welcome was the sight of a herd of cattle which appeared before us as we got clear of the burnt district. it was important not to frighten them. we advanced carefully, the two men with lassoes leading, hiding ourselves among rocks and bushes, and keeping to leeward of the herd. to our great satisfaction, the animals as they fed moved on towards us. suddenly the men with the lassoes threw them round the neck of a cow, the nearest animal to us. we sprang forward, laying hold of the ends, one party hauling one way, one the other. in spite of all her violent struggles, we had her fast, and one of the men, rushing in, hamstrung her, and she was in our power. this capture raised our spirits, for we felt sure that we should never want food on the island, as we might catch the oxen in pitfalls if not with lassoes. the mate was asked how he came to suppose that there were cattle on the island. "`just because a shipmate, in whose word i could trust, told me he had seen them,' was the answer. `what better reason for believing a thing would you require?' "we camped where we were, and the south american showed us how to cut up the heifer and to dry the meat in the sun, so that we had as much pure meat as each of us could carry. as our companions had enough food for some days longer, the mate wished to see more of the island before returning. we saw several large herds of cattle, which fed on the long grass covering the face of the country, which was generally undulating. we were several days away, and as we caught sight of the flagstaff, we thought of the pleasure the supply of meat we had brought would afford our companions. we saw the tents, but no one came to meet us. we shouted, but there was no shout in return. we feared that they might be ill, or even dead. we reached the tent, but no one was within; we looked about, we could find no one. the mate was looking seaward. he pointed to the offing, where, sinking below the horizon, the white sail of a ship was seen. it was more than probable that our shipmates had gone in her, but whether with their own will or carried off by force we could not conjecture. some of the men were very angry, but the mate observed that was wrong. our shipmates, probably, could not help themselves. they might have supposed we should not return, and, if they had gone with their own will, might have been unable to leave any message for us. the mate was a truly charitable man, for he was anxious to put the best construction on the conduct of our shipmates. there, however, we were left, with a diminished party, with the possibility that another ship might not approach the coast for many months to come. the summer was drawing to a close. it had been somewhat damp and cold, and we expected that the winter would be proportionally severe. "`we may get off, but we may possibly have to stay; and if we are wise, lads, we shall prepare for the worst,' said the mate; and telling the men what would be wanted, forthwith began the work he advised. "we were to build a couple of huts, to cut and dry turf for fuel, and to kill some cattle and prepare the flesh; to hunt for vegetables or herbs, which might keep off scurvy, and to do various other things. "`example is better than precept, tom, as you will find,' observed the mate to me. `i never tell men to do what i am not ready to do myself. that's the reason they obey me so willingly.' "i've ever since remembered the mate's words, and told them to mr morgan; and i am sure he never orders men to do what he is not ready to try and do himself if necessary. it was fortunate for all that the mate's advice was followed. some comfortable huts were got up, and a store of provisions and fuel collected before the winter began. it set in with unusual seventy, and i believe that we should all have perished from cold, and damp, and snow, had we not been prepared, though i do not remember that the frost was hard at any time. "some of the men abused their companions for going away without them. "`let be,' said the mate; `all's for the best. we don't know where they are now, but we do know that we are not badly off, with a house, clothing, food, and firing. these islands are not so much out of the way, but what we are certain to get off some day or other, and in the meantime we have no cause to complain. let us rather be thankful, and rejoice that we are so well off.' "i remembered those words of the mate afterwards. it is now my belief that the mate was a god-fearing man, but religion had been so unpopular among those with whom he had sailed, that he was afraid of declaring his opinions, and just went and hid his light under a bushel. what a world of good he might have done us all if he had spoken out manfully! as it was, all that precious time was lost. the mate did speak to me occasionally, but timidly, and i did not understand him. how should i? it was not till long afterwards, as mr morgan knows, that i became acquainted with christianity. before that i was as a heathen; i knew nothing of christ, nothing of god. the winter passed away, the spring returned, and the summer drew on, and not a sail had been seen. all hands became anxious to get off, and from early dawn till nightfall the flag was kept flying, and one or more of the party were on the lookout from flagstaff hill. at length a sail hove in sight. nearer and nearer she came. `would our flag be seen?' was now the question. the wind was off the shore, she tacked, she was beating up towards us. from her white canvas and the length of her yards she was pronounced to be a man-of-war corvette, and her ensign showed us that she was english. some of the men declared that they would rather live the rest of their days on the island than go on board a man-of-war; but the mate told them that they were very foolish, and that if they did their duty they would be better treated than on board most merchantmen. i shared their fears, for i had heard all sorts of stones about the treatment of men on board men-of-war, which i have since found to be absurdly false. the end was that we all stood ready to receive the boat when she reached the beach. a lieutenant with a midshipman came in her. they were very much surprised to hear that we had been a whole year on shore, observing that we must have saved a good supply of provisions from the wreck. when the mate told them of the wild cattle, and that we could catch some, they begged us to do so, saying that the purser would purchase the meat from us for the ship's company. they accordingly returned on board, but soon came back with the butcher, and by the next day we had six or eight fine animals ready for them. the officer kindly gave us permission to carry off any of our property which could be stowed away on board. from the considerate treatment the men received, they all volunteered into the service, and i was rated as a ship's boy, and from that day to this have belonged to the royal navy of england. the mate was promised promotion if he would join. "`at all events i do not wish to eat the bread of idleness,' was his answer. `i'll do duty in any station to which i am appointed.' "the corvette was bound round the horn, so back again into the pacific i went. we touched at many places in chili and peru, and then stood to the west to visit some of the many islands in those seas. i had been about a year on board when one day an object was seen from the mast-head, which was made out to be a boat. "there was one man sitting up in her, but three others lay dead under the thwarts. the man was brought on board more dead than alive, and had it not been for the watchful care of our surgeon he could not have long survived. at first he was nothing but skin and bone, with sunken eyes and hollow cheeks, but when he got some flesh on him i recognised him as one of my shipmates who had deserted us on the falkland islands. he had not, it seemed, discovered any of us, and of course in two years i was so grown that he did not know me. so one day, sitting by him, i asked him how it was he came into the plight in which we found him. he told me many circumstances of which i was cognisant, and how the ship was wrecked on the falklands, and how part of the people had gone off into the interior, and deserted those who wisely remained on the sea-shore. `never mind, they must have got their deserts, and perished,' he added; and then he told me a ship appearing the day after we left, they had all gone on board. they soon found that the crew had been guilty of some foul deed; the captain and mate had been killed, with some others, and the rest had determined to turn pirates. my shipmate was asked if he would do so. they swore if he did not that he must die. to save his life, he with the rest consented to join them. i will not repeat the account he gave of all the crimes which he and his companions had committed. he said that he had protested against them, and excused himself. from bad they went on to worse, and frequently quarrelling, murdered each other. the end was that this ship was cast away on a reef, one boat only escaping, and of the people in her, after she had been nearly a month drifting over the ocean, he alone survived. we who had been left alone on the falklands had reason to be thankful that we had not gone off in the pirate ship. had we done so, who among us could have said that we should have escaped the terrible fate which overtook our shipmates? from the time i learned the lord's prayer, there is no part i have repeated more earnestly than `lead us not into temptation.' my poor shipmate never completely recovered from the hardships to which he had been exposed; his mind, too, was always haunted with the dreadful scenes he had witnessed, and he often told me that he never could show his face in england, lest he should be recognised by those he had wronged. he died the day before we made the coast of england. the ship was paid off, but i found the naval service so much to my taste, and there was so little on shore to attract me, that i the next day joined another fitting out for the indian station. after this, i visited in one ship or another most parts of the world. but i think, doctor morgan, you and your lady and the young gentlefolks will be getting tired, so i'll put off an account of my adventures till another evening. one thing i must say now, though. i looked upon it as a blessed day on which i joined the `rover,' where i met mister morgan, and yet there was a day which i have reason to call still more blessed, when we were off the coast of africa." "well, well, tom. don't talk of that now," said frank. "i just did what every christian man should do. i put the truth before you, and you believed it. i did not put myself to any inconvenience even to serve tom, while he risked his life to save mine. that was after the `rover' had come home and been paid off, and we belonged to the `kestrel,' and were sent out to the pacific. i had an idea before we went there that we were to find at all times calm seas and sunshine. i soon discovered my mistake. we were caught in a terrific gale when in the neighbourhood of coral islands and reefs. i had gone aloft to shorten sail, when the ship gave an unexpected lurch, and i was sent clean overboard. i felt that i must be lost, for the ship was driving away from me, and darkness was not far off, when i saw that some one had thrown a grating into the sea, and immediately afterwards a man leaped in after it. he was swimming towards me. there seemed a prospect of my being saved. still, how the man who had thus nobly risked his life for my sake, and i could ever regain the ship, i could not tell. i struck out with all my strength to support myself, and prayed heartily. i soon recognised tom holman's voice, cheering me up. he clutched me by the collar, and aided by him i gained the grating. two or three spars had been thrown in after it, and, getting hold of them we formed a raft which supported us both. by the time we were seated on it the ship was far away, and it seemed impossible that in the dangerous neighbourhood in which i knew that we were, the captain would venture to return on the mere chance of finding us, should we indeed be alive. our prospect outwardly was gloomy indeed, though we kept up hope. i was sorry when i thought that we should be lost; that tom had, as i fancied, thrown away his life for my sake. however, we will not talk of that now. we were drifting, that was certain, and might drift on shore, or we might be driven against a reef, when we must be lost. it was now night, though there was light enough to distinguish the dark white-crested seas rising up around us, and the inky sky overhead. still we knew that there was the eye of love looking down on us through that inky sky, and that though the rest of the world was shut out from us, we were not shut out from him, without whose knowledge not a sparrow falls to the ground. i say this to you, dear father and mother, because i wish to show my brothers and sisters the effect of your teaching. i wished to live, but i was prepared to die. the water was warm, and as we had had supper just before i fell overboard we were not hungry, so that our physical sufferings were as yet not great. hour after hour passed by; the raft drove on before the wind and sea. we supposed that it must be near dawn, for it seemed as if we had been two whole nights on the raft, when we both heard the sound of breakers. our fate would soon thus be decided. as far as we were able, we gazed around when we reached the summit of a sea. there were the breakers; we could see the white foam flying up like a vast waterspout against the leaden sky. we were passing it though, not driving against it. a current was sweeping us on. the dawn broke. as the light increased our eyes fell on a grove of cocoa-nut trees, rising it seemed directly out of the water. the current was driving us near them. we sat up and eagerly watched the shore; we had of ourselves no means of forcing on the raft a point towards it, or in any degree faster than we were going. had we been driven directly towards it, on the weather side, which, in our eagerness, we might have wished, we should probably have been dashed to pieces; but the current took us round to the lee side, and finally drifted us into a little bay where we safely got on shore. you already know how we lived luxuriously on cocoa-nuts and shell-fish, and about the clear fountain which rushed up out of the rock in the centre of our island, and how our ship came back after some weeks to water at that very fountain, and found us safe and well; and so i will bring my yarn to an end." "we cannot be too thankful that you were preserved, my dear boy, when we hear of the terrific dangers to which you and your brave friend were exposed," exclaimed dr morgan. "i will not now speak of our debt to him, never properly to be repaid, but i would point out to you all, my children (what struck me as frank was speaking), how like the way in which he and tom were preserved, is that in which god deals with his people who put their trust in him. we are in an ocean of troubles, with darkness around us. we dimly discern breakers rising up on one side, breakers ahead. we can do nothing to help ourselves, except pray on and trust in him. we see at length a haven of safety before us. our eagerness gets the better of our faith, but the current of his mercy drifts round and away from what is really a peril, and we are carried on into calm waters, and find shelter and rest from danger and trouble." -----------------------------------------------------------------------note 1. the author has a dear friend, a naval officer, who was, as is here described, the instrument of bringing some of his shipmates to a knowledge and acceptance of the truth; one especially, from being an infidel, became a faithful follower of christ. his bones lie sepulchred under the eternal snows of the arctic pole. how consolatory to believe, that amid the fearful sufferings that gallant band was called on to endure, he, with many others--it may be all--were supported by faith and hope to the last. we say all, for we cannot say what influence he and other christian men may have exerted over their companions during the long, long years they passed in those arctic regions ere they perished. chapter nine. several circumstances had prevented the young morgans from paying a sufficiently long visit to old moggy to enable her to give them her promised history. jenny reported that she was better in mind and body than she had ever known her, and as the time for frank and tom's departure was drawing near, the whole party resolved to go up to hear her tale. they did not fail to carry a few little luxuries which were likely to please her. they found her as usual, seated before her fire, for even in the summer she seemed to enjoy its warmth, on that bleak hill's side. what with chairs, benches, and stools, a log of wood, a pile of turf, and a boulder which charley rolled in, all found seats. anna had to exercise a little diplomacy to induce moggy to begin before so formidable an audience. the poor creature was inclined to chide tom for not having come up oftener to see her, when she discovered that he was going away. "i took a liking to your face and your manner my son, from the first minute my eyes fell on you; and it would have been a slight thing for ye to have come up and cheered the old woman's well-nigh withered heart," she observed, in a more testy tone than she was accustomed to use. "well, mother, don't blame me," answered tom. "many's the time i've come round this way, but feared to intrude, or i would have come in, and i'll not now miss the chance another time." this promise seemed to satisfy moggy, and after a little hesitation she began. "once i was blithe and gay as any of you dear young people. i had a home, and parents, and sisters. there were three of us, as pretty and as merry as any to be found in the country around. we merrily grew up into happy maidens, as merry as could be found, and the glass told us, even if others had been silent, that we were as pretty too. we sang and laughed from morn till night, and, alack, were somewhat thoughtless too; but we were not idle. our parents had a farm, and we helped our mother in the dairy, and there was plenty of work for us. it was a pleasant life. we were up with the lark and to bed in summer with the sun, and in winter we sat by the fire when the cows were housed and the milk was set in the pans, and all our out-door work was done, and knitted or spun, or plied our needles, and chatted and sung; and guests came in, and some of them came to woo; and we thought not of the morrow, and taught ourselves to believe that the pleasant life we led would never have an end. ah! we were foolish--like the foolish virgins who had no oil for their lamps, as all are foolish who think only of the present, and prepare not for the future. bad times were in store for us, such as all farmers must be ready to encounter. storms injured the crops, and disease attacked our cattle; a fire broke out in the farm buildings; and the end was that father had to throw up the farm, to sell his remaining stock, and to go forth almost penniless into the world. barely enough remained to pay our passage to america. i was about to go with the rest of my family, when one i had loved right well, an honest, steady youth, entreated me to remain. he might soon have enough to wed. he had a sick mother whom he could not leave, or he would have gone with us. if i went we might never meet again. i consented to remain, so that i could obtain service in which to support myself. a kind, good mistress engaged me. she was more than kind, she was wise; not worldly wise, but her wisdom was from above. she taught me that wisdom. by her means my eyes were opened to things about which i before knew nothing. i saw that god had dealt mercifully with me; that what i thought was a misfortune was a blessing. i was thus led out of darkness into light. i was happy, with a new happiness of which i before knew nothing. my intended husband enjoyed it likewise; we both embraced the truth--my only sorrow being that those who had gone away knew nothing of it. thomas lived at a distance, but whenever he could he came over to see me. my kind, good mistress often spoke to him, and approved of my choice. time wore on. we waited to hear of those who had crossed the sea. sad tidings came at length. my mother had died on the voyage. my father, heart-broken, and my sisters had landed and found a home, but they missed her who had been their guide and their friend; and they wanted me to go out and join them, and some cousins who lived a few miles off from where i was at service, and thomas also, if he would marry me. i told my kind mistress. "`if thomas loves you, and will take you to that foreign land, i will not say you nay,' was her reply. "she gave me leave to go and deliver the message to my cousins, charging me soon to return. my cousins were not averse to my sister's proposal, and talked with pleasure of the many kindred who would meet in that far-off settlement, for far off it seemed to them. on my return i found the front door of my mistress's house closed. i went round and gained an entrance through a window at the back. what was my horror to find her bathed in blood, fallen from the arm-chair in which she sat before the fire. i kneeled down to examine where she had been hurt, and was about to raise her up when the door was burst open; some men rushed in; i was seized. no one aided my dear mistress. a surgeon at length came. he pronounced her dead. these cruel men had allowed her to die unaided. i was accused of being her murderess. my horror, my indignation, at the way she had been treated, my grief, my agitation, impressed them with the conviction that i was guilty of the foul crime which had been committed; for murdered she had been, of that there was no doubt. branded as a murderess i was borne off to prison. many thought me guilty. it was cruelly said that i was found red-handed by the side of my victim. but even in prison i sought support, and obtained it whence alone it was to be afforded. as king david, i could say, `i have washed my hands in innocency. i cried unto the lord and he heard me.' oh, my young friends, keep innocency. do what is right in the sight of the lord, and never need you fear what man can do unto you. there was one, however, on earth who knew me to be innocent--my thomas. he obtained leave to visit me in prison, obtained the best legal aid by the sacrifice of his savings, and the evidence against me broke completely down. i was acquitted. i scarcely knew how, or what occurred. i entreated thomas to let me become his wife, that i might repay him by devoting my life to his service. we married; we were happy; and by watchful care i was enabled to make his wages go farther than before his marriage. more than a year had passed away; we had a child born, a son. we believed that he would prove a blessing to us. some few more years had fled by. again and again my sisters urged that we would go out to join them. at length they were both about to marry, and our father would be left alone. thomas agreed to go. i thought with delight of showing my young son to my father, of assisting and supporting him in his old age, and more than all, of imparting to him those blessed truths which i myself had found such a comfort to my soul. we sailed in as fine a ship as ever put to sea, with many others about to seek their fortunes in the new world; but scarcely had we left the shores of england a hundred leagues astern than we encountered a fearful gale, which washed away the bulwarks and some of our boats, strained the hull, and shattered our masts and spars. it was but the beginning of disasters. but, dear young people, i cannot dwell on that most grievous period of my existence. the storm had injured our provisions. after the storm came a calm, more dreadful than the storm; our water began to run short. did any of you ever feel the pangs of thirst? day after day our shattered bark lay rolling on the burning ocean. there was the constant gush of water to tantalise us, for by undiscovered leaks the sea had found an entrance, and in every watch the pumps were kept at work. we were thankful when a breeze came, and once more the ship moved across the ocean; but the breeze increased into a gale more fearful than the first. on, on we drove; the leaks again increased. day and night the men were kept toiling at the pumps; my husband worked like the rest. in vain, in vain; they could work no longer; the water was gaining on us; the raging seas were washing over our decks. the strength of the men was exhausted. some of the women offered to try and work the pumps. the night was coming on. i resolved to labour, that i might aid to save my husband's life, our boy's, my own. "my boy had clung to me. i gave him, so i thought, to his father, to watch over, while i laboured like the rest. would you hear what occurred? my heart has grown into stone, or i could not bear to tell it. the raging seas broke more and more frequently over the ship. the dreadful cry arose, `the ship is sinking, the ship is sinking!' i flew towards my husband--my child was not with him. he had not received him from me. frantically i rushed along the deck; it was with no hope of safety, but to die with my boy in my arms. once more i was approaching my husband; a flash of lightning revealed him to me at the moment that a vast sea came sweeping down on the ship. it seized him in its cruel embrace, and bore him far, far away, with many other helpless, shrieking beings. thankfully would i have followed, but i sought my boy. in vain, in vain! i felt myself seized by a strong arm, and lifted into a boat. i lost all consciousness for the next instant, it seemed. i found the boat floating alone amid the tumultuous waves. my husband and my boy were gone. they said there were other boats, and that some might have been saved in them. i know not if any were saved. neither my husband nor our child did i ever again see; the cold, cruel waves had claimed them. for many days we lay tossed about on the foaming waters. we were more dead than alive when a sail appeared in sight. how i lived i know not; it was, i believe, because all my feelings were dead. i felt nothing, thought of nothing; i was in a dream, a cold, heavy weight lay on my heart and brain. i knew not what was going on; the past was a blank, the future was darkness. we were lifted on board--carefully tended. the ship was bound, with settlers, to the same port to which i was going. those who had been saved with me told my story. some of the passengers were going to the far-off west, to the very spot where my father and sisters had settled. their hearts were touched with compassion by my misfortunes, and they bore me with them. truly they were followers of the good samaritan. day after day we journeyed on towards the setting sun. at length we reached my father's house; he and my sisters scarcely knew me, so great was the havoc grief had wrought. kind and gentle treatment by degrees thawed my long frozen faculties, and i began to take an interest in the affairs of the farm. in that region the native tribes, the red men of the prairie, were fierce and warlike, and often were engaged in deadly contests with the whites. years--many years, passed by, during which our people enjoyed peace. a storm, however, was brewing, to burst with fury on our heads. it came; in the dead of night the dreadful war-whoop of the red men was heard. on every side arose those horrid cries. our village was surrounded; young and old, men and maidens, were ruthlessly murdered. my old father and sisters were among the first slain. some few bravely made a stand. they fought their way out through the savages. i felt my arm seized by some friendly hand, and was borne on amid them. armed friends came to our assistance, and the savages were driven back through the smoking ruins of our home. all, all were gone; relatives, friends, and property. those who had accompanied me to the country, all, all were gone. i was among strangers; they pitied me, but pity cannot last long in the human breast. there is only one whose tender pity never wanes; and it is only that human pity which arises from love of him which can stand all tests, and can endure for ever. i was left alone, alone in that far-off land. my reason gave way. an idea had seized me--it was to visit that mighty ocean beneath which slept my husband and my child. i wandered on. i know not how i found my way, often through vast solitudes where foot of man but rarely trod, till i reached the more settled states. food and shelter were rarely denied to the poor mad woman, though of the roughest sort. at length i reached the eastern cities; scant was the charity i found within them, i gained the sea-coast; i gazed upon the ocean, with its majestic billows rolling up from the far-off east. they seemed to me like mighty monuments raised to the memory of those who slept beneath. for many years i had lived on that wild sea waste, when i was seized and carried to a prison. i demanded to know my crime. i heard myself branded as a pauper lunatic, and was placed on board a ship to be returned to my native land. sad, sad was my heart. i had many companions in my misery--helpless beings whom the strong new world would not receive. we were placed on shore to starve, or live as best we could. i wandered on towards the spot where long, long years before, i had lived a happy maiden. no one knew me; i was branded as a witch, and fled away. should i go to the relatives of my husband? thomas had spoken of them as kind and charitable. i reached the village; every one looked at me with suspicion as a vagrant. well they might, for a vagrant i was, poor, wretched, and despised. i had been there in my happy days with thomas; but the place itself looked strange. i inquired for his father, farmer holman. `dead many a year ago; all the rest gone away; never held up his head since his son went off with that jade who murdered her mistress.' such was the answer i received. the words fell like molten lead upon my brain. i fled away. i wandered on, not knowing whither i was going, till i reached these sheltering walls on the mountain-side." tom had been greatly agitated on hearing the name of holman. frank and anna had exchanged surprised glances with each other. "dame, do you remember the name of jack johnson on board the ship which foundered with so many on board?" asked tom. "ay, that i do. he was one who took a great fancy to my precious boy," answered moggy, gazing earnestly at tom. "it is strange, mother, but such was the name of a kind seaman who for many years acted as a second father to me; and still stranger, that he always called me tom holman," exclaimed tom, as he sat himself down on the stool at her feet, and drawing a tin case from his pocket, took from it a variety of small articles, which he placed in her lap. she gazed at them with a fixed, earnest look for some moments, and then, stretching out her arms, she exclaimed, "come to me, my son, my boy-long lost, now found! i cried unto the lord, and he heard me out of my deep distress. you bear your father's name, you have your father's looks. wonderful are the ways of the lord. the lord giveth and the lord taketh away. the lord hath restored me tenfold into my bosom. blessed be the name of the lord!" tom threw his arms round the old woman, and sobbed like a child. "mother, mother, i have found you, i have found you!" he cried out, as he kissed her withered cheek. what mattered it to him that she was aged and infirm, poor and despised? she was his mother, of whom he had dreamed in his youth whom he had always longed to find. he would now devote himself to cherish and support her, and cheer her few remaining days on earth. "my dear children," said dr morgan, who had entered soon after moggy had begun her history, "let us learn, from what we have heard, never to cease to put our whole trust and confidence in god. whatever happens, let us go on praying to god and trusting in god, for let us be assured that he always careth for us." the end. http://www.freeliterature.org the white man's foot. by grant allen, author of "babylon," "in all shades," etc., etc. _with seventeen illustrations by j. finnemore._ london: hatchards, piccadilly, w. 1888. richard clay and sons, limited, london and bungay. [illustration: 'bowing down towards the mouth of the crater, they seemed to salute the goddess of the volcano.'] dedication. to jerrard grant allen, _the only begetter of these ensuing adventures._ my dear grantie, from the following pages, written with a single eye to your own personal tastes and predilections, you may, i trust, learn three great moral lessons. first, never to approach too near the edge of an active volcano. second, never to continue your intimacy with a man who deliberately and wickedly declines to pull you out of a burning crater. and third, never to intrust the care of youth to a cannibal heathen south sea islander. with the trifling exception of these three now enumerated, i am not aware that you can extract any great moral lesson whatsoever from the hairbreadth escapes of kea and her associates. having thus almost entirely satisfied your expressed wishes in this matter--for "a story without a moral"--i subscribe myself, with pride, your obedient servant and very loving father, g.a. list of illustrations. "bowing down towards the mouth of the crater, they seemed to salute the goddess of the volcano" _frontispiece._ "it's more than dangerous. it's almost certainly fatal" "all at once a great body of gas was ejected into the air, in a blaze of light" "'young man,' he cried, '...i warn you not to trifle with the burning mountain'" "i rolled down rapidly to the very bottom" "i lay there horror-stricken, and gazed idly down" "i clutched the crumbling peak with my hooked fingers" "she carried me slowly up the zig-zag path" "'if you knew all,' she answered, 'how you would pity me!'" "'everything is correct,' he whispered" "she looked up in an agony of suspense" "kea tried on all her things" "a strange procession began slowly to descend" "the bamboo bent ominously down" "we rode at full speed in breathless haste" the white man's foot. chapter i my brother frank is a most practical boy. i may be prejudiced, but it seems to me somehow there's nothing like close personal contact with active volcanoes to teach a young fellow prudence, coolness, and adaptability to circumstances. "tom," said he to me, as we stood and watched the queer party on deck, devouring taro-paste as a neapolitan swallows down long strings of macaroni: "don't you think, if we've got to live so long in a native hut, and feed on this port of thing, we may as well use ourselves to their manners and customs, whatever they may be, at the pearliest convenient opportunity?" "haven't you heard, my dear boy," said i, "what the naval officer wrote when he was asked to report to the admiralty on that very subject of the manners and customs of the south sea islanders? 'manners they have none,' he replied with spartan brevity, 'and their customs are beastly.'" "not a bit of it," frank answered quickly in his jolly way. "for my part i think this sticky, pasty stuff they're eating with their fingers, though it's a bit stodgy, looks like real jam, and i'd much rather take my lunch off things like that up here on deck, out of a native calabash, than go down and eat a civilized meal with a knife and fork in that hoky-poky, stuffy little cabin there." i confess, for myself, i didn't exactly like the look of it. cosmopolitan as i am, i object to fingers as a substitute for spoons. we were on board the royal hawaiian mail steamer _liké liké_, 500 tons registered burden, from honolulu for hilo, in the island of hawaii; and a quainter group than the natives on deck i'm bound to admit, in all my wanderings, by sea or by land, i had never set eyes on. the tiny steamer was built in fact on purpose to accommodate all tastes alike, be the same savage or civilized. down stairs was a saloon where regular meals in the european fashion were well served by a dusky polynesian steward in a white linen jacket, to such luxurious persons as preferred to take them in that orthodox manner. but the unsophisticated natives, in their picturesque dress, believing firmly in the truth of the proverb that fingers were made before forks, liked better to carry their own simple provisions in their baskets with them. they picnicked on deck in merry little circles, laughing and talking at the top of their voices (when they weren't sea-sick) as they squatted on their mats of woven grass round the family taro-bowl. from this common dish, parents and children, young men and maidens, fed all alike, each dipping his forefinger dexterously into the sticky mess, and then twisting it round, as one might twist a lot of half-boiled toffee, till they landed it safely with a sudden twirl in their appreciative mouths. "it must be awfully good," frank went on meditatively, eyeing the doubtful mixture with a hungry look. "they seem to enjoy it so, or else of course they wouldn't lick their fingers! i wish we could strike up a friendship now with some of these amiable light-coloured natives, and get them to share their lunch with us off-hand. i wonder what they call this precious stuff of theirs?" "we call it taro," one of the nearest group answered, greatly to our surprise, in perfectly good and clear english. "would you like to taste some? it's very nice. we shall be delighted if you'll try it. hawaiians are always proud indeed to show any hospitality in their power to friendly strangers." she was a pretty young girl of eighteen who spoke, lighter a good deal in complexion than most of the other natives around, and she was seated with a tall, dark, serious-looking old hawaiian at a calabashful of the strange pasty mixture the appearance of which had so attracted frank's favourable attention. as she spoke, she moved a little aside to make room for us on her mat, as if they were all playing hunt-the-slipper; and frank, whose fault, i'm bound to admit, was never shyness, squatted down at once, nothing loth, tailor-fashion, on the deck by her side, and with many thanks accepted the courteous offer of a dip in the taro-bowl. "upon my word, tom," he said, twirling a great dab of the queer-looking paste awkwardly into his mouth, "it's first-rate grub when you come to taste it. a little sour to be sure, but as good as pancakes. if you're going to feed us like this on the islands, sir," he added, turning to the stern old man, "i don't think we'll be in any hurry to run away again." "bring out some more food, kea," the dark old hawaiian half whispered to the girl politely, in english not quite so good as her own, but still very fluent, "and ask the gentleman," with a slight bow towards me, "if he won't be good enough to join us in our simple luncheon." "i shall be only too glad," i answered, immensely surprised, and with some qualms of conscience about my unfortunate remark as to the manners and customs, which i never expected any native on board to understand. "it will be much more pleasant, i'm sure, to take my meals up here on deck than to go down to that hot and stuffy little saloon below." as i seated myself, the girl kea took up from her side a pretty basket of plaited palm-leaves, and produced from it a few pieces of dried fish, some cold roast pork, a stick or two of sugar-cane, several fresh oranges just picked from the tree, and a tempting display of bananas and bread-fruits. frank and i were old enough sailors and old enough travellers to fare sumptuously off such excellent food stuffs; indeed we had just arrived in the islands from san francisco by the last mail steamer, and fresh fruit was a great luxury to us; while after so long a voyage on the open pacific we thought nothing of this pleasant little summer cruise between the beautiful members of that volcanic archipelago. a meal together is a capital introduction. in the course of ten minutes we were all four of us on excellent terms with one another. kea had introduced to us the dark old man as her uncle kalaua, a hawaiian chief of the old stock of some distinction, whose house was remarkable for being situated higher up the slopes of the great volcano, mauna loa, than any other on the entire island. she herself, she let us know by casual side-glimpses, was a half-caste by birth, though she hardly looked as dark as many europeans; her mother had been kalaua's only sister, and her father the captain of an english whaling-ship; but both were dead, she added with a sigh, and she lived now with her grim old uncle near the very summit of the great burning mountain. she told us a vast deal about herself, in fact, by way of introduction, with the usual frankness of the simple, unsophisticated children of nature, and she asked us a lot of questions in return, being anxious to learn, as we were neither missionaries, nor whalers, nor sugar-planters, nor merchants, what on earth our business could be in hawaii. "well," said i, with a smile of amusement, "you'll think it a very funny one indeed when i tell you what it is. we've come to make observations on mauna loa." "to make observations!" kea answered with a faint thrill of solemn awe in her hushed voice. "oh, don't say that. it's--it's so very dangerous." and she glanced aside timidly at her uncle. kalaua looked up at us quickly with a suspicious glance. "observations on mauna loa?" he cried in a very stern tone. "on our great volcano? scientific observations? the man is ill advised in truth who tries to go poking and prying too much about mauna loa!" "oh, you needn't be afraid," frank answered laughing; "need they, tom? it's not by any means our first experience of eruptions. my brother's an awful dab at volcanoes, you know. he's seen dozens; and he's been sent out to examine this one in particular by the british association for the advancement of science. i'm his assistant-examiner, without salary. sounds awfully grand that, doesn't it? but we mean to have a jolly lark in hawaii for all that. expenses paid, and all found; and nothing to do but to go down the crater and look about us. we expect to have a splendid time. there's nothing i love like a really good volcano." but in spite of frank's enthusiastic way of looking at the matter i could see at a glance that the mention of our object in visiting hawaii had cast a shade of gloom at once over both kea and her uncle. the old man seemed to grow moody and sullen; kea was rather grieved and saddened. the rest of our meal passed off less pleasantly. it was not till we began to chew green sugar-cane together by way of dessert, that kea's spirits at all returned. she laughed and talked then once more with native good-humour, showing us how to strip and peel the fresh cane, and making fun of us merrily because in our english awkwardness we got pieces of the fibre wedged hopelessly in between our front teeth. yet even so i couldn't help suspecting that something was weighing upon her mind a little. evidently they were either hurt or distressed that we should think of scientifically observing mauna loa. i wondered much whether they held the mountain too sacred a thing for inquisitive science to poke its nose into, or whether they only considered it too dangerous a crater for the bold explorer to meddle with carelessly. if it was merely the last, i didn't much mind. frank and i were thoroughly at home with nasty-tempered volcanoes, and knew their tricks and their manners down to the ground far too well to be in the least afraid of them. i had been engaged in studying their manifestations indeed for the last six years; and frank, who was born to face danger, had joined me in all my expeditions and explorations ever since he'd been big enough to carry a knapsack. in the course of the afternoon however i happened to be standing with pretty little kea near the bow of the steamer, while her uncle was slowly pacing the quarterdeck, immersed in conversation with a hawaiian acquaintance. she was a graceful young girl, with a wreath of yellow flowers twined, pacific fashion, round her broad straw hat, and another garland of crimson hibiscus thrown lightly like a scarf like one well-shaped shoulder. she glanced timidly round to see if kalaua was well out of earshot; then, seeing herself safe, she said to me in a low, half-whispered voice, "if i were you, mr. hesselgrave, i'd give up the idea of exploring mauna loa." "give it up!" i cried. "why, really, you know, that would be quite impossible! i've come all the way from england on purpose to visit it. is the mountain so very dangerous then?" [illustration: "it's more than dangerous, it's almost certainly fatal."] kea's voice dropped a tone lower still. "it's more than dangerous," she said very nervously. "it's almost certainly fatal." "how so?" i asked. i was not easily frightened. she hesitated a moment. then she answered with a pained and half-terrified air, "nobody in hawaii will give you any assistance." "why not?" i inquired. "are they all so dreadfully afraid of the volcano?" "not of the volcano," kea replied with evident awe in her tone, "but of pélé, of pélé.----i suppose you've never even heard about pélé, though!" "never!" i repeated, laughing unconcernedly. "enlighten my darkness. who is he, or what is it?" "it's neither _he_ nor _it_," the hawaiian girl answered in a hushed voice. "it's _she_, if it's anybody. pélé's the goddess who lives, as our people used once to believe, in a fiery cave at the bottom of mauna loa!" "nonsense!" i replied, amused at the girl's apparent superstition. "i thought you were all converted here long ago. you don't mean to say your people go on believing still in such childish nonsense as gods and goddesses?" kea's voice sank lower than ever, and she glanced around her with a frightened little gaze. "we don't _worship_ them, you know," she answered apologetically, under her breath almost; "but we can't help believing there's somebody there, of course, some super-natural being, when we hear pélé groaning and moaning and sobbing in the dead of night, or see her casting up huge red-hot stones and showers of lava, whenever she's angry." she paused a moment: then she added mysteriously in a solemn undertone. "there must be something in it. my father knew that. he was one of the bravest and most skilful whalers in the whole pacific, and he always said there was something in it." i hadn't the heart to answer her back. i didn't consider the captain of a whaling ship a conclusive authority on such a point of science; but i couldn't bear to interfere with the poor girl's touching belief in her dead father's supreme wisdom; so i abstained humanely from adverse criticism. "and your uncle?" i asked after a brief interval. kea seemed almost terrified at the question. "my uncle," she said, in a shuffling way, "knows one thing well--that, according to the firm tradition of our ancestors, if the white man's foot ever treads the inner floor of pélé's home, the white man himself must foil a victim that day to the anger of the goddess. it may be true, or it may be false: but at any rate, that was what our fathers told us." i laughed again. she was so absurdly and profoundly in earnest about it all. "in that case." i said with a little bow, "i may as well make my will at once, and leave my property to my nearest relations, for it's all up with me. i mean to explore the crater myself, and, i need hardly tell you, frank will accompany me. we'll call in some morning at the front door, and drop a card on this terrible pélé. i hope the lady will have the politeness to be at home to receive visitors." the girl shuddered. "hush," she cried, with a terrified face. "don't talk like that. don't talk any more about the matter at all. you don't know what you're saying. my uncle is coming. i wouldn't for worlds he should overhear us. we don't believe in pélé any longer, of course. but i hope for all that you'll never try to explore the crater." at that very moment the old chief kalaua, who had long been deeply immersed in talk with his friend at the stern, apparently discussing some serious subject, strolled up and joined us. he bowed once more as he approached, with the strange old savage hawaiian politeness; for in courtesy of manner these pacific islanders could give points to most educated englishmen. "i was thinking," he said, withdrawing his cigar and addressing me, "that if you and your brother really want to make explorations in mauna loa you couldn't do better than come up and stop at my house on the top of the mountain. it's nearest the summit of any in the island, and it would be a convenient place for you always to start from on your exploring expeditions. you'd save the long ride up the slopes. may i venture to offer you the hospitality of a humble hawaiian roof? it's a nice warm house, european built--it was put up by my english brother-in-law, kea's father; and i think we could manage to make you as comfortable as anybody in hawaii. is it agreed? what say you?" "you would allow me to pay for our board and lodging, of course?" i answered interrogatively. "otherwise i mustn't trespass so far as that on your kind indulgence." the old native drew himself up at once with offended dignity. "i'm a chief," he replied with quiet emphasis. "the blood of the great kamehameha the first flows in my veins. when i ask you to my house, i ask you as my guest. don't offend me, i beg of you, by offering me money!" i felt i had really hurt the old chief's pride and wounded his feelings, so i hastened to apologize with the best expressions i could summon up, and to protest that i hadn't the remotest intention of slighting in any way his generous offer. "in england," i continued, "we are not accustomed to be received by perfect strangers in such a princely style of open-handed hospitality." kalaua bowed. "it is well," he answered with stately dignity. "come to my house, and you shall have all that my house affords freely. may we expect you to stop with us then? it will give myself and my niece the greatest pleasure in life, i assure you, to receive you." kea from behind framed her lips, to my surprise, into an emphatic "no." i saw it and smiled. she uttered no sound, but the old man seemed instinctively to recognize the fact that she was making signs to me. he turned round, half-angrily, though with perfect composure, and said something to her in hawaiian, which i did not then fully understand, though i had been studying the language hard, with dictionary and grammar, all the way out on my voyage from england. kea looked frightened and held her tongue at once. the old chief glanced back at me for a decisive answer. in spite of kea's warning i thought the opportunity too good to be missed. "i shall be delighted," i answered with my warmest manner. "i'm sure it's most kind of you. how can i thank you enough? i had no idea you hawaiians were so generously hospitable." when i told frank of it that young rascal remarked with a solemn grin, "of course they're hospitable! why, didn't they take in captain cook, and roast him and eat him, they were so very fond of him? i expect that's what this sober old fellow of yours means to do with us. he'll give a dinner-party in our honour when we get there, no doubt, and you and i will be the joints for the occasion. that's the pacific way of welcoming a stranger." chapter ii. "when we reached hilo, i went ashore in a boat through the dangerous surf, and before arranging to go up the mountain with my host and his niece, i called first on an english merchant in the little palm-girt town, to whom we had letters of introduction from friends in liverpool. "going to stop with kalaua, eh?" the merchant said, as soon as we had named our particular business. "a very good house, too! you couldn't do better. quite close to the very mouth of the crater, and right in the track of the great red-hot lava streams. you'll see pélé kicking up a shindy there simply to perfection. her majesty's been getting precious uneasy of late--rumbling and growling i shouldn't be surprised if you're just in the nick of time for a first-rate eruption." "and what sort of person is my host?" i asked curiously. "he seems a very stern, old-fashioned cannibal." our new acquaintance laughed. "you may well say that," he answered smiling. "in the good old days--or the bad old days, whichever of the two you prefer to call them--you pays your money and you takes your choice--kalaua, they say, was the hereditary priest of that grim goddess, pélé. his house was built on the highest habitable point of the mountain where pélé dwells, that he might be close at hand to appease the angry spirit of the great crater whenever she began to pour down lava over the banana-grounds and cocoanut plantations at the foot of the volcano. many a fat pig, and many a basketful of prime taro that hard-looking old man has offered up in his time to pélé--ay, and i dare say many a human victim, too, if we only knew it. but all that's over long ago, thank goodness. he's a christian now, of course, like all the rest of them; a very respectable old fellow in his way, with a keen eye of his own to business, and a thorough comprehension of the state of the sugar market. he keeps a good house. you've fallen on your feet, i can tell you, for hawaii, if you've got an invitation to stop for an indefinite time as a guest at kalaua's." i was glad to hear we had happened by chance upon such comfortable quarters. we slept that night at a little hawaiian inn at hilo, where we dined most sumptuously off roast pig and baked plantains; and at six next morning, kalaua himself wakened us up to start on our long ride up the great lone mountain. when we sallied forth, four sure-footed ponies stood saddled at the door, and kalaua, kea, frank, and myself, mounting our careering steeds (only they didn't career), began our ascent to the cloud-capped summit. mauna loa, that bald cone, is almost as high as any peak in the alps, rising some 14,000 feet above sea level; but the ascent over the lava plains is gentle and gradual, and the top, in this warm and delicious climate, still remains far below the level of perpetual snow. nevertheless it is a long and tedious ride, some thirty miles, from hilo to the top; and our sure-footed little ponies clambered slowly on, planting their hoofs with the utmost deliberation on the treacherous surface of the rugged and honey-combed masses of lava. frank and i were both quite tired out with their camel-like pace when we reached the summit. kea and kalaua, more accustomed to the ascent, were as fresh as daisies, and kea, in particular, laughed and talked incessantly, though i fancied, she was ill at ease somehow, in spite of all her apparent merriment. at last, after crossing a wide expanse of broken blocks of black basalt, as big as the largest squares of freestone used in architecture, and then sliding and gliding over a hideous expanse of slippery, smooth lava, like ice for glassiness, we pulled up, wearied, at a house built close on the very summit, european or rather american, in its style and arrangements, but comfortable and even wealthy-looking in all its appointments. it was composed of solid volcanic stone, cut into large square masses, and round it ran a pleasant wooden verandah, with rocking-chairs temptingly displayed in a row under its broad canopy. an oleander blossomed profusely by the side, and tropical creepers of wonderful beauty festooned the posts and balconies with their hanging verdure and their trumpet-shaped flower-bells. "come in," kea cried, leaping down with ease from her mountain pony, which a native boy seized at once and took away to the stables. "come in, and make yourselves at home in our house. dinner will be ready in twenty minutes." "i should hope so," frank answered, with his free-and-easy manner; "for i'm free to confess i want my grub awfully after such a long ride. and then i shall go out and inspect this precious volcano we hear so much about." kalaua's brow darkened somewhat, as if he didn't like to hear mauna loa so cavalierly described, and he murmured a few words in hawaiian to kea, in which i could only catch the name of pélé, repeated very earnestly several times over. the house was large, roomy, and well furnished, with bamboo chairs and neat native bedsteads; and the dinner, to which frank at least did full justice, seemed to promise well for our future treatment under the old chief's hospitable roof. kalaua himself grew somewhat less grim, too, as the meal progressed. nothing thaws the soul like dinner. he warmed by degrees, and told us several amusing stories of the old heathen days, delighting frank's heart by narrating, in glowing language, how, in his youth, he had charged, a naked warrior at the head of his naked troops, when kamehameha the second attacked the island. frank was charmed to find himself so nearly face to face with aboriginal savagery. "and what did you do with the prisoners?" he asked inauspiciously. the old man smiled a grimly terrible smile. "the less said about the prisoners the better," he answered at last, with some faint show of conventional reluctance. "remember, we were heathens then, and knew no better. the english have come since and taught us our duty. we no longer fight; we are civilized now; we buy horses, and cultivate yam and bread-fruit and sugar-cane." and he helped himself as he spoke to another piece of fresh ginger. i don't think frank quite saw what he meant; but i confess a shudder passed through my own frame as i realized exactly what the old chief was driving at. it was strange to stand so very close to the lowest barbarism known to humanity. they had eaten the prisoners. after dinner we strolled out, in the beautiful, clear, tropical evening, to the edge of the crater. accustomed as i was to volcanoes everywhere, i never beheld a more grand or beautiful sight than that first glimpse of mauna loa in all its glory. we looked over the edge of the great ring of basalt, and saw below us, down three successive ledges of rock, seething and tossing, a vast and liquid sea of fire. here and there the lava boiled and bubbled into huge, inflated, balloon-like crests; here and there it rose into monstrous black stacks and irregular chimneys, from whose fiery mouths belched forth great columns of red flame, interspersed with dark wreaths of smoke and sulphur. it was the wildest, noblest, and most awful volcano i had ever yet visited--and my acquaintance with the family was by no means superficial. frank stood aghast with awe and wonder for a moment by my side. "why, vesuvius is nothing to it!" he cried, astonished, "and etna's just nowhere in the matter of craters! i say, tom, how i should love to see it in a good tip-top blazing eruption!" as he spoke kea, who had come out with us, clad from head to foot in her simple, long hawaiian robe, gazed steadily over the brink, and looked down with a familiar glance into the gigantic crater. for a minute or two she kept her eyes fixed on a certain jagged peak or furnace of lava, round whose base the sea of liquid fire was surging and falling, like water in a saucepan on a kitchen stove. at last she broke out into sudden surprise, "why, it's rising!" she cried breathlessly. "it's rising! it's rising!" "how jolly!" frank called out from a few yards down, where he had clambered to get a better view of the inner crater. "i hope that fellow in the town was right after all, and that we're going to come in at the very right point for a regular good eruptive outburst!" kea's face grew pale with terror. "you are," she answered, "i can see it rise. the bubbles are bursting; the steam's crackling. it always does so before it begins to flow out upon the slopes of the mountain." she was quite right. it was clearly rising. i was overjoyed. nothing could have happened more neatly or opportunely for the interests of science. our arrival at mauna loa seemed to prove, as it were, the signal for the mountain to burst out at once into full activity. we were in luck's way. we had come on the very eve of an eruption. kea ran down to fetch her uncle. the old man came up, and peered over cautiously into the depths of the crater. then he called aloud in hawaiian to his trembling niece. i couldn't catch all the words he said, but i caught one sentence twice repeated, "pélé ké loa," and a single word that recurred over and over again in his frantic outbursts, "areoi," "areoi." i had brought my hawaiian-english pocket dictionary with me from hilo, and i turned up the words in their places one by one, to see if i could understand them. to my great surprise i found i had heard them quite aright; it's so hard to catch any part of an unknown language when rapidly spoken between natives. "pélé ké loa," i discovered, meant in english, "pélé is angry," and "areoi" was defined by my book as "a stranger, a foreigner, especially a white man, a european or american." we stood long on the brink of the crater and watched it rising slowly before our very eyes. kea pointed out to us with demonstrative finger the various floors or ledges on the inner wall. "that first," she said with an awestruck face, "is the floor of the strangers; as far as that everybody may go; it is as it were the mere threshold, or outer vestibule, of the volcano. the second, that you see further down below, in the dark glare, is the floor of the hawaiians; as far as that, by the rule of our fathers, only natives may dare to penetrate. if a white man's foot ever treads that floor, our people used to say, pélé will surely claim him for her victim. the third, that you can just distinguish down there in the bright light, where the fiery lava is this moment rising--that's the floor of pélé: none but the priests of pélé might venture in the old days to tread its precincts. if any other man or woman were to dream of descending upon it, in the twinkling of an eye, like a feather in the flame, our fathers said, pélé would surely shrivel him to ashes." "and you believe all that nonsense?" i cried incredulously. kea turned towards me with a very grave face. "it isn't nonsense," she answered, in her most serious manner. "it's perfectly true. as true as anything. of course i don't believe the superstition, but whoever falls into that third abyss is burnt to a cinder before aid can arrive, by the wrath of the volcano." "i dare say," i answered carelessly. "it looks quite hot enough to frizzle up anything. whoever falls into an ordinary blast furnace (if it comes to that) is burnt to a cinder before aid can arrive, by the unconscious wrath of the molten metal." "don't talk so!" kea cried, with a terrified face. "you distress me. you frighten me." the volcano meanwhile rose faster and faster. the gray evening began to close in. a deep red glow spread over the open mouth of the crater. the clouds above reflected and repeated the lurid light. every moment the glare grew deeper and yet deeper. as night came on, it seemed to rain fire. i saw at once that we were in for a good thing. we had hit on the exact moment of a first-class eruption. a more awful or grander night than that i never remember. i'm a scientific man, and my business is to watch and report upon volcanoes; but that night, i confess, was every bit as hot as i care to have it. anything hotter than that, indeed, would fry one like a herring. by nine o'clock, the mountain was in full glare; by ten, it was pouring out red fragments of stone and showers of ashes; by eleven, a stream of white glowing lava was pushing its way in one desolating flood down the ravines on the southern slope of the mountain. before the final outburst, light curling wreaths of vapour ascended from fissures in the wall of the crater, and hung like a huge umbrella over the mountain top. the red glare, reflected from this strange cloud-like canopy, gave the whole scene for many miles around the appearance of being lighted up by giants at play with some vast and colossal bengal fires. we looked on awestruck. suddenly, and without the slightest warning, a sound reached our ears, a terrific sound, as of ten thousand engines blowing off steam; and all at once a great body of gas was ejected into the air, in a blaze of light, while huge fragments of rock were hurled violently upward, only to fall again in fiery heat upon the naked slopes of the cone and shoulders. all night long we were positively bombarded with these aërial shells; they fell in thousands round us on every side, though fortunately none of them happened to touch either the house itself or any one of its inhabitants. not a living soul remained upon the spot save frank and myself, and kea and her uncle. all the rest of the natives fled headlong down in wild panic and terror to the sea at hilo. a man of science, however, like a soldier on the battle-field, must know how to take his life in his hand. i got out my pencil, my sketch-book and my colours, and, true to the orders of the association in whose interest i was travelling, i endeavoured to reproduce, as well as i could, in a spirited sketch, the whole awful scene as it unfolded itself in vivid hues before us. frank, who is certainly the most intrepid boy of my acquaintance, ably seconded me in my difficult task. kea looked on at us in speechless amazement. "aren't you afraid?" she asked at last, in a hushed voice. [illustration: "all at once a great body of gas was ejected into the air, in a blaze of light."] "yes," i answered boldly, telling the plain truth, "if you will allow me to say so, i'm very much afraid indeed. but i'm a man of science; i've got to do it; and i shall do it still till the lava comes down and drives us away bodily. and you? aren't you afraid, too, of the stones and ashes?" "no," she replied, though her tone belied her. "the eruptions never hurt my uncle nor me. you see, he's been accustomed to them from his childhood upward. in the old days, he was taught to think he was under pélé's protection." frank looked up, imperturbable as ever. "for my part," he said, tossing the curls from his forehead, "i'm not a man of science, like tom, you know; and i'm not under the protection of a heathen goddess, like you and your uncle, kea; but i call it the grandest set of fireworks i ever saw in all my life--beats the crystal palace hollow--and i wouldn't have missed it for fifty pounds, i can tell you." as for kalaua, he stood sombre, alone, with folded arms and tight-pressed lips, looking down unmoved into the depths of the crater. chapter iii. all night long we remained outside on the platform of the summit, watching and sketching that terrific convulsion. the mountain poured forth endless floods of lava. heaven and earth were lighted up with its awful glow. kalaua stood by us still, erect and grim, like one conscious that the fiery hail and the red-hot boulders had no terrors for him, and could not harm him. kea, pale and tremulous, yet too brave at heart to flinch ever so, crouched by his side, too awestruck to speak in mute expectation. frank alone seemed undisturbed by the appalling commotion going on around him. boy enough to feel nothing of the terror of the moment, he was simply excited by the grandeur and magnificence of that wonderful pyrotechnic display. "it's the jolliest sight i ever saw, tom," he exclaimed with delight more than once during the evening. "why, to live here would be almost as good as to have a season-ticket all the year round for all the _fêtes_ and gala-days in england!" by morning however the eruption slackened; the internal fires had worn themselves out. "pélé has grown tired of kicking up such a rumpus," frank remarked cheerfully; and as he himself was tired of watching her, too, he proposed we should go in and rest ourselves a little after our arduous labours. indeed, the lava was now almost ceasing to flow, and the bombardment of pumice-stone and fiery cinders had intermitted a little. we returned to the house, and flung ourselves down on our beds in the clothes we wore, too fatigued after our long and sleepless watch to trouble ourselves with the needless bother of undressing. when you've sat up all night observing an eruption, you don't much care about such luxuries of an advanced civilization as nightshirts. before we retired however kea brought us in a big bowl of fresh taro-paste, and on this simple food we made a most excellent and substantial breakfast. in ten minutes we were snoring so hard on our bamboo beds that i don't believe even another eruption would have roused us up, if it had thundered at our doors with one of its monstrous subterranean boulders. it was five in the evening before we woke again. frank stretched himself with a yawn. "i don't know how _you_ feel, tom," he cried as he jumped out of bed, "but _i_ feel as if that extinct instrument, the rack, had been invented over again for my special benefit. there's not a bone in my body that isn't aching." "what does that matter," i answered, "if science is satisfied? i've got the very finest sketch of a first-class eruption that ever was taken since seismology became a separate study." "bother seismology!" frank exclaimed with a snort. "what a jolly long word for such a simple thing! as if one couldn't say straight out, earthquakes. for my part, what i want satisfied isn't science at all, but an internal yearning for some breakfast or some supper, whichever you choose to call it." the supper was soon upon the board (for by this time the native servants had returned), and as soon as it was finished, we sallied forth, all four together, to inspect the changes wrought in the mountain by last night's events. the effects of the eruption were indeed prodigious. great streams of fresh lava still lay dull and half-hot along the fertile valleys of the mountain side; and the ground about the house was strewn thick and deep with a white coat of powdery ashes. "this is splendid!" i said. "i shall have my work cut out for me now for several weeks. nobody had ever a better chance afforded him of observing in detail the effects of a great volcanic effort." kalaua glanced grimly across at me as i spoke. "i wonder," he murmured, with a sort of sphinx-like sardonic smile, "you have escaped so safe to observe and report upon them." "ah, you see, chief," frank answered carelessly, "he was under your protection. pélé wouldn't hurt us, you know, as we were guests of a friend of hers. that was awfully nice of her. she's a perfect lady, as volcanoes go. i call her a most polite and obliging goddess." kalaua turned away with a half angry look. it was clear that, converted or unconverted, he considered the terrible deity of his fathers no proper subject for light chaff or jesting. we spent the next six weeks pleasantly enough in the old man's house, observing and making notes upon the curious facts connected with the crater and its recent outbreak. i will not narrate my results here at full for fear of boring you--the more so, as i have already devoted two large volumes to the subject in the british association _reports_, manchester meeting. it will be enough for the present to mention that frank and i thoroughly explored the whole top of the crater, as far as the first floor, which kea had described to us as the floor of the strangers. we measured and mapped it out in every direction with theodolite and chain, and we made numerous interesting, and, i venture to add, important observations upon the most disputed points in the phenomena of eruptions. we knew our way about the floor of the strangers, in fact, as well as we knew our way down from our own home at hampstead heath to charing cross station. kalaua and kea were surprised to find how accurately we had learnt the whole geography of the district; and kalaua in particular seemed far from pleased at our perfect familiarity with the mountain and its ways, though he was much too polite ever to say so openly, holding his peace on the matter, at least to our faces, with true antique hawaiian courtesy. for bland courtesy of demeanour, commend me to a cannibal. one morning however about six weeks after our first arrival, i had occasion to send frank by himself down to hilo, on one of the sure-footed little mountain ponies, to fetch up some ropes and other articles we needed for our exploration from the stores in the town; and i said good-bye to him just outside the house, where kalaua was seated, smoking a cigarette, and wrapped up as usual in his own stern and sombre reveries. "good-bye, old fellow,"' frank cried in farewell, as he mounted his horse and cantered gaily off. "mind you take care of yourself while i'm away. give the crater a wide berth. don't try to go exploring any further without me!" "all right," i shouted back. "i won't get into mischief. trust me for saving my own skin. i shall just potter about a bit to amuse myself alone on the outer edge of the floor of the strangers." "what do you want the rope for?" kalaua asked moodily, looking up from his cigarette as frank rode away. "better not go trusting yourself with any rope too far in the crater of mauna loa." "i'm not afraid," i answered, with a short little laugh. "i want the rope to let myself down to the lower levels." "what, the floor of the hawaiians?" the old chief cried with flashing eyes. "well, yes," i answered; "that first, of course, and then, after that, the floor of pélé." if i had dropped a bomb-shell right in front of his house, the stern old chief could not have looked that moment more appalled and horrified. "young man," he cried, rising hastily to his feet and standing like a messenger of fate before me, "i warn you not to trifle with the burning mountain. tread the floor of the strangers as much as you like, but the lower ledges of the crater are very dangerous. you're my guest, and i advise you. for unskilled feet to approach those levels is almost certain death. in the dark old days when we were all heathen, we used to say in our folly that the wrath of pélé would burn you up like a leaf if you ventured to touch them. we no longer say that: we know better now. but we still say to all who would tamper with them that the mouth of the crater is most treacherous and perilous." "oh," i answered lightly, turning on my heel, "don't trouble for me. i'm accustomed to volcanoes. i don't object i think no more of them than a sailor thinks of chapters of a storm at sea. let them boil and seethe as much as they like. they're nothing after all, when a fellow's used to them." [illustration: "'young man,' he cried, '...i warn you not to trifle with the burning mountain.'"] the old man answered me never a word. he rose, and with a gesture of solemn dissent wrapped his native cloak severely round him; then he walked in grim and gloomy silence back by himself into his own chamber. as for me, i strolled off quietly, sketch-book in hand, up to the broken brink of the great crater. i had nothing in particular to do that morning, having in fact by this time quite exhausted the first ledge or floor of the strangers: and i could accomplish no work, now i had finished there, till frank returned from town with the rope to lower us down to the floor of the hawaiians, the next ledge that i thought of mapping. so i sat myself down on a jagged peak of hardened cinders, cemented together by molten volcanic matter, and began in a lazy, idle, half-sleepy kind of way to sketch a distant point of the interior crater. i had sat there listlessly, sketching and musing, for about twenty minutes, when i saw a sight i can never resist. a beautiful butterfly, of a species quite new to me, attracted my attention on the side of the crater-wall over which my legs were carelessly dangling. now, though i am by trade (saving your presence) a seismologist and vulcanologist--no offence meant by those awesome words--i've always had a sneaking kindness in an underhand way for other departments of natural science, especially zoology; and a new butterfly, with a red spot on its tail, is a severe temptation that my utmost philosophy can never induce me to disregard under any circumstances. there are some scientific men, i know, who seem to think science ought to be made as dull and as dry and as fusty as possible: for my own part, i never could take that eminently correct and respectable view: i like my science as amusing as i can get it, with a considerable spice of adventure thrown in; and i prefer specimen-hunting among the pacific islands to name-hunting among the prodigiously learned and stupid memoirs of the british museum. between ourselves, too (but i wouldn't like this to reach the ears of the royal society), i regard a man as much more useful to science when engaged in catching birds or insects in the malay archipelago or the african mountains than when inventing names for them out of his own head in a fusty, dusty, musty room in the museum at south kensington. have the kindness to keep this dark however if you ever go to a british association meeting: for if it reached the ears of the committee, they might think me an unfit person to entrust with any further volcanic investigations. well, my butterfly was resting, poised like a statue, on a pretty flowering plant that grew out of a cranny in the sheer wall of rock, a yard or two below the precise point where i was then sitting. said i to myself, with an eager dart forward, "i shall nab that specimen;" and laying aside my pencil and drawing-pad at once, i proceeded forthwith, at the top of my speed, incontinently to nab him. it was with great difficulty however that i clambered down the side of the crag, for the lava just there was porous and bubbly. it crumbled and broke like thin ice under my feet; and wherever i thought i had just secured myself a firm foothold it gave way after a moment, bit by bit, with the force of my pressure. nevertheless i managed somehow, to my great delight, to reach the plant that sprouted from the cranny without at all disturbing my friend the butterfly, who, engrossed on his dinner, was hardly expecting an attack from the rear; and clapping my hand upon him before he could say jack robinson, i popped him, triumphant, into my pocket collecting case. then, with a light heart, and the proud consciousness of a duty performed, i turned once more to climb up the cliff again. but that, i found, was by no means so easy a matter as descending. i had got down partly by the mean and illegitimate device of letting my feet slide; to get back i must somehow secure a firm and certain foothold in the loose lava. to my surprise and horror there was none to be found. the soft and creamy pumice-stone seemed nowhere to afford a single solid point of support. i struggled in vain to recover my balance; at last, to my dismay, i stumbled and fell--fell, as i feared, towards the floor of the hawaiians, that yawned a full hundred and twenty feet of sheer depth in the crater below me. with a wild lunge i clutched for support at the plant in the cranny. it broke short in my hand, and my one chance gone, i rolled down rapidly to the very bottom. i didn't exactly tumble down the entire sheer height in a single fall; if i had i shouldn't be here to tell you. i broke the force of the descent somewhat by digging my hands and feet with frantic efforts into the loose wall of rotten lava. but before i could realize precisely what was happening i lost my head. the world reeled round me; my eyes closed. next moment i was aware of a horrid thud, and a fierce blow against some hard surface. i knew then just where i had landed. i had fallen or rolled by stages the whole way down the crag, and was lying on my side on the floor of the hawaiians! [illustration: "i rolled down rapidly to the very bottom."] chapter iv. my first thought, as i lay half-stunned and almost unconscious upon that naked bed of hard black rock, was that at any rate i had caught and fairly boxed my butterfly. my second, a much less agreeable one to encounter, was that i had certainly broken my leg in my full to the bottom. i was conscious, in fact, of a dull but very deep-seated pain in my right thigh. i tried to move it. the agony was intense. it threw me back into my momentary faint again. for a minute or two i could hardly realize my position. then it slowly came home to me by gradual stages that i was lying helpless, with a broken leg, unseen and unattended, on the floor of the hawaiians, a hundred and twenty feet down the gap of the crater. would anybody come to help me? i wondered. that was more than doubtful. as a rule, the whole day passed on those lonely heights without anybody approaching the mouth of the volcano, let alone climbing down by the zig-zag path into the floor above me. kalaua's household were the sole frequenters of that solitary spot. however, frank would at least be back from hilo by six o'clock, or thereabouts, and then he would be sure to come up and look for me, when he missed me from my accustomed place on the verandah. i took out my watch, in order to see how long i might have to lie there in frightful pain, waiting for my brother's return to save me. we had learnt early rising with a vengeance since we came to the islands--breakfast at kalaua's was at six sharp--to my horror, i found it was even now only half-past seven! more than ten weary, dreary hours to watch and wait, with my broken leg, in that dismal crater! it was an unpleasant outlook. i gazed around and tried to take in the situation. above me, a steep black wall of granite rose sheer and straight towards the open heaven. below me, i could hear, though i could not see, the lake of liquid fire hissing and bubbling with horrible noises in its eternal cauldron. around, the floor was composed of solid dark green obsidian, as hard and transparent and sharp as bottle-glass. i must lie as best i could, on my uneasy bed, and brave it out for ten hours somehow. fortunately, i soon discovered that as long as i lay quite still, the pain of my leg was comparatively trifling. it was only when i moved or stirred restlessly that it hurt me much, and then, the agony was enough to drive one frantic. i laid down my watch, to mark the time, on the rock in front of me. happily, being a good naval chronometer, it had not been injured in the shock of my fall. i had nothing to do now but to count the hours till frank could come up and relieve me at last from my awkward and even dangerous situation. ten hours is a very long time, with a broken leg, in the crater of mauna loa. the floor of the ledge, i observed, as i gazed around, was covered with long strings of dark thread-like lava--as thin and delicate as a spun-glass tissue. these strings are a well-known product of the volcanic action of mauna loa, and the natives call them "pélé's hair." they look upon them as the veritable tresses of the goddess. having nothing else to do, i picked some up and examined it closely. no wonder the superstitious old hawaiians took it in their time for the actual combings of their dread goddess's hair! i never in my life saw anything so exactly resembling human locks, at a first rough glance: and i was not surprised that even kea herself should regard it as a token of the presence of that mysterious being who dwelt, as she still half believed, all alone among the eternal fires of the great crater. eight o'clock, nine o'clock, ten o'clock, passed, and i began by that time to get most unfeignedly weary of my enforced imprisonment. it was impossible to lie in one position all the time; and whenever i turned, or even moved, my leg gave me the most excruciating jerks of pain and agony. i was heartily sick now of the crater and all that belonged to it. what on earth, i thought, made me ever take to such a trade as vulcanology? i said to myself more than once in my despair that henceforth i'd give up volcanoes for ever, and go in for some safe and honest trade--like a light-house-man's or an inspector of mines--for a livelihood. about half-past ten however, as i lay half dozing with fatigue and pain, an incident occurred which broke the monotony of the situation: my attention was suddenly and vividly aroused by a noise that sounded like the report of a pistol. what on earth could it be? i raised myself on my arms and gazed all round. the crater of mauna loa was a queer place indeed for even the most enthusiastic sportsman to come shooting in. the only game he could expect to find in such a spot would be surely salamanders. but firing was without doubt going on in the crater, not indeed on the floor on which i myself lay, but strange to say, on the other and still deeper ledges below me. as i strained my ear to listen, i heard frequent reports of pistols, one after another, in all directions down the hollow of the crater. then, with a sudden flash of recollection it burst in upon my memory that frank and i had heard similar reports the year before on the slopes of hecla, just on the eve of a serious eruption, when we were engaged in investigating the volcanoes of iceland. in a second, the appalling and terrible truth came home to me in all its ghastly awfulness. the lava in the crater must be rising explosively! i was never much frightened of a volcano before, but that moment, i confess, i felt distinctly nervous. from where i lay, i couldn't see over into the lake of liquid fire below, and my broken leg made it almost impossible for me to move or even to drag myself towards the steep edge, where i could gaze down into the abyss and make sure whether the lava was really rising. but such suspense was more than one could bear. with a supreme effort i raised myself a second time, very cautiously, upon my two hands and my left knee, and, trailing my right leg with difficulty behind me, i crawled or crept with unspeakable pain over yards of rough rock to the brink of the precipice. an ineffable sight there met my eye. the black slaggy bottom of the huge crater, which generally reposed in tranquil peace like a calm sea, just broken here and there by fiery fissures, was now transformed into one bubbling mass of flame and vapour, all alive with a horrible livid glare, that lit up its seething and blazing billows with an awful distinctness. loud, snorting puffs of steam burst thick and fast from the gaping fissures, and from many of the chinks great jets of molten material were willing out in huge floods, and rising gradually towards the floor of pélé, the third and last ledge immediately below me. if the eruption continued for two hours longer at its present rate, by half-past twelve, i felt fully convinced, the sea of lava would be wildly surging and roaring above the very spot whence i now surveyed it. what was to be done? i lay and pondered. unless somebody came to my rescue meanwhile, i had only two hours more to live on earth; and then inch by inch i would be scorched to death, in unspeakable agony, before an advancing tide of liquid fire, by the most awful fate ever known to humanity! it was ghastly; it was horrible: but i had to face it. i peered over the edge, and watched with eager and tremulous awe the gradual approach of the devouring fire-flood. slowly, slowly, foot by foot, and yard by yard, my inanimate enemy rose and rose, and rose again, by constant, cruel, crawling stages. not always regularly, but in fluctuating billows. at times the molten sea leapt upward with a bound; at times it fell again, in a vast sink-hole, like some huge collapsing bubble of metal; but all the while, in spite of every apparent fluctuation, it mounted steadily in the long run up the black wall of rock, as the tide rises over a shelving beach, with its hideous gas jets hissing and groaning, and its angry flames drawing nearer and nearer each moment to devour me. i lay there horror-stricken, and gazed idly down. [illustration: "i lay there horror-stricken, and gazed idly down."] nothing on earth that i myself could do would now avail me in any way to escape my destiny. i tried to turn and attempt the wall behind me. i might as well have tried to scale the naked side of a smooth and polished granite monument. the crag was like glass. there was nothing for it but to lie back in quiet and await my death as a brave man should await it. science had had many martyrs before. i felt sure, as i lay there, that i too was to be numbered upon the increasing roll-call of its illustrious victims. it is easy enough to fight and die; but to lie still and be slowly roasted to death--that, i take it, is quite a different matter. eleven o'clock went past on my watch. ten, twenty, thirty, forty minutes. the fire had mounted half way up the side of the ledge on which i lay. i could feel its hot breath borne fiercely towards me. a jet of steam raised itself now and then to the level of my own floor. ashes and cinders were falling freely around. the eruption was gathering strength as it went. it was dangerous any longer to lie so close to the broken edge. i must drag myself away, near the further precipice. frank would not return from town much before six, i felt sure. he always loitered when he got down to hilo. unless somebody came to relieve me soon i must surely be killed by slow torture. i gazed all around me with a last despairing glance. as i did so, a cry of relief burst on a sudden from my parched throat. on the precipice above, leaning over the edge of the floor of the strangers, i saw distinctly a man's face--a man's face, a hawaiian's as i thought, peering down curiously into the depths of the crater. if only i could attract that man's attention i felt there might yet be some small chance for me. chapter v. the man was looking the other way. i must somehow manage to make him turn round to me. i raised myself on my knees, put my hands to my mouth, and shouted aloud at the top of my voice, with the utmost force of which my lungs were capable. you never know how hard you can shout, till you've had to shout for dear life through a storm at sea, or some other terrible natural convulsion. could i make myself heard, i wondered to myself, above the constant hiss and roar and din of that volcanic outburst? thank heaven, yes! the man turned and heard me. i could see him start and look sharply in the direction where i lay on the ledge. by the movement of his face i felt sure he observed me. he saw me and jumped back. he recognized the deadly peril in which i lay. "help! help!" i shouted with terrific energy. "quick! quick! a rope! the fire is almost upon me!" the man rose and stood close to the brink. i could see by his dress quite clearly now that he was a native hawaiian. awe and surprise were visible on his face. he understood and drank in the full horror of my situation. surely, surely, he would make haste to help me! to my utter horror he did nothing of the sort. he stood still as if rooted to the spot in superstitious fear, and gazed down on my face with his own like a statue's. i never saw anything more stolid than his features, or the pose of his limbs. i flung up my arms appealingly for aid: i pointed with every gesture of pain and helplessness to my broken limb: i tried to express to him by natural pantomime the absolute necessity for immediate assistance. the native folded his arms in front and gazed placidly down with horrible unconcern in spite of my cries and shrieks and signs of agony. i knew now what it was to be a savage. he seemed utterly careless whether i lived or died. if i had been a worm or a scorpion or a venomous reptile he couldn't more wholly and totally have disregarded my obvious suffering. at last, with the same look of indifference, he turned on his heel slowly, without one sign of encouragement, and disappeared from my sight towards the lip of the crater. had he gone to seek aid on my behalf, i wondered? had he gone to call other natives to his assistance, and to bring ropes and ladders to haul me up from that unearthly crater? i could not say, but i hardly dared hope it. and all the while those billows of molten lava in the lake below surged madly on, rising and rising, and ever rising, tossing the wild fire-spray upon their angry crests, and making ready their greedy jagged teeth of flame as if on purpose to close on me and devour me piecemeal. the volcano seemed indeed to be really alive. i didn't wonder the natives once saw in it a horrible, hungry, implacable goddess. for ten minutes more i lay there still, half smothered by the sulphurous fumes of the rising gases, and whitened with a powdery shower of gray dust, waiting in agony for the inevitable end to arrive and stifle me. then i looked up again, and saw to my surprise the native had come back to his former station. but not alone. nor yet to save me. three other hawaiians, tall and shapely men, stood silent and moody by the first-comer's side, and gazed down as he had done, unmoved and unhorrified, upon myself and the crater. above the roar and crackling of the unquenchable fire, my ear, quickened by the straits in which i lay, caught just once the sound of the words they were saying. i had learnt a fair amount of hawaiian since my arrival, and i could tell that in their talk "the anger of pélé," "victim" and "stranger," occurred frequently. could it be that they meant deliberately to leave me there unaided to die? were they afraid to meddle with the prisoners of the goddess? christianized and civilized as they were in name, i knew too well then how deeply the old heathen superstitions must still be ingrained in the very core and fibre of their inmost being, not to fear that this might really be their hideous intention. the worship of pélé might be dead, indeed, as a direct religion, but the awe and terror of pélé's power i had long observed was as vivid and real in their hearts as ever. even kea herself, english as she was on her fathers side, half feared and propitiated that blood-thirsty goddess. the four men drew slowly to the edge of the precipice. i couldn't hear, but i could see by their actions they were consulting together very earnestly. the heat by this time was growing intensely painful. i lifted up my hands and clasped them as if in prayer. after all, they were human. i trusted they might still be inclined to help me. to my unspeakable terror, alarm, and dismay, the men shook their heads grimly in concert. then all four of them, bowing down as if in worship towards the mouth of the crater, with their hands spread open in solemn accord, seemed to salute and adore the goddess of the volcano. i knew what it meant. i understood their gestures. converts by profession as i doubt not they were, in their secret souls they were votaries of pélé! at that sight, i flung myself down on my side and gave up all for lost for ever. i thought of those who were nearest and dearest to me at home, and who would never behold my face again. i must die where i lay, unaided and unpitied. when frank returned to kalaua's that night he would find no trace of me left on earth--not even a charred and blackened skeleton! the fire would have burnt me to fine gray ashes. presently, as i looked, a fifth man joined the group above--a man dressed as i had never before beheld any one. his head was covered with a huge shapeless mask, which seemed to me to represent a cruel grinning lace, with teeth and eyes of white mother-of-pearl, that glistened hideously in the ruddy glare of the fierce volcano. i had seen such a mask once in my life, i remembered well, before leaving england--in the ethnological room at the british museum. that one, i knew, was made of rare hawaiian red and yellow feathers, and was said to be used by the old heathen priests of cannibal days in offering up sacrifices to their blood-thirsty idols. the new-comer was further draped from head to foot in a long mantle of the same costly plumes, which concealed his limbs from view altogether. i don't know how, but i felt sure by the very way he moved across the ledge that the man with the mask was none other than kalaua! he was a priest of pélé, then, to this very day! in spite of his outer veneer of civilization, in spite of his pretended conversion to a gentler creed, he still believed at heart in the vindictive and cruel goddess of the crater. the man in the mask, walking slowly as in a solemn dance, approached the edge of the beetling precipice. the other four men grouped themselves around in set attitudes, two and two on either side of him. their looks were impressive. the priest lifted up his hands slowly. his action as he lifted them, graceful yet majestic, convinced me more than ever that it was really kalaua, i recognized the old chief's grim and stately statuesque air--the air as of a last surviving scion of the old man-eating hawaiian nobility. the priest stood still with his hands erect. the four others, in pairs on either side, bowed down their faces in awe to the ground. it was growing every moment more intolerably hot. i could scarcely watch them. the priest lifted up his voice aloud. i could catch not one word or syllable of what he said, but i was dimly aware in my intervals of pain that he was chanting some sort of measured savage litany. every now and again he paused a moment, and then i could hear that his four companions answered him back in a solemn but loud response, in which i frequently fancied i caught the name of pélé. at that awful moment kea's words came back distinctly to my mind. "the second ledge that you see down below there, in the dark glow, is the floor of the hawaiians: as far as that, only natives may penetrate. if a white man's foot ever treads that floor, pélé will surely claim him for her victim. in the twinkling of an eye, like a feather in the flame, pélé will shrivel him in her wrath to ashes." i knew then what was happening up above. the priest of pélé had come forth to the crater in his sacrificial garb, attended by his acolytes, and was performing a sort of dedicator death-service over pélé's own chosen victim, before the flames rose up to embrace and devour me! in spite of the heat, in spite of the pain, in spite of the bodily terror in which i lay and writhed, i remembered, too, what kea had once told me--how in the old days when men sacrificed to pélé they never burnt their offerings with earthly fire, but flung them whole, a living gift, into the cracks and fissures of the burning lava, that the goddess might consume her own victims for herself in her own unearthly subterranean furnaces! it was an awful ceremony, yet surely an appropriate one. the flames were rising nearer and nearer now. these cruel and hard-hearted men would do nothing to save me. i could see great jets of burning gas rise from time to time above the wall of the crater. i could hear the loud hiss and shiver of the unearthly steam. i could feel the hideous heat baking me slowly to death where i lay. i crossed my arms resignedly, and gave up all for lost. i would die at least at the post of honour, as an englishman ought to die, without fear and without flinching. i only waited for the merciful flames to come and put me out of my lingering misery. it could not be long now i felt sure. the lava would soon flow fast all round me. and above there, on the jagged edge of the precipice, the priest was still droning his terrible death-song, and the four tall men, bowed down to the ground almost, were still crying aloud in a strange monotone their hideous responses. as the first few bubbles of boiling lava rose level at last with the top of the floor of the hawaiians, i caught the final words of their triumphant song. i knew what they meant; they were simple and easy. "pélé has avenged herself on the white man's foot; the white man's foot that trod her floor; we offer up the white man's body in expiation to pélé." chapter vi. while the ring of their heathen death-song still echoed in my ear, and the hiss and roar of the volcanic fires still boomed and resounded wildly around me, i was dimly conscious in an interval of heat that the lava-flood fell back for a few moments, and that a lull had intervened in that surging tide of fiery liquid. i was sorry for that. it would do nothing now but needlessly prolong my horrible torture. when once one has made up one's mind to face death, in whatever form, the sooner one can get the wrench over the better. to be roasted alive is bad enough in all conscience; but to be roasted alive by intermittent stages is a thing to make even a soldier or a man of science shrink back appalled from the ghastly prospect. in my agony, i looked up once more at the sheer precipice. as i looked, i saw yet another person had come down to join the group by the edge. my heart bounded with a faint throb of hope. it was kea, kea, pretty, gentle kea. "surely," i said to myself in my own soul, "kea at least will not desert me. kea will try her very best to save me." the light of the volcano lit up the faces of the men and the girl with a ruddy glow. i could see every movement of their muscles distinctly. kea came down with clasped hands, and blanched lips, like one frantic with terror, and seemed to beg and implore the man in the mask to aid or assist her in some projected undertaking. the man in the mask shook his head sternly. it was clear he was adamant. kea redoubled her prayers and entreaties. the priest rejected her petition with his hands outspread, and turned once more as if in blind worship toward the mouth of the crater. i knew that kea was begging hard for my life, and that kalaua, sternly refusing her prayer, was devoting me as a victim to his unspeakable goddess. there are moments that seem as long as years. this was one of them. presently, kea seemed to ask some favour, some last favour. the stern old priest made answer slowly. i fancied he was relenting. she turned to the men, as if to ask a question. the men in return assented with a solemn movement of their awestruck bodies. then kea looked up at her uncle again imploringly. she spoke with fervour, i could see it was some sort of compact or bargain between them she was trying to negotiate. at last the man in the mask gave in. he nodded his head and folded his arms. he appeared to look on like a passive spectator. i imagined somehow, quickened as my senses were by the extremity of the moment, that he had entered into an agreement with her, not indeed to save me, but to abstain from active interference with kea's movements if she wished herself to assist me in any way. i breathed more freely. as soon as their hasty conference was over, the girl drew near to the brink of the precipice. she raised her hands as if pulling at an invisible rope: then she made signs to me to wait patiently, if wait i could, for that help was going to arrive shortly. after that, she broke eagerly away with a gesture of sympathy, and ran off in hot haste towards the winding path that led from the floor to the summit of the crater. i lay there some minutes more in an agony of suspense. would she come back in time, or would the fiery flood burst up once more to the level where i lay before she had time to arrive with assistance? the man in the mask, whom i took to be kalaua, and the four natives who stood by his side, still watched me, unmoved, with stolid indifference, from the jagged brink of that high granite precipice. by and by, they looked down with deeper attention still. i could tell by their gestures and their excited manner that the lava, after its lull, had begun to ascend afresh. the man in the mask advanced and prostrated himself. he quivered with emotion. he flung his arms up wildly. his limbs shook. he seemed as if in the bodily presence of pélé. next moment, a roar like the roar of thunder, or the discharge of a volley of heavy artillery, boomed forth from the crater, loud and sharp, with explosive violence. the ledge about me began to gape with chinks. fissures opened up in the solid rock by my side with a crackling noise. the floor of the hawaiians sweated fire. liquid lava oozed forth from a huge rent not three hundred yards away from the place where i lay, and flowing in a stream over the bed inward, fell back again in a surging cataract of fire into the central hollow. i wondered i was not scorched to death outright, so near was the lava-flood. but the place where i lay still remained solid. how long it would remain so, i did not even dare to speculate. at that instant, as i looked up in my agony of suspense towards the brink of the precipice, with the liquid fire rising apace to seize me, i saw kea, all breathless with haste, rush eagerly up to the edge and lean over towards me. in her hands, o joy, she held a large coil or ring of something. thank heaven! thank heaven! my heart bounded with delight. saved! saved! it was rope she was carrying! she flung it down in a curl, sailor-fashion, towards the spot where i lay. i saw as it fell it was of different sizes, and knotted together with big rude knots in many places. clearly she had not been able to find a single rope long enough for her purpose. she had made up this length as well as she was able out of different pieces hunted up by hazard in odd corners at kalaua's on the spur of the moment. it was a giddy height to which to trust one's self, even with the stoutest and strongest cable ever woven on earth. but with that weak and patched-up line of rotten old cords? impossible! impossible! if one of the knots were to give way with my weight, if one of the pieces were to break in the middle, i should be hurled down again a second time, yet more helpless than ever, and dashed into little pieces in an instant on that sharp and stubborn granite platform! but drowning men clutch at straws. this was no moment to deliberate or reason. i would have trusted myself just then, broken leg and all, to a line of whipcord, if nothing else came handy. the rope descended in a whirl through the air. it fell taut--plumb to the bottom. a fresh disappointment! to my utter horror, the end still dangled some ten feet above me! i couldn't possibly jump up to reach it. with a loud cry of distress kea saw it was too short. in a moment without stopping to think or hesitate, she had torn the lower part of her long native dress into strips and shreds, and lengthened the frail cord by this insecure addition just far enough to reach me as i stood on tip-toe. i clutched it at last with both my hands, and threw back my head as a signal to kea that all was right, and she might begin pulling. never shall i forget the awful sensations that coursed through my body as i dangled there, half-way in air, while that delicate young girl, thin and graceful, but strong of limb, with the inherited strength of her savage country-women, hauled me slowly up by main force of struggling nerve and sinew, past all possible conception of her natural powers. she hauled me up by first passing the rope round a jagged peak of lava, which thus acted as a sort of rude natural pulley, enabling her to get rid of the direct strain, and to throw the weight in part on the edge of the precipice, and then by winding it round her own waist as a living windlass. slowly, slowly, clinging by my hands to the hard rope, that cut and bruised my poor bleeding fingers, and with my broken leg dangling painfully in mid-air with excruciating twitches, i rose by degrees towards the brink of the abyss. how kea had ever strength to raise me i do not know to this very day. i only know that as each knot on the rope grated and jerked round the edge of the peak that served for pulley it sent a thrill of incredible and unutterable pain through my injured limb, and almost made me let go my hands off the hard rope they were grasping and clutching with all their energy. meanwhile, the man in the feather mask and the natives by his side stood stolidly by, neither helping nor hindering, but gazing at me as i dangled in mid-air with sublime indifference, as one might gaze at a spider running up his own web with practised feet towards his nest on the ceiling. it was clear my life was no more to them than that. if the rope had given way, if the crumbling peak of honey-combed lava had broken short with the weight, and precipitated me, a mangled mass, to the bottom, they would have stood there as stolidly, and smiled as imperturbably at my shattered limbs in the awful embrace of their fiery goddess. truly, truly, the dark places of the earth are full of cruelty. [illustration: "i clutched the crumbling peak with my hooked fingers."] as i rose in the air the lava, now belching forth with renewed vigour, followed me fast up the mouth of the crater. it followed me fast, like a living creature. one might almost have fancied that pélé, disappointed of her victim, made haste in her frantic efforts to snatch him from the hands of that frail mortal maiden who strove almost in vain to rescue him in time by violent means from her cruel clutches. i didn't wonder any longer that those ignorant and superstitious natives should picture the volcano to themselves in their own souls as a living will. i almost felt it alive myself, so wildly and eagerly did the tongues of flame seem to dart forth towards me with their forked and vibrating tips, as if thirsting to lick me up and swallow me down in their hungry lunges. the time i took in rising was endless. could i hold on till the end? that was the question. at last, after long intervals of giddy suspense, i reached the top, or almost reached it; i clutched the crumbling peak with my hooked fingers. kea still wound the rope round and round her body, as she approached to help me. she held out her hand. i grasped it eagerly. "you must jump," she cried: and all wounded as i was, i jumped with wild force on to the solid floor of the upper platform. my broken leg thrilled through with pain. but i was safe--safe. i was standing by her side on the floor of the strangers. the lava sank down again with a hideous sob, as if disappointed of its living prey. i gazed around me for the priest and his acolytes. not a sign or a mark of them anywhere was to be seen. i stood alone with kea by the brink of the precipice. the rest had melted away to their hidden lairs as if by magic. i was rescued, indeed, but by the skin of my teeth. such peril leaves one unmanned as one escapes it. chapter vii. i couldn't walk with my broken leg. my gentle preserver took me up in her arms with tender care, and lifted me, strong man as i am, bodily from the ground as if i had been a week-old baby. it was partly her powerful hawaiian limbs and sinews that did it no doubt, but still more, i believe, that wonderful nervous energy with which nature supplies even the weakest of our kind when they stand face to face at last in some painful crisis with a great emergency. she carried me slowly up the zig-zag path, and over the lip of the crater to kalaua's house. then she laid me down to rest upon a bamboo bed, and went out to fetch me food and water. what happened next i hardly knew, for once on the bed, i fainted immediately with pain and exhaustion. when i next felt conscious, it was well on in the night. i found myself stretched at full length on the bed, with frank leaning over me in brotherly affection, and an american doctor, hastily summoned from hilo, endeavouring to restore me by all the means in his power. at the foot stood kalaua, no longer grim and severe as formerly, but, much to my surprise, the very picture of intelligent and friendly sympathy. "how did you get here so soon?" i asked the doctor, when i was first able to converse with him rationally. "you must have hurried up very fast from hilo." "i did," he answered, going on with his work uninterruptedly. "your friend kalaua fetched me up. "he happened to be here when that brave girl rescued you from the crater, and he rode down on one of his little mountain ponies in the quickest time i ever remember to have known made between hilo and the summit. he was extremely anxious i should get back quickly to see you at once, and we cantered up on the return journey as i never before cantered in the whole course of my life. i've nearly broken my own bones, i can tell you, in my haste and anxiety to set yours right for you." "that's very good of you," i answered gratefully. "oh! you needn't thank me for it," he replied, with a laugh. "it was all our good friend kalaua's doing. he wouldn't even allow me to draw rein for a moment till i halted at last beside his own verandah." i gazed at kalaua in the blankest astonishment. could it really be he who had stood so stolidly by in the feather mask and devoted my head with awful rites to the nether gods while i lay helpless on the floor of the hawaiians? my confidence in his identity began distinctly to waver. after all, i hadn't seen the features of that grim heathen priest while i lay at the bottom. perhaps i was mistaken. he was kea's uncle. for kea's sake, i ardently hoped so. [illustration: "she carried me slowly up the zig-zag path."] they set my leg that very night, and frank and kalaua in turns sat up to nurse me. i can hardly say which of the two was kinder or tenderer. kalaua watched me, indeed, as a woman watches by her son's bedside. he was ready with drink, or food, or medicine, whenever i wanted it. his wakeful eyelids never closed for a moment. no mother could have tended her own child more patiently. "is the volcano still at work, frank?" i asked once, in a painless interval. i could never forget, even on a sick bed, that i was by trade a man of science. "no, my dear old fellow," frank answered affectionately. "the volcano, finding you were no longer in a fit condition to observe it, has politely retired to the deepest recesses of its own home till you're in a proper state to continue your investigations. the moment you were safely out of the hole, kea tells me, it sank back like a calm sea to its usual level." "pélé is satisfied," the old man muttered to himself in hawaiian from the bottom of the bed, not thinking i understood him. "she has given up her claim to the victim who offered himself of his own accord upon her living altar." it was not till next morning that i saw kea again. the poor girl was pale and evidently troubled. she received all my expressions of gratitude with a distracted air, and she hardly appeared at times to be quite conscious of what was passing around her. but she was gentle and considerate and kind as ever--even more kind, i fancied, than we had yet known her. for the next week, frank, kalaua, and kea in turn each bore their fair share in nursing and watching me. i wondered to myself, after all that had happened, that i wasn't afraid of stopping any longer under the old chief's roof; yet now that it was all over, my staying there for the time seemed somehow quite natural. indeed, it would have been impossible to carry me further along the rugged road that led down the mountain, with my leg in splints, and my general health in a most enfeebled condition. and i wasn't in the least afraid, either that kalaua would cut my throat in his own house, or otherwise offer me personal violence. nothing could possibly exceed his personal kindness to me now: and i felt as safe in the old chief's hands as i did in his niece's, or in my own brother's. my conversations with the american doctor too reassured me greatly in this curious matter. a day or two later, i told him the whole strange and romantic story, in far fuller detail than i have told it here (for all the incidents were then fresh in my memory), and he listened with the air of a man to whom such marvellous recitals of savage superstition were hardly anything out of the common. "i shouldn't be surprised if it really _was_ kalaua," he said to me confidentially, when i had finished my narrative. "the fact is, the old man has always been more or less suspected of persistent pélé worship. beliefs like that don't die out in a single generation. but you needn't be afraid on that account that he'll do you any bodily harm now. pélé cares nothing for unwilling victims. she takes those only who go to her willingly. you fell in of yourself, and therefore kalaua wouldn't pull you out. to have done so would have been to incur the severest wrath of pélé. but now that you've once got safe out again, every good old-fashioned heathen hawaiian will hold to it as a cardinal article of faith, that you're absolutely inviolable. the goddess had you once in her power, and of her own free will she has let you go again. if she liked, she might have eaten you, but she let you go. that shows you are one for whom she has a special concern and regard. the moment you got up in safety to the brink once more, the lava fell back. to kalaua, that would be a certain sign and token that pélé relinquished all claim upon your body. she may take some other victim, unawares, in your stead: but you yourself, the hawaiians believe, are henceforth and for ever next door to invulnerable. you are taboo to pélé. "well, i've been very nearly dipped in styx," i answered, smiling, "so i ought to be inviolable. but you don't think, then, i run any risk by remaining under this roof till my leg gets well again?" "quite the contrary," the doctor replied with perfect confidence. "i should think you would nowhere be treated with greater care, consideration, and courtesy than here at kalaua's. whatever it may have been a very few days ago, these people regard you now as pélé's favourite. if you were to ask politely for a white elephant, they'd import one for you direct, i verily believe, by the first mail steamer in from burmah." "that's lucky," i said, "though after what i saw in the crater the other day, i confess i feel a little nervous at times about our personal safety." as the doctor was just taking his leave, he turned and said to me in a very serious tone, "if i were you, do you know, mr. hesselgrave, i think i wouldn't say anything at all in public while you remain in hawaii about the scene in the crater." "no?" i said interrogatively. "no," he answered. "you see, it's impossible to _prove_ anything. after all, when one looks the thing squarely in the face, what did you really see and feel sure of? why, just five natives looking down at you in the crater, on the very eve of a serious outbreak of the volcano. well, nobody's bound to risk his life to rescue a stranger from the jaws of an eruption. as to the mask, the less said about that the better. people won't believe you: they'll say it's impossible. _i_ believe you, because i understand hawaiians down to the very ground: i know how skin-deep their civilization goes: but folks who don't, will think you're romancing. besides, kalaua wouldn't like it, of course. it's _bad form_ to be a heathen in hawaii. whatever the natives may be in their own hearts, in their outer lives they prefer to be considered civilized christians. there's nothing riles your true-born hawaiian like a public imputation of cannibalism or heathendom." "all right," i answered. "you may depend upon my discretion," for kea's sake indeed i should have been sorry to bring disgrace upon her stern old uncle, however richly the old chief might have merited it. i was profoundly grateful to her for her gallant rescue; it would have been an ill reward indeed to repay her kindness by betraying the terrible secret of her family. chapter viii. all that night kea sat up with me; and somewhat to my surprise she occupied herself for most of the time in working at a great white veil of very fine material. "that looks like a bridal veil, kea," i said at last, regarding it curiously in an interval of sleeplessness. kea laughed, not merrily as heretofore, but a very sad laugh. "it _is_ a bridal veil," she answered, blushing and stammering. "i--i'm working at it at present for--for one of my family." i saw she was embarrassed, so i asked her no further questions about it. perhaps, i thought, she's going to be married. even in polynesia, young girls are naturally reticent upon that subject. and kea was hardly a polynesian at all: on her father's side she was an english lady. so i turned on my back and dismissed the matter for the moment from my consideration. for eight long weary weeks i lay there on my bed, or on the adjoining sofa, with my leg slowly and tediously healing, and my head much bothered by such long inaction. what made me more impatient still of my enforced idleness was the fact that, according to frank's continuous report, mauna loa was now rumbling, and grumbling, and mumbling away in a more persistently threatening style than ever. i was afraid there was going to be a really grand eruption on the large scale--and that i wouldn't be well enough to be there to observe it. it would be ignominious indeed for the accredited representative of the british association for the advancement of science to be carried down the mountain on a hospital stretcher at the very moment when perhaps the finest volcanic display of the present century was just about to inaugurate its arrival by a magnificent outburst of lava and ashes. i should feel like a soldier who turned his back upon the field of battle: like a sailor who went below to the ladies' cabin at the first approach of a west indian hurricane. the idea distressed me and gnawed my heart out. if you are a man of science you will understand and sympathize with me. if you are not, you will perhaps consider me a donkey. kalaua meanwhile remained as courteous and attentive as ever. but he often came in from the mountain much perturbed in soul, as i could see by his manner, and as i gathered, also, from his remarks to kea. i understood hawaiian pretty well by this time. i'm naturally quick at languages, i believe, and i've travelled about the world so much, in search of the playful and pensive volcano, that a new idiom comes to me readily: and besides, i had nothing to do while i lay idle on my bed but to take lessons in the native dialect from kea. now a pretty girl, it is well known, is the best possible teacher of languages. you understand at once from her mouth what you would only vaguely guess at on a man and a brother's. you read from her eyes what her lips are saying. "pélé's uneasy again, my niece," the old man would murmur often as he entered. "i never knew the crater more disturbed. pélé is angry. she will flood hawaii. she will drown the people. we must try to quiet her." kea looked down always when he spoke like that with a guilty look upon her poor young face. i understood that look. i knew she considered she had cheated the goddess by rescuing me from the flames, and i grieved to think that i should cause her unhappiness. "kea," i said to her one day, as she sat still sewing away at a pure white dress in the room by my side, "do you know anything of your english relations--your father's people?" kea burst suddenly into a flood of tears. "i wish i did!" she cried earnestly. "i wish i could go to them. i wish i could get away from hawaii for ever. i'm tired of this terrible, terrible island. it wears my heart out." and she flung away the dress from her in an agony of horror, and fled from the room, still crying bitterly. "i see what it is," i said to myself pityingly. "they want to marry that helpless young girl to somebody or other she doesn't like. probably a fat old native with a good thing in cocoa-nuts and sugar-plantations. poor child! i can easily understand her feelings. she, an english girl almost, in blood and sentiment, to be tied to some wretched old hawaiian ex-cannibal--some creature incapable of appreciating or sympathizing with her! i don't wonder she shrinks from the horrid prospect. she's a great deal too good and too sweet for any of them." i may mention however, to prevent misconception, that i was not myself the least little bit in the world in love with kea. i merely regarded her from a brotherly point of view, with friendship and gratitude. the fact is, a certain young lady in a remote english country rectory, who received a letter from me by every honolulu mail regularly, might have had just ground of complaint against me had i harboured any trace of such a feeling in my heart towards the gentle little hawaiian maiden. it was the thought of that particular english lady that caused me so much agony as i lay on the floor of mauna loa that awful morning. nothing else could have made me cling to the last chance of life with so fierce a clinging. for my own part, as a man of science, i have rather a contempt for any fellow who will not willingly risk his own neck, under ordinary circumstances, for any great or noble cause on which he may be occupied: and among such great and noble causes i venture to hold the pursuit of truth and natural knowledge by no means inferior to the pursuit of liberty or of material welfare. but when there's a lady in the case--why, then, of course, the case is altered. a man must then, to some extent, consult his own personal safety. his life is not entirely his own to lose: he has mortgaged it as it were on behalf of another. this however is a pure digression, for which i must apologize, on the ground that it is needful to prevent misapprehension of the relation in which i stood to kea. forgive me for thus for a moment dragging in my own private and domestic feelings. in a few minutes kea returned again. she had an envelope with a name and address on it in her hand. she gave it to me simply. her eyes were still red with crying. "that's where my father's people live," she said quietly. "i wish i was with them. my father wanted me to return to them when he died. but i was afraid to go, because--because, though they asked me after his death, they never wrote to me while he was alive--they never wrote to _him_ either--they were angry with him for marrying my mother." she said it with infinite tenderness and regret. i glanced at the address kea had given me, and saw to my surprise the name of her father's brother, he was a clergyman in kent, well known, as it happened, to my own family in england. "i wish you could go to them, kea," i cried earnestly. "whatever they think and feel now, they couldn't help liking you and loving you when they saw you. i wish you could get away from this dreadful hawaii!" "i wish i could," kea answered in a hopeless voice. "but--" she paused for a moment. "i must stop here now; i must stop here--till my marriage!" she pointed to the white dress that lay huddled upon the floor; and, with the tears welling up into her eyes once more, rushed madly and desperately out of the room like one distracted. i couldn't help contrasting the life of that peaceful kentish rectory with the awful surroundings of the priest of pélé, and wishing i could rescue that gentle girl from so terrible a place, as she herself had rescued me from the floor of mauna loa. and i wondered to myself to whom on earth they could ever mean against her will to marry her. meanwhile, in spite of my broken leg, the volcano itself attracted no little share of my distinguished attention. i couldn't go out to call on it in person, to be sure; but i had in frank an acute and well-trained assistant, who could be trusted to keep a steady eye upon its daily proceedings, and who knew exactly what traits in its character i wished him to report to me. in order that i might the more fully be kept informed from time to time of the state of the crater, and the momentary changes taking place in its temper and the lava level, i taught frank in his leisure moments how to work a heliograph. for that purpose i fastened a slanting piece of looking-glass to my own bed-head, and stationed my brother with a second mirror on the summit of the mountain, in a good position for observing the lake of fire and the smoke-stacks in its centre. on this simple form of telegraphic arrangement frank flashed me news by the morse code; so many long and short flashes in certain fixed and regular orders standing each for a certain letter: and i flashed him back by the same method my directions and remarks on his own despatches. in this way we constantly kept up quite a brisk conversation by means of the mirrors. "lava now rising in the main basin;" frank would flash over to me. "any fissures?" i would ask. in a minute the answer came promptly back, "yes, two, in the black basalt." "steam issuing from them?" "none at present, but clouds of dense smoke forming slowly in the second cavern." "all right: then note its volume and direction." and so forth for an hour at a time together. it relieved the monotony of my existence on my sick bed thus to carry on by proxy my accustomed avocations: and i was glad to feel i wasn't quite useless, even with my broken leg to weigh me down, but was honestly earning my bread (or at least my taro-paste) from the subscribers to the british association seismological committee fund. one evening, towards the end of my convalescence, frank came in in very high spirits (for mauna loa had been smoking like a german student that day) and found kea busy as usual at her endless task of making her own very extensive trousseau. she was at work now on a long white satin train, which certainly seemed to me far more expensive and handsome in texture and quality than i should ever have expected a hawaiian half caste girl to wear for her wedding. "what a swell you are, kea!" frank cried, half chaffingly. "i wonder what sort of a match you expect to make, that you're getting yourself up so smart for the occasion?" kea glanced back at him with a painfully sad and serious face. "i'm going to marry a very important personage indeed," she said solemnly. "a chief, perhaps?" frank suggested laughing, and peeling a banana. the tears stood in poor kea's eyes, though frank did not notice them. "higher than a chief," she answered slowly, with a deep-drawn sigh. "a prince of the blood-royal of hawaii, then," frank went on, boy-like, without observing how serious and painful the conversation seemed to the poor little half-caste. "higher than a prince," kea replied once more almost reverently. "what! not the king!" frank exclaimed in astonishment. "the king is married already," kea replied with dignity, the tears trickling one by one down her cheeks, unseen by frank, who, busy with his banana, couldn't observe her downcast face as well as i could from my place on the pillow. "higher than a chief! higher than a prince! higher than the king!" frank cried incredulously. "hang it all, kea; why, then, you must be going to marry the captain of an american whaler!" i laughed in spite of myself. hawaiian royalty, to say the truth, when you see it on the spot (as we had done at honolulu) is such a very cheap sort of imitation kingship! but kea, instead of laughing, burst suddenly into tears, and flung down her work on the floor in an agony of despondency. "frank," i cried, "how on earth can you tease her so? don't you see poor kea's dreadfully distressed? it's downright cruelty to chaff on such a subject." [illustration: "'if you knew all,' she answered,--'how you would pity me!'"] kea turned her big brown eyes full upon me, all tearful as they were. "if you knew all," she answered, "you would say so indeed. you would pity me, both of you--oh, how you would pity me!" and without another word, she rose like a queen and glided from the room, muttering to herself some inaudible sentence in hawaiian as she retreated. when she had left us alone, frank turned to me, abashed, with unusual earnestness and wonder in his voice. "tom," said he impressively, "does it ever strike you there's something very mysterious indeed about this marriage of kea's?" "how so?" i asked; though in fact i felt it quite as much as he did, but i wanted to hear frank's own unadulterated idea about the matter. "why, you see," he answered, "they're getting ready for a wedding: but where's the bridegroom? a marriage is never quite complete without a man in the proceedings. now, we've never seen any young man come courting around; especially not any one so very important as kea makes her future husband out to be. a bridegroom, i take it, is an indispensable sort of accompaniment to every respectable civilized wedding. you can't very well get on without him. but he's not forthcoming here. it seems to me there's something awfully uncanny about it all." "i often hear them speak among themselves," i said, "about somebody called maloka. i wonder who on earth this maloka is? i expect it's maloka she's going to marry." "i'll make inquiries," frank answered decisively. "we must get to the bottom of it. for my part, tom i don't half like the look of it." chapter ix. that night i hardly closed my eyes in sleep. my leg, which for several days had scarcely pained me, became troublesome once more with a sort of violent twitching neuralgic rheumatism. never before had i felt anything so curiously spasmodic. i had tossed about during the evening indeed a great deal more than usual, and kalaua, who noted my discomfort with his keen and observant hawaiian glance, asked me more than once how i felt, with apparent kindliness. i told him my symptoms in perfect frankness. "aha," he cried grimly, looking back at me with a smile. "that settles the matter. we shall have an eruption then. the old-time folk in heathen days always noticed that all neuralgic and rheumatic pains became far more severe when an eruption was brewing." "did they?" i answered languidly; "that was no doubt a mere heathen superstition on their part." "oh, no," he retorted with flashing eyes: "it was no superstition. it was solemn fact. wounds would never heal at such times, and broken limbs would set with difficulty. you see, in the old clays, we knew a good deal about wounds, of course--far more than nowadays. we were all warriors then. we fought and hacked each other. we were often liable to get severely injured. stone hatchets cut a man up so awkwardly." "why," i cried, "now you come to mention it, i remember the year i was working at etna, the sicilians at catania all declared that sprains and cuts and rheumatic affections would never get well before or during eruptive periods. i hardly believed them at the time, i confess; but if two people so widely apart in race and space as you and the sicilians both say so, i dare say there may really be something in it." "there _is_ something in it," kalaua echoed gravely. "i know it by experience." "an atmospheric or electric condition, no doubt," i said, lighting a cigarette. "our fathers used to think," kalaua corrected slowly, "that pélé's daughter was the goddess of disease; and when pélé was angrily searching for a victim, or when pélé's son, the humpbacked god, who lives with his mother among the ashes of the crater, was in search of a fresh wife among the daughters of men, then, our heathen forefathers used to say, the goddess of disease went forth through the land to prick the people with the goads and thorns that she pushed into their flesh and their veins and their marrow. pélé had many sons and daughters; all of them worked the will of their mother. the goddess of disease was the eldest and noblest--she searched everywhere for a victim for her mother." "and did she ever get one?" i asked with curdling blood. "yes," kalaua answered. "the hawaiians are brave. sometimes the people would suffer so much from pélé's daughter that some one among them, a noble-minded youth, would willingly offer himself up as a propitiation to pélé. then pélé's wrath would be appeased for the time, and the eruptions would cease, and the land would have slumber. but those, we know, were only foolish old heathen ideas. nowadays of course the hawaiians are wiser. "yes," i replied, smiling and withdrawing my cigarette. "the hawaiians nowadays are nominally christian." the phrase seemed to excite kalaua's suspicions. "we know now," he went on more quietly, with a searching look, "that eruptions are due to purely natural causes." "i hope," i said, "if an eruption's coming, i shall be well enough anyhow to get out and watch it. the doctor promised soon to let me have a pair of crutches." kalaua smiled. "if an eruption comes at all," he answered, with the air of a man who speaks of what he knows, "it'll come, i take it, on saturday next, and you won't be well enough to get out by then. the moon will be full on saturday at midnight. eruptions come oftenest at the full moon. our fathers had a foolish old reason for that, they said that pélé and her son had a grudge against the moon, and strove always to put it out with their belching fire, for eclipses, they thought in their ignorance and folly, were caused by pélé's humpbacked son trying to strangle the moon in its cradle." "why," i said, "that's likely enough, when one comes to think of it." kalaua gazed at me in speechless amazement. "that pélé's son is the cause of eclipses!" he cried, astonished. "no, no," i answered. "no such nonsense as that. but the connection may be real between phases of the moon and volcanic phenomena. the moon's attraction must be just as powerful on the lava in a volcano as on the water in the sea. there may be a sort of spring-tide tendency towards eruptions so to speak. and curiously enough, since you mention eclipses, there's going to be an eclipse of the moon on saturday." kalaua's face changed suddenly at the word. "an eclipse!" he cried, with intense solemnity. "an eclipse of the moon! on saturday!--impossible!" "no, not impossible," i said. "i see it by the almanac." "not total?" kalaua asked excitedly. "yes, total." i answered, amused at his excitement. "you think that will bring an eruption in its train?" "eclipses always bring eruptions," kalaua said solemnly. "our fathers told us so, and we ourselves have proved it." "well, you may be right:" i replied smiling; "we really know so little about these things as yet that it's impossible to dogmatize in any particular instance. but for my own part, i believe there's no counting upon eruptions. sometimes they come and sometimes they don't! they're like the weather--exactly like the weather--products of pure law, yet wholly unaccountable." kalaua rose width great resolution. "an eclipse of the moon!" he repeated to himself aloud in hawaiian. "kea, kea, come here and listen! an eclipse on saturday! how very strange, kea! that's earlier than any of us at all expected. how lucky we made our arrangements so well beforehand, or else this thing might have taken us all quite unprepared. there'll be an eruption. we must look out for that! i must go at once and tell maloka!" maloka, then, the mysterious bridegroom, lived quite near! kalaua could go out at a minute's notice, and speak to him easily. i longed to ask him who maloka was, where he lived, and what he did, but a certain sense of shame and propriety restrained me. after all, kalaua was my host. i had no business to go prying into the private affairs of a native family who had been kind enough to extend to me their friendly hospitality. kalaua left the room and went out hurriedly. i turned on my bed and tried to sleep. but try as i would, my leg still kept me persistently awake. frank was soon snoring soundly in his own room next door. i envied him his rest, and gave myself up to a sleepless night with what resignation i could manage to summon. gradually, as the night wore on i began to doze. a numb drowsiness stole slowly over me. i almost slept, i fancy; at any rate, i closed my eyes and ceased to think about anything in particular. for half an hour i was practically unconscious. then on a sudden, as i lay there dozing, a slight noise attracted my attention. i opened my eyes and stared out silently. the door of my bedroom was pushed gently open. a hand held it gingerly ajar for a while. a brown head was thrust in at the slit, and then another. "softly!" a voice murmured low in hawaiian. i lay still, and never moved a thread or muscle of my face, but gazing across dimly through my closed eyelids i could see that one of the men was kalaua; the other, i imagined, was a perfect stranger. my heart beat fast. strange thoughts thronged me. "surely," i said to myself, "this must be maloka." i was dying with curiosity to learn something more about that unknown bridegroom. but i dared not move. i dared not speak. a solemn awe seemed to thrill and overcome me. "is he asleep?" the stranger asked in a low voice. "yes, fast asleep," kalaua replied in hawaiian. "can he understand if he hears?" the stranger said again. "not much, if anything," kalaua answered. "he has only been such a short time in hawaii." i was glad they under-estimated my knowledge of their language. it enabled me to learn what they were talking about. "then we can speak with safety," the stranger went on. kalaua nodded, went out once more, and closed the door softly behind him. they both seated themselves as far as i could guess, on chairs in the sitting-room. oh, how i longed to hear the rest of their conversation! it was quite irresistible. curiosity got the better of my native prudence. i couldn't catch a word of what they were saying with any distinctness where i lay on the bed. i must rise and listen. i undid the splints that bound up my leg; crawled carefully across the room without jerking or hurting it; and throwing myself down at the bedroom door, bent eagerly though cautiously down to the key-hole. even so, i could catch but little. kalaua and the stranger were conversing in low and earnest tones in their native language. though i could understand hawaiian pretty well by this time, i found it hard to follow so rapid and familiar a colloquy between two hawaiians in half-whispered accents. they spoke of many things i didn't understand. but one thing i was sure i caught from time to time quite distinctly, and that was the oft-repeated name, maloka. they were talking of maloka, maloka, maloka. was this maloka? i asked myself more than once. if so, i should like to take a good look at the man who has to be kea's future husband. why all this mystery? this midnight meeting? why couldn't kea be quietly married like any one else? why couldn't kea's lover come to the house at a reasonable hour, like all the rest of humanity? i must clear up this question, one way or the other. it was very wrong of me, no doubt; but in my anxiety to learn the whole truth of the case, i held my eye for a second to the key-hole. the stranger's face was turned towards me now. i recognized him in a moment. he was one of the four tall, stately natives who had stood by kalaua's side on the brink of the precipice that awful day when kea rescued me. this, then, was maloka! my blood ran cold. kea married to this cold stern creature! but no. a minute later i caught their words once more. the stranger himself was speaking this time. "and you went down and told maloka exactly when and where to expect her?" he asked seriously. "yes," kalaua answered. "it's all arranged. i told maloka. i went out at once to see him and to tell him." a sudden thrill passed through me irresistibly. wrong again. this, then, was not maloka after all! but maloka, whoever he was, lived quite near. it had taken kalaua only half an hour or so apparently to go to his house and tell him the story of the expected eruption. "she may well be honoured," the stranger murmured. "so great a marriage is indeed an honour to any girl in hawaii." they whispered together for a few minutes longer in a lower voice, even more mysteriously, but i could catch very little of all they said, except that now and then the words "marriage," "bridegroom," "bride," and "distinction" fell upon my ears quite unmistakably. once, to my surprise, my own name, too, came into their colloquy. i strained my ears to catch the meaning. they repeated it once more. strange! i couldn't quite understand what they meant, but i seemed to be somehow mixed up with the mystery. was this--could it be, some wonderful heathen plot or contrivance to carry me off and marry me perforce against my will to kea? "she rescued him," i heard kalaua say in a very stern tone: the next words i couldn't quite catch, then he added more distinctly, "and she must marry him." "it is the law of our forefathers," the strange hawaiian repeated. "life for life. bride for husband." "for fifty years have i served faithfully," kalaua said, "and now i may surely be honoured in the marriages of my family." "good," the other man answered. "you will see to the bride; and i for my part will take every care that the bridegroom is ready." "don't fear for me," kalaua replied. "the daughters of the hawaiians shrink not from their duty." he rose, and walked across the room in the opposite direction from that of the door where i still sat crouching on the ground in my night-shirt, with my broken leg extended sideways in front of me. he went up to the wall and pushed aside a picture that hung from a nail near the ceiling before me. behind it was a small brass knob. he took a little key from his pocket, which he fitted into the midst of the knob, and suddenly, with a spring a door opened. it was the door of a cupboard or small recess let into the wall, and in it i saw for the twinkling of an eye an apparition of something brilliantly red and yellow. i knew in a second what that thing was. it was the royal robe of sacred feathers that kalaua had worn as his priest's costume when he solemnly dedicated me to the anger of pélé. behind it, two horrible goggle eyes shone forth with lurid gleams into the blank room. i knew those too, they were the eyes of the mask--that grinning mask that kalaua wore as the sign of his priestship. hideous, barbaric, staring things; but kalaua regarded them with the utmost veneration. "everything is correct," he whispered, looking over the strange paraphernalia with a stern look of content and handling them reverently. "the wedding shall come off, then, duly as arranged. we know the place, the day, and the hour. i answer for the bride: you answer for the bridegroom. all is well. it is an auspicious marriage. may they live happily ever after!" "such is the prayer of all the hawaiians," the stranger answered, with the air of a man who recites some liturgy. [illustration: "'everything is correct,' he whispered."] kalaua bowed his head solemnly. "among the faithless," he said, "we at least are faithful." he shut the door once more, and locked it securely. then he turned towards the room where i was eagerly watching him through that narrow key-hole. how i knew what was coming next i can never tell, but i _did_ know somehow that they were moving across once more to my hiding place. fear supplied me with strength and agility. dragging my leg after me again with breathless haste, i managed to scramble back into my bed somehow, and, pulling the sheet over me, to feign sleep, before those two savage devotees of a dead religion were once more leaning over the pillow beside me. next instant, i heard the door pushed cautiously open a second time; and peering afresh through my closed eyelids, i saw kalaua and his nameless satellite steal over softly to where i lay half dead with terror and excitement. i closed my eyes and waited, awestruck. were they really come to murder me or to carry me off by force? were they going to marry me against my will to kea? did kalaua mean to put me there and then through some hideous and inhuman wedding ceremony? was i the bridegroom for whom the stranger was to answer? was this the secret of their sudden kindness to me? was i bound to atone for the saving of my life by accepting in wedlock the last daughter and heiress of the priests of pélé? but no! my suspicions must surely be wrong. it was maloka, maloka, that unknown maloka, who was destined to be the simple little brown maiden's hated bridegroom. i must find out soon who maloka was; but for the moment, fear got the better of curiosity. the two hawaiians approached on tiptoe to my side. my heart beat hard, but i gave no token. i lay as still as death, and breathed heavily. i felt rather than heard them stoop down and look at me. "asleep?" asked the stranger. "asleep!" kalaua answered. "let us see!" the stranger said, and moved his robe a little. i knew he had drawn a knife from his girdle. i felt him raise it but i never cringed. there was a moment's suspense--an awful suspense, for i didn't feel sure they hadn't come to murder me--and then, apparently satisfied, the men withdrew; the footsteps retreated as stealthily as they had approached; and the door was closed again noiselessly behind them. they had only come, after all, to make sure i was asleep and had heard nothing. whatever this business might be on which they were engaged, they evidently meant to conduct it with the utmost secrecy. whatever these things meant, they did not mean murder. chapter x. next morning, as i lay on the sofa in the verandah, humming and idling, with kea still stitching away at the very last touches on her wedding garments beside me, i saw by a sudden glitter in my mirror that frank was anxious to heliograph me a message. pulling the cord that moved my looking-glass, i flashed back "well?" frank answered by signal, "big ship off hilo. gunboat apparently. flying british colours. a party is landing." i signalled back by code, "try to attract their attention if possible, and ask them what's their business in hawaii." for a few minutes frank seemed engaged in establishing communications with the newly-arrived gunboat, and made me no reply; but i soon saw he had succeeded in forcing himself upon their notice at last, for he was flashing back question and answer rapidly now, as i judged by the frequent and hasty movements of his dancing mirror. by and by he turned the ray upon my sofa again. "gunboat _hornet_," he signalled in swift flashes, "pacific squadron: party of twenty men sent ashore by admiral's orders to make arrangements for observing total eclipse of the moon on saturday evening." i was glad to hear it, for we began to feel the want of civilized society. that same morning the doctor rode up to see me again, and brought me a very welcome present--a pair of crutches. on these i was now to be permitted to hobble about, and i took advantage of my liberty that very afternoon by stumping up, with frank's aid, to the mouth of the crater. while i stood there, supported on my two sticks, and watching the lava still grunting and grumbling as uneasily as ever--for it was clear that pélé was in a grumpy mood and a big eruption was slowly brewing--we were joined by the officers and doctor of the _hornet_ on their eclipse observation expedition, accompanied by several sailors and natives, with ponies, tents, and other necessaries for camping out on the very summit, high above the level of the ordinary cloud-veil. the new-comers were surprised to find a scientific man already on the spot, in possession as it were, and gladly availed themselves of my knowledge of the mountain in choosing a good and suitable station for their tents and instruments. i confess, after the terrors by which i had lately been surrounded, it was no small relief to me to find ourselves reinforced as it were by a strong and armed body of our own fellow-countrymen. i breathed a little more freely when i knew at least that help was at hand should we ever chance to stand in need of it. i sent off frank at once to show the naval men what seemed to me the best position on the whole mountain for pitching their tents and setting up their observatory, and, under my directions, he led them straight to a low peak on the right of kalaua's, over-looking the crater and the floor of the hawaiians. it was a jutting point with a good open platform on the very summit, composed of rock a good deal softer than the mass of basaltic lava which makes up in great part the cone of that vast and seething volcano. the men of the _hornet_ were delighted with my selection, which combined all the advantages of shelter and position, and began forthwith to unpack their belongings and settle themselves down in their new quarters. for myself. i hobbled back after a while to the house to rest and observe their actions through a field-glass from a distance. now, at any rate, we should be quite safe from any machinations of our hawaiian entertainers. as i reached the door kalaua came out, his face all livid with anger and excitement. evidently the new turn of affairs had greatly displeased him. he had been away all the morning, and had only just returned. his eyes were fixed now on the party on the summit, and some strange passion seemed to be agitating his soul as he watched their preparations for camping on the platform. "who are all these people here?" he cried out to me in english, flinging up his hand as soon as i was well within speaking distance, "and what do they want with their tents and their instruments here on the open top of mauna loa?" "they're a party of english naval officers," i answered, "from a gunboat that has just steamed into the harbour, and they've come up by order of the admiral to observe the eclipse of the moon on saturday." kalaua's countenance was an awful sight to look upon. never before or since has it been my lot to behold a human face so horribly distorted with terror and indignation as his was that moment. his features were ghastly. they reminded me of the mask of his heathen ancestors. it seemed as if some cherished hope of his life was frustrated and disappointed, dashed to the ground at once by some wholly unexpected and untoward incident. "kea," he cried aloud in hawaiian to his niece within, "this is awful! this is unendurable! come out and see! the english are camping on the platform of observation." at the words, kea sprang out upon the balcony from the room within where she had been sitting alone, and shaded her eyes with her hands as she looked up in an agony of suspense and expectation towards the distant peak. in a moment some sudden passion thrilled her. then she clasped her fingers hard and tight in front of her, as it seemed to me with some internal spasm of joy and satisfaction. "i see them," she cried, "i see them! i see them." "they shall never remain there!" kalaua shouted again, stamping his foot on the ground with resolute determination. "if they stop there till saturday, it will spoil all! i won't permit it! i can't permit it!" then he turned to me more calmly, and went on in english, "i know a much better place than that, up on the left yonder, less exposed a great deal to the open wind and the glare of the volcano." he pointed as he spoke to another peak, away off to the west; a peak that did not look down nearly so sheer into the hollow of the crater and the sea of fire. i had thought of that place too, and rejected it at once, as being in fact far more exposed and windy than the other. [illustration: "she looked up in an agony of suspense."] i shook my head. "oh, no," i said, "the peak they've chosen is by far the best one." "you think so?" "i am sure of it." kalaua turned away with an angry gesture. "better or worse, they shall never camp there!" he exclaimed with warmth. "the hawaiians are masters still in hawaii. whether they will or whether they won't, the englishmen shall move their tents from that peak there. we will never allow them to occupy that spot. we will make them shift from the platform of observation." "i don't think you'll find it easy to turn away an english detachment," i observed quietly. kalaua clenched his fist hard, and ground his teeth. "anywhere but there," he muttered, "and there, never!" he stalked away angrily with long hurried strides towards the point where frank and the sailors, all unconscious, were pegging their tents and staking out their encampment with a merry hubbub. what happened next i could only observe vaguely at a distance through the medium of my glass; i learned the details afterwards more fully from frank and the officers. but what i could notice for myself most clearly nearer home was this--that all the time while kalaua was parleying with the englishmen on the mountain, kea stood still quite breathless on the verandah, watching the result of her uncle's action with the keenest interest and the wildest emotion. she watched so closely that i couldn't help feeling the result was a matter of life and death to her, and it somehow seemed to me that her hopes were now fixed entirely on the white men's resolve to maintain the position they had first taken up on the point of the mountain. it was clear from what we saw that the englishmen insisted on maintaining their position. in about an hour, kalaua returned, trembling with rage. "it's no use," he cried, "i can't turn them off. they _will_ camp there. i've said my best, but i can't dislodge them: they must take their lives in their own hands." and he flung himself like a sulky child into an american rocking-chair on the broad verandah. as for kea, i saw her look up suddenly, with a wild flash of relief coming over her white face. next moment, a fixed despair succeeded it. "no use, no use," she seemed to say to herself. "they will have to go yet. a respite, perhaps, but not a rescue." kalaua sat and rocked himself moodily up and down like one who resolves some desperate adventure. when frank returned late at night to kalaua's, he told me the full story of that hasty interview. the old hawaiian had gone up to the mountain determined to put a stop to the camp on the platform at all hazards. at first, his manner was all politeness and sweet reasonableness. he offered them water from the well at his own house, and he had come, he said, with the utmost suavity, to save them from choosing an unsuitable spot, and putting themselves in the end to immense inconvenience by having to move to some better position. he pointed out a thousand imaginary disadvantages in their present site, and a thousand equally imaginary points of superiority in the one he himself had selected for them. he knew the mountain from top to bottom: no one could choose as well as he could. but the officers stuck to their point steadily. this was the place to observe the eclipse from, and here they meant to camp out accordingly. wouldn't they at least sleep down at his house? no, thanks, they p>referred to camp out by themselves, according to orders, here on the open. then kalaua began to lose his temper. what right had they, he asked in a threatening voice, to come trespassing there on private property? the first lieutenant responded promptly by showing a letter from the king at honolulu, authorizing the officers and men of the _hornet_ to choose a place for themselves anywhere on the open summit of mauna loa, all of which was government demesne, with the solitary exception of kalaua's garden. the old native's anger grew hotter and hotter. they couldn't say why, but it was quite clear that some private end of his own would be interfered with if the officers were allowed to camp out within view of the crater and the floor of the hawaiians. i had very little doubt myself, from what frank told me, that some native superstition was at the bottom of his objection. i thought it probable there was a taboo upon the place--it was in all likelihood a seared spot of pélé's. i remembered the fate of the man who trod the floor of pélé and i wondered what would happen to our friends from the _hornet_. however, in the end, as the naval men refused to be moved by either threats or entreaties, kalaua retired at last in silent wrath, muttering to himself some unintelligible words about the folly of white men and the might of the volcano. "take care," he cried, as he turned on his heel, flinging back his last words at them. "you've chosen the most dangerous spot on the whole mountain. it reeks with fire. the rock about there is all inflammable. mauna loa will take care of itself. if you drop a match upon it, it'll burn like sulphur." the officers laughed and took no more notice. they didn't know as well as i did how deep and fierce a hold heathendom still exercised over the minds and actions of these half-savage natives. when frank told me all this in the silence of our own rooms by ourselves that evening, my heart somehow sank ominously within me. "frank," i said, "i don't know why, but i'm sure there's mischief brewing somewhere for us and for kea. i wish we knew something more about this man maloka they're always talking about. i feel that some terrible plan is on foot for that poor girl's marriage. the mystery darkens everywhere around us. thank heaven, the english sailors have come to protect us." "i asked several natives about maloka to-day," frank replied quietly; "but though they all knew the name, they only laughed, and refused to answer. they seemed to think it an excellent joke. one of them said he didn't trouble himself at all about people like maloka. and then they all looked very serious, and glanced around as if they thought he might possibly hear them. but when i asked if maloka lived near by, behind the peaks, they burst into roars of laughter again, and advised me not to be too inquisitive." "strange," i answered. "he seems to live close here upon the summit, and yet we never happen to come across him." "where's kalaua now?" frank asked. "gone out," i answered. "he went away early in the evening. perhaps he's visiting his friend maloka." "i wish i could follow him," frank cried eagerly. "i'd like to catch this maloka by the throat, whoever he is, and i'll bet you sixpence, if i once caught him he'd be pretty well choked before i let him go again." "did the _hornet's_ men send down for water to kalaua's well?" i asked. "oh, yes," frank answered. "they took up some pailfuls." "humph!" i said. "i hope kalaua hasn't put anything ugly into it." chapter xi that night, like the nights before, i tossed and turned on my bed incessantly. the pain in my leg had come back once more. it was long before i dropped asleep by degrees. when i did sleep, i slept very heavily, almost as if some one had drugged or tampered with my drink at dinner. in the stillness of the night, a sound again awoke me. i raised my head and gazed up suddenly. could this be kalaua and his friend again? no, not this time. a red glare poured in at the window. and it was frank who stood with a warning finger uplifted close by my bedside in the glow of mauna loa. "tom," he whispered in a hoarse, low voice, "there's foul play going on, i'm certain. i see nobody in kalaua's room, and just look how red it all is to eastward." at the word, i jumped out of bed awkwardly, and crept to the window as well as my injured limb would permit me. sure enough, a lurid light hung over the peak where the sailors were encamped: "give me the glass!" i cried. frank handed it to me hastily. i looked and saw a great glare of fire surrounding the tents with their white awnings. at first my eyes told me no more than that: after a while, as i grew more and more accustomed to the gloom, i could see that a dozen little points of fire were blazing away around the frail canvas shelters. "there's something up on mauna loa," i cried. "an eruption!" frank inquired with bated breath. "no, no," i answered. "not a mere eruption. worse than that--a fire, an incendiary fire. the ground around them seems to be all one blaze." "kalaua said it was inflammable, you remember," frank cried. "but sulphur would never burn like that," i answered. "i fancy he must mean to turn them out by fair means or foul; and as far as i can see he's succeeding in his object." "you think it's he who's set it on fire then?" frank asked curiously. "run up and see," i answered. "the sailors are awake and moving about hastily; but perhaps you may yet be of some use to them." "all right," frank answered, "i'll be with them like wildfire." in a minute he had tumbled into his coat and trousers, pulled on his boots, clapped his hat on his head, and run out lightly up the road to the encampment. by the time he reached the burning summit, i could see with the glass that the whole camp was in a perfect turmoil of wild confusion. the sailors were rapidly unpegging the tents and carrying away the instruments from the burning patch to a place of safety lower down the mountain. i could make out frank joining eagerly in the task; he was helping them now with all his heart and soul. i only wished i too was there to second him. in this struggle of science against savage malignancy, my indignant sympathy went fiercely out on the side of knowledge. but my lame leg kept me painfully inactive. presently, in the dim light, far nearer home, i saw two men creep slowly down the crater path from the summit: two skulking men, with native scarves tied loosely round their waists; tall and erect, lithe and cautious. i recognized them at once; one was kalaua, the other was his visitor of the preceding evening. they crept down with the air of men engaged on some criminal undertaking. in their hands they bore two empty tin kegs: i knew the shape well; they were american petroleum cans! like lightning the truth flashed through my startled brain. for some reason or other best known to themselves, these two secret votaries of an almost extinct faith desired to dislodge the eclipse-observing party from the peak that overhung and commanded the crater. they feared perhaps the wrath of their hideous goddess. unable to move the englishmen by force of reasoning, they had tried to drive them out from this sacred site by means of fire. they had saturated the porous and sulphurous soil here and there with petroleum. no pity, no remorse; they must have meant to burn them as they lay, for then, applying a match to it quietly, they had stolen away, leaving the flames to fight the battle in their absence against the sleeping white men, whom they had perhaps supplied with drugged water from the well in the garden. at the gate they separated. it was a weird sight. neither spoke, but both together bowed down thrice in the direction of the steaming crater. after that each placed his palms against his neighbour's. then kalaua stalked silently on towards his own house; his companion descended the zig-zag path that led right down to the floor of the strangers. could maloka live in some cave of the platform? it was terrible to dwell in an atmosphere like this--an atmosphere of doubt, suspicion, and heathen treachery. save for kea's sake i would have left it at once. but kea's fate bound me still to the spot. i must learn the truth about this terrible marriage. for half an hour i sat and watched, while the observers on the hill-top ran to and fro in their eager desire to save their tents and baggage from the menaced destruction. happily, they had waked before the fire reached them. at the end of that time, frank and the first lieutenant came down with news. "how goes the fire?" i asked in breathless eagerness. "almost under now," the officer answered cheerily. "we've managed to put it out somehow for the present. but what can you do in the way of putting out fire when the very earth under your feet's inflammable! i never saw stuff burn like that. the flames spread at first on every side with just wonderful rapidity." "ah," i put in as carelessly as i could. "lava, i suppose, and sulphur, and so forth?" "h'm," the lieutenant answered with a dubious sniff. "_you_ may call it sulphur and lava if you like; but for my part, i think it smelt precious like petroleum." "you don't mean to say so!" i cried, astonished at this independent confirmation of my worst suspicions. "yes, i do," he answered. "that's just about the name of it. and petroleum doesn't grow of itself in hawaii." "tom," my brother said, coming up to me quietly, and speaking in a very unwonted whisper; "this is not the place to discuss all these things. the sooner you and i can get out of it the better. it's my belief kalaua has saturated the ground with something and set it on fire." "i don't know what particular heathen did it," the officer put in with a confident tone; "but of this i'm sure, that somebody's poured coal oil all over the place. i smelt it distinctly. now, i don't mind camping out on volcanoes or craters when they're left to themselves, but i'm hanged if i like them when they're stirred up with coal oil to go burning down the tent over a fellow's head. it's clear these sandwich islanders are inhospitable folk; they don't mean to let us pitch our tents on that particular spot; and if they can't turn us out one way, why then they'll turn us out in another. as it is, we've lost already two of our tents, and it was a blessing we didn't lose the whole lot together, not to mention the lives of her majesty's lieges to our care committed, for we were snoring most peacefully when the fire began." "how did it all happen?" i asked with interest. "why, just like this. we were lying asleep, like warriors taking their rest, on our own mattresses--sound asleep, every man jack of us--when i saw a glare shining under the tent, which i suppose would never have woke me if a spark hadn't happened to fall on my forehead. my first idea was that the volcano had got up an eruption on purpose in our honour: but when i got outside and looked at the ground, i came to the conclusion it couldn't be that for various reasons, and i set it down to your friend the native. for one thing, the place just reeked of petroleum, and for another, it was only alight on the surface, in half-a-dozen different places at once, exactly as if somebody had set a match to it." "and what did you do then?" i inquired. "oh, i waked the men--and i never knew men so hard to waken. by dint of care however we've put it out, and i've come down here to talk the thing over with you." "well, what do you think you'll do now?" i asked. "why, the british tar doesn't like to be beaten," my new friend answered, "but i'm shot if i'm going to lie still and be roasted alive in my bed like a salamander. these fellows seem too shifty for us to deal with. open fighting i don't object to, mind you, but i do object to baking a man to death unawares while he's sleeping. it's distinctly caddish. the other place seems a very decent one. it's not so good as this in some ways, i admit, but it'll do anyhow better than a baking. and as soon as we can get away down to honolulu, we shall have the law against these petroleum-spilling brown fellows." "you will get no redress," i said. "no hawaiian will believe any story against pélé. but at any rate you had better move for the present. some evil will befall you if you stop where you are. kalaua sticks neither at fire nor poison." and sure enough, they were forced to shift their quarters next day to the place kalaua had at first pointed out to them. by this time indeed i will frankly confess, it was beginning to strike me that kalaua's was not a safe place to live in. we had almost made up our minds indeed that as soon as the eclipse was well over, we would return on the _hornet_ to honolulu. kea's wedding alone could detain us longer: but my curiosity on that point was so strong and vivid that i determined to ask our new friends to wait till it was over, and then to take us with them to the neighbouring island. i couldn't bear to abandon her to kalaua's mercy. meanwhile, the sailors were busy with their own preparations, for the eclipse arrangements took up their whole time. for the next few days accordingly frank was all agog with this new excitement. he was running about all over the summit from morning till night, deeply engaged in the mysteries of tent-pegging, and absorbed in discussions of level, theodolite, telescope, and spectrum analysis. he was proud to display his knowledge of the volcano to his new friends. he showed the first lieutenant every path and gully round that terrific crater: leaped horrible fissures, yawning over abysses of liquid flame, with the junior midshipman; and made the good-humoured and easy-going sailors teach him marvellous knots, or instruct him in the art and science of splicing. as for me, i hobbled about lamely on my crutches as well as i could, envying him the ease with which he did it all, and longing for the time when i too might get about up and down the crater on my own two legs, without let or hindrance. "sailors are awfully jolly fellows," frank confided to me one evening, after a day spent in exploring and setting up instruments. "upon my word, do you know, tom, if i wasn't so awfully gone on volcanoes, i think i'd really run away to sea and be a gallant midshipmite." "for my part i don't care for such dangerous occupations," i answered prudently, gazing down with pensive regret into the slumbering crater, that heaved now and then uncomfortably in its sleep with the most enticing motion. "a storm at sea's an unpleasant sort of thing. i don't like all that tossing and plunging. give me the peace and quiet of dry land, with no more excitement than one gets afforded one by an occasional eruption or a stray earth-quake, just to diversify the monotony of every-day existence." and indeed i could never understand myself why anybody should want any more adventurous life than that of a sober scientific man, with a taste for volcanoes. none of your hurricanes and tornadoes for me. a good eruption's fun enough for anybody. the point finally selected by the naval men for their camp and observatory lay at some considerable distance from kalaua's house, but full in view from the open verandah. it was difficult of access however in spite of its position, because a huge gully or rent in the mountain-side, descending to several hundred feet below, intervened to separate us; and the interval could therefore only be covered by something like half an hour's hard riding. i was not able myself accordingly to assist at any of their preparations; i could only sit on the verandah like an idle man, and watch them through a good field-glass, which enabled me to follow all their movements intelligibly, and to interest myself to some small extent in the details and difficulties of their extensive arrangements. during these few remaining days, before the expected eclipse, kea sat with me often on the verandah doing nothing, for her work on her trousseau was now all finished; but she seemed more pre-occupied and self-centred than usual, as if dreading and hating her expected marriage. i felt sure she disliked the husband they had chosen for her. often when i spoke to her she brought her eyes back suddenly, as if from a great distance, and sighed before she answered me, like one whose mind has been fully engaged upon some very different and unpleasant subject. she asked me much too, at times, about her father's brother and friends in england, about the life in our quiet home country, about people and places she had heard her father talk about in her early childhood. she knew them all well by name; her father, she said, had loved to speak of them to her. evidently he had been one of those wild younger sons of a good family, who had left home early and gone to sea, and taking to a roving pacific life had fallen in love with some young hawaiian girl, kalaua's sister and kea's mother, for whose sake at last he had made his home for life upon a lofty peak of these remote islands. his family, displeased at his marriage, no doubt, had all but cast him off; and even if they invited kea to come home to them in england after his early death, they would have had no great affection, one may easily believe, for their little unknown half-caste kinswoman. yet i felt sure if only they could once have really seen kea they must have loved her dearly, for there was something so sweetly pathetic and winsome in her child-like manner that no one who saw her could help, in spite of himself, sympathizing with her and liking her. "are there any volcanoes in england?" kea asked me once, after a long pause, with sudden energy. "unhappily, no," i answered, with a quiet sigh of professional regret. "that's my one solitary cause of complaint against my native country. it's disgustingly free from volcanic disturbances. britain is much too solid indeed for my private taste. it affords no scope for an enterprising seismologist. there were some good craters once, to be sure, in geological times, at mull and cader idris, but they're all extinct long since. we haven't a volcano, good, bad, or indifferent, anywhere nearer us than hecla or vesuvius." "then i should love england," kea replied very quietly. "oh, mr. hesselgrave, if that's so, what on earth made you ever leave england to come to such a country as hawaii?" she spoke so earnestly, that i hardly liked to tell her in cold blood, i came just for the sake of those very volcanoes which seemed to impress her own private fancy so very unfavourably. there's no accounting for tastes. i've known people who loved yachting and didn't mind a bear hunt, yet wouldn't go near an eruption for a thousand pounds, and could hardly even be induced by the most glowing descriptions to look over the edge of a sheer precipice into the smoking crater of an active volcano. some folk's prejudices are really astonishing! as if volcanoes weren't at bottom the merest safety-valves to the internal fires of our earth's centre! the few remaining days before the date of the eclipse passed by, i am happy to say, uneventfully. i was grateful for that. excitements indeed had come so thick and fast during these late weeks that a little quiet was a welcome novelty. and the presence of our english friends from the gunboat gave us further a sense of confidence and security to which we had far too long been strangers. we knew now, at least, that a british war-vessel lay moored in the harbour below to watch over our safety. on one of the intervening evenings, as i sat in the verandah smoking a cigarette alone in the pleasant cool of tropical twilight, i heard two natives, hangers-on of kalaua's, talking together in the garden, where they were busy picking fruit and flowers for the use of the house on the grand occasion. at first i paid little heed to their conversation: but presently i thought i overheard among their talk the mysterious name of that strange maloka. i pricked up my ears at the sound. how very curious! then they too were busy with the great event. i listened eagerly for the rest of their colloquy. "what are the flowers for?" the younger man asked, as he laid some roses and a great bunch of plumbago into a palm-leaf basket. "garlands and wreaths for maloka's wedding," the elder answered in a hushed and lowered voice. "it will be a very grand affair, no doubt," the younger went on quietly. "they've made great preparations. i saw the dress that kea is to wear, and the bridesmaids' veils. very fine, all of them. quite a festival! shall you go and see it?" "if kalaua allows me," the other answered. "she's a pretty young girl," the younger man continued in an unconcerned voice, still filling his basket. "a great deal too good to my mind for a wretched creature like maloka. what does an ugly fellow such as that want with a young and beautiful wife like kea? i'd give him some ugly old crone to match himself, i can tell you, if only i had my way about it." "hush," the elder answered with a certain solemn tone of awe in his voice i had often noticed the natives used when they talked together about this unknown bridegroom. "maloka may be ugly and dark if you will, but he is a grand husband for any girl to light upon. you young men nowadays have no respect for family or greatness. it is a proud thing for a girl to marry such a bridegroom as maloka." "well, as far as i'm concerned," the young native answered, with a slight toss of his head, "i don't think so much as you do of the whole lot of them. the family's all very well in its way, but an ugly girl would be quite good enough for a fellow of that sort. what's the use of throwing away beauty like hers upon maloka? nicely he'll treat her. however, it's no affair of mine, of course; her uncle and herself have settled the wedding. all i shall do is to go and look on. it'll be worth seeing. they say it's going to be the grandest wedding that ever was made in all hawaii since king kamehameha's daughter was married long ago to another member of the same family." the old man laughed at this, as if it were a joke: but somehow his laughter sounded painfully grim. i felt that whatever maloka's family might happen to be--and it was clear that the natives thought it a very distinguished one--it was not famous for kind treatment of the unhappy women it took as brides to its illustrious bosom. my heart was sore for poor little kea. to be sure, she acquiesced in the marriage, no doubt, but then girls will sometimes acquiesce in anything. it was painful to think she was going to marry a native whom even coarse, common natives like these regarded as unworthy of her on any ground except that of family connection. but the hawaiians, i knew, have still to the full all the old barbaric love of aristocratic descent and distinguished ancestry. "a good match" would atone for anything. at last the saturday of the expected eclipse arrived in due time, and all the day was occupied by frank and the naval officers in final arrangements for their scientific observations. at kalaua's house, too, great preparations seemed to be going on; it was clear some important event was at hand: we almost suspected that kea's wedding must be fixed for the sunday, or at least the monday morning following. kea tried on all her things early in the day, i believe; and many hawaiian girls came in to help her and to admire the effect of the veil and trimmings. but a less merry wedding-party i never heard in my life before. a cloud seemed to hang over the entire proceeding. instead of laughing and talking, as the natives generally do on the slightest provocation, we could hear them whispering below their breath in solemn tones in kea's room, and though lots of flowers had been picked and arranged for the occasion in long wreaths and garlands, the girls didn't make sport, as usual, out of their self-imposed task, but went through with it all with profound and most unwonted sombreness of look and movement. kea had said her betrothed was somebody of very great importance. i began to think he must be some one so awfully important that nobody dare even smile when they thought or spoke of him! i had never heard of any one quite so important as that before, except the head master of a public school; and it seemed in the highest degree improbable that kea should be going to marry the provost of eton, or the principal of clifton or cheltenham college. [illustration: "kea tried on all her things."] when evening drew on, we all had supper together at kalaua's--the naval officers, frank, and myself--and then the eclipse observation committee went off under frank's efficient guidance round the long gully to their chosen station. i meant to observe them there through my field-glass myself, and see what sort of scientific success was likely to attend their arduous labours. for a while i sat and mused in silence. the house seemed unusually still and lonely after frank left. kalaua, kea, and the native servants were none of them loitering about on the verandah or in the sitting-room, where they generally lounged. i seemed to be in sole possession of the establishment, and i hobbled out by myself a little way on to the platform in front of the house, wondering what on earth could have become of all the inhabitants in a body together. my leg was nearly well now, i could get along nicely with the aid of the crutches. i was almost sorry indeed i hadn't tried to ride a horse, game leg and all, and go round with the eclipse party to the camp of observation. yet somehow i felt uneasy, too, at kea's absence, and my uneasiness was increased, i don't know why, by the constant glare that overhung the crater. the lava was unusually red-hot to-night; the great eruption we had long expected must surely be coming. i hoped it would wait till my leg was quite well; a lame foot is more than enough to spoil the whole pleasure of the best and finest volcanic outburst to an enthusiastic amateur. i went back to the house and called twice for kea. nobody answered. my suspicions were quickened. i ventured to open the door of her bedroom. it was empty--empty! all the wedding-dresses and wreaths and veils were gone from their places, where i had often observed them when the door stood ajar in the course of the morning. a vague sense of terror fell upon my soul. what could all this mean? where was kea? and why was she out at this time of night, with all her friends, and in her wedding garments? i called a third time, and nobody answered. but out on the platform in front of the house i saw an aged hawaiian hag, a witch-like old woman who hung about the place and lighted the fires, sitting crouched on the ground with her arms round her knees, and grinning hideously at my obvious discomfiture. "where's kea, old lady?" i cried to her in hawaiian, as well as i could manage it. the horrible old woman grinned still more odiously and maliciously in reply. "gone out," she answered, mumbling her words in her toothless mouth so that i could hardly make them out or understand them. "where to?" i asked angrily, for i was ill at ease. "how should i know?" the old woman growled back. "i suppose to the festival." "the festival! where? what? when? whose festival?" "the festival of maloka," the old hag mumbled with a cunning smile. with a sudden horror i remembered then that maloka was the mysterious person to whom, as i concluded, kea was engaged--the person whom she and kalaua had so often mentioned in their low and whispered talk with one another. "who's maloka?" i cried, sternly laying my hand upon her withered shoulder, "quick! tell me at once, or it will be the worse for you." "he's pélé's son," the old hag answered, chuckling to herself with a horrible chuckle. "he lives with his mother, his angry mother, away, away, down in the depths of mauna loa. he's pélé's favourite. she loves him dearly: and she often asks for a wife for maloka." in an instant the whole hideous, incredible truth flashed wildly across my bewildered brain. they were going to sacrifice kea to this hateful god! they were going to fling her into the mouth of the crater! they were going to offer her up in marriage to the son of pélé! chapter xii. "which way have they gone, you hag?" i cried, shaking her in my fierce anger. the old woman raised one skinny brown finger, and pointed with a grin in the direction of a zig-zag path which lay to the left of kalaua's roadway. without waiting one second to deliberate, or question her, i set off at once upon my crutches, bounding and scurrying over the ground like a kangaroo by successive leaps, and hastening forward at a brisk rate which i should have thought beforehand no crutches on earth would possibly have compassed. i reached the path, and turned hastily down it. the track was rough and difficult to traverse, even for an active man with both his legs to go upon; but for me, in my present halt and maimed condition, it was terribly hard and all but impracticable. nevertheless, impelled by horror and fear for poor kea's safety, t hurried along at a mad rate down the steep zig-zag, careless whether i fell or not in my wild haste, but eager only to prevent i knew not what awful heathenish catastrophe. i only prayed i might yet be in time to save her life. after many stumbles and hairbreadth escapes, rolling over and over with my crutches by my side, i found myself at last on the floor of the strangers, not far from the spot from which i had fallen before, but separated from it by a narrow chasm in the black basalt--a chasm, riven deep in the solid rock, and filled below, as i saw at once, with a fiery strait of white-hot lava. it was full moonlight. away off to the left, on the summit of the mountains, i saw the camp-fires of the naval eclipse parties. they were standing there, etched out distinctly against the pale sky-line; and i could recognize every one of their faces with ease through that clear air in the bright light of a tropical moon. but not a sign of kea was to be seen anywhere. i looked anxiously round for her, and met no token anywhere. the old woman must surely have misdirected me on purpose. fool that i was to have believed that hag! kea and her party could hot have come this way at all towards the crater. i saw my mistake. they had sent me wrong by deliberate design! at this supreme moment kalaua had intentionally attempted to escape my notice. suddenly, as i looked and wondered in awe, a strange procession began slowly to descend the mountain side opposite, beyond the chasm, into the mouth of the crater. at its head came the man in the feather mask whom i had seen that day that i broke my leg on the edge of the precipice, and whom i now more distinctly than ever recognized as indeed kalaua. there was no mistaking his gait and carriage. he stalked on proudly in front of the procession. next after him, bearing rods with bunches of feathers fluttering in the breeze from their tops, came the four acolytes who had stood by his side that awful morning when he solemnly devoted me to the devouring volcano. then four hawaiian girls in white bridesmaids' dresses, with long garlands of oleanders strung round their necks, followed in order, two by two, waving their hands slowly above their heads, and chanting native _himenés_, as they call their long monotonous wails and dirges. my heart stood still as i saw with horror that kea walked last, with downcast eyes, habited in her full bridal dress, and with the white veil falling round her in folds almost to her ankles. behind her straggled a few hushed and awe-smitten spectators, half friendly assistants at this ghastly ceremony. i saw them all clearly but two hundred yards off, though the chasm in the rock with its red mass of molten lava below separated me from them far more effectually than a mile of intervening distance could possibly have done. [illustration: "a strange procession began slowly to descend."] my first impulse was to cry aloud with indignation and horror. my next, for kea's sake, was to hide myself at once behind a black jagged pinnacle of hardened lava before they caught sight of me. i did so almost as soon as the procession began to file slowly past the turn of the road; and it was by peering with caution round the corner of the pinnacle that i had observed them all as they descended two by two along the narrow foot-path. step after step they moved gradually down, to the long-drawn music of those unearthly _himenés_. kea, in particular, glided on like a ghost, with downcast eyes and shrinking demeanour, yet not so much in the manner of a victim as of one who willingly and heroically devotes herself to some terrible end for the good of her country. i knew she believed she was averting the wrath of pélé, and i gasped with horror at her awful resolution. presently, the procession reached the floor of the strangers, on whose platform i myself was already crouched flat, though always separated from me by that terrific chasm; and advancing still to the lugubrious sound of these doleful _himenés_. kalaua placed himself on the edge of the precipice, at the very spot where i myself had fallen over in pursuit of the butterfly. kea, moving forward with slow and solemn steps, stood at his right hand, in her bridal dress, with her bloodless fingers clasped downward in front of her. then kalaua began, in a strange cramped voice, to drone out some horrible dedicatory service. it sounded like the service he had droned out over myself on the morning of my accident: but i understood hawaiian much better now, and could follow the words of his frightful litany with very little difficulty. crouching behind the shadow of my broken lava pinnacle, i saw and heard the whole savage orgy like some unseen presence in that vast and self-lighted natural cathedral. "great mother pélé," kalaua began, intoning his words on a single note and dividing his address into curious irregular verses--"great mother pélé, who dwellest in the fire-lake, queen of the hawaiians, we, thy children, bow ourselves down in worship before thee. "we assemble in thy temple, oh, thou, that delightest in the flesh of white-skinned chickens: we come into the outer threshold of thy house, oh, thou, that ridest on the red flaming surges. "sugar-cane, and tappa-cloth we offer to thy children: a bride, a wife, to thy favourite, to maloka. "five sons thou hast borne in thy home, below; and one is humpbacked; thy favourite maloka. "a white man came from the lands beyond the sea: a pale-faced stranger; a wanderer to hawaii. "of thy own accord thou chosest him a victim for thyself. he fell into thy trap. the white man's foot trod forbidden ground: the floor of thy children, of thy children, the hawaiians. "in thy wrath, thou rosest to crumple him to ashes: thy flames soared upward like tongues of fire; dancing and surf-riding on the billows of flame, didst thou put forth thy red right hand to seize him. "come forward, kea!" the trembling girl came forward timidly. kalaua continued his awful chant once more, shaking his robe, and slowly dancing. "a maiden rescued him: a mortal maiden. she stole the victim from the clutches of pélé. "no hand might save him against thy will: the force of a mortal avails not against the fiery might of a living goddess. "thou, pélé, lettest him go for very contempt; thou gavest up the prey from thy fingers willingly. "for such as her, a law is laid down. "victim for victim: life for life: whoever snatches an offering from pélé, himself must satisfy the wrath of the goddess. "were it not so, thou wouldst deluge the land with lava; thou wouldst swallow the towns in the jaws of earthquakes: thou wouldst lick up the cane-fields with red tongues of fire. "thy son, maloka, thy favourite, the humpbacked, he cried aloud to his mother for the maiden in marriage. "'give me this girl, he cried aloud, oh pélé: give me this maiden who snatched away thy victim.' "thou, pélé, madest answer: 'my son, i give her thee.' thou didst turn uneasily in thy flaming home, and threaten the hawaiians with a deadly vengeance. "see, we bring her: and we give her to maloka; willingly, of her own accord, the maiden comes: on maloka's night, arrayed as a bride in snow-white raiment, eager for her fate. "come forward, attendants!" the bridesmaids, in their wreaths and garlands, stepped forward. i listened, horror-struck. "kea, do you take this god, maloka, for your wedded lord?" in a stifled voice, tremulous but firm, kea answered aloud in her soft hawaiian, "kalaua, i take him." "maloka, do you take this girl, kea, for your wedded wife?" and even as he spoke kalaua cast something invisible from his hand with a dexterous throw, into the yawning abyss of lava below him. i then observed, for the very first time, that while the ceremony went on, the lake of fire had risen by slow degrees in the crater, and stood flush now with the floor of the hawaiians. the volcano, as if in response to his direct question, gave a hideous roar, excited, i suppose, into some minor eruptive effort by the object he cast into it, which seemed to crash down and break upon a smouldering smoke-stack. it was as though the mountain had answered back in words, "oh, priest, i take her." kalaua leaned forward, shaking and agitating his sacrificial robes. "at the stroke of midnight," he went on solemnly, "at the actual moment when maloka the humpbacked climbs aloft to put out the moon, we will take the bride into the bridegroom's chamber. when maloka the humpbacked puts out the moon, then leap, kea, into the arms of your husband. see, see, how lovingly he stretches out his fiery arms for you in his chamber below there! when he rises in his might to put out the lamp that rides in heaven, then leap into his embrace. 'tis the signal he gives you! till then, sit still, and await your husband!" kea sat down by the edge of the precipice, on an isolated block of black basalt, and leaning her little chin on her small white hand, gazed below in awe and silent expectation on the flood of lava. i knew, then, exactly what kalaua meant. at the precise moment of the total eclipse, kea was to leap into the abyss of the volcano. i took out my watch, and consulted it anxiously, it wanted more than half-an-hour still to the actual point of absolute totality. i had that half-hour only to save kea in. i saw her there seated on the edge of the abyss. i knew that the moment the moon was finally obscured, she would rise from her place, and leap madly forward of her own accord, into that sea of lava. she thought it her duty to appease the goddess. how to rescue her i could form no plan. even if i rushed forth in my horror and managed by some miracle to span with a leap that yawning chasm that spread so wide between us, what was one lame white man among so many wild and heathenish hawaiians? i could do nothing. i was helpless, powerless. if i set out to call the naval officers to my aid, long before i reached them, kea's charred and mangled corpse would be floating, a mass of blackened ashes, on the fiery flood in the still rising crater. i trembled with horror. and yet--and yet-and yet i must do _something_ to rescue kea! chapter xiii. on the summit above, all unconscious of this ghastly and incredible tragedy taking place within a stone's throw of where they stood, i could see frank and the men from the gunboat, busying themselves quietly with their eclipse arrangements, as if nothing more terrible than an ordinary volcanic outburst were proceeding anywhere in their immediate neighbourhood. the bright tropical moonlight revealed their forms and faces to me almost as clearly as the noonday sun: i could even distinguish the play of their features, and notice how frank was laughing and talking, with his usual good-humoured boyish merriment, to the officers and sailors. the contrast was nothing short of appalling. on one side, those easy-going sea-faring men, with their finished instruments of modern science, calmly engaged in observing and noting down the face of our distant satellite: on the other side, that group of stern and sombre half-heathen hawaiians, occupied in the horrible and cruel rites of an effete and proscribed barbaric religion. never, i thought to myself, did civilization and savagery stand closer together, cheek by jowl: never did the two extremes of human thought and human sentiment come in nearer contact, all unconscious and heedless one of the other. for neither party could see round the corner of jagged rock that overhung and divided them; i alone, looking either way up and down the crater, could take in both groups at a single glance--the scientific observers and the wild heathen priests of that human sacrifice. but how to attract the notice of the englishmen! if only i could manage to catch frank's face! if only i could fling up my arms and sign to him to come! but he _would_ not look! it was terrible! it was agonizing! suddenly, an inspiration seized me unawares. the heliograph to the rescue! i might signal to him by the moonlight. one chance yet left! my mirror! my mirror! i felt for it in my pocket with trembling fingers. one moment of hope. then an abyss of despair. i had left it at home by the sofa at kalaua's. that chance was fruitless. to have made my way back for it would have been of little avail. i could not fail in that case to attract kalaua's keen attention, as i hobbled painfully in the broad moonlight up the zig-zag path: and to attract attention under existing circumstances would probably mean all the sooner to hasten poor trembling kea's impending fate. i must think of some other means of communicating with frank. i must find some less obtrusive and dangerous way of calling the sailors and officers to our assistance. how short a time still remained to us! i took out my watch and gazed at it hopelessly. in another burst of inspiration, then, i saw my way clear. a mirror! a mirror! all ready to hand! i could signal still! i could call their attention! my watch was a gold one--a naval chronometer: the inside of the case was burnished and bright. i held it up straight in the bright beams of the moon, and as frank's face turned for a moment in the direction where i stood, or rather crouched under cover of the pinnacle, i flashed the light full in his eyes from the reflecting surface. thank heaven! thank heaven! he started and observed it. i signalled three rapid flashes for attention. frank flashed me back, yes, from his own pocket mirror. my hands shook so that i could hardly hold the watch aright: but with tremulous fingers i managed somehow to spell out the words, "come quick. bring sailors. steal cautiously round the dark corner. there's foul play on. kalaua means to make kea leap into the crater as a bride to pélé's son at the moment of totality." in a second, i saw that frank and the officers had taken it all in in its full ghastliness, and that, if time enough remained, kea might yet be saved from that awful death in the fiery abysses. without one moment's delay their men seized the horses, and leaving one or two, officers alone to continue the observations, dashed wildly down the ravine, and into the gloom of the gully. then, for a few minutes more, i lost sight of them entirely. when they emerged again to view, on the floor of the strangers, they had left their horses, and, headed by frank in his white jacket, were creeping cautiously, unperceived, under cover of the broken masses of lava, round the sharp corner of the jutting platform. my heart bounded as i saw them approach. there was still some chance, then, of saving kea! had she been my own sister i could not have felt the suspense more awful. as we gazed below we saw, to our dismay, that the lake of fire was still tossing and rolling with wild wreathing billows, and that it had risen visibly several feet in the last few minutes. while we still looked, the moon's face began slowly to darken. the eclipse had commenced. we had only a quarter of an hour yet to the period of totality. in a few short words, i explained to frank and the sailors he had brought with him the entire situation in all its gravity. i told them all i had seen and heard; and their own eyes confirmed my report: for there stood kea full in view, round the corner of the pinnacle, beyond the open chasm, in her white dress, with her hands clasped in inarticulate prayer, and her pale face turned up appealingly towards the cold moonlight. she had but a quarter of an hour left to live. yet near as we were to her, it would have taken us more than fifty minutes to ride round the crater by the outer rim to the only practicable path on the other side of the chasm. "what are we to do?" i cried, in my horror, though in a low voice, for it was necessary above all things not to arouse the hawaiians' quick attention. "we must cross the chasm somehow," the eldest officer of the party answered at once. "we can't let the poor girl be sacrificed before our very eyes." "if we only had a rope, and could once get it fastened on the other side, we might sling ourselves across, hand over hand," frank suggested eagerly. "we have rope, lots of it, on my saddle over yonder," the officer answered. "but we can't get it fastened. if only the chasm were narrow enough to leap! but it's quite impossible. no athlete on earth could ever jump it." "stop!" frank cried. "the bamboo! the bamboo!--i had a big bamboo down here the other day, stirring up lava in a liquid pool in the small craters. there it is--over yonder. i think with that--" he said no more, but creeping over for the bamboo, crawled noiselessly on with it to the edge of the chasm. we all followed him on our hands and knees, skulking behind the pinnacles, and concealed from the hawaiians by the rough lava-masses. i seemed to forget my half-mended leg in the excitement of the moment, and to crawl along as easily and as quickly as any of them. on the very edge of the deep fissure, now boiling below with liquid fire, frank laid across the bamboo from cliff to cliff, so that it hung, a frail bridge, across that yawning abyss of sulphurous vapour. with great difficulty, he thrust it home on the far side into a honey-combed mass of crumbling scoriae lava. "now stand, you fellows, on the end," he said, "to give it weight and keep me from slipping. i'm the lightest of the lot: it'll bear me, i suppose, if it'll bear anybody. i'm going to cross it, hand over hand, and take a rope with me for you others to come over by. if it breaks, i shall fall into the lava below. no matter: it's jolly white hot down there now; it'd frizzle me up, if it came to the worst, before i could feel it." the sailors brought all their weight to bear upon the loose end. i knelt by myself, breathless with suspense, to see the result of this mad experiment. the bamboo was frail and supple indeed: if it broke, as frank said, all would be up with him. but frank was too brave to heed much for that. he tied the rope round his waist in a running noose, caught hold of the bamboo with both his hands, and swinging himself off the edge with a quiet and gentle swaying motion, so as to lessen as far as possible the strain of that slender bridge, hung one moment like a gymnast, from a trapeze, suspended between the sky and the gulf of liquid lava. it was a terrible moment. all eager with excitement, we leaned over the abyss, and watched him rapidly but quietly passing hand over hand across that frightful chasm. as he reached the middle, the bamboo for one indivisible second of time bent ominously down under his light weight. would it yield? would it crack? if so, the next instant we should see him falling, a lost life, into that hideous strait of liquid fire. for half a throb of the heart, our agony of doubt and suspense was unspeakable. next instant, he had passed in safety the central point; the weight was easier; the faithful bamboo curved slowly up again. we breathed more freely. he had reached the far end; he was grasping the cliff, the further cliff, in eager confidence, with that brave young hand of his. the lava was loose; all bubbly with holes like a piece of rotten pumice-stone. "frank, frank," i cried in a low voice, but beside myself with terror, "take care how you trust it. the stuff's all dry. it never can bear you. don't try to grasp it!" [illustration: "the bamboo bent ominously down."] "all right," frank answered low, as he struggled on. "there's no foothold anywhere near the edge. i must go in for a somersault. thank goodness that gymnasium work i used to hate so has done something for me unexpectedly at last." as he spoke, he vaulted with a light leap on his hands up the edge of the precipice. the next thing we knew, he was standing, safe and sound, with the rope round his waist, a living soul, on the further brink beyond the chasm. a sigh of relief burst simultaneously from all our lips. "now, quick!" the officer cried. "not a moment to be lost! swing yourselves over, men, and make haste about it!" frank held the end of rope in both hands firmly, twisting it for greater security twice round his body: and the slenderest of the sailors, trusting himself the first to this safer bridge, crossed over the chasm with the ease and rapidity due to long practice on the masts and rigging. as soon as he had landed unhurt on the far side, he helped frank to hold the end of the rope; and one by one his five companions and the officer last of all made good their passage in the self-same manner. i alone was left to keep up touch and facilitate their return to the hither side; for we felt we must probably fight for kea. our plan was to seize her by main force, before the natives were aware, retire with her to our horses, and ride down at all speed to the _hornet_ at hilo. "now, look sharp: make a dash for it!" the officer said, in a muffled voice. "out into the open, and seize the girl at once! never mind the men. carry her off in your arms before they know what's happening, and back here again to the rope immediately." i stood and watched on the further bank of that fiery strait. the moon's light meanwhile had been growing each instant dimmer and dimmer. the greater part of the orb was already obscured. the moment of totality was rapidly approaching. kea, warned by a word from her uncle, stood up in her bridal dress and faced the awful flood of surging lava. kalaua, by her side, began once more to drone out in long notes his monotonous chant. he flung a handful of taro, with a solemn incantation, into the mouth of the volcano. "see, pélé," he cried, "we bring thee thy daughter-in-law. see, maloka, we bring thee thy chosen bride. at the stroke of midnight, at the appointed hour, thou hast put out the lamp in heaven, the moon. this is thy signal: we mortals obey it. o humpbacked favourite of pélé the long-haired, the bride will go into the bridegroom's chamber.--maloka, hold up thy hands for thy handmaid! leap, kea, leap, into the arms of your husband!" i looked and trembled. kea stepped forward with marvellous courage. through the dim light of the ruddy volcanic fires i could see her draw back her white veil from her face, and make as though she would meet some lovers embraces. then the last corner of the moon disappeared all at once in darkness from my sight, and for half a moment, at that critical point, i saw and heard nothing with distinctness or certainty. next instant, as if by magic, a weird red glare illumined the scene. great arms of fire lunged forth spasmodically from the open crater. maloka had leaped forward with his scorching hands, to claim his bride in fiery wedlock. the eruption had at last begun in real earnest. huge volumes of flame darted up with commingled black smoke towards the vault of heaven. a lurid light hung upon the massive clouds overhead. stones and ashes and cinders fell wildly around us. the crater had broken loose in its fiercest might. the rivers of liquid fire were welling up all round and bursting their bounds with majestic grandeur. and in the midst of all, by the uncertain light of that deep red glare, i could just see frank and the friendly sailors bearing off kea in her bridal robe, half fainting, half unwilling, before the very eyes of the astonished and amazed hawaiians. our party had rushed upon them from behind, unawares, at the very first instant of total eclipse, and seized her in their arms, in the act to jump, from the circling ring of baffled natives. thank heaven, then, they had been in time; in time to save her from the cruel volcano and the crueller superstition of her heathen ancestors. "back, now, back, to the chasm and your horses!" the officer cried in a tune of command, at the top of his voice, as kalaua and the natives, recovering after a moment from their first shock of surprise, and gathering together into an angry knot, began to show signs of attempting an organized resistance. "carry off the girl between you, there, at the top of your speed. no time to lose! the lava's rising." he pointed his revolver. "and if one of you heathen brown fellows come a single step nearer," he added with a menace, "i'll put a bullet through his ugly black head, as soon as look at him." kalaua leaped forward with a wild and almost inarticulate cry of rage and disappointment. "seize them, friends," he shrieked aloud in his hoarse hawaiian. "kill them! tear them to pieces! how dare they interfere with the bridals of maloka?" bat even as he spoke, a river of lava burst suddenly forth from the mouth of the seething crater, and spread a broad stream of liquid fire between the infuriated natives and the little band of kea's gallant protectors. "run, run," kalaua cried. "down the other road! by the black rocks! intercept them at the gulley. kill them! kill them! they're pélé's enemies! however you do it, kill them, kill them!" the officer, unheeding their savage threats, stalked on to the chasm, and pointed firmly but quietly to the rope that still spanned it. kea, dazed and frightened, yet graceful and light of limb as ever, clasping it hard in her small fair hands, swung herself across to my side with native ease, while the sailors held the ends of the cable on the bank opposite. then one by one the others followed swiftly in turn, with admirable discipline, in spite of the shower of ashes, till only frank was left by himself beyond the deep abyss of boiling lava. "how will he ever get over?" i cried, looking across at him in alarm and terror. "oh, don't be afraid, old fellow!" frank shouted back cheerily. "leave that to me! i'm as right as ninepence. thank goodness, i can hang from a rope like a monkey!" and with a hasty movement, he began to roll the end of the cable tight around his waist and to tie it firmly in a slip-knot to his sturdy shoulders. how he could ever drop himself down so steep an abyss with flame below, i had no notion. on the other hand, i knew he dared not trust the bamboo again. it had bent already too severely with his weight, almost indeed to the point of breaking; and half charred as it now was with the constant heat ascending for ever from that subterranean furnace, it would no doubt have snapped short in the middle by this time, if he had been foolish enough to attempt crossing by its aid a second time over the few yards of chasm that intervened to divide us. frank however had a device of his own. planting his feet hard against the edge of the precipice, he swung himself off like a monkey, with the rope grasped hard in his two hands; and even as he fell, kicking off from the side, he gripped it quickly hand over hand, till he brought himself up with wonderful agility level with the opposite side where we were all standing. half a dozen stout arms were extended at once to pull him safe to solid land; and in another moment we all stood secure, with kea in our midst, a recovered party, on the brink of the crater, undeterred by anything more serious in its way than an ordinary everyday volcanic outburst. "off to the horses!" the officer cried aloud; and before i knew what was happening, two of the sailors had seized me in their arms, and were hurrying me away at a break-neck pace up the steep zig-zag to the level of the summit. in the ravine, we came, sure enough, upon the horses, tethered and guarded by a couple of sailors. "mount," the officer cried with military promptitude: and the men mounted, not exactly, i must confess, with the ease or grace of cavalry orderlies. i mounted myself, too, with what skill i could command, taking into consideration that broken leg of mine; and giving the trusty little ponies their heads, we rode at full speed in breathless haste, but in long indian file down the narrow bridle path to the base of the mountain. i knew well the gully where the two roads joined, and where kalaua had threatened to meet us in hostile array with his proscribed band of heathen followers. it was an ugly spot, with great overhanging rocks to defend the pass, and if they got there first, i knew we should have to fight them for possession of kea. all depended now upon the swiftness and sureness of foot of our ponies. to be sure, we were mounted, while kalaua and his party were all on foot; but then, most of us had been greatly delayed by the necessity for recrossing the chasm on the rope bridge in order to get at our path and our horses; and even apart from this unavoidable stoppage, very few ponies, at the best of times, can cover the ground faster than an unimpeded hawaiian. those fellows can run like a deer or greyhound. i trembled for the result if they held the rocks above the fort in full force. they could hurl down stones upon us from the heights with infinite ease, crush us like locusts as we passed beneath them: even fire-arms there would be useless against a party that held the pass in any numbers. [illustration: "we rode at full speed in breathless haste."] on, on, we rode, in fear and trembling. the volcano now was all in full blast. ashes and pumice stone kept falling around us. smoke and steam obscured our way. but the dangers of nature frightened us little in comparison; what we dreaded most was the desperate onslaught of the enraged hawaiians. as we drew near the fort however i breathed again more freely. not a sign of kalaua was anywhere to be seen. we rode along, cautiously, under the overhanging rocks. no hawaiian showed his grim black head above or below us. then kea, with a shriek, guessed in a moment exactly what had happened. "the lava has overwhelmed them!" she cried, clasping her hands together in girlish trepidation. "they are dead! they are dead! my uncle! my people! pélé will not be robbed of her victim at any rate. the lava has burst forth in one great flood and swallowed them." and indeed, when we reached a turn in the bridle path, and looked up the ravine down whose rugged centre the other road descended tortuously, a terrible sight met our astonished eyes. the summit of the mountain was now one red and lurid mass of living fire. through the gully along whose course kalaua and his followers had plunged in the first darkness of the total eclipse to cut off our retreat, a vast river of red-hot lava was pouring onward resistlessly in huge fiery cataracts. we could see the fierce stream descending apace over ledges of rock like a flood of molten metal poured forth from the smelting-bowl; we could see it engulfing trees and shrubs and stumps and boulders in its plastic mass; we could see it overwhelming the whole green ravine with one desolating inundation of fire and ashes. "quick, quick," i cried; "ride, ride for your lives. you may think volcanoes are nothing much to be frightened of; but, i tell you, a volcano in such a temper as that is not by any means a thing to be trifled with. she's mad with rage. the stream's coming down the valley straight for the fork; take at once to the ridge, and ride on for your lives. ride, ride across country, anyhow, to the _hornet_ at hilo!" "and me!" kea cried, looking back at me appealingly, for she headed our little hasty procession. "what's to become of me? of me, who have brought it all by my sin upon you! of me, for whose sake pélé is so angry! of me, who roused her wrath by stealing away her victim! leave me here to die! kalaua is dead! my people are swallowed! i meant myself to die in their place, but you wouldn't let me! leave me here to perish! if you don't leave me, pélé in her anger will pursue you on your way to the sea itself, to the foot of the mountain!" "ride on!" i answered. "ride on to hilo. is this a time to make plans for the future? we'll discuss all that, kea, on the deck of the _hornet_." that evening, on board the british gunboat, lighted up by the terrific glare overhead, we had time to reflect what it all meant, and to feel ourselves free to think and speak again. "what will you do now, kea?" i asked the poor girl, as she sat there, trembling, in a small cabin chair, while the red flames still illumined for miles and miles the summit and flanks of mauna loa. "do you wish to stop here in your own island?" kea looked up at me with a half terrified glance. "i wish," she said in a low voice, "to be as far away from pélé and maloka as possible..... kalaua is dead. pélé has devoured him..... i will leave my husband on my wedding night. i will go home to my father's people." "that is best so," i answered quietly. "hawaii is no place for such as you. i don't think maloka will ever miss you. we will go on the _hornet_ away to honolulu. there you can take passage with frank and me on the next steamer for san francisco, on your way home to dear, peaceful england." "why," frank exclaimed, with a look of immense surprise, "you don't mean to say, tom, you're going to turn your back upon a volcano--and in actual eruption, too, into the bargain!" "bother volcanoes!" i answered testily. "one may have too much of a good thing. i don't care if i never set eyes on another eruption as long as i live. so that's flat for you." "nonsense!" frank promptly replied with spirit, refusing to desert an old friend in a moment of vexation. "that's all very well now, when you're annoyed with pélé for misbehaving herself; but i'll bet you sixpence, in spite of that, you'll be off again before twelve months are over, exploring some other jolly crater in sumatra or teneriffe, or the antarctic regions." and sure enough, as i put the last finishing touches to these lines for press, the post brings me in a letter in an official envelope, "on her majesty's service," informing me that the lords commissioners of the admiralty have been graciously pleased to accept my suggested appointment for three years on a scientific mission to investigate the volcanic phenomena of cotopaxi and other craters in the chain of the andes. by the same post, i have also received a note from my sister, who is now stopping down at the kentish rectory where kea lives with her english relations, and who says, among sundry other pieces of domestic criticism, "what a dainty, charming, lovable girl your pretty little hawaiian really is, tom! so gentle and good-natured, and so sweetly pensive! i can hardly believe, myself, there's anything of the cannibal sandwich islander in her! she's as fair as i am, and quite as european in all her ideas and thoughts and sentiments. when she doesn't talk nonsense about pélé, in fact, i almost forget she isn't one of ourselves, she's so perfectly english. but the rector says he can't allow her to teach in the sunday school till she's quite got over that heathenish rubbish. by the way, i shouldn't be surprised if she and her cousin hugh were some day to make a nice little match of it, if only hugh can ever persuade her that it wouldn't be bigamy, and that she isn't already duly married to some ugly, mythical, humpbacked creature of the name of maloka." domestic folk-lore. by rev. t. f. thiselton dyer, m.a., oxon., _author of "british popular customs" and "english folk-lore."_ cassell, petter, galpin & co.: _london, paris & new york._ [all rights reserved.] preface. for the name "folk-lore" in its present signification, embracing the popular traditions, proverbial sayings, superstitions, and customs of the people, we are in a great measure indebted to the late editor of _notes and queries_--mr. w. j. thoms--who, in an anonymous contribution to the _athenæum_ of 22nd august, 1846, very aptly suggested this comprehensive term, which has since been adopted as the recognised title of what has now become an important branch of antiquarian research. the study of folk-lore is year by year receiving greater attention, its object being to collect, classify, and preserve survivals of popular belief, and to trace them as far as possible to their original source. this task is no easy one, as school-boards and railways are fast sweeping away every vestige of the old beliefs and customs which, in days gone by, held such a prominent place in social and domestic life. the folk-lorist has, also, to deal with remote periods, and to examine the history of tales and traditions which have been handed down from the distant past and have lost much of their meaning in the lapse of years. but, as a writer in the _standard_ has pointed out, folk-lore students tread on no man's toes. "they take up points of history which the historian despises, and deal with monuments more intangible but infinitely more ancient than those about which sir john lubbock is so solicitous. they prosper and are happy on the crumbs dropped from the tables of the learned, and grow scientifically rich on the refuse which less skilful craftsmen toss aside as useless. the tales with which the nurse wiles her charge asleep provide for the folk-lore student a succulent banquet--for he knows that there is scarcely a child's story or a vain thought that may not be traced back to the boyhood of the world, and to those primitive races from which so many polished nations have sprung." the field of research, too, in which the folk-lorist is engaged is a most extensive one, supplying materials for investigation of a widespread character. thus he recognises and, as far as he possibly can, explains the smallest item of superstition wherever found, not limiting his inquiries to any one subject. this, therefore, whilst enhancing the value of folk-lore as a study, in the same degree increases its interest, since with a perfect impartiality it lays bare superstition as it exists among all classes of society. whilst condemning, it may be, the uneducated peasant who places credence in the village fortune-teller or "cunning man," we are apt to forget how oftentimes persons belonging to the higher classes are found consulting with equal faith some clairvoyant or spirit-medium. hence, however reluctant the intelligent part of the community may be to own the fact, it must be admitted that superstition, in one form or another, dwells beneath the surface of most human hearts, although it may frequently display itself in the most disguised or refined form. among the lower orders, as a writer has observed, "it wears its old fashions, in the higher it changes with the rapidity of modes in fashionable circles." indeed, it is no matter of surprise that superstition prevails among the poor and ignorant, when we find the affluent and enlightened in many cases quite as ready to repose their belief in the most illogical ideas. in conclusion, we would only add that the present little volume has been written with a view of showing how this rule applies even to the daily routine of domestic life, every department of which, as will be seen in the following pages, has its own folk-lore. t. f. thiselton dyer. _brighton, may, 1881._ contents. chapter i. birth and infancy. page value of superstitions--lucky days and hours of birth--the caul--the changeling--the evil eye--"up and not down"--rocking the empty cradle--teeth, nails, and hands--the maple and the ash--unchristened children 1 chapter ii. childhood. nursery literature--the power of baptism--confirmation--popular prayers--weather rhymes--school superstitions--barring out 16 chapter iii. love and courtship. love-tests--plants used in love-charms--the lady-bird--the snail--st. valentine's day--midsummer eve--hallowe'en--omens on friday 23 chapter iv. marriage. seasons and days propitious to marriage--superstitions connected with the bride--meeting a funeral--robbing the bride of pins--dancing in a hog's trough--the wedding-cake--the ring 36 chapter v. death and burial. warnings of death--the howling of dogs--a cow in the garden--death-presaging birds--plants--the will-o'-the-wisp--the sympathy between two personalities--prophecy--dying hardly--the last act--place and position of the grave 48 chapter vi. the human body. superstitions about deformity, moles, &c.--tingling of the ear--the nose--the eye--the teeth--the hair--the hand--dead man's hand--the feet 65 chapter vii. articles of dress. new clothes at easter and whitsuntide--wearing of clothes--the clothes of the dead--the apron, stockings, garters, &c.--the shoe--the glove--the ring--pins 81 chapter viii. table superstitions. thirteen at table--salt-spilling--the knife--bread, and other articles of food--wishing bones--tea-leaves--singing before breakfast--shaking hands across the table 100 chapter ix. furniture omens. folk-lore of the looking-glass--luck of edenhall- clock-falling--chairs--beds--the bellows 111 chapter x. household superstitions. prevalence and continuity of superstitions--sneezing- stumbling--a whistling woman--sweeping--breaking crockery--fires and candles--money--other superstitions 120 chapter xi. popular divinations. bible and key--dipping--sieve and shears--crowing of the cock--spatulamancia--palmistry and onymancy--look-divination- astrology--cards--casting lot--tea-stalks 134 chapter xii. common ailments. charm-remedies--for ague--bleeding of the nose--burns--cramp- epilepsy--fits--gout--headache, &c. 148 chapter xiii. miscellaneous household lore. horse-shoes--precautions against witchcraft--the charmer--second sight--ghosts--dreams--nightmare 169 index 181 domestic folk-lore. chapter i. birth and infancy. value of superstitions--lucky days and hours of birth--the caul--the changeling--the evil eye--"up and not down"--rocking the empty cradle--teeth, nails, and hands--the maple and the ash--unchristened children. around every stage of human life a variety of customs and superstitions have woven themselves, most of which, apart from their antiquarian value, as having been bequeathed to us from the far-off past, are interesting in so far as they illustrate those old-world notions and quaint beliefs which marked the social and domestic life of our forefathers. although, therefore, many of these may appear to us meaningless, yet it must be remembered that they were the natural outcome of that scanty knowledge and those crude conceptions which prevailed in less enlightened times than our own. probably, if our ancestors were in our midst now, they would be able in a great measure to explain and account for what is often looked upon now-a-days as childish fancy and so much nursery rubbish. in the present chapter it is proposed to give a brief and general survey of the folk-lore associated with birth and infancy, without, however, entering critically into its origin or growth, or tracing its transmigration from one country to another. commencing, then, with birth, we find that many influences are supposed to affect the future fortune and character of the infant. thus, in some places great attention is paid to the day of the week on which the child is born, as may be gathered from the following rhyme still current in cornwall:- "sunday's child is full of grace, monday's child is full in the face, tuesday's child is solemn and sad, wednesday's child is merry and glad, thursday's child is inclined to thieving, friday's child is free in giving, saturday's child works hard for his living"-a piece of folk-lore varying, of course, in different localities. by general consent, however, sunday is regarded as a most lucky day for birth, both in this country and on the continent; and according to the "universal fortune-teller"--a book very popular among the lower classes in former years--"great riches, long life, and happiness" are in store for those fortunate beings born on sunday, while in sussex they are considered safe against drowning and hanging. importance is also attached to the hour of birth; and the faculty of seeing much that is hidden from others is said to be granted to children born at the "chime hours," _i.e._, the hours of three, six, nine, or twelve--a superstition found in many parts of the continent. there is, too, an idea prevalent in germany that when a child is born in leap-year either it or its mother will die within the course of the year--a notion not unknown in our own country. again, from time immemorial various kinds of divination have been in use for the purpose of discovering the sex of an infant previous to its birth. one of these is by means of a shoulder-of-mutton bone, which, after the whole of the flesh has been stripped clean off, must be hung up the last thing at night over the front door of the house. on the following morning the sex of the first person who enters, exclusive of the members of the household, indicates the sex of the child. we will next turn to some of the countless superstitions connected with the new-born child. a highly popular one refers to the caul--a thin membrane occasionally found covering the head at birth, and deemed specially lucky, as indicating, among other things, that the child will never be drowned. it has been, in consequence, termed the "holy" or "fortunate hood," and great care is generally taken that it should not be lost or thrown away, for fear of the death or sickness of the child. this superstitious fancy was very common in the primitive ages of the church, and st. chrysostom inveighs against it in several of his homilies. the presence of a caul on board ship was believed to prevent shipwreck, and owners of vessels paid a large price for them. most readers will, no doubt, recollect how thomas hood wrote for his early work, "whims and oddities," a capital ballad upon this vulgar error. speaking of the jolly mariner who confidently put to sea in spite of the ink-black sky which "told every eye a storm was soon to be," he goes on to say- "but still that jolly mariner took in no reef at all; for in his pouch confidingly he wore a baby's caul." it little availed him, however; for as soon as the storm in ruthless fury burst upon his frail bark, he "was smothered by the squall. heaven ne'er heard his cry, nor did the ocean heed his _caul_!" advocates also purchased them, that they might be endued with eloquence, the price paid having often been from twenty to thirty guineas. they seem to have had other magical properties, as grose informs us that any one "possessed of a caul may know the state of health of the person who was born with it. if alive and well, it is firm and crisp; if dead or sick, relaxed and flaccid." in france the luck supposed to belong to a caul is proverbial, and _être né coiffé_ is an expression signifying that a person is extremely fortunate. apart from the ordinary luck supposed to attach to the "caul," it may preserve the child from a terrible danger to which, according to the old idea, it is ever exposed--namely, that of being secretly carried off and exchanged by some envious witch or fairy for its own ill-favoured offspring. this superstition was once very common in many countries, and was even believed by martin luther, if we are to rely on the following extract from his "table book:"--"changelings satan lays in the place of the genuine children, that people may be tormented with them. he often carries off young maidens into the water." this most reprehensible of the practices attributed to the fairies is constantly spoken of by our old writers, and is several times mentioned by shakespeare. in the speech of puck, in _a midsummer night's dream_ (act ii., sc. 1), that jovial sprite says of titania's lovely boy--the cause of quarrel between the king and queen of elfland:- "she never had so sweet a changeling." in the _winter's tale_ (act iv., sc. 4) the shepherd, on discovering the babe perdita, tells the clown, "it was told me i should be rich by the fairies. this is some changeling." as a preservation against this danger, sundry charms are observed. thus, in the north of england, a carving-knife is still hung from the head of the cradle, with the point suspended near the child's face. in the western isles of scotland idiots are believed to be the fairies' changelings, and in order to regain the lost child, parents have recourse to the following device:--they place the changeling on the beach, below high-water mark, when the tide is out, and pay no heed to its screams, believing that the fairies, rather than allow their offspring to be drowned by the rising waters, will convey it away and restore the child they had stolen. the sign that this has been done is the cessation of the child's crying. in ireland, too, the peasants often place the child supposed to be a changeling on a hot shovel, or torment it in some other way. a similar practice is resorted to in denmark, where the mother heats the oven, and places the child on the peel, pretending to put it in; and sometimes she whips it severely with a rod, or throws it into the water. the only real safeguard, however, against this piece of fairy mischief is baptism, and hence the rite has generally been performed among the peasantry as soon as possible after birth. another danger to which the new-born child is said to be exposed, and to counteract which baptism is an infallible charm, is the influence of the "evil eye;" certain persons being thought to possess the power of inflicting injury by merely looking on those whom they wish to harm. although this form of superstition has been gradually dying out for many years past, yet it still retains its hold in certain country places. it is interesting to trace this notion as far back as the time of the romans; and in the late professor conington's translation of the "satires of persius" we find it thus laughably spoken of:--"look here! a grandmother or a superstitious aunt has taken baby from his cradle, and is charming his forehead against mischief by the joint action of her middle finger and her purifying spittle; for she knows right well how to check the evil eye." confining ourselves, however, to instances recorded in our own country, we find that, even now-a-days, various charms are practised for counteracting the baneful influence of this cruel species of witchcraft. thus, in lancashire, some of the chief consist in spitting three times in the child's face, turning a live coal in the fire, exclaiming, "the lord be with us;" whilst in the neighbourhood of burnley "drawing blood above the mouth" was once a popular antidote. self-bored or "lucky stones" are often hung by the peasantry behind their cottage doors; and in the south of england a copy of the apocryphal letter of our lord to abgarus, king of edessa, may occasionally be seen pasted on the walls. in many places, when a child pines or wastes away, the cause is often attributed to the "evil eye," and one remedy in use against this disaster is the following:--before sunrise it is brought to a blacksmith of the seventh generation, and laid on the anvil. the smith then raises his hammer as if he were about to strike the hot iron, but brings it gently down on the child's body. this is done three times, after which the child is considered certain to amend. this superstition survives in cornwall; and the late mr. hawker, of morwenstow, a noted authority on such topics, tells us that two-thirds of the inhabitants of the tamar side firmly believe in the power of the evil eye. in scotland this piece of folk-lore has prevailed extensively from time immemorial, and one of the charms to avert it is the "gold and silver water." a sovereign and a shilling are put into water, which is sprinkled over the patient in the name of the trinity. again, in the highlands of scotland, ash-sap is given to new-born children, because, in common with the rowan, that tree is supposed to possess the property of resisting the attacks of witches, fairies, and other imps of darkness. the irish think that not only their children but their cattle are "eye-bitten" when they fall suddenly sick. among other important items of folk-lore associated with birth may be mentioned the popular belief that a child should go up in the world before it goes down. on leaving its mother's room for the first time, it is considered absolutely necessary that it should be carried _up-stairs_ before it goes _down-stairs_, otherwise it will always keep low in the world, and never rise in after-life either to riches or distinction. when, however, as often happens, the mother's room is on the top storey, the nurse overcomes the obstacle by placing a chair near the door, on which she steps before leaving the room. in yorkshire it is further stated that a new-born infant should always be placed first in the arms of a maiden before any one else touches it. it has been aptly questioned by mr. henderson, in his "folk-lore of the northern counties," whether we may not trace in this practice an outgrowth of the mediæval belief that the virgin mary was present at the birth of st. john the baptist, and received him first in her arms. some, too, will never permit an infant to sleep upon bones--that is, the lap--a piece of folk-lore founded on some degree of truth; for it has been pointed out that it is undoubtedly better for a child to support it throughout its whole length, than to allow its head or legs to hang down, as they might probably do if the infant was sleeping on the lap. again, there is a common idea that a baby and a kitten cannot thrive in the same house; and should, therefore, as is not unfrequently the case, a cat have kittens at the time of a birth, these are immediately either destroyed or given away. few nurses, also, can be found courageous enough to weigh a young child, from a superstitious conviction that it is unfortunate so to do, the child often dying, or, at any rate, not thriving afterwards. equally unlucky, too, is it considered to rock baby's empty cradle, it being an omen of its death--a belief which also prevails in scotland. the same notion exists in many parts of the continent, and the swedish folk tell us that it should be avoided, as it is apt to make the child noisy and given to crying. it is also deprecated on another ground, that it is ominous of another claimant for that place of rest--a piece of folk-lore which the sussex peasantry express in the following rhyme:- "if you rock the cradle empty, then you shall have babies plenty." many consider it a bad sign when the first tooth makes its appearance in the upper jaw, denoting, it is said, that the child will not survive its infancy. whilst speaking of teeth, it may be noted that they occupy an important place in the folk-lore of infancy. many readers will no doubt recollect how the duke of gloucester, in _3 henry vi._ (act v., sc. 6), when describing the peculiarities connected with his birth, relates that- "the midwife wondered, and the women cried, 'o jesus bless us, he is born with teeth!' and so i was, which plainly signified that i should snarl, and bite, and play the dog." in sussex it is still customary for little children to wear a necklace of beads made from the root of the peony, as this is supposed to act as a charm in assisting the cutting of their teeth. in the same county, too, the peasantry have a great dislike to throwing away the cast teeth of young children, believing that should any be accidentally found and gnawed by an animal, the child's new tooth would exactly correspond with the animal's which had bitten the old one. once more, in scotland and the north of england, when the first teeth come out, sundry precautions are taken, to make sure that the fresh ones may be sound and healthy. one of these consists in filling the cavity with salt, after which the tooth must be burnt, while the following formula is repeated:- "fire! fire! burn bone; god send me my tooth again." this practice exists in sweden, and likewise in switzerland, where the tooth is wrapped up in paper, with a little salt, and then thrown into the fire. the teeth, however, are not the only objects of superstition in infancy, similar importance being attached to the nails. in many places, for instance, it is considered imprudent to cut them till baby is a year old, and then they should be bitten off, or else there is a likelihood of its growing up dishonest, or of its being, as the sussex peasantry say, "light-fingered." anyhow, special attention is to be paid to the day of the week on which the child's nails are cut, if there be any truth in a well-known proverb- "better a child had ne'er been born, than cut his nails on a sunday morn." the same warning is given in germany, and if it is disregarded, it is said that the child will be liable to stammer as it grows up. a curious northumberland belief affirms that if the first parings of a child's nails are carefully buried under an ash-tree, it will turn out in after-life a capital singer. it is also a popular fancy in nursery folk-lore that the child's future career in this world can be easily augured from the little specks on its nails, a species of palmistry still extensively credited by even educated persons, and one, too, not confined to infancy. again, the infant's tiny hands are not free from superstition, and here and there, throughout the country, there is a notion that for the first few months after its birth the right one should remain unwashed, the reason assigned for this strange piece of eccentricity being that it may gather riches. according to another idea, children born open-handed are said to be of a bountiful disposition. in scotland, too, great attention is paid as to which hand a child uses when taking up for the first time a spoon to eat. if it should happen to be the left, then, alas! he is doomed to be an unlucky fellow all through his life. indeed, as far as we can judge from the numerous items of folk-lore still in vogue, it would seem that the early period of infancy, in one way or another, furnishes countless opportunities for ascertaining what kind of life is in store for the child in years to come, almost every trivial action being regarded as indicative of something or other that shall befall it. although many of these ideas may seem to us in this nineteenth century apparently senseless, yet it must be remembered they are frequently survivals of primitive culture, and are interesting as having been handed down to us from the distant past. according to an old superstition, parents desirous of securing long life for their children should pass them through the branches of a maple. a few years ago one of these trees had long been resorted to for this purpose in west grinstead park, and as soon as a rumour spread through the parish that it was about to be demolished, quite a consternation prevailed in the neighbourhood. similar properties are supposed to belong to the ash, weakly infants that do not thrive being drawn through a cleft in its trunk. this charm, as performed in cornwall, is thus:--a large knife is inserted into the trunk of a young ash, about a foot from the ground, and a vertical opening made for about three feet. two men then forcibly pull the parts asunder, and hold them so, whilst the mother passes the child through the cleft three times. the ceremony does not end here, as the child has to be washed for three successive mornings in the dew from the leaves of the "charmed ash." this supposed magical property of the ash has an additional interest, when we consider that some thousands of years ago our ancestors regarded it as one of their wonder-working trees, and associated it with some of their oldest traditions. at the present day, too, it is the subject of an extensive folk-lore, to which we shall have occasion to refer in a succeeding chapter. again, if a baby frets and does not appear to thrive, it is supposed by some to be "longing." thus, a sussex nurse one day said to a lady, "baby is so uncommon fretty, i do believe he must be longing for something." when asked what he could be longing for, she replied, "something that his mother longed for, but did not get, before he was born, and the best way to satisfy him would be, i think, to try him with a brandied cherry, or some hare's brains." this piece of superstition, however, is not confined to sussex. once more, in addition to the popular notion that cats suck the breath of infants and so cause their death--one, indeed, without a particle of truth--there is another in which poor pussy is the victim, an illustration of which we quote from "rambles in an old city," by a norfolk author:--"not long since a woman, holding quite a respectable rank among the working classes, avowed herself determined to 'drownd' the cat as soon as ever her baby, which was lying ill, should die. the only explanation she could give for this determination was that the cat jumped upon the nurse's lap as the baby lay there soon after it was born, from which time it ailed, and ever since that time the cat had regularly gone under its bed once a day and coughed twice. these mysterious actions of poor 'tabby' were assigned as the cause of the baby wasting, and its fate was to be sealed as soon as that of the poor infant was decided. that the baby happened to be the twenty-fourth child of his mother, who had succeeded in rearing only four of the two dozen, was a fact that seemed to possess no weight whatever in her estimation." this strange antipathy to our domestic animal no doubt took its origin in the old belief that the cat's is one of the numerous forms which witches are fond of assuming, and on this account, in days gone by, poor pussy was oftentimes subjected to gross ill-treatment at the hands of the ignorant classes. at the present day, in germany, there is a deep-rooted belief that witches, when bent on doing mischief, take the form of a cat, and many stories are current of their frightening their victims by appearing as "the nightmare;" or, if dishonestly disposed, of their drinking their neighbour's beer. returning, however, again to the subject of our present chapter, there is a superstitious fancy in the north of england that it is unlucky to walk over the graves of unchristened children, which is vulgarly called "unchristened ground," the person who does so rendering himself liable to catching the fatal disease of the "grave-scab." this complaint, we are told by mr. henderson, "comes on with a trembling of the limbs and hard breathing, and at last the skin burns as if touched with hot iron," in allusion to which an old ballad tells us- "and it ne'er will be cured by doctor on earth, tho' every one should tent him, oh! he shall tremble and die like the elf-shot eye, and return from whence he came, oh!" there is, however, a remedy, though not easy of attainment--"it lies in the wearing a sark, thus prepared:--the lint must be grown in a field which shall be manured from a farmyard heap that has not been disturbed for forty years. it must be spun by habbitrot, the queen of spinsters; it must be bleached by an honest bleacher, in an honest miller's mill-dam, and sewed by an honest tailor. on donning this mysterious vestment, the sufferer will at once regain his health and strength." unfortunately the necessary conditions for the successful accomplishment of this charm are so difficult, that he must be a clever man who can fulfil them. in the south of england, on the other hand, we do not find the same dread attaching to the graves of still-born children. thus on a certain occasion, when one of the commissioners of devonport complained that a charge of one shilling and sixpence should have been made upon the parish authorities for the grave and interment of a still-born child, he added that "when he was a young man it was thought lucky to have a still-born child put into an open grave, as it was considered to be a sure passport to heaven for the next person buried there." according to another superstitious notion, if a mother frets and pines after her baby when it is dead, it is said that it cannot rest, and will come back to earth again. various stories are on record of children thus visiting their mothers after death, an instance of which we quote from the "dialect of leeds:"--it appears that soon after the birth of the mother's next child, the previous one that had died entered her room with eyes deeply sunken, as if with much weeping, and on approaching the bed, said, "mother, i can't rest if you will go on fretting." she replied, "well, lad, i wean't fret any more." he then looked upon the bed and said, "let's luke at it, mother!" she turned down the coverlet and let him look at her new-born babe. "it'll die," he said, and vanished. these, then, are some of the boundless dangers and difficulties that are supposed to beset the beginnings of life; and, taking into consideration the importance of that momentous crisis, when a fresh actor is introduced upon the world's great stage, it is not surprising that this event has, in most ages and countries, been associated with divers superstitions, and given rise to sundry customs, each of which has helped to invest man's entry into this world with all that grandeur which such a solemn occasion requires. chapter ii. childhood. nursery literature--the power of baptism--confirmation--popular prayers--weather rhymes--school superstitions--barring out. it must not be supposed that childhood has no special folk-lore of its own. it is, in fact, of a most varied kind, many of the old traditionary beliefs and practices associated with the nursery being relics of what the scandinavian mothers taught their children in days of long ago. the familiar fairy-tales of our own childhood still form the nursery literature in most homes, and are of unusual interest as embodying not only the myths and legends of the ancient aryan race, but their conceptions about the world around them. thus, for instance, the well-known story of "cinderella," like many others of the same character, such as "jack the giant killer," or "beauty and the beast," are to be found in almost all countries, and although the versions differ in some respects, yet they point to a common origin at a very remote period. indeed, it is curious that there should still exist among the children of the nineteenth century an undying love for these survivals of aryan literature, couched in such graceful and simple language that few modern compositions can be found to equal them. in reading, therefore, about the dwellers in wonderland, the young mind is unconsciously taking in primitive notions about the workings of nature as seen in the succession of day and night, the changes of the seasons, and so on. in the story of "cinderella," we have the ancient nature-myth of the sun and the dawn, representing the morning sun in the form of a fairy prince pursuing cinderella, the dawn, to claim her for his bride, whilst the envious clouds, her sisters, and the moon, her stepmother, strive to keep her in the background. it would, however, take too long and require a book of itself to discuss the history and meaning of these fairy tales which so delight the childish fancy, and exercise such a wholesome influence, inculcating some of the noblest sentiments and loftiest teachings of the founders of our race. referring then more particularly to the superstitions connected with childhood, we would, first of all, briefly speak of those relating to certain outward circumstances, which are believed to affect more or less the child's welfare in life. thus, it is a deep-rooted belief that a child never thrives until after its baptism; and in cases of illness the clergyman is more often perhaps sent for by the poor from a belief in the physical virtue of the sacred rite itself, rather than from any actual conviction of its religious importance. indeed, how much potency is supposed to reside in baptism may be gathered from the countless superstitions with which it is associated, the omission of this rite being attended more often than not with fatal results. hence it is frequently performed as soon as possible after birth, one reason being, as we have already seen, that so long as the child remains unbaptised it is thought to be at the mercy of ill-disposed fairies, and subject to the influence of the evil eye. according to another popular fancy, not confined to our own country, should a child have the misfortune to die unchristened, it is doomed either to flit restlessly around its parents' abode, or to wander about in deserted spots, daily repining over its hard and unenviable lot. in germany, tradition says that such children are transformed into that delusive little meteor known as the will-o'-the-wisp, and so ceaselessly hover between heaven and earth. on one occasion, we are told of a dutch parson who, happening to go home to his village late one evening, fell in with no less than three of these fiery phenomena. remembering them to be the souls of unbaptised children, he solemnly stretched out his hand and pronounced the words of baptism over them. much, however, to his terrible consternation and surprise, in the twinkling of an eye a thousand or more of these apparitions suddenly made their appearance--no doubt all equally anxious to be christened. the good man, runs the story, was so terribly frightened, that forgetting all his good intentions, he took to his heels and ran home as fast as his legs could take him. in lusatia, where the same superstition prevails, the souls of these unhappy children, which hover about in the form of will-o'-the-wisps, are said to be relieved from their unhappy wanderings so soon as any pious hand throws a handful of consecrated ground after them. in scotland, to make quite sure of baptism being altogether propitious, it was deemed highly important that the person entrusted with the care of the child should be known by common report to be lucky. she was generally provided with a piece of bread and cheese, which she presented to the first person she met as an offering from the infant. if the party readily accepted and partook of the proffered gift, it was undoubtedly a good omen; but if refused it was considered tantamount to wishing evil to the child. hence the future destiny of the little one was often augured from this superstitious ceremony, which, by-the-by, is also practised in the west of england, but the events of its after-life only too often belied the weal and woe predicted for it. again, it is thought highly necessary that the child should cry at its baptism, or else ill-luck will sooner or later overtake it, the idea being that, when the child screams and kicks, the evil spirit is in the act of quitting it; its silence, on the other hand, indicating that it is too good for this wicked world. an amusing little episode in illustration of this curious superstition is related by mrs. latham, in the "folk-lore record:"--"i was lately present at a christening in sussex, when a lady of the party, who was grandmother of the child, whispered in a voice of anxiety, 'the child never cried; why did not the nurse rouse it up?' after we had left the church she said to her, 'o nurse, why did not you pinch baby?' and when the baby's good behaviour was afterwards commented upon, she observed, with a very serious air, 'i wish that he had cried.'" in the same county it is considered unlucky to divulge a child's intended name before its baptism; and the water sprinkled on its forehead at the font must on no account be wiped off. whilst on the subject of baptism, we would just note that in former years peculiar curative properties were supposed to reside in water that had been used at this rite, and on this account it was employed for various disorders. it was also regarded in scotland as a preservative against witchcraft; and eyes bathed in it were rendered for life incapable of seeing ghosts. it may not be inappropriate to allude here to the superstitions relative to confirmation, following in due time, as this rite does, on baptism. in norfolk, for instance, it is considered unlucky to be touched by the bishop's left hand; and in devonshire, also, where a similar notion prevails, young people look upon his right hand as the lucky one, and should it not be their privilege to receive it, they leave the church much disappointed. in some of the northern counties, we are informed that the unfortunate recipients of the left hand are doomed, then and there, to a life of single blessedness. this is not the only species of superstition belonging to confirmation, for instances are on record of persons who, although confirmed in their early life, have again presented themselves for confirmation in their old age, under a conviction that the bishop's blessing would cure them of some bodily ailment. it is related that, at one of the confirmations of the venerable bishop bathurst, an old woman was observed eagerly pressing forward to the church. a by-stander, somewhat amazed at her odd conduct, and struck with her aged appearance, inquired if she was going to be confirmed, and, being answered in the affirmative, expressed his astonishment that she should have procrastinated it to such an advanced time of life. the old woman, however, resented his reproof, replying "that it was not so; that she had already been bishopped seven times, and intended to be again, it was so good for her rheumatism!" in some cases the prayers taught by the poor to their children are curious. thus, a popular prayer, formerly in use, and not yet forgotten, is evidently a relic of roman catholic times, having been handed down from a period anterior to the reformation. as the reader will see, the version below contains a distinct appeal to certain saints for their intercession with god on the child's behalf:- "matthew, mark, luke, and john, bless the bed i lie upon; four corners to my bed, four angels at its head, one to watch, two to pray, and one to bear my soul away; god within and god without, sweet jesus christ all round about; if i die before i wake, i pray to god my soul to take." it has been pointed out that it is very singular that this prayer should have survived the great change which took place in religious opinion in the sixteenth century, and that it even still remains in use. there are many variations of it, and the following two distiches obtained from lancashire are quaint, having been written, it has been thought, by the puritans, in ridicule:- "matthew, mark, luke, and john, hold the horse that i leap on. matthew, mark, luke, and john, take a stick and lay upon." a lincolnshire clergyman, anxious to learn something of the nature of the prayers said by the children of the agricultural poor, visited some of their cottages a few years ago in the evening, and listened to the little ones as they said their prayers. the concluding portion, he tells us, was always intercession for relations, but the form it generally took was peculiar. in the first place, it was not, as is the case with the more educated classes, "pray god bless father and mother," &c., but "pray for father, pray for mother, pray for brothers and sisters," and so on. in certain cases, through carelessness and rapidity, the words had degenerated into "pray father, pray mother," &c. there can be no doubt that originally the prayer was this:--"pray for father;" then a _pater noster_, or an _ave maria_, or both, would be said; then "pray for mother," &c. after the reformation, as time went on, the constant repetition of the _pater_ and the use of the _ave maria_ would gradually die out with the change of religious ideas, and thus the prayer would assume its present form, "pray for father, pray for mother." referring, in the second place, to the superstitions of children, we find an immense number of curious rhymes on various subjects used by them throughout the country. while many of these have, no doubt, been taught them by nurserymaids, a great part, as mr. chambers has pointed out in his "popular rhymes of scotland," may be thought to have taken their rise in the childish imagination during that familiar acquaintance with natural objects, which it is one of the most precious privileges of the young to enjoy in rural districts. besides, too, we must not forget that children seem to have a peculiar love for all natural objects, often finding pleasure in looking at some wayside flower, or in watching the movements of some tiny insect, which in after-years do not bring them the same interest. the fact, indeed, that the young mind is a true admirer of nature in all probability accounts for many of those pleasing rhymes which constitute much of the child's folk-lore. some of the charms, for instance, used to influence the weather are curious, and it is worthy of note that these, in many cases, are not confined to childhood only, but are frequently found in the mouths of our peasants. thus the child's appeal to rain for its departure has become a general charm, and is familiar to most readers:- "rain, rain, go to spain, fair weather, come again." aubrey considers this rhyme of great antiquity, and says that "it is derived from the gentiles." often in summer-time, when a thunder-shower interrupts some out-door game, one may hear a chorus of young voices shouting- "rain, rain, go away, come another summer's day." or, as other versions have it, "come again on washing-day." the appearance of a rainbow is generally, too, the signal for various marks of dissatisfaction on the part of the young, who, besides entreating it to vanish as soon as possible, frequently try to charm it away. this they do by placing a couple of straws or twigs crossways on the ground, and so, to quote their phrase, "cross out the rainbow." another way is to make a cross of two sticks, and to lay four pebbles on it, one at each end. again, some of the rhymes relating to snow are highly quaint, the following being repeated when it makes its first appearance:- "the men of the east are picking their geese, and sending their feathers here away, here away." when, however, boys wish the snow to go away, they sing:- "snow, snow, give over, the cow's in the clover." thunder, in the north of england, is called by children "rattley-bags," and during a storm the boys are in the habit of singing:- "rowley, rowley, rattley-bags, take the lasses and leave the lads." there is a rhyme which is often repeated by the juvenile folks in the north and midland counties upon seeing the new moon, which, perhaps, may have an indirect allusion to its supposed lucky influence:- "i see the moon and the moon sees me, god help the parson that baptised me!"-containing, evidently, a congratulation upon their birth. boys, too, have a curious saying respecting the reflection of the sun's beams upon a ceiling, which they term "jack-a-dandy beating his wife with a stick of silver." if a mischievous boy, with a piece of looking-glass, throws the reflection into the eyes of a neighbour, the latter complains "he's throwing jack-a-dandy in my eyes." passing on to other charm-rhymes connected with natural objects, there are a very numerous class relating to the animal creation. in evening-time, for instance, when the dew begins to fall, boys are fond of hunting the large black snails, on discovering which they exclaim:- "snail, snail, put out your horn, or i'll kill your father and mother i' th' morn." this charm, however, is not confined to our own country, but under a variety of forms is found on the continent. in scotland, too, children prognosticate the coming weather from the movements of this little creature:- "snailie, snailie, shoot out your horn, and tell us if it will be a bonny day the morn." school-life, again, has its customs and superstitions, many of which have been transmitted from generation to generation; and childhood, indeed, would seem quite incomplete without them. thus, according to an odd notion universally accepted in days gone by, and still received with implicit faith, if the master's cane is carefully nicked at the upper end, and a hair inserted, it will, as soon as used, split immediately to the very tip. in school-games, the usual antipathy to odd numbers is found, and a child is easily persuaded to give away a marble to make the number even. a kind of divination, also, is still frequently employed by boys to settle matters of difficulty, such, for example, as who shall be the leaders in a game, the choice of partners, and other details which are deemed of equal importance. the mode of procedure is this:--a long stick is thrown into the air, and caught by one of the parties. each one then grasps it hand over hand, and he who succeeds in getting the last hold is the successful party. mr. henderson says that an odd expression was formerly connected with the lending a knife among boys for the cutting up of a cake or other dainty, the borrowers being asked to give it back "laughing," _i.e._, with some of the good things it was used to cut. among the many old school customs, we may close our present chapter by mentioning a popular one known as "barring out," upon which, it may be remembered, miss edgeworth has founded one of her instructive stories. the practice consisted in "barring out" the masters from the scene of their educational labours, the agents in this ceremony being the pupils of the school. it was an occasion of no small disorder- "not school-boys at a barring out, raised ever such incessant rout." addison is reported to have been the leader of a barring out at the lichfield grammar school, and to have displayed on the occasion a spirit of disorderly daring very different to that timid modesty which so characterised his after-life. so much, then, for the folk-lore of childhood, a subject indeed full of interest, and possessing a worth far beyond the circle of its own immediate influence, inasmuch as even the simplest nursery jingle or puerile saying has often been found of help in proving the affinity of certain races, and has an ethnological value which the student of comparative philology would be slow to underrate in his task of research. chapter iii. love and courtship. love-tests--plants used in love-charms--the lady-bird--the snail--st. valentine's day--midsummer eve--hallowe'en--omens on friday. no event in human life has, from the earliest times, been associated with a more extensive folk-lore than marriage, which is indeed no matter of surprise, considering that this is naturally looked upon as the happiest epoch--the _summum bonum_--of each one's career in this world. hence, to write a detailed account of the charms, omens, and divinations, as well as of the superstitions and customs, connected with marriage, including its early stages of love and courtship, would require a volume for itself, so varied and widespread is this subject of universal interest. in the present chapter, however, have been collected together, in as condensed a form as possible, some of the principal items of folk-lore connected with love and courtship, as we find them scattered here and there throughout the country. commencing, then, with love-divinations, these are of every conceivable kind, the anxious maiden apparently having left no stone unturned in her anxiety to ascertain her lot in the marriage state. hence in her natural longings to raise the veil of futurity, the aspirant to matrimony, if she be at all of a superstitious turn of mind, seldom lets an opportunity pass by without endeavouring to gain from it some sign or token of the kind of husband that is in store for her. as soon, too, as the appointed one has at last presented himself, she is not content to receive with unreserved faith his professions of love and life-long fidelity; but, in her sly moments, when he is not at hand, she proves the genuineness of his devotion by certain charms which, while they cruelly belie his character, only too often unkindly deceive the love-sick maiden. in the first place, we may note that love-tests have been derived from a variety of sources, such as plants, insects, animals, birds, not to mention those countless other omens obtained from familiar objects to which we shall have occasion to allude. at the outset, however, it may not be uninteresting to quote the following account of love-charms in use about one hundred and fifty years ago, and which was written by a young lady to the editor of the _connoisseur_:-"arabella was in love with a clever londoner, and had tried all the approved remedies. she had seen him several times in coffee grounds with a sword by his side; he was once at the bottom of a tea-cup in a coach and six, with his two footmen behind it. on the last may morning she went into the fields to hear the cuckoo; and when she pulled off her left shoe, she found a hair in it the exact colouring of his. the same night she sowed hempseed in the back yard, repeating the words:- 'hempseed i sow, hempseed i hoe, and he that is my true love, come after me and mow.' after that she took a clean shift and turned it, and hung it on the back of a chair; and very likely he would have come and turned it, for she heard a step, and being frightened could not help speaking, and that broke the spell. the maid betty recommended her young mistress to go backwards, without speaking a word, into the garden on midsummer eve, and gather a rose, keep it in a clean sheet of paper without looking in it till christmas day, it will be as fresh as in june; and if she sticks this rose in her bosom, he that is to be her husband will come and take it out. arabella had tried several other strange fancies. whenever she lies in a strange bed, she always ties her garters nine times round the bed-post, and knits nine knots in it, saying all the time:- 'this knot i knit, this knot i tie, to see my love as he goes by, in his apparel and array, as he walks in every day.' on the last occasion mr. blossom drew the curtains and tucked up the clothes at the bed's feet. she has many times pared an apple whole, and afterwards flung the peel over her head, and on each occasion the peel formed the first letter of his christian name or surname." referring to the use of plants in love-charms, they are very numerous. one popular one consists in taking the leaves of yarrow, commonly called "nosebleed," and tickling the inside of the nostrils, repeating at the same time these lines:- "green 'arrow, green 'arrow, you bear a white blow, if my love love me, my nose will bleed now; if my love don't love me, it 'ont bleed a drop; if my love do love me, 'twill bleed every drop." some cut the common brake or fern just above the root to ascertain the initial letters of the future wife's or husband's name; and the dandelion, as a plant of omen, is much in demand. as soon as its seeds are ripe they stand above the head of the plant in a globular form, with a feathery top at the end of each seed, and then are without any difficulty detached. when in this condition the flower-stalk must be carefully plucked, so as not to injure the globe of seeds, the charm consisting in blowing off the seeds with the breath. the number of puffs that are required to blow every seed clean off indicates the number of years that must elapse before the person is married. again, nuts and apples are very favourite love-tests. the mode of procedure is for a girl to place on the bars of the grate a nut, repeating this incantation:- "if he loves me, pop and fly; if he hates me, live and die." as may be imagined, great is the dismay if the anxious face of the inquirer gradually perceives the nut, instead of making the hoped-for pop, die and make no sign. again, passing on to insects, one means of divination is to throw a lady-bird into the air, repeating meanwhile the subjoined couplet:- "fly away east, and fly away west, show me where lives the one i like best." should this little insect chance to fly in the direction of the house where the loved one resides, it is regarded as a highly-favourable omen. the snail, again, was much used in love-divinations, many an eager maiden anxious of ascertaining her lover's name following the example of hobnelia, who, in order to test the constancy of her lubberkin, did as follows:- "upon a gooseberry bush a snail i found, for always snails near sweetest fruit abound. i seized the vermin, home i quickly sped, and on the hearth the milk-white embers spread; slow crawled the snail, and, if i right can spell, in the soft ashes marked a curious l. oh! may this wondrous omen lucky prove, for 'l' is found in lubberkin and love." three magpies are said to prognosticate a wedding; and in our rural districts the unmarried of either sex calculate the number of years of single blessedness still allotted to them by counting the cuckoo's notes when they first hear it in the spring. some days are considered specially propitious for practising love-divinations. foremost among these is st. valentine's day, a festival which has been considered highly appropriate for such ceremonies, as there is an old tradition that on this day birds choose their mates, a notion which is frequently alluded to by the poets, and particularly by chaucer, to which reference is made also in _a midsummer night's dream_:- "good morrow, friends, st. valentine is past; begin the wood-birds but to couple now." thus, the devonshire young ladies have a fancy that on st. valentine's day they can, if they wish, make certain of their future. if so disposed, they go into the churchyard at midnight, with some hempseed in their hand, which, after they have walked round the church a certain number of times, they scatter on either side as they return homewards, repeating a certain charm. it is supposed that the true lover will be seen taking up the hempseed just sown, attired for the ceremony in a winding-sheet. another species of love-divination once observed consisted in obtaining five bay leaves, four of which the anxious maiden pinned at the four corners of her pillow, and the fifth in the middle. if she was fortunate enough to dream of her lover, it was a sure sign that he would be married to her in the course of the year. again, some young people would boil an egg hard, and, after taking out the contents, fill the shell with salt, the charm consisting in eating the shell and salt on going to bed at night without either speaking or drinking after it. a further method of divination was practised in the following way:--the lady wrote her lovers' names upon small pieces of paper, and, rolling them up in clay, put them into a tub of water. the first that rose to the surface was to be not only her valentine, but, in all probability, her future husband. another time, which has been equally popular from time immemorial for such superstitious practices, is midsummer eve. people gathered on this night the rose, st. john's wort, trefoil, and rue, each of which was supposed to have magical properties. they set orpine in clay upon pieces of slate in their houses, under the name of a midsummer man. as the stalk next morning was found to incline to the right or left, the anxious maiden knew whether her lover would prove true to her or not. hallowe'en, again, has been supposed to be the time, of all other times, when supernatural influences prevail, and on this account is regarded as a night of sure divination in love matters. all kinds of devices have, therefore, been resorted to at this season, and in the north of england many superstitions still linger on, where this festival is known as "nutcrack-night," from nuts forming a prominent feature in the evening feast. once more, christmas eve is well known to love-sick swains and languishing maidens as an excellent day for obtaining a glimpse into futurity. numerous are the spells and ceremonies by which this is attempted. thus in some places, at "the witching hour of night," the young damsel goes into the garden and plucks twelve sage leaves, under the belief that she will see the shadowy form of her future husband approach her from the opposite end of the ground. in trying this delicate mode of divination great care must be taken not to break or damage the sage-stalk, as should this happen serious consequences might ensue. the following barbarous charm was also much practised in days gone by:--the heart was taken from a living pigeon, stuck full of pins, and laid on the hearth, and while it was burning, the form of the young person's future partner was believed to become visible to mortal eye. friday has been held a good day of the week for love omens, and in norfolk the following lines are repeated on three friday nights successively, as on the last one it is believed that the young lady will dream of her future husband:- "to-night, to-night, is friday night, lay me down in dirty white, dream who my husband is to be; and lay my children by my side, if i'm to live to be his bride." there are numerous other modes of matrimonial divination which still find favour in the eyes of those who prefer the married state to that of virginity. thus the seeds of butter-dock must be scattered on the ground by a young unmarried girl half an hour before sunrise on a friday morning in a lonesome place. she must strew the seeds gradually on the grass, saying these words:- "i sow, i sow! then, my own dear, come here, come here, and mow, and mow." after this she will see her future husband mowing with a scythe at a short distance from her. she must, however, display no symptoms of fear, for should she cry out in alarm he will immediately vanish. this method is said to be infallible, but it is regarded as a bold, desperate, and presumptuous undertaking. some girls, again, make a hole in the road where four ways meet, and apply their ear to it, with the hope of learning of what trade their future husband is to be. it is unnecessary, however, to illustrate this part of our subject further, for the preceding pages amply show how varied and extensive are the omens and divinations connected with an event without which life is considered in the eyes of most persons incomplete. although these may seem trivial and often nonsensical, yet they have often exercised an important influence over that period of anxious suspense which intervenes between courtship and marriage, often tantalising and damping in a cruel manner the hopes of many an ardent lover. chapter iv. marriage. seasons and days propitious to marriage--superstitions connected with the bride--meeting a funeral--robbing the bride of pins--dancing in a hog's trough--the wedding-cake--the ring. in selecting the time for the marriage ceremony precautions of every kind have generally been taken to avoid an unlucky month and day for the knot to be tied. indeed, the old roman notion that may marriages are unlucky survives to this day in england, a striking example, as mr. tylor has pointed out in his "primitive culture," of how an idea, the meaning of which has perished for ages, may continue to exist simply because it has existed. that may with us is not a month for marrying may easily be seen any year from the list of weddings in the _times_ newspaper, the popular belief being summed up in the familiar proverb, "marry in may and you'll rue the day." some of the numerous reasons assigned for the ill-luck attaching to this month are the following:--that women disobeying the rule would be childless; or if they had children, that the first-born would be an idiot, or have some physical deformity; or that the married couple would not live happily together in their new life, but soon become weary of each other's society--superstitions which still retain their hold throughout the country. in spite, however, of this absurd prejudice, it seems that in days gone by may was honoured in feudal england as the month of all months especially congenial to lovers. most readers are no doubt acquainted with the following stanza in the "court of love:"- "i had not spoke so sone the words, but she, my soveraine, did thank me heartily, and saide, 'abide, ye shall dwell still with me till season come of may, for then truly the king of love and all his company shall holde his feste full rially and well,' and there i bode till that the season fell." on the other hand, june is a highly popular month for marrying, one reason perhaps being that the earth is then clothed in her summer beauty, and that this is a season of plenty. at any rate, this notion may be traced up to the time of the romans, and thus when ovid was anxious about the marriage of his daughter, he- "resolved to match the girl, and tried to find what days unprosp'rous were, what moons were kind; after june's sacred ides his fancy strayed, good to the man and happy to the maid." among the other seasons admitting or prohibiting matrimony may be mentioned the following, contained in a well-known rhyme:- "advent marriages doth deny, but hilary gives thee liberty; septuagesima says thee nay, eight days from easter says you may; rogation bids thee to contain, but trinity sets thee free again." equal importance has been attached by some to the day of the week on which the marriage is performed. thus friday, on account of its being regarded as an inauspicious and evil day for the commencement of any kind of enterprise, is generally avoided, few brides being found bold enough to run the risk of incurring bad luck from being married on a day of ill-omen. in days gone by, sunday appears to have been a popular day for marriages; although, as mr. jeaffreson, in his amusing history of "brides and bridals," remarks, "a fashionable wedding, celebrated on the lord's day in london, or any part of england, would now-a-days be denounced by religious people of all christian parties as an outrageous exhibition of impiety. but in our feudal times, and long after the reformation, sunday was, of all days of the week, the favourite one for marriages. long after the theatres had been closed on sundays, the day of rest was the chief day for weddings with londoners of every social class." the brides of elizabethan dramas are usually represented as being married on sunday. thus in the _taming of the shrew_, petruchio, after telling his future father-in-law "that upon sunday is the wedding-day," and laughing at katharine's petulant exclamation, "i'll see thee hanged on sunday first," says:- "father, and wife, and gentlemen, adieu; i will to venice; sunday comes apace: we will have rings, and things, and give array; and, kiss me, kate, we will be married o' sunday." among the scottish people, we are informed by the registrar-general, there is a peculiar fondness for marrying on the last day of the year. indeed, there are more marriages in scotland on that day than in any week of the year, excepting, of course, the week in which that day occurs. thus, in the year 1861, the returns give the number of marriages in the eight principal towns as averaging about twenty-five a day, exclusive of sunday, as marrying is one of the things not to be done on this day in scotland. on the 31st of december, however, in the same towns there were between 400 and 500 marriages. curious to say, too, in scotland, friday seems to be considered a lucky day for weddings; for mr. watson, the city chamberlain of glasgow, affirms that "it is a well-established fact that nine-tenths of the marriages in glasgow are celebrated on a friday; only a few on tuesday and wednesday; saturday and monday are still more rarely adopted, and i have never heard of such a thing in glasgow as a marriage on sunday." leaving seasons and days considered propitious for marriage, we find, in the next place, a number of superstitions associated with that prominent and all-important personage on such an occasion, the bride. thus it is above all things necessary that the sun should shine on her--"blest is the bride that the sun shines on!"--a notion, indeed, which, it has been suggested, had a practical application in years gone by when marriages were celebrated in the church porch. a wet day, at such a time, was a serious matter, especially as our forefathers had not the many contrivances of modern times for preservation from rain. whereas, now-a-days, young ladies when alluding to being married speak of "going to church," formerly they spoke of "visiting the church-porch." after prevailing for centuries, this ancient usage was discountenanced, if not actually abolished, by the ecclesiastical reformers of edward vi.'s reign, who "ordained that the performance of the binding ceremony should take place in the body of the church." referring again to the bride, it is deemed absolutely necessary by very many that she should weep on her wedding-day, if it be only a few tears, the omission of such an act being considered ominous of her future happiness. it is, too, the height of ill-luck for either the bride or the bridegroom to meet a funeral on going to or coming from the church, for if it happen to be that of a female, it is an indication that the bride will not live long, and if it should be that of a male, then the bridegroom is doomed to an early death. in the north of england there is a strong prejudice against a marriage taking place while there is a grave open in the churchyard. in many parts of the country, also, special care is taken that the bees are informed of a wedding, and as a mark of respect to them their hives are decorated with a favour. in sussex a bride on her return home from church is often robbed of all the pins about her dress by the single women present, from a belief that whoever possesses one of them will be married in the course of a year. much excitement and amusement are occasionally caused by the youthful competitors for this supposed charm; and the bride herself is not unfrequently the victim of rather rough treatment. according to another piece of superstition, the bride, in removing her bridal robe and chaplet at the completion of the marriage ceremonies, must take care to throw away every pin worn on this eventful day. evil fortune, it is affirmed, will sooner or later inevitably overtake the bride who keeps even one pin used in the marriage toilet. woe also to the bridesmaids if they retain one of them, as their chances of marriage will thereby be materially lessened, and anyhow they must give up all hope of being wedded before the following whitsuntide. again, in some parts of yorkshire, to rub shoulders with the bride or bridegroom is considered an augury of a speedy marriage; and a piece of folk-lore prevalent in the neighbourhood of hull is to this effect: "be sure when you go to get married that you don't go in at one door and out at another, or you will always be unlucky." cuthbert bede, in "notes and queries," records an instance of a similar superstition that occurred at a wedding in a worcestershire village in october, 1877. he says, "the bride and bridegroom at the conclusion of the ceremony left the church by the chancel door, instead of following the usual custom of walking down the church and through the nave door. one of the oldest inhabitants, in mentioning this to me, said that it 'betokened bad luck,' and that she had never known a like instance but once in her life when the married couple went out of the church through the chancel door, and the bride was a widow before the twelve months was out." alluding briefly to other superstitions associated with marriage, we are told in the north of england that she who receives from the bride a piece of cheese, cut by her before leaving the table, will be the next bride among the company. in yorkshire, too, when a newly-married couple first enter their house, a hen is brought and made to cackle as a sign of good luck. the old roman practice, also, of lifting the bride over the threshold of her husband's home, had its counterpart in scotland within the present century, it being customary to lift the young wife over the doorstep, lest any witchcraft or evil eye should be cast upon and influence her. indeed, we are informed that the same practice prevailed in the north of england some years ago--an interesting survival of the primitive superstitions of our ancestors. another curious custom which was once practised in different parts of the country was that of the elder sister dancing in a hog's trough in consequence of the younger sister marrying before her. "upon one occasion," says mr. glyde in his "norfolk garland," "a brother went through the ceremony also; and the dancers performed their part so well that the trough itself was danced to pieces." it was considered the most correct thing to dance in green stockings. it was also customary in former years for elder sisters to dance barefooted at the marriage of a younger one, as otherwise they would inevitably become old maids. hence katharine says to her father, in allusion to bianca:- "she is your treasure, she must have a husband. i must dance barefoot on her wedding-day, and for your love to her lead apes in hell." the last line, the meaning of which, however, is somewhat obscure, expresses a common belief as to the ultimate fate of old maids. malone, on this passage, remarks that in shakespeare's time "to lead apes" was one of the employments of a bear-ward, who often carried about one of those animals along with his bear. referring in the next place to some of the chief ceremonies associated with marriage, we may note that "the putting up of the banns" is not without its superstitions, for in the north of england it is considered highly unlucky for a young woman to be present at church when this important event takes place, any children she may hereafter have running the terrible risk of being born deaf and dumb. thus, a worcestershire girl, some years since, refused to attend church and hear the publication of her own banns, lest by doing so she should bring the curse of dumbness on her offspring. she stated that one of her friends had transgressed this rule "by hearing herself asked out at church," and in due course had six children, all of whom were deaf and dumb. again, the wedding-cake, without which no wedding would be considered complete, is evidently a survival of the symbolical corn-ears originally worn by the bride, and which in after-times were made into cakes and sprinkled upon the bride's head. in course of time these cakes were by degrees converted into one large mass, enriched with almond paste; and that the ingredients of a wedding-cake in the seventeenth century did not differ materially from one at the present day may be gathered from herrick, who says:- "this day, my julia, thou must make, for mistress bride, the wedding-cake; knead but the dough, and it will be to paste of almonds turned by thee; or kiss it thou but once or twice, and for the bride-cake there'll be spice." indeed, corn in one form or another has always entered into the marriage-ceremony, a practice which, as sir john lubbock, in his "origin of civilisation," has pointed out, may be found among remote savages or semi-civilised people. it would be difficult to enumerate the many superstitions, beliefs, and usages that have at different times clustered round the wedding-cake, some of which are as popular as ever. in days gone by, either corn ears or fragments of broken biscuit or cake were dropped on the newly-married couple on their return from church, a custom which is still kept up in some country districts. in scotland and the north of england, for instance, as soon as the bride returns to her new home, one of the oldest inhabitants, who has been stationed on the threshold in readiness, throws a plateful of shortbread over her head, taking care that it falls outside the house. this is immediately scrambled for, as it is considered most fortunate to secure a piece, however small. thus, just a century ago, smollett, in his "expedition of humphrey clinker" (1771), described how mrs. tabitha lismahago's wedding-cake was broken over her head, and its fragments distributed among the bystanders, who imagined that to eat one of the hallowed pieces would insure the unmarried eater the delight of seeing in a vision the person to be his wife or her husband. numerous other divinations, also, have been practised by means of wedding-cake, one of the most popular being that of passing it through a wedding-ring, and placing it under the pillow to dream upon. in some parts of lancashire and cumberland it is customary to put a ring amongst the ingredients of the wedding-cake, and to invite the guests in turn to cut a slice. the person who is fortunate enough to hold the knife when it comes upon the hidden ring is considered to be sure of happiness during the ensuing twelve months. again, mr. henderson mentions an exciting custom practised in the north at the wedding-feast. he says:--"the bride sticks her knife into the cheese, and all at table endeavour to seize it. he who succeeds without cutting his fingers in the struggle thereby insures happiness in his married life. the knife is called 'the best man's prize,' because the 'best man' generally secures it. should he fail to do so, he will indeed be unfortunate in his matrimonial views. the knife is, at any rate, a prize for male hands only; the maidens try to possess themselves of a 'shaping' of the wedding-dress, for use in certain divinations regarding their future husbands." the custom of throwing the shoe for luck at a bridal couple we shall notice elsewhere, a practice which is perhaps the principal source of merry-making and fun at most weddings. we must not omit to allude to that indispensable little article at a marriage, the wedding-ring, concerning which so much has been written. the puritans, it may be remembered, tried to abolish it, on account of, as they thought, its superstitious and heathen origin. thus, butler, in his "hudibras," says:- "others were for abolishing that tool of matrimony, a ring, with which the unsanctified bridegroom, is marry'd only to a thumb." though, however, the ring of gold is generally looked upon as a necessity in the marriage-ceremony, yet it is not legally so, but there is a very strong prejudice against being married without it, and it would be no easy task to find a couple brave enough to act in opposition to this universal superstition. thus, by way of example, mr. jeaffreson, in his "brides and bridals," tells us that the poor irishman is so convinced that a marriage lacks validity unless it has been solemnised with a golden ring, that, when he is too needy to buy a circlet of the most precious metal, he hires a hoop of gold for use on his wedding-day. not long since a tradesman, in a market town at munster, made a considerable addition to his modest income by letting out rings of gold to persons about to marry, who restored the trinkets to their owner after being wedded at church. a case is related, on the other hand, of a party that came to the church and requested to be married with a church key. it was "a parish wedding," and the parish authorities, though willing to pay the church fees, because, as the account runs, "they were glad to get rid of the girl," had not felt disposed to provide the wedding-ring. the clerk, however, feeling some hesitation as to the substitution of the church key, stepped into a neighbouring house, and there borrowed an old _curtain ring_, with which the marriage was solemnised. again, most ladies are especially particular in their notions respecting their wedding-ring, objecting under any pretence to take it off from their finger, extending, it would seem, the expression of "till death us do part," even to this pledge and token of matrimony. in various parts of the country we find many a curious marriage custom, of which, however, we can only give one or two instances. thus, in some parts of kent, it was formerly customary to strew the pathway to the church of the bridal couple, not with flowers, but with emblems of the bridegroom's trade. a carpenter, for instance, walked on shavings, a paperhanger on slips of paper, a blacksmith on pieces of old iron, and so on. in some parts of durham the bridal party was, in days gone by, generally escorted to church by men armed with guns, which they fired again and again in honour of the festive occasion. in scotland there was an amusing custom, called "creeling the bridegroom." a basket or creel was filled with heavy stones and fixed to the bridegroom's shoulder, and with this burden he was obliged to run about until his wife unfastened the creel. chapter v. death and burial. warnings of death--the howling of dogs--a cow in the garden- death-presaging birds--plants--the will-o'-the-wisp--the sympathy between two personalities--prophecy--dying hardly--the last act--place and position of the grave. the superstitions associated with the last stage of human life are most numerous; and that this should be so is not surprising when it is considered how, from the earliest time, a certain dread has been attached to death, not only on account of its awful mysteriousness, but owing to its being the crisis of an entirely new phase of the soul's existence. commencing then with popular omens, it may be noted that every incident out of the common course of natural events is looked upon by the superstitious as indicative of approaching death. hence we find the credulous ever conjuring up in their minds imaginary prognostications of this sad occurrence, which, apart from the needless terror they cause, are based on no foundation of truth. foremost among these is the howling of a dog at night, a superstition which, while not confined to our own country, appears to have been almost as well known in ancient times as at the present day. as a plea, however, for its prevalence, even among the educated, we might urge that it is not unnatural for the mind, when unstrung and overbalanced by the presence of sickness and impending death, to be over-sensitive, and to take notice of every little sound and sight which may seem to connect themselves with its anxiety. out of the innumerable instances which are recorded in our own country respecting this popular superstition, may be mentioned one which happened a few years ago at worthing. it appears that no slight consternation was caused by a newfoundland dog, the property of a clergyman in the neighbourhood, lying down on the steps of a house and howling piteously, refusing to be driven away. as soon as it was known that a young lady, long an invalid, had died there, so much excitement took place that news of the occurrence reached the owner of the dog, who came to worthing to inquire into the truth of it. unfortunately, however, for the lovers of and believers in the marvellous, it eventually turned out that the dog had by accident been separated from his master late in the evening, and had been seen running here and there in search of him, and howling at the door of the stable where he put up his horse, and other places which he often visited in worthing. it happened, moreover, that his master had been in the habit of visiting the particular house where the young lady had died, which at once accounted for the apparent mystery. in the same way, indeed, other similar instances of this superstition might be easily cleared up, if only properly investigated at the time of the occurrence. the howling of the dog is ascribed by some to its keen sense of the odour of approaching mortal dissolution; whereas others affirm that this animal can see the spirits which hover round the house of sickness, ready at the moment of death to bear away the soul of the departed one to its distant home. in aryan mythology the dog is said to see ghosts, and in germany, at the present day, a dog howling before a house portends either a death or a fire. in wales, it is thought that horses, too, have the gift of seeing spirits. carriage-horses, it is said, have been known to display every sign of the utmost terror, although the occupants of the carriage could see no cause for alarm. such an occurrence is considered highly ominous, and thought to forebode that a funeral will soon pass by that way, bearing to his resting-place some person not dead at the time of the horse's fright. whilst speaking of animals in connection with death, it may be noted that an ox or a cow breaking into a garden is an omen of death. in illustration of this notion a correspondent of _notes and queries_ relates the following narrative as written down by himself about the time to which it relates. he says, "though i laugh at the superstition, the omen was painfully fulfilled in my case. about the middle of march, 1843, some cattle were driven close to my house, and the back door being open, three got into our little bit of garden, and trampled it. when our school-drudge came in the afternoon, and asked the cause of the confusion, she expressed great sorrow and apprehension on being told--said that it was a bad sign--that we should hear of three deaths within the next six months. alas! in april we heard of dear j----'s murder; a fortnight after a---died; and to-morrow, august 10th, i attend the funeral of my excellent son-in-law. i have just heard of the same omen from another quarter. but what is still more remarkable is that when i went down to mr. m----'s burial, and was mentioning the superstition, they told me that while he was lying ill, a cow got into the front garden and was driven out with great difficulty. it is still a common saying in scotland, when any one is dangerously ill, and not likely to recover, 'the black ox has trampled upon him.'" another common omen of death is the hovering of birds around a house, and their tapping against the window-pane. amongst the death-presaging birds may be mentioned the raven, the crow, and the swallow. the crowing of the cock, also, at the dead of night is regarded as equally ominous. the appearance of a jackdaw is in some parts of the country much dreaded. thus a correspondent of _notes and queries_ tells us, that a stonemason at clifton related to him an accident that happened to a workman at the suspension bridge over the avon, at the time when the river was simply spanned by a single chain, placing much emphasis on the fact that a single jackdaw had been noticed by some of the workmen perched upon the centre of the chain, and had been regarded by them as a precursor of death. we must not omit the evil reputation of the owl and the magpie; and a well-known superstition current in some parts that to catch a sparrow and keep it confined in a cage is an omen of death. once more, it is a bad sign when an invalid asks for a dish of pigeons to eat, such an occurrence being considered an omen of his approaching death. some also affirm that if one hears the cuckoo's first note when in bed, illness or death is certain to come upon the hearer or one of his family. if any one be about to die suddenly, or lose a relation, the cuckoo will light upon a piece of touchwood, or rotten bough, and _cuckoo_. plants, in the next place, are sometimes regarded as ominous of approaching mortality. when, for example, an apple-tree or pear-tree blooms twice in the year it denotes a death in the family. if, too, green broom be picked when in bloom it is believed that the father or mother will die in the course of the year. mrs. latham, in her "west sussex superstitions," gives the following touching little anecdote:--"a poor girl, who was lingering in the last stage of consumption, but whose countenance had always lighted up with pleasure at the sight of flowers, appeared one morning so exceedingly restless and unhappy after a fresh nosegay of gay spring flowers had been laid upon her bed, that i asked her if the scent of them was disagreeable to her. 'oh, no!' she exclaimed, 'they are very nice indeed to smell; but yet i should be very glad if you would throw away that piece of yellow broom; for they do say that death comes with it if it is brought into the house in blossom during the month of may.'" according to a yorkshire superstition, if a child gathers the germander speedwell its mother will die during the year; and others consider it equally unlucky to bring the first snowdrop of the year into the house. to dream that a tree is uprooted in one's garden is regarded as a death-warning to the owner. indeed plants may be said to hold an important place in the folk-lore of death, so many curious legends and quaint superstitions having clustered round them both in ancient and modern times. thus, to quote one further instance, if yew is accidentally brought into the house at christmas among the evergreens, it is looked upon as a sign that a death will occur in the family before the end of the year. among other omens of death, may be noticed the will-o'-the-wisp, which has on this account been much dreaded, its undulating movement being carefully observed, from an anxiety to ascertain in which direction it disappears, as it is supposed to be- "the hateful messenger of heavy things, of death and dolour telling" to the inhabitants of the house nearest that spot. we have heard also of an occasion in which considerable uneasiness was created by a pale light moving over the bed of a sick person, and after flickering for some time in different parts of the room to vanish through the window. it happened, however, that the mystery was cleared up soon afterwards, for, on a similar light appearing, it was found to proceed from a luminous insect, which proved to be the male glow-worm. in the same way the "corpse-candles" in wales, also called the "fetch-lights," or "dead man's candles," are regarded as forerunners of death. sometimes this unlucky sign appears in the form of a plain yellow candle, in the hand of a ghost, and at other times it looks like "a stately flambeau, stalking along unsupported, burning with ghastly blue flame." it is considered highly dangerous to interfere with this fatal portent, and persons who have attempted to check its course are reported to have been severely afflicted in consequence, many being actually struck down on the spot where they stood as a punishment for their audacity. there is a popular idea prevalent in lancashire that to build or even to rebuild a house is always fatal to one member of the family--generally to the one who may have been the principal promoter of the plans for the building or alteration. again, we are also told how the household clock has been known to depart from its customary precision in order to warn its owner of approaching death by striking _thirteen_. a clergyman relates that one evening he called on an old friend more than eighty years of age, who had lost her husband about six months before. whilst sitting with her he heard the clock strike the hour in an adjoining room, and counted it _seven_. being surprised that it was no later he involuntarily took out his watch, and found that it was in reality _eight_ o'clock. the old lady noticing this remarked, "ah! the clock lost a stroke against my poor husband's death, and i have not altered it since." according to another very common superstition there seems to be a kind of sympathy and harmony between two personalities, whereby dying persons themselves announce their departure to their friends in certain mysterious ways. countless instances are on record of such supposed forebodings of death. a curious and interesting example of this species of folk-lore happened not so very long ago, in connection with the lamented death of mr. george smith, the eminent assyriologist. this famous scholar died at aleppo, on the 19th of august, 1876, at or about the hour of six in the afternoon. on the same day, and at about the same time, a friend and fellow-worker of mr. smith's--dr. delitzsch--was passing within a stone's-throw of the house in which mr. smith had lived whilst in london, when he suddenly heard his own name uttered aloud in a "most piercing cry," which, says _the daily news_ (sept. 12th, 1876) thrilled him to the marrow. the fact impressed him so strongly that he looked at his watch, noted the hour, and, although he did not mention the circumstance at the time, recorded it in his note-book. again, as a further illustration, we are told how on board one of her majesty's ships lying off portsmouth, the officers being one day at mess, a young lieutenant suddenly laid down his knife and fork, pushed away his plate, and turned extremely pale. he then rose from the table, covered his face with his hands, and retired. the president of the mess, supposing him to be ill, sent to make inquiries. at first he was unwilling to reply; but on being pressed he confessed that he had been seized by a sudden and irresistible impression that a brother he had in india was dead. "he died," said he, "on the 12th august, at six o'clock; i am perfectly convinced of it." no argument could overthrow his conviction, which in due course of time was verified to the letter. events of this kind, which in the minds of many seem to point to a mysterious sympathy between two individuals, are explained by others as simply the result of "fancy and coincidence." any one, it is argued, may fall into a brown study, and emerge from it with a stare, and the notion that he heard his name spoken. that is the part of fancy, and the simultaneous event is the part of coincidence. against this theory it will always be argued that these coincidences are too many to be accidental, and this position, as a writer in _the daily news_ has shown, will generally be met by counter-efforts to weaken the evidence for each individual case, and so to reduce the cumulative evidence to nothing. taking into consideration however, the countless instances which are on record of this kind, many of them apparently resting on evidence beyond impeachment, we must, whilst allotting to them the credence they deserve, honestly admit they are occasionally beyond the limits of human explanation. from a very early period there has existed a belief in the existence of the power of prophecy at that period which precedes death. it probably took its origin in the assumed fact that the soul becomes divine in the same rate as the connection with the body is loosened. it has been urged in support of this theory that at the hour of death the soul is, as it were, on the confines of two worlds, and may possibly at the same moment possess a power which is both prospective and retrospective. shakespeare in his _richard ii._ (act ii., sc. 1) makes the dying gaunt, alluding to his nephew, the young and self-willed king, exclaim:- "methinks i am a prophet new inspired, and thus expiring do foretell of him." again in _1 henry iv._ (act v., sc. 4), the brave percy, when in the agonies of death, conveys the same idea in the following words:- "o, i could prophesy, but that the earthy and cold hand of death lies on my tongue." some have sought for the foundation of this belief in the forty-ninth chapter of genesis:--"and jacob called his sons, and said, gather yourselves together, that i may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. and when jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into his bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people." this notion has not died out, but still prevails in lancashire and other parts of england. referring to death itself, there is a widespread belief that deaths mostly occur during the ebbing of the tide: a superstition to which charles dickens has so touchingly alluded in "david copperfield." while the honest-hearted mr. peggotty sat by the bedside of poor barkis, and watched life's flame gradually growing dimmer, he said to david copperfield, "people can't die along the coast except when the tide's pretty nigh out. they can't be born unless it's pretty nigh in. not properly born till flood. he's agoing out with the tide--he's agoing out with the tide. it's ebb at half-arter three, slack water half an hour. if he lives till it turns, he'll hold his own till past the flood, and go out with the next tide." and after many hours' watching, "it being low water, he went out with the tide." persons, too, are said to "die hard," to quote a popular phrase, or, in other words, to have a painful and prolonged death, when there are pigeons' feathers in the bed. hence, some will not allow dying persons to lie on a feather bed at all, maintaining that it very much increases the pain, and retards the inevitable crisis of their departure. many, on the other hand, have a superstitious feeling that it is a great misfortune, nay, even a judgment, not to die in a bed. many are the anecdotes illustrative of the former superstition, one or two of which we will quote. thus a sussex nurse one day told the wife of her clergyman that "never did she see any one die so hard as old master short; and at last she thought (though his daughter said there were none) that there must be game-feathers in the bed. she, therefore, tried to pull it from under him, but he was a heavy man and she could not manage it alone, and there was no one with him but herself, and so she got a rope and tied it round him and pulled him by it off the bed, and he went off in a minute quite comfortable, just like a lamb." again, one day, when an old woman near yarmouth was speaking of the burning of game-feathers as a precaution in case of death, her neighbours said to her, "of course we don't believe that can have anything to do with a hard death," whereupon she replied, "then you yourself use such feathers." "oh, no; we always burn them, unless we want them for a chair-cushion." the same notion prevails in yorkshire with regard to cocks' feathers. according to another popular fancy a person cannot die comfortably under the cross-beam of a house, and we are told of the case of a man of whom it was said at his death, that after many hours' hard dying, being removed from the position under the cross-beam, he departed peaceably. again, the interval between death and burial has generally been associated with various superstitious fears and practices. thus, as soon as the corpse is laid out there is still a widespread custom of placing a plate of salt upon the breast, the reason being no doubt to prevent the body swelling; although there is a belief that it acts as a charm against any attempt on the part of evil spirits to disturb the body. pennant tells us that formerly in scotland, "the corpse being stretched on a board and covered with a coarse linen wrapper, the friends laid on the breast of the deceased a wooden platter, containing a small quantity of salt and earth, separate and unmixed; the earth an emblem of the corruptible body, the salt as an emblem of the immortal spirit." mr. napier, in his "folk-lore of the west of scotland," points out that we may find another explanation for the plate of salt on the breast in the "sin-eaters," persons who, in days gone by, when a person died, were sent for to come and eat the sins of the deceased. on their arrival their first act was to place a plate of salt and one of bread on the breast of the corpse, repeating a series of incantations, after which they devoured the contents of the plates. by this ceremony the deceased person was supposed to be relieved of such sins as would have kept his spirit hovering about his relations to their discomfort and annoyance. it is customary, especially among the poor, for those who visit a house while the dead body is lying in it to touch the corpse, thereby showing that they owe the departed one no grudge. this practice, in all probability, originated in the belief that a corpse would bleed at the touch of the murderer, constant allusions to which we find in old authors. the practice of watching the dead body until its burial is not yet obsolete, a custom indeed which, among the irish, is even still occasionally the scene of the most unseemly revelries, those present oftentimes indulging in excessive drinking and riotous merry-making. in days gone by, however, this practice was attended with every mark of respect to the deceased one, the leading idea being to see that the devil did not carry off the body. lastly, since the formation of cemeteries, many of the quaint old funeral customs which formerly existed in many of our country villages have passed away. now-a-days, the "last act," as the committal of the body to the grave has been termed, has been shorn of much of its pomp. thus, in the north of england it was customary, only a few years ago, to carry "the dead with the sun" to the grave, a practice corresponding with the highland usage of making "the deazil," or walking three times round a person, according to the course of the sun. on one occasion, in the village of stranton, near west hartlepool, the vicar was standing at the churchyard gate, awaiting the arrival of the funeral procession, when, much to his surprise, the entire group, who had come within a few yards of him, suddenly turned back and marched round the churchyard wall, thus traversing its west, north, and east boundaries. on inquiring the reason of this extraordinary procedure, one of the mourners quickly replied, "why, ye wad no hae them carry the dead again the sun; the dead maun ay go wi' the sun." this is not unlike a welsh custom mentioned by pennant, who tells us that when a corpse was conveyed to the churchyard from any part of the town, great care was always taken that it should be carried the whole distance on the right-hand side of the road. a curious custom, which still survives at welsh funerals, is termed "the parson's penny." after reading the burial service in the church, the clergyman stands behind a table while a psalm is being sung. in the meantime each of the mourners places a piece of money on the table for his acceptance. this ceremony is regarded as a token of respect to the deceased, although it was no doubt originally intended to compensate the clergyman for praying for the soul of the departed. in some welsh parishes a similar custom, called "spade-money," is observed. as soon as the corpse has been committed to its resting-place, the grave-digger presents his spade as a receptacle for donations, these offerings, which often amount to a goodly sum, being regarded as his perquisites. from time immemorial there has been a popular prejudice among the inhabitants of rural villages against "burial without the sanctuary." this does not imply in unconsecrated ground, but on the north side of the church, or in a remote corner of the churchyard. the origin of this repugnance is said to have been the notion that the northern part was that which was appropriated to the interment of unbaptised infants, excommunicated persons, or such as had laid violent hands upon themselves. hence it was generally known as "the wrong side of the church." in many parishes, therefore, this spot remained unoccupied while the remaining portion of the churchyard was crowded. white, in his "history of selborne," alluding to this superstition, says that as most people wished to be buried on the south side of the churchyard, it became such a mass of mortality that no person could be interred "without disturbing or displacing the bones of his ancestors." a clergyman of a rural parish in norfolk says:--"if i were on any occasion to urge a parishioner to inter a deceased relative on the north side of the church, he would answer me with some expression of surprise, if not of offence, at the proposal, 'no, sir, it is not in the sanctuary.'" great attention has, also, generally been paid to the position of the grave, the popular idea being from east to west, while that from north to south has been considered not only dishonourable, but unlucky. indeed, the famous antiquary, thomas hearne, was so particular on this point that he left orders for his grave to be made straight by a compass, due east and west. in _cymbeline_ (act iv., sc. 2), guiderius, speaking of the apparently dead body of imogen disguised in man's apparel, says:- "nay, cadwal, we must lay his head to the east; my father hath a reason for 't." it is worthy of notice that the burial of the dead among the greeks was in the line of east and west; and thus it is not to late and isolated fancy, but to the carrying on of ancient and widespread solar ideas, as mr. tylor has so clearly shown, that we trace the well-known legend that the body of christ was laid towards the east, and the christian usage of digging graves east and west. a pretty custom was once observed in many of our country villages at the funeral of a young unmarried girl, or of a bride who died in her honeymoon; a chaplet of flowers being carried before the corpse by a girl nearest in age, size, and resemblance, and afterwards hung up in the church over the accustomed seat of the deceased. among other customs connected with burial may be mentioned "funeral feasts," which have prevailed in this and other countries from the earliest times, and are supposed to have been borrowed from the _coena feralis_ of the romans: an offering, consisting of milk, honey, wine, aloes, and strewed flowers, to the ghost of the deceased. in a variety of forms this custom has prevailed amongst most nations, the idea being that the spirits of the dead feed on the viands set before them. in christian times, however, these funeral offerings have passed into commemorative banquets, under which form they still exist amongst us. in the north of england the funeral feast is called "an arval," and the loaves that are sometimes distributed among the poor are termed "arval bread." the poor seem to have always been fond of inviting a large number of friends to attend a funeral. instances are on record of a barrel of beer, two gallons of sack, and four gallons of claret being consumed at a funeral, and the cost of wine has been five times more than the cost of the coffin. in one of the parishes on the borders of norfolk there is a tradition, says mr. glyde in his "norfolk garland," that when the warrior sir robert atte tye was buried, four dozen of wine were drunk, according to his last directions, over his grave, before the coffin was covered with earth. many curious anecdotes might be given of funerals having been solemnised within the church-porch, and of the scruples entertained by great men as to the practice of interment in churches. a part of the churchyard, too, was occasionally left unconsecrated for the purpose of burying excommunicated persons. among some of the superstitions associated with burial we may just note that it is considered by some unlucky to meet a funeral; and that, according to another notion, the ghost of the last person buried keeps watch over the churchyard till another is buried, to whom he delivers his charge. chapter vi. the human body. superstitions about deformity, moles, &c.--tingling of the ear--the nose--the eye--the teeth--the hair--the hand--dead man's hand--the feet. in the preceding pages we have given a brief survey of that widespread folk-lore with which the life of man has been invested, stage by stage, from the cradle to the grave. in like manner the popular imagination has, in most countries from the earliest times, woven round the human body a thick network of superstitions, many of which, while of the nature of omens, are supposed to indicate certain facts, such as the person's character, the events connected with his life, and to give that insight into his future career which eager curiosity would strive to ascertain. thus, according to an old prejudice, which is not quite extinct, those who are defective or deformed are marked by nature as prone to mischief, in accordance with which notion shakespeare makes margaret, speaking of richard, duke of gloucester, in _king richard iii._ (act i., sc. 3), say:- "thou elvish-mark'd, abortive, rotting hog thou that was seal'd in thy nativity the slave of nature and the son of hell." moles, too, have generally been thought to denote good or ill-luck from their position on the body. thus one on the throat is a sign of luck, but one on the left side of the forehead near the hair is just the reverse. again, a mole on either the chin, ear, or neck is an indication of riches, but one on the breast signifies poverty. indeed, if we are to believe the "greenwich fortune-teller," a popular chap-book in former years, omens to be drawn from moles are almost unlimited. referring, however, more especially to the folk-lore associated with the different parts of the human body, this, as we have already stated, is very extensive, being in many cases the legacy bequeathed to us by our ancestors. commencing, then, with the ear, there is a well-known superstition that a tingling of the right one is lucky, denoting that a friend is speaking well of one; a tingling of the left implying the opposite. this notion differs according to the locality, as in some places it is the tingling of the left ear which denotes the friend, and the tingling of the right ear the enemy. shakespeare, in _much ado about nothing_ (act iii., sc. 1), makes beatrice say to ursula and hero, who had been talking of her, "what fire is in mine ears?" in allusion, it is generally supposed, to this popular fancy, which is old as the time of pliny, who says, "when our ears tingle some one is talking of us in our absence." sir thomas browne also ascribes the idea to the belief in guardian angels, who touch the right or left ear according as the conversation is favourable or not to the person. the scotch peasantry have an omen called the "death-bell"--a tingling in the ears which is believed to announce some friend's death. hogg alludes to this superstition in his "mountain bard":- "o lady, 'tis dark, an' i heard the death-bell, an' i darena gae yonder for gowd nor fee," and gives also an amusing anecdote illustrative of it:--"our two servant-girls agreed to go on an errand of their own, one night after supper, to a considerable distance, from which i strove to persuade them, but could not prevail; so, after going to the apartment where i slept, i took a drinking-glass, and coming close to the back of the door made two or three sweeps round the lip of the glass with my finger, which caused a loud shrill sound, and then overheard the following dialogue:-"_b._ 'ah, mercy! the dead-bell went through my head just now with such a knell as i never heard.' "_i._ 'i heard it too.' "_b._ 'did you indeed? that is remarkable. i never knew of two hearing it at the same time before.' "_i._ 'we will not go to midgehope to-night.' "_b._ 'i would not go for all the world! i shall warrant it is my poor brother wat. who knows what these wild irish may have done to him?'" the itching of the nose, like that of the ears, is not without its signification, denoting that a stranger will certainly appear before many hours have passed by, in allusion to which dekker, in his "honest whore," says:--"we shall ha' guests to-day; my nose itcheth so." in the north of england, however, if the nose itches it is reckoned a sign that the person will either be crossed, vexed, or kissed by a fool; whereas an old writer tells us that "when a man's nose itcheth it is a signe he shall drink wine." many omens, too, are gathered from bleeding of the nose. thus grose says, "one drop of blood from the nose commonly foretells death or a very severe fit of sickness; three drops are still more ominous;" and according to another notion one drop from the left nostril is a sign of good luck, and _vice versâ_. bleeding of the nose seems also to have been regarded as a sign of love, if we may judge from a passage in boulster's "lectures," published early in the seventeenth century:--"'did my nose ever bleed when i was in your company?' and, poor wretch, just as she spake this, to show her true heart, her nose fell a-bleeding." again, that bleeding of the nose was looked upon as ominous in days gone by, we may gather from launcelot's exclamation in the _merchant of venice_ (act ii., sc. 5), "it was not for nothing that my nose fell a-bleeding on black monday last at six o'clock"--a superstition to which many of our old writers refer. among further superstitions connected with the nose we may mention one in cornwall, known as "the blue vein," an illustration of which occurs in mr. hunt's "popular romances of the west of england," who relates the following little anecdote:--"a fond mother was paying more than ordinary attention to a fine healthy-looking child, a boy about three years old. the poor woman's breast was heaving with emotion, and she struggled to repress her sighs. upon inquiring if anything was really wrong, she said, 'the old lady of the house had just told her that the child could not live long because he had a blue vein across his nose.'" this piece of folk-lore, which caused the anxious mother such distress, is not confined to the west of england, but crops up here and there throughout the country. while speaking of the nose, we may just note that it is the subject of various proverbs. thus "to put the nose out of joint" means to supplant one in another's favour, and the popular one of "paying through the nose," implying extortion, may, it has been suggested, have originated in a poll-tax levied by odin, which was called in sweden a nose-tax, and was a penny per nose or poll. once more, we have the term "nose of wax" applied to a person who is very accommodating, and one may occasionally hear the phrase "wipe the nose" used in the sense of affront. leaving the nose, however, we find similar odd fancies attached to the eye. in many places we are told that "it's a good thing to have meeting eyebrows, as such a person will never know trouble," although, curious to say, on the continent quite a different significance is attributed to this peculiarity. in greece, for instance, it is held as an omen that the man is a vampire, and in denmark and germany it is said to indicate that he is a werewolf. in china, also, there is a proverb that "people whose eyebrows meet can never expect to attain to the dignity of a minister of state." there can be no doubt that, according to the general idea, meeting eyebrows are not considered lucky:- "trust not the man whose eyebrows meet, for in his heart you'll find deceit." thus, charles kingsley, in "two years ago," speaks of this idea in the following passage:--"tom began carefully scrutinising mrs. harvey's face. it had been very handsome. it was still very clever, but the eyebrows clashed together downwards above her nose, and rising higher at the outward corners, indicated, as surely as the restless down-drop eye, a character self-conscious, furtive, capable of great inconsistencies, possibly of great deceit." again, the itching of the right eye is considered a lucky omen, an idea that is very old, and may be traced as far back as the time of theocritus, who says:- "my right eye itches now, and i shall see my love." according to the antiquary grose, however, who collected together so many of the superstitions prevalent in his day, "when the right eye itches, the party affected will shortly cry; if the left, they will laugh." the power of fascination has generally been considered to be a peculiar quality of the eye, a notion by no means obsolete, and numerous charms have been resorted to for counteracting its influence. in our chapter on "birth and infancy" we have already spoken of the danger to which young children are said to be subject from the malevolent power of some evil eye, and of the pernicious effects resulting from it. shakespeare gives several references to it, one of which occurs in the _merry wives of windsor_ (act v., sc. 5), where pistol says of falstaff:- "vile worm, thou wast o'erlook'd even in thy birth." and once more, in _titus andronicus_ (act ii., sc. 1), aaron speaks of tamora as "----fetter'd in amorous chains- and faster bound to aaron's charming eyes, than is prometheus tied to caucasus." it was not very long ago that a curious case of this superstition was brought before the guardians of the shaftesbury union, in which an applicant for relief stated his inability to work because he had been "overlooked" by his sister-in-law. although his wife had resorted for help to a wise-woman, yet she was unable to remove the spell under which he lay, and thus the unfortunate man, incapable of labour, applied for relief, which he did not obtain. in the next place, some of the superstitions connected with the teeth are quaint, and afford opportunities to the credulous for drawing omens of various kinds. thus, to dream about teeth is held to be a warning that sorrow of some kind is at hand; and it is even unluckier still to dream of one's teeth falling out. it is also frequently the custom, for the sake of luck, to throw a tooth when extracted into the fire, a practice which, as we have already seen, is frequently most scrupulously kept up in the case of young children, to make sure of the remainder of their teeth coming properly. furthermore, to have teeth wide apart is a sign of prosperity, and is said to indicate one's future happiness in life. as an instance of this piece of folk-lore we may quote the following, narrated by a correspondent in _notes and queries_:--"a young lady the other day, in reply to an observation of mine, 'what a lucky girl you are!' replied, 'so they used to say i should be when at school.' 'why?' 'because my teeth were set so far apart; it was a sure sign i should be lucky and travel.'" trivial as many of these superstitions may seem, yet they are interesting, inasmuch as they show how minutely the imagination has at different times surrounded the human body with countless items of odd notions, some of which in all probability originated from practical experience, while others have been the result of a thousand circumstances, to ascertain the history of which would be a matter of long and elaborate research. passing on to the hair, there is a popular notion that sudden fright or violent distress will, to use sir walter scott's words, "blanch at once the hair." thus, in shakespeare's _1 henry iv._ (act ii., sc. 4), falstaff, in his speech to prince henry, says:- "thy father's beard is turned white with the news." although this has been styled "a whimsical notion," yet in its support various instances of its occurrence have been from time to time recorded. the hair of ludwig of bavaria, for example, it is said, became almost suddenly white as snow on his learning the innocence of his wife, whom he had caused to be put to death on a suspicion of infidelity; and the same thing, we are told, happened to charles i. in a single night, when he attempted to escape from carisbrooke castle. a similar story is told of the unfortunate marie antoinette, when her flight from france was checked at varennes. according to another notion, excessive fear has occasionally caused the hair to stand on end, a belief which shakespeare has recorded. in _hamlet_ (act iii., sc. 4), in that famous passage where the queen is at a loss to understand her son's mysterious conduct and strange appearance, during his conversation with the ghost which is hidden to her eyes, she says:- "and, as the sleeping soldiers in th' alarm, your bedded hair, like life in excrements, starts up, and stands on end." once more, too, in that graphic scene in the _tempest_ (act i., sc. 2), where ariel describes the shipwreck, he says:- "all but mariners plunged in the foaming brine and quit the vessel, then all afire with me; the king's son, ferdinand, with hair up-staring--then like reeds, not hair- was the first man that leap'd." the sudden loss of hair is considered unlucky, being said to prognosticate the loss of children, health, or property; whereas many consider it imprudent to throw it away, or to leave the smallest scrap lying about. one reason assigned for this notion is that if hair is left about, birds might build their nests with it, a fatal thing for the person from whose head it has fallen. thus, should a magpie use it for any such purpose--by no means an unlikely circumstance--the person's death will be sure to happen "within a year and a day." some say, again, that hair should never be burnt, but only buried, a superstition founded on a tradition that at the resurrection its owner will come in search of it. on the other hand, it is customary with some persons to throw a piece of their hair into the fire, drawing various omens from the way it burns. should it gradually smoulder away, it is an omen of death; but its burning brightly is a sign of longevity, and the brighter the flame the longer the life. in devonshire, too, if the hair grows down on the forehead and retreats up the head above the temples, it is considered an indication that the person will have a long life. there is a very prevalent idea that persons who have much hair or down on their arms are, to quote the common expression, "born to be rich," although the exception, in this as in many other similar cases, rather proves the rule; but abundance of hair on the head has been supposed to denote a lack of brains, from whence arose an odd proverb, "bush natural, more hair than wit." once more, judas is said to have had red hair, and hence, from time immemorial, there has been a strong antipathy to it. shakespeare, in _as you like it_ (act iii., sc. 4), alludes to this belief, when he makes rosalind say of orlando:- "his very hair is of the dissembling colour." to which celia replies:- "something browner than judas's." it has been conjectured, however, that the odium attached to red hair took its origin in this country from the aversion felt to the red-haired danes. one reason, perhaps, more than another why this dislike to it arose, originated in the circumstance that the colour was thought ugly and unfashionable, and the antipathy to it, therefore, would naturally be increased by this opinion. thus, in course of time, a red beard was also held in contempt, and was regarded as an infallible token of a vile disposition. yellow hair, too, was formerly esteemed a deformity, and in ancient tapestries both cain and judas are represented with yellow beards, in allusion to which, in the _merry wives of windsor_ (act i., sc. 4), simple, when interrogated, says of his master, "he hath but a little wee face, with a little yellow beard--a cain-coloured beard." while alluding to beards, we may note that in former years they gave rise to various customs, many of which, however, have long ago fallen into disuse. thus, dyeing beards was a common practice, and our readers may recollect how bottom, in _a midsummer night's dream_ (act i., sc. 2), is perplexed as to what beard he should wear in performing his part before the duke. he says, "i will discharge it either in your straw-coloured beard, your orange-tawny beard, your purple-in-grain beard, or your french-crown-colour beard, your perfect yellow." it was evidently quite as much the habit for gentlemen to dye their beards in shakespeare's day as it is said to be for ladies to dye their locks now-a-days. when beards, too, were the fashion, to mutilate or cut off one was considered an irreparable outrage. pursuing our subject, we find that the cheek is not without its quota of folk-lore; for, like the ear, nose, and eye, it is considered ominous when one's cheek itches. according to grose, "if the right cheek burns, some one is speaking to the person's advantage; if the left, to their disadvantage." one may still occasionally hear the following charm uttered by a person whose cheek suddenly burns:- "right cheek! left cheek! why do you burn? cursed be she that doth me any harm; if she be a maid, let her be staid; if she be a widow, long let her mourn; but if it be my own true love--burn, cheek, burn." again, the hand has been honoured with a very extensive folk-lore, and the following extract from an old writer shows that nearly every peculiarity of the hand has been made emblematical of some personal trait of character. thus, we are told:--"a great thick hand signifies one not only strong, but stout; a little slender hand, one not only weak, but timorous; a long hand and long fingers betoken a man not only apt for mechanical artifice, but liberally ingenious. those short, on the contrary, note a fool, and fit for nothing; a hard brawny hand signifies one dull and rude; a soft hand, one witty, but effeminate; a hairy hand, one luxurious. long joints signify generosity; yet, if they be thick withal, one not so ingenious. the often clapping and folding of the hands note covetousness; and their much moving in speech, loquacity. short and fat fingers mark a man out as intemperate and silly; but long and lean, as witty. if his fingers crook upward, that shows him liberal; if downward, niggardly. long nails and crooked signify one to be brutish, ravenous, and unchaste; very short nails, pale and sharp, show him subtle and beguiling." among other omens, we are told that the itching of the right hand signifies that it will shortly receive money, whereas if the left hand be the one to itch, it is a sign that money will before very many days have to be paid away. in suffolk the peasants have the following rhyme on the subject:- "if your hand itches, you're going to take riches; rub it on wood, sure to come good; rub it on iron, sure to come flying; rub it on brass, sure to come to pass; rub it on steel, sure to come a deal; rub it on tin, sure to come agin." a moist hand is said to denote an amorous constitution, and in _2 henry iv._ (act i., sc. 2), the lord chief justice enumerates a dry hand among the characteristics of age and debility. palmistry, or divination by means of the hands, a species of fortune-telling still much practised, we have already described in another chapter. a superstition, however, which we must not omit to mention, is the practice of rubbing with a dead hand for the purpose of taking away disease, instances of which, even now-a-days, are of occasional occurrence. mr. henderson mentions a case that happened about the year 1853. the wife of a pitman at castle eden colliery, who was suffering from a wen in the neck, went alone, according to advice given her by a "wise woman," and lay all night in the out-house, with the hand of a corpse on her wen. she had been assured that the hand of a suicide was an infallible cure. the shock, at any rate, to her nervous system from that terrible night was so great that she did not rally for some months, and eventually she died from the wen. as a further specimen of this incredible superstition, we may quote the following case, which happened some years ago in an eastern county. a little girl of about eight years of age had from birth been troubled with scrofulous disease, and had been reared with great difficulty. her friends consulted the "wise man" of the neighbourhood, who told the mother that if she took the girl and rubbed her naked body all over with the hand of a dead man she would be cured. the experiment was tried, and the poor little girl was nearly killed with fright, and, of course, made no progress whatever towards health. many of our readers are, no doubt, acquainted with the famous "dead man's hand," which was formerly kept at bryn hall, in lancashire. it is said to have been the hand of father arrowsmith, a priest who, according to some accounts, was put to death for his religion in the time of william iii. preserved with great care in a white silken bag, this hand was resorted to by many diseased persons, and wonderful cures are reported to have been effected by this saintly relic. thus, we are told of a woman who, afflicted with the small-pox, had this dead hand in bed with her every night for six weeks; and of a poor lad who was rubbed with it for the cure of scrofulous sores. it is, indeed, generally supposed that practices of this kind are rare and of exceptional occurrence, but they are far more common than might be imagined, although not recorded in newspapers. this is, however, in a great measure owing to the fact that those who believe in and have recourse to such rites observe secresy, for fear of meeting with ridicule from others. the nails, also, as we have mentioned in our chapter on childhood, have their folk-lore, the little specks which are seen on them being regarded as ominous. many have their particular days for cutting the nails. of the numerous rhymes on the subject, we may quote the following as a specimen, from which it will be seen that every day has its peculiar virtue:- "cut them on monday, you cut them for health; cut them on tuesday, you cut them for wealth; cut them on wednesday, you cut them for news; cut them on thursday, a new pair of shoes; cut them on friday, you cut them for sorrow; cut them on saturday, see your true love to-morrow; cut them on sunday, the devil will be with you all the week." this old rhyming-saw differs in various localities, although in the main points it is the same; as by general consent both friday and sunday are regarded as most inauspicious days for cutting both the nails and hair. once more, to sit cross-legged is said to produce good fortune; and occasionally at a card-table one may find some superstitiously-inclined person sitting in this attitude with a view of securing good luck. sir thomas browne, on the contrary, tells us that in days gone to "sit cross-legged, or with the fingers pectinated" or shut together, was accounted a sign of bad luck: a superstition alluded to by pliny. referring to the feet, we cannot do more than just allude to two or three items of folk-lore with which they are connected. thus, a flat-footed person is generally considered to have a bad temper, a notion indeed which daily experience often proves to be incorrect. the itching of the foot has been supposed to indicate that its owner will shortly undertake a strange journey; while that unpleasant sensation popularly styled "the foot going to sleep," is often charmed away by crossing the foot with saliva. when the division between the toes is incomplete, and they are partially joined, they are called "twin toes," and are said to bring good luck. this section of our "domestic folk-lore" might have been prolonged to an almost indefinite extent had space permitted, but as the preceding pages amply bear witness to the prevalence of such ideas, we will proceed to discuss another, and, it is to be hoped, not less interesting class of superstitions. chapter vii. articles of dress. new clothes at easter and whitsuntide--wearing of clothes--the clothes of the dead--the apron, stockings, garters, &c.--the shoe--the glove--the ring--pins. one would scarcely expect to find a host of odd fancies attached to such matter-of-fact necessities as articles of dress, but yet they hold a prominent place in our domestic folk-lore. however trivial at first sight these may seem, they are nevertheless interesting, in so far as they illustrate certain features of our social history, and show from another point of view how superstition is interwoven with all that appertains to human life. beginning, then, with a well-known piece of folk-lore, most persons wear new clothes on easter-day, mindful of the old admonition:- "at easter let your clothes be new, or else be sure you will it rue" --a notion that still retains its hold on the popular mind, few being found bold enough to transgress this long-rooted custom. in the north of england, so strong is the feeling on this point, that young people rarely omit visiting the nearest market-town prior to eastertide, to buy some new article of dress or personal ornament, as otherwise they believe the birds--notably rooks--will spoil their clothes. a similar fancy prevails with regard to whitsuntide, and many would consider that they had forfeited their good luck for the next twelve months if they did not appear in "new things" on whitsunday. the superstitions relating to clothes are very numerous, varying in different localities. thus, according to a suffolk notion, "if you have your clothes mended on your back, you will be ill-spoken of," or as they say in sussex, "you will come to want." again, many before putting on a new coat or dress, take care to place some money in the right-hand pocket, as this insures its always being full. if by mistake, however, the money is put in the left-hand pocket, then the person will never have a penny so long as the coat lasts. it is also a very prevalent belief that if one would secure luck with any article of dress, it must be worn for the first time at church. equal attention, too, is paid by many to the way they put on each article of dress--as, in case of its being accidentally inside out, it is considered an omen of success. it is necessary, however, if one wishes the omen to hold good, to wear the reversed portion of attire with the wrong side out till the regular time comes for taking it off. if reversed earlier, the luck is immediately lost. the idea of the "hind-side before" is so closely related to that of "inside out," that one can hardly understand their being taken for contrary omens; yet, "it is worthy of remark, in connection with this superstition," says a correspondent of chambers's "book of days," "that when william the conqueror, in arming himself for the battle of hastings, happened to put on his shirt of mail with the hind-side before, the bystanders seem to have been shocked by it, as by an ill-omen, till william claimed it as a good one, betokening that he was to be changed from a duke to a king." another piece of superstition tells us that the clothes of the dead never last very long, but that as the body decays, so in the same degree do the garments and linen which belonged to the deceased. hence, in essex there is a popular saying to the effect that "the clothes of the dead always wear full of holes." when therefore a person dies, and the relatives, it may be, give away the clothes to the poor, one may frequently hear a remark of this kind, "ah, they may look very well, but they won't wear; they belong to the dead." a similar belief prevails in denmark, where a corpse is not allowed to be buried in the clothes of a living person, lest as the clothes rot in the grave, that person to whom they belonged should waste away and perish. in accordance also with a superstition prevalent in the netherlands, the rings of a dead friend or relative are never given away, as it is a sure sign that the giver too will soon die. an absurd notion exists in many parts--one much credited by our country peasantry--that if a mother gives away all the baby's clothes in her possession, she will be sure to have another addition to her family, although the event may be contrary to all expectation. among other items of folk-lore associated with clothes, we may mention that in the north of england to put a button or hook into the wrong hole while one is dressing in the morning, is held to be a warning that some misfortune will happen in the course of the day; and in northamptonshire it is said that servants who go to their places in black will never stay the year out. a dorsetshire superstition is that if a gentleman accidentally burns the tail of his coat, or a lady the hem of her skirt, during a visit at a friend's house, it is a proof they will repeat their visit. another article of dress that has its superstitions is the apron, which some women turn before the new moon, to insure good luck for the ensuing month. in yorkshire, when a married woman's apron falls off, it is a sign that something is coming to vex her; when, however, the apron of an unmarried girl drops down, she is frequently the object of laughter, as there is considered no surer sign than that she is thinking about her sweetheart. again, if a young woman's petticoats are longer than her dress, this is a proof that her mother does not love her so much as her father, a notion which extends as far as scotland. this piece of folk-lore may have originated in the mother not attending so much to the child's dress as was her duty, whereas, however much the father may love his child, he may at the same time be perfectly ignorant of the rights and wrongs of female attire: an excuse which does not hold good in the case of the mother. some of the descriptions of plants in use among the rural peasantry refer to the petticoat. thus, the poppy is said to have a red petticoat and a green gown; the daffodil, a yellow petticoat and green gown, and so on; these fancies being the subject of many of our old nursery rhymes, as, for instance:- "daffadown-dilly is come up to town, in a yellow petticoat and a green gown." passing on in the next place to stockings, it is lucky, as with other articles of dress, to put one wrong-side out, but unlucky to turn it on discovering one's mistake. some, too, consider it a matter of importance as to which foot they put the stocking on first when dressing themselves in the morning--the luck of the day being supposed in a great measure to depend on this circumstance--as to clothe the left foot before the right one is a sign of misfortune. "flinging the stocking" was an old marriage custom, being really a kind of divination, which misson, in his "travels through england," thus describes:--"the young men, it seems, took the bride's stockings, and the girls those of the bridegroom, each of whom, sitting at the foot of the bed, threw the stocking over their heads, endeavouring to make it fall upon that of the bride or her spouse; if the bridegroom's stocking, thrown by the girls, fell upon the bridegroom's head, it was a sign that they themselves would soon be married; and similar luck was derived from the falling of the bride's stockings, thrown by the young men." there is a superstitious notion in some places that when the bride retires to rest on her wedding-night, her bridesmaids should lay her stockings across, as this act is supposed to guarantee her future prosperity in the marriage state. another use to which the stocking has been put is its being hung up to receive presents at christmas-time, a custom which, as mr. henderson points out, the pilgrim fathers carried to america, and bequeathed to their descendants. it is curious to find even the garter an object of superstition, being employed by young women in their love divinations on midsummer eve, a period, it must be remembered, considered most propitious for such ceremonies. their mode of procedure is this:--the maiden anxious to have a peep of her future husband must sleep in a county different from that in which she usually resides, and on going to bed must take care to knit the left garter about the right stocking, repeating the following incantation, and at every pause knitting a knot:- "this knot i knit to know the thing i know not yet; that i may see the man that shall my husband be; how he goes, and what he wears, and what he does all days and years." on retiring to rest the wished-for one will appear in her dreams, wearing the insignia of his trade or profession. again, as a popular object of superstition the shoe is unrivalled, and antiquaries are still undecided as to why our forefathers invested this matter-of-fact article of dress with such mysterious qualities, selecting it as the symbol of good fortune, one of the well-known uses in which it has been employed being the throwing of it for luck, constant allusions to which practice occur in our old writers. thus, beaumont and fletcher, in _the honest man's fortune_, refer to it:- "captain, your shoes are old; pray put 'em off, and let one fling 'em after us." and ben jonson, in his _masque of the gipsies_, represents one of the gipsies as saying:- "hurle after an old shoe, i'll be merry what e'er i doe." this custom, which was once so prevalent, has not yet died out, for in norfolk, whenever servants are going after new situations, a shoe is thrown after them, with the wish that they may succeed in what they are going about. some years ago, when vessels engaged in the greenland whale fishery left whitby, in yorkshire, the wives and friends of the sailors threw old shoes at the ships as they passed the pier-head. indeed, this practice is frequently observed in towns on the sea-coast, and a correspondent of _notes and queries_ informs us that one day, when at swansea, he received a shoe on his shoulder which was intended for a young sailor leaving his home to embark upon a trading voyage. tennyson has not omitted to speak of this piece of superstition:- "for this thou shalt from all things seek marrow of mirth and laughter; and wheresoe'er thou move, good luck shall throw her old shoe after." as an emblem of good luck, the shoe is thrown with much enthusiasm after a bridal couple. various explanations have been given of this popular custom. some think that it was originally intended as a sham assault on the bridegroom for carrying off the bride; and hence a survival of the old ceremony of opposition to the capture of a bride. others again are of opinion that the shoe was in former times a symbol of the exercise of dominion and authority over her by her father or guardian; the receipt of the shoe by the bridegroom, even if accidental, being an omen that the authority was transferred to him. thus, in the bible, the receiving of a shoe was an evidence and symbol of asserting or accepting dominion or ownership; whereas the giving back of the shoe was the symbol of resigning it. another reason for throwing the shoe is given in the following old rhyme:- "when britons bold wedded of old, sandals were backward thrown, the pair to tell that, ill or well, the act was all their own." throwing the shoe after the wedded pair was, also, no doubt intended as an augury of long life to the bride. in yorkshire the ceremony of shoe-throwing is termed "thrashing," and the older the shoe the greater the luck; and in some parts of kent the mode of procedure is somewhat peculiar. after the departure of the bride and bridegroom the single ladies are drawn up in one row, and the bachelors in another. when thus arranged, an old shoe is thrown as far as possible, which the fair sex run for: the winner being considered to have the best chance of marriage. she then throws the shoe at the gentlemen, when the first who gets it is believed to have the same chance of matrimony. a somewhat similar custom prevails in germany, where the bride's shoe is thrown among the guests at the wedding, the person who succeeds in catching it being supposed to have every prospect of a speedy marriage. many auguries are still gathered from the shoe. thus young girls on going to bed at night place their shoes at right angles to one another, in the form of the letter t, repeating this rhyme:- "hoping this night my true love to see, i place my shoes in the form of a t." as in the case of the stocking, great importance is attached by many superstitious persons as to which shoe they put on first, in allusion to which butler, in his "hudibras," says:- "augustus, having b' oversight put on his left shoe 'fore his right, had like to have been slain that day by soldiers mutin'ing for pay." an old writer speaking of jewish customs tells us that "some of them observe, in dressing themselves in the morning, to put on the right stocking and right shoe first without tying it. then afterwards to put on the left shoe, and so return to the right; that so they may begin and end with the right one, which they account to be the most fortunate." a suffolk doggrel respecting the "wear of shoes" teaches us the following:- "tip at the toe: live to see woe; wear at the side: live to be a bride; wear at the ball: live to spend all; wear at the heel: live to save a deal." among some of the many charms in which the shoe has been found efficacious, may be mentioned one practised in the north of england, where the peasantry, to cure cramp, are in the habit of laying their shoes across to avert it. mrs. latham, in her "west sussex superstitions," published in the "folk-lore record," tells us of an old woman who was at a complete loss to understand why her "rheumatics was so uncommon bad, for she had put her shoes in the form of a cross every night by the side of her head, ever since she felt the first twinge." in the same county, a cure for ague consists in wearing a leaf of tansy in the shoe. it is curious that the shoe should have entered into the superstitions associated with death. according to an aryan tradition, the greater part of the way from the land of the living to that of death lay through morasses, and vast moors overgrown with furze and thorns. that the dead might not pass over them barefoot, a pair of shoes was laid with them in the grave. hence a funeral is still called in the henneberg district "dead-shoe," and in scandinavia the shoe itself is known as "hel-shoe." there are countless other items of folk-lore connected with the shoe: thus in days gone by the phrase, "over shoes, over boots" was equivalent to the popular phrase, "in for a penny, in for a pound," an allusion to which we find in taylor's "workes" (1630):- "where true courage roots, the proverb says, once over shoes, o'er boots." again, "to stand in another man's shoe" is a popular expression for occupying the place or laying claim to the honours of another. "looking for dead men's shoes" is still an every-day phrase denoting those who are continually expecting some advantage which will accrue to them on the death of another. the shoe-horn, too, from its convenient use in drawing on a tight shoe, was formerly applied in a jocular metaphor to subservient and tractable assistants. thus, for instance, shakespeare in _troilus and cressida_ (act v., sc. 1) makes thersites in his railing mood give this name to menelaus, whom he calls "a thrifty shoeing-horn in a chain, hanging at his brother's (agamemnon's) leg." it was also employed as a contemptuous phrase for danglers after young women. a further article of dress that has had much honour conferred upon it is the glove, holding as it does a conspicuous place in many of our old customs and ceremonies. thus in days gone by it was given, by way of delivery or investiture, in sales or conveyances of lands and goods. it was also employed as the token of a challenge to fight, a symbolical staking, perhaps of the prowess of the hand to which the glove belonged. hence to hang up a glove in church was a public challenge, very much as a notice affixed to a church-door is a public notice. _apropos_ of this custom, a story is given in the life of the rev. bernard gilpin, of the diocese of durham, who died in 1583. it appears that he observed a glove hanging high up in his church, and ascertaining that it was designed as a challenge to any one who should dare to displace it, he desired his sexton to do so. "not i, sir, i dare do no such thing," he replied. whereupon the parson called for a long staff, and taking it down himself, put it in his pocket. preaching afterwards on the subject, he denounced this unseemly practice, saying, "behold, i have taken it down myself," and producing the glove, he exhibited it to the whole congregation as a spectacle of honour. this custom, we are told, does not appear to have been much older in this country than the thirteenth century, for matthew paris, in writing of the year 1245, speaks of it expressly as french. noblemen wore their ladies' gloves in front of their hats, a practice mentioned by drayton as having been in vogue at the battle of agincourt:- "the noble youth, the common rank above, on their courveting coursers mounted fair, one wore his mistress' garter, one her glove, and he her colours whom he most did love; there was not one but did some favour wear; and each one took it on his happy speed, to make it famous by some knightly deed." the gift of a pair of gloves was at one time the ordinary perquisite of those who performed some small service; and in process of time, to make the reward of greater value, the glove was "lined" with money; hence the term "glove-money." relics of the old custom still survive in the presentation of gloves to those who attend weddings and funerals. it is difficult, however, to discover the connection between gloves and a stolen kiss. our readers, for example, may recollect how, in sir walter scott's "fair maid of perth," catharine steals from her chamber on st. valentine's morn, and catching henry smith asleep, gives him a kiss; then we have the following:--"come into the booth with me, my son, and i will furnish thee with a fitting theme. thou knowest the maiden who ventures to kiss a sleeping man, wins of him a pair of gloves." gloves are still given to a judge at a maiden assize, a custom which, it has been suggested, originated in a saxon law, which forbade the judges to wear gloves while sitting on the bench. hence, to give a pair of gloves to a judge was tantamount to saying that he need not trouble to come to the bench, but might wear gloves. again, in bygone times gloves were worn as a mark of distinction by sovereigns, ecclesiastical dignitaries, and others; their workmanship being excessively costly, richly embroidered as they were and decorated with jewels. "the association of gloves with ecclesiastical dignity survived," says mr. leadam in the _antiquary_, "the reformation in england; for although they ceased to be worn in the services of the church, yet as late as the reign of charles ii. bishops upon their consecration were accustomed to present gloves to the archbishop, and to all who came to their consecration banquet. the lavender gloves with golden fringes which do often adorn their portraits, may still remind our modern prelates of the ancient glories of their predecessors." it was also customary to hang a pair of white gloves on the pews of unmarried villagers who had died in the flower of their youth, and at several towns in england it has been customary from time immemorial to announce a fair by hoisting a huge glove upon a pole--a practice which exists at macclesfield, portsmouth, southampton, and chester; the glove being taken down at the conclusion of the fair. hone, in his description of exeter lammas fair, says:--"the charter for this fair is perpetuated by a glove of immense size, stuffed and carried through the city on a very long pole, decorated with ribbons, flowers, &c., and attended with music, parish beadles, and the nobility. it is afterwards placed on the top of the guildhall, and then the fair commences; on the taking down of the glove the fair terminates." mr. leadam also quotes a passage from the "speculum saxonicum" which throws light on the origin of this custom:--"no one is allowed to set up a market or a mint, without the consent of the ordinary or judge of that place; the king ought also to send a glove as a sign of his consent to the same." the glove, therefore, was the king's glove, the earliest form of royal charter, the original sign-manual. among other items of folk-lore connected with this useful article of dress, we may mention that the term "right as my glove" is a phrase, according to sir walter scott, derived from the practice of pledging the glove as the sign of irrefragable faith. gloves, too, were in olden times fashionable new year's gifts, having been far more expensive than now-a-days. when sir thomas more was lord chancellor, he happened to determine a case in favour of a lady named croaker, who, as a mark of her gratitude, sent him a new year's gift in the shape of a pair of gloves with forty angels in them. but sir thomas returned the money with the following letter:--"mistress, since it were against good manners to refuse your new year's gift, i am content to take your gloves, but as for the lining i utterly refuse it." in the time of queen elizabeth, the rural bridegroom wore gloves in his hat as a sign of good husbandry; and on the "border" to bite the glove was considered a pledge of deadly vengeance, in allusion to which sir walter scott, in his "lay of the last minstrel," says:- "stern rutherford right little said, but bit his glove and shook his head." the ring, apart from its eventful history, has from the most remote period been surrounded, both in this and other countries, not only with a most extensive legendary lore, but with a vast array of superstitions, a detailed account of which would be impossible in a small volume like the present one; so we must confine ourselves to some of the most popular. in the first place, then, certain mysterious virtues have been supposed to reside in rings, not so much on account of their shape as from the materials of which they have been composed. thus, they have been much worn as talismans or charms, being thought to be infallible preservatives against unseen dangers of every kind. referring to some of these, we find, for instance, that the turquoise ring was believed to possess special properties, a superstition to which dr. donne alludes:- "a compassionate turquoise, that doth tell, by looking pale, the wearer is not well." fenton, too, in his "secret wonders of nature," describes the stone:--"the turkeys doth move when there is any peril prepared to him that weareth it." the turquoise ring of shylock, which, we are told in the _merchant of venice_ (act iii., sc. 1), he would not part with for a "wilderness of monkeys," was, no doubt, valued for its secret virtues. the carbuncle, again, amongst other properties, was said to give out a natural light, to which it has been supposed shakespeare alludes in _titus andronicus_ (act ii., sc. 3), where, speaking of the ring on the finger of bassianus, he says:- "upon his bloody finger he doth wear a precious ring, that lightens all the hole, which, like a taper in some monument, doth shine upon the dead man's earthy cheeks, and shows the ragged entrails of the pit." a piece of popular superstition makes it unlucky to wear an opal ring, although this lovely stone has always been an object of peculiar admiration from the beautiful variety of colours which it displays, and in the middle ages was even thought to possess the united virtues of all the gems with whose distinctive colours it was emblazoned. the diamond was believed to counteract poison, a notion which prevailed to a comparatively late period; though, according to another belief, it was considered the most dangerous of poisons, and as such we find it enumerated among the poisons administered to sir thomas overbury, when a prisoner in the tower. an emerald ring was thought to insure purity of thought; and a toadstone ring was worn as an amulet to preserve new-born children and their mothers from fairies. among the omens associated with rings, we may briefly note that to lose a ring which has been given as a pledge of affection is unlucky; as also is the breaking of a ring on the finger; while further superstitions relating to the wedding-ring have been noticed at length in our chapter on marriage. in days gone by, too, "medicated rings" were held in great repute, and were much used for the cure of diseases, instances of which we find among the remedies still in use for cramp, epilepsy, and fits. silver seems to have been considered highly efficacious; and rings made of lead, mixed with quicksilver, were worn as charms against headaches and other complaints. dactylomancy, or divination by rings, is not quite forgotten among eager aspirants after matrimony, one mode being to suspend a ring by a thread or hair within a glass tumbler, notice being taken as to how many times it strikes the sides of the glass without being touched. once more, there is an old piece of folk-lore on the colours of stones in "keepsake rings":- "oh, green is forsaken, and yellow is forsworn, but blue is the prettiest colour that's worn." passing from the ring to another article of dress--perhaps the most insignificant--namely, the pin, we nevertheless find it invested with all kinds of curious superstitions. thus, it is said that on seeing a pin, one should always pick it up for the sake of good luck, as those who omit to do so run into imminent danger of being overtaken by misfortune, a notion embodied in the following rhyme:- "see a pin and pick it up, all the day you'll have good luck; see a pin and let it lie, all the day you'll have to cry." why, however, north-country people are so persistent in their refusal to give one another a pin, it is not easy to discover. when asked for a pin, they invariably reply, "you may take one; but, mind, i do not give it." one of the most popular species of enchantment to which pins have been applied is that sometimes employed in counteracting the evil effects of witchcraft. one mode is by "pin-sticking," a case of which recently occurred in the parish of honiton clyst, in devonshire. a landlord having lost one of his tenants, certain repairs and improvements were found necessary to prepare for the next. in carrying out the work a chimney had to be explored, when, in the course of the operation, there was found carefully secreted a pig's heart stuck all over with thin prickles, evidently a substitute for pins. this is supposed to have been done by the direction of some "wise" or cunning person, as a means of taking revenge on the witch to whose incantations the party considered some mischief due, in the belief that the heart of the ill-wisher would be pierced in like manner, until it eventually became as pulseless as that of the pig. it appears, too, that pins were largely used in a particular species of sorcery. whenever, for instance, some malevolent individual wished to carry out her ill-natured designs, she made a clay image of the person she intended to harm, baptised the said image with the name of the party whom it was meant to represent, and stuck it full of pins or burnt it. where the pins were placed the person whom it represented was afflicted with pain, and as the figure wasted, so he was said to waste away. shakespeare alludes to this superstition, and in _richard iii._ (act iii., sc. 4) makes the duke of gloucester say to hastings:- "then be your eyes the witness of this ill, see how i am bewitch'd; behold, mine arm is, like a blasted sapling, withered up! and this is edward's wife, that monstrous witch consorted with that harlot strumpet shore, that by their witchcraft thus have marked me." pins, too, have been in extensive demand for divination, and here and there throughout the country we find "wishing wells," into which if the passers-by only drop a crooked pin and breathe their wish, it is said they may rest assured of its fulfilment at some future date. so much, then, for our illustrations of the folk-lore of dress, a subject which, interesting though it is, we have now discussed at sufficient length. chapter viii. table superstitions. thirteen at table--salt-spilling--the knife--bread, and other articles of food--wishing bones--tea-leaves--singing before breakfast--shaking hands across the table. it is frequently found that even strong-minded persons are not exempt from the prejudice against sitting down to dinner when there are only thirteen present. many amusing anecdotes are recorded of the devices resorted to for avoiding the consequences supposed to be incurred by the neglect of this superstition--the notion being that one of the thirteen, generally the youngest, will die within the next twelve months. to avoid, therefore, any such contingency, many persons, should they be disappointed in one of their guests, have the empty place filled by a child, and should one not always be forthcoming, no slight inconvenience is occasionally produced. not very long ago a case was recorded in which a lady, not being able at the last moment to make up the number fourteen, had her favourite cat seated at the table, hoping thereby to break the fatal spell attaching to the unlucky number thirteen. the origin popularly assigned to this widespread superstition is the fact that thirteen was the number at the last supper, judas being the thirteenth. a correspondent of the _gentleman's magazine_, however, writing at the close of the last century, says that it is "founded on the calculations adhered to by the insurance offices, which presume that out of thirteen persons, taken indiscriminately, one will die within a year." but this is not the probable origin, that which connects it with the last supper being no doubt the correct one. some, says lord lyttelton, in _notes and queries_, have carried the superstition "to the extent of disliking the number thirteen at all times; but the commoner form limits it to friday--not that there is any ground for fact in this, for the last supper was on the fifth, not the sixth day of the week. sailors are held somewhat superstitious, and i knew an eminent naval officer who actually would walk out of the room when the conjunction happened on a friday, after the death of the wife and eldest daughter, both of which events were preceded by the said conjunction." among other instances of this piece of superstition, we may quote the following, related by addison in the _spectator_:--"i remember," he says, "i was one in a mixed assembly that was full of wine and mirth, when on a sudden an old woman unluckily observed that there were thirteen of us in company. this remark struck a panic terror into several who were present, insomuch that one or two of the ladies were going to leave the room; but a friend of mine, taking notice that one of our female companions was likely to become a mother, affirmed there were fourteen in the room, and that instead of portending that one in the company should die, it plainly foretold that one of them should be born. had not my friend found this expedient to break the omen, i question not but half the women in the company should have fallen sick that very night." again, we may give another anecdote recorded by rachel, the celebrated _tragédienne_. on her return from egypt, in the spring of 1857, she installed herself in a villa in the neighbourhood of montpellier. there she received a visit from the poet ponsard and arséne houssaye, the latter of whom was making a tour as inspector of the departmental museums. "do you recollect the dinner we had at the house of victor hugo, at the close of the repetition of _l'angelo_?" she said to the former. "you remember there were _thirteen_ of us. there was hugo and his wife, you and your wife, rebecca and i, girardin and his wife, and some others. well! where to-day are the thirteen? victor hugo and his wife are in jersey; your wife is dead; madame de girardin is dead; my poor rebecca is dead; gerard de nerval, oradie, alfred de musset are dead. i--say no more. there remain but girardin and you. adieu! my friends. never laugh at thirteen at a table!" anecdotes, indeed, relating to this superstition are without number, and form many an amusing episode in the lives of noted characters. it may be mentioned here that the number thirteen is considered ominous in other ways. fuller, by way of example, tells us how a covetous courtier complained to king edward vi. that christ college, cambridge, was a superstitious foundation, consisting of a master and twelve fellows, in imitation of christ and his twelve apostles. he, therefore, advised the king to take away one or two fellowships, so as to dissolve that unlucky number. "oh, no," replied the king, "i have a better way than that to mar their conceit; i will add a thirteenth fellowship to them," which he accordingly did. another equally popular superstition is the ill-luck supposed to attach to salt-spilling: one notion being that to upset the salt-cellar while in the act of handing it to any one is a sign of an impending quarrel between the parties. it is also said to indicate sorrow or trouble to the person spilling it, and to counteract the evil consequences of this unlucky act one should fling some salt over the shoulder. gay speaks of this popular fancy in the fable of the "farmer's wife and the raven":- "the salt was spilt, to me it fell, then to contribute to my loss, my knife and fork were laid across." indeed constant allusions are found to this widespread superstition both in our old and modern writers. gayton, describing two friends, says:- "i have two friends of either sex, which do eat little salt, or none, yet are friends too, of both which persons i can truly tell, they are of patience most invincible whom out of temper no mischance at all can put--no, if towards them the salt should fall." this piece of folk-lore dates back up to the time of the romans, and at the present day is not limited to our own country. it has been suggested that it may have originated from the circumstance that salt was formerly used in sacrifices, and that to spill it when once placed on the head of the victim was regarded as a bad omen. bailey, however, assigns a very different reason, telling us that salt was considered by the ancients incorruptible, and on this account was made the symbol of friendship. if it, therefore, was spilt, the persons between whom it happened thought their friendship would not be of long duration. some people dislike even so much as to put salt on another person's plate, considering this act equivalent to wishing one's neighbour misfortune. hence there is a well-known couplet:- "help me to salt, help me to sorrow." a correspondent of _notes and queries_ relates how one day he offered to help an old highland lady at dinner to some salt from the cellar, which stood much nearer to him than to her; when she gravely put back his hand, and drew away her plate, saying at the same time, with a kind of shudder, between her teeth, "help me to salt, help me to sorrow." the ill-luck may be averted by a second help. salt has also been considered a powerful safeguard against evil spirits; and in scotland it was once customary in brewing to throw a handful of salt on the top of the mash to ward off witches. again, as an interesting illustration of the change which has passed over our domestic manners, we may quote the phrase "to sit above the salt," that is, in a place of honour, whereby a marked and invidious distinction was formerly maintained among those at the same table. a large salt-cellar was usually placed about the middle of a long table, the places above which were assigned to the guests of distinction, those below to inferiors and poor relations. it argues little for the delicacy of our ancestors that they should have permitted such ill-natured distinctions at their board; often, as it has been said, placing their guests "below the salt" for no better purpose than that of mortifying them. hence ben jonson, speaking of the characteristics of an insolent coxcomb, says:--"his fashion is not to take knowledge of him that is beneath him in clothes. he never drinks below the salt." among the many other odd items of folk-lore associated with the table, we may mention in the next place those relating to the knife. thus, to let a knife drop is a sign that a visitor is coming to the house; and to lay the knife and fork crosswise on one's plate is an omen that crosses and troubles will soon occur. equally unlucky, too, is it to give any kind of knife away, for, as gay in his "shepherd's week" says:- "but woe is me! such presents luckless prove, for knives, they tell me, always sever love." indeed, this superstition is not confined to a knife, but extends to any sharp or cutting instrument, such as a pair of scissors, a razor, &c. to avoid the danger of such a misfortune, some trifling recompense must be made in return. this superstition was confuted by a versifier of the last century--the rev. samuel bishop--who presented a knife to his wife on her fifteenth wedding-day, with a copy of some very clever verses of which the following are a specimen:- "a knife, dear girl, cuts love, they say, mere modish love perhaps it may; for any tool of any kind can separate what was never joined; the knife that cuts our love in two will have much tougher work to do; must cut your softness, worth, and spirit, down to the vulgar size of merit," &c. some consider it unlucky to find a knife, from a notion that it will bring ill-luck to them; while others again often place a knife near a sleeping child as a charm to preserve it from danger, a belief to which herrick thus refers:- "let the superstitious wife near the child's heart lay a knife; point be up, and haft be down; while she gossips in the town. this 'mongst other mystic charms keeps the sleeping child from harms." even the loaf of bread, too, without which the most frugal board would be incomplete, has not escaped without its quota of folk-lore. thus, many a housewife still marks the sign of the cross upon her loaf before placing it in the oven, just as the durham butcher does to the shoulder of a sheep or lamb after taking off the skin--the notion probably being to protect it against the injurious influence of witchcraft. in many parts of scotland peasants were formerly in the habit of making a cross on their tools, considering that by so doing they would be rendered safe against the mischievous pranks of the fairy folks as they went on their midnight errands. again, if a loaf accidentally parts in the hand while an unmarried lady is cutting it, this either prognosticates that she will not be married during the next twelve months, or, what is still worse, that there will be a dissension of some kind in the family. some, too, have a superstitious objection to turning a loaf upside-down after cutting it. herrick refers to the custom of carrying a crust of bread in the pocket for luck's sake--a practice which is not quite obsolete:- "if ye fear to be affrighted when ye are, by chance, benighted; in your pocket for a trust carry nothing but a crust, for that holy piece of bread charms the danger and the dread." while speaking of bread it may not be inappropriate to refer to a few other articles of fare around which superstition has cast its mantle. thus, eggs have an extensive folk-lore both in this and other countries. many persons, for instance, after eating an egg take special care to crush the shell; the omission of this ceremony, as they fancy, being attended with ill-luck. sir thomas browne informs us that the real reason is to prevent witchcraft: "lest witches should draw or prick their names therein, and veneficiously mischief their person, they broke the shell." it is also considered a bad omen to bring eggs into the house after dark, and many persons avoid burning egg-shells lest the hens should cease to lay. according to a superstition current in the west of england, one should always make a hole through an egg-shell before throwing it away, as, unless this is done, there is a danger of witches using them to put to sea for the purpose of wrecking ships. beaumont and fletcher in their "women pleased" allude to this notion:- "the devil should think of purchasing that egg-shell to victual out a witch for the burmoothies." just as it is considered, too, unlucky to bring eggs into the house after dark, so the same prejudice exists with regard to taking them out. one day, we are told in the _stamford mercury_ (oct. 29, 1852), a person in want of some eggs called at a farmhouse and inquired of the good woman whether she had any eggs to sell, to which she replied that she had a few scores to dispose of. "then i'll take them home with me in the cart," was his answer, to which she somewhat indignantly replied, "that you will not; don't you know the sun has gone down? you are welcome to the eggs at a proper hour of the day, but i would not let them go out of the house after the sun is set on any consideration whatever." a norfolk superstition warns persons against eating the marrow of pork lest they should go mad; and, in the north of england, we are told that should the meat for dinner shrink in the pot, it presages a downfall in life. should it swell, on the contrary, to a large size, it denotes that the head of the family will be prosperous in his undertakings. these odd fancies vary in different localities, and in out-of-the-way districts where the railway has not yet penetrated, they still retain their hold on the primitive and uncultivated minds of our agricultural peasantry. at the same time, however, occasional survivals of many of these old worn-out superstitions crop up in unexpected quarters, showing they are not completely dead. thus, our children still practise their divination by means of the "wishing bone" of a fowl, and are, moreover, ever on the alert to discover, what they consider, infallible omens from any article of food which nursery tradition has stamped as possessing such remarkable qualities. as we have already pointed out in another chapter, tea-leaves often afford to both old and young a constant source of amusement; and we may, now and then, find some elderly damsel, who still aspires to enter one day on the marriage state, taking care to put the milk into her tea before the sugar lest she should lose her chance of securing a sweetheart. mrs. latham, too, tells us how matrimonial fortunes are often told by seers at home from the grounds or sediment remaining at the bottom of a tea-cup; and where to unenlightened eyes nothing is apparent but a little black dust floating in a slop, those who have the wit to do so may discern a hidden meaning. again, among the host of small superstitions connected with our daily meals, one at the very outset relates to breakfast; there being a widespread belief that if a person sings before breakfast, he will cry before supper. this notion probably has some reference to another popular one, namely, that high spirits forebode evil, proving the forerunner of adversity. many anecdotes illustrative of this theory have been recorded at various times. in the last act of _romeo and juliet_, romeo is introduced as saying:- "if i may trust the flattering truth of sleep, my dreams presage some joyful news at hand; my bosom's lord sits lightly on his throne; and all this day an unaccustomed spirit lifts me above the ground with cheerful thoughts." in the evidence given at the inquest upon the bodies of four persons killed by an explosion at a firework manufactory in bermondsey, october 12th, 1849, one of the witnesses stated:--"on friday they were all very merry, and mrs. b. said she feared something would happen before they went to bed, because they were so happy." if, in a social gathering of any kind, an unmarried person is inadvertently placed between a man and his wife, it is an indication that the individual so seated will be married within the course of a year. many consider it unlucky to shake hands across the table; and there is also an old superstition mentioned by grose, that, in eating, to miss the mouth and let the food fall is a bad omen, betokening approaching sickness. once more, if a person in rising from table overturns his chair, this is not a very fortunate occurrence, as it is said to show that he has been speaking untruths. without further extending our list of the superstitious beliefs and practices that have clustered round the table--to which many of our readers will doubtless be able to make their own additions--we may briefly sum up this branch of the subject by saying:- "'tis a history handed from ages down; a nurse's tale, which children open-eyed and mouth'd devour, and thus, as garrulous ignorance relates, we learn it and believe." chapter ix. furniture omens. folk-lore of the looking-glass--luck of edenhall--clock-falling--chairs--beds--the bellows. the desire to gather omens from the various surrounding objects of every-day life has naturally included articles of furniture; and hence we find signs and portents attached to certain of these which are implicitly credited by many, from the highest to the lowest, who, notwithstanding, would consider themselves deeply insulted if the idea of their being superstitious were only so much as hinted at by some sceptical friend. among the most common of these odd fancies are those relating to the looking-glass. as a piece of furniture this is most necessary, and its very importance is, perhaps, the chief reason why superstition has invested it with those mysterious qualities which certainly do not belong in the same ratio to chairs and tables. a chair, however beautiful and costly in its manufacture, may nevertheless be cruelly broken with perfect impunity; whereas, if some wretched, dilapidated looking-glass is accidentally cracked, the inmates of the house are thoroughly discomposed, from a conviction that such an event is sure to be followed by misfortune of some kind or other. in cornwall, the supposed penalty for such an offence is seven years of sorrow; and a yorkshire proverb informs us that this unfortunate occurrence entails "seven years' trouble, but no want." it has also been said to foretell the speedy decease of the master of the house; and in scotland it is regarded as an infallible sign that some member of the family will shortly die. it has been suggested that this popular superstition dates very many years back, and probably originated in the terror inspired by the destruction of the reflected human image--an interesting illustration of how the formation of certain ideas is often determined by mere analogy. a similar style of thinking also underlies the mediæval necromancer's practice of making a waxen image of his enemy, and shooting at it with arrows in order to bring about his death. the folk-lore, however, of the looking-glass does not end here; for many consider it the height of ill-luck to see the new moon reflected in a looking-glass or through a window-pane; and some mothers studiously prevent their youngest child looking in one until a year old. it is also associated with marriage and death. thus, in the south of england it is regarded as a bad omen for a bride on her wedding morning to take a last peep in the glass when she is completely dressed in her bridal attire, before starting for the church. hence very great care is generally taken to put on a glove or some slight article of adornment after the final lingering and reluctant look has been taken in the mirror. the idea is that any young lady who is too fond of the looking-glass will be unfortunate when married. this is by no means the only occasion on which superstitious fancy interferes with the grown-up maiden's peeps into the looking-glass. thus, swedish young ladies are afraid of looking in the glass after dark, or by candle-light, lest by so doing they should forfeit the goodwill of the other sex. the practice of covering the looking-glass, or removing it from the chamber of death, still prevails in some parts of england--the notion being that "all vanity, all care for earthly beauty, are over with the deceased." it has also been suggested that, as the invisible world trenches closely upon the visible one in the chamber of death, a superstitious dread is felt of some spiritual being imaging himself forth in the blank surface of the mirror. mr. baring gould considers that the true reason for shrouding the looking-glass before a funeral was that given him in warwickshire, where there is a popular notion that if a person looks into a mirror in the chamber of death he will see the corpse looking over his shoulder. again, brand informs us that looking-glasses were generally used by magicians "in their superstitious and diabolical operations." he quotes an old authority, who says:--"some magicians, being curious to find out by the help of a looking-glass, or a glass full of water, a thing that lies hidden, make choice of young maids to discern therein those images or sights which a person defiled cannot see." sometimes, too, our ancestors dipped a looking-glass into the water when they were anxious to ascertain what would become of a sick person. accordingly as he looked well or ill in the glass, when covered with the drops of water, so they foretold whether he would recover or not. mirrors were also regarded by our forefathers as the most effective agencies in divining secrets and bringing to light hidden mysteries. thus, there is a tradition that the gunpowder plot was discovered by dr. john dee with his magic mirror. we find in a prayer-book, printed by baskett in 1737, an engraving which depicts the following scene:--in the centre is a circular looking-glass, in which is the reflection of the houses of parliament by night, and a person entering carrying a dark lantern. on the left side there are two men in the costume of james's time looking into the mirror--one evidently the king, the other probably sir kenelm digby. on the right side, at the top, is the eye of providence darting a ray on to the mirror; and below are some legs and hoofs, as if evil spirits were flying out of the picture. this plate, says a correspondent of _notes and queries_, "would seem to represent the method by which, under providence (as is evidenced by the eye), the discovery of the gunpowder plot was at that time seriously believed to have been effected. the tradition, moreover, must have been generally believed, or it never could have found its way into a prayer-book printed by the king's printer." it may be noted, however, that as the fame of dee's magic mirror was at its zenith about the time of the gunpowder plot, this may have led to the mirror being adopted as a popular emblem of discovery, or "throwing light" upon a subject. hence it has been reasonably suggested that the mirror in the print may simply be a piece of artistic design, rather than evidence of its actual employment in the discovery. in days gone by, too, it appears to have been customary for both sexes to wear small looking-glasses--a fantastic fashion much ridiculed by ben jonson and others of his time. men even wore them in their hats--an allusion to which custom we find in ben jonson's _cynthia's revels_ (act ii., sc. 1): "where is your page? call for your casting-bottle, and place your mirror in your hat as i told you." we may infer that this was the very height of affectation by the manner in which the remark is introduced. while men of fashion wore mirrors as brooches or ornaments in their hats, ladies carried them at their girdles or on their breasts. thus lovelace makes a lady say:- "my lively shade thou ever shalt retaine in thy inclosed feather-framed glasse." it was a popular superstition in former years that fine glass, such as that of venice, would break if poison were put into it. to this curious notion massinger thus gracefully alludes:- "here crystal glasses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . this pure metal so innocent is, and faithful to the mistress, or master, that possesses it, that rather than hold one drop that's venomous, of itself it flies in pieces, and deludes the traitor." this is among the errors noticed by sir thomas browne, who says, "and although it be said that poison will break a venice glass, yet have we not met with any of that nature. were there a truth herein, it were the best preservative for princes and persons exalted to such fears, and surely far better than divers now in use." it may not be inappropriate here to refer to the well-known tradition connected with the "luck of edenhall." from time immemorial there has been a current belief that any one who had the courage to rush upon a fairy festival and snatch from the merry throng their drinking-glass, would find it prove to him a constant source of good fortune, supposing he could carry it across a running stream. a glass has been carefully preserved at edenhall, cumberland, which was in all probability a sacred chalice; but the legend is that the butler, one day going to draw water, surprised a company of fairies who were amusing themselves on the grass near the well. he seized the glass that was standing upon its margin, which the fairies tried to recover, but, after an ineffectual struggle, they vanished, crying:- "if that glass do break or fall, farewell the luck of edenhall." the good fortune, however, of this ancient house was never so much endangered as by the duke of wharton, who, on one occasion having drunk the contents of this magic glass, inadvertently dropped it, and here most assuredly would for ever have terminated the luck of edenhall, if the butler, who stood at his elbow to receive the empty glass, had not happily caught it in his napkin. referring, however, more particularly to our subject, we find several items of folk-lore associated with the clock. thus, in the north of england, there is a superstition called "clock-falling," the idea being that if a woman enters a house after her confinement, and before being churched, the house-clock will immediately fall on its face. so strong was this belief in years past that a woman would never think of transgressing this rule under any circumstances whatever. in some places the house-clock is stopped on the occasion of a death, no doubt to remind the survivors that with the deceased one time is over, and that henceforth the days and hours are no longer of any account to him. a correspondent of _notes and queries_ informs us that he knew "an intelligent, well-informed gentleman in scotland who, among his last injunctions on his death-bed, ordered that as soon as he expired the house-clock was to be stopped, a command which was strictly obeyed." aubrey also tells us that formerly it was customary for people of a serious turn of mind to say, every time they heard the clock strike, "lord, grant my last hour may be my best hour." chairs, again, have their superstitions. it is regarded as a bad omen, for instance, if, when a person leaves a house, he replaces the chair on which he has been sitting against the wall, the probability being that he will never visit the house again. the chair on which a woman sits after her confinement to receive the congratulations of her friends is popularly termed "a groaning chair," an allusion to which we find in "poor robin's almanack":- "for a nurse, the child to dandle, sugar, soap, spiced pots, and candle, a groaning chair, and eke a cradle." another article of furniture not without its folk-lore is the bed. thus some superstitious persons always have their bedsteads placed parallel to the planks of the floor, considering it unlucky to sleep across the boards. others again pay particular attention to the point of the compass towards which the head should be when in bed, a belief we find existing even among the hindoos, who believe that to sleep with the head to the north will cause one's days to be shortened. to lie in the direction of the south they say is productive of longevity, whereas the east and west, it is asserted, are calculated to bring riches and change of scene respectively. various theories in this country have been, at different times, started as to the proper position of the bedstead during the hours of sleep, which find ready acceptance among those who are ever ready to grasp any new idea, however fanciful it may be. a correspondent of _the builder_, writing on the subject, says:--"so far as my own observations have gone, i know that my sleep is always more sound when my head is placed to the north. there are persons whom i know, the head of whose bed is to the north, and who, to awake early, will reverse their usual position in the bed, but without knowing the reason why, beyond 'that they could always wake earlier,' the sleep being more broken." an eminent physician in scotland states that, when he failed by every other 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--a process which he had always found successful in promoting sleep. after all, however, as has been so often said, the best prescription for a good night's rest is a healthy body and a sound mind. the well-known phrase, "to get out of bed the wrong way," or "with the left leg foremost," is generally said of an ill-tempered person; the term having originated in an ancient superstition, which regarded it as unlucky to place the left foot first on the ground on getting out of bed. once more, as a mark of the simplicity of ancient manners, it was customary for persons even of the highest rank to sleep together, an allusion to which practice occurs in _henry v._, where exeter says:- "nay, but the man that was his bedfellow, whom he hath cloy'd and grac'd with kingly favours." in conclusion, we may take one further illustration on this subject from that useful little article, the bellows, to place which on a table is considered extremely unlucky, and few servants will either do it or allow it to be done. chapter x. household superstitions. prevalence and continuity of superstitions--sneezing--stumbling--a whistling woman--sweeping--breaking crockery--fires and candles--money--other superstitions. it has often been asked how that formidable array of superstitions, which are so firmly established in most houses, came into being, and what is their origin? although indeed one may occasionally smile at the "reign of terror" which these frequently exercise over their credulous believers, yet it must be admitted they are not limited to any one class. in discussing and comparing the intellectual condition of one class of society with another, we are apt, while passing censure on the one for its odd notions and fanciful beliefs, to forget how the other often cherishes the very same, although it may be in a more disguised form. thus, by way of example, whereas some ignorant persons resort to a cunning man or "wise woman" for advice in case of emergency, many an educated person is found consulting with equal faith a clairvoyant or spirit-medium. while, too, some uneducated person believes in a particular omen, which is condemned by an intelligent community as the height of folly, many cultivated people, as we have said, may be found who hesitate before sitting down to dinner when the party consists of thirteen. however much, therefore, we may dislike to own the fact, we must acknowledge that superstition is a distinct element in the human character, although under the influence of education it has not the same opportunity for development as in the case of those whose mental powers have never been thoroughly trained. these superstitions, beliefs, and practices, too, it must be remembered, have not sprung up in a day, but have been handed down from generation to generation in popular traditions, tales, rhymes, and proverbs, and consequently have become so interwoven with the daily life as to make it no easy task to root them out. it has been truly said:- "how superstitiously we mind our evils! the throwing down salt, or crossing of a hare, bleeding at nose, the stumbling of a horse, or singing of a cricket, are of power to daunt whole man in us." as mr. tylor has truly shown, when a custom or superstition is once fairly started in the world, disturbing influences may long affect it so slightly that it may keep its course from generation to generation, as a stream once settled in its bed will flow on for ages. thus thousands of superstitions, the true meanings of which have perished for centuries, continue to exist simply because they have existed. a striking example of this fact may be found in the widespread folk-lore associated with the act of sneezing in this and other countries, which may be traced back to the most remote period. thus, in the classic ages of greece and rome, we read of the lucky sneeze of telemachus, and of aristotle's remark that people consider a sneeze as divine, but not a cough. on account of sneezing being deemed lucky, it has always been customary to salute the sneezer, a custom which the ancient greeks claimed to have derived from prometheus, who stole celestial fire to animate his newly-made figure of clay. tradition says that as the fire permeated its frame, the creature sneezed, which caused prometheus to invoke blessings on it. anyhow the practice of salutation on sneezing dates from the earliest times, and it is interesting to find a superstition of this kind, which may be looked on as a curiosity of primitive civilisation, still existing in our midst. thus, in the midland counties, grandmothers still exclaim, "god help you!" when they hear a child sneeze; and it is a very common notion that to sneeze three times before breakfast is a pledge that one will soon receive a present of some kind. the sneezing of a cat is considered an evil omen, it being a sign that the family will all have colds. according to a scotch superstition a new-born child is in the fairy spells until it sneezes, but when this takes place all danger is past. a correspondent of _notes and queries_ tells us that he once overheard "an old and reverend-looking dame crooning over a new-born child, and then, watching it intently and in silence for nearly a minute, she said, taking a huge pinch of snuff, 'oich! oich! no yet--no yet.' suddenly the youngster exploded in a startling manner, into a tremendous sneeze; when the old lady suddenly bent down and, as far as i could see, drew her fore-finger across the brows of the child, very much as if making the sign of the cross (although as a strict calvinist she would have been scandalised at the idea), and joyfully exclaimed, 'god sain the bairn it's _no a warlock_.'" indeed it is a very prevalent idea that no idiot ever sneezed or could sneeze. some attach importance to the day on which a person sneezes; and in the west of england it is said that- "sneeze on sunday morning fasting, you'll enjoy your own true love to everlasting." another household superstition which has come down to us from the far-off past is connected with stumbling; frequent allusions to which occur in the classic writers. thus, at the present day to stumble up-stairs is considered unlucky by some, but just the reverse by others. grose remarks that to stumble up the stairs is a prognostic of good luck, and in some places it is supposed to indicate that the stumbler if unmarried will cease to be so before the year is out. others affirm that to stumble in the morning as soon as one goes out of doors is a sign of ill-luck. as an instance of this omen in ancient times, it is stated that tiberius gracchus, as he was leaving his house on the day of his death, stumbled upon the threshold with such violence that he broke the nail of his great toe. it is not necessary, however, to quote further cases of this superstition in years gone by, it being sufficient for our purpose to show that it has been handed down to us by our ancestors, and that stumbling, like sneezing, has always been regarded as an ominous act. again, stumbling at a grave has been ranked among unlucky omens, a superstition to which shakespeare refers in _romeo and juliet_ (act v., sc. 3), where friar laurence says:- "how oft to-night have my old feet stumbled at graves." we may also compare gloucester's words in _3 henry vi._ (act v., sc. 3):- "for many men that stumble at the threshold are well foretold that danger lurks within." hence various charms have been practised to counteract the supposed ill-effect of this unlucky act, upon which poor robin, in his "almanack for 1695," quaintly remarks:--"all those who, walking the streets, stumble at a stick or stone, and when they are past it turn back again to spurn or kick the stone they stumbled at, are liable to turn students in goatam college, and upon admittance to have a coat put upon him, with a cap, a bauble, and other ornaments belonging to his degree." again, in most places there is a very strong antipathy to a woman whistling about a house, or even out of doors, this act being said to be always attended with fatal results. thus, there is a cornish saying to the following effect:--"a whistling woman and a crowing hen are the two unluckiest things under the sun;" and the northamptonshire peasantry have this rhyme which is to the same purport:- "a whistling woman and crowing hen are neither fit for god nor men." or, according to another version:- "a whistling wife and a crowing hen will call the old gentleman out of his den." why there should be this superstitious dislike to a woman's whistling it is difficult to decide, but at the same time it is a curious fact that one seldom hears any of the fair sex amusing themselves in this manner. mr. henderson informs us that the seafaring part of the population on the coast of yorkshire have the same dread of hearing a woman whistle. a few years ago, when a party of friends were going on board a vessel at scarborough, the captain astonished them by declining to allow one of them to enter it. "not that young lady," he said, "she whistles." curiously enough the vessel was lost on her next voyage; so, had the poor girl set foot on it, the misfortune would certainly have been ascribed to her. according to one legend, this superstition originated in the circumstance that a woman stood by and whistled while she watched the nails for the cross being forged. a correspondent of _notes and queries_ assigns another origin. he tells us that one day, after attempting in vain to get his dog to obey orders to come into the house, his wife essayed to whistle, when she was suddenly interrupted by a servant, a roman catholic, who exclaimed in the most piteous accents, "if you please, ma'am, don't whistle. every time a woman whistles, the heart of the blessed virgin bleeds." the french, it seems, have a similar prejudice to hearing a woman whistle about a house, their proverb being as follows:--"une poule qui chante le coq, et une fille qui siffle, portent malheur dans la maison." there are numerous signs and omens connected with household work. thus, in suffolk, the people say that if after sweeping a room the broom is accidentally left up in a corner, strangers will visit the house in the course of that day; while others affirm, in the northern counties, that to sweep dust out of the house by the front door is equivalent to sweeping away the good fortune and happiness of the family. care should rather be taken to sweep inwards--the dust being carried out in a basket or shovel--and then no harm will happen. furthermore, the spider, which in daily life is little noticed except for its cobweb, the presence of which in a house generally betokens neglect, is by no means an unfriendly intruder. although the servant oftentimes ruthlessly sweeps this uncared-for little visitor away from the wall, yet a common proverb reminds us that- "if you wish to live and thrive, let the spider run alive," ill-luck being supposed to quickly overtake those who kill or even so much as injure it. it was a notion formerly prevalent in many parts of scotland that should a servant wilfully kill a spider, she would certainly break a piece of crockery or glass before the day was out. one reason why the spider is protected against ill-usage is that it is supposed to bring prosperity; but the real cause, perhaps, is due to the influence of an old legend which relates how, when christ lay in the manger at bethlehem, the spider came and spun a web over the spot where he was, thus preserving his life by screening him from all the dangers that surrounded him. referring to the breaking of crockery, of which we have just spoken, there is a prevalent idea that if a servant breaks two things she will break a third. on one occasion the mistress of a household in suffolk was not a little horrified at seeing one of her servants take up a coarse earthenware basin and deliberately throw it down upon the brick floor. "what did you do that for?" she not unnaturally inquired. "because, ma'am, i'd broke two things," answered the servant, "so i thout the third better be this here," pointing to the remains of the least valuable piece of pottery in the establishment, which had been sacrificed to glut the vengeance of the offended ceramic deities. a correspondent of chambers' "book of days," alluding to another piece of superstition of this kind, tells us that he once had a servant who was very much given to breaking glass and crockery. plates and wine-glasses used to slip out of her hands as if they had been soaped; even spoons came jingling to the ground in rapid succession. "let her buy something," said the cook, "and that will change the luck." "decidedly," said the mistress, "it will be as well that she feel the inconvenience herself." "oh, i didn't mean that, ma'am!" was the reply; "i meant that it would change the luck." a few days after this conversation, on being asked whether she had broken anything more, she answered, "no, sir, i haven't broken nothing since i bout the 'tater dish." unluckily, however, this was too good to last; the breaking soon re-commenced, and the servant was obliged to go. a superstitious dread still attaches in household matters to friday as being an unlucky day, and many will not even so much as turn a bed for fear of some misfortune befalling them. thus, in northamptonshire, we are told the housewife allows the bed to remain unturned; and a sussex saying admonishes persons "never to begin a piece of work on friday, or they will never finish it." we may note here that one tradition assigns a very early origin to the unfortunate reputation of friday, affirming that it was on this day that adam and eve ate the forbidden fruit. it is considered very unlucky to change servants on this day of the week, and many try to avoid, if possible, doing so. that bright and ever-cheerful companion of our homes in winter time, the fire, has given rise to a host of omens and portents, many of which at times create no small consternation when the events supposed to be prognosticated are not of a very lucky character. a hollow cinder, for example, thrown out of the fire by a jet of gas from burning coals is looked upon as a coffin if it be long, but as a money-box if it be round. some, too, exclaim on seeing the fire suddenly blaze up that a stranger is near; whereas in the midland counties if the fire burn brightly after it has been stirred, this is considered a sign that the absent lover, wife, or husband, as the case may be, is in good spirits. a very popular charm for reviving a fire when it has burnt down is to set the poker across the hearth, with the fore-part leaning against the top bar of the grate. the poker and top bar thus combined form a _cross_, and so defeat the malice of the witches and demons who preside over smoky chimneys. one notion is that the poker when in this position creates a draught, but the real meaning of this harmless superstition is, perhaps, the one that we have just given. various items of weather-lore, also, have been derived from the way fires burn, an enumeration of which we find in willsford's "nature's secrets":--"when our common fires do burn with a pale flame, they presage foul weather. if the fire do make a buzzing noise, it is a sign of tempests near at hand. when the fire sparkleth very much, it is a sign of rain. if the ashes on the hearth do clodder together of themselves, it is a sign of rain. when pots are newly taken off the fire, if they sparkle, the soot upon them being incensed, it is a sign of rain. when the fire scorcheth and burneth more vehemently than it useth to do, it is a sign of frosty weather; but if the living coals do shine brighter than commonly at other times, expect then rain. if wood, or any other fuel, do crackle and wind break forth more than ordinary, it is an evident sign of some tempestuous weather near at hand; the much and sudden falling of soot presages rain." once more, there is a curious notion that if a person sit musing and intently looking into the fire, it is a sign that a badly-disposed person is either fascinating him for evil, or throwing an evil spell over him. when this is the case, in order to break the spell, some one without speaking or attracting notice should take the tongs and turn the centre piece of coal in the grate right over, at the same time repeating certain words. while speaking of fires, we may note that there is a belief among the yorkshire peasants that it is unlucky to allow a light to be taken out of their houses on christmas day--a superstition which prevails in lancashire with regard to new year's day. a few years ago a man was summoned at bradford on a charge of wilful damage by breaking a pane of glass in a cottage window. having entered for the purpose of lighting his candle, the woman of the house strongly remonstrated, but offered him instead a few matches. the man then created a disturbance, and on the husband trying to eject him he broke the window. omens, too, from candles are very numerous. thus, we may note that in some of the northern counties a bright spark in the candle predicts the arrival of a letter, and if it drops on the first shake, it is an indication that the letter has already been posted. to snuff out a candle accidentally is a sign of matrimony, and a curious mode of divination is still practised by means of a pin and a candle. the anxious lover, while the candle is burning, takes a pin and cautiously sticks it through the wax, taking care that it pierces the wick, repeating meanwhile the following rhyme:- "it's not this candle alone i stick, but a. b.'s heart i mean to prick; whether he be asleep or awake, i'd have him come to me and speak." she then patiently watches, for if the pin remains in the wick after the candle has burnt below the place in which it was inserted, then the loved one will be sure to appear; but should the pin drop out, it is a sign that he is faithless. there are, however, a host of other superstitions relating to home-life, some of which we can only briefly describe, scattered as they are here and there over the united kingdom, and varying in different localities. thus, according to a well-known superstition, if a person suddenly shivers, it is a sign that some one is walking over his future grave, a notion which is not limited to any particular county, extending as far north as scotland. it is fortunate, however, that all persons are not subject to this sensation, otherwise the inhabitants of those districts or parishes whose burial-grounds are much frequented would, as an old antiquarian writer has observed, "live in one continued fit of shaking." some, too, deem it unlucky to turn back after they have once started on some errand, or to be recalled and told of something previously forgotten. this superstition extends beyond our own country, and is found on the continent, as for example in sweden, where it is considered unadvisable not only to turn round when one is going on business, lest it should turn out ill, but even so much as to look back. at the present day, too, in the midland counties, children are frequently cautioned by their parents not to walk backwards when going on some errand, it being regarded as a sure sign that misfortune will befall them if they disobey this injunction. akin to this superstition, there are several others of a similar kind, among which we may include the supposed ill-luck of walking under a ladder; and north-country people have a dislike to meeting a left-handed person on a tuesday morning, although on other days it is considered fortunate to do so. referring to the many other items of folk-lore associated with our daily life, we must not omit those relating to money. thus, it is generally acknowledged to be a bad omen to find it; and to insure health and prosperity, one should always turn a piece of money in one's pocket on first seeing the new moon, and on hearing the cuckoo in spring. there is, too, the common custom of the lower orders to spit on money for "luck's sake," a practice which is not only found in foreign countries, but may be traced back to ancient times. misson, in his "travels in england," describes this piece of superstition as it prevailed in this country in former years:--"a woman that goes much to market told me t'other day that the butcher-women of london, those that sell fowls, butter, eggs, etc., and in general most tradespeople, have a peculiar esteem for what they call a _handsel_, that is to say, the first money they receive in the morning they kiss it, spit upon it, and put it in a pocket by itself." many, too, as a charm against poverty, carry a piece of money, with a hole in it, or one that is bent, in allusion to which gay says:- "this silver ring beside, three silver pennies, and a nine-pence bent, a token kind to brunkinet is sent." others, again, dislike "counting their gains," a superstition which, it has been suggested, may have some connection with david's sin in numbering the people of israel and judah. hence some regard with feelings of strong antipathy our own decennial census, and it is only the compulsion of the law which induces them to comply with this national means of ascertaining the state of the population. among minor superstitions, it is said that smoke and dust always follow the fairest; and if without any neglect, but even with care, articles of steel, such as keys, knives, &c., continually become rusty, it is a sign that some kind-hearted person is laying up money for one's benefit. when, too, as often by coincidence happens, two persons in conversation are on the point of telling each other the same thing, it is an indication that some lie will before long be told about them; others think that if the two immediately join hands and wish silently, their desires cannot fail to come to pass. some again, have a strong objection either to being weighed or to having their likeness taken, the latter superstition being mentioned by mr. napier as prevalent in some parts of scotland. once more, there is a belief among the sussex peasantry that bottles which have contained medicine should never be sold, or else they will soon be required to be filled again for some one in the house. these are some of the quaint superstitions with which even the trivial occurrences of home life are surrounded, and although, according to one view, many of these have little or no foundation for their existence beyond their traditionary history, yet it is a remarkable fact that they should have preserved their characteristic traits in spite of the long course of years through which they have travelled down to us from the past. chapter xi. popular divinations. bible and key--dipping--sieve and shears--crowing of the cock--spatulamancia--palmistry and onymancy--look-divination--astrology--cards--casting lot--tea-stalks. the practice of divination, or foretelling future events, has existed amongst most nations in all ages; and, although not so popular as in days gone by, yet it still retains its hold on the popular mind. many of the methods for diving into futurity are extremely curious, and instances of them occasionally find their way into the papers. in a previous chapter we have already shown how numerous are the divinations practised in love affairs, and what an importance is attached to them by the maiden bent on ascertaining her lot in the marriage state. there are, however, many other ends to which this species of superstition is employed, one being the detection of guilt. thus, a common method is by the "bible and the key," which is resorted to more or less by the humbler classes from one end of the united kingdom to the other, the mode of procedure being as follows:--the key is placed on a certain chapter, and the sacred volume closed and fastened tightly. the bible and the key are then suspended to a nail, the accused person's name is repeated three times by one of those present, while another recites these words:- "if it turns to thee thou art the thief, and we all are free." this incantation being concluded, should the key be found to have turned, it is unanimously agreed that the accused is the guilty one. not very long ago, a lady residing at ludlow having lost a sheet made use of this test. armed with a copy of the sacred book, she perambulated the neighbourhood, placing the key in the volume near several houses. at last, on arriving before a certain door, it was alleged that the key with much alacrity began, of its own accord, to turn; whereupon the owner of the lost sheet uttered the suspected person's name as loudly as she could; after which, it is said, the bible turned completely round and fell on the ground. again, a year or two ago, at southampton, a boy working on a collier was charged with theft, the only evidence against him being such as was afforded by the ordeal of the bible and key. it seems that the mate and some others swung a bible attached to a key with a piece of yarn, the key being placed on the first chapter of ruth. while the bible was turning, the names of several persons suspected were called over, but on mention of the prisoner's the book fell on the ground. the bench, of course, discharged the prisoner. closely akin to this method of divination is the well-known mediæval diversion known as the _sortes virgilianæ_, which consisted in opening a volume of virgil's works, and forecasting the future from some word or passage selected at random. the sacred book is now the modern substitute, and there is no doubt but that the superstition is thousands of years older than even the virgil of the augustan age. this custom, practised in many parts of england on new year's day, is called "dipping." a bible is laid on the table at breakfast-time, and those who wish to consult it open its pages at random; it being supposed that the events of the ensuing year will be in some way foreshown by the contents of the chapter contained in the two open pages. sometimes the anxious inquirer will take the bible to bed with him on new year's eve, and on awaking after twelve o'clock, open it in the dark, mark a verse with his thumb, turn down a corner of the page, and replace the book under the pillow. that verse is said to be a prophecy of the good or bad luck that will befall him during the coming year. this as a mode of divination is extensively practised. another form of this superstition consists in foretelling the events in a man's life from the last chapter of the book of proverbs, the thirty-one verses of this chapter being supposed to have a mystical reference to the corresponding days of the month. thus, it is predicted of persons born on the 14th that they will get their "food from afar." a correspondent of _notes and queries_, writing from a northamptonshire village, tells us that "this is so fully believed in by some that a boy has actually been apprenticed to a _linen_-draper, for no other reason than because he was born on the 24th of the month; whilst those born on the 13th would be sent to a _woollen_-draper. the twenty-fourth verse speaks of 'fine linen,' and the thirteenth of 'wool.'" another means of discovering a guilty person is by the "sieve and shears," one of those divinatory instruments upon which such implicit reliance has been placed by superstitious folk from time out of mind, described as it is in the "hudibras" as "th' oracle of sieve and shears, that turns as certain as the spheres." the sieve is held hanging by a thread, or else by the points of a pair of shears stuck into its rim, it being supposed to turn, or swing, or fall at the mention of a thief's name, and give similar signs for other purposes. this ancient rite was formerly known as the "trick of the sieve and scissors," and was generally practised among the greeks for ascertaining crime. we find an allusion to it in theocritus:- "to agrio, too, i made the same demand; a cunning woman she, i cross'd her hand: she turn'd the sieve and shears, and told me true, that i should love, but not be lov'd by you." among other modes of divination practised for the same purpose, there is one by the crowing of the cock. thus, a farmer in cornwall having been robbed of some property, invited all his neighbours into his cottage, and when they were assembled he placed a cock under the "brandice" (an iron vessel formerly much used by the peasantry in baking), he then asked each one to touch the brandice with the third finger, and say, "in the name of the father, son, and holy ghost, speak." every one did as they were directed, and yet no sound came from beneath the brandice. the last person was a woman who occasionally laboured for the farmer in his field. she hung back, hoping to pass unobserved amidst the crowd. the neighbours, however, would not permit her to do so, and no sooner had she touched the brandice than, before she could even utter the prescribed words, the cock crew. thereupon she fainted on the spot, and on recovering confessed her guilt. in the north of england there was formerly a curious process of divination in the case of a person bewitched:--a black hen was stolen, the heart taken out, stuck full of pins, and roasted at midnight. it was then supposed that the "double" of the witch would come and nearly pull the door down. if, however, the "double" was not seen, any one of the neighbours who had passed a remarkably bad night was fixed upon. referring in the next place to what may be considered the principal object of divination, a knowledge of futurity, we find various mystic arts in use to gain this purpose. foremost among these may be reckoned "spatulamancia," "reading the speal-bone," or "divination by the blade-bone," an art which is of very ancient origin. it is, we are told by mr. tylor, especially found in tartary, whence it may have spread into all other countries where we hear of it. the mode of procedure is as follows:--the shoulder-blade is put on the fire till it cracks in various directions, and then a long split lengthwise is reckoned as "the way of life," while cross-cracks on the right and left stand for different kinds of good and evil fortune, and so on. in ireland, camden speaks of looking through the blade-bone of a sheep, to discover a black spot which foretells a death; and drayton in his "polyolbion" thus describes it:- "by th' shoulder of a ram from off the right side par'd, which usually they boile, the spade-bone being bar'd, which when the wizard takes, and gazing thereupon things long to come foreshows, as things done long agone." this species of divination was in days gone by much practised in scotland, and a good account of the highland custom of thus divining is given by mr. thoms in the "folk-lore record" (i. 177), from a manuscript account by mr. donald mcpherson, a bookseller of chelsea, a highlander born, and who was well acquainted with the superstitions of his countrymen:--"before the shoulder-blade is inspected, the whole of the flesh must be stripped clean off, without the use of any metal, either by a bone or a hard wooden knife, or by the teeth. most of the discoveries are made by inspecting the spots that may be observed in the semi-transparent part of the blade; but very great proficients penetrate into futurity though the opaque parts also. nothing can be known that may happen beyond the circle of the ensuing year. the discoveries made have relation only to the person for whom the sacrifice is offered." chiromancy, or palmistry, as a means of unravelling hidden things, still finds favour not only with gipsy fortune-tellers, but even with those who profess to belong to the intelligent classes of society. this branch of fortune-telling flourished in ancient greece and italy, as we are informed it still does in india, where to say, "it is written on the palms of my hands," is the ordinary way of expressing what is looked upon as inevitable. the professors of this art formerly attributed to it a divine origin, quoting as their authority the following verse from the book of job: "he sealeth up the hand of every man, that all men may know his work;" or as the vulgate renders the passage: "qui in manu omnium hominum signa posuit"--"who has placed signs in the hand of all men"--which certainly gives it a more chiromantical meaning. thus chiromancy, or palmistry, traces the future from an examination of the "lines" of the palm of the hand, each of which has its own peculiar character and name, as for instance the line of long life, of married life, of fortune, and so on. however childish this system may be, it still has its numerous votaries, and can often be seen in full force at our provincial fairs. referring to its popularity in this country in former years, we find it severely censured by various writers. thus one author of the year 1612 speaks of "vain and frivolous devices of which sort we have an infinite number, also used amongst us, as namely in palmistry, where men's fortunes are told by looking on the palms of the hand." a superstition akin to palmistry is onymancy, or divination by the finger-nails, which is still a widespread object of belief. sir thomas browne, in his "vulgar errors," describing it, admits that conjectures "of prevalent humours may be gathered from the spots on the nails," but rejects the sundry prognostications usually derived from them, such as "that spots on the tops of the nails signify things past, in the middle things present, and at the bottom events to come; that white specks presage our felicity, blue ones our misfortunes; that those in the nail of the thumb have significations of honour, of the fore-finger riches." as practised at the present day, this mode of divination differs in various counties. thus, in sussex, we are told by mrs. latham that the fortune-tellers commence with the thumb, and say "a gift," judging of its probable size by that of the mark. they then touch the fore-finger, and add "a friend;" and should they find a spot upon the nail of the middle finger, they gravely affirm it denotes the existence of an enemy somewhere. it is the presence or absence of such a mark on the third finger that proves one's future good or ill success in love; whereas one on the little finger is a warning that the person will soon have to undergo a journey. again, some profess to be able to tell events by the face, or "look-divination"--a species of physiognomy which was formerly much believed in by all classes of society, and may still be met with in country villages. indeed, there is scarcely a mark on the face which has not been supposed to betoken something or other; and in a book of "palmistry and physiognomy," translated by fabian withers, 1656, are recorded sundry modes of divination from "upright eyebrows, brows hanging over, narrow foreheads, faces plain and flat, lean faces, sad faces, sharp noses, ape-like noses, thick nostrils," &c. however foolish these may appear, yet there will always be simple-minded persons ready to make themselves miserable by believing that the future events of their life--either for weal or woe--are indelibly written on their face. equally illogical and fanciful is that pseudo-science, astrology, whereby the affairs of men, it is said, can be read from the motions of the heavenly bodies. a proof of the extensive belief at the present day in this mode of divination may be gathered from the piles of "zadkiel's almanacks" which regularly appear in the fashionable booksellers' windows about christmas-time. that educated people, who must be aware how names of stars and constellations have been arbitrarily given by astronomers, should still find in these materials for calculating human events, is a curious case of superstitious survival. very many, for instance, are firmly convinced that a child born under the "crab" will not do well in life, and that another born under the "waterman" is likely to meet with a watery death, and so forth. this science, as is well known, is of very old institution, and originated in a great measure in the primitive ages of the world, when animating intelligences were supposed to reside in the celestial bodies. as these mythical conceptions, however, have long ago passed away under the influence of civilisation, one would scarcely expect to find in our enlightened nineteenth century so great a number of intellectual persons putting faith in such a system of delusion. in this respect, happily, we are not worse than our continental neighbours; for there are many districts in germany where the child's horoscope is still regularly kept with the baptismal certificate in the family chest. in days gone by, this kind of divination was very widely credited in this country, and by most of our old writers is most unsparingly condemned. thus shakespeare, in _king lear_ (act i., sc. 2), has ridiculed it in a masterly way, when he represents edmund as saying: "this is the excellent foppery of the world, that when we are sick in fortune--often the surfeit of our own behaviour--we make guilty of our disasters the sun, the moon, and the stars, as if we were villains by necessity; fools by heavenly compulsion; knaves, thieves, and treachers by spherical predominance; drunkards, liars, and adulterers by an enforced obedience of planetary influence." sir thomas browne goes so far as to attribute divination by astrology to satan, remarking how he "makes the ignorant ascribe natural effects to supernatural causes; and thus deludes them with this form of error." and another old writer sensibly adds that, although astrologers undertake "to tell all people most obscure and hidden secrets abroad, they at the same time know not what happens in their own houses and in their own chambers." in spite, however, of the frequent denunciations of this popular form of superstition, it appears that they had little effect, for james i. was notorious for his credulity about such delusions; and both charles i. and cromwell are said to have consulted astrologers. a further form of divination still much practised is by a pack of cards, most of these being supposed to have a symbolical meaning; the king of hearts, for example, denoting a true-loving swain, and the king of diamonds indicating great wealth. the following quaint lines, extracted from an old chap-book quoted in brand's "popular antiquities," describe this mode of fortune-telling as it was formerly consulted by our credulous countrymen:- "this noble king of diamond shows, thou long shalt live where pleasure flows; but when a woman draws the king, great melancholy songs she'll sing. he that draws the ace of hearts, shall surely be a man of parts; and she that draws it, i profess, will have the gift of idleness." indeed, scarcely a month passes without several persons being punished for extorting money from silly people, on the pretence of revealing to them by card-divination their future condition in life. among the gipsies this is the favourite form of fortune-telling; and its omens are eagerly received by anxious aspirants after matrimony, who are ever desirous to know whether their husbands are to be tall or short, dark or fair, rich or poor, and so on. mrs. latham tells us of a certain woman who was reported to be skilful in such matters, and was in the habit of confidently foretelling with a pack of cards her fellow-servants' coming lot in matrimony. the mode of procedure was as follows:--the cards were dealt round by the diviner, with much mystical calculation, and the fortunate maiden who found the ace of diamonds in her heap was to marry a rich man. the one, however, who was unlucky enough to have the knave of clubs or spades was destined to have nothing but poverty and misery in her wedded state. again, the presence of the king of diamonds or of hearts in hand was a sign that the possessor's partner for life would be a fair man, while the king of clubs or spades gave warning that he would be dark. to find in one's heap either the knave of hearts or of diamonds was most ominous, as it revealed an unknown enemy. again, divination by casting lot has not yet fallen into disuse. according to some this means of deciding doubtful matters is of god's appointment, and therefore cannot fail, the following text being quoted as a proof: "the lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the lord" (proverbs xvi. 33). in lancashire, when boys do not wish to divide anything they decide "who must take all" by drawing "short cuts." a number of straws, pieces of twine, &c., of different lengths, are held by one not interested, so that an equal portion of each is alone visible; each boy draws one, and he who gets the longest is entitled to the prize. a new-laid egg affords another means of diving into futurity. the person anxious to be enlightened about his future perforates with a pin the small end of an egg, and lets three drops of the white fall into a basin of water, which soon diffuse themselves on the surface into a variety of fantastic shapes. from these the fortune-teller will predict the fortune of the credulous one, the character of his future wife, and a variety of particulars concerning his domestic happiness. a similar practice is kept up in denmark, where young women melt lead on new year's eve, and after pouring it into water, observe on the following morning what form it has assumed. if it resembles a pair of scissors, they will inevitably marry tailors; if a hammer, their husbands will be smiths, and so on. divination by a staff was formerly a common practice in scotland. when a person wished to go on a pleasure excursion into the country, and was unsettled in his mind as to which way to go, he resorted to this form of consulting fate. taking a stick, he would poise it perpendicularly, and then leave it to fall of itself; and he would select the direction towards which it pointed while it lay on the ground. it has been suggested by some of our biblical scholars that it is to this sort of divination that the prophet hosea referred when he said "their staff declareth unto them;" but this is mere conjecture. among other common modes of divination may be mentioned that by tea-stalks. if two appear on the surface of a cup of tea, they should be placed on the back of the left hand, and struck with the back of the right. if they remain unmoved on the left, or adhere to the right, then it is an omen that the absent loved one will remain faithful. tea-stalks are also said to foretell visitors, indicating the person to be visited by floating to the side of the individual. we might easily extend our list of popular divinations, but space forbids our doing so; and those already enumerated in the preceding pages have perhaps given a sufficient idea of the devices which have been resorted to, from time to time, by our superstitious country-folk for gaining an insight into futurity. chapter xii. common ailments. charm-remedies--for ague--bleeding of the nose--burns--cramp--epilepsy--fits--gout--headache, &c. at the present day, in spite of the "march of intellect," there is still a widespread belief in the prevention and cure of the common ailments of life by certain remedies, which take the form of charms and amulets, or are preserved in those countless quaint recipes which, from time immemorial, have been handed down from parent to child. indeed, thousands of our population place far greater faith in their domestic treatment of disease than in the skill of medical science, one of the chief requirements being that the patient should submit to the treatment recommended for his recovery with a full and earnest belief that a cure will be effected. hence, however eccentric the remedy for some complaint may be, we occasionally find not only the ignorant but even educated classes scrupulously obeying the directions enjoined on them, although these are often by no means easy of accomplishment. therefore, as most of the ordinary ailments of every-day life have what are popularly termed in folk-medicine their "charm-remedies," we shall give a brief account of some of these remedies in the present chapter, arranging the diseases they are supposed to cure in alphabetical order. _ague._--no complaint, perhaps, has offered more opportunities for the employment of charms than this one, owing in a great measure to an old superstition that it is not amenable to medical treatment. thus, innumerable remedies have been suggested for its cure, many of which embody the strangest superstitious fancies. according to a popular notion, fright is a good cure, and by way of illustration we may quote the case of a gentleman, afflicted by this disease in an aggravated form, who entertained a great fear of rats. on one occasion he was accidentally confined in a room with one of these unwelcome visitors, and the intruder jumped upon him. the intensity of his alarm is said to have driven out the ague, and to have completely cured him. an amusing anecdote is also told of a poor woman who had suffered from this unenviable complaint for a long time. her husband having heard of persons being cured by fright, one day came to her with a very long face, and informed her that her favourite pig was dead. her first impulse was to rush to the scene of the catastrophe, where she found to her great relief that piggy was alive and well. the fright, however, had done its work, and from that day forth she never had a touch of ague, although she resided in the same locality. a sussex remedy prescribes "seven sage leaves to be eaten by the patient fasting seven mornings running;" and in suffolk the patient is advised to take a handful of salt, and to bury it in the ground, the idea being that as the salt dissolves so he will lose his ague. a devonshire piece of folk-lore tells us that a person suffering from ague may easily give it to his neighbour by burying under his threshold a bag containing the parings of a dead man's nails, and some of the hairs of his head. some people wear a leaf of tansy in their shoes, and others consider pills made of a spider's web equally efficacious, one pill being taken before breakfast for three successive mornings. _bleeding of the nose._--a key, on account of the coldness of the metal of which it is composed, is often placed on the person's back; and hence the term "key-cold" has become proverbial, an allusion to which we find in _king richard iii._ (act i., sc. 2), where lady anne, speaking of the corpse of king henry vi., exclaims:- "poor key-cold figure of a holy king." a norfolk remedy consists in wearing a skein of scarlet silk round the neck, tied with nine knots in the front. if the patient is a male, the silk should be put on and the knots tied by a female, and _vice versâ_. in some places a toad is killed by transfixing it with some sharp-pointed instrument, after which it is enclosed in a little bag and suspended round the neck. _burn or scald._--according to a deep-rooted notion among our rural population, the most efficacious cure for a scald or burn is to be found in certain word-charms, mostly of a religious character. one example runs as follows:- "there came two angels from the north, one was fire, and one was frost. out fire: in frost, in the name of the father, son, and holy ghost." many of our peasantry, instead of consulting a doctor in the case of a severe burn, often resort to some old woman supposed to possess the gift of healing. a person of this description formerly resided in a village in suffolk. when consulted she prepared a kind of ointment, which she placed on the part affected, and after making the sign of the cross, repeated the following formula three times:- "there were two angels came from the north, one brought fire, the other brought frost; come out fire, go in frost, father, son, and holy ghost." this, as the reader will see, is in substance the same as the one quoted above, and is a fair sample of those used in other localities. _cramp._--of the many charms resorted to for the cure of this painful disorder, a common one consists in wearing about the person the patella or knee-cap of a sheep or lamb, which is known in some places as the "cramp-bone." this is worn as near the skin as possible, and at night is laid under the pillow. in many counties finger-rings made from the screws or handles of coffins are still considered excellent preservatives, and in lancashire it is prevented by either placing the shoes at bed-time with the toes just peeping from beneath the coverlet, or by carrying brimstone about with one during the day. some, again, wear a tortoise-shell ring, while others have equal faith in tying the garter round the left leg below the knee. in days gone by a celebrated cure for this complaint was the "cramp-ring," allusions to which we find in many of our old authors. its supposed virtue was conferred by solemn consecration on good friday. _epilepsy._--the remedies for this terrible disorder are extremely curious, and in most cases vary in different localities. one, however, very popular charm is a ring made from a piece of silver money collected at the offertory. a correspondent of chambers's "book of days" tells us that when he was a boy a person "came to his father (a clergyman) and asked for a 'sacramental shilling,' _i.e._, one out of the alms collected at the holy communion, to be made into a ring and worn as a cure for epilepsy." in the north of england "a sacramental piece," as it is usually called, is the sovereign remedy for this complaint. thirty pence are to be begged of thirty poor widows. they are then to be carried to the church minister, for which he is to give the applicant a half-crown piece from the communion alms. after being "walked with nine times up and down the church aisle," the piece is then to have a hole drilled in it, and to be hung round the neck by a ribbon. it has been suggested that these widows' pence may have some reference to the widow's mite which was so estimable in the eyes of christ. according to one notion, persons afflicted with epileptic fits are supposed to be bewitched, and the following extraordinary remedy is sometimes resorted to for their cure. a quart bottle is filled with pins, and placed in front of the fire until the pins are red-hot. as soon as this takes place it is supposed they will prick the heart of the witch, who to avoid the pain caused by the red-hot pins will release her victim from the suffering she has imposed upon him. this mode of disenchantment seems to have been of common occurrence; and sometimes, when old houses are under repair, bottles full of pins are found secreted in out-of-the-way places. another remedy is for the patient to creep, head foremost, down three pair of stairs, three times a day, for three successive days. sir thomas brown, too, discourses of the virtues of mistletoe in this complaint; and sir john colbach, writing in the year 1720, strongly recommends it as a medicine, adding that this beautiful plant must have been designed by the almighty "for further and more noble purposes than barely to feed thrushes, or to be hung up superstitiously in houses to drive away evil spirits." _erysipelas._--this distemper has been popularly called "st. anthony's fire," from the legend that it was miraculously checked by that saint when raging in many parts of europe in the eleventh century. an amulet formerly worn to ward it off was made of the elder on which the sun had never shone. "if," says an old writer, "the piece between the two knots be hung about the patient's neck, it is much commended. some cut it in little pieces, and sew it in a knot in a piece of a man's shirt." a remedy in use among the lower orders, and extending as far as the highlands, is to cut off one half of the ear of a cat, and to let the blood drop on the part affected--a practice which is evidently a survival of the primitive notion that a living sacrifice appeased the wrath of god. _fits._--numerous indeed have been the charms invented for those suffering from this malady, and in many cases they are "marvellously mystical withal." thus that little animal the mole has been in request, as the following mystic prescription will show. a gentleman residing in 1865, on the border ground of norfolk and suffolk, was one day asked by a neighbour to catch a live mole, as "her darter's little gal was subject to fits, and she had been told that if she got a live mole, cut the tip of his nose off, and let nine drops bleed on to a lump of sugar, and gave that to the child, 'twas a sartin cure." here again we have the same notion of a sacrifice, one which, it may be noticed, underlies many of the charms of this kind. a devonshire remedy is to go into a church at midnight and to walk three times round the communion table, while many single women wear a silver ring on the wedding-ring finger, made out of sixpences which have been begged from six young bachelors. _gout._--the periodical attacks of this disease have from the earliest times been subjected to the influence of charms, blackberries being considered by the greeks a good specific. culpeper has bequeathed to us a curious remedy. he says, "take an owl, pull off her feathers, and pull out her guts; salt her well for a week, then put her into a pot, and stop it close, and put her into an oven, that so she may be brought into a mummy, which, being beat into powder and mixed with boar's grease, is an excellent remedy for gout, anointing the grieved place by the fire." the germander speedwell has been esteemed highly efficacious, and the emperor charles v. is reported to have derived benefit from it. _headache._--cures to alleviate this tiresome pain are numberless. mrs. latham mentions what is considered by the sussex peasantry a sure way of avoiding it in the spring, a piece of superstition we have already noticed: "no hair, either cut or combed from the head, must be thrown carelessly away, lest some bird should find it and carry it off, in which case the person's head would ache during all the time that the bird was busy working the spoil into its nest. 'i knew how it would be,' exclaimed a servant, 'when i saw that bird fly away with a bit of my hair that blew out of the window this morning when i was dressing; i knew i should have a clapping headache, and so i have.'" in some counties the common corn-poppy is called "headache," from the cephalalgic tendency of the scent. _hydrophobia._--from the most remote period no disease, perhaps, has possessed such a curious history, or been invested with so many superstitions as hydrophobia, and the countless remedies suggested for its cure form an important chapter in folk-medicine. in tracing back its history, we find that it was not only regarded by our ancestors with the same horror as now-a-days, but that every conceivable device was resorted to for removing its fatal effects. thus, pliny relates the case of a roman soldier who was cured by the dog-rose, a remedy said to have been revealed to the man's mother in a dream. among sundry other remedies he enumerates the hair of a man's head, goose-grease, fuller's earth, colewort, fish-brine, &c., as applications to the wounds. the favourite cure of dioscorides was hellebore, and galen's principal one was the river-crab. sucking the wound seems also to have been considered efficacious. passing on to modern times, the extraordinary remedies still employed are a convincing proof of the extent to which superstition occasionally reaches. the list, indeed, is not an inviting one, consisting amongst other things of the liver of a male goat, the tail of a shrew-mouse, the brain and comb of a cock, the worm under the tongue of a mad dog, horse-dung, pounded ants, and cuckoo soup. it may seem, too, incredible to us that less than a century ago the suffocation of the wretched victim was not unfrequently resorted to, and instances of this barbarous practice may be found in the periodical literature of bygone years. thus, in _the dublin chronicle_ (28th october, 1798), the following circumstances are recorded:--"a fine boy, aged fourteen, was bitten by a lady's lap-dog near dublin. in about two hours the youth was seized with convulsive fits, and shortly after with hydrophobia; and, notwithstanding every assistance, his friends were obliged to smother him between two feather beds." in the year 1712, four persons were tried at york assizes for smothering a boy, who had been bitten by a mad dog, on a similar plea as that uttered by othello:- "i that am cruel am yet merciful: i would not have thee linger in thy pain." as recently as the year 1867 this mode of death was put into execution in the town of greenfield, michigan. a little girl having been seized with hydrophobia, a consultation was held by the physicians, and as soon as it had been decided by them that she could not recover, her parents put an end to her sufferings by smothering her to death. the folk-lore of this disease is most extensive, and as our space is limited we cannot do better than recommend our readers to consult mr. dolan's capital volume on "rabies, or hydrophobia," which contains an excellent description of the antiquity and history of this cruel complaint, and of superstitions which surround it. _hysteria._--this disorder, which assumes so many deceptive forms, was formerly known as "the mother," or "hysterica passio," an allusion to which occurs in _king lear_ (act ii., sc. 4), where shakespeare represents the king as saying, "o, how this mother swells up toward my heart! _hysterica passio!_ down, thou climbing sorrow, thy element's below!" some of the charms used for its cure are much the same as those employed in cases of epilepsy, a favourite one being the wearing of a ring made of a certain number of silver pieces obtained from persons of the opposite sex. _jaundice._--many of the remedies recommended for this complaint are not of a very agreeable kind, as, for instance, the following one mentioned by a correspondent of _notes and queries_, first, as having been resorted to in a dorsetshire parish, where the patient was ordered to eat nine lice on a piece of bread and butter. one popular charm in days gone by, and certainly not of a very refined character, was known as the cure by transplantation, and consisted in burying in a dunghill an odd number of cakes made of ashes and other ingredients. _lameness._--sleeping on stones, on a particular night, is an old method of curing lameness practised in cornwall. _lumbago._--in dundee it is customary to wear round the loins as a cure for lumbago a hank of yarn which has been charmed by a wise woman, and girls may be seen with single threads of the same round the head as an infallible specific for tic-douloureux. _measles._--in the quarterly return of the marriages, births, and deaths registered in the provinces, &c., in ireland, published in october, 1878, we find the following extraordinary cure for measles, administered with what results will be seen:--"sixty-three cases of measles appear on the medical relief register for past quarter, but this does not represent a third of those affected, the medical officers being only called in when the usual amount of local nostrums had been tried without effect. every case seen suffered from violent diarrhoea, caused by the administration of a noxious compound called _crooke_. this consists of a mixture of porter, sulphur, and the excrement of the sheep collected in the fields. every unfortunate child that showed any symptom of measles was compelled to drink large quantities of this mixture. all ordinary remedies failed to stop the diarrhoea thus produced, in many cases the children nearly dying from exhaustion." repulsive as this piece of folk-medicine is, yet it is only one of a most extensive class of the same kind, many being most revolting. it is difficult to conceive how either ignorance or superstition could tolerate any practice of so senseless and indelicate a nature. _paralysis._--one of the popular charms for this disease is the same as that used in the case of epilepsy, namely, a silver ring made from money solicited from a certain number of persons. cowslips, too, have been esteemed highly efficacious, and have on this account been termed "herbæ paralysis" by medical writers. for the same reason they are called "palsyworts" in many country places. _rheumatism._--professors of the healing art have advised the sufferer to carry about in his pocket the right fore-foot of a female hare, while others consider a potato equally efficacious. a cornish cure is to crawl under a bramble which has formed a second root in the ground, or to drink water in which a thunder-stone has been boiled. there is, also, a strong belief that a _galvanic ring_, as it is called, worn on the finger will serve as an excellent preservative. "a large number of persons," says mr. glyde in his "norfolk garland," "may be seen with a clumsy-looking silver ring, which has a piece of copper let into the inside, and this, though in constant contact throughout, is supposed (aided by the moisture of the hand) to keep up a gentle but continual galvanic current, and so alleviate rheumatism." a sussex remedy is to place the bellows in the sufferer's chair that he may lean against them, and so have his rheumatism charmed away. _spasms._--the belief in the curative powers of the form of the cross still holds its sway in the popular mind, and in the case of spasms, or that painful state of the feet in which they are said "to sleep," it is used under an impression that it allays the pain. _small-pox._--the curative properties attributed to some colours is illustrated by the treatment formerly employed in cases of small-pox. thus, red bed-coverings were thought to bring the pustules to the surface of the body, and the patient was recommended to look at red substances. purple dye, pomegranate seeds, or other red ingredients were dissolved in his drink, with the idea that as red is the colour of the blood, so disorders of the blood system should be treated by red. the renowned english physician, john of gaddesden, introduced the practice into this country, and tried its efficacy on one of the sons of king edward i., adding to his report, "et est bona cura." fried mice are considered in some counties a good specific for this complaint, it being thought necessary by some that they should be fried alive. _sprain._--many of the charms practised in an accident of this kind are of a semi-religious character, and of a not very reverent form. thus, to cure a sprain, a thread called the "wresting-thread" is tied round the injured part, after which the following formula is repeated:- "our saviour rade, his fore-foot slade, our saviour lighted down; sinew to sinew--joint to joint, blood to blood, and bone to bone, mend thou in god's name." this incantation, which, it has been suggested, may have originated in some legend of christ's life, is frequently mentioned in the witch trials of the early part of the seventeenth century. _sty._--to prevent or cure this disorder, known in some places as "west," it is customary on the first sight of the new moon to seize a black cat by the tail, and after pulling from it one hair, to rub the tip nine times over the pustule. as this charm, however, is often attended with sundry severe scratches, a gold ring has been substituted, and is said to be equally beneficial. this superstition is alluded to by beaumont and fletcher, in the _mad lovers_ (act v., sc. 4):- "----i have a sty here, chilax. _chil._ i have no gold to cure it, not a penny." earrings are considered a good remedy for sore eyes; and in districts where the teasle is grown for use in the manufacture of broadcloth, a preservative against them is found in the water which collects in the hollow cups of that plant. pure rain-water is reported to be another infallible remedy. this must be carefully collected in a clean open vessel during the month of june, and if preserved in a bottle will, it is said, remain pure for any length of time. _thrush._--there is a popular notion that a person must have this complaint once in his life, either at his birth or death. norfolk nurses prefer to see it in babies, on the plea that it is healthy, and makes them feed more freely; but if it appears in a sick adult person he is generally given over as past recovery. some of the remedies for this disease are curious, as, for instance, a cornish one, which recommends the child to be taken fasting on three consecutive mornings, "to have its mouth blown into" by a posthumous child. in devonshire the parent is advised to take three rushes from any running stream, and to pass them separately through the mouth of the infant. afterwards the rushes should be thrown into the stream again, and as the current bears them away, so will the thrush, it is said, depart from the child. should this prove ineffectual, the parent is recommended to capture the nearest duck that can be found, and to place its beak, wide open, within the mouth of the sufferer. as the child inhales the cold breath of the duck, the disease, we are told, will gradually disappear. a further charm consists in reading the eighth psalm over the child's head three times every day on three days in the week for three successive weeks. _toothache._--this common ailment, which produces so much discomfort, unfortunately rarely meets with a degree of sympathy proportionate to the agony it occasions, but has nevertheless been honoured with an extensive folk-lore; and the quaint remedies that superstitious fancy has suggested for its cure would occupy a small volume if treated with anything like fulness. selecting some of the best known, we may mention one which, in point of efficacy, is considered by many as unsurpassed, namely, a tooth taken from the mouth of a corpse, and worn round the neck as an amulet. occasionally a double-nut is carried in the pocket for the same purpose. there is a belief, too, that the possession of a bible or a prayer book, with the following legend written in it, is an effectual charm:--"all glory, all glory, all glory be to the father, and to the son, and to the holy ghost. as our lord and saviour jesus christ was walking in the garden of gethsemane, he saw peter weeping. he called him unto him, and said, 'peter, why weepest thou?' peter answered and said, 'lord, i am grievously tormented with pain--the pain of my tooth.' our lord answered and said, 'if thou wilt believe in me, and my words abide with thee, thou shalt never feel any more pain in thy tooth.' peter said, 'lord, i believe; help thou mine unbelief.' in the name, &c., god grant m. n. ease from the pain in his tooth." these charm formulas, which constitute an important element in folk-lore literature, are still extensively used in this country to arrest or cure some bodily disease; and they are interesting as being in most cases modified forms of those used by our anglo-saxon ancestors. _typhus fever._--even for so dangerous a disease as typhus fever, our peasantry do not hesitate to practise their own remedies. one consists in applying the skirt of a sheep to the soles of the feet, and keeping it there for several hours, under a notion that this will draw away the fever from the head. some years ago a clergyman in norfolk, whilst visiting a poor man suffering from this complaint, found that his wife had placed the spleen of a cow on the soles of his feet, having been assured that it was an efficacious remedy. there is another story that the rector of a norfolk parish was solicited for the loan of the church plate to lay on the stomach of a child, which was much swelled from some mesenteric disease, this being held to be an excellent remedy in such cases. _warts._--these have been regarded as prognostications of good or bad luck according to their position on the body, those on the right hand foreboding riches, whereas one on the face is believed to indicate troubles of various kinds. it would be difficult to enumerate the many methods that have been adopted to charm or drive them away, most persons disliking these ugly little excrescences, and willingly resorting to any means, however eccentric, to lose them. as in the case of so many other charms, most of those used also for this complaint are of the nature of a sacrifice, the warts being transferred to a substitute. thus, the person is recommended to count his warts, to wrap in a piece of paper a pebble for each, and then to throw the parcel away, in the hope that its unfortunate finder will get them. another remedy is to open the warts to the quick, and to rub them with the juice of a sour apple, which should afterwards be buried, and as it decomposes the warts will die away. some rub the wart with eels' blood, and others believe in the efficacy of the ashen tree. after picking each wart with a pin, they stick it into the bark, and repeat this rhyme:- "ashen tree, ashen tree, pray buy these warts of me." an irish servant's formula is to pass his hand over the warts, making the sign of the cross, at the same time bidding them, in god's name, depart and trouble him no more. he then gives some one a slip of paper, on which is written "jesus christ, that died upon the cross, put my warts away," to drop by the roadside. it is thought that as it perishes, so, too, will the warts vanish. another plan is to steal a piece of raw meat, rub the warts with it, and throw it away, a charm mentioned by southey in "the doctor." other remedies are the juice of ants, spiders' webs, pigs' blood, while tying a horse-hair round each wart is considered efficacious. another method is to blow on the warts nine times when the moon is full; and in some places boys take a new pin, cross the warts with it nine times, and cast it over the left shoulder. these, then, are some of the principal cures for warts, most of them, as we have already said, belonging to the category of vicarious charms, which have at all times been one of the favourite resources of poor mortals in their difficulties--such charms being sacrifices made on the principle so widely adopted--_qui facit per alium facit per se_. _wen._--the same notion of vicariousness enters into the cures recommended for wens, one of the most efficacious being the touch of a dead man's hand. and grose informs us how, in days gone by, children were brought by their nurses to be stroked with the hands of dead criminals, even whilst they were hanging on the gallows. in northamptonshire numbers of sufferers were in the habit of congregating round the gallows, in order to receive "the dead-stroke," the notion being that as the hand of the man mouldered away, so the wen would by degrees decrease. in gloucestershire an ornamental necklace made of plaited hair from a horse's tail is thought to be a good remedy. _whooping-cough._--this common enemy of childhood has, from time immemorial, afforded ample opportunity to the superstitiously-inclined to devise sundry charms for its cure, of which the following are a few:--passing the patient three times under the belly and three times over the back of a donkey; or let the parent of the afflicted child catch a spider, and hold it over the head of the child, repeating three times:- "spider, as you waste away, whooping-cough no longer stay." the spider must then be hung up in a bag over the mantlepiece, and when it has dried up the cough will have disappeared. there is a notion in cheshire that this complaint can be cured by holding a toad or frog for a few moments with its head within the child's mouth, whereas in norfolk the patient is advised either to drink some milk which a ferret has lapped, or to allow himself to be dragged three times round a gooseberry bush or bramble, and then three times again after three days' interval. in sussex the excrescence often found on the briar-rose, and known as the "robin redbreast's cushion," is worn as an amulet; and in suffolk, if several children in a family are taken ill, some of the hair of the oldest child is cut into small pieces, put into some milk, and the mixture given to its brothers and sisters to drink. some, again, procure hair from the dark cross on the back of a donkey, and having placed it in a bag, hang it round the child's neck. a scotch remedy is to place a piece of red flannel round the patient's neck; the virtue residing, says mr. napier, not in the flannel but in the red colour, red having been a colour symbolical of triumph and victory over all enemies. as may be seen, therefore, from the extensive use of charm-remedies in household medicine, the physician's province has been assailed by the widespread belief in such imaginary remedies. indeed, those who believe in the prevention and cure of disease by supernatural means are far more numerous than one would imagine, having their representatives even among the higher classes. however much we may ridicule the superstitious notions of our rural peasantry, or speak with compassion of the african negro who carries about him some amulet as a preservative against disease or as a safeguard against any danger that may befall him, yet we must admit that there is in england also a disposition to retain, with more or less veneration, those old-world notions which in the time of our forefathers constituted, as it were, so many articles of faith. chapter xiii. miscellaneous household lore. horse-shoes--precautions against witchcraft--the charmer--second sight--ghosts--dreams--nightmare. the belief in witchcraft, which in years gone by was so extensively entertained, has not yet died out, and in many of our country villages it is regarded as one of those secret dangers to which every home is more or less exposed. hence we find various devices still resorted to for the purpose of counteracting the supposed hurtful influences of this baneful power, instances of which we subjoin. thus, according to a common idea, one of the best preservatives is a horse-shoe nailed to the threshold. the reason of this is said to be that mars, the god of war, and the war-horse, was thought to be an enemy to saturn, who, according to a mediæval idea, was the liege lord of witches. thus, iron instruments of any kind have been said to keep witches at bay, a superstition which has been traced back to the time of the romans, who drove nails into the walls of their houses as an antidote against the plague. mr. napier says that he has seen the horse-shoe in large beer-shops in london, and was present in the parlour of one of these when an animated discussion arose as to whether it was most effective to have the shoe nailed behind the door or upon the first step of the door. both positions had their advocates, and instances of extraordinary luck were recounted as having attended them. in lancashire, where there are, perhaps, more superstitions connected with this subject than in any other county of england, we find numerous traditions relating to the evil actions of the so-called witches in former years, many of which have become household stories among the peasants. at the present day the good housewife puts a hot iron into the cream during the process of churning to expel the witch from the churn; and dough in preparation for the baker is protected by being marked with the figure of a cross. in some places a "lucky stone"--a stone with a hole through it--is worn as an amulet, and crossed straws and knives laid on the floor are held in high repute. a belief, too, which was once very prevalent, and even still lingers on, was that the power of evil ceased as soon as blood was drawn from the witch. an instance of this superstition occurred some years ago in a cornish village, when a man was summoned before the bench of magistrates and fined for having assaulted the plaintiff and scratched her with a pin. not many years ago a young girl in delicate health living in a village near exeter was thought to have been bewitched by an old woman of that place, and, according to the general opinion, the only chance of curing her was an application of the witch's blood. consequently the girl's friends laid wait one day for the poor old woman, and scratching her with a nail till the blood flowed, collected the blood. this they carried home, and smeared the girl with it in the hope that it would insure recovery. curious to say, she finally got well, an event which, it is needless to add, was attributed to this charm. it is still thought by many that witchcraft, like hydrophobia, is contagious, and that the person, if only slightly scratched by a witch, rapidly becomes one. the faculty of witchcraft is also said to be hereditary, and in some places families are pointed out as possessing this peculiarity. again, witches are supposed to have the power of changing their shape and resuming it again at will, a notion which was very popular in past years, the cat's and the toad's being the forms they were thought to assume. hence the appearance of a toad on the doorstep is taken as a certain sign that the house is under evil influence, and the poor reptile is often subjected to some cruel death. cats, also, were formerly exposed to rough usage, one method being to enclose them with a quantity of soot in wooden bottles suspended on a line. the person who succeeded in beating out the bottom of the bottle as he run under it and yet escaping the contents was the hero of the sport, a practice to which shakespeare alludes in _much ado about nothing_, where benedick says:- "hang me in a bottle like a cat and shoot at me." it is only natural, too, that in _macbeth_, shakespeare, in his description of the witches, should have associated them with the cat, their recognised agent. another important character whose supernatural powers are still credited is the "charmer." she is generally an elderly woman of good reputation, and supposed to be gifted with extraordinary powers, by means of which she performs wonderful feats of skill. by her incantations and mysterious ceremonies she stops blood, cures all manner of diseases, and is, in short, regarded as almost a miracle-worker. at the same time, however, it must not be imagined that she exercises her power gratuitously, as oftentimes her charges are very high, and it is only by patient saving that the poor can accumulate enough to satisfy her exorbitant demands. this kind of superstition has been already incidentally alluded to in the chapter on "common ailments;" and it is one that still holds its ground in our country districts. these supposed charmers, however, do not always make a trade of their art; for, on the contrary, it is supposed by some of them that any offer of pecuniary remuneration would break the spell, and render the charm of no avail. again, there is still an extensive belief in "second sight," certain persons being thought to possess the faculty of peeping into futurity, and revealing future events to their fellow-creatures. many of the highlanders lay claim to this power, which was called by the ancient gaels "shadow-sight." "nor less availed his optic sleight, and scottish gift of second-sight." sometimes, says mr. napier, the person fell into a trance, "in which state he saw visions; at other times the visions were seen without the trance condition. should the seer see in a vision a certain person dressed in a shroud, this betokened that the death of that person would surely take place within a year. should such a vision be seen in the morning, the person seen would die before that evening; should such a vision be seen in the afternoon, the person seen would die before next night; but if the vision were seen late in the evening, there was no particular time of death intimated, further than that it would take place within the year. again, if the shroud did not cover the whole body, the fulfilment of the vision was at a great distance. if the vision were that of a man with a woman standing at his left hand, then that woman would be that man's wife, although they may both at the time of the vision be married to others." the case is related of a man living near blackpool who foretold death and evil events from his visions. men of superior ability were credulous enough to visit him, and to give implicit faith to his marvellous stories. a species of superstition that may be said to reign supreme in almost every home is the belief in ghosts, there being few households that do not contain those who believe in ghostly visitants. in this respect, therefore, we are not superior to our less instructed forefathers whose experiences have been transmitted to us in many of those weird and thrilling stories which are to be found recorded in many of our old county histories. indeed, there is scarcely a village in england that does not boast of the proud distinction of having its haunted house or spot. hence as nightfall approaches with its sombre hues of darkness, few persons can be found bold enough to visit such mysterious localities, for- "grey superstition's whisper dread, debars the spot to vulgar tread." although many of these grotesque stories which have been from time to time associated with certain old houses are simply legendary and destitute of any truth, yet it cannot be denied that while occasionally causing fear even to the strong-minded they have acted most injuriously upon the credulous and superstitious. according to an old fancy, ghosts of every description vanish at cock-crow, in allusion to which shakespeare makes the ghost of hamlet's father vanish at this season:- "it faded on the crowing of the cock." one night, however, in the year has been said to be entirely free from spiritual manifestations of every kind--namely christmas eve--an idea to which marcellus refers, who, speaking of the ghost, says:- "some say that ever 'gainst that season comes wherein our saviour's birth is celebrated, the bird of dawning singeth all night long, and then, they say, no spirit dares stir abroad; the nights are wholesome; then no planets strike, no fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm, so hallow'd and so gracious is the time." but on other days of the year, every noise at night, however trivial, which cannot be satisfactorily explained by inquisitive minds, is thought by the superstitious to indicate that spirits are walking abroad; such illogical persons forgetting how in the stillness of the night sounds, which at other times would pass unnoticed, attract attention, and thus assume an exaggerated importance. in this way the whistling of the wind, the creaking of the floor, and a host of other natural noises have in the deceptive hours of midnight terrified their nervous victim, and filled the overwrought fancy with the most alarming delusions. an amusing volume might be written showing how most of the ghost stories connected with so-called haunted houses have arisen. thus, as mrs. latham points out in her "west sussex superstitions," there is very little doubt but that the ghosts formerly seen wandering in blue flames, near lonely houses on the coast, "were of an illicit class of spirits, raised by the smugglers in order to alarm and drive all others but their accomplices from their haunts." on one occasion, for instance, the unearthly noises heard night after night in a house at rottingdean caused such alarm among the servants, that they all gave warning, when one night the noises ceased, and soon afterwards a gang of smugglers who had fallen into the hands of the police confessed to having made a secret passage from the beach close by the house, and said that, wishing to induce the occupiers to abandon it, they had been in the habit of rolling at the dead of night tub after tub of spirits up the passage, and so caused it to be reported that the place was haunted. ghosts are said to be especially fond of walking abroad on certain nights, the chief of these being st. mark's eve, midsummer eve, and hallowe'en. hence various methods have been resorted to for the purpose of invoking them with a view of gaining an insight into futurity, love-sick maidens, as we have said, seizing these golden opportunities for gaining information about their absent lovers. it must not be supposed, too, that apparitions are confined to the spirits of the departed, as throughout the country there are the most eccentric traditions of headless animals having been seen at sundry times rushing madly about at night-time. leaving, however, the subject of ghosts, we find in the next place an extensive folk-lore associated with dreams. we have already incidentally alluded to the many divinations practised for the sake of acquiring information by means of them on certain subjects, but we may further note that dreams are by some supposed occasionally to intimate not only future events, but things which are actually happening at a distance. hence a "dictionary of dreams" has been framed whereby the inquirer, if he be credulously disposed, can learn the meaning and signification of any particular dream which he may recollect. thus, it is said that to dream of death denotes happiness and long life, but to dream of gathering a nosegay is unlucky, signifying that our best and fairest hopes shall wither away like flowers in a nosegay. dreaming about balls, dances, &c., indicates coming good fortune; and thus we are told that those- "who dream of being at a ball no cause have they for fear; for soon will they united be to those they hold most dear." to give one further illustration, to dream that one is walking in a garden, and that the trees are bare and fruitless, is a very bad omen, being said to indicate that one's friends will either become poor or forsake one. if the garden, on the other hand, should be in bloom, it is a propitious sign. portents of approaching death are said to be received through dreams; and we will quote an example of this from mr. henderson, which happened, it is affirmed, some years ago in the family of an irish bishop:--"a little boy came down-stairs one morning, saying, 'oh, mamma, i have had such a nice dream. somebody gave me such a pretty box, and i am sure it was for me, for there was my name on it. look, it was just like this;' and, taking up a slate and pencil, the child drew the shape of a coffin. the parents gazed at one another in alarm, not lessened by the gambols of the child, who frolicked about in high health and spirits. the father was obliged to go out that morning, but he begged the mother to keep the child in her sight through the day. she did so, till, while she was dressing to go out in her carriage, the little boy slipped away to the stables, where he begged the coachman to take him by his side while he drove to the house door, a thing he had often done before. on this occasion, however, the horses were restive, the driver lost control over them, and the child was flung off and killed on the spot." shylock, it may be remembered, in the _merchant of venice_, referring to his dream, says:- "there is some ill a-brewing towards my rest, for i did dream of money-bags to-night." many curious charms are still practised to ward off that unpleasant sensation popularly known as nightmare, which both in this and other countries has given rise to a variety of superstitions. according to one old notion, this disagreeable feeling was produced by some fairy, under a disguised form, visiting the person, and worrying him while asleep by certain mischievous pranks. thus, in germany, the nightmare is said to appear at times in the shape of a mouse, a weasel, or a toad, and occasionally, too, in the form of a cat. one german story relates how a joiner was, night by night, much plagued with the nightmare, when he at last saw it steal into his room about midnight in the form of a cat. having at once stopped up the hole through which the cat had entered, he lost no time in seizing the animal and nailing it by one paw to the ground. next morning, however, much to his horror and surprise, he discovered a handsome young lady with a nail driven through her hand. he accordingly married her, but one day he uncovered the hole which he had stopped up, whereupon she instantly escaped through it in the shape of a cat, and never returned. there are numerous stories of a similar kind, in most cases the sequel being the same. among the charms still in use as a preservative against nightmare may be mentioned a stone with a natural hole in it hung over the sleeper, or a knife laid under the foot of the bedstead, both being considered of equal efficacy. in lancashire the peasantry believe that nightmare appears in the form of a dog, and they try to counteract its influence by placing their shoes under the bed with the toe upwards, on retiring to rest. not very long ago, too, at the west riding court at bradford, in a case of a husband and wife who had quarrelled, the woman stated that the reason why she kept a coal-rake in her bedroom was that she suffered from nightmare, and had been informed that the rake would keep it away. the best charm after all, however, for this common disorder is to be careful that one's digestive organs are not upset by incautious suppers eaten just before retiring to rest. it only remains for us, in conclusion, to add once more that the preceding pages are not intended to be by any means exhaustive, our object having been to give a brief and general survey of that extensive folk-lore which has, in the course of years, woven itself around the affairs of home-life. however much this may be ridiculed on the plea of its being the outcome of credulous belief, yet it constitutes an important element in our social life, which the historian in years to come will doubtless use when he studies the character of the english people in this and bygone centuries. index. abgarus, letter of christ to, 7 ague, charms against, 149 apes, leading, 43 apple-peel as a love-test, 30 apple-tree blooming twice, a sign of death, 52 apron, superstitions about, 84 articles of dress, 81 "arval" and "arval bread," 64 aryan myths and legends, 16 astrology, divination by, 144 auguries gathered from shoes, 89 baby and kitten, 8 banns, superstitions about putting up, 43 baptism, how rendered propitious in scotland, 19 ---effect of, on children, 18 barring out, 27 ---addison's conduct at, 27 beards, dyeing of, 76 bed, folk-lore about, 118 ---position of, 119 bellows, superstition about, 120, 160 bent piece of money, 133 best man's prize, 46 bible and key, 135 birds, presages of death by, 51 birth and infancy, folk-lore relating to, 2 "bishopping," good for rheumatism, 21 bishop's left hand, superstition respecting, 20 biting the glove, 95 "black ox" in scotland, 51 blade-bone, divination by, 139 bleeding of the nose, 68, 150 ---as a sign of love, 68 blue vein across nose, 69 brake or fern, divination by, 31 bread, superstitions about, 107 breaking egg-shells, 108 bride and looking-glass, 113 ---sun shining on, 40 brides of elizabethan dramas, 39 bride's stockings, 86 broom left in room after sweeping, 126 burial of dead among greeks, 63 "burial without the sanctuary," 62 burn or scald, 151 burning hair, omens from, 74 ---tail of coat, &c., 84 butter-dock, scattering seeds of, 35 cæna feralis of romans, 64 candle in ghost's hand, 54 candles, omens from, 130 carbuncle in ring, 96 cards, divination by, 144 carrying the dead with the sun, 61 casting lot, divination by, 146 cat, sneezing of, 123 cats and toads, form of, assumed by witches, 177 ---sucking child's breath, 13 caul, superstition about, 3, 4 ---hood's ballad about, 3 ---price paid for, 4 chairs, superstitions about, 111, 118 changelings, superstitions about, 4 ---luther's remarks on, 4 character of book, 180 charm-remedies, 148 charmer, her power, 172 charms against changing children, 5 ---to detect changelings, 5 ---against stumbling, 124 cheeks, itching of, 77 cheese given by bride, 42 child dying unchristened, 18 childhood's folk-lore, 16 "chime hours," birth at, 2 chiromancy, or palmistry, 140 christmas eve, divinations on, 34 christ's college, cambridge, fellowships at, 103 churchyard lore, 61 cinderella, a nature-myth, 17 "clock-falling," 117 ---striking thirteen, 54 ---losing stroke, 55 clothes of the dead, 83 cock-crowing at night, 52 "connoisseur," love-tests in, 29 corn in marriage ceremony, 44 "corpse-candles" in wales, 54 counting one's gains, 133 covering looking-glass at death, 113 cramp, charms against, 151 "creeling" the bridegroom in scotland, 48 crockery, breaking of, 127 cross on dough, 170 crowing hen, 125 ---of a cock, 138 crying at baptism, 19 ---anecdote regarding, 20 ---at wedding, 40 cuckoo's notes, 32 ---first note heard in bed, ominous of illness or death, 52 "cunning man," 121 curious marriage customs, 47 cutting the nails, 80 dactylomancy, or divination by rings, 98 dandelion, divination by, 31 days of week, sneezing on, 123 dead children cannot rest if mothers fret for them, 15 ---hand, rubbing with, 78 ---anecdotes respecting, 78 ---man's hand at bryn hall, lancashire, 79 death and burial, superstition respecting, 48 ---announced by the dying, 55 ---bell in scotland, 67 ---anecdote of hogg about, 67 dee, dr., and magic mirror, 114 destiny of children, how augured in scotland, 19 diamond, potent against poison, 97 "dipping," in bible, 136 divination among children, 26 ---by pins, 100 ---of sex of unborn infant, 3 dog, howling of, at death, how caused, 50 doorstep, lifting bride over, 42 drawing blood from witch, 171 dreams, what denoted by, 177 dutch parson and will-o'-the-wisp, 18 "dying hard," 58 ears, tingling of, 66 easter day, new clothes on, 82 ecclesiastical dignity and gloves, association of, 94 eggs, divination by, 146 ---superstitions about, 108 elder sister dancing in hog's trough at younger sister's marriage, 43 emerald, and purity of thought, 97 epilepsy, remedies for, 152 erysipelas, amulets against, 153 evil eye, 6 ---in "satires of persius," 6 ---lancashire belief about, 6 exeter lammas fair, 94 eye, omens relating to, 70 "eye-biting" in ireland, 7 eye-brows, meeting of, 70 eyes, itching of, 70 face, or look-divination, 142 fair, opening of, announced by hanging out glove, 94 fairy-tales, what embodied in, 16 feet, folk-lore about, 80 ---itching of, 80 "fetch-lights," 54 finger-nails, superstitions about, 10 ---in germany, 10 ---in northumberland, 11 ---in scotland, 11 fire, omens and portents of, 129 first teeth, precautions taken when they come out, 10 ---tooth in upper jaw, 8 fits, charms against, 154 flat feet and bad temper, 80 flinging the stocking, 85 foot going to sleep, 81 fretting baby, 12 friday, an unlucky day, 128 ---good for love-omens, 35 ---inauspicious for marrying, 38 ---lucky for marrying in scotland, 39 funeral feasts, 64 ---meeting of, by bride or bridegroom, 40 ---meeting a, 65 ---of unmarried girl, custom at, 64 furniture omens, 111 garters, superstitions about, 86 ---tying knots in, 30 gathering rose on midsummer eve, 30 getting out of bed the wrong way, 119 ghosts, belief in, 174 ---do not appear on christmas eve, 175 ---favourite days for appearance of, 176 ---seen by animals, 50 gloucester, duke of, born with teeth, 9 glove, use of, at fairs, 95 glove-money, 93 gloves, superstitions about, 92 going in at one door and out at another at marriage, 41 "going up" at birth, 8 gout, charms against, 155 "grave scab," 14 ---remedy for, 14 graves, position of, 63 green yarrow, 31 grounds at bottom of tea-cup, 110 hair, superstitions respecting, 72 ---omens from growth of, 74 ---sudden loss of, 74 hallowe'en, divination on, 34 hands, emblematic of character, 77 ---itching of, 77 headache, cures for, 155 headless animals, 176 helping to salt, 104 hen cackling at wedding, 42 hollow cinder a coffin, 129 home-life, superstitions relating to, 131 horoscope in germany, 143 horse-shoes as amulets, 169 hot iron in cream, 170 household superstitions, 120 howling of a dog at night indicative of death, 49 human body, superstitions about, 65 hydrophobia, cures for, 156 hysteria, remedies for, 158 idiots cannot sneeze, 123 invalid asking for pigeons, 52 itching of the nose, 68 "jack-a-dandy," 25 jackdaw, omen of death, 52 jacob's prophecies, 57 jaundice, remedies for, 158 jewish customs respecting shoes, 90 june popular for marrying, 37 keepsake rings, colours in, 93 knife, folk-lore relating to, 105 ----, giving away, unlucky, 106 ----, finding, unlucky, 106 lady-bird, divination by, 31 lameness, cure for, 158 last day of year, marrying on, in scotland, 39 leap-year, birth in, 3 lending knife to cut cake, 26 long life, how to secure, 12 looking-glass, fancies about, 112 love and courtship, 28 love-tests, 28 ----, whence derived, 29 "luck of edenhall," 116 "lucky stone" as amulet, 170 lucky stones, 7 lumbago, cure for, 159 magicians and looking-glasses, 114 magpie using hair, 74 maiden assize, gloves at, 93 making "the deazil," 61 "matthew, mark, luke, and john," 21 may marriages unlucky, 36 measles, cure for, 159 medicated rings, 97 medicine bottles, selling, 134 melted lead, divination by, 146 midsummer eve, practices on, 33 misfortune not to die in one's bed, 53 moist and dry hands, 78 moles, omens drawn from, 66 money and the new moon, 132 nails, signification of, 77 necklace of peony beads, 10 new clothes, superstitions relating to, 82 ---moon in looking-glass, 113 nicking schoolmaster's cane, 26 nightmare, charms against, 178 ----, curious stories about, 179 north side of church, burial in, 63 nose, omens relating to, 68 "nose out of joint," and "paying through nose," 69 number thirteen, superstitions about, 100, 101 "nutcrack-night," 34 nuts and apples, divination by, 31 odd numbers, antipathy to, in school games, 25 omens associated with rings, 97 ---of approaching death, 49 onymancy, or divination by the finger-nails, 141 opal ring, unlucky to wear, 97 open grave at wedding, 41 "over-looking," superstitions about, 71 overturning chair, 111 ovid on june marriages, 38 ox or cow breaking into garden, omen of death, 51 ----, anecdote respecting, 51 palmistry, or divination by the hands, 78 paralysis, charms for, 160 "parson's penny" in wales, 62 picking broom in bloom unlucky, 52 ----, anecdote respecting, 53 pigeons' feathers in bed, 58 ---heart, divination by, 34 pin in candle, 131 pins, superstitions about, 98 ---in witchcraft and sorcery, 99 ----, robbing bride of, 41 plants and petticoats, 85 ---in love-charms, 30 ----, omens of death derived from, 52 poker across bars of grate, 129 popular divinations, 134 pork, eating marrow of, 109 position of grave, 63 prayers of poor in lincolnshire, 22 ----, origin of, 23 ---taught by poor people to their children, 21 prevalence of superstitions, 122 prophesying before death, 57 puritans and wedding-ring, 46 rain, rhymes about, 24 rainbow, crossing out, 24 "rattley-bags," 25 rebuilding house fatal, 54 red hair and beard, 75 reversing articles of dress, 83 rheumatism and shoes, 90 ----, charms against, 160 rhymes used by children, 23 rings, legendary lore of, 95 ---as talismans, 96 ---of dead friend, 84 rocking empty cradle, 9 rubbing shoulders with bride or bridegroom, 41 rural bridegroom and gloves, 95 st. valentine's day, 32 ----, divination on, in devonshire, 33 salt on breast of corpse, 60 salt-spilling, superstitions about, 103 seasons admitting or prohibiting matrimony, 38 second sight, 173 selling eggs after dark, 108 "shaping" of wedding dress for divination, 46 shift, divination by, 30 shivering as a portent, 131 shoeing-horn and shakespeare, 91 shoe-throwing, 87 ---at weddings, 46 shoes, rhymes on, 90 ----, superstitions about, 87 shortbread at wedding, 45 sieve and shears, 137 "sin-eaters" in scotland, 60 sitting above and below the salt, 105 ---cross-legged, 80 sleeping on bones, 8 small-pox, remedies for, 161 smith, mr. g., the assyriologist, and dr. delitzsch, 55 snail, divination by, 32 snails, rhymes about, 25 sneezing and sneezers, 122 snow, rhymes about, 24 _sortes virgilianæ_, 136 sowing hempseed, 29 "spade-money" in wales, 62 spark in candle, 130 spasms, cure for, 160 spatulamancia, 139 specks on the nails, 79 speedwell and snowdrop, 53 spider, superstitions about, 126 spitting on money, 132 sprains, charms for, 161 staff, divination by, 146 standing in another's shoes, 91 ---on end, of hair, 73 stillborn children, graves of, 15 stockings, superstitions about, 85 stolen kisses and gloves, 93 stopping house clock at death, 117 stumbling up-stairs, 123 ---on threshold, 124 ---at grave, 124 sty, prevention and cure of, 162 sudden whitening of hair, 73 sunday good day to marry, 38 ---lucky for birth, 2 superstitions about marriage, 42 ----, value of, 1 ----, in what interesting, 1 ----, whence sprung, 1 sussex superstition about children born on sunday, 2 sweeping, superstitions about, 126 symbolism of shoes, 88 table superstitions, 100 tea-leaves, divination by, 109 tea-stalks, divination by, 147 teeth, superstitions respecting, 72 thirteen at table, 101, 102 three magpies sign of a wedding, 32 thrush, charm against, 163 toothache, charms against, 163 touching corpse among poor, 60 turning back after starting, 132 turquoise in ring, 96 typhus fever, remedies for, 165 "unchristened ground," 14 "universal fortune-teller," 2 unmarried person between man and wife, 111 venetian glass, breaking of, by poisoned draught, 116 virgin mary at birth of john the baptist, 8 warts, charms against, 165, 166 watching dead body, 61 water used at baptism, 20 weakly infants, how treated in cornwall, 12 wearing looking-glasses, 115 weather, charms to influence, 23 weather-lore from fires, 129 wedding-cake, 44 wedding-ring, divination by, 45 ---placed in wedding-cake, 45 ---hired in ireland, 47 ----, notions about, 47 wens, cures for, 167 whistling woman, 125 white gloves and death of the unmarried, 94 whitsuntide, new clothes on, 82 whooping-cough, cures for, 167 will-o'-the-wisp, omen of death, 53 william i. at hastings, 83 wine, &c., drank at funerals, 64 "wise woman," 121 "wishing-bone" of fowl, 109 witch taking form of cat, 14 witchcraft, divination in, 138 ---precautions against, 169 worthing, case of dog howling at, 49 "wrong side of church," 62 yellow hair and beard, 75 yew, at christmas, 53 young, lieutenant, announcement of brother's death to, 56 zadkiel's almanack, 142 cassell, petter, galpin & co., belle sauvage works, london, e.c. * * * * * transcriber's note: _underscores_ surround italicized text. obvious typographical errors were repaired. valid archaic spellings were retained. the entry for "index," at the bottom of the contents page, did not appear in the original. it has been added for the convenience of the reader. bygone beliefs being a series of excursions in the byways of thought by h. stanley redgrove _alle erfahrung ist magic, und nur magisch erklarbar_. novalis (friedrich von hardenberg). everything possible to be believ'd is an image of truth. william blake. to my wife transcriber's note: <.> = coordinate covalent bond. <#s> = subscripted #. <#s> = superscripted #. {} mark non-ascii characters. "emphasis" _italics_ have a * mark. @@@ marks a reference to internal page numbers. comments and guessed at characters in {braces} need stripped/fixed. footnotes have not been re-numbered, however, (#) are moved to eoparagraph. the footnotes that have duplicate numbers across 2 pages are "a" and "b". "protected" indentations have a space before the [tab]. eol have been converted to ([soft hyphen]). greek letters are encoded in <gr > brackets, and the letters are based on adobe's symbol font. hebrew letters are encoded in <hb > brackets. preface these excursions in the byways of thought were undertaken at different times and on different occasions; consequently, the reader may be able to detect in them inequalities of treatment. he may feel that i have lingered too long in some byways and hurried too rapidly through others, taking, as it were, but a general view of the road in the latter case, whilst examining everything that could be seen in the former with, perhaps, undue care. as a matter of fact, how ever, all these excursions have been undertaken with one and the same object in view, that, namely, of understanding aright and appreciating at their true worth some of the more curious byways along which human thought has travelled. it is easy for the superficial thinker to dismiss much of the thought of the past (and, indeed, of the present) as _mere_ superstition, not worth the trouble of investigation: but it is not scientific. there is a reason for every belief, even the most fantastic, and it should be our object to discover this reason. how far, if at all, the reason in any case justifies us in holding a similar belief is, of course, another question. some of the beliefs i have dealt with i have treated at greater length than others, because it seems to me that the truths of which they are the images--vague and distorted in many cases though they be--are truths which we have either forgotten nowadays, or are in danger of forgetting. we moderns may, indeed, learn something from the thought of the past, even in its most fantastic aspects. in one excursion at least, namely, the essay on "the cambridge platonists," i have ventured to deal with a higher phase--perhaps i should say the highest phase--of the thought of a bygone age, to which the modern world may be completely debtor. "some characteristics of mediaeval thought," and the two essays on alchemy, have appeared in _the journal of the alchemical society_. in others i have utilised material i have contributed to _the occult review_, to the editor of which journal my thanks are due for permission so to do. i have also to express my gratitude to the rev. a. h. collins, and others to be referred to in due course, for permission here to reproduce illustrations of which they are the copyright holders. i have further to offer my hearty thanks to mr b. r. rowbottom and my wife for valuable assistance in reading the proofs. h. s. r. bletchley, bucks, _december_ 1919. contents page preface........................... ix list of illustrations.................... xiii 1. some characteristics of mediaeval thought......... 1 2. pythagoras and his philosophy............... 8 3. medicine and magic..................... 25 4. superstitions concerning birds .............. 34 5. the powder of sympathy: a curious medical superstition.. 47 6. the belief in talismans.................. 57 7. ceremonial magic in theory and practice.......... 87 8. architectural symbolism..................111 9. the quest of the philosopher's stone............121 10. the phallic element in alchemical doctrine.........149 11. roger bacon: an appreciation...............183 12. the cambridge platonists..................193 {the list of illustrations are incomplete and raw ocr output!} page 46. symbolic alchemical design from mutus liber (1677). plate: 25, to face p.176 47. symbolic alchemical design illustrating the work of woman, from maier's atalanta fugiens...,, 26,,, 178 48. symbolic alchemica design, hermaphrodite, from maier's atalanta fugiens..,, 27,,, 180 49. roger bacon presenting a book to a king, from a fifteenth century miniature in the bodleian library, oxford...,, 28,,, 184 50. roger bacon, from a portrait in knole castle..,, 29,,, 188 51. benjamin whichcote, from an engraved portrait by robert white....30...194 52. henry more, from a portrait by david loggan, engraved ad vivum, 1679 ...,, 31,,, 198 53. ralph cudworth, from an engraved portrait by vertue, after loggan, forming the frontispiece to cudworth's treatise concerning morality (1731) ,, 32,,, 3~ bygone beliefs i. some characteristics of medaeval thought in the earliest days of his upward evolution man was satisfied with a very crude explanation of natural phenomena--that to which the name "animism" has been given. in this stage of mental development all the various forces of nature are personified: the rushing torrent, the devastating fire, the wind rustling the forest leaves--in the mind of the animistic savage all these are personalities, spirits, like himself, but animated by motives more or less antagonistic to him. i suppose that no possible exception could be taken to the statement that modern science renders animism impossible. but let us inquire in exactly what sense this is true. it is not true that science robs natural phenomena of their spiritual significance. the mistake is often made of supposing that science explains, or endeavours to explain, phenomena. but that is the business of philosophy. the task science attempts is the simpler one of the correlation of natural phenomena, and in this effort leaves the ultimate problems of metaphysics untouched. a universe, however, whose phenomena are not only capable of some degree of correlation, but present the extraordinary degree of harmony and unity which science makes manifest in nature, cannot be, as in animism, the product of a vast number of inco-ordinated and antagonistic wills, but must either be the product of one will, or not the product of will at all. the latter alternative means that the cosmos is inexplicable, which not only man's growing experience, but the fact that man and the universe form essentially a unity, forbid us to believe. the term "anthropomorphic" is too easily applied to philosophical systems, as if it constituted a criticism of their validity. for if it be true, as all must admit, that the unknown can only be explained in terms of the known, then the universe must either be explained in terms of man--_i.e_. in terms of will or desire--or remain incomprehensible. that is to say, a philosophy must either be anthropomorphic, or no philosophy at all. thus a metaphysical scrutiny of the results of modern science leads us to a belief in god. but man felt the need of unity, and crude animism, though a step in the right direction, failed to satisfy his thought, long before the days of modern science. the spirits of animism, however, were not discarded, but were modified, co-ordinated, and worked into a system as servants of the most high. polytheism may mark a stage in this process; or, perhaps, it was a result of mental degeneracy. what i may term systematised as distinguished from crude animism persisted throughout the middle ages. the work of systematisation had already been accomplished, to a large extent, by the neo-platonists and whoever were responsible for the kabala. it is true that these main sources of magical or animistic philosophy remained hidden during the greater part of the middle ages; but at about their close the youthful and enthusiastic cornelius agrippa (1486-1535)(1) slaked his thirst thereat and produced his own attempt at the systematisation of magical belief in the famous _three books of occult philosophy_. but the waters of magical philosophy reached the mediaeval mind through various devious channels, traditional on the one hand and literary on the other. and of the latter, the works of pseudo-dionysius,(2) whose immense influence upon mediaeval thought has sometimes been neglected, must certainly be noted. (1) the story of his life has been admirably told by henry morley (2 vols., 1856). (2) these writings were first heard of in the early part of the sixth century, and were probably the work of a syrian monk of that date, who fathered them on to dionysius the areopagite as a pious fraud. see dean inge's _christian mysticism_ (1899), pp. 104--122, and vaughan's _hours with the mystics_ (7th ed., 1895), vol. i. pp. 111-124. the books have been translated into english by the rev. john parker (2 vols.1897-1899), who believes in the genuineness of their alleged authorship. the most obvious example of a mediaeval animistic belief is that in "elementals"--the spirits which personify the primordial forces of nature, and are symbolised by the four elements, immanent in which they were supposed to exist, and through which they were held to manifest their powers. and astrology, it must be remembered, is essentially a systematised animism. the stars, to the ancients, were not material bodies like the earth, but spiritual beings. plato (427-347 b.c.) speaks of them as "gods". mediaeval thought did not regard them in quite this way. but for those who believed in astrology, and few, i think, did not, the stars were still symbols of spiritual forces operative on man. evidences of the wide extent of astrological belief in those days are abundant, many instances of which we shall doubtless encounter in our excursions. it has been said that the theological and philosophical atmosphere of the middle ages was "scholastic," not mystical. no doubt "mysticism," as a mode of life aiming at the realisation of the presence of god, is as distinct from scholasticism as empiricism is from rationalism, or "tough-minded" philosophy (to use james' happy phrase) is from "tender-minded". but no philosophy can be absolutely and purely deductive. it must start from certain empirically determined facts. a man might be an extreme empiricist in religion (_i.e_. a mystic), and yet might attempt to deduce all other forms of knowledge from the results of his religious experiences, never caring to gather experience in any other realm. hence the breach between mysticism and scholasticism is not really so wide as may appear at first sight. indeed, scholasticism officially recognised three branches of theology, of which the mystical was one. i think that mysticism and scholasticism both had a profound influence on the mediaeval mind, sometimes acting as opposing forces, sometimes operating harmoniously with one another. as professor windelband puts it: "we no longer onesidedly characterise the philosophy of the middle ages as scholasticism, but rather place mysticism beside it as of equal rank, and even as being the more fruitful and promising movement."(1) (1) professor wilhelm windelband, ph.d.: "present-day mysticism," _the quest_, vol. iv. (1913), p. 205. alchemy, with its four aristotelian or scholastic elements and its three mystical principles--sulphur, mercury, salt,--must be cited as the outstanding product of the combined influence of mysticism and scholasticism: of mysticism, which postulated the unity of the cosmos, and hence taught that everything natural is the expressive image and type of some supernatural reality; of scholasticism, which taught men to rely upon deduction and to restrict experimentation to the smallest possible limits. the mind naturally proceeds from the known, or from what is supposed to be known, to the unknown. indeed, as i have already indicated, it must so proceed if truth is to be gained. now what did the men of the middle ages regard as falling into the category of the known? why, surely, the truths of revealed religion, whether accepted upon authority or upon the evidence of their own experience. the realm of spiritual and moral reality: there, they felt, they were on firm ground. nature was a realm unknown; but they had analogy to guide, or, rather, misguide them. nevertheless if, as we know, it misguided, this was not, i think, because the mystical doctrine of the correspondence between the spiritual and the natural is unsound, but because these ancient seekers into nature's secrets knew so little, and so frequently misapplied what they did know. so alchemical philosophy arose and became systematised, with its wonderful endeavour to perfect the base metals by the philosopher's stone--the concentrated essence of nature,--as man's soul is perfected through the life-giving power of jesus christ. i want, in conclusion to these brief introductory remarks, to say a few words concerning phallicism in connection with my topic. for some "tender-minded"(1) and, to my thought, obscure, reason the subject is tabooed. even the british museum does not include works on phallicism in its catalogue, and special permission has to be obtained to consult them. yet the subject is of vast importance as concerns the origin and development of religion and philosophy, and the extent of phallic worship may be gathered from the widespread occurrence of obelisks and similar objects amongst ancient relics. our own maypole dances may be instanced as one survival of the ancient worship of the male generative principle. (1) i here use the term with the extended meaning mr h. g. wells has given to it. see _the new machiavelli_. what could be more easy to understand than that, when man first questioned as to the creation of the earth, he should suppose it to have been generated by some process analogous to that which he saw held in the case of man? how else could he account for its origin, if knowledge must proceed from the known to the unknown? no one questions at all that the worship of the human generative organs as symbols of the dual generative principle of nature degenerated into orgies of the most frightful character, but the view of nature which thus degenerated is not, i think, an altogether unsound one, and very interesting remnants of it are to be found in mediaeval philosophy. these remnants are very marked in alchemy. the metals, as i have suggested, are there regarded as types of man; hence they are produced from seed, through the combination of male and female principles--mercury and sulphur, which on the spiritual plane are intelligence and love. the same is true of that stone which is perfect man. as bernard of trevisan (1406-1490) wrote in the fifteenth century: "this stone then is compounded of a body and spirit, or of a volatile and fixed substance, and that is therefore done, because nothing in the world can be generated and brought to light without these two substances, to wit, a male and female: from whence it appeareth, that although these two substances are not of one and the same species, yet one stone doth thence arise, and although they appear and are said to be two substances, yet in truth it is but one, to wit, _argent-vive_."(1) no doubt this sounds fantastic; but with all their seeming intellectual follies these old thinkers were no fools. the fact of sex is the most fundamental fact of the universe, and is a spiritual and physical as well as a physiological fact. i shall deal with the subject as concerns the speculations of the alchemists in some detail in a later excursion. (1) bernard, earl of trevisan: _a treatise of the philosopher's stone_, 1683. (see _collectanea chymica: a collection of ten several treatises in chemistry_, 1684, p. 91.) ii. pythagoras and his philosophy it is a matter for enduring regret that so little is known to us concerning pythagoras. what little we do know serves but to enhance for us the interest of the man and his philosophy, to make him, in many ways, the most attractive of greek thinkers; and, basing our estimate on the extent of his influence on the thought of succeeding ages, we recognise in him one of the world's master-minds. pythagoras was born about 582 b.c. at samos, one of the grecian isles. in his youth he came in contact with thales--the father of geometry, as he is well called,--and though he did not become a member of thales' school, his contact with the latter no doubt helped to turn his mind towards the study of geometry. this interest found the right ground for its development in egypt, which he visited when still young. egypt is generally regarded as the birthplace of geometry, the subject having, it is supposed, been forced on the minds of the egyptians by the necessity of fixing the boundaries of lands against the annual overflowing of the nile. but the egyptians were what is called an essentially practical people, and their geometrical knowledge did not extend beyond a few empirical rules useful for fixing these boundaries and in constructing their temples. striking evidence of this fact is supplied by the ahmes papyrus, compiled some little time before 1700 b.c. from an older work dating from about 3400 b.c.,(1) a papyrus which almost certainly represents the highest mathematical knowledge reached by the egyptians of that day. geometry is treated very superficially and as of subsidiary interest to arithmetic; there is no ordered series of reasoned geometrical propositions given--nothing, indeed, beyond isolated rules, and of these some are wanting in accuracy. (1) see august eisenlohr: _ein mathematisches handbuch der alten aegypter_ (1877); j. gow: _a short history of greek mathematics_ (1884); and v. e. johnson: _egyptian science from the monuments and ancient books_ (1891). one geometrical fact known to the egyptians was that if a triangle be constructed having its sides 3, 4, and 5 units long respectively, then the angle opposite the longest side is exactly a right angle; and the egyptian builders used this rule for constructing walls perpendicular to each other, employing a cord graduated in the required manner. the greek mind was not, however, satisfied with the bald statement of mere facts--it cared little for practical applications, but sought above all for the underlying reason of everything. nowadays we are beginning to realise that the results achieved by this type of mind, the general laws of nature's behaviour formulated by its endeavours, are frequently of immense practical importance--of far more importance than the mere rules-of-thumb beyond which so-called practical minds never advance. the classic example of the utility of seemingly useless knowledge is afforded by sir william hamilton's discovery, or, rather, invention of quarternions, but no better example of the utilitarian triumph of the theoretical over the so-called practical mind can be adduced than that afforded by pythagoras. given this rule for constructing a right angle, about whose reason the egyptian who used it never bothered himself, and the mind of pythagoras, searching for its full significance, made that gigantic geometrical discovery which is to this day known as the theorem of pythagoras--the law that in every right-angled triangle the square on the side opposite the right angle is equal in area to the sum of the squares on the other two sides.(1) the importance of this discovery can hardly be overestimated. it is of fundamental importance in most branches of geometry, and the basis of the whole of trigonometry--the special branch of geometry that deals with the practical mensuration of triangles. euclid devoted the whole of the first book of his _elements of geometry_ to establishing the truth of this theorem; how pythagoras demonstrated it we unfortunately do not know. (1) fig. 3 affords an interesting practical demonstration of the truth of this theorem. if the reader will copy this figure, cut out the squares on the two shorter sides of the triangle and divide them along the lines ad, be, ef, he will find that the five pieces so obtained can be made exactly to fit the square on the longest side as shown by the dotted lines. the size and shape of the triangle abc, so long as it has a right angle at c, is immaterial. the lines ad, be are obtained by continuing the sides of the square on the side ab, _i.e_. the side opposite the right angle, and ef is drawn at right angles to be. after absorbing what knowledge was to be gained in egypt, pythagoras journeyed to babylon, where he probably came into contact with even greater traditions and more potent influences and sources of knowledge than in egypt, for there is reason for believing that the ancient chaldeans were the builders of the pyramids and in many ways the intellectual superiors of the egyptians. at last, after having travelled still further east, probably as far as india, pythagoras returned to his birthplace to teach the men of his native land the knowledge he had gained. but croesus was tyrant over samos, and so oppressive was his rule that none had leisure in which to learn. not a student came to pythagoras, until, in despair, so the story runs, he offered to pay an artisan if he would but learn geometry. the man accepted, and later, when pythagoras pretended inability any longer to continue the payments, he offered, so fascinating did he find the subject, to pay his teacher instead if the lessons might only be continued. pythagoras no doubt was much gratified at this; and the motto he adopted for his great brotherhood, of which we shall make the acquaintance in a moment, was in all likelihood based on this event. it ran, "honour a figure and a step before a figure and a tribolus"; or, as a freer translation renders it:-"a figure and a step onward not a figure and a florin." "at all events," as mr frankland remarks, "the motto is a lasting witness to a very singular devotion to knowledge for its own sake."(1) (1) w. b. frankland, m.a.: _the story of euclid_ (1902), p. 33 but pythagoras needed a greater audience than one man, however enthusiastic a pupil he might be, and he left samos for southern italy, the rich inhabitants of whose cities had both the leisure and inclination to study. delphi, far-famed for its oracles, was visited _en route_, and pythagoras, after a sojourn at tarentum, settled at croton, where he gathered about him a great band of pupils, mainly young people of the aristocratic class. by consent of the senate of croton, he formed out of these a great philosophical brotherhood, whose members lived apart from the ordinary people, forming, as it were, a separate community. they were bound to pythagoras by the closest ties of admiration and reverence, and, for years after his death, discoveries made by pythagoreans were invariably attributed to the master, a fact which makes it very difficult exactly to gauge the extent of pythagoras' own knowledge and achievements. the regime of the brotherhood, or pythagorean order, was a strict one, entailing "high thinking and low living" at all times. a restricted diet, the exact nature of which is in dispute, was observed by all members, and long periods of silence, as conducive to deep thinking, were imposed on novices. women were admitted to the order, and pythagoras' asceticism did not prohibit romance, for we read that one of his fair pupils won her way to his heart, and, declaring her affection for him, found it reciprocated and became his wife. schure writes: "by his marriage with theano, pythagoras affixed _the seal of realization_ to his work. the union and fusion of the two lives was complete. one day when the master's wife was asked what length of time elapsed before a woman could become pure after intercourse with a man, she replied: 'if it is with her husband, she is pure all the time; if with another man, she is never pure.'" "many women," adds the writer, "would smilingly remark that to give such a reply one must be the wife of pythagoras, and love him as theano did. and they would be in the right, for it is not marriage that sanctifies love, it is love which justifies marriage."(1) (1) edouard schure: _pythagoras and the delphic mysteries_, trans. by f. rothwell, b.a. (1906), pp. 164 and 165. pythagoras was not merely a mathematician, he was first and foremost a philosopher, whose philosophy found in number the basis of all things, because number, for him, alone possessed stability of relationship. as i have remarked on a former occasion, "the theory that the cosmos has its origin and explanation in number... is one for which it is not difficult to account if we take into consideration the nature of the times in which it was formulated. the greek of the period, looking upon nature, beheld no picture of harmony, uniformity and fundamental unity. the outer world appeared to him rather as a discordant chaos, the mere sport and plaything of the gods. the theory of the uniformity of nature--that nature is ever like to herself--the very essence of the modern scientific spirit, had yet to be born of years of unwearied labour and unceasing delving into nature's innermost secrets. only in mathematics--in the properties of geometrical figures, and of numbers--was the reign of law, the principle of harmony, perceivable. even at this present day when the marvellous has become commonplace, that property of right-angled triangles... already discussed... comes to the mind as a remarkable and notable fact: it must have seemed a stupendous marvel to its discoverer, to whom, it appears, the regular alternation of the odd and even numbers, a fact so obvious to us that we are inclined to attach no importance to it, seemed, itself, to be something wonderful. here in geometry and arithmetic, here was order and harmony unsurpassed and unsurpassable. what wonder then that pythagoras concluded that the solution of the mighty riddle of the universe was contained in the mysteries of geometry? what wonder that he read mystic meanings into the laws of arithmetic, and believed number to be the explanation and origin of all that is?"(1) (1) _a mathematical theory of spirit_ (1912), pp. 64-65. no doubt the pythagorean theory suffers from a defect similar to that of the kabalistic doctrine, which, starting from the fact that all words are composed of letters, representing the primary sounds of language, maintained that all the things represented by these words were created by god by means of the twenty-two letters of the hebrew alphabet. but at the same time the pythagorean theory certainly embodies a considerable element of truth. modern science demonstrates nothing more clearly than the importance of numerical relationships. indeed, "the history of science shows us the gradual transformation of crude facts of experience into increasingly exact generalisations by the application to them of mathematics. the enormous advances that have been made in recent years in physics and chemistry are very largely due to mathematical methods of interpreting and co-ordinating facts experimentally revealed, whereby further experiments have been suggested, the results of which have themselves been mathematically interpreted. both physics and chemistry, especially the former, are now highly mathematical. in the biological sciences and especially in psychology it is true that mathematical methods are, as yet, not so largely employed. but these sciences are far less highly developed, far less exact and systematic, that is to say, far less scientific, at present, than is either physics or chemistry. however, the application of statistical methods promises good results, and there are not wanting generalisations already arrived at which are expressible mathematically; weber's law in psychology, and the law concerning the arrangement of the leaves about the stems of plants in biology, may be instanced as cases in point."(1) (1) quoted from a lecture by the present writer on "the law of correspondences mathematically considered," delivered before the theological and philosophical society on 26th april 1912, and published in _morning light_, vol. xxxv (1912), p. 434 _et seq_. the pythagorean doctrine of the cosmos, in its most reasonable form, however, is confronted with one great difficulty which it seems incapable of overcoming, namely, that of continuity. modern science, with its atomic theories of matter and electricity, does, indeed, show us that the apparent continuity of material things is spurious, that all material things consist of discrete particles, and are hence measurable in numerical terms. but modern science is also obliged to postulate an ether behind these atoms, an ether which is wholly continuous, and hence transcends the domain of number.(1) it is true that, in quite recent times, a certain school of thought has argued that the ether is also atomic in constitution--that all things, indeed, have a grained structure, even forces being made up of a large number of quantums or indivisible units of force. but this view has not gained general acceptance, and it seems to necessitate the postulation of an ether beyond the ether, filling the interspaces between its atoms, to obviate the difficulty of conceiving of action at a distance. (1) cf. chap. iii., "on nature as the embodiment of number," of my _a mathematical theory of spirit_, to which reference has already been made. according to bergson, life--the reality that can only be lived, not understood--is absolutely continuous (_i.e_. not amenable to numerical treatment). it is because life is absolutely continuous that we cannot, he says, understand it; for reason acts discontinuously, grasping only, so to speak, a cinematographic view of life, made up of an immense number of instantaneous glimpses. all that passes between the glimpses is lost, and so the true whole, reason can never synthesise from that which it possesses. on the other hand, one might also argue--extending, in a way, the teaching of the physical sciences of the period between the postulation of dalton's atomic theory and the discovery of the significance of the ether of space--that reality is essentially discontinuous, our idea that it is continuous being a mere illusion arising from the coarseness of our senses. that might provide a complete vindication of the pythagorean view; but a better vindication, if not of that theory, at any rate of pythagoras' philosophical attitude, is forthcoming, i think, in the fact that modern mathematics has transcended the shackles of number, and has enlarged her kingdom, so as to include quantities other than numerical. pythagoras, had he been born in these latter centuries, would surely have rejoiced in this, enlargement, whereby the continuous as well as the discontinuous is brought, if not under the rule of number, under the rule of mathematics indeed. pythagoras' foremost achievement in mathematics i have already mentioned. another notable piece of work in the same department was the discovery of a method of constructing a parallelogram having a side equal to a given line, an angle equal to a given angle, and its area equal to that of a given triangle. pythagoras is said to have celebrated this discovery by the sacrifice of a whole ox. the problem appears in the first book of euclid's _elements of geometry_ as proposition 44. in fact, many of the propositions of euclid's first, second, fourth, and sixth books were worked out by pythagoras and the pythagoreans; but, curiously enough, they seem greatly to have neglected the geometry of the circle. the symmetrical solids were regarded by pythagoras, and by the greek thinkers after him, as of the greatest importance. to be perfectly symmetrical or regular, a solid must have an equal number of faces meeting at each of its angles, and these faces must be equal regular polygons, _i.e_. figures whose sides and angles are all equal. pythagoras, perhaps, may be credited with the great discovery that there are only five such solids. these are as follows:-the tetrahedron, having four equilateral triangles as faces. the cube, having six squares as faces. the octahedron, having eight equilateral triangles as faces. the dodecahedron, having twelve regular pentagons (or five-sided figures) as faces. the icosahedron, having twenty equilateral triangles as faces.(1) (1) if the reader will copy figs. 4 to 8 on cardboard or stiff paper, bend each along the dotted lines so as to form a solid, fastening together the free edges with gummed paper, he will be in possession of models of the five solids in question. now, the greeks believed the world to be composed of four elements--earth, air, fire, water,--and to the greek mind the conclusion was inevitable(2a) that the shapes of the particles of the elements were those of the regular solids. earth-particles were cubical, the cube being the regular solid possessed of greatest stability; fire-particles were tetrahedral, the tetrahedron being the simplest and, hence, lightest solid. water-particles were icosahedral for exactly the reverse reason, whilst air-particles, as intermediate between the two latter, were octahedral. the dodecahedron was, to these ancient mathematicians, the most mysterious of the solids: it was by far the most difficult to construct, the accurate drawing of the regular pentagon necessitating a rather elaborate application of pythagoras' great theorem.(1) hence the conclusion, as plato put it, that "this (the regular dodecahedron) the deity employed in tracing the plan of the universe."(2b) hence also the high esteem in which the pentagon was held by the pythagoreans. by producing each side of this latter figure the five-pointed star (fig. 9), known as the pentagram, is obtained. this was adopted by the pythagoreans as the badge of their society, and for many ages was held as a symbol possessed of magic powers. the mediaeval magicians made use of it in their evocations, and as a talisman it was held in the highest esteem. (2a) _cf_. plato: the timaeus, sese xxviii--xxx. (1) in reference to this matter frankland remarks: "in those early days the innermost secrets of nature lay in the lap of geometry, and the extraordinary inference follows that euclid's _elements_, which are devoted to the investigation of the regular solids, are therefore in reality and at bottom an attempt to 'solve the universe.' euclid, in fact, made this goal of the pythagoreans the aim of his _elements_."--_op. cit_., p. 35. (2b) _op. cit_., se xxix. music played an important part in the curriculum of the pythagorean brotherhood, and the important discovery that the relations between the notes of musical scales can be expressed by means of numbers is a pythagorean one. it must have seemed to its discoverer--as, in a sense, it indeed is--a striking confirmation of the numerical theory of the cosmos. the pythagoreans held that the positions of the heavenly bodies were governed by similar numerical relations, and that in consequence their motion was productive of celestial music. this concept of "the harmony of the spheres" is among the most celebrated of the pythagorean doctrines, and has found ready acceptance in many mystically-speculative minds. "look how the floor of heaven," says lorenzo in shakespeare's _the merchant of venice_- "... look how the floor of heaven is thick inlaid with patines of bright gold: there's not the smallest orb which thou behold's" but in his motion like an angel sings, still quiring to the young-eyed cherubins; such harmony is in immortal souls; but whilst this muddy vesture of decay doth grossly close it in, we cannot hear it."(1) (1) act v. scene i. or, as kingsley writes in one of his letters, "when i walk the fields i am oppressed every now and then with an innate feeling that everything i see has a meaning, if i could but understand it. and this feeling of being surrounded with truths which i cannot grasp, amounts to an indescribable awe sometimes! everything seems to be full of god's reflex, if we could but see it. oh! how i have prayed to have the mystery unfolded, at least hereafter. to see, if but for a moment, the whole harmony of the great system! to hear once the music which the whole universe makes as it performs his bidding!"(1) in this connection may be mentioned the very significant fact that the pythagoreans did not consider the earth, in accordance with current opinion, to be a stationary body, but believed that it and the other planets revolved about a central point, or fire, as they called it. (1) charles kingsley: _his letters and memories of his life_, edited by his wife (1883), p. 28. as concerns pythagoras' ethical teaching, judging from the so-called _golden verses_ attributed to him, and no doubt written by one of his disciples,(2) this would appear to be in some respects similar to that of the stoics who came later, but free from the materialism of the stoic doctrines. due regard for oneself is blended with regard for the gods and for other men, the atmosphere of the whole being at once rational and austere. one verse--"thou shalt likewise know, according to justice, that the nature of this universe is in all things alike"(3)--is of particular interest, as showing pythagoras' belief in that principle of analogy--that "what is below is as that which is above, what is above is as that which is below"--which held so dominant a sway over the minds of ancient and mediaeval philosophers, leading them--in spite, i suggest, of its fundamental truth--into so many fantastic errors, as we shall see in future excursions. metempsychosis was another of the pythagorean tenets, a fact which is interesting in view of the modern revival of this doctrine. pythagoras, no doubt, derived it from the east, apparently introducing it for the first time to western thought. (2) it seems probable, though not certain, that pythagoras wrote nothing himself, but taught always by the oral method. (3) cf. the remarks of hierocles on this verse in his _commentary_. such, in brief, were the outstanding doctrines of the pythagorean brotherhood. their teachings included, as we have seen, what may justly be called scientific discoveries of the first importance, as well as doctrines which, though we may feel compelled--perhaps rightly--to regard them as fantastic now, had an immense influence on the thought of succeeding ages, especially on greek philosophy as represented by plato and the neo-platonists, and the more speculative minds--the occult philosophers, shall i say?--of the latter mediaeval period and succeeding centuries. the brotherhood, however, was not destined to continue its days in peace. as i have indicated, it was a philosophical, not a political, association; but naturally pythagoras' philosophy included political doctrines. at any rate, the brotherhood acquired a considerable share in the government of croton, a fact which was greatly resented by the members of the democratic party, who feared the loss of their rights; and, urged thereto, it is said, by a rejected applicant for membership of the order, the mob made an onslaught on the brotherhood's place of assembly and burnt it to the ground. one account has it that pythagoras himself died in the conflagration, a sacrifice to the mad fury of the mob. according to another account--and we like to believe that this is the true one--he escaped to tarentum, from which he was banished, to find an asylum in metapontum, where he lived his last years in peace. the pythagorean order was broken up, but the bonds of brotherhood still existed between its members. "one of them who had fallen upon sickness and poverty was kindly taken in by an innkeeper. before dying he traced a few mysterious signs (the pentagram, no doubt) on the door of the inn and said to the host: 'do not be uneasy, one of my brothers will pay my debts.' a year afterwards, as a stranger was passing by this inn he saw the signs and said to the host: 'i am a pythagorean; one of my brothers died here; tell me what i owe you on his account.'"(1) (1) edouard schure: _op. cit_., p. 174. in endeavouring to estimate the worth of pythagoras' discoveries and teaching, mr frankland writes, with reference to his achievements in geometry: "even after making a considerable allowance for his pupils' share, the master's geometrical work calls for much admiration"; and, "... it cannot be far wrong to suppose that it was pythagoras' wont to insist upon proofs, and so to secure that rigour which gives to mathematics its honourable position amongst the sciences." and of his work in arithmetic, music, and astronomy, the same author writes: "... everywhere he appears to have inaugurated genuinely scientific methods, and to have laid the foundations of a high and liberal education"; adding, "for nearly a score of centuries, to the very close of the middle ages, the four pythagorean subjects of study--arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music--were the staple educational course, and were bound together into a fourfold way of knowledge--the quadrivium."(1) with these words of due praise, our present excursion may fittingly close. (1) _op. cit_., pp. 35, 37, and 38. iii. medicine and magic there are few tasks at once so instructive and so fascinating as the tracing of the development of the human mind as manifested in the evolution of scientific and philosophical theories. and this is, perhaps, especially true when, as in the case of medicine, this evolution has followed paths so tortuous, intersected by so many fantastic byways, that one is not infrequently doubtful as to the true road. the history of medicine is at once the history of human wisdom and the history of human credulity and folly, and the romantic element (to use the expression in its popular acceptation) thus introduced, whilst making the subject more entertaining, by no means detracts from its importance considered psychologically. to whom the honour of having first invented medicines is due is unknown, the origins of pharmacy being lost in the twilight of myth. osiris and isis, bacchus, apollo father of the famous physician aesculapius, and chiron the centaur, tutor of the latter, are among the many mythological personages who have been accredited with the invention of physic. it is certain that the art of compounding medicines is extraordinarily ancient. there is a papyrus in the british museum containing medical prescriptions which was written about 1200 b.c.; and the famous ebers papyrus, which is devoted to medical matters, is reckoned to date from about the year 1550 b.c. it is interesting to note that in the prescriptions given in this latter papyrus, as seems to have been the case throughout the history of medicine, the principle that the efficacy of a medicine is in proportion to its nastiness appears to have been the main idea. indeed, many old medicines contained ingredients of the most disgusting nature imaginable: a mediaeval remedy known as oil of puppies, made by cutting up two newly-born puppies and boiling them with one pound of live earthworms, may be cited as a comparatively pleasant example of the remedies (?) used in the days when all sorts of excreta were prescribed as medicines.(1) (1) see the late mr a. c. wootton's excellent work, _chronicles of pharmacy_ (2 vols, 1910), to which i gladly acknowledge my indebtedness. presumably the oldest theory concerning the causation of disease is that which attributes all the ills of mankind to the malignant operations of evil spirits, a theory which someone has rather fancifully suggested is not so erroneous after all, if we may be allowed to apply the term "evil spirits" to the microbes of modern bacteriology. remnants of this theory (which does--shall i say?--conceal a transcendental truth), that is, in its original form, still survive to the present day in various superstitious customs, whose absurdity does not need emphasising: for example, the use of red flannel by old-fashioned folk with which to tie up sore throats--red having once been supposed to be a colour very angatonistic to evil spirits; so much so that at one time red cloth hung in the patient's room was much employed as a cure for smallpox! medicine and magic have always been closely associated. indeed, the greatest name in the history of pharmacy is also what is probably the greatest name in the history of magic--the reference, of course, being to paracelsus (1493-1541). until paracelsus, partly by his vigorous invective and partly by his remarkable cures of various diseases, demolished the old school of medicine, no one dared contest the authority of galen (130-_circa_ 205) and avicenna (980--1037). galen's theory of disease was largely based upon that of the four humours in man--bile, blood, phlegm, and black bile,--which were regarded as related to (but not identical with) the four elements--fire, air, water, and earth,--being supposed to have characters similar to these. thus, to bile, as to fire, were attributed the properties of hotness and dryness; to blood and air those of hotness and moistness; to phlegm and water those of coldness and moistness; and, finally, black bile, like earth, was said to be cold and dry. galen supposed that an alteration in the due proportion of these humours gives rise to disease, though he did not consider this to be its only cause; thus, cancer, it was thought, might result from an excess of black bile, and rheumatism from an excess of phlegm. drugs, galen argued, are of efficiency in the curing of disease, according as they possess one or more of these so-called fundamental properties, hotness, dryness, coldness, and moistness, whereby it was considered that an excess of any humour might be counteracted; moreover, it was further assumed that four degrees of each property exist, and that only those drugs are of use in curing a disease which contain the necessary property or properties in the degree proportionate to that in which the opposite humour or humours are in excess in the patient's system. paracelsus' views were based upon his theory (undoubtedly true in a sense) that man is a microcosm, a world in miniature.(1) now, all things material, taught paracelsus, contain the three principles termed in alchemistic phraseology salt, sulphur, and mercury. this is true, therefore, of man: the healthy body, he argued, is a sort of chemical compound in which these three principles are harmoniously blended (as in the macrocosm) in due proportion, whilst disease is due to a preponderance of one principle, fevers, for example, being the result of an excess of sulphur (_i.e_. the fiery principle), _etc_. paracelsus, although his theory was not so different from that of galen, whose views he denounced, was thus led to seek for chemical remedies, containing these principles in varying proportions; he was not content with medicinal herbs and minerals in their crude state, but attempted to extract their effective essences; indeed, he maintained that the preparation of new and better drugs is the chief business of chemistry. (1) see the "note on the paracelsian doctrine of the microcosm" below. this theory of disease and of the efficacy of drugs was complicated by many fantastic additions;(1) thus there is the "archaeus," a sort of benevolent demon, supposed by paracelsus to look after all the unconscious functions of the bodily organism, who has to be taken into account. paracelsus also held the doctrine of signatures, according to which the medicinal value of plants and minerals is indicated by their external form, or by some sign impressed upon them by the operation of the stars. a very old example of this belief is to be found in the use of mandrake (whose roots resemble the human form) by the hebrews and greeks as a cure for sterility; or, to give an instance which is still accredited by some, the use of eye-bright (_euphrasia officinalis_, l., a plant with a black pupil-like spot in its corolla) for complaints of the eyes.(2) allied to this doctrine are such beliefs, once held, as that the lungs of foxes are good for bronchial troubles, or that the heart of a lion will endow one with courage; as cornelius agrippa put it, "it is well known amongst physicians that brain helps the brain, and lungs the lungs."(3) (1) the question of paracelsus' pharmacy is further complicated by the fact that this eccentric genius coined many new words (without regard to the principles of etymology) as names for his medicines, and often used the same term to stand for quite different bodies. some of his disciples maintained that he must not always be understood in a literal sense, in which probably there is an element of truth. see, for instance, _a golden and blessed casket of nature's marvels_, by benedictus figulus (trans. by a. e. waite, 1893). (2) see dr alfred c. haddon's _magic and fetishism_ (1906), p. 15. (3) henry cornelius agrippa: _occult philosophy_, bk. i. chap. xv. (whitehead's edition, chicago, 1898, p. 72). in modern times homoeopathy--according to which a drug is a cure, if administered in small doses, for that disease whose symptoms it produces, if given in large doses to a healthy person---seems to bear some resemblance to these old medical theories concerning the curing of like by like. that the system of hahnemann (1755--1843), the founder of homoeopathy, is free from error could be scarcely maintained, but certain recent discoveries in connection with serum-therapy appear to indicate that the last word has not yet been said on the subject, and the formula "like cures like" may still have another lease of life to run. to return to paracelsus, however. it may be thought that his views were not so great an advance on those of galen; but whether or not this be the case, his union of chemistry and medicine was of immense benefit to each science, and marked a new era in pharmacy. even if his theories were highly fantastic, it was he who freed medicine from the shackles of traditionalism, and rendered progress in medical science possible. i must not conclude these brief notes without some reference to the medical theory of the medicinal efficacy of words. the ebers papyrus already mentioned gives various formulas which must be pronounced when preparing and when administering a drug; and there is a draught used by the eastern jews as a cure for bronchial complaints prepared by writing certain words on a plate, washing them off with wine, and adding three grains of a citron which has been used at the tabernacle festival. but enough for our present excursion; we must hie us back to the modern world, with its alkaloids, serums, and anti-toxins--another day we will, perhaps, wander again down the by-paths of medicinal magic. note on the paracelsian doctrine of the microcosm "man's nature," writes cornelius agrippa, "_is the most complete image of the whole universe_."(1) this theory, especially connected with the name of paracelsus, is worthy of more than passing reference; but as the consideration of it leads us from medicine to metaphysics, i have thought it preferable to deal with the subject in a note. (1) h. c. agrippa: _occult philosophy_, bk. i. chap. xxxiii. (whitehead's edition, p. 111). man, taught the old mystical philosophers, is threefold in nature, consisting of spirit, soul, and body. the paracelsian mercury, sulphur, and salt were the mineral analogues of these. "as to the spirit," writes valentine weigel (1533--1588), a disciple of paracelsus, "we are of god, move in god, and live in god, and are nourished of god. hence god is in us and we are in god; god hath put and placed himself in us, and we are put and placed in god. as to the soul, we are from the firmament and stars, we live and move therein, and are nourished thereof. hence the firmament with its astralic virtues and operations is in us, and we in it. the firmament is put and placed in us, and we are put and placed in the firmament. as to the body, we are of the elements, we move and live therein, and are nourished of them:--hence the elements are in us, and we in them. the elements, by the slime, are put and placed in us, and we are put and placed in them."(1) or, to quote from paracelsus himself, in his _hermetic astronomy_ he writes: "god took the body out of which he built up man from those things which he created from nothingness into something... hence man is now a microcosm, or a little world, because he is an extract from all the stars and planets of the whole firmament, from the earth and the elements, and so he is their quintessence.... but between the macrocosm and the microcosm this difference occurs, that the form, image, species, and substance of man are diverse therefrom. in man the earth is flesh, the water is blood, fire is the heat thereof, and air is the balsam. these properties have not been changed but only the substance of the body. so man is man, not a world, yet made from the world, made in the likeness, not of the world, but of god. yet man comprises in himself all the qualities of the world.... his body is from the world, and therefore must be fed and nourished by that world from which he has sprung.... he has been taken from the earth and from the elements, and therefore, must be nourished by these.... now, man is not only flesh and blood, but there is within the intellect which does not, like the complexion, come from the elements, but from the stars. and the condition of the stars is this, that all the wisdom, intelligence, industry of the animal, and all the arts peculiar to man are contained in them. from the stars man has these same things, and that is called the light of nature; in fact, it is whatever man has found by the light of nature.... such, then, is the condition of man, that, out of the great universe he needs both elements and stars, seeing that he himself is constituted in that way."(1b) (1) valentine weigel: "_astrology theologised": the spiritual hermeneutics of astrology and holy writ_, ed. by anna bonus kingsford (1886), p. 59. (1b) _the hermetic and alchemical writings of_ paracelsus, ed. by a. e. waite (1894), vol. ii. pp. 289-291. it is not difficult to discern a certain truth in all this, making allowances for modes of thought which are not those of the present day. the swedish philosopher swedenborg (1688-1772) reaffirmed the theory in later years; but, as he points out,(2) the reason that man is a microcosm lies deeper than in the facts that his body is of the elements of this earth and is nourished thereby. according to this profound thinker, form, spiritually understood, is the expression of use, the uses of things being indicated by their forms. now, the human form is the highest of all forms, because it subserves the highest of all uses. hence, both the world of matter and the world of spirit are in the human form, because there is a correspondence in use between man and the cosmos. we may, therefore, call man as to his body a microcosm, or little world; as to his soul a micro-uranos, or little heaven. or we may speak of the macrocosm, or great world, as the grand man, and we may say that the soul of this grand man, the self-existent, substantial, and efficient cause of all things, at once immanent within yet transcending all things, is god. (2) see especially his _divine love and wisdom_, sese 251 and 319. iv. superstitions concerning birds amongst the most remarkable of natural occurrences must be included many of the phenomena connected with the behaviour of birds. undoubtedly numerous species of birds are susceptible to atmospheric changes (of an electrical and barometric nature) too slight to be observed by man's unaided senses; thus only is to be explained the phenomenon of migration and also the many other peculiarities in the behaviour of birds whereby approaching changes in the weather may be foretold. probably, also, this fact has much to do with the extraordinary homing instinct of pigeons. but, of course, in the days when meteorological science had yet to be born, no such explanation as this could be known. the ancients observed that birds by their migrations or by other peculiarities in their behaviour prognosticated coming changes in the seasons of the year and other changes connected with the weather (such as storms, _etc_.); they saw, too, in the homing instincts of pigeons an apparent exhibition of intelligence exceeding that of man. what more natural, then, for them to attribute foresight to birds, and to suppose that all sorts of coming events (other than those of an atmospheric nature) might be foretold by careful observation of their flight and song? augury--that is, the art of divination by observing the behaviour of birds--was extensively cultivated by the etrurians and romans.(1) it is still used, i believe, by the natives of samoa. the romans had an official college of augurs, the members of which were originally three patricians. about 300 b.c. the number of patrician augurs was increased by one, and five plebeian augurs were added. later the number was again increased to fifteen. the object of augury was not so much to foretell the future as to indicate what line of action should be followed, in any given circumstances, by the nation. the augurs were consulted on all matters of importance, and the position of augur was thus one of great consequence. in what appears to be the oldest method, the augur, arrayed in a special costume, and carrying a staff with which to mark out the visible heavens into houses, proceeded to an elevated piece of ground, where a sacrifice was made and a prayer repeated. then, gazing towards the sky, he waited until a bird appeared. the point in the heavens where it first made its appearance was carefully noted, also the manner and direction of its flight, and the point where it was lost sight of. from these particulars an augury was derived, but, in order to be of effect, it had to be confirmed by a further one. (1) this is not quite an accurate definition, as "auguries" were also obtained from other animals and from celestial phenomena (_e.g_. lightning), _etc_. auguries were also drawn from the notes of birds, birds being divided by the augurs into two classes: (i) _oscines_, "those which give omens by their note," and (ii) _alites_, "those which afford presages by their flight."(1) another method of augury was performed by the feeding of chickens specially kept for this purpose. this was done just before sunrise by the _pullarius_ or feeder, strict silence being observed. if the birds manifested no desire for their food, the omen was of a most direful nature. on the other hand, if from the greediness of the chickens the grain fell from their beaks and rebounded from the ground, the augury was most favourable. this latter augury was known as _tripudium solistimum_. "any fraud practiced by the 'pullarius'," writes the rev. edward smedley, "reverted to his own head. of this we have a memorable instance in the great battle between papirius cursor and the samnites in the year of rome 459. so anxious were the troops for battle, that the 'pullarius' dared to announce to the consul a 'tripudium solistimum,' although the chickens refused to eat. papirius unhesitatingly gave the signal for fight, when his son, having discovered the false augury, hastened to communicate it to his father. 'do thy part well,' was his reply, 'and let the deceit of the augur fall on himself. the "tripudium" has been announced to me, and no omen could be better for the roman army and people!' as the troops advanced, a javelin thrown at random struck the 'pullatius' dead. 'the hand of heaven is in the battle,' cried papirius; 'the guilty is punished!' and he advanced and conquered."(1b) a coincidence of this sort, if it really occurred, would very greatly strengthen the popular belief in auguries. (1) pliny: _natural history_, bk. x. chap. xxii. (bostock and riley's trans., vol. ii., 1855, p. 495). (1b) rev. edward smedley, m.a.: _the occult sciences_ (_encyclopaedia metropolitana_), ed. by elihu rich (1855), p. 144. the _cock_ has always been reckoned a bird possessed of magic power. at its crowing, we are told, all unquiet spirits who roam the earth depart to their dismal abodes, and the orgies of the witches' sabbath terminate. a cock is the favourite sacrifice offered to evil spirits in ceylon and elsewhere. alectromancy(2) was an ancient and peculiarly senseless method of divination (so called) in which a cock was employed. the bird had to be young and quite white. its feet were cut off and crammed down its throat with a piece of parchment on which were written certain hebrew words. the cock, after the repetition of a prayer by the operator, was placed in a circle divided into parts corresponding to the letters of the alphabet, in each of which a grain of wheat was placed. a certain psalm was recited, and then the letters were noted from which the cock picked up the grains, a fresh grain being put down for each one picked up. these letters, properly arranged, were said to give the answer to the inquiry for which divination was made. i am not sure what one was supposed to do if, as seems likely, the cock refused to act in the required manner. (2) cf. arthur edward waite: _the occult sciences_ (1891), pp. 124 and 125. the _owl_ was reckoned a bird of evil omen with the romans, who derived this opinion from the etrurians, along with much else of their so-called science of augury. it was particularly dreaded if seen in a city, or, indeed, anywhere by day. pliny (caius plinius secundus, a.d. 61-before 115) informs us that on one occasion "a horned owl entered the very sanctuary of the capitol;... in consequence of which, rome was purified on the nones of march in that year."(1) (1) pliny: _natural history_, bk. x. chap. xvi. (bostock and riley's trans., vol. ii., 1855, p. 492). the folk-lore of the british isles abounds with quaint beliefs and stories concerning birds. there is a charming welsh legend concerning the _robin_, which the rev. t. f. t. dyer quotes from _notes and queries_:--"far, far away, is a land of woe, darkness, spirits of evil, and fire. day by day does this little bird bear in his bill a drop of water to quench the flame. so near the burning stream does he fly, that his dear little feathers are scorched; and hence he is named brou-rhuddyn (breast-burnt). to serve little children, the robin dares approach the infernal pit. no good child will hurt the devoted benefactor of man. the robin returns from the land of fire, and therefore he feels the cold of winter far more than his brother birds. he shivers in the brumal blast; hungry, he chirps before your door."(2) (2) t. f. thiselton dyer, m.a.: _english folk-lore_ (1878), pp. 65 and 66. another legend accounts for the robin's red breast by supposing this bird to have tried to pluck a thorn from the crown encircling the brow of the crucified christ, in order to alleviate his sufferings. no doubt it is on account of these legends that it is considered a crime, which will be punished with great misfortune, to kill a robin. in some places the same prohibition extends to the _wren_, which is popularly believed to be the wife of the robin. in other parts, however, the wren is (or at least was) cruelly hunted on certain days. in the isle of man the wren-hunt took place on christmas eve and st stephen's day, and is accounted for by a legend concerning an evil fairy who lured many men to destruction, but had to assume the form of a wren to escape punishment at the hands of an ingenious knight-errant. for several centuries there was prevalent over the whole of civilised europe a most extraordinary superstition concerning the small arctic bird resembling, but not so large as, the common wild goose, known as the _barnacle_ or _bernicle goose_. max mueller(1) has suggested that this word was really derived from _hibernicula_, the name thus referring to ireland, where the birds were caught; but common opinion associated the barnacle goose with the shell-fish known as the barnacle (which is found on timber exposed to the sea), supposing that the former was generated out of the latter. thus in one old medical writer we find: "there are founde in the north parts of scotland, and the ilands adjacent, called orchades (orkney islands), certain trees, whereon doe growe certaine shell fishes, of a white colour tending to russet; wherein are conteined little liuing creatures: which shells in time of maturitie doe open, and out of them grow those little living things; which falling into the water, doe become foules, whom we call barnakles... but the other that do fall vpon the land, perish and come to nothing: this much by the writings of others, and also from the mouths of the people of those parts...."(1b) (1) see f. max mueller's _lectures on the science of language_ (1885), where a very full account of the tradition concerning the origin of the barnacle goose will be found. (1b) john gerarde: _the herball; or, generall historie of plantes_ (1597). 1391. the writer, however, who was a well-known surgeon and botanist of his day, adds that he had personally examined certain shell-fish from lancashire, and on opening the shells had observed within birds in various stages of development. no doubt he was deceived by some purely superficial resemblances--for example, the feet of the barnacle fish resemble somewhat the feathers of a bird. he gives an imaginative illustration of the barnacle fowl escaping from its shell, which is reproduced in fig. 12. turning now from superstitions concerning actual birds to legends of those that are purely mythical, passing reference must be made to the _roc_, a bird existing in arabian legend, which we meet in the _arabian nights_, and which is chiefly remarkable for its size and strength. the _phoenix_, perhaps, is of more interest. of "that famous bird of arabia," pliny writes as follows, prefixing his description of it with the cautious remark, "i am not quite sure that its existence is not all a fable." "it is said that there is only one in existence in the whole world, and that that one has not been seen very often. we are told that this bird is of the size of an eagle, and has a brilliant golden plumage around the neck, while the rest of the body is of a purple colour; except the tail, which is azure, with long feathers intermingled of a roseate hue; the throat is adorned with a crest, and the head with a tuft of feathers. the first roman who described this bird... was the senator manilius.... he tells us that no person has ever seen this bird eat, that in arabia it is looked upon as sacred to the sun, that it lives five hundred and forty years, that when it becomes old it builds a nest of cassia and sprigs of incense, which it fills with perfumes, and then lays its body down upon them to die; that from its bones and marrow there springs at first a sort of small worm, which in time changes into a little bird; that the first thing that it does is to perform the obsequies of its predecessor, and to carry the nest entire to the city of the sun near panchaia, and there deposit it upon the altar of that divinity. "the same manilius states also, that the revolution of the great year is completed with the life of this bird, and that then a new cycle comes round again with the same characteristics as the former one, in the seasons and the appearance of the stars. ... this bird was brought to rome in the censorship of the emperor claudius... and was exposed to public view.... this fact is attested by the public annals, but there is no one that doubts that it was a fictitious phoenix only."(1) (1) pliny: _natural history_, bk. x. chap. ii. (bostock and riley's trans., vol. ii., 1855, pp. 479-481). the description of the plumage, _etc_., of this bird applies fairly well, as cuvier has pointed out,(2) to the golden pheasant, and a specimen of the latter may have been the "fictitious phoenix" referred to above. that this bird should have been credited with the extraordinary and wholly fabulous properties related by pliny and others is not, however, easy to understand. the phoenix was frequently used to illustrate the doctrine of the immortality of the soul (_e.g_. in clement's _first epistle to the corinthians_), and it is not impossible that originally it was nothing more than a symbol of immortality which in time became to be believed in as a really existing bird. the fact, however, that there was supposed to be only one phoenix, and also that the length of each of its lives coincided with what the ancients termed a "great year," may indicate that the phoenix was a symbol of cosmological periodicity. on the other hand, some ancient writers (e_.g_. tacitus, a.d. 55-120) explicitly refer to the phoenix as a symbol of the sun, and in the minds of the ancients the sun was closely connected with the idea of immortality. certainly the accounts of the gorgeous colours of the plumage of the phoenix might well be descriptions of the rising sun. it appears, moreover, that the egyptian hieroglyphic _benu_, {glyph}, which is a figure of a heron or crane (and thus akin to the phoenix), was employed to designate the rising sun. (2) see cuvier's _the animal kingdom_, griffith's trans., vol. viii. (1829), p. 23. there are some curious jewish legends to account for the supposed immortality of the phoenix. according to one, it was the sole animal that refused to eat of the forbidden tree when tempted by eve. according to another, its immortality was conferred on it by noah because of its considerate behaviour in the ark, the phoenix not clamouring for food like the other animals.(1) (1) the existence of such fables as these shows how grossly the real meanings of the sacred writings have been misunderstood. there is a celebrated bird in chinese tradition, the _fung hwang_, which some sinologues identify with the phoenix of the west.(2) according to a commentator on the '_rh ya_, this "felicitous and perfect bird has a cock's head, a snake's neck, a swallow's beak, a tortoise's back, is of five different colours and more than six feet high." (2) mr chas. gould, b.a., to whose book _mythical monsters_ (1886) i am very largely indebted for my account of this bird, and from which i have culled extracts from the chinese, is not of this opinion. certainly the fact that we read of fung hwangs in the plural, whilst tradition asserts that there is only one phoenix, seems to point to a difference in origin. another account (that in the _lun yu tseh shwai shing_) tells us that "its head resembles heaven, its eye the sun, its back the moon, its wings the wind, its foot the ground, and its tail the woof." furthermore, "its mouth contains commands, its heart is conformable to regulations, its ear is thoroughly acute in hearing, its tongue utters sincerity, its colour is luminous, its comb resembles uprightness, its spur is sharp and curved, its voice is sonorous, and its belly is the treasure of literature." like the dragon, tortoise, and unicorn, it was considered to be a spiritual creature; but, unlike the western phoenix, more than one fung hwang was, as i have pointed out, believed to exist. the birds were not always to be seen, but, according to chinese records, they made their appearance during the reigns of certain sovereigns. the fung hwang is regarded by the chinese as an omen of great happiness and prosperity, and its likeness is embroidered on the robes of empresses to ensure success. probably, if the bird is not to be regarded as purely mythological and symbolic in origin, we have in the stories of it no more than exaggerated accounts of some species of pheasant. japanese literature contains similar stories. of other fabulous bird-forms mention may be made of the _griffin_ and the _harpy_. the former was a creature half eagle, half lion, popularly supposed to be the progeny of the union of these two latter. it is described in the so-called _voiage and travaile of sir_ john maundeville in the following terms(1): "sum men seyn, that thei ben the body upward, as an egle, and benethe as a lyoun: and treuly thei seyn sothe, that thei ben of that schapp. but o griffoun hathe the body more gret and is more strong thanne 8 lyouns, of suche lyouns as ben o this half; and more gret and strongere, than an 100 egles, suche as we ben amonges us. for o griffoun there will bere, fleynge to his nest, a gret hors, or 2 oxen zoked to gidere, as thei gon at the plowghe. for he hathe his talouns so longe and so large and grete, upon his feet, as thoughe thei weren hornes of grete oxen or of bugles or of kyzn; so that men maken cuppes of hem, to drynken of: and of hire ribbes and of the pennes of hire wenges, men maken bowes fulle strong, to schote with arwes and quarelle." the special characteristic of the griffin was its watchfulness, its chief function being thought to be that of guarding secret treasure. this characteristic, no doubt, accounts for its frequent use in heraldry as a supporter to the arms. it was sacred to apollo, the sun-god, whose chariot was, according to early sculptures, drawn by griffins. pliny, who speaks of it as a bird having long ears and a hooked beak, regarded it as fabulous. (1) _the voiage and travaile of sir_ john maundeville, _kt. which treateth of the way to hierusalem; and of marvayles of inde, with other ilands and countryes. now publish'd entire from an original ms. in the cotton library_ (london, 1727), cap. xxvi. pp. 325 and 326. "this work is mainly a compilation from the writings of william of boldensele, friar odoric of pordenone, hetoum of armenia, vincent de beauvais, and other geographers. it is probable that the name john de mandeville should be regarded as a pseudonym concealing the identity of jean de bourgogne, a physician at liege, mentioned under the name of joannes ad barbam in the vulgate latin version of the travels." (note in british museum catalogue). the work, which was first published in french during the latter part of the fourteenth century, achieved an immense popularity, the marvels that it relates being readily received by the credulous folk of that and many a succeeding day. the harpies (_i.e_. snatchers) in greek mythology are creatures like vultures as to their bodies, but with the faces of women, and armed with sharp claws. "of monsters all, most monstrous this; no greater wrath god sends 'mongst men; it comes from depth of pitchy hell: and virgin's face, but womb like gulf unsatiate hath, her hands are griping claws, her colour pale and fell."(1) (1) quoted from vergil by john guillim in his _a display of heraldry_ (sixth edition, 1724), p. 271. we meet with the harpies in the story of phineus, a son of agenor, king of thrace. at the bidding of his jealous wife, idaea, daughter of dardanus, phineus put out the sight of his children by his former wife, cleopatra, daughter of boreas. to punish this cruelty, the gods caused him to become blind, and the harpies were sent continually to harass and affright him, and to snatch away his food or defile it by their presence. they were afterwards driven away by his brothers-in-law, zetes and calais. it has been suggested that originally the harpies were nothing more than personifications of the swift storm-winds; and few of the old naturalists, credulous as they were, regarded them as real creatures, though this cannot be said of all. some other fabulous bird-forms are to be met with in greek and arabian mythologies, _etc_., but they are not of any particular interest. and it is time for us to conclude our present excursion, and to seek for other byways. v. the powder of sympathy: a curious medical superstition out of the superstitions of the past the science of the present has gradually evolved. in the middle ages, what by courtesy we may term medical science was, as we have seen, little better than a heterogeneous collection of superstitions, and although various reforms were instituted with the passing of time, superstition still continued for long to play a prominent part in medical practice. one of the most curious of these old medical (or perhaps i should say surgical) superstitions was that relating to the powder of sympathy, a remedy (?) chiefly remembered in connection with the name of sir kenelm digby (1603-1665), though he was probably not the first to employ it. the powder itself, which was used as a cure for wounds, was, in fact, nothing else than common vitriol,(1) though an improved and more elegant form (if one may so describe it) was composed of vitriol desiccated by the sun's rays, mixed with _gum tragacanth_. it was in the application of the powder that the remedy was peculiar. it was not, as one might expect, applied to the wound itself, but any article that might have blood from the wound upon it was either sprinkled with the powder or else placed in a basin of water in which the powder had been dissolved, and maintained at a temperate heat. meanwhile, the wound was kept clean and cool. (1) green vitriol, ferrous sulphate heptahydrate, a compound of iron, sulphur, and oxygen, crystallised with seven molecules of water, represented by the formula feso4<.>7h2o. on exposure to the air it loses water, and is gradually converted into basic ferric sulphate. for long, green vitriol was confused with blue vitriol, which generally occurs as an impurity in crude green vitriol. blue vitriol is copper sulphate pentahydrate, cuso4<.>5h2o. sir kenelm digby appears to have delivered a discourse dealing with the famous powder before a learned assembly at montpellier in france; at least a work purporting to be a translation of such a discourse was published in 1658,(1) and further editions appeared in 1660 and 1664. kenelm was a son of the sir everard digby (1578-1606) who was executed for his share in the gunpowder plot. in spite of this fact, however, james i. appears to have regarded him with favour. he was a man of romantic temperament, possessed of charming manners, considerable learning, and even greater credulity. his contemporaries seem to have differed in their opinions concerning him. evelyn (1620-1706), the diarist, after inspecting his chemical laboratory, rather harshly speaks of him as "an errant mountebank". elsewhere he well refers to him as "a teller of strange things"--this was on the occasion of digby's relating a story of a lady who had such an aversion to roses that one laid on her cheek produced a blister! (1) _a late discourse... by sir_ kenelm digby, _kt.&c. touching the cure of wounds by the powder of sympathy...rendered... out of french into english by_ r. white, gent. (1658). this is entitled the second edition, but appears to have been the first. to return to the _late discourse_: after some preliminary remarks, sir kenelm records a cure which he claims to have effected by means of the powder. it appears that james howell (1594-1666, afterwards historiographer royal to charles ii.), had, in the attempt to separate two friends engaged in a duel, received two serious wounds in the hand. to proceed in the writer's own words:--"it was my chance to be lodged hard by him; and four or five days after, as i was making myself ready, he (mr howell) came to my house, and prayed me to view his wounds; for i understand, said he, that you have extraordinary remedies upon such occasions, and my surgeons apprehend some fear, that it may grow to a gangrene, and so the hand must be cut off.... "i asked him then for any thing that had the blood upon it, so he presently sent for his garter, wherewith his hand was first bound: and having called for a bason of water, as if i would wash my hands; i took an handfull of powder of vitrol, which i had in my study, and presently dissolved it. as soon as the bloody garter was brought me, i put it within the bason, observing in the interim what mr _howel_ did, who stood talking with a gentleman in the corner of my chamber, not regarding at all what i was doing: but he started suddenly, as if he had found some strange alteration in himself; i asked him what he ailed? i know not what ailes me, but i find that i feel no more pain, methinks that a pleasing kind of freshnesse, as it were a wet cold napkin did spread over my hand, which hath taken away the inflammation that tormented me before; i replied, since that you feel already so good an effect of my medicament, i advise you to cast away all your plaisters, onely keep the wound clean, and in a moderate temper 'twixt heat and cold. this was presently reported to the duke of _buckingham_, and a little after to the king (james i.), who were both very curious to know the issue of the businesse, which was, that after dinner i took the garter out of the water, and put it to dry before a great fire; it was scarce dry, but mr _howels_ servant came running (and told me), that his master felt as much burning as ever he had done, if not more, for the heat was such, as if his hand were betwixt coales of fire: i answered, that although that had happened at present, yet he should find ease in a short time; for i knew the reason of this new accident, and i would provide accordingly, for his master should be free from that inflammation, it may be, before he could possibly return unto him: but in case he found no ease, i wished him to come presently back again, if not he might forbear coming. thereupon he went, and at the instant i did put again the garter into the water; thereupon he found his master without any pain at all. to be brief, there was no sense of pain afterward: but within five or six dayes the wounds were cicatrized, and entirely healed."(1) (1) _ibid_., pp. 7-11. sir kenelm proceeds, in this discourse, to relate that he obtained the secret of the powder from a carmelite who had learnt it in the east. sir kenelm says that he told it only to king james and his celebrated physician, sir theodore mayerne (1573-1655). the latter disclosed it to the duke of mayerne, whose surgeon sold the secret to various persons, until ultimately, as sir kenelm remarks, it became known to every country barber. however, digby's real connection with the powder has been questioned. in an appendix to dr nathanael highmore's (1613-1685) _the history of generation_, published in 1651, entitled _a discourse of the cure of wounds by sympathy_, the powder is referred to as sir gilbert talbot's powder; nor does it appear to have been digby who brought the claims of the sympathetic powder before the notice of the then recently-formed royal society, although he was a by no means inactive member of the society. highmore, however, in the appendix to the work referred to above, does refer to digby's reputed cure of howell's wounds already mentioned; and after the publication of digby's _discourse_ the powder became generally known as sir kenelm digby's sympathetic powder. as such it is referred to in an advertisement appended to _wit and drollery_ (1661) by the bookseller, nathanael brook.(1) (1) this advertisement is as follows: "these are to give notice, that sir _kenelme digbies_ sympathetical powder prepar'd by promethean fire, curing all green wounds that come within the compass of a remedy; and likewise the tooth-ache infallibly in a very short time: is to be had at mr _nathanael brook's_ at the angel in _cornhil_." the belief in cure by sympathy, however, is much older than digby's or talbot's sympathetic powder. paracelsus described an ointment consisting essentially of the moss on the skull of a man who had died a violent death, combined with boar's and bear's fat, burnt worms, dried boar's brain, red sandal-wood and mummy, which was used to cure (?) wounds in a similar manner, being applied to the weapon with which the hurt had been inflicted. with reference to this ointment, readers will probably recall the passage in scott's _lay of the last minstrel_ (canto 3, stanza 23), respecting the magical cure of william of deloraine's wound by "the ladye of branksome":- "she drew the splinter from the wound and with a charm she stanch'd the blood; she bade the gash be cleans'd and bound: no longer by his couch she stood; but she had ta'en the broken lance, and washed it from the clotted gore and salved the splinter o'er and o'er. william of deloraine, in trance, whene'er she turned it round and round, twisted as if she gall'd his wound. then to her maidens she did say that he should be whole man and sound within the course of a night and day. full long she toil'd; for she did rue mishap to friend so stout and true." francis bacon (1561-1626) writes of sympathetic cures as follows:--"it is constantly received, and avouched, that the _anointing_ of the _weapon_, that maketh the _wound_, wil heale the _wound_ it selfe. in this _experiment_, upon the relation of _men of credit_, (though my selfe, as yet, am not fully inclined to beleeve it,) you shal note the _points_ following; first, the _ointment_... is made of divers _ingredients_; whereof the strangest and hardest to come by, are the mosse upon the _skull_ of a _dead man, vnburied_; and the _fats_ of a _boare_, and a _beare_, killed in the _act of generation_. these two last i could easily suspect to be prescribed as a starting hole; that if the _experiment_ proved not, it mought be pretended, that the _beasts_ were not killed in due time; for as for the _mosse_, it is certain there is great quantity of it in _ireland_, upon _slain bodies_, laid on _heaps, vnburied_. the other _ingredients_ are, the _bloud-stone_ in _powder_, and some other _things_, which seeme to have a _vertue_ to _stanch bloud_; as also the _mosse_ hath.... secondly, the same _kind_ of _ointment_, applied to the hurt it selfe, worketh not the _effect_; but onely applied to the _weapon_..... fourthly, it may be applied to the _weapon_, though the party hurt be at a great distance. fifthly, it seemeth the _imagination_ of the party, to be _cured_, is not needfull to concurre; for it may be done without the knowledge of the _party wounded_; and thus much hath been tried, that the _ointment_ (for _experiments_ sake,) hath been wiped off the _weapon_, without the knowledge of the _party hurt_, and presently the _party hurt_, hath been in great _rage of paine_, till the _weapon_ was _reannointed_. sixthly, it is affirmed, that if you cannot get the _weapon_, yet if you put an _instrument_ of _iron_, or _wood_, resembling the _weapon_, into the _wound_, whereby it bleedeth, the _annointing_ of that _instrument_ will serve, and work the _effect_. this i doubt should be a device, to keep this strange _forme of cure_, in request, and use; because many times you cannot come by the _weapon_ it selve. seventhly, the _wound_ be at first _washed clean_ with _white wine_ or the _parties_ own _water_; and then bound up close in _fine linen_ and no more _dressing_ renewed, till it be _whole_."(1) (1) francis bacon: _sylva sylvarum: or, a natural history... published after the authors death... the sixt edition_ ã¹.. (1651), p. 217. owing to the demand for making this ointment, quite a considerable trade was done in skulls from ireland upon which moss had grown owing to their exposure to the atmosphere, high prices being obtained for fine specimens. the idea underlying the belief in the efficacy of sympathetic remedies, namely, that by acting on part of a thing or on a symbol of it, one thereby acts magically on the whole or the thing symbolised, is the root-idea of all magic, and is of extreme antiquity. digby and others, however, tried to give a natural explanation to the supposed efficacy of the powder. they argued that particles of the blood would ascend from the bloody cloth or weapon, only coming to rest when they had reached their natural home in the wound from which they had originally issued. these particles would carry with them the more volatile part of the vitriol, which would effect a cure more readily than when combined with the grosser part of the vitriol. in the days when there was hardly any knowledge of chemistry and physics, this theory no doubt bore every semblance of truth. in passing, however, it is interesting to note that digby's _discourse_ called forth a reply from j. f. helvetius (or schwettzer, 1625-1709), physician to the prince of orange, who afterwards became celebrated as an alchemist who had achieved the magnum opus.(1) (1) see my _alchemy: ancient and modern_ (1911), sese 63-67. writing of the sympathetic powder, professor de morgan wittily argues that it must have been quite efficacious. he says: "the directions were to keep the wound clean and cool, and to take care of diet, rubbing the salve on the knife or sword. if we remember the dreadful notions upon drugs which prevailed, both as to quantity and quality, we shall readily see that any way of not dressing the wound would have been useful. if the physicians had taken the hint, had been careful of diet, _etc_., and had poured the little barrels of medicine down the throat of a practicable doll, they would have had their magical cures as well as the surgeons."(2) as dr pettigrew has pointed out,(3) nature exhibits very remarkable powers in effecting the healing of wounds by adhesion, when her processes are not impeded. in fact, many cases have been recorded in which noses, ears, and fingers severed from the body have been rejoined thereto, merely by washing the parts, placing them in close continuity, and allowing the natural powers of the body to effect the healing. moreover, in spite of bacon's remarks on this point, the effect of the imagination of the patient, who was usually not ignorant that a sympathetic cure was to be attempted, must be taken into account; for, without going to the excesses of "christian science" in this respect, the fact must be recognised that the state of the mind exercises a powerful effect on the natural forces of the body, and a firm faith is undoubtedly helpful in effecting the cure of any sort of ill. (2) professor augustus de morgan: _a budget of paradoxes_ (1872), p 66. (3) thomas joseph pettigrew, f.r.s.: _on superstitions connected with the history and practice of medicine and surgery_ (1844), pp. 164-167. vi. the belief in talismans the word "talisman" is derived from the arabic "tilsam," "a magical image," through the plural form "tilsamen." this arabic word is itself probably derived from the greek telesma in its late meaning of "a religious mystery" or "consecrated object". the term is often employed to designate amulets in general, but, correctly speaking, it has a more restricted and special significance. a talisman may be defined briefly as an astrological or other symbol expressive of the influence and power of one of the planets, engraved on a sympathetic stone or metal (or inscribed on specially prepared parchment) under the auspices of this planet. before proceeding to an account of the preparation of talismans proper, it will not be out of place to notice some of the more interesting and curious of other amulets. all sorts of substances have been employed as charms, sometimes of a very unpleasant nature, such as dried toads. generally, however, amulets consist of stones, herbs, or passages from sacred writings written on paper. this latter class are sometimes called "characts," as an example of which may be mentioned the jewish phylacteries. every precious stone was supposed to exercise its own peculiar virtue; for instance, amber was regarded as a good remedy for throat troubles, and agate was thought to preserve from snake-bites. elihu rich(1) gives a very full list of stones and their supposed virtues. each sign of the zodiac was supposed to have its own particular stone(2) (as shown in the annexed table), and hence the superstitious though not inartistic custom of wearing one's birth month (com astrological mencing 21st sign of the zodiac. of preceding symbol. month). stone. aries, the ram . {} april sardonyx. taurus the bull . {} may cornelian. gemini the twins . {} june topaz. cancer, the crab . {} july chalcedony. leo, the lion . . {} august jasper. virgo, the virgin . {} september emerald. libra, the balance . {} october beryl. scorpio, the scorpion {} november amethyst. sagittarius, the archer {} december hyacinth (=sapphire). capricorn, the goat . {} january chrysoprase. aquarius, the water {} february crystal. bearer pisces, the fishes . {} march sapphire.(=lapis lazuli). stone for "luck". the belief in the occult powers of certain stones is by no means non-existent at the present day; for even in these enlightened times there are not wanting those who fear the beautiful opal, and put their faith in the virtues of new zealand green-stone. (1) elihu rich: _the occult sciences (encyclopaedia metropolitana_, 1855), pp. 348 _et seq_. (2) with regard to these stones, however, there is much confusion and difference of opinion. the arrangement adopted in the table here given is that of cornelius agrippa (_occult philosophy_, bk. ii.). a comparatively recent work, esteemed by modern occultists, namely, _the light of egypt, or the science of the soul and the stars_ (1889), gives the following scheme:-{}=amethyst. {}=emerald. {}=diamond. {}=onyx (chalcedony). {}=agate. {}=ruby. {}=topaz. {}=sapphire (skyblue). {}=beryl. {}=jasper. {}=carbuncle. {}=chrysolite. common superstitious opinion regarding birth-stones, as reflected, for example, in the "lucky birth charms" exhibited in the windows of the jewellers' shops, considerably diverges in this matter from the views of both these authorities. the usual scheme is as follows:- jan.=garnet. may =emerald. sept.=sapphire, feb.=amethyst. june=agate. oct. =opal. mar.=bloodstone. july=ruby. nov. =topaz. apr.=diamond. aug.=sardonyx. dec. =turquoise. the bloodstone is frequently assigned either to aries or scorpio, owing to its symbolical connection with mars; and the opal to cancer, which in astrology is the constellation of the moon. confusion is rendered still worse by the fact that the ancients whilst in some cases using the same names as ourselves, applied them to different stones; thus their "hyacinth" is our "sapphire," whilst their "sapphire" is our "lapis lazuli". certain herbs, culled at favourable conjunctions of the planets and worn as amulets, were held to be very efficacious against various diseases. precious stones and metals were also taken internally for the same purpose--"remedies" which in certain cases must have proved exceedingly harmful. one theory put forward for the supposed medical value of amulets was the doctrine of effluvia. this theory supposes the amulets to give off vapours or effluvia which penetrate into the body and effect a cure. it is, of course, true that certain herbs, _etc_., might, under the heat of the body, give off such effluvia, but the theory on the whole is manifestly absurd. the doctrine of signatures, which we have already encountered in our excursions,(1) may also be mentioned in this connection as a complementary and equally untenable hypothesis. according to elihu rich,(2) the following were the commonest egyptian amulets:-1. those inscribed with the figure of _serapis_, used to preserve against evils inflicted by earth. 2. figure of _canopus_, against evil by water. 3. figure of a _hawk_, against evil from the air. 4. figure of an _asp_, against evil by fire. paracelsus believed there to be much occult virtue in an alloy of the seven chief metals, which he called _electrum_. certain definite proportions of these metals had to be taken, and each was to be added during a favourable conjunction of the planets. from this electrum he supposed that valuable amulets and magic mirrors could be prepared. (1) see "medicine and magic." (2) _op. cit_., p. 343 a curious and ancient amulet for the cure of various diseases, particularly the ague, was a triangle formed of the letters of the word "abracadabra." the usual form was that shown in fig. 19, and that shown in fig. 20 was also known. the origin of this magical word is lost in obscurity. the belief in the horn as a powerful amulet, especially prevalent in italy, where is it the custom of the common people to make the sign of the _mano cornuto_ to avoid the consequence of the dreaded _jettatore_ or evil eye, can be traced to the fact that the horn was the symbol of the goddess of the moon. probably the belief in the powers of the horse-shoe had a similar origin. indeed, it seems likely that not only this, but most other amulets, like talismans proper--as will appear below,--were originally designed as appeals to gods and other powerful spiritual beings. \ abracadabra / \ abracadabra | \ abracadabr / \ bracadabra | \ abracadab / \ racadabra | \ abracada / \ acadabra | \ abracad / \ cadabra | \ abraca / \ adabra | \ abrac / \ dabra | \ abra / \ abra | \ abr / \ bra | \ ab / \ ra | \ a/ \ a | \/ \ | (1) see frederick t. elworthy's _horns of honour_ (1900), especially pp. 56 _et seq_. to turn our attention, however, to the art of preparing talismans proper: i may remark at the outset that it was necessary for the talisman to be prepared by one's own self--a task by no means easy as a rule. indeed, the right mental attitude of the occultist was insisted upon as essential to the operation. as to the various signs to be engraver on the talismans, various authorities differ, though there are certain points connected with the art of talismanic magic on which they all agree. it so happened that the ancients were acquainted with seven metals and seven planets (including the sun and moon as planets), and the days of the week are also seven. it was concluded, therefore, that there was some occult connection between the planets, metals, and days of the week. each of the seven days of the week was supposed to be under the auspices of the spirits of one of the planets; so also was the generation in the womb of nature of each of the seven chief metals. in the following table are shown these particulars in detail:- planet. symbol. day of metal. colour. sun. {} sunday gold gold or yellow. moon. {} monday silver silver or white. mars. {} tuesday iron red. mercury {} wednesday (1)mercury mixed colours or purple. jupiter {} thursday tin violet or blue. venus {} friday copper turquoise or green. saturn. {} saturday lead black. (1) used in the form of a solid amalgam for talismans. consequently, the metal of which a talisman was to be made, and also the time of its preparation, had to be chosen with due regard to the planet under which it was to be prepared.(1) the power of such a talisman was thought to be due to the genie of this planet--a talisman, was, in fact, a silent evocation of an astral spirit. examples of the belief that a genie can be bound up in an amulet in some way are afforded by the story of aladdin's lamp and ring and other stories in the _thousand and one nights_. sometimes the talismanic signs were engraved on precious stones, sometimes they were inscribed on parchment; in both cases the same principle held good, the nature of the stone chosen, or the colour of the ink employed, being that in correspondence with the planet under whose auspices the talisman was prepared. (1) in this connection a rather surprising discovery made by mr w. gornold (see his _a manual of occultism_, 1911, pp. 7 and 8) must be mentioned. the ancient chaldeans appear invariably to have enumerated the planets in the following order: saturn, jupiter, mars, sun, venus, mercury, moon--which order was adopted by the mediaeval astrologers. let us commence with the sun in the above sequence, and write down every third planet; we then have- sun . . . . sunday. moon. . . . monday. mars. . . . tuesday. mercury. . . . wednesday. jupiter.. . . thursday. venus. . . . friday. saturn. . . . saturday. that is to say, we have the planets in the order in which they were supposed to rule over the days of the week. this is perhaps, not so surprising, because it seems probable that, each day being first divided into twenty-four hours, it was assumed that the planets ruled for one hour in turn, in the order first mentioned above. each day was then named after the planet which ruled during its first hour. it will be found that if we start with the sun and write down every twenty-fourth planet, the result is exactly the same as if we write down every third. but mr old points out further, doing so by means of a diagram which seems to be rather cumbersome that if we start with saturn in the first place, and write down every fifth planet, and then for each planet substitute the metal over which it was supposed to rule, we then have these metals arranged in descending order of atomic weights, thus:- saturn . . . lead (=207). mercury . . . mercury (=200). sun. . . . gold (=197). jupiter . . . tin (=119). moon. . . . silver (=108). venus . . copper (=64). mars. . . . iron (=56). similarly we can, starting from any one of these orders, pass to the other two. the fact is a very surprising one, because the ancients could not possibly have been acquainted with the atomic weights of the metals, and, it is important to note, the order of the densities of these metals, which might possibly have been known to them, is by no means the same as the order of their atomic weights. whether the fact indicates a real relationship between the planets and the metals, or whether there is some other explanation, i am not prepared to say. certainly some explanation is needed: to say that the fact is mere coincidence is unsatisfactory, seeing that the odds against, not merely this, but any such regularity occurring by chance--as calculated by the mathematical theory of probability--are 119 to 1. all the instruments employed in the art had to be specially prepared and consecrated. special robes had to be worn, perfumes and incense burnt, and invocations, conjurations, _etc_., recited, all of which depended on the planet ruling the operation. a description of a few typical talismans in detail will not here be out of place. in _the key of solomon the king_ (translated by s. l. m. mathers, 1889)(1) are described five, six, or seven talismans for each planet. each of these was supposed to have its own peculiar virtues, and many of them are stated to be of use in the evocation of spirits. the majority of them consist of a central design encircled by a verse of hebrew scripture. the central designs are of a varied character, generally geometrical figures and hebrew letters or words, or magical characters. five of these talismans are here portrayed, the first three described differing from the above. the translations of the hebrew verses, _etc_., given below are due to mr mathers. (1) the _clavicula salomonis_, or _key of solomon the king_, consists mainly of an elaborate ritual for the evocation of the various planetary spirits, in which process the use of talismans or pentacles plays a prominent part. it is claimed to be a work of white magic, but, inasmuch as it, like other old books making the same claim, gives descriptions of a pentacle for causing ruin, destruction, and death, and another for causing earthquakes--to give only two examples,--the distinction between black and white magic, which we shall no doubt encounter again in later excursions, appears to be somewhat arbitrary. regarding the authorship of the work, mr mathers, translator and editor of the first printed copy of the book, says, "i see no reason to doubt the tradition which assigns the authorship of the 'key' to king solomon." if this view be accepted, however, it is abundantly evident that the _key_ as it stands at present (in which we find s. john quoted, and mention made of ss. peter and paul) must have received some considerable alterations and additions at the hands of later editors. but even if we are compelled to assign the _clavicula salomonis_ in its present form to the fourteenth or fifteenth century, we must, i think, allow that it was based upon traditions of the past, and, of course, the possibility remains that it might have been based upon some earlier work. with regard to the antiquity of the planetary sigils, mr mathers notes "that, among the gnostic talismans in the british museum, there is a ring of copper with the sigils of venus, which are exactly the same as those given by mediaeval writers on magic." in spite of the absurdity of its claims, viewed in the light of modern knowledge, the _clavicula salomonis_ exercised a considerable influence in the past, and is to be regarded as one of the chief sources of mediaeval ceremonial magic. historically speaking, therefore, it is a book of no little importance. _the first pentacle of the sun_.--"the countenance of shaddai the almighty, at whose aspect all creatures obey, and the angelic spirits do reverence on bended knees." about the face is the name "el shaddai". around is written in latin: "behold his face and form by whom all things were made, and whom all creatures obey" (see fig. 21). _the fifth pentacle of mars_.--"write thou this pentacle upon virgin parchment or paper because it is terrible unto the demons, and at its sight and aspect they will obey thee, for they cannot resist its presence." the design is a scorpion,(1) around which the word hvl is repeated. the hebrew versicle is from _psalm_ xci. 13: "thou shalt go upon the lion and adder, the young lion and the dragon shalt thou tread under thy feet" (see fig. 22). (1) in astrology the zodiacal sign of the scorpion is the "night house" of the planet mars. _the third pentacle of the moon_.--"this being duly borne with thee when upon a journey, if it be properly made, serveth against all attacks by night, and against every kind of danger and peril by water." the design consists of a hand and sleeved forearm (this occurs on three other moon talismans), together with the hebrew names aub and vevaphel. the versicle is from _psalm_ xl. 13: "be pleased o ihvh to deliver me, o ihvh make haste to help me" (see fig 23) _the third pentacle of venus_.--"this, if it be only shown unto any person, serveth to attract love. its angel monachiel should be invoked in the day and hour of venus, at one o'clock or at eight." the design consists of two triangles joined at their apices, with the following names--ihvh, adonai, ruach, achides, aegalmiel, monachiel, and degaliel. the versicle is from _genesis_ i. 28: "and the elohim blessed them, and the elohim said unto them, be ye fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it" (see fig. 24). _the third pentacle of mercury_.--"this serves to invoke the spirits subject unto mercury; and especially those who are written in this pentacle." the design consists of crossed lines and magical characters of mercury. around are the names of the angels, kokaviel, ghedoriah, savaniah, and chokmahiel (see fig. 25). cornelius agrippa, in his _three books of occult philosophy_, describes another interesting system of talismans. francis barrett's _magus, or celestial intelligencer_, a well-known occult work published in the first year of the nineteenth century, i may mention, copies agrippa's system of talismans, without acknowledgment, almost word for word. to each of the planets is assigned a magic square or table, _i.e_. a square composed of numbers so arranged that the sum of each row or column is always the same. for example, the table for mars is as follows:- 11 24 7 20 3 4 12 25 8 16 17 5 13 21 9 10 18 1 14 22 23 6 19 2 15 it will be noticed that every number from 1 up to the highest possible occurs once, and that no number occurs twice. it will also be seen that the sum of each row and of each column is always 65. similar squares can be constructed containing any square number of figures, and it is, indeed, by no means surprising that the remarkable properties of such "magic squares," before these were explained mathematically, gave rise to the belief that they had some occult significance and virtue. from the magic squares can be obtained certain numbers which are said to be the numbers of the planets; their orderliness, we are told, reflects the order of the heavens, and from a consideration of them the magical properties of the planets which they represent can be arrived at. for example, in the above table the number of rows of numbers is 5. the total number of numbers in the table is the square of this number, namely, 25, which is also the greatest number in the table. the sum of any row or column is 65. and, finally, the sum of all the numbers is the product of the number of rows (namely, 5) and the sum of any row (namely, 65), _i.e_. 325. these numbers, namely, 5, 25, 65, and 325, are the numbers of mars. sets of numbers for the other planets are obtained in exactly the same manner.(1) (1) readers acquainted with mathematics will notice that if _n_ is the number of rows in such a "magic square," the other numbers derived as above will be n<2s>, 1/2_n_(_n_<2s> + 1), and 1/2_n_<2s>(_n_<2s> + 1). this can readily be proved by the laws of arithmetical progressions. rather similar but more complicated and less uniform "magic squares" are attributed to paracelsus. now to each planet is assigned an intelligence or good spirit, and an evil spirit or demon; and the names of these spirits are related to certain of the numbers of the planets. the other numbers are also connected with holy and magical hebrew names. agrippa, and barrett copying him, gives the following table of "names answering to the numbers of mars":- 5. he, the letter of the holy name. <hb > 25. <hb ___> 65. adonai. <hb ____> 325. graphiel, the intelligence of mars. <hb _______> 325. barzabel, the spirit of mars. <hb _______> similar tables are given for the other planets. the numbers can be derived from the names by regarding the hebrew letters of which they are composed as numbers, in which case <hb > (aleph) to <hb > (teth) represent the units 1 to 9 in order, <hb > (jod) to <hb > (tzade) the tens 10 to 90 in order, <hb > (koph) to <hb > (tau) the hundreds 100 to 400, whilst the hundreds 500 to 900 are represented by special terminal forms of certain of the hebrew letters.(2) it is evident that no little wasted ingenuity must have been employed in working all this out. (2) it may be noticed that this makes <hb _______> equal to 326, one unit too much. possibly an alelph should be omitted. each planet has its own seal or signature, as well as the signature of its intelligence and the signature of its demon. these signatures were supposed to represent the characters of the planets' intelligences and demons respectively. the signature of mars is shown in fig. 26, that of its intelligence in fig. 27, and that of its demon in fig. 28. these various details were inscribed on the talismans each of which was supposed to confer its own peculiar benefits--as follows: on one side must be engraved the proper magic table and the astrological sign of the planet, together with the highest planetary number, the sacred names corresponding to the planet, and the name of the intelligence of the planet, but not the name of its demon. on the other side must be engraved the seals of the planet and of its intelligence, and also the astrological sign. barrett says, regarding the demons:(1) "it is to be understood that the intelligences are the presiding good angels that are set over the planets; but that the spirits or daemons, with their names, seals, or characters, are never inscribed upon any talisman, except to execute any evil effect, and that they are subject to the intelligences, or good spirits; and again, when the spirits and their characters are used, it will be more conducive to the effect to add some divine name appropriate to that effect which we desire." evil talismans can also be prepared, we are informed, by using a metal antagonistic to the signs engraved thereon. the complete talisman of mars is shown in fig. 29. (1) francis barrett: _the magus, or celestial intelligencer_ (1801), bk. i. p. 146. alphonse louis constant,(1) a famous french occultist of the nineteenth century, who wrote under the name of "eliphas levi," describes yet another system of talismans. he says: "the pentagram must be always engraved on one side of the talisman, with a circle for the sun, a crescent for the moon, a winged caduceus for mercury, a sword for mars, a g for venus, a crown for jupiter, and a scythe for saturn. the other side of the talisman should bear the sign of solomon, that is, the six-pointed star formed by two interlaced triangles; in the centre there should be placed a human figure for the sun talismans, a cup for those of the moon, a dog's head for those of jupiter, a lion for those of mars, a dove's for those of venus, a bull's or goat's for those of saturn. the names of the seven angels should be added either in hebrew, arabic, or magic characters similar to those of the alphabets of trimethius. the two triangles of solomon may be replaced by the double cross of ezekiel's wheels, this being found on a great number of ancient pentacles. all objects of this nature, whether in metals or in precious stones, should be carefully wrapped in silk satchels of a colour analogous to the spirit of the planet, perfumed with the perfumes of the corresponding day, and preserved from all impure looks and touches."(2) (1) for a biographical and critical account of this extraordinary personage and his views, see mr a. e. waite's _the mysteries of magic: a digest of the writings of_ eliphas levi (1897). (2) _op. cit_., p. 201. eliphas levi, following pythagoras and many of the mediaeval magicians, regarded the pentagram, or five-pointed star, as an extremely powerful pentacle. according to him, if with one horn in the ascendant it is the sign of the microcosm--man. with two horns in the ascendant, however, it is the sign of the devil, "the accursed goat of mendes," and an instrument of black magic. we can, indeed, trace some faint likeness between the pentagram and the outline form of a man, or of a goat's head, according to whether it has one or two horns in the ascendant respectively, which resemblances may account for this idea. fig. 30 shows the pentagram embellished with other symbols according to eliphas levi, whilst fig. 31 shows his embellished form of the six-pointed star, or seal of solomon. this, he says, is "the sign of the macrocosmos, but is less powerful than the pentagram, the microcosmic sign," thus contradicting pythagoras, who, as we have seen, regarded the pentagram as the sign of the macrocosm. eliphas levi asserts that he attempted the evocation of the spirit of apollonius of tyana in london on 24th july 1854, by the aid of a pentagram and other magical apparatus and ritual, apparently with success, if we may believe his word. but he sensibly suggests that probably the apparition which appeared was due to the effect of the ceremonies on his own imagination, and comes to the conclusion that such magical experiments are injurious to health.(1) (1) _op cit_. pp. 446-450. magical rings were prepared on the same principle as were talismans. says cornelius agrippa: "the manner of making these kinds of magical rings is this, viz.: when any star ascends fortunately, with the fortunate aspect or conjunction of the moon, we must take a stone and herb that is under that star, and make a ring of the metal that is suitable to this star, and in it fasten the stone, putting the herb or root under it--not omitting the inscriptions of images, names, and characters, as also the proper suffumigations...."(1) solomon's ring was supposed to have been possessed of remarkable occult virtue. says josephus (_c_. a.d. 37-100): "god also enabled him (solomon) to learn that skill which expels demons, which is a science useful and sanative to men. he composed such incantations also by which distempers are alleviated. and he left behind him the manner of using exorcisms, by which they drive away demons, so that they never return; and this method of cure is of great force unto this day; for i have seen a certain man of my own country, whose name was eleazar, releasing people that were demoniacal in the presence of vespasian, and his sons, and his captains, and the whole multitude of his soldiers. the manner of the cure was this; he put a ring that had under the seal a root of one of those sorts mentioned by solomon, to the nostrils of the demoniac, after which he drew out the demon through his nostrils: and when the man fell down immediately, he abjured him to return unto him no more, making still mention of solomon, and reciting the incantations which he composed."(2) (1) h. c. agrippa: _occult philosophy_, bk. i. chap. xlvii. (whitehead's edition, pp. 141 and 142). (2) flavius josephus: _the antiquities of the jews_ (trans. by w. whiston), bk. viii. chap. ii., se 5 (45) to (47). enough has been said already to indicate the general nature of talismanic magic. no one could maintain otherwise than that much of it is pure nonsense; but the subject should not, therefore, be dismissed as valueless, or lacking significance. it is past belief that amulets and talismans should have been believed in for so long unless they appeared to be productive of some of the desired results, though these may have been due to forces quite other than those which were supposed to be operative. indeed, it may be said that there has been no widely held superstition which does not embody some truth, like some small specks of gold hidden in an uninviting mass of quartz. as the poet blake put it: "everything possible to be believ'd is an image of truth";(1) and the attempt may here be made to extract the gold of truth from the quartz of superstition concerning talismanic magic. for this purpose the various theories regarding the supposed efficacy of talismans must be examined. (1) "proverbs of hell" (_the marriage of heaven and hell_). two of these theories have already been noted, but the doctrine of effluvia admittedly applied only to a certain class of amulets, and, i think, need not be seriously considered. the "astral-spirit theory" (as it may be called), in its ancient form at any rate, is equally untenable to-day. the discoveries of new planets and new metals seem destructive of the belief that there can be any occult connection between planets, metals, and the days of the week, although the curious fact discovered by mr old, to which i have referred (footnote, p. 63@@@), assuredly demands an explanation, and a certain validity may, perhaps, be allowed to astrological symbolism. as concerns the belief in the existence of what may be called (although the term is not a very happy one) "discarnate spirits," however, the matter, in view of the modern investigation of spiritistic and other abnormal psychical phenomena, stands in a different position. there can, indeed, be little doubt that very many of the phenomena observed at spiritistic seances come under the category of deliberate fraud, and an even larger number, perhaps, can be explained on the theory of the subconscious self. i think, however, that the evidence goes to show that there is a residuum of phenomena which can only be explained by the operation, in some way, of discarnate intelligences.(1) psychical research may be said to have supplied the modern world with the evidence of the existence of discarnate personalities, and of their operation on the material plane, which the ancient world lacked. but so far as our present subject is concerned, all the evidence obtainable goes to show that the phenomena in question only take place in the presence of what is called "a medium"--a person of peculiar nervous or psychical organisation. that this is the case, moreover, appears to be the general belief of spiritists on the subject. in the sense, then, in which "a talisman" connotes a material object of such a nature that by its aid the powers of discarnate intelligences may become operative on material things, we might apply the term "talisman" to the nervous system of a medium: but then that would be the only talisman. consequently, even if one is prepared to admit the whole of modern spiritistic theory, nothing is thereby gained towards a belief in talismans, and no light is shed upon the subject. (1) the publications of the society for psychical research, and frederick myers' monumental work on _human personality and its survival of bodily death_, should be specially consulted. i have attempted a brief discussion of modern spiritualism and psychical research in my _matter, spirit, and the cosmos_ (1910), chap. ii. another theory concerning talismans which commended itself to many of the old occult philosophers, paracelsus for instance, is what may be called the "occult force" theory. this theory assumes the existence of an occult mental force, a force capable of being exerted by the human will, apart from its usual mode of operation by means of the body. it was believed to be possible to concentrate this mental energy and infuse it into some suitable medium, with the production of a talisman, which was thus regarded as a sort of accumulator for mental energy. the theory seems a fantastic one to modern thought, though, in view of the many startling phenomena brought to light by psychical research, it is not advisable to be too positive regarding the limitations of the powers of the human mind. however, i think we shall find the element of truth in the otherwise absurd belief in talismans by means of what may be called, not altogether fancifully perhaps, a transcendental interpretation of this "occult force" theory. i suggest, that is, that when a believer makes a talisman, the transference of the occult energy is ideal, not actual; that the power, believed to reside in the talisman itself, is the power due to the reflex action of the believer's mind. the power of what transcendentalists call "the imagination" cannot be denied; for example, no one can deny that a man with a firm conviction that such a success will be achieved by him, or such a danger avoided, will be far more likely to gain his desire, other conditions being equal, than one of a pessimistic turn of mind. the mere conviction itself is a factor in success, or a factor in failure, according to its nature; and it seems likely that herein will be found a true explanation of the effects believed to be due to the power of the talisman. on the other hand, however, we must beware of the exaggerations into which certain schools of thought have fallen in their estimates of the powers of the imagination. these exaggerations are particularly marked in the views which are held by many nowadays with regard to "faith-healing," although the "christian scientists" get out of the difficulty--at least to their own satisfaction--by ascribing their alleged cures to the power of the divine mind, and not to the power of the individual mind. of course the real question involved in this "transcendental theory of talismans" as i may, perhaps, call it, is that of the operation of incarnate spirit on the plane of matter. this operation takes place only through the medium of the nervous system, and it has been suggested,(1) to avoid any violation of the law of the conservation of energy, that it is effected, not by the transference, as is sometimes supposed, of energy from the spiritual to the material plane, but merely by means of directive control over the expenditure of energy derived by the body from purely physical sources, _e.g_. the latent chemical energy bound up in the food eaten and the oxygen breathed. (1) _cf_ sir oliver lodge: _life and matter_ (1907), especially chap. ix.; and w. hibbert, f.i.c.: _life and energy_ (1904). i am not sure that this theory really avoids the difficulty which it is intended to obviate;(1) but it is at least an interesting one, and at any rate there may be modes in which the body, under the directive control of the spirit, may expend energy derived from the material plane, of which we know little or nothing. we have the testimony of many eminent authorities(2) to the phenomenon of the movement of physical objects without contact at spiritistic seances. it seems to me that the introduction of discarnate intelligences to explain this phenomenon is somewhat gratuitous--the psychic phenomena which yield evidence of the survival of human personality after bodily death are of a different character. for if we suppose this particular phenomenon to be due to discarnate spirits, we must, in view of what has been said concerning "mediums," conclude that the movements in question are not produced by these spirits directly, but through and by means of the nervous system of the medium present. evidently, therefore, the means for the production of the phenomenon reside in the human nervous system (or, at any rate, in the peculiar nervous system of "mediums"), and all that is lacking is intelligence or initiative to use these means. this intelligence or initiative can surely be as well supplied by the sub-consciousness as by a discarnate intelligence. consequently, it does not seem unreasonable to suppose that equally remarkable phenomena may have been produced by the aid of talismans in the days when these were believed in, and may be produced to-day, if one has sufficient faith--that is to say, produced by man when in the peculiar condition of mind brought about by the intense belief in the power of a talisman. and here it should be noted that the term "talisman" may be applied to any object (or doctrine) that is believed to possess peculiar power or efficacy. in this fact, i think, is to be found the peculiar danger of erroneous doctrines which promise extraordinary benefits, here and now on the material plane, to such as believe in them. remarkable results may follow an intense belief in such doctrines, which, whilst having no connection whatever with their accuracy, being proportional only to the intensity with which they are held, cannot do otherwise than confirm the believer in the validity of his beliefs, though these may be in every way highly fantastic and erroneous. both the roman catholic, therefore, and the buddhist may admit many of the marvels attributed to the relics of each other's saints; though, in denying that these marvels prove the accuracy of each other's religious doctrines, each should remember that the same is true of his own. (1) the subject is rather too technical to deal with here. i have discussed it elsewhere; see "thermo-dynamical objections to the mechanical theory of life," _the chemical news_, vol. cxii. pp. 271 _et seq_. (3rd december 1915). (2) for instance, the well-known physicist, sir w. f. barrett, f.r.s. (late professor of experimental physics in the royal college of science for ireland). see his _on the threshold of a new world of thought_ (1908), se 10. in illustration of the real power of the imagination, i may instance the maori superstition of the taboo. according to the maories, anyone who touches a tabooed object will assuredly die, the tabooed object being a sort of "anti-talisman". professor frazer(1) says: "cases have been known of maories dying of sheer fright on learning that they had unwittingly eaten the remains of a chief's dinner or handled something that belonged to him," since such objects were, _ipso facto_, tabooed. he gives the following case on good authority: "a woman, having partaken of some fine peaches from a basket, was told that they had come from a tabooed place. immediately the basket dropped from her hands and she cried out in agony that the atua or godhead of the chief, whose divinity had been thus profaned, would kill her. that happened in the afternoon, and next day by twelve o'clock she was dead." for us the power of the taboo does not exist; for the maori, who implicitly believes in it, it is a very potent reality, but this power of the taboo resides not in external objects but in his own mind. (1) professor j. g. frazer, d.c.l.: _psyche's task_ (1909), p. 7. dr haddon(2) quotes a similar but still more remarkable story of a young congo negro which very strikingly shows the power of the imagination. the young negro, "being on a journey, lodged at a friend's house; the latter got a wild hen for his breakfast, and the young man asked if it were a wild hen. his host answered 'no.' then he fell on heartily, and afterwards proceeded on his journey. after four years these two met together again, and his old friend asked him 'if he would eat a wild hen,' to which he answered that it was tabooed to him. hereat the host began immediately to laugh, inquiring of him, 'what made him refuse it now, when he had eaten one at his table about four years ago?' at the hearing of this the negro immediately fell a-trembling, and suffered himself to be so far possessed with the effects of imagination that he died in less than twenty-four hours after." (2) alfred c. haddon, sc.d., f.r.s.: _magic and fetishism_ (1906), p. 56. there are, of course, many stories about amulets, _etc_., which cannot be thus explained. for example, elihu rich gives the following:-"in 1568, we are told (transl. of salverte, p. 196) that the prince of orange condemned a spanish prisoner to be shot at juliers. the soldiers tied him to a tree and fired, but he was invulnerable. they then stripped him to see what armour he wore, but they found only an amulet bearing the figure of a lamb (the _agnus dei_, we presume). this was taken from him, and he was then killed by the first shot. de baros relates that the portuguese in like manner vainly attempted to destroy a malay, so long as he wore a bracelet containing a bone set in gold, which rendered him proof against their swords. a similar marvel is related in the travels of the veracious marco polo. 'in an attempt of kublai khan to make a conquest of the island of zipangu, a jealousy arose between the two commanders of the expedition, which led to an order for putting the whole garrison to the sword. in obedience to this order, the heads of all were cut off excepting of eight persons, who by the efficacy of a diabolical charm, consisting of a jewel or amulet introduced into the right arm, between the skin and the flesh, were rendered secure from the effects of iron, either to kill or wound. upon this discovery being made, they were beaten with a heavy wooden club, and presently died.'" (1) i think, however, that these, and many similar stories, must be taken _cum grano salis_. in conclusion, mention must be made of a very interesting and suggestive philosophical doctrine--the law of correspondences,--due in its explicit form to the swedish philosopher, who was both scientist and mystic, emanuel swedenborg. to deal in any way adequately with this important topic is totally impossible within the confines of the present discussion.(2) but, to put the matter as briefly as possible, it may be said that swedenborg maintains (and the conclusion, i think, is valid) that all causation is from the spiritual world, physical causation being but secondary, or apparent--that is to say, a mere reflection, as it were, of the true process. he argues from this, thereby supplying a philosophical basis for the unanimous belief of the nature-mystics, that every natural object is the symbol (because the creation) of an idea or spiritual verity in its widest sense. thus, there are symbols which are inherent in the nature of things, and symbols which are not. the former are genuine, the latter merely artificial. writing from the transcendental point of view, eliphas levi says: "ceremonies, vestments, perfumes, characters and figures being...necessary to enlist the imagination in the education of the will, the success of magical works depends upon the faithful observance of all the rites, which are in no sense fantastic or arbitrary, having been transmitted to us by antiquity, and permanently subsisting by the essential laws of analogical realisation and of the correspondence which inevitably connects ideas and forms."(1b) some scepticism, perhaps, may be permitted as to the validity of the latter part of this statement, and the former may be qualified by the proviso that such things are only of value in the right education of the will, if they are, indeed, genuine, and not merely artificial, symbols. but the writer, as i think will be admitted, has grasped the essential point, and, to conclude our excursion, as we began it, with a definition, i will say that _the power of the talisman is the power of the mind (or imagination) brought into activity by means of a suitable symbol_. (1) elihu rich: _the occult sciences_, p. 346. (2) i may refer the reader to my _a mathematical theory of spirit_ (1912), chap. i., for a more adequate statement. (1b) eliphas levi: _transcendental magic: its doctrine and ritual_ (trans. by a. e. waite, 1896), p. 234. vii. ceremonial magic in theory and practice the word "magic," if one may be permitted to say so, is itself almost magical--magical in its power to conjure up visions in the human mind. for some these are of bloody rites, pacts with the powers of darkness, and the lascivious orgies of the saturnalia or witches' sabbath; in other minds it has pleasanter associations, serving to transport them from the world of fact to the fairyland of fancy, where the purse of fortunatus, the lamp and ring of aladdin, fairies, gnomes, jinn, and innumerable other strange beings flit across the scene in a marvellous kaleidoscope of ever-changing wonders. to the study of the magical beliefs of the past cannot be denied the interest and fascination which the marvellous and wonderful ever has for so many minds, many of whom, perhaps, cannot resist the temptation of thinking that there may be some element of truth in these wonderful stories. but the study has a greater claim to our attention; for, as i have intimated already, magic represents a phase in the development of human thought, and the magic of the past was the womb from which sprang the science of the present, unlike its parent though it be. what then is magic? according to the dictionary definition--and this will serve us for the present--it is the (pretended) art of producing marvellous results by the aid of spiritual beings or arcane spiritual forces. magic, therefore, is the practical complement of animism. wherever man has really believed in the existence of a spiritual world, there do we find attempts to enter into communication with that world's inhabitants and to utilise its forces.professor leuba(1) and others distinguish between propitiative behaviour towards the beings of the spiritual world, as marking the religious attitude, and coercive behaviour towards these beings as characteristic of the magical attitude; but one form of behaviour merges by insensible degrees into the other, and the distinction (though a useful one) may, for our present purpose, be neglected. (1) james h. leuba: _the psychological origin and the nature of religion_ (1909), chap. ii. animism, "the conception of spirit everywhere" as mr edward clodd(2) neatly calls it, and perhaps man's earliest view of natural phenomena, persisted in a modified form, as i have pointed out in "some characteristics of mediaeval thought," throughout the middle ages. a belief in magic persisted likewise. in the writings of the greek philosophers of the neo-platonic school, in that curious body of esoteric jewish lore known as the kabala, and in the works of later occult philosophers such as agrippa and paracelsus, we find magic, or rather the theory upon which magic as an art was based, presented in its most philosophical form. if there is anything of value for modern thought in the theory of magic, here is it to be found; and it is, i think, indeed to be found, absurd and fantastic though the practices based upon this philosophy, or which this philosophy was thought to substantiate, most certainly are. i shall here endeavour to give a sketch of certain of the outstanding doctrines of magical philosophy, some details concerning the art of magic, more especially as practiced in the middle ages in europe, and, finally, an attempt to extract from the former what i consider to be of real worth. we have already wandered down many of the byways of magical belief, and, indeed, the word "magic" may be made to cover almost every superstition of the past: to what we have already gained on previous excursions the present, i hope, will add what we need in order to take a synthetic view of the whole subject. (2) edward clodd: _animism the seed of religion_ (1905), p. 26. in the first place, something must be said concerning what is called the doctrine of emanations, a theory of prime importance in neo-platonic and kabalistic ontology. according to this theory, everything in the universe owes its existence and virtue to an emanation from god, which divine emanation is supposed to descend, step by step (so to speak), through the hierarchies of angels and the stars, down to the things of earth, that which is nearer to the source containing more of the divine nature than that which is relatively distant. as cornelius agrippa expresses it: "for god, in the first place is the end and beginning of all virtues; he gives the seal of #the _ideas_ to his servants, the intelligences; who as faithful officers, sign all things intrusted to them with an ideal virtue; the heavens and stars, as instruments, disposing the matter in the mean while for the receiving of those forms which reside in divine majesty (as saith plato in timeus) and to be conveyed by stars; and the giver of forms distributes them by the ministry of his intelligences, which he hath set as rulers and controllers over his works, to whom such a power is intrusted to things committed to them that so all virtues of stones, herbs, metals, and all other things may come from the intelligences, the governors. the form, therefore, and virtue of things comes first from the _ideas_, then from the ruling and governing intelligences, then from the aspects of the heavens disposing, and lastly from the tempers of the elements disposed, answering the influences of the heavens, by which the elements themselves are ordered, or disposed. these kinds of operations, therefore, are performed in these inferior things by express forms, and in the heavens by disposing virtues, in intelligences by mediating rules, in the original cause by _ideas_ and exemplary forms, all which must of necessity agree in the execution of the effect and virtue of every thing. "there is, therefore, a wonderful virtue and operation in every herb and stone, but greater in a star, beyond which, even from the governing intelligences everything receiveth and obtains many things for itself, especially from the supreme cause, with whom all things do mutually and exactly correspond, agreeing in an harmonious consent, as it were in hymns always praising the highest maker of all things.... there is, therefore, no other cause of the necessity of effects than the connection of all things with the first cause, and their correspondency with those divine patterns and eternal _ideas_ whence every thing hath its determinate and particular place in the exemplary world, from whence it lives and receives its original being: and every virtue of herbs, stones, metals, animals, words and speeches, and all things that are of god, is placed there."(1) as compared with the _ex nihilo_ creationism of orthodox theology, this theory is as light is to darkness. of course, there is much in cornelius agrippa's statement of it which is inacceptable to modern thought; but these are matters of form merely, and do not affect the doctrine fundamentally. for instance, as a nexus between spirit and matter agrippa places the stars: modern thought prefers the ether. the theory of emanations may be, and was, as a matter of fact, made the justification of superstitious practices of the grossest absurdity, but on the other hand it may be made the basis of a lofty system of transcendental philosophy, as, for instance, that of emanuel swedenborg, whose ontology resembles in some respects that of the neo-platonists. agrippa uses the theory to explain all the marvels which his age accredited, marvels which we know had for the most part no existence outside of man's imagination. i suggest, on the contrary, that the theory is really needed to explain the commonplace, since, in the last analysis, every bit of experience, every phenomenon, be it ever so ordinary--indeed the very fact of experience itself,--is most truly marvellous and magical, explicable only in terms of spirit. as eliphas levi well says in one of his flashes of insight: "the supernatural is only the natural in an extraordinary grade, or it is the exalted natural; a miracle is a phenomenon which strikes the multitude because it is unexpected; the astonishing is that which astonishes; miracles are effects which surprise those who are ignorant of their causes, or assign them causes w hich are not in proportion to such effects."(1b) but i am anticipating the sequel. (1) h. c. agrippa: _occult philosophy_, bk. i., chap. xiii. (whitehead's edition, pp. 67-68). (1b) eliphas levi: _transcendental magic, its doctrine and ritual_ (trans. by a. e. waite, 1896), p. 192. the doctrine of emanations makes the universe one vast harmonious whole, between whose various parts there is an exact analogy, correspondence, or sympathetic relation. "nature" (the productive principle), says iamblichos (3rd-4th century), the neo-platonist, "in her peculiar way, makes a likeness of invisible principles through symbols in visible forms."(2) the belief that seemingly similar things sympathetically affect one another, and that a similar relation holds good between different things which have been intimately connected with one another as parts within a whole, is a very ancient one. most primitive peoples are very careful to destroy all their nail-cuttings and hair-clippings, since they believe that a witch gaining possession of these might work them harm. for a similar reason they refuse to reveal their real names, which they regard as part of themselves, and adopt nicknames for common use. the belief that a witch can torment an enemy by making an image of his person in clay or wax, correctly naming it, and mutilating it with pins, or, in the case of a waxen image, melting it by fire, is a very ancient one, and was held throughout and beyond the middle ages. the sympathetic powder of sir kenelm digby we have already noticed, as well as other instances of the belief in "sympathy," and examples of similar superstitions might be multiplied almost indefinitely. such are generally grouped under the term "sympathetic magic"; but inasmuch as all magical practices assume that by acting on part of a thing, or a symbolic representation of it, one acts magically on the whole, or on the thing symbolised, the expression may in its broadest sense be said to involve the whole of magic. (2) iamblichos: _theurgia, or the egyptian mysteries_ (trans. by dr alex. wilder, new york, 1911), p. 239. the names of the divine being, angels and devils, the planets of the solar system (including sun and moon) and the days of the week, birds and beasts, colours, herbs, and precious stones--all, according to old-time occult philosophy, are connected by the sympathetic relation believed to run through all creation, the knowledge of which was essential to the magician; as well, also, the chief portions of the human body, for man, as we have seen, was believed to be a microcosm--a universe in miniature. i have dealt with this matter and exhibited some of the supposed correspondences in "the belief in talismans". some further particulars are shown in the annexed table, for which i am mainly indebted to agrippa. but, as in the case of the zodiacal gems already dealt with, the old authorities by no means agree as to the majority of the planetary correspondences. table of occult correspondences arch part of precious angel. angel. planet. human animal. bird. stone. body. raphael michael sun heart lion swan carbuncle gabriel gabriel moon left foot cat owl crystal camael zamael mars right hand wolf vulture diamond michael raphael mercury left hand ape stork agate zadikel sachiel jupiter head hart eagle sapphire (=lapis lazuli) haniel anael venus generative goat dove emerald organs zaphhiel cassiel saturn right foot mole hoopoe onyx the names of the angels are from mr mather's translation of _clavicula salomonis_; the other correspondences are from the second book of agrippa's _occult philosophy_, chap. x. in many cases these supposed correspondences are based, as will be obvious to the reader, upon purely trivial resemblances, and, in any case, whatever may be said--and i think a great deal may be said--in favour of the theory of symbology, there is little that may be adduced to support the old occultists' application of it. so essential a part does the use of symbols play in all magical operations that we may, i think, modify the definition of "magic" adopted at the outset, and define "magic" as "an attempt to employ the powers of the spiritual world for the production of marvellous results, by the aid of symbols." it has, on the other hand, been questioned whether the appeal to the spirit-world is an essential element in magic. but a close examination of magical practices always reveals at the root a belief in spiritual powers as the operating causes. the belief in talismans at first sight seems to have little to do with that in a supernatural realm; but, as we have seen, the talisman was always a silent invocation of the powers of some spiritual being with which it was symbolically connected, and whose sign was engraved thereon. and, as dr t. witton davies well remarks with regard to "sympathetic magic": "even this could not, at the start, be anything other than a symbolic prayer to the spirit or spirits having authority in these matters. in so far as no spirit is thought of, it is a mere survival, and not magic at all...."(1) (1) dr t. witton davies: _magic, divination, and demonology among the hebrews and their neighbours_ (1898), p. 17. what i regard as the two essentials of magical practices, namely, the use of symbols and the appeal to the supernatural realm, are most obvious in what is called "ceremonial magic". mediaeval ceremonial magic was subdivided into three chief branches--white magic, black magic, and necromancy. white magic was concerned with the evocations of angels, spiritual beings supposed to be essentially superior to mankind, concerning which i shall give some further details later--and the spirits of the elements,--which were, as i have mentioned in "some characteristics of mediaeval thought," personifications of the primeval forces of nature. as there were supposed to be four elements, fire, air, water, and earth, so there were supposed to be four classes of elementals or spirits of the elements, namely, salamanders, sylphs, undines, and gnomes, inhabiting these elements respectively, and deriving their characters therefrom. concerning these curious beings, the inquisitive reader may gain some information from a quaint little book, by the abbe de montfaucon de villars, entitled _the count of gabalis, or conferences about secret sciences_ (1670), translated into english and published in 1680, which has recently been reprinted. the elementals, we learn therefrom, were, unlike other supernatural beings, thought to be mortal. they could, however, be rendered immortal by means of sexual intercourse with men or women, as the case might be; and it was, we are told, to the noble end of endowing them with this great gift, that the sages devoted themselves. goety, or black magic, was concerned with the evocation of demons and devils--spirits supposed to be superior to man in certain powers, but utterly depraved. sorcery may be distinguished from witchcraft, inasmuch as the sorcerer attempted to command evil spirits by the aid of charms, _etc_., whereas the witch or wizard was supposed to have made a pact with the evil one; though both terms have been rather loosely used, "sorcery" being sometimes employed as a synonym for "necromancy". necromancy was concerned with the evocation of the spirits of the dead: etymologically, the term stands for the art of foretelling events by means of such evocations, though it is frequently employed in the wider sense. it would be unnecessary and tedious to give any detailed account of the methods employed in these magical arts beyond some general remarks. mr a. e. waite gives full particulars of the various rituals in his _book of ceremonial magic_ (1911), to which the curious reader may be referred. the following will, in brief terms, convey a general idea of a magical evocation:-choosing a time when there is a favourable conjunction of the planets, the magician, armed with the implements of magical art, after much prayer and fasting, betakes himself to a suitable spot, alone, or perhaps accompanied by two trusty companions. all the articles he intends to employ, the vestments, the magic sword and lamp, the talismans, the book of spirits, _etc_., have been specially prepared and consecrated. if he is about to invoke a martial spirit, the magician's vestment will be of a red colour, the talismans in virtue of which he may have power over the spirit will be of iron, the day chosen a tuesday, and the incense and perfumes employed of a nature analogous to mars. in a similar manner all the articles employed and the rites performed must in some way be symbolical of the spirit with which converse is desired. having arrived at the spot, the magician first of all traces the magic circle within which, we are told, no evil spirit can enter; he then commences the magic rite, involving various prayers and conjurations, a medley of meaningless words, and, in the case of the black art, a sacrifice. the spirit summoned then appears (at least, so we are told), and, after granting the magician's request, is licensed to depart--a matter, we are admonished, of great importance. the question naturally arises, what were the results obtained by these magical arts? how far, if at all, was the magician rewarded by the attainment of his desires? we have asked a similar question regarding the belief in talismans, and the reply which we there gained undoubtedly applies in the present case as well. modern psychical research, as i have already pointed out, is supplying us with further evidence for the survival of human personality after bodily death than the innate conviction humanity in general seems to have in this belief, and the many reasons which idealistic philosophy advances in favour of it. the question of the reality of the phenomenon of "materialisation," that is, the bodily appearance of a discarnate spirit, such as is vouched for by spiritists, and which is what, it appears, was aimed at in necromancy (though why the discarnate should be better informed as to the future than the incarnate, i cannot suppose), must be regarded as _sub judice_.(1) many cases of fraud in connection with the alleged production of this phenomenon have been detected in recent times; but, inasmuch as the last word has not yet been said on the subject, we must allow the possibility that necromancy in the past may have been sometimes successful. but as to the existence of the angels and devils of magical belief--as well, one might add, of those of orthodox faith,--nothing can be adduced in evidence of this either from the results of psychical research or on _a priori_ grounds. (1) the late sir william crookes' _experimental researches in the phenomena of spiritualism_ contains evidence in favour of the reality of this phenomenon very difficult to gainsay. pseudo-dionysius classified the angels into three hierarchies, each subdivided into three orders, as under:-_first hierarchy_.--seraphim, cherubim, and thrones; _second hierarchy_.--dominions, powers, and authorities (or virtues); _third hierarchy_.--principalities, archangels, and angels,-and this classification was adopted by agrippa and others. pseudo-dionysius explains the names of these orders as follows: "... the holy designation of the seraphim denotes either that they are kindling or burning; and that of the cherubim, a fulness of knowledge or stream of wisdom.... the appellation of the most exalted and pre-eminent thrones denotes their manifest exaltation above every grovelling inferiority, and their super-mundane tendency towards higher things;... and their invariable and firmly-fixed settlement around the veritable highest, with the whole force of their powers.... the explanatory name of the holy lordships (dominions) denotes a certain unslavish elevation... superior to every kind of cringing slavery, indomitable to every subserviency, and elevated above every dissimularity, ever aspiring to the true lordship and source of lordship.... the appellation of the holy powers denotes a certain courageous and unflinching virility... vigorously conducted to the divine imitation, not forsaking the godlike movement through its own unmanliness, but unflinchingly looking to the super-essential and powerful-making power, and becoming a powerlike image of this, as far as is attainable....the appellation of the holy authorities... denotes the beautiful and unconfused good order, with regard to divine receptions, and the discipline of the super-mundane and intellectual authority... conducted indomitably, with good order towards divine things.... (and the appellation) of the heavenly principalities manifests their princely and leading function, after the divine example...."(1) there is a certain grandeur in these views, and if we may be permitted to understand by the orders of the hierarchy, "discrete" degrees (to use swedenborg's term) of spiritual reality--stages in spiritual involution,--we may see in them a certain truth as well. as i said, all virtue, power, and knowledge which man has from god was believed to descend to him by way of these angelical hierarchies, step by step; and thus it was thought that those of the lowest hierarchy alone were sent from heaven to man. it was such beings that white magic pretended to evoke. but the practical occultists, when they did not make them altogether fatuous, attributed to these angels characters not distinguishable from those of the devils. the description of the angels in the _heptemeron_, or _magical elements_,(2) falsely at may be taken as fairly characteristic. of michael and the other spirits of sunday he writes: "their nature is to procure gold, gemmes, carbuncles, riches; to cause one to obtain favour and benevolence; to dissolve the enmities of men; to raise men to honors; to carry or take away infirmities." of gabriel and the other spirits of monday, he says: "their nature is to give silver; to convey things from place to place; to make horses swift, and to disclose the secrets of persons both present and future." of samael and the other spirits of tuesday he says: "their nature is to cause wars, mortality, death and combustions; and to give two thousand souldiers at a time; to bring death, infirmities or health," and so on for raphael, sachiel, anael, cassiel, and their colleagues.(1b) (1) _on the heavenly hierarchy_. see the rev. john parker's translation of _the works of_ dionysius _the areopagite_, vol. ii. (1889), pp. 24, 25, 31, 32, and 36. (2) the book, which first saw the light three centuries after its alleged author's death, was translated into english by robert turner, and published in 1655 in a volume containing the spurious _fourth book of occult philosophy_, attributed to cornelius agrippa, and other magical works. it is from this edition that i quote. (1b) _op. cit_., pp. 90, 92, and 94. concerning the evil planetary spirits, the spurious _fourth book of occult philosophy_, attributed to cornelius agrippa, informs us that the spirits of saturn "appear for the most part with a tall, lean, and slender body, with an angry countenance, having four faces; one in the hinder part of the head, one on the former part of the head, and on each side nosed or beaked: there likewise appeareth a face on each knee, of a black shining colour: their motion is the moving of the wince, with a kinde of earthquake: their signe is white earth, whiter than any snow." the writer adds that their "particular forms are,- a king having a beard, riding on a dragon. an old man with a beard. an old woman leaning on a staffe. a hog. a dragon. an owl. a black garment. a hooke or sickle. a juniper-tree." concerning the spirits of jupiter, he says that they "appear with a body sanguine and cholerick, of a middle stature, with a horrible fearful motion; but with a milde countenance, a gentle speech, and of the colour of iron. the motion of them is flashings of lightning and thunder; their signe is, there will appear men about the circle, who shall seem to be devoured of lions," their particular forms being- "a king with a sword drawn, riding on a stag. a man wearing a mitre in long rayment. a maid with a laurel-crown adorned with flowers. a bull. a stag. a peacock. an azure garment. a sword. a box-tree." as to the martian spirits, we learn that "they appear in a tall body, cholerick, a filthy countenance, of colour brown, swarthy or red, having horns like harts horns, and griphins claws, bellowing like wilde bulls. their motion is like fire burning; their signe thunder and lightning about the circle. their particular shapes are,- a king armed riding upon a wolf. a man armed. a woman holding a buckler on her thigh. a hee-goat. a horse. a stag. a red garment. wool. a cheeslip."(1) (1) _op. cit_., pp. 43-45. the rest are described in equally fantastic terms. i do not think i shall be accused of being unduly sceptical if i say that such beings as these could not have been evoked by any magical rites, because such beings do not and did not exist, save in the magician's own imagination. the proviso, however, is important, for, inasmuch as these fantastic beings did exist in the imagination of the credulous, therein they may, indeed, have been evoked. the whole of magic ritual was well devised to produce hallucination. a firm faith in the ritual employed, and a strong effort of will to bring about the desired result, were usually insisted upon as essential to the success of the operation.(2) a period of fasting prior to the experiment was also frequently prescribed as necessary, which, by weakening the body, must have been conducive to hallucination. furthermore, abstention from the gratification of the sexual appetite was stipulated in certain cases, and this, no doubt, had a similar effect, especially as concerns magical evocations directed to the satisfaction of the sexual impulse. add to these factors the details of the ritual itself, the nocturnal conditions under which it was carried out, and particularly the suffumigations employed, which, most frequently, were of a narcotic nature, and it is not difficult to believe that almost any type of hallucination may have occurred. such, as we have seen, was eliphas levi's view of ceremonial magic; and whatever may be said as concerns his own experiment therein (for one would have thought that the essential element of faith was lacking in this case), it is undoubtedly the true view as concerns the ceremonial magic of the past. as this author well says: "witchcraft, properly so-called, that is ceremonial operation with intent to bewitch, acts only on the operator, and serves to fix and confirm his will, by formulating it with persistence and labour, the two conditions which make volition efficacious."(1b) (2) "magical axiom. in the circle of its action, every word creates that which it affirms. direct consequence. he who affirms the devil, creates or makes the devil. "_conditions of success in infernal evocations_. 1, invincible obstinacy; 2, a conscience at once hardened to crime and most subject to remorse and fear; 3, affected or natural ignorance; 4, blind faith in all that is incredible, 5, a completely false idea of god. (eliphas levi: _op. cit_., pp. 297 and 298.) (1b) eliphas levi: _op. cit_., pp. 130 and 131. emanuel swedenborg in one place writes: "magic is nothing but the perversion of order; it is especially the abuse of correspondences."(2) a study of the ceremonial magic of the middle ages and the following century or two certainly justifies swedenborg in writing of magic as something evil. the distinction, rigid enough in theory, between white and black, legitimate and illegitimate, magic, was, as i have indicated, extremely indefinite in practice. as mr a. e. waite justly remarks: "much that passed current in the west as white (_i.e_. permissible) magic was only a disguised goeticism, and many of the resplendent angels invoked with divine rites reveal their cloven hoofs. it is not too much to say that a large majority of past psychological experiments were conducted to establish communication with demons, and that for unlawful purposes. the popular conceptions concerning the diabolical spheres, which have been all accredited by magic, may have been gross exaggerations of fact concerning rudimentary and perverse intelligences, but the wilful viciousness of the communicants is substantially untouched thereby."(1b) (2) emanuel swedenborg: _arcana caelestia_, se 6692. (1b) arthur edward waite: _the occult sciences_ (1891), p. 51. these "psychological experiments" were not, save, perhaps, in rare cases, carried out in the spirit of modern psychical research, with the high aim of the man of science. it was, indeed, far otherwise; selfish motives were at the root of most of them; and, apart from what may be termed "medicinal magic," it was for the satisfaction of greed, lust, revenge, that men and women had recourse to magical arts. the history of goeticism and witchcraft is one of the most horrible of all histories. the "grimoires," witnesses to the superstitious folly of the past, are full of disgusting, absurd, and even criminal rites for the satisfaction of unlawful desires and passions. the church was certainly justified in attempting to put down the practice of magic, but the means adopted in this design and the results to which they led were even more abominable than witchcraft itself. the methods of detecting witches and the tortures to which suspected persons were subjected to force them to confess to imaginary crimes, employed in so-called civilised england and scotland and also in america, to say nothing of countries in which the "holy" inquisition held undisputed sway, are almost too horrible to describe. for details the reader may be referred to sir walter scott's _letters on demonology and witchcraft_ (1830), and (as concerns america) cotton mather's the _wonders of the invisible world_ (1692). the credulous church and the credulous people were terribly afraid of the power of witchcraft, and, as always, fear destroyed their mental balance and made them totally disregard the demands of justice. the result may be well illustrated by what almost inevitably happens when a country goes to war; for war, as the hon. bertrand russell has well shown, is fear's offspring. fear of the enemy causes the military party to persecute in an insensate manner, without the least regard to justice, all those of their fellow-men whom they consider are not heart and soul with them in their cause; similarly the church relentlessly persecuted its supposed enemies, of whom it was so afraid. no doubt some of the poor wretches that were tortured and killed on the charge of witchcraft really believed themselves to have made a pact with the devil, and were thus morally depraved, though, generally speaking, they were no more responsible for their actions than any other madmen. but the majority of the persons persecuted as witches and wizards were innocent even of this. however, it would, i think, be unwise to disregard the existence of another side to the question of the validity and ethical value of magic, and to use the word only to stand for something essentially evil. swedenborg, we may note, in the course of a long passage from the work from which i have already quoted, says that by "magic" is signified "the science of spiritual things"(1) his position appears to be that there is a genuine magic, or science of spiritual things, and a false magic, that science perverted: a view of the matter which i propose here to adopt. the word "magic" itself is derived from the greek "magos," the wise man of the east, and hence the strict etymological meaning of the term is "the wisdom or science of the magi"; and it is, i think, significant that we are told (and i see no reason to doubt the truth of it) that the magi were among the first to worship the new-born christ.(2) (1) _op. cit_., se 5223. (2) see the gospel according to matthew, chap. ii., verses 1 to 12. if there be an abuse of correspondences, or symbols, there surely must also be a use, to which the word "magic" is not inapplicable. as such, religious ritual, and especially the sacraments of the christian church, will, no doubt, occur to the minds of those who regard these symbols as efficacious, though they would probably hesitate to apply the term "magical" to them. but in using this term as applying thereto, i do not wish to suggest that any such rites or ceremonies possess, or can possess, any causal efficacy in the moral evolution of the soul. the will alone, in virtue of the power vouchsafed to it by the source of all power, can achieve this; but i do think that the soul may be assisted by ritual, harmoniously related to the states of mind which it is desired to induce. no doubt there is a danger of religious ritual, especially when its meaning is lost, being engaged in for its own sake. it is then mere superstition;(1) and, in view of the danger of this degeneracy, many robust minds, such as the members of the society of friends, prefer to dispense with its aid altogether. when ritual is associated with erroneous doctrines, the results are even more disastrous, as i have indicated in "the belief in talismans". but when ritual is allied with, and based upon, as adequately symbolising, the high teaching of genuine religion, it may be, and, in fact, is, found very helpful by many people. as such its efficacy seems to me to be altogether magical, in the best sense of that word. (1) as "eliphas levi" well says: "superstition... is the sign surviving the thought; it is the dead body of a religious rite." (_op cit_., p. 150.) but, indeed, i think a still wider application of the word "magic" is possible. "all experience is magic," says novalis (1772-1801), "and only magically explicable";(2a) and again: "it is only because of the feebleness of our perceptions and activity that we do not perceive ourselves to be in a fairy world." no doubt it will be objected that the common experiences of daily life are "natural," whereas magic postulates the "supernatural". if, as is frequently done, we use the term "natural," as relating exclusively to the physical realm, then, indeed, we may well speak of magic as "supernatural," because its aims are psychical. on the other hand, the term "natural" is sometimes employed as referring to the whole realm of order, and in this sense one can use the word "magic" as descriptive of nature herself when viewed in the light of an idealistic philosophy, such as that of swedenborg, in which all causation is seen to be essentially spiritual, the things of this world being envisaged as symbols of ideas or spiritual verities, and thus physical causation regarded as an appearance produced in virtue of the magical, non-causal efficacy of symbols.(1) says cornelius agrippa: "... every day some natural thing is drawn by art and some divine thing is drawn by nature which, the egyptians, seeing, called nature a magicianess (_i.e_.) the very magical power itself, in the attracting of like by like, and of suitable things by suitable."(2) (2a) novalis: _schriften_ (ed. by ludwig tieck and fr. schlegel, 1805), vol. ii. p. 195 (1) for a discussion of the essentially magical character of inductive reasoning, see my _the magic of experience_ (1915) (2) _op. cit_., bk. i. chap. xxxvii. p. 119. i would suggest, in conclusion, that there is nothing really opposed to the spirit of modern science in the thesis that "all experience is magic, and only magically explicable." science does not pretend to reveal the fundamental or underlying cause of phenomena, does not pretend to answer the final why? this is rather the business of philosophy, though, in thus distinguishing between science and philosophy, i am far from insinuating that philosophy should be otherwise than scientific. we often hear religious but non-scientific men complain because scientific and perhaps equally as religious men do not in their books ascribe the production of natural phenomena to the divine power. but if they were so to do they would be transcending their business as scientists. in every science certain simple facts of experience are taken for granted: it is the business of the scientist to reduce other and more complex facts of experience to terms of these data, not to explain these data themselves. thus the physicist attempts to reduce other related phenomena of greater complexity to terms of simple force and motion; but, what are force and motion? why does force produce or result in motion? are questions which lie beyond the scope of physics. in order to answer these questions, if, indeed, this be possible, we must first inquire, how and why do these ideas of force and motion arise in our minds? these problems land us in the psychical or spiritual world, and the term "magic" at once becomes significant. "if, says thomas carlyle,... we... have led thee into the true land of dreams; and... thou lookest, even for moments, into the region of the wonderful, and seest and feelest that thy daily life is girt with wonder, and based on wonder, and thy very blankets and breeches are miracles,--then art thou profited beyond money's worth...."(1) (1) thomas carlyle: _sartor resartus_, bk. iii. chap. ix. viii. architectural symbolism i was once rash enough to suggest in an essay "on symbolism in art"(1) that "a true work of art is at once realistic, imaginative, and symbolical," and that its aim is to make manifest the spiritual significance of the natural objects dealt with. i trust that those artists (no doubt many) who disagree with me will forgive me--a man of science--for having ventured to express any opinion whatever on the subject. but, at any rate, if the suggestions in question are accepted, then a criterion for distinguishing between art and craft is at once available; for we may say that, whilst craft aims at producing works which are physically useful, art aims at producing works which are spiritually useful. architecture, from this point of view, is a combination of craft and art. it may, indeed, be said that the modern architecture which creates our dwelling-houses, factories, and even to a large extent our places of worship, is pure craft unmixed with art on the other hand, it might be argued that such works of architecture are not always devoid of decoration, and that "decorative art," even though the "decorative artist" is unconscious of this fact, is based upon rules and employs symbols which have a deep significance. the truly artistic element in architecture, however, is more clearly manifest if we turn our gaze to the past. one thinks at once, of course, of the pyramids and sphinx of egypt, and the rich and varied symbolism of design and decoration of antique structures to be found in persia and elsewhere in the east. it is highly probable that the egyptian pyramids were employed for astronomical purposes, and thus subserved physical utility, but it seems no less likely that their shape was suggested by a belief in some system of geometrical symbolism, and was intended to embody certain of their philosophical or religious doctrines. (1) published in _the occult review_ for august 1912, vol. xvi. pp. 98 to 102. the mediaeval cathedrals and churches of europe admirably exhibit this combination of art with craft. craft was needed to design and construct permanent buildings to protect worshippers from the inclemency of the weather; art was employed not only to decorate such buildings, but it dictated to craft many points in connection with their design. the builders of the mediaeval churches endeavoured so to construct their works that these might, as a whole and in their various parts, embody the truths, as they believed them, of the christian religion: thus the cruciform shape of churches, their orientation, etc. the practical value of symbolism in church architecture is obvious. as mr f. e. hulme remarks, "the sculptured fonts or stained-glass windows in the churches of the middle ages were full of teaching to a congregation of whom the greater part could not read, to whom therefore one great avenue of knowledge was closed. the ignorant are especially impressed by pictorial teaching, and grasp its meaning far more readily than they can follow a written description or a spoken discourse."(1) (1) f. edward hulme, f.l.s., f.s.a.: _the history, principles, and practice of symbolism in christian art_ (1909), p. 2. the subject of symbolism in church architecture is an extensive one, involving many side issues. in these excursions we shall consider only one aspect of it, namely, the symbolic use of animal forms in english church architecture. as mr collins, who has written, in recent years, an interesting work on this topic of much use to archaeologists as a book of data,(2a) points out, the great sources of animal symbolism were the famous _physiologus_ and other natural history books of the middle ages (generally called "bestiaries"), and the bible, mystically understood. the modern tendency is somewhat unsympathetic towards any attempt to interpret the bible symbolically, and certainly some of the interpretations that have been forced upon it in the name of symbolism are crude and fantastic enough. but in the belief of the mystics, culminating in the elaborate system of correspondences of swedenborg, that every natural object, every event in the history of the human race, and every word of the bible, has a symbolic and spiritual significance, there is, i think, a fundamental truth. we must, however, as i have suggested already, distinguish between true and forced symbolism. the early christians employed the fish as a symbol of christ, because the greek word for fish, icqus, is obtained by _notariqon_(1) from the phrase <gr 'ihsous cristos qeou uios, swthr>--"jesus christ, the son of god, the saviour." of course, the obvious use of such a symbol was its entire unintelligibility to those who had not yet been instructed in the mysteries of the christian faith, since in the days of persecution some degree of secrecy was necessary. but the symbol has significance only in the greek language, and that of an entirely arbitrary nature. there is nothing in the nature of the fish, apart from its name in greek, which renders it suitable to be used as a symbol of christ. contrast this pseudo-symbol, however, with that of the good shepherd, the lamb of god (fig. 34), or the lion of judah. here we have what may be regarded as true symbols, something of whose meanings are clear to the smallest degree of spiritual sight, even though the second of them has frequently been badly misinterpreted. (2a) arthur h. collins, m.a.: _symbolism of animals and birds represented in english church architecture_ (1913). (1) a kabalistic process by which a word is formed by taking the initial letters of a sentence or phrase. it was a belief in the spiritual or moral significance of nature similar to that of the mystical expositors of the bible, that inspired the mediaeval naturalists. the bestiaries almost invariably conclude the account of each animal with the moral that might be drawn from its behaviour. the interpretations are frequently very far-fetched, and as the writers were more interested in the morals than in the facts of natural history themselves, the supposed facts from which they drew their morals were frequently very far from being of the nature of facts. sometimes the product of this inaccuracy is grotesque, as shown by the following quotation: "the elephants are in an absurd way typical of adam and eve, who ate of the forbidden fruit, and also have the dragon for their enemy. it was supposed that the elephant... used to sleep by leaning against a tree. the hunters would come by night, and cut the trunk through. down he would come, roaring helplessly. none of his friends would be able to help him, until a small elephant should come and lever him up with his trunk. this small elephant was symbolic of jesus christ, who came in great humility to rescue the human race which had fallen 'through a tree.' "(1) (1) a. h. collins: _symbolism of animals, etc_., pp. 41 and 42. in some cases, though the symbolism is based upon quite erroneous notions concerning natural history, and is so far fantastic, it is not devoid of charm. the use of the pelican to symbolise the saviour is a case in point. legend tells us that when other food is unobtainable, the pelican thrusts its bill into its breast (whence the red colour of the bill) and feeds its young with its life-blood. were this only a fact, the symbol would be most appropriate. there is another and far less charming form of the legend, though more in accord with current perversions of christian doctrine, according to which the pelican uses its blood to revive its young, after having slain them through anger aroused by the great provocation which they are supposed to give it. for an example of the use of the pelican in church architecture see fig. 36. mention must also be made of the purely fabulous animals of the bestiaries, such as the basilisk, centaur, dragon, griffin, hydra, mantichora, unicorn, phoenix, _etc_. the centaur (fig. 39) was a beast, half man, half horse. it typified the flesh or carnal mind of man, and the legend of the perpetual war between the centaur and a certain tribe of simple savages who were said to live in trees in india, symbolised the combat between the flesh and the spirit.(1) (1) a h. collins: _symbolism of animals, etc_., pp. 150 and 153. with bow and arrow in its hands the centaur forms the astrological sign sagittarius (or the archer). an interesting example of this sign occurring in church architecture is to be found on the western doorway of portchester church--a most beautiful piece of norman architecture. "this sign of the zodiac," writes the rev. canon vaughan, m.a., a former vicar of portchester, "was the badge of king stephen, and its presence on the west front (of portchester church) seems to indicate, what was often the case elsewhere, that the elaborate norman carving was not carried out until after the completion of the building."(2) the facts, however, that this sagittarius is accompanied on the other side of the doorway by a couple of fishes, which form the astrological sign pisces (or the fishes), and that these two signs are what are termed, in astrological phraseology, the "houses" of the planet jupiter, the "major fortune," suggest that the architect responsible for the design, influenced by the astrological notions of his day, may have put the signs there in order to attract jupiter's beneficent influence. or he may have had the sagittarius carved for the reason canon vaughan suggests, and then, remembering how good a sign it was astrologically, had the pisces added to complete the effect.(1b) (2) rev. canon vaughan, m.a.: a short history of portchester castle, p. 14. (1b) two other possible explanations of the pisces have been suggested by the rev. a. headley. in his ms. book written in 1888, when he was vicar of portchester, he writes: "i have discovered an interesting proof that it (the church) was finished in stephen's reign, namely, the figure of sagittarius in the western doorway. "stephen adopted this as his badge for the double reason that it formed part of the arms of the city of blois, and that the sun was in sagittarius in december when he came to the throne. i, therefore, conclude that this badge was placed where it is to mark the completion of the church. "there is another sign of the zodiac in the archway, apparently pisces. this may have been chosen to mark the month in which the church was finished, or simply on account of its nearness to the sea. at one time i fancied it might refer to march, the month in which lady day occurred, thus referring to the patron saint, st mary. as the sun leaves pisces just before lady day this does not explain it. possibly in the old calendar it might do so. this is a matter for further research." (i have to thank the rev. h. lawrence fry, present vicar of portchester, for this quotation, and the rev. a. headley for permission to utilise it.) the phoenix and griffin we have encountered already in our excursions. the latter, we are told, inhabits desert places in india, where it can find nothing for its young to eat. it flies away to other regions to seek food, and is sufficiently strong to carry off an ox. thus it symbolises the devil, who is ever anxious to carry away our souls to the deserts of hell. fig. 37 illustrates an example of the use of this symbolic beast in church architecture. the mantichora is described by pliny (whose statements were unquestioningly accepted by the mediaeval naturalists), on the authority of ctesias (_fl_. 400 b.c.), as having "a triple row of teeth, which fit into each other like those of a comb, the face and ears of a man, and azure eyes, is the colour of blood, has the body of the lion, and a tail ending in a sting, like that of the scorpion. its voice resembles the union of the sound of the flute and the trumpet; it is of excessive swiftness, and is particularly fond of human flesh."(1) (1) pliny: _natural history_, bk. viii. chap. xxx. (bostock and riley's trans., vol. ii., 1855, p. 280.) concerning the unicorn, in an eighteenth-century work on natural history we read that this is "a beast, which though doubted of by many writers, yet is by others thus described: he has but one horn, and that an exceedingly rich one, growing out of the middle of his forehead. his head resembles an hart's, his feet an elephant's, his tail a boar's, and the rest of his body an horse's. the horn is about a foot and half in length. his voice is like the lowing of an ox. his mane and hair are of a yellowish colour. his horn is as hard as iron, and as rough as any file, twisted or curled, like a flaming sword; very straight, sharp, and every where black, excepting the point. great virtues are attributed to it, in expelling of poison and curing of several diseases. he is not a beast of prey."(2) the method of capturing the animal believed in by mediaeval writers was a curious one. the following is a literal translation from the _bestiary_ of philippe de thaun (12th century):-(2) (thomas boreman): _a description of three hundred animals_ (1730), p. 6. "monosceros is an animal which has one horn on its head, therefore it is so named; it has the form of a goat, it is caught by means of a virgin, now hear in what manner. when a man intends to hunt it and to take and ensnare it he goes to the forest where is its repair; there he places a virgin, with her breast uncovered, and by its smell the monosceros perceives it; then it comes to the virgin, and kisses her breast, falls asleep on her lap, and so comes to its death; the man arrives immediately, and kills it in its sleep, or takes it alive and does as he likes with it. it signifies much, i will not omit to tell it you. "monosceros is greek, it means _one horn_ in french: a beast of such a description signifies jesus christ; one god he is and shall be, and was and will continue so; he placed himself in the virgin, and took flesh for man's sake, and for virginity to show chastity; to a virgin he appeared and a virgin conceived him, a virgin she is, and will be, and will remain always. now hear briefly the signification. "this animal in truth signifies god; know that the virgin signifies st mary; by her breast we understand similarly holy church; and then by the kiss it ought to signify, that a man when he sleeps is in semblance of death; god slept as man, who suffered death on the cross, and his destruction was our redemption, and his labour our repose, thus god deceived the devil by a proper semblance; soul and body were one, so was god and man, and this is the signification of an animal of that description."(1) (1) _popular treatises on science written during the middle ages in anglo-saxon, anglo-norman, and english_, ed. by thomas wright (historical society of science, 1841), pp. 81-82. this being the current belief concerning the symbolism of the unicorn in the middle ages, it is not surprising to find this animal utilised in church architecture; for an example see fig. 35. the belief in the existence of these fabulous beasts may very probably have been due to the materialising of what were originally nothing more than mere arbitrary symbols, as i have already suggested of the phoenix.(1) thus the account of the mantichora may, as bostock has suggested, very well be a description of certain hieroglyphic figures, examples of which are still to be found in the ruins of assyrian and persian cities. this explanation seems, on the whole, more likely than the alternative hypothesis that such beliefs were due to mal-observation; though that, no doubt, helped in their formation. (1) "superstitions concerning birds." it may be questioned, however, whether the architects and preachers of the middle ages altogether believed in the strange fables of the bestiaries. as mr collins says in reply to this question: "probably they were credulous enough. but, on the whole, we may say that the truth of the story was just what they did not trouble about, any more than some clergymen are particular about the absolute truth of the stories they tell children from the pulpit. the application, the lesson, is the thing!" with their desire to interpret nature spiritually, we ought, i think, to sympathise. but there was one truth they had yet to learn, namely, that in order to interpret nature spiritually, it is necessary first to understand her aright in her literal sense. ix. the quest of the philosopher's stone the need of unity is a primary need of human thought. behind the varied multiplicity of the world of phenomena, primitive man, as i have indicated on a preceding excursion, begins to seek, more or less consciously, for that unity which alone is real. and this statement not only applies to the first dim gropings of the primitive human mind, but sums up almost the whole of science and philosophy; for almost all science and philosophy is explicitly or implicitly a search for unity, for one law or one love, one matter or one spirit. that which is the aim of the search may, indeed, be expressed under widely different terms, but it is always conceived to be the unity in which all multiplicity is resolved, whether it be thought of as one final law of necessity, which all things obey, and of which all the various other "laws of nature" are so many special and limited applications; or as one final love for which all things are created, and to which all things aspire; as one matter of which all bodies are but varying forms; or as one spirit, which is the life of all things, and of which all things are so many manifestations. every scientist and philosopher is a merchant seeking for goodly pearls, willing to sell every pearl that he has, if he may secure the one pearl beyond price, because he knows that in that one pearl all others are included. this search for unity in multiplicity, however, is not confined to the acknowledged scientist and philosopher. more or less unconsciously everyone is engaged in this quest. harmony and unity are the very fundamental laws of the human mind itself, and, in a sense, all mental activity is the endeavour to bring about a state of harmony and unity in the mind. no two ideas that are contradictory of one another, and are perceived to be of this nature, can permanently exist in any sane man's mind. it is true that many people try to keep certain portions of their mental life in water-tight compartments; thus some try to keep their religious convictions and their business ideas, or their religious faith and their scientific knowledge, separate from another one--and, it seems, often succeed remarkably well in so doing. but, ultimately, the arbitrary mental walls they have erected will break down by the force of their own ideas. contradictory ideas from different compartments will then present themselves to consciousness at the same moment of time, and the result of the perception of their contradictory nature will be mental anguish and turmoil, persisting until one set of ideas is conquered and overcome by the other, and harmony and unity are restored. it is true of all of us, then, that we seek for unity--unity in mind and life. some seek it in science and a life of knowledge; some seek it in religion and a life of faith; some seek it in human love and find it in the life of service to their fellows; some seek it in pleasure and the gratification of the senses' demands; some seek it in the harmonious development of all the facets of their being. many the methods, right and wrong; many the terms under which the one is conceived, true and false--in a sense, to use the phraseology of a bygone system of philosophy, we are all, consciously or unconsciously, following paths that lead thither or paths that lead away, seekers in the quest of the philosopher's stone. let us, in these excursions in the byways of thought, consider for a while the form that the quest of fundamental unity took in the hands of those curious mediaeval philosophers, half mystics, half experimentalists in natural things--that are known by the name of "alchemists." the common opinion concerning alchemy is that it was a pseudo-science or pseudo-art flourishing during the dark ages, and having for its aim the conversion of common metals into silver and gold by means of a most marvellous and wholly fabulous agent called the philosopher's stone, that its devotees were half knaves, half fools, whose views concerning nature were entirely erroneous, and whose objects were entirely mercenary. this opinion is not absolutely destitute of truth; as a science alchemy involved many fantastic errors; and in the course of its history it certainly proved attractive to both knaves and fools. but if this opinion involves some element of truth, it involves a far greater proportion of error. amongst the alchemists are numbered some of the greatest intellects of the middle ages--roger bacon (_c_. 1214-1294), for example, who might almost be called the father of experimental science. and whether or not the desire for material wealth was a secondary object, the true aim of the genuine alchemist was a much nobler one than this as one of them exclaims with true scientific fervour: "would to god... all men might become adepts in our art--for then gold, the great idol of mankind, would lose its value, and we should prize it only for its scientific teaching."(1) moreover, recent developments in physical and chemical science seem to indicate that the alchemists were not so utterly wrong in their concept of nature as has formerly been supposed--that, whilst they certainly erred in both their methods and their interpretations of individual phenomena, they did intuitively grasp certain fundamental facts concerning the universe ofthe very greatest importance. (1) eirenaeus philalethes: _an open entrance to the closed palace of the king_. (see _the hermetic museum, restored and enlarged_, ed. by a. e. waite, 1893, vol. ii. p. 178.) suppose, however, that the theories of the alchemists are entirely erroneous from beginning to end, and are nowhere relieved by the merest glimmer of truth. still they were believed to be true, and this belief had an important influence upon human thought. many men of science have, i am afraid, been too prone to regard the mystical views of the alchemists as unintelligible; but, whatever their theories may be to us, these theories were certainly very real to them: it is preposterous to maintain that the writings of the alchemists are without meaning, even though their views are altogether false. and the more false their views are believed to be, the more necessary does it become to explain why they should have gained such universal credit. here we have problems into which scientific inquiry is not only legitimate, but, i think, very desirable,--apart altogether from the question of the truth or falsity of alchemy as a science, or its utility as an art. what exactly was the system of beliefs grouped under the term "alchemy," and what was its aim? why were the beliefs held? what was their precise influence upon human thought and culture? it was in order to elucidate problems of this sort, as well as to determine what elements of truth, if any, there are in the theories of the alchemists, that the alchemical society was founded in 1912, mainly through my own efforts and those of my confreres, and for the first time something like justice was being done to the memory of the alchemists when the society's activities were stayed by that greatest calamity of history, the european war. some students of the writings of the alchemists have advanced a very curious and interesting theory as to the aims of the alchemists, which may be termed "the transcendental theory". according to this theory, the alchemists were concerned only with the mystical processes affecting the soul of man, and their chemical references are only to be understood symbolically. in my opinion, however, this view of the subject is rendered untenable by the lives of the alchemists themselves; for, as mr waite has very fully pointed out in his _lives of alchemystical philosophers_ (1888), the lives of the alchemists show them to have been mainly concerned with chemical and physical processes; and, indeed, to their labours we owe many valuable discoveries of a chemical nature. but the fact that such a theory should ever have been formulated, and should not be altogether lacking in consistency, may serve to direct our attention to the close connection between alchemy and mysticism. if we wish to understand the origin and aims of alchemy we must endeavour to recreate the atmosphere of the middle ages, and to look at the subject from the point of view of the alchemists themselves. now, this atmosphere was, as i have indicated in a previous essay, surcharged with mystical theology and mystical philosophy. alchemy, so to speak, was generated and throve in a dim religious light. we cannot open a book by any one of the better sort of alchemists without noticing how closely their theology and their chemistry are interwoven, and what a remarkably religious view they take of their subject. thus one alchemist writes: "in the first place, let every devout and god-fearing chemist and student of this art consider that this arcanum should be regarded, not only as a truly great, but as a most holy art (seeing that it typifies and shadows out the highest heavenly good). therefore, if any man desire to reach this great and unspeakable mystery, he must remember that it is obtained not by the might of man, but by the grace of god, and that not our will or desire, but only the mercy of the most high, can bestow it upon us. for this reason you must first of all cleanse your heart, lift it up to him alone, and ask of him this gift in true, earnest and undoubting prayer. he alone can give and bestow it."(1) whilst another alchemist declares: "i am firmly persuaded that any unbeliever who got truly to know this art, would straightway confess the truth of our blessed religion, and believe in the trinity and in our lord jesus christ."(2) (1) _the sophic hydrolith; or, water stone of the wise_. (see _the hermetic museum_, vol. i. pp. 74 and 75.) (2) peter bonus: _the new pearl of great price_ (trans. by a. e. waite, 1894), p. 275. now, what i suggest is that the alchemists constructed their chemical theories for the main part by means of _a priori_ reasoning, and that the premises from which they started were (i.) the truth of mystical theology, especially the doctrine of the soul's regeneration, and (ii.) the truth of mystical philosophy, which asserts that the objects of nature are symbols of spiritual verities. there is, i think, abundant evidence to show that alchemy was a more or less deliberate attempt to apply, according to the principles of analogy, the doctrines of religious mysticism to chemical and physical phenomena. some of this evidence i shall attempt to put forward in this essay. in the first place, however, i propose to say a few words more in description of the theological and philosophical doctrines which so greatly influenced the alchemists, and which, i believe, they borrowed for their attempted explanations of chemical and physical phenomena. this system of doctrine i have termed "mysticism"--a word which is unfortunately equivocal, and has been used to denote various systems of religious and philosophical thought, from the noblest to the most degraded. i have, therefore, further to define my usage of the term. by mystical theology i mean that system of religious thought which emphasises the unity between creator and creature, though not necessarily to the extent of becoming pantheistic. man, mystical theology asserts, has sprung from god, but has fallen away from him through self-love. within man, however, is the seed of divine grace, whereby, if he will follow the narrow road of self-renunciation, he may be regenerated, born anew, becoming transformed into the likeness of god and ultimately indissolubly united to god in love. god is at once the creator and the restorer of man's soul, he is the origin as well as the end of all existence; and he is also the way to that end. in christian mysticism, christ is the pattern, towards which the mystic strives; christ also is the means towards the attainment of this end. by mystical philosophy i mean that system of philosophical thought which emphasises the unity of the cosmos, asserting that god and the spiritual may be perceived immanent in the things of this world, because all things natural are symbols and emblems of spiritual verities. as one of the _golden verses_ attributed to pythagoras, which i have quoted in a previous essay, puts it: "the nature of this universe is in all things alike"; commenting upon which, hierocles, writing in the fifth or sixth century, remarks that "nature, in forming this universe after the divine measure and proportion, made it in all things conformable and like to itself, analogically in different manners. of all the different species, diffused throughout the whole, it made, as it were, an image of the divine beauty, imparting variously to the copy the perfections of the original."(1) we have, however, already encountered so many instances of this belief, that no more need be said here concerning it. (1) _commentary of_ hierocles _on the golden verses of_ pythagoras (trans. by n. rowe, 1906), pp. 101 and 102. in fine, as dean inge well says: "religious mysticism may be defined as the attempt to realise the presence of the living god in the soul and in nature, or, more generally, as _the attempt to realise, in thought and feeling, the immanence of the temporal in the eternal, and of the eternal in the temporal_."(2) (2) william ralph inge, m.a.: _christian mysticism_ (the bampton lectures, 1899), p. 5. now, doctrines such as these were not only very prevalent during the middle ages, when alchemy so greatly flourished, but are of great antiquity, and were undoubtedly believed in by the learned class in egypt and elsewhere in the east in those remote days when, as some think, alchemy originated, though the evidence, as will, i hope, become plain as we proceed, points to a later and post-christian origin for the central theorem of alchemy. so far as we can judge from their writings, the more important alchemists were convinced of the truth of these doctrines, and it was with such beliefs in mind that they commenced their investigations of physical and chemical phenomena. indeed, if we may judge by the esteem in which the hermetic maxim, "what is above is as that which is below, what is below is as that which is above, to accomplish the miracles of the one thing," was held by every alchemist, we are justified in asserting that the mystical theory of the spiritual significance of nature--a theory with which, as we have seen, is closely connected the neoplatonic and kabalistic doctrine that all things emanate in series from the divine source of all being--was at the very heart of alchemy. as writes one alchemist: "... the sages have been taught of god that this natural world is only an image and material copy of a heavenly and spiritual pattern; that the very existence of this world is based upon the reality of its celestial archetype; and that god has created it in imitation of the spiritual and invisible universe, in order that men might be the better enabled to comprehend his heavenly teaching, and the wonders of his absolute and ineffable power and wisdom. thus the sage sees heaven reflected in nature as in a mirror; and he pursues this art, not for the sake of gold or silver, but for the love of the knowledge which it reveals; he jealously conceals it from the sinner and the scornful, lest the mysteries of heaven should be laid bare to the vulgar gaze."(1) (1) michael sendivogius (?): _the new chemical light, pt. ii., concerning sulphur_. (see _the hermetic museum_, vol. ii. p. 138.) the alchemists, i hold, convinced of the truth of this view of nature, _i.e_. that principles true of one plane of being are true also of all other planes, adopted analogy as their guide in dealing with the facts of chemistry and physics known to them. they endeavoured to explain these facts by an application to them of the principles of mystical theology, their chief aim being to prove the truth of these principles as applied to the facts of the natural realm, and by studying natural phenomena to become instructed in spiritual truth. they did not proceed by the sure, but slow, method of modern science, _i.e_. the method of induction, which questions experience at every step in the construction of a theory; but they boldly allowed their imaginations to leap ahead and to formulate a complete theory of the cosmos on the strength of but few facts. this led them into many fantastic errors, but i would not venture to deny them an intuitive perception of certain fundamental truths concerning the constitution of the cosmos, even if they distorted these truths and dressed them in a fantastic garb. now, as i hope to make plain in the course of this excursion, the alchemists regarded the discovery of the philosopher's stone and the transmutation of "base" metals into gold as the consummation of the proof of the doctrines of mystical theology as applied to chemical phenomena, and it was as such that they so ardently sought to achieve the _magnum opus_, as this transmutation was called. of course, it would be useless to deny that many, accepting the truth of the great alchemical theorem, sought for the philosopher's stone because of what was claimed for it in the way of material benefits. but, as i have already indicated, with the nobler alchemists this was not the case, and the desire for wealth, if present at all, was merely a secondary object. the idea expressed in dalton's atomic hypothesis (1802), and universally held during the nineteenth century, that the material world is made up of a certain limited number of elements unalterable in quantity, subject in themselves to no change or development, and inconvertible one into another, is quite alien to the views of the alchemists. the alchemists conceived the universe to be a unity; they believed that all material bodies had been developed from one seed; their elements are merely different forms of one matter and, therefore, convertible one into another. they were thoroughgoing evolutionists with regard to the things of the material world, and their theory concerning the evolution of the metals was, i believe, the direct outcome of a metallurgical application of the mystical doctrine of the soul's development and regeneration. the metals, they taught, all spring from the same seed in nature's womb, but are not all equally matured and perfect; for, as they say, although nature always intends to produce only gold, various impurities impede the process. in the metals the alchemists saw symbols of man in the various stages of his spiritual development. gold, the most beautiful as well as the most untarnishable metal, keeping its beauty permanently, unaffected by sulphur, most acids, and fire--indeed, purified by such treatment,--gold, to the alchemist, was the symbol of regenerate man, and therefore he called it "a noble metal". silver was also termed "noble"; but it was regarded as less mature than gold, for, although it is undoubtedly beautiful and withstands the action of fire, it is corroded by nitric acid and is blackened by sulphur; it was, therefore, considered to be analogous to the regenerate man at a lower stage of his development. possibly we shall not be far wrong in using swedenborg's terms, "celestial" to describe the man of gold, "spiritual" to designate him of silver. lead, on the other hand, the alchemists regarded as a very immature and impure metal: heavy and dull, corroded by sulphur and nitric acid, and converted into a calx by the action of fire,--lead, to the alchemists, was a symbol of man in a sinful and unregenerate condition. the alchemists assumed the existence of three principles in the metals, their obvious reason for so doing being the mystical threefold division of man into body, soul (_i.e_. affections and will), and spirit (_i.e_. intelligence), though the principle corresponding to body was a comparatively late introduction in alchemical philosophy. this latter fact, however, is no argument against my thesis; because, of course, i do not maintain that the alchemists started out with their chemical philosophy ready made, but gradually worked it out, by incorporating in it further doctrines drawn from mystical theology. the three principles just referred to were called "mercury," "sulphur," and "salt"; and they must be distinguished from the common bodies so designated (though the alchemists themselves seem often guilty of confusing them). "mercury" is the metallic principle _par excellence_, conferring on metals their brightness and fusibility, and corresponding to the spirit or intelligence in man.(1) "sulphur," the principle of combustion and colour, is the analogue of the soul. many alchemists postulated two sulphurs in the metals, an inward and an outward.(1b) the outward sulphur was thought to be the chief cause of metallic impurity, and the reason why all (known) metals, save gold and silver, were acted on by fire. the inward sulphur, on the other hand, was regarded as essential to the development of the metals: pure mercury, we are told, matured by a pure inward sulphur yields pure gold. here again it is evident that the alchemists borrowed their theories from mystical theology; for, clearly, inward sulphur is nothing else than the equivalent to love of god; outward sulphur to love of self. intelligence (mercury) matured by love to god (inward sulphur) exactly expresses the spiritual state of the regenerate man according to mystical theology. there is no reason, other than their belief in analogy, why the alchemists should have held such views concerning the metals. "salt," the principle of solidity and resistance to fire, corresponding to the body in man, plays a comparatively unimportant part in alchemical theory, as does its prototype in mystical theology. (1) the identification of the god mercury with thoth, the egyptian god of learning, is worth noticing in this connection. (1b) pseudo-geber, whose writings were highly esteemed, for instance. see r. russel's translation of his works (1678), p. 160. now, as i have pointed out already, the central theorem of mystical theology is, in christian terminology, that of the regeneration of the soul by the spirit of christ. the corresponding process in alchemy is that of the transmutation of the "base" metals into silver and gold by the agency of the philosopher's stone. merely to remove the evil sulphur of the "base" metals, thought the alchemists, though necessary, is not sufficient to transmute them into "noble" metals; a maturing process is essential, similar to that which they supposed was effected in nature's womb. mystical theology teaches that the powers and life of the soul are not inherent in it, but are given by the free grace of god. neither, according to the alchemists, are the powers and life of nature in herself, but in that immanent spirit, the soul of the world, that animates her. as writes the famous alchemist who adopted the pleasing pseudonym of "basil valentine" (_c_. 1600), "the power of growth... is imparted not by the earth, but by the life-giving spirit that is in it. if the earth were deserted by this spirit, it would be dead, and no longer able to afford nourishment to anything. for its sulphur or richness would lack the quickening spirit without which there can be neither life nor growth."(1a) to perfect the metals, therefore, the alchemists argued, from analogy with mystical theology, which teaches that men can be regenerated only by the power of christ within the soul, that it is necessary to subject them to the action of this world-spirit, this one essence underlying all the varied powers of nature, this one thing from which "all things were produced... by adaption, and which is the cause of all perfection throughout the whole world."(2a) "this," writes one alchemist, "is the spirit of truth, which the world cannot comprehend without the interposition of the holy ghost, or without the instruction of those who know it. the same is of a mysterious nature, wondrous strength, boundless power.... by avicenna this spirit is named the soul of the world. for, as the soul moves all the limbs of the body, so also does this spirit move all bodies. and as the soul is in all the limbs of the body, so also is this spirit in all elementary created things. it is sought by many and found by few. it is beheld from afar and found near; for it exists in every thing, in every place, and at all times. it has the powers of all creatures; its action is found in all elements, and the qualities of all things are therein, even in the highest perfection... it heals all dead and living bodies without other medicine... converts all metallic bodies into gold, and there is nothing like unto it under heaven."(1b) it was this spirit, concentrated in all its potency in a suitable material form, which the alchemists sought under the name of "the philosopher's stone". now, mystical theology teaches that the spirit of christ, by which alone the soul of man can be tinctured and transmuted into the likeness of god, is goodness itself; consequently, the alchemists argued that the philosopher's stone must be, so to speak, gold itself, or the very essence of gold: it was to them, as christ is of the soul's perfection, at once the pattern and the means of metallic perfection. "the philosopher's stone," declares "eirenaeus philalethes" (_nat. c_. 1623), "is a certain heavenly, spiritual, penetrative, and fixed substance, which brings all metals to the perfection of gold or silver (according to the quality of the medicine), and that by natural methods, which yet in their effects transcend nature.... know, then, that it is called a stone, not because it is like a stone, but only because, by virtue of its fixed nature, it resists the action of fire as successfully as any stone. in species it is gold, more pure than the purest; it is fixed and incombustible like a stone (_i.e_. it contains no outward sulphur, but only inward, fixed sulphur), but its appearance is that of a very fine powder, impalpable to the touch, sweet to the taste, fragrant to the smell, in potency a most penetrative spirit, apparently dry and yet unctuous, and easily capable of tingeing a plate of metal.... if we say that its nature is spiritual, it would be no more than the truth; if we described it as corporeal the expression would be equally correct; for it is subtle, penetrative, glorified, spiritual gold. it is the noblest of all created things after the rational soul, and has virtue to repair all defects both in animal and metallic bodies, by restoring them to the most exact and perfect temper; wherefore is it a spirit or 'quintessence.'"(1c) (1a) basil valentine: _the twelve keys_. (see _the hermetic museum_, vol. i. pp. 333 and 334.) (2a) from the "smaragdine table," attributed to hermes trismegistos (_ie_. mercury or thoth). (1b) _the book of the revelation of_ hermes, _interpreted by_ theophrastus paracelsus, _concerning the supreme secret of the world_. (see benedictus figulus, _a golden and blessed casket of nature's marvels_, trans. by a. e. waite, 1893, pp. 36, 37, and 41.) (1c) eirenaeus philalethes: _a brief guide to the celestial ruby_. (see _the hermetic museum_, vol. ii. pp. 246 and 249.) in other accounts the philosopher's stone, or at least the _materia prima_ of which it is compounded, is spoken of as a despised substance, reckoned to be of no value. thus, according to one curious alchemistic work, "this matter, so precious by the excellent gifts, wherewith nature has enriched it, is truly mean, with regard to the substances from whence it derives its original. their price is not above the ability of the poor. ten pence is more than sufficient to purchase the matter of the stone.... the matter therefore is mean, considering the foundation of the art because it costs very little; it is no less mean, if one considers exteriourly that which gives it perfection, since in that regard it costs nothing at all, in as much as _all the world has it in its power_... so that... it is a constant truth, that the stone is a thing mean in one sense, but that in another it is most precious, and that there are none but fools that despise it, by a just judgment of god."(1) and jacob boehme (1575--1624) writes: "the _philosopher's stone_ is a very dark, disesteemed stone, of a grey colour, but therein lieth the highest tincture."(2) in these passages there is probably some reference to the ubiquity of the spirit of the world, already referred to in a former quotation. but this fact is not, in itself, sufficient to account for them. i suggest that their origin is to be found in the religious doctrine that god's grace, the spirit of christ that is the means of the transmutation of man's soul into spiritual gold, is free to all; that it is, at once, the meanest and the most precious thing in the whole universe. indeed, i think it quite probable that the alchemists who penned the above-quoted passages had in mind the words of isaiah, "he was despised and we esteemed him not." and if further evidence is required that the alchemists believed in a correspondence between christ--"the stone which the builders rejected"--and the philosopher's stone, reference may be made to the alchemical work called _the sophic hydrolith: or water stone of the wise_, a tract included in _the hermetic museum_, in which this supposed correspondence is explicitly asserted and dealt with in some detail. (1) _a discourse between eudoxus and pyrophilus, upon the ancient war of the knights_. see _the hermetical triumph: or, the victorious philosophical stone_ (1723), pp. 101 and 102. (2) jacob boehme: _epistles_ (trans. by j. e., 1649, reprinted 1886), ep. iv., se iii. apart from the alchemists' belief in the analogy between natural and spiritual things, it is, i think, incredible that any such theories of the metals and the possibility of their transmutation or "regeneration" by such an extraordinary agent as the philosopher's stone would have occurred to the ancient investigators of nature's secrets. when they had started to formulate these theories, facts(1) were discovered which appeared to support them; but it is, i suggest, practically impossible to suppose that any or all of these facts would, in themselves, have been sufficient to give rise to such wonderfully fantastic theories as these: it is only from the standpoint of the theory that alchemy was a direct offspring of mysticism that its origin seems to be capable of explanation. (1) one of those facts, amongst many others, that appeared to confirm the alchemical doctrines, was the ease with which iron could apparently be transmuted into copper. it was early observed that iron vessels placed in contact with a solution of blue vitriol became converted (at least, so far as their surfaces were concerned) into copper. this we now know to be due to the fact that the copper originally contained in the vitriol is thrown out of solution, whilst the iron takes its place. and we know, also, that no more copper can be obtained in this way from the blue vitriol than is actually used up in preparing it; and, further, that all the iron which is apparently converted into copper can be got out of the residual solution by appropriate methods, if such be desired; so that the facts really support dalton's theory rather than the alchemical doctrines. but to the alchemist it looked like a real transmutation of iron into copper, confirmation of his fond belief that iron and other base metals could be transmuted into silver and gold by the aid of the great arcanum of nature. in all the alchemical doctrines mystical connections are evident, and mystical origins can generally be traced. i shall content myself here with giving a couple of further examples. consider, in the first place, the alchemical doctrine of purification by putrefaction, that the metals must die before they can be resurrected and truly live, that through death alone are they purified--in the more prosaic language of modern chemistry, death becomes oxidation, and rebirth becomes reduction. in many alchemical books there are to be found pictorial symbols of the putrefaction and death of metals and their new birth in the state of silver or gold, or as the stone itself, together with descriptions of these processes. the alchemists sought to kill or destroy the body or outward form of the metals, in the hope that they might get at and utilise the living essence they believed to be immanent within. as paracelsus put it: "nothing of true value is located in the body of a substance, but in the virtue... the less there is of body, the more in proportion is the virtue." it seems to me quite obvious that in such ideas as these we have the application to metallurgy of the mystic doctrine of self-renunciation--that the soul must die to self before it can live to god; that the body must be sacrificed to the spirit, and the individual will bowed down utterly to the one divine will, before it can become one therewith. in the second place, consider the directions as to the colours that must be obtained in the preparation of the philosopher's stone, if a successful issue to the great work is desired. such directions are frequently given in considerable detail in alchemical works; and, without asserting any exact uniformity, i think that i may state that practically all the alchemists agree that three great colour-stages are necessary--(i.) an inky blackness, which is termed the "crow's head" and is indicative of putrefaction; (ii.) a white colour indicating that the stone is now capable of converting "base" metals into silver; this passes through orange into (iii.) a red colour, which shows that the stone is now perfect, and will transmute "base" metals into gold. now, what was the reason for the belief in these three colour-stages, and for their occurrence in the above order? i suggest that no alchemist actually obtained these colours in this order in his chemical experiments, and that we must look for a speculative origin for the belief in them. we have, i think, only to turn to religious mysticism for this origin. for the exponents of religious mysticism unanimously agree to a threefold division of the life of the mystic. the first stage is called "the dark night of the soul," wherein it seems as if the soul were deserted by god, although he is very near. it is the time of trial, when self is sacrificed as a duty and not as a delight. afterwards, however, comes the morning light of a new intelligence, which marks the commencement of that stage of the soul's upward progress that is called the "illuminative life". all the mental powers are now concentrated on god, and the struggle is transferred from without to the inner man, good works being now done, as it were, spontaneously. the disciple, in this stage, not only does unselfish deeds, but does them from unselfish motives, being guided by the light of divine truth. the third stage, which is the consummation of the process, is termed "the contemplative life". it is barely describable. the disciple is wrapped about with the divine love, and is united thereby with his divine source. it is the life of love, as the illuminative life is that of wisdom. i suggest that the alchemists, believing in this threefold division of the regenerative process, argued that there must be three similar stages in the preparation of the stone, which was the pattern of all metallic perfection; and that they derived their beliefs concerning the colours, and other peculiarities of each stage in the supposed chemical process, from the characteristics of each stage in the psychological process according to mystical theology. moreover, in the course of the latter process many flitting thoughts and affections arise and deeds are half-wittingly done which are not of the soul's true character; and in entire agreement with this, we read of the alchemical process, in the highly esteemed "canons" of d'espagnet: "besides these decretory signs (_i.e_. the black, white, orange, and red colours) which firmly inhere in the matter, and shew its essential mutations, almost infinite colours appear, and shew themselves in vapours, as the rainbow in the clouds, which quickly pass away and are expelled by those that succeed, more affecting the air than the earth: the operator must have a gentle care of them, because they are not permanent, and proceed not from the intrinsic disposition of the matter, but from the fire painting and fashioning everything after its pleasure, or casually by heat in slight moisture."(1) that d'espagnet is arguing, not so much from actual chemical experiments, as from analogy with psychological processes in man, is, i think, evident. (1) jean d'espagnet: _hermetic arcanum_, canon 65. (see _collectanea hermetica_, ed. by w. wynn westcott, vol. i., 1893, pp. 28 and 29.) as well as a metallic, the alchemists believed in a physiological, application of the fundamental doctrines of mysticism: their physiology was analogically connected with their metallurgy, the same principles holding good in each case. paracelsus, as we have seen, taught that man is a microcosm, a world in miniature; his spirit, the divine spark within, is from god; his soul is from the stars, extracted from the spirit of the world; and his body is from the earth, extracted from the elements of which all things material are made. this view of man was shared by many other alchemists. the philosopher's stone, therefore (or, rather, a solution of it in alcohol) was also regarded as the elixir of life; which, thought the alchemists, would not endow man with physical immortality, as is sometimes supposed, but restore him again to the flower of youth, "regenerating" him physiologically. failing this, of course, they regarded gold in a potable form as the next most powerful medicine--a belief which probably led to injurious effects in some cases. such are the facts from which i think we are justified in concluding, as i have said, "that the alchemists constructed their chemical theories for the main part by means of _a priori_ reasoning, and that the premises from which they started were (i.) the truth of mystical theology, especially the doctrine of the soul's regeneration, and (ii.) the truth of mystical philosophy, which asserts that the objects of nature are symbols of spiritual verities."(1) (1) in the following excursion we will wander again in the alchemical bypaths of thought, and certain objections to this view of the origin and nature of alchemy will be dealt with and, i hope, satisfactorily answered. it seems to follow, _ex hypothesi_, that every alchemical work ought to permit of two interpretations, one physical, the other transcendental. but i would not venture to assert this, because, as i think, many of the lesser alchemists knew little of the origin of their theories, nor realised their significance. they were concerned merely with these theories in their strictly metallurgical applications, and any transcendental meaning we can extract from their works was not intended by the writers themselves. however, many alchemists, i conceive, especially the better sort, realised more or less clearly the dual nature of their subject, and their books are to some extent intended to permit of a double interpretation, although the emphasis is laid upon the physical and chemical application of mystical doctrine. and there are a few writers who adopted alchemical terminology on the principle that, if the language of theology is competent to describe chemical processes, then, conversely, the language of alchemy must be competent to describe psychological processes: this is certainly and entirely true of jacob boehme, and, to some extent also, i think, of henry khunrath (1560-1605) and thomas vaughan (1622-1666). as may be easily understood, many of the alchemists led most romantic lives, often running the risk of torture and death at the hands of avaricious princes who believed them to be in possession of the philosopher's stone, and adopted such pleasant methods of extorting (or, at least, of trying to extort) their secrets. a brief sketch, which i quote from my _alchemy: ancient and modern_ (1911), se 54, of the lives of alexander sethon and michael sendivogius, will serve as an example:-"the date and birthplace of alexander sethon, a scottish alchemist, do not appear to have been recorded, but michael sendivogius was probably born in moravia about 1566. sethon, we are told, was in possession of the arch-secrets of alchemy. he visited holland in 1602, proceeded after a time to italy, and passed through basle to germany; meanwhile he is said to have performed many transmutations. ultimately arriving at dresden, however, he fell into the clutches of the young elector, christian ii., who, in order to extort his secret, cast him into prison and put him to the torture, but without avail. now it so happened that sendivogius, who was in quest of the philosopher's stone, was staying at dresden, and hearing of sethon's imprisonment obtained permission to visit him. sendivogius offered to effect sethon's escape in return for assistance in his alchemistic pursuits, to which arrangement the scottish alchemist willingly agreed. after some considerable outlay of money in bribery, sendivogius's plan of escape was successfully carried out, and sethon found himself a free man; but he refused to betray the high secrets of hermetic philosophy to his rescuer. however, before his death, which occurred shortly afterwards, he presented him with an ounce of the transmutative powder. sendivogius soon used up this powder, we are told, in effecting transmutations and cures, and, being fond of expensive living, he married sethon's widow, in the hope that she was in the possession of the transmutative secret. in this, however, he was disappointed; she knew nothing of the matter, but she had the manuscript of an alchemistic work written by her late husband. shortly afterwards sendivogius printed at prague a book entitled _the new chemical light_ under the name of 'cosmopolita,' which is said to have been this work of sethon's, but which sendivogius claimed for his own by the insertion of his name on the title page, in the form of an anagram. the tract _on sulphur_ which was printed at the end of the book in later editions, however, is said to have been the genuine work of the moravian. whilst his powder lasted, sendivogius travelled about, performing, we are told, many transmutations. he was twice imprisoned in order to extort the secrets of alchemy from him, on one occasion escaping, and on the other occasion obtaining his release from the emperor rudolph. afterwards, he appears to have degenerated into an impostor, but this is said to have been a _finesse_ to hide his true character as an alchemistic adept. he died in 1646." however, all the alchemists were not of the apparent character of sendivogius--many of them leading holy and serviceable lives. the alchemist-physician j. b. van helmont (1577-1644), who was a man of extraordinary benevolence, going about treating the sick poor freely, may be particularly mentioned. he, too, claimed to have performed the transmutation of "base" metal into gold, as did also helvetius (whom we have already met), physician to the prince of orange, with a wonderful preparation given to him by a stranger. the testimony of these two latter men is very difficult either to explain or to explain away, but i cannot deal with this question here, but must refer the reader to a paper on the subject by mr gaston de mengel, and the discussion thereon, published in vol. i. of _the journal of the alchemical society_. in conclusion, i will venture one remark dealing with a matter outside of the present inquiry. alchemy ended its days in failure and fraud; charlatans and fools were attracted to it by purely mercenary objects, who knew nothing of the high aims of the genuine alchemists, and scientific men looked elsewhere for solutions of nature's problems. why did alchemy fail? was it because its fundamental theorems were erroneous? i think not. i consider the failure of the alchemical theory of nature to be due rather to the misapplication of these fundamental concepts, to the erroneous use of _a priori_ methods of reasoning, to a lack of a sufficiently wide knowledge of natural phenomena to which to apply these concepts, to a lack of adequate apparatus with which to investigate such phenomena experimentally, and to a lack of mathematical organons of thought with which to interpret such experimental results had they been obtained. as for the basic concepts of alchemy themselves, such as the fundamental unity of the cosmos and the evolution of the elements, in a word, the applicability of the principles of mysticism to natural phenomena: these seem to me to contain a very valuable element of truth--a statement which, i think, modern scientific research justifies me in making,--though the alchemists distorted this truth and expressed it in a fantastic form. i think, indeed, that in the modern theories of energy and the all-pervading ether, the etheric and electrical origin and nature of matter and the evolution of the elements, we may witness the triumphs of mysticism as applied to the interpretation of nature. whether or not we shall ever transmute lead into gold, i believe there is a very true sense in which we may say that alchemy, purified by its death, has been proved true, whilst the materialistic view of nature has been proved false. x. the phallic element in alchemical doctrine the problem of alchemy presents many aspects to our view, but, to my mind, the most fundamental of these is psychological, or, perhaps i should say, epistemological. it has been said that the proper study of mankind is man; and to study man we must study the beliefs of man. now so long as we neglect great tracts of such beliefs, because they have been, or appear to have been, superseded, so long will our study be incomplete and ineffectual. and this, let me add, is no mere excuse for the study of alchemy, no mere afterthought put forward in justification of a predilection, but a plain statement of fact that renders this study an imperative need. there are other questions of interest--of very great interest--concerning alchemy: questions, for instance, as to the scope and validity of its doctrines; but we ought not to allow their fascination and promise to distract our attention from the fundamental problem, whose solution is essential to their elucidation. in the preceding essay on "the quest of the philosopher's stone," which was written from the standpoint i have sketched in the foregoing words, my thesis was "that the alchemists constructed their chemical theories for the main part by means of _a priori_ reasoning, and that the premises from which they started were (i.) the truth of mystical theology, especially the doctrine of the soul's regeneration, and (ii.) the truth of mystical philosophy, which asserts that the objects of nature are symbols of spiritual verities." now, i wish to treat my present thesis, which is concerned with a further source from which the alchemists derived certain of their views and modes of expression by means of _a priori_ reasoning, in connection with, and, in a sense, as complementary to, my former thesis. i propose in the first place, therefore, briefly to deal with certain possible objections to this view of alchemy. it has, for instance, been maintained(1) that the assimilation of alchemical doctrines concerning the metals to those of mysticism concerning the soul was an event late in the history of alchemy, and was undertaken in the interests of the latter doctrines. now we know that certain mystics of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries did borrow from the alchemists much of their terminology with which to discourse of spiritual mysteries--jacob boehme, henry khunrath, and perhaps thomas vaughan, may be mentioned as the most prominent cases in point. but how was this possible if it were not, as i have suggested, the repayment, in a sense, of a sort of philological debt? transmutation was an admirable vehicle of language for describing the soul's regeneration, just because the doctrine of transmutation was the result of an attempt to apply the doctrine of regeneration in the sphere of metallurgy; and similar remarks hold of the other prominent doctrines of alchemy. (1) see, for example, mr a. e. waite's paper, "the canon of criticism in respect of alchemical literature," _the journal of the alchemical society_, vol. i. (1913), pp. 17-30. the wonderful fabric of alchemical doctrine was not woven in a day, and as it passed from loom to loom, from byzantium to syria, from syria to arabia, from arabia to spain and latin europe, so its pattern changed; but it was always woven _a priori_, in the belief that that which is below is as that which is above. in its final form, i think, it is distinctly christian. in the _turba philosophorum_, the oldest known work of latin alchemy--a work which, claiming to be of greek origin, whilst not that, is certainly greek in spirit,--we frequently come across statements of a decidedly mystical character. "the regimen," we read, "is greater than is perceived by reason, except through divine inspiration."(1) copper, it is insisted upon again and again, has a soul as well as a body; and the art, we are told, is to be defined as "the liquefaction of the body and the separation of the soul from the body, seeing that copper, like a man, has a soul and a body."(2) moreover, other doctrines are here propounded which, although not so obviously of a mystical character, have been traced to mystical sources in the preceding excursion. there is, for instance, the doctrine of purification by means of putrefaction, this process being likened to that of the resurrection of man. "these things being done," we read, "god will restore unto it (the matter operated on) both the soul and the spirit thereof, and the weakness being taken away, that matter will be made strong, and after corruption will be improved, even as a man becomes stronger after resurrection and younger than he was in this world."(1b) the three stages in the alchemical work--black, white, and red--corresponding to, and, as i maintain, based on the three stages in the life of the mystic, are also more than once mentioned. "cook them (the king and his wife), therefore, until they become black, then white, afterwards red, and finally until a tingeing venom is produced."(2b) (1) _the turba philosophorum, or assembly of the sages_ (trans. by a. e. waite, 1896), p. 128. (2) _ibid_., p. 193, _cf_. pp. 102 and 152. (1b) _the turba philosophorum, or assembly of the sages_ (trans. by a. e. waite), p. 101, _cf_. pp. 27 and 197. (2b) _ibid_., p. 98, _cf_. p. 29. in view of these quotations, the alliance (shall i say?) between alchemy and mysticism cannot be asserted to be of late origin. and we shall find similar statements if we go further back in time. to give but one example: "among the earliest authorities," writes mr waite, "the _book of crates_ says that copper, like man, has a spirit, soul, and body," the term "copper" being symbolical and applying to a stage in the alchemical work. but nowhere in the _turba_ do we meet with the concept of the philosopher's stone as the medicine of the metals, a concept characteristic of latin alchemy, and, to quote mr waite again, "it does not appear that the conception of the philosopher's stone as a medicine of metals and of men was familiar to greek alchemy;"(3) (3) _ibid_., p. 71. all this seems to me very strongly to support my view of the origin of alchemy, which requires a specifically christian mysticism only for this specific concept of the philosopher's stone in its fully-fledged form. at any rate, the development of alchemical doctrine can be seen to have proceeded concomitantly with the development of mystical philosophy and theology. those who are not prepared here to see effect and cause may be asked not only to formulate some other hypothesis in explanation of the origin of alchemy, but also to explain this fact of concomitant development. from the standpoint of the transcendental theory of alchemy it has been urged "that the language of mystical theology seemed to be hardly so suitable to the exposition (as i maintain) or concealment of chemical theories, as the language of a definite and generally credited branch of science was suited to the expression of a veiled and symbolical process such as the regeneration of man."(1) but such a statement is only possible with respect to the latest days of alchemy, when there was a science of chemistry, definite and generally credited. the science of chemistry, it must be remembered, had no growth separate from alchemy, but evolved therefrom. of the days before this evolution had been accomplished, it would be in closer accord with the facts to say that theology, including the doctrine of man's regeneration, was in the position of "a definite and generally credited branch of science," whereas chemical phenomena were veiled in deepest mystery and tinged with the dangers appertaining to magic. as concerns the origin of alchemy, therefore, the argument as to suitability of language appears to support my own theory; it being open to assume that after formulation--that is, in alchemy's latter days--chemical nomenclature and theories were employed by certain writers to veil heterodox religious doctrine. (1) philip s. wellby, m.a., in _the journal of the alchemical society_, vol. ii. (1914), p. 104. another recent writer on the subject, my friend the late mr abdul-ali, has remarked that "he thought that, in the mind of the alchemist at least, there was something more than analogy between metallic and psychic transformations, and that the whole subject might well be assigned to the doctrinal category of ineffable and transcendent oneness. this oneness comprehended all--soul and body, spirit and matter, mystic visions and waking life--and the sharp metaphysical distinction between the mental and the non-mental realms, so prominent during the history of philosophy, was not regarded by these early investigators in the sphere of nature. there was the sentiment, perhaps only dimly experienced, that not only the law, but the substance of the universe, was one; that mind was everywhere in contact with its own kindred; and that metallic transmutation would, somehow, so to speak, signalise and seal a hidden transmutation of the soul."(1) (1) sijil abdul-ali, in _the journal of the alchemical society_, vol. ii. (1914), p. 102. i am to a large extent in agreement with this view. mr abdul-ali quarrels with the term "analogy," and, if it is held to imply any merely superficial resemblance, it certainly is not adequate to my own needs, though i know not what other word to use. swedenborg's term "correspondence" would be better for my purpose, as standing for an essential connection between spirit and matter, arising out of the causal relationship of the one to the other. but if swedenborg believed that matter and spirit were most intimately related, he nevertheless had a very precise idea of their distinctness, which he formulated in his doctrine of degrees--a very exact metaphysical doctrine indeed. the alchemists, on the other hand, had no such clear ideas on the subject. it would be even more absurd to attribute to them a cartesian dualism. to their ways of thinking, it was by no means impossible to grasp the spiritual essences of things by what we should now call chemical manipulations. for them a gas was still a ghost and air a spirit. one could quote pages in support of this, but i will content myself with a few words from the _turba_--the antiquity of the book makes it of value, and anyway it is near at hand. "permanent water," whatever that may be, being pounded with the body, we are told, "by the will of god it turns that body into spirit." and in another place we read that "the philosophers have said: except ye turn bodies into not-bodies, and incorporeal things into bodies, ye have not yet discovered the rule of operation."(1a) no one who could write like this, and believe it, could hold matter and spirit as altogether distinct. but it is equally obvious that the injunction to convert body into spirit is meaningless if spirit and body are held to be identical. i have been criticised for crediting the alchemists "with the philosophic acumen of hegel,"(1b) but that is just what i think one ought to avoid doing. at the same time, however, it is extremely difficult to give a precise account of views which are very far from being precise themselves. but i think it may be said, without fear of error, that the alchemist who could say, "as above, so below," _ipso facto_ recognised both a very close connection between spirit and matter, and a distinction between them. moreover, the division thus implied corresponded, on the whole, to that between the realms of the known (or what was thought to be known) and the unknown. the church, whether christian or pre-christian, had very precise (comparatively speaking) doctrine concerning the soul's origin, duties, and destiny, backed up by tremendous authority, and speculative philosophy had advanced very far by the time plato began to concern himself with its problems. nature, on the other hand, was a mysterious world of magical happenings, and there was nothing deserving of the name of natural science until alchemy was becoming decadent. it is not surprising, therefore, that the alchemists--these men who wished to probe nature's hidden mysteries--should reason from above to below; indeed, unless they had started _de novo_--as babes knowing nothing,--there was no other course open to them. and that they did adopt the obvious course is all that my former thesis amounts to. in passing, it is interesting to note that a sixteenth-century alchemist, who had exceptional opportunities and leisure to study the works of the old masters of alchemy, seems to have come to a similar conclusion as to the nature of their reasoning. he writes: "the sages... after having conceived in their minds a divine idea of the relations of the whole universe... selected from among the rest a certain substance, from which they sought to elicit the elements, to separate and purify them, and then again put them together in a manner suggested by a keen and profound observation of nature."(1c) (1a) _op cit_., pp,. 65 and 110, _cf_. p. 154. (1b) _vide_ a rather frivolous review of my _alchemy: ancient and modern_ in _the outlook_ for 14th january 1911. (1c) edward kelly: _the humid path_. (see _the alchemical writings_ of edward kelly, edited by a. e. waite, 1893, pp. 59-60.) in describing the realm of spirit as _ex hypothesi_ known, that of nature unknown, to the alchemists, i have made one important omission, and that, if i may use the name of a science to denominate a complex of crude facts, is the realm of physiology, which, falling within that of nature, must yet be classed as _ex hypothesi_ known. but to elucidate this point some further considerations are necessary touching the general nature of knowledge. now, facts may be roughly classed, according to their obviousness and frequency of occurrence, into four groups. there are, first of all, facts which are so obvious, to put it paradoxically, that they escape notice; and these facts are the commonest and most frequent in their occurrence. i think it is mr chesterton who has said that, looking at a forest one cannot see the trees because of the forest; and, in _the innocence of father brown_, he has a good story ("the invisible man") illustrating the point, in which a man renders himself invisible by dressing up in a postman's uniform. at any rate, we know that when a phenomenon becomes persistent it tends to escape observation; thus, continuous motion can only be appreciated with reference to a stationary body, and a noise, continually repeated, becomes at last inaudible. the tendency of often-repeated actions to become habitual, and at last automatic, that is to say, carried out without consciousness, is a closely related phenomenon. we can understand, therefore, why a knowledge of the existence of the atmosphere, as distinct from the wind, came late in the history of primitive man, as, also, many other curious gaps in his knowledge. in the second group we may put those facts which are common, that is, of frequent occurrence, and are classed as obvious. such facts are accepted at face-value by the primitive mind, and are used as the basis of explanation of facts in the two remaining groups, namely, those facts which, though common, are apt to escape the attention owing to their inconspicuousness, and those which are of infrequent occurrence. when the mind takes the trouble to observe a fact of the third group, or is confronted by one of the fourth, it feels a sense of surprise. such facts wear an air of strangeness, and the mind can only rest satisfied when it has shown them to itself as in some way cases of the second group of facts, or, at least, brought them into relation therewith. that is what the mind--at least the primitive mind--means by "explanation". "it is obvious," we say, commencing an argument, thereby proclaiming our intention to bring that which is at first in the category of the not-obvious, into the category of the obvious. it remains for a more sceptical type of mind--a later product of human evolution--to question obvious facts, to explain them, either, as in science, by establishing deeper and more far-reaching correlations between phenomena, or in philosophy, by seeking for the source and purpose of such facts, or, better still, by both methods. of the second class of facts--those common and obvious facts which the primitive mind accepts at face-value and uses as the basis of its explanations of such things as seem to it to stand in need of explanation--one could hardly find a better instance than sex. the universality of sex, and the intermittent character of its phenomena, are both responsible for this. indeed, the attitude of mind i have referred to is not restricted to primitive man; how many people to-day, for instance, just accept sex as a fact, pleasant or unpleasant according to their predilections, never querying, or feeling the need to query, its why and wherefore? it is by no means surprising, that when man first felt the need of satisfying himself as to the origin of the universe, he should have done so by a theory founded on what he knew of his own generation. indeed, as i queried on a former occasion, what other source of explanation was open to him? of what other form of origin was he aware? seeing nature springing to life at the kiss of the sun, what more natural than that she should be regarded as the divine mother, who bears fruits because impregnated by the sun-god? it is not difficult to understand, therefore, why primitive man paid divine honours to the organs of sex in man and woman, or to such things as he considered symbolical of them--that is to say, to understand the extensiveness of those religions which are grouped under the term "phallicism". nor, to my mind, is the symbol of sex a wholly inadequate one under which to conceive of the origin of things. and, as i have said before, that phallicism usually appears to have degenerated into immorality of a very pronounced type is to be deplored, but an immoral view of human relations is by no means a necessary corollary to a sexual theory of the universe.(1) (1) "the reverence as well as the worship paid to the phallus, in early and primitive days, had nothing in it which partook of indecency; all ideas connected with it were of a reverential and religious kind.... "the indecent ideas attached to the representation of the phallus were, though it seems a paradox to say so, the results of a more advanced civilization verging towards its decline, as we have evidence at rome and pompeii.... "to the primitive man (the reproductive force which pervades all nature) was the most mysterious of all manifestations. the visible physical powers of nature--the sun, the sky, the storm--naturally claimed his reverence, but to him the generative power was the most mysterious of all powers. in the vegetable world, the live seed placed in the ground, and hence germinating, sprouting up, and becoming a beautiful and umbrageous tree, was a mystery. in the animal world, as the cause of all life, by which all beings came into existence, this power was a mystery. in the view of primitive man generation was the action of the deity itself. it was the mode in which he brought all things into existence, the sun, the moon, the stars, the world, man were generated by him. to the productive power man was deeply indebted, for to it he owed the harvests and the flocks which supported his life; hence it naturally became an object of reverence and worship. "primitive man wants some object to worship, for an abstract idea is beyond his comprehension, hence a visible representation of the generative deity was made, with the organs contributing to generation most prominent, and hence the organ itself became a symbol of the power."--h, m. westropp: _primitive symbolism as illustrated in phallic worship, or the reproductive principle_ (1885), pp. 47, 48, and 57. {end of long footnote} the aruntas of australia, i believe, when discovered by europeans, had not yet observed the connection between sexual intercourse and birth. they believed that conception was occasioned by the woman passing near a _churinga_--a peculiarly shaped piece of wood or stone, in which a spirit-child was concealed, which entered into her. but archaeological research having established the fact that phallicism has, at one time or another, been common to nearly all races, it seems probable that the arunta tribe represents a deviation from the normal line of mental evolution. at any rate, an isolated phenomenon, such as this, cannot be held to controvert the view that regards phallicism as in this normal line. nor was the attitude of mind that not only accepts sex at face-value as an obvious fact, but uses the concept of it to explain other facts, a merely transitory one. we may, indeed, not difficultly trace it throughout the history of alchemy, giving rise to what i may term "the phallic element in alchemical doctrine". in aiming to establish this, i may be thought to be endeavouring to establish a counter-thesis to that of the preceding essay on alchemy, but, in virtue of the alchemists' belief in the mystical unity of all things, in the analogical or correspondential relationship of all parts of the universe to each other, the mystical and the phallic views of the origin of alchemy are complementary, not antagonistic. indeed, the assumption that the metals are the symbols of man almost necessitates the working out of physiological as well as mystical analogies, and these two series of analogies are themselves connected, because the principle "as above, so below" was held to be true of man himself. we might, therefore, expect to find a more or less complete harmony between the two series of symbols, though, as a matter of fact, contradictions will be encountered when we come to consider points of detail. the undoubtable antiquity of the phallic element in alchemical doctrine precludes the idea that this element was an adventitious one, that it was in any sense an afterthought; notwithstanding, however, the evidence, as will, i hope, become apparent as we proceed, indicates that mystical ideas played a much more fundamental part in the genesis of alchemical doctrine than purely phallic ones--mystical interpretations fit alchemical processes and theories far better than do sexual interpretations; in fact, sex has to be interpreted somewhat mystically in order to work out the analogies fully and satisfactorily. as concerns greek alchemy, i shall content myself with a passage from a work _on the sacred art_, attributed to olympiodorus (sixth century a.d.), followed by some quotations from and references to the _turba_. in the former work it is stated on the authority of horus that "the proper end of the whole art is to obtain the semen of the male secretly, seeing that all things are male and female. hence (we read further) horus says in a certain place: join the male and the female, and you will find that which is sought; as a fact, without this process of re-union, nothing can succeed, for nature charms nature," _etc_. the _turba_ insistently commands those who would succeed in the art, to conjoin the male with the female,(1) and, in one place, the male is said to be lead and the female orpiment.(2) we also find the alchemical work symbolised by the growth of the embryo in the womb. "know," we are told, "... that out of the elect things nothing becomes useful without conjunction and regimen, because sperma is generated out of blood and desire. for the man mingling with the woman, the sperm is nourished by the humour of the womb, and by the moistening blood, and by heat, and when forty nights have elapsed the sperm is formed.... god has constituted that heat and blood for the nourishment of the sperm until the foetus is brought forth. so long as it is little, it is nourished with milk, and in proportion as the vital heat is maintained, the bones are strengthened. thus it behoves you also to act in this art."(3) (1) _vide_ pp. 60 92, 96 97, 134, 135 and elsewhere in mr waite's translation. (2) _ibid_., p. 57 (3) _ibid_., pp. 179-181 (second recension); _cf_. pp. 103-104. the use of the mystical symbols of death (putrefaction) and resurrection or rebirth to represent the consummation of the alchemical work, and that of the phallic symbols of the conjunction of the sexes and the development of the foetus, both of which we have found in the _turba_, are current throughout the course of latin alchemy. in _the chymical marriage of christian rosencreutz_, that extraordinary document of what is called "rosicrucianism"--a symbolic romance of considerable ability, whoever its author was,(1)--an attempt is made to weld the two sets of symbols--the one of marriage, the other of death and resurrection unto glory--into one allegorical narrative; and it is to this fusion of seemingly disparate concepts that much of its fantasticality is due. yet the concepts are not really disparate; for not only is the second birth like unto the first, and not only is the resurrection unto glory described as the bridal feast of the lamb, but marriage is, in a manner, a form of death and rebirth. to justify this in a crude sense, i might say that, from the male standpoint at least, it is a giving of the life-substance to the beloved that life may be born anew and increase. but in a deeper sense it is, or rather should be, as an ideal, a mutual sacrifice of self for each other's good--a death of the self that it may arise with an enriched personality. (1) see mr waite's _the real history of the rosicrucians_ (1887) for translation and discussion as to origin and significance. the work was first published (in german) at strassburg in 1616. it is when we come to an examination of the ideas at the root of, and associated with, the alchemical concept of "principles," that we find some difficulty in harmonising the two series of symbols--the mystical and the phallic. in one place in the _turba_ we are directed "to take quicksilver, in which is the male potency or strength";(2a) and this concept of mercury as male is quite in accord with the mystical origin i have assigned in the preceding excursion to the doctrine of the alchemical principles. i have shown, i think, that salt, sulphur, and mercury are the analogues _ex hypothesi_ of the body, soul (affection and volition), and spirit (intelligence or understanding) in man; and the affections are invariably regarded as especially feminine, the understanding as especially masculine. but it seems that the more common opinion, amongst latin alchemists at any rate, was that sulphur was male and mercury female. writes bernard of trevisan: "for the matter suffereth, and the form acteth assimulating the matter to itself, and according to this manner the matter naturally thirsteth after a form, as a woman desireth an husband, and a vile thing a precious one, and an impure a pure one, so also _argent-vive_ coveteth a sulphur, as that which should make perfect which is imperfect: so also a body freely desireth a spirit, whereby it may at length arrive at its perfection."(1b) at the same time, however, mercury was regarded as containing in itself both male and female potencies--it was the product of male and female, and, thus, the seed of all the metals. "nothing in the world can be generated," to repeat a quotation from bernard, without these two substances, to wit a male and female: from whence it appeareth, that although these two substances are not of one and the same species, yet one stone doth thence arise, and although they appear and are said to be two substances, yet in truth it is but one, to wit, _argent-vive_. but of this _argent-vive_ a certain part is fixed and digested, masculine, hot, dry and secretly informing. but the other, which is the female, is volatile, crude, cold, and moyst."(2b) edward kelly (1555-1595), who is valuable because he summarises authoritative opinion, says somewhat the same thing, though in clearer words: "the active elements... these are water and fire... may be called male, while the passive elements... earth and air... represent the female principle.... only two elements, water and earth, are visible, and earth is called the hiding-place of fire, water the abode of air. in these two elements we have the broad law of limitation which divides the male from the female. ... the first matter of minerals is a kind of viscous water, mingled with pure and impure earth... of this viscous water and fusible earth, or sulphur, is composed that which is called quicksilver, the first matter of the metals. metals are nothing but mercury digested by different degrees of heat."(1c) there is one difference, however, between these two writers, inasmuch as bernard says that "the male and female abide together in closed natures; the female truly as it were earth and water, the male as air and fire." mercury for him arises from the two former elements, sulphur from the two latter.(2c) and the difference is important as showing beyond question the _a priori_ nature of alchemical reasoning. the idea at the back of the alchemists' minds was undoubtedly that of the ardour of the male in the act of coition and the alleged, or perhaps i should say apparent, passivity of the female. consequently, sulphur, the fiery principle of combustion, and such elements as were reckoned to be active, were denominated "male," whilst mercury, the principle acted on by sulphur, and such elements as were reckoned to be passive, were denominated "female". as to the question of origin, i do not think that the palm can be denied to the mystical as distinguished from the phallic theory. and in its final form the doctrine of principles is incapable of a sexual interpretation. mystically understood, man is capable of analysis into two principles--since "body" may be neglected as unimportant (a false view, i think, by the way) or "soul" and "spirit" may be united under one head--or into three; whereas the postulation of three principles on a sexual basis is impossible. joannes isaacus hollandus (fifteenth century) is the earliest author in whose works i have observed explicit mention of three principles, though he refers to them in a manner seeming to indicate that the doctrine was no new one in his day. i have only read one little tract of his; there is nothing sexual in it, and the author's mental character may be judged from his remarks concerning "the three flying spirits"--taste, smell, and colour. these, he writes, "are the life, soule, and quintessence of every thing, neither can these three spirits be one without the other, as the father, the son, and the holy ghost are one, yet three persons, and one is not without the other."(1d) (2a) mr waite's translation, p. 79. (1b) bernard, earl of trevisan: _a treatise of the philosopher's stone_, 1683. (see _collectanea chymica: a collection of ten several treatises in chymistry_, 1684, p. 92.) (2b) _ibid_., p. 91. (1c) edward kelly: _the stone of the philosophers_. (see _the alchemical writings of_ edward kelly, edited by a. e. waite, 1893, pp. 9 and 11 to 13.) (2c) _the answer of_ bernardus trevisanus, _to the epistle of thomas of bononira, physician to k. charles the 8th_. (see john frederick houpreght: _aurifontina chymica_, 1680, p. 208.) (1d) _one hundred and fourteen experiments and cures of the famous physitian_ theophrastus paracelsus. _whereunto is added... certain secrets of_ isaac hollandus, _concerning the vegetall and animall work_ (1652), pp. 29 and 30. when the alchemists described an element or principle as male or female, they meant what they said, as i have already intimated, to the extent, at least, of firmly believing that seed was produced by the two metallic sexes. by their union metals were thought to be produced in the womb of the earth; and mines were shut in order that by the birth and growth of new metal the impoverished veins might be replenished. in this way, too, was the _magnum opus_, the generation of the philosopher's stone--in species gold, but purer than the purest--to be accomplished. to conjoin that which nature supplied, to foster the growth and development of that which was thereby produced; such was the task of the alchemist. "for there are vegetables," says bernard of trevisan in his _answer to thomas of bononia_, "but sensitives more especially, which for the most part beget their like, by the seeds of the male and female for the most part concurring and conmixt by copulation; which work of nature the philosophick art imitates in the generation of gold."(1) (1) _op. cit_., p. 216. mercury, as i have said, was commonly regarded as the seed of the metals, or as especially the female seed, there being two seeds, one the male, according to bernard, more ripe, perfect and active, the other the female. "more immature and in a sort passive(2) "... our philosophick art," he says in another place, following a description of the generation of man, "... is like this procreation of man; for as in _mercury_ (of which gold is by nature generated in mineral vessels) a natural conjunction (2) _ibid_., p. 217; _cf_. p. 236 is made of both the seeds, male and female, so by our artifice, an artificial and like conjunction is made of agents and patients."(1) "all teaching," says kelly, "that changes mercury is false and vain, for this is the original sperm of metals, and its moisture must not be dried up, for otherwise it will not dissolve,"(2) and quotes arnold (_ob. c_. 1310) to a similar effect.(3) one wonders how far the fact that human and animal seed is fluid influenced the alchemists in their choice of mercury, the only metal liquid at ordinary temperatures, as the seed of the metals. there are, indeed, other good reasons for this choice, but that this idea played some part in it, and, at least, was present at the back of the alchemists' minds, i have little doubt. the most philosophic account of metallic seed is that, perhaps, of the mysterious adept "eirenaeus philalethes," who distinguishes between it and mercury in a rather interesting manner. he writes: "seed is the means of generic propagation given to all perfect things here below; it is the perfection of each body; and anybody that has no seed must be regarded as imperfect. hence there can be no doubt that there is such a thing as metallic seed.... all metallic seed is the seed of gold; for gold is the intention of nature in regard to all metals. if the base metals are not gold, it is only through some accidental hindrance; they are-all potentially gold. but, of course, this seed of gold is most easily obtainable from well-matured gold itself.... remember that i am now speaking of metallic seed, and not of mercury.... the seed of metals is hidden out of sight still more completely than that of animals; nevertheless, it is within the compass of our art to extract it. the seed of animals and vegetables is something separate, and may be cut out, or otherwise separately exhibited; but metallic seed is diffused throughout the metal, and contained in all its smallest parts; neither can it be discerned from its body: its extraction is therefore a task which may well tax the ingenuity of the most experienced philosopher; the virtues of the whole metal have to be intensified, so as to convert it into the sperm of our seed, which, by circulation, receives the virtues of superiors and inferiors, then next becomes wholly form, or heavenly virtue, which can communicate this to others related to it by homogeneity of matter. ... the place in which the seed resides is--approximately speaking--water; for, to speak properly and exactly, the seed is the smallest part of the metal, and is invisible; but as this invisible presence is diffused throughout the water of its kind, and exerts its virtue therein, nothing being visible to the eye but water, we are left to conclude from rational induction that this inward agent (which is, properly speaking, the seed) is really there. hence we call the whole of the water seed, just as we call the whole of the grain seed, though the germ of life is only a smallest particle of the grain."(1b) (1) _the answer of_ bernardus trevisanus, _etc_. _op. cit_. p. 218. (2) _op. cit_., p. 22. (3) _ibid_., p. 16. (1b) eirenaeus philalethes: _the metamorphosis of metals_. (see _the hermetic museum_, vol. ii. pp. 238-240.) to say that "philalethes'" seed resembles the modern electron is, perhaps, to draw a rather fanciful analogy, since the electron is a very precise idea, the result of the mathematical interpretation of the results of exact experimentation. but though it would be absurd to speak of this concept of the one seed of all metals as an anticipation of the electron, to apply the expression "metallic seed" to the electron, now that the concept of it has been reached, does not seem so absurd. according to "philalethes," the extraction of the seed is a very difficult process, accomplishable, however, by the aid of mercury--the water homogeneous therewith. mercury, again, is the form of the seed thereby obtained. he writes: "when the sperm hidden in the body of gold is brought out by means of our art, it appears under the form of mercury, whence it is exalted into the quintessence which is first white, and then, by means of continuous coction, becomes red." and again: "there is a womb into which the gold (if placed therein) will, of its own accord, emit its seed, until it is debilitated and dies, and by its death is renewed into a most glorious king, who thenceforward receives power to deliver all his brethren from the fear of death."(1) (1) eirenaeus philalethes: _the metamorphosis of metals_. (see _the hermetic museum_, vol. ii. pp. 241 and 244.) the fifteenth-century alchemist thomas norton was peculiar in his views, inasmuch as he denied that metals have seed. he writes: "nature never multiplies anything, except in either one or the other of these two ways: either by decay, which we call putrefaction, or, in the case of animate creatures, by propagation. in the case of metals there can be no propagation, though our stone exhibits something like it.... nothing can be multiplied by inward action unless it belong to the vegetable kingdom, or the family of sensitive creatures. but the metals are elementary objects, and possess neither seed nor sensation."(1) (1) thomas norton: _the ordinal of alchemy_. (see _the hermetic museum_, vol. ii. pp. 15 and 16.) his theory of the origin of the metals is astral rather than phallic. "the only efficient cause of metals," he says, "is the mineral virtue, which is not found in every kind of earth, but only in certain places and chosen mines, into which the celestial sphere pours its rays in a straight direction year by year, and according to the arrangement of the metallic substance in these places, this or that metal is gradually formed."(2) (2) _ibid_., pp. 15 and 16. in view of the astrological symbolism of these metals, that gold should be masculine, silver feminine, does not surprise us, because the idea of the masculinity of the sun and the femininity of the moon is a bit of phallicism that still remains with us. it was by the marriage of gold and silver that very many alchemists considered that the _magnum opus_ was to be achieved. writes bernard of trevisan: "the subject of this admired science (alchemy) is _sol_ and _luna_, or rather male and female, the male is hot and dry, the female cold and moyst." the aim of the work, he tells us, is the extraction of the spirit of gold, which alone can enter into bodies and tinge them. both _sol_ and _luna_ are absolutely necessary, and "whoever...shall think that a tincture can be made without these two bodyes,... he proceedeth to the practice like one that is blind."(1) (1) bernard, earl of trevisan: _a treatise, etc., op. cit_. pp. 83 and 87. kelly has teaching to the same effect, the mercury of the philosophers being for him the menstruum or medium wherein the copulation of gold with silver is to be accomplished. mercury, in fact, seems to have been everything and to have been capable of effecting everything in the eyes of the alchemists. concerning gold and silver, kelly writes: "only one metal, viz. gold, is absolutely perfect and mature. hence it is called the perfect male body... silver is less bounded by aqueous immaturity than the rest of the metals, though it may indeed be regarded as to a certain extent impure, still its water is already covered with the congealing vesture of its earth, and it thus tends to perfection. this condition is the reason why silver is everywhere called by the sages the perfect female body." and later he writes: "in short, our whole magistery consists in the union of the male and female, or active and passive, elements through the mediation of our metallic water and a proper degree of heat. now, the male and female are two metallic bodies, and this i will again prove by irrefragable quotations from the sages." some of the quotations will be given: "avicenna: 'purify husband and wife separately, in order that they may unite more intimately; for if you do not purify them, they cannot love each other. by conjunction of the two natures you get a clear and lucid nature, which, when it ascends, becomes bright and serviceable.'... senior: 'i, the sun, am hot and dry, and thou, the moon, are cold and moist; when we are wedded together in a closed chamber, i will gently steal away thy soul.'... rosinus: 'when the sun, my brother, for the love of me (silver) pours his sperm (_i.e_. his solar fatness) into the chamber (_i.e_. my lunar body), namely, when we become one in a strong and complete complexion and union, the child of our wedded love will be born.... 'rosary': 'the ferment of the sun is the sperm of the man, the ferment of the moon, the sperm of the woman. of both we get a chaste union and a true generation.'... aristotle: 'take your beloved son, and wed him to his sister, his white sister, in equal marriage, and give them the cup of love, for it is a food which prompts to union.' "(1a) kelly, of course, accepts the traditional authorship of the works from which he quotes, though in many cases such authorship is doubtful, to say the least. the alchemical works ascribed to aristotle (384-322 b.c.), for instance, are beyond question forgeries. indeed, the symbol of a union between brother and sister, here quoted, could hardly be held as acceptable to greek thought, to which incest was the most abominable and unforgiveable sin. it seems likelier that it originated with the egyptians, to whom such unions were tolerable in fact. the symbol is often met with in latin alchemy. michael maier (1568-1622) also says: "_conjunge fratrem cum sorore et propina illis poculum amoris_," the words forming a motto to a picture of a man and woman clasped in each other's arms, to whom an older man offers a goblet. this symbolic picture occurs in his _atalanta fugiens, hoc est, emblemata nova de secretis naturae chymica, etc_. (oppenheim, 1617). this work is an exceedingly curious one. it consists of a number of carefully executed pictures, each accompanied by a motto, a verse of poetry set to music, with a prose text. many of the pictures are phallic in conception, and practically all of them are anthropomorphic. not only the primary function of sex, but especially its secondary one of lactation, is made use of. the most curious of these emblematic pictures, perhaps, is one symbolising the conjunction of gold and silver. it shows on the right a man and woman, representing the sun and moon, in the act of coition, standing up to the thighs in a lake. on the left, on a hill above the lake, a woman (with the moon as halo) gives birth to a child. a boy is coming out of the water towards her. the verse informs us that: "the bath glows red at the conception of the boy, the air at his birth." we learn also that "there is a stone, and yet there is not, which is the noble gift of god. if god grants it, fortunate will be he who shall receive it."(1) (1a) edward kelly: _the stone of the philosophers, op. cit_., pp 13, 14, 33, 35, 36, 38-40, and 47. (1) _op. cit_., p. 145 concerning the nature of gold, there is a discussion in _the answer of_ bernardus trevisanus _to the epistle of thomas of bononia_, with which i shall close my consideration of the present aspect of the subject. its interest for us lies in the arguments which are used and held to be valid. "besides, you say that gold, as most think, is nothing else than _quick-silver_ coagulated naturally by the force of _sulphur_; yet so, that nothing of the _sulphur_ which generated the gold, doth remain in the substance of the gold: as in an humane _embryo_, when it is conceived in the womb, there remains nothing of the father's seed, according to _aristotle's_ opinion, but the seed of the man doth only coagulate the _menstrual_ blood of the woman: in the same manner you say, that after _quick-silver_ is so coagulated, the form of gold is perfected in it, by virtue of the heavenly bodies, and especially of the sun."(1) bernard, however, decides against this view, holding that gold contains both mercury and sulphur, for "we must not imagine, according to their mistake who say, that the male agent himself approaches the female in the coagulation, and departs afterwards; because, as is known in every generation, the conception is active and passive: both the active and the passive, that is, all the four elements, must always abide together, otherwise there would be no mixture, and the hope of generating an off-spring would be extinguished."(2) (1) _op. cit_., pp. 206 and 207. (2) _ibid_., pp. 212 and 213. in conclusion, i wish to say something of the role of sex in spiritual alchemy. but in doing this i am venturing outside the original field of inquiry of this essay and making a by no means necessary addition to my thesis; and i am anxious that what follows should be understood as such, so that no confusion as to the issues may arise. in the great alchemical collection of j. j. manget, there is a curious work (originally published in 1677), entitled _mutus liber_, which consists entirely of plates, without letterpress. its interest for us in our present concern is that the alchemist, from the commencement of the work until its achievement, is shown working in conjunction with a woman. we are reminded of nicolas flamel (1330-1418), who is reputed to have achieved the _magnum opus_ together with his wife pernelle, as well as of the many other women workers in the art of whom we read. it would be of interest in this connection to know exactly what association of ideas was present in the mind of michael maier when he commanded the alchemist: "perform a work of women on the molten white lead, that is, cook,"(1a) and illustrated his behest with a picture of a pregnant woman watching a fire over which is suspended a cauldron and on which are three jars. there is a cat in the background, and a tub containing two fish in the foreground, the whole forming a very curious collection of emblems. mr waite, who has dealt with some of these matters, luminously, though briefly, says: "the evidences with which we have been dealing concern solely the physical work of alchemy and there is nothing of its mystical aspects. the _mutus liber_ is undoubtedly on the literal side of metallic transmutation; the memorials of nicholas flamel are also on that side," _etc_. he adds, however, that "it is on record that an unknown master testified to his possession of the mystery, but he added that he had not proceeded to the work because he had failed to meet with an elect woman who was necessary thereto"; and proceeds to say: "i suppose that the statement will awaken in most minds only a vague sense of wonder, and i can merely indicate in a few general words that which i see behind it. those hermetic texts which bear a spiritual interpretation and are as if a record of spiritual experience present, like the literature of physical alchemy, the following aspects of symbolism: (_a_) the marriage of sun and moon; (_b_) of a mystical king and queen; (_c_) an union between natures which are one at the root but diverse in manifestation; (_d_) a transmutation which follows this union and an abiding glory therein. it is ever a conjunction between male and female in a mystical sense; it is ever the bringing together by art of things separated by an imperfect order of things; it is ever the perfection of natures by means of this conjunction. but if the mystical work of alchemy is an inward work in consciousness, then the union between male and female is an union in consciousness; and if we remember the traditions of a state when male and female had not as yet been divided, it may dawn upon us that the higher alchemy was a practice for the return into this ineffable mode of being. the traditional doctrine is set forth in the _zohar_ and it is found in writers like jacob boehme; it is intimated in the early chapters of genesis and, according to an apocryphal saying of christ, the kingdom of heaven will be manifested when two shall be as one, or when that state has been once again attained. in the light of this construction we can understand why the mystical adept went in search of a wise woman with whom the work could be performed; but few there be that find her, and he confessed to his own failure. the part of woman in the physical practice of alchemy is like a reflection at a distance of this more exalted process, and there is evidence that those who worked in metals and sought for a material elixir knew that there were other and greater aspects of the hermetic mystery."(1b) (1a) michael mater: _atalanta fugiens_ (1617), p. 97. (1b) a e. waite: "woman and the hermetic mystery," _the occult review_ (june 1912), vol. xv. pp. 325 and 326. so far mr waite, whose impressive words i have quoted at some length; and he has given us a fuller account of the theory as found in the _zohar_ in his valuable work on _the secret doctrine in israel_ (1913). the _zohar_ regards marriage and the performance of the sexual function in marriage as of supreme importance, and this not merely because marriage symbolises a divine union, unless that expression is held to include all that logically follows from the fact, but because, as it seems, the sexual act in marriage may, in fact, become a ritual of transcendental magic. at least three varieties of opinion can be traced from the view of sex we have under consideration, as to the nature of the perfect man, and hence of the most adequate symbol for transmutation. according to one, and this appears to have been jacob boehme's view, the perfect man is conceived of as non-sexual, the male and female elements united in him having, as it were, neutralised each other. according to another, he is pictured as a hermaphroditic being, a concept we frequently come across in alchemical literature. it plays a prominent part in maier's book _atalanta fugiens_, to which reference has already been made. maier's hermaphrodite has two heads, one male, one female, but only one body, one pair of arms, and one pair of legs. the two sexual organs, which are placed side by side, are delineated in the illustrations with considerable care, showing the importance maier attached to the idea. this concept seems to me not only crude, but unnatural and repellent. but it may be said of both the opinions i have mentioned, that they confuse between union and identity. it is the old mistake, with respect to a lesser goal, of those who hope for absorption in the divine nature and consequent loss of personality. it seems to be forgotten that a certain degree of distinction is necessary to the joy of union. "distinction" and "separation," it should be remembered, have different connotations. if the supreme joy is that of self-sacrifice, then the self must be such that it can be continually sacrificed, else the joy is a purely transitory one, or rather, is destroyed at the moment of its consummation. hence, though sacrificed, the self must still remain itself. the third view of perfection, to which these remarks naturally lead, is that which sees it typified in marriage. the mystic-philosopher swedenborg has some exceedingly suggestive things to say on the matter in his extraordinary work on _conjugial love_, which, curiously enough, seem largely to have escaped the notice of students of these high mysteries. swedenborg's heaven is a sexual heaven, because for him sex is primarily a spiritual fact, and only secondarily, and because of what it is primarily, a physical fact; and salvation is hardly possible, according to him, apart from a genuine marriage (whether achieved here or hereafter). man and woman are considered as complementary beings, and it is only through the union of one man with one woman that the perfect angel results. the altruistic tendency of such a theory as contrasted with the egotism of one in which perfection is regarded as obtainable by each personality of itself alone, is a point worth emphasising. as to the nature of this union, it is, to use swedenborg's own terms, a conjunction of the will of the wife with the understanding of the man, and reciprocally of the understanding of the man with the will of the wife. it is thus a manifestation of that fundamental marriage between the good and the true which is at the root of all existence; and it is because of this fundamental marriage that all men and women are born into the desire to complete themselves by conjunction. the symbol of sexual intercourse is a legitimate one to use in speaking of this heavenly union; indeed, we may describe the highest bliss attainable by the soul, or conceivable by the mind, as a spiritual orgasm. into conjugal love "are collected," says swedenborg, "all the blessednesses, blissfulnesses, delightsomenesses, pleasantnesses, and pleasures, which could possibly be conferred upon man by the lord the creator."(1) in another place he writes: "married partners (in heaven) enjoy similar intercourse with each other as in the world, but more delightful and blessed; yet without prolification, for which, or in place of which, they have spiritual prolification, which is that of love and wisdom." "the reason," he adds, "why the intercourse then is more delightful and blessed is, that when conjugial love becomes of the spirit, it becomes more interior and pure, and consequently more perceptible; and every delightsomeness grows according to the perception, and grows even until its blessedness is discernible in its delightsomeness."(1b) such love, however, he says, is rarely to be found on earth. (1) emanuel swedenborg: _the delights of wisdom relating to conjugial love_ (trans. by a. h. searle, 1891), se 68. (1b) emanuel swedenborg: _op. cit_., se 51. a learned japanese speaks with approval of idealism as a "dream where sensuousness and spirituality find themselves to be blood brothers or sisters."(2) it is a statement which involves either the grossest and most dangerous error, or the profoundest truth, according to the understanding of it. woman is a road whereby man travels either to god or the devil. the problem of sex is a far deeper problem than appears at first sight, involving mysteries both the direst and most holy. it is by no means a fantastic hypothesis that the inmost mystery of what a certain school of mystics calls "the secret tradition" was a sexual one. at any rate, the fact that some of those, at least, to whom alchemy connoted a mystical process, were alive to the profound spiritual significance of sex, renders of double interest what they have to intimate of the achievement of the _magnum opus_ in man. (2) yone noguchi: _the spirit of japanese art_ (1915), p. 37. xi. roger bacon: an appreciation it has been said that "a prophet is not without honour, save in his own country." thereto might be added, "and in his own time"; for, whilst there is continuity in time, there is also evolution, and england of to-day, for instance, is not the same country as england of the middle ages. in his own day roger bacon was accounted a magician, whose heretical views called for suppression by the church. and for many a long day afterwards was he mainly remembered as a co-worker in the black art with friar bungay, who together with him constructed, by the aid of the devil and diabolical rites, a brazen head which should possess the power of speech--the experiment only failing through the negligence of an assistant.(1) such was roger bacon in the memory of the later middle ages and many succeeding years; he was the typical alchemist, where that term carries with it the depth of disrepute, though indeed alchemy was for him but one, and that not the greatest, of many interests. (1) the story, of course, is entirely fictitious. for further particulars see sir j. e. sandys' essay on "roger bacon in english literature," in _roger bacon essays_ (1914), referred to below. ilchester, in somerset, claims the honour of being the place of roger bacon's birth, which interesting and important event occurred, probably, in 1214. young bacon studied theology, philosophy, and what then passed under the name of "science," first at oxford, then the centre of liberal thought, and afterwards at paris, in the rigid orthodoxy of whose professors he found more to criticise than to admire. whilst at oxford he joined the franciscan order, and at paris he is said, though this is probably an error, to have graduated as doctor of theology. during 1250-1256 we find him back in england, no doubt engaged in study and teaching. about the latter year, however, he is said to have been banished--on a charge of holding heterodox views and indulging in magical practices--to paris, where he was kept in close confinement and forbidden to write. mr little,(1) however, believes this to be an error, based on a misreading of a passage in one of bacon's works, and that roger was not imprisoned, but stricken with sickness. at any rate it is not improbable that some restrictions as to his writing were placed on him by his superiors of the franciscan order. in 1266 bacon received a letter from pope clement asking him to send his holiness his works in writing without delay. this letter came as a most pleasant surprise to bacon; but he had nothing of importance written, and in great haste and excitement, therefore, he composed three works explicating his philosophy, the _opus majus_, the _opus minus_, and the _opus tertium_, which were completed and dispatched to the pope by the end of the following year. this, as mr rowbottom remarks, is "surely one of the literary feats of history, perhaps only surpassed by swedenborg when he wrote six theological and philosophical treatises in one year."(1b) (1) see his contribution, "on roger bacon's life and works," to _roger bacon essays_. (1b) b. r. rowbottom: "roger bacon," _the journal of the alchemical society_, vol. ii. (1914), p. 77. the works appear to have been well received. we next find bacon at oxford writing his _compendium studii philosophiae_, in which work he indulged in some by no means unjust criticisms of the clergy, for which he fell under the condemnation of his order, and was imprisoned in 1277 on a charge of teaching "suspected novelties". in those days any knowledge of natural phenomena beyond that of the quasi-science of the times was regarded as magic, and no doubt some of roger bacon's "suspected novelties" were of this nature; his recognition of the value of the writings of non-christian moralists was, no doubt, another "suspected novelty". appeals for his release directed to the pope proved fruitless, being frustrated by jerome d'ascoli, general of the franciscan order, who shortly afterwards succeeded to the holy see under the title of nicholas iv. the latter died in 1292, whereupon raymond gaufredi, who had been elected general of the franciscan order, and who, it is thought, was well disposed towards bacon, because of certain alchemical secrets the latter had revealed to him, ordered his release. bacon returned to oxford, where he wrote his last work, the _compendium studii theologiae_. he died either in this year or in 1294.(1) (1) for further details concerning bacon's life, emile charles: _roger bacon, sa vie, ses ouvrages, ses doctrines_ (1861); j. h. bridges: _the life & work of roger bacon, an introduction to the opus majus_ (edited by h. g. jones, 1914); and mr a. g. little's essay in _roger bacon essays_, may be consulted. it was not until the publication by dr samuel jebb, in 1733, of the greater part of bacon's _opus majus_, nearly four and a half centuries after his death, that anything like his rightful position in the history of philosophy began to be assigned to him. but let his spirit be no longer troubled, if it were ever troubled by neglect or slander, for the world, and first and foremost his own country, has paid him due honour. his septcentenary was duly celebrated in 1914 at his _alma mater_, oxford, his statue has there been raised as a memorial to his greatness, and savants have meted out praise to him in no grudging tones.(2) indeed, a voice has here and there been heard depreciating his better-known namesake francis,(3) so that the later luminary should not, standing in the way, obscure the light of the earlier; though, for my part, i would suggest that one need not be so one-eyed as to fail to see both lights at once. (2) see _roger bacon, essays contributed by various writers on the occasion of the commemoration of the seventh centenary of his birth_. collected and edited by a. g. little (1914); also sir j. e. sandys' _roger bacon_ (from _the proceedings of the british association_, vol. vi., 1914). (3) for example, that of ernst duhring. see an article entitled "the two bacons," translated from his _kritische geschichte der philosophie_ in _the open court_ for august 1914. to those who like to observe coincidences, it may be of interest that the septcentenary of the discoverer of gunpowder should have coincided with the outbreak of the greatest war under which the world has yet groaned, even though gunpowder is no longer employed as a military propellant. bacon's reference to gunpowder occurs in his _epistola de secretis operibus artis et naturae, et de nullitate magiae_ (hamburg, 1618) a little tract written against magic, in which he endeavours to show, and succeeds very well in the first eight chapters, that nature and art can perform far more extraordinary feats than are claimed by the workers in the black art. the last three chapters are written in an alchemical jargon of which even one versed in the symbolic language of alchemy can make no sense. they are evidently cryptogramic, and probably deal with the preparation and purification of saltpetre, which had only recently been discovered as a distinct body.(1) in chapter xi. there is reference to an explosive body, which can only be gunpowder; by means of it, says bacon, you may, "if you know the trick, produce a bright flash and a thundering noise." he mentions two of the ingredients, saltpetre and sulphur, but conceals the third (_i.e_. charcoal) under an anagram. claims have, indeed, been put forth for the greek, arab, hindu, and chinese origins of gunpowder, but a close examination of the original ancient accounts purporting to contain references to gunpowder, shows that only incendiary and not explosive bodies are really dealt with. but whilst roger bacon knew of the explosive property of a mixture in right proportions of sulphur, charcoal, and pure saltpetre (which he no doubt accidentally hit upon whilst experimenting with the last-named body), he was unaware of its projective power. that discovery, so detrimental to the happiness of man ever since, was, in all probability, due to berthold schwarz about 1330. (1) for an attempted explanation of this cryptogram, and evidence that bacon was the discoverer of gunpowder, see lieut.-col. h. w. l. hime's _gunpowder and ammunition: their origin and progress_ (1904). roger bacon has been credited(1) with many other discoveries. in the work already referred to he allows his imagination freely to speculate as to the wonders that might be accomplished by a scientific utilisation of nature's forces--marvellous things with lenses, in bringing distant objects near and so forth, carriages propelled by mechanical means, flying machines...--but in no case is the word "discovery" in any sense applicable, for not even in the case of the telescope does bacon describe means by which his speculations might be realised. (1) for instance by mr m. m. p. muir. see his contribution, on "roger bacon: his relations to alchemy and chemistry," to _roger bacon essays_. on the other hand, roger bacon has often been maligned for his beliefs in astrology and alchemy, but, as the late dr bridges (who was quite sceptical of the claims of both) pointed out, not to have believed in them in bacon's day would have been rather an evidence of mental weakness than otherwise. what relevant facts were known supported alchemical and astrological hypotheses. astrology, dr bridges writes, "conformed to the first law of comte's _philosophia prima_, as being the best hypothesis of which ascertained phenomena admitted."(1) and in his alchemical speculations bacon was much in advance of his contemporaries, and stated problems which are amongst those of modern chemistry. (1) _op. cit_., p.84. roger bacon's greatness does not lie in the fact that he discovered gunpowder, nor in the further fact that his speculations have been validated by other men. his greatness lies in his secure grip of scientific method as a combination of mathematical reasoning and experiment. men before him had experimented, but none seemed to have realised the importance of the experimental method. nor was he, of course, by any means the first mathematician--there was a long line of greek and arabian mathematicians behind him, men whose knowledge of the science was in many cases much greater than his--or the most learned mathematician of his day; but none realised the importance of mathematics as an organon of scientific research as he did; and he was assuredly the priest who joined mathematics to experiment in the bonds of sacred matrimony. we must not, indeed, look for precise rules of inductive reasoning in the works of this pioneer writer on scientific method. nor do we find really satisfactory rules of induction even in the works of francis bacon. moreover, the latter despised mathematics, and it was not until in quite recent years that the scientific world came to realise that roger's method is the more fruitful--witness the modern revolution in chemistry produced by the adoption of mathematical methods. roger bacon, it may be said, was many centuries in advance of his time; but it is equally true that he was the child of his time; this may account for his defects judged by modern standards. he owed not a little to his contemporaries: for his knowledge and high estimate of philosophy he was largely indebted to his oxford master grosseteste (_c_. 1175-1253), whilst peter peregrinus, his friend at paris, fostered his love of experiment, and the arab mathematicians, whose works he knew, inclined his mind to mathematical studies. he was violently opposed to the scholastic views current in paris at his time, and attacked great thinkers like thomas aquinas (_c_. 1225-1274) and albertus magnus (1193-1280), as well as obscurantists, such as alexander of hales (_ob_. 1245). but he himself was a scholastic philosopher, though of no servile type, taking part in scholastic arguments. if he declared that he would have all the works of aristotle burned, it was not because he hated the peripatetic's philosophy--though he could criticise as well as appreciate at times,--but because of the rottenness of the translations that were then used. it seems commonplace now, but it was a truly wonderful thing then: roger bacon believed in accuracy, and was by no means destitute of literary ethics. he believed in correct translation, correct quotation, and the acknowledgment of the sources of one's quotations--unheard-of things, almost, in those days. but even he was not free from all the vices of his age: in spite of his insistence upon experimental verification of the conclusions of deductive reasoning, in one place, at least, he adopts a view concerning lenses from another writer, of which the simplest attempt at such verification would have revealed the falsity. for such lapses, however, we can make allowances. another and undeniable claim to greatness rests on roger bacon's broad-mindedness. he could actually value at their true worth the moral philosophies of non-christian writers--seneca (_c_. 5 b.c.-a.d. 65) and al ghazzali (1058-1111), for instance. but if he was catholic in the original meaning of that term, he was also catholic in its restricted sense. he was no heretic: the pope for him was the vicar of christ, whom he wished to see reign over the whole world, not by force of arms, but by the assimilation of all that was worthy in that world. to his mind--and here he was certainly a child of his age, in its best sense, perhaps--all other sciences were handmaidens to theology, queen of them all. all were to be subservient to her aims: the church he called "catholic" was to embrace in her arms all that was worthy in the works of "profane" writers--true prophets of god, he held, in so far as writing worthily they unconsciously bore testimony to the truth of christianity,--and all that nature might yield by patient experiment and speculation guided by mathematics. some minds see in this a defect in his system, which limited his aims and outlook; others see it as the unifying principle giving coherence to the whole. at any rate, the church, as we have seen, regarded his views as dangerous, and restrained his pen for at least a considerable portion of his life. roger bacon may seem egotistic in argument, but his mind was humble to learn. he was not superstitious, but he would listen to common folk who worked with their hands, to astrologers, and even magicians, denying nothing which seemed to him to have some evidence in experience: if he denied much of magical belief, it was because he found it lacking in such evidence. he often went astray in his views; he sometimes failed to apply his own method, and that method was, in any case, primitive and crude. but it was the right method, in embryo at least, and roger bacon, in spite of tremendous opposition, greater than that under which any man of science may now suffer, persisted in that method to the end, calling upon his contemporaries to adopt it as the only one which results in right knowledge. across the centuries--or, rather, across the gulf that divides this world from the next--let us salute this great and noble spirit. xii. the cambridge platonists there is an opinion, unfortunately very common, that religious mysticism is a product of the emotional temperament, and is diametrically opposed to the spirit of rationalism. no doubt this opinion is not without some element of justification, and one could quote the works of not a few religious mystics to the effect that self-surrender to god implies, not merely a giving up of will, but also of reason. but that this teaching is not an essential element in mysticism, that it is, indeed, rather its perversion, there is adequate evidence to demonstrate. swedenborg is, i suppose, the outstanding instance of an intellectual mystic; but the essential unity of mysticism and rationalism is almost as forcibly made evident in the case of the cambridge platonists. that little band of "latitude men," as their contemporaries called them, constitutes one of the finest schools of philosophy that england has produced; yet their works are rarely read, i am afraid, save by specialists. possibly, however, if it were more commonly known what a wealth of sound philosophy and true spiritual teaching they contain, the case would be otherwise. the cambridge platonists--benjamin whichcote, john smith, nathanael culverwel, ralph cudworth, and henry more are the more outstanding names--were educated as puritans; but they clearly realised the fundamental error of puritanism, which tended to make a man's eternal salvation depend upon the accuracy and extent of his beliefs; nor could they approve of the exaggerated import given by the high church party to matters of church polity. the term "cambridge platonists" is, perhaps, less appropriate than that of "latitudinarians," which latter name emphasises their broad-mindedness (even if it carries with it something of disapproval). for although they owed much to ptato, and, perhaps, more to plotinus (_c_. a.d. 203-262), they were christians first and platonists afterwards, and, with the exception, perhaps, of more, they took nothing from these philosophers which was not conformable to the scriptures. benjamin whichcote was born in 1609, at whichcote hall, in the parish of stoke, shropshire. in 1626 he entered emmanuel college, cambridge, then regarded as the chief puritan college of the university. here his college tutor was anthony tuckney (1599-1670), a man of rare character, combining learning, wit, and piety. between whichcote and tuckney there grew up a firm friendship, founded on mutual affection and esteem. but tuckney was unable to agree with all whichcote's broad-minded views concerning reason and authority; and in later years this gave rise to a controversy between them, in which tuckney sought to controvert whichcote's opinions: it was, however, carried on without acrimony, and did not destroy their friendship. whichcote became m.a., and was elected a fellow of his college, in 1633, having obtained his b.a. four years previously. he was ordained by john williams in 1636, and received the important appointment of sunday afternoon lecturer at trinity church. his lectures, which he gave with the object of turning men's minds from polemics to the great moral and spiritual realities at the basis of the christian religion, from mere formal discussions to a true searching into the reason of things, were well attended and highly appreciated; and he held the appointment for twenty years. in 1634 he became college tutor at emmanuel. he possessed all the characteristics that go to make up an efficient and well-beloved tutor, and his personal influence was such as to inspire all his pupils, amongst whom were both john smith and nathanael culverwel, who considerably amplified his philosophical and religious doctrines. in 1640 he became b.d., and nine years after was created d.d. the college living of north cadbury, in somerset, was presented to him in 1643, and shortly afterwards he married. in the next year, however, he was recalled to cambridge, and installed as provost of king's college in place of the ejected dr samuel collins. but it was greatly against his wish that he received the appointment, and he only consented to do so on the condition that part of his stipend should be paid to collins--an act which gives us a good insight into the character of the man. in 1650 he resigned north cadbury, and the living was presented to cudworth (see below), and towards the end of this year he was elected vice-chancellor of the university in succession to tuckney. it was during his vice-chancellorship that he preached the sermon that gave rise to the controversy with the latter. about this time also he was presented with the living of milton, in cambridgeshire. at the restoration he was ejected from the provostship, but, having complied with the act of uniformity, he was, in 1662, appointed to the cure of st anne's, blackfriars. this church being destroyed in the great fire, whichcote retired to milton, where he showed great kindness to the poor. but some years later he returned to london, having received the vicarage of st lawrence, jewry. his friends at cambridge, however, still saw him on occasional visits, and it was on one such visit to cudworth, in 1683, that he caught the cold which caused his death. john smith was born at achurch, near oundle, in 1618. he entered emmanuel college in 1636, became b.a. in 1640, and proceeded to m.a. in 1644, in which year he was appointed a fellow of queen's college. here he lectured on arithmetic with considerable success. he was noted for his great learning, especially in theology and oriental languages, as well as for his justness, uprightness, and humility. he died of consumption in 1652. nathanael culverwel was probably born about the same year as smith. he entered emmanuel college in 1633, gained his b.a. in 1636, and became m.a. in 1640. soon afterwards he was elected a fellow of his college. he died about 1651. beyond these scant details, nothing is known of his life. he was a man of very great erudition, as his posthumous treatise on _the light of nature_ makes evident. henry more was born at grantham in 1614. from his earliest days he was interested in theological problems, and his precociousness in this respect appears to have brought down on him the wrath of an uncle. his early education was conducted at eton. in 1631 he entered christ's college, cambridge, graduated b.a. in 1635, and received his m.a. in 1639. in the latter year he was elected a fellow of christ's and received holy orders. he lived a very retired life, refusing all preferment, though many valuable and honourable appointments were offered to him. indeed, he rarely left christ's, except to visit his "heroine pupil," lady conway, whose country seat, ragley, was in warwickshire. lady conway (_ob_. 1679) appears to be remembered only for the fact that, dying whilst her husband was away, her physician, f. m. van helmont (1618-1699) (son of the famous alchemist, j. b. van helmont, whom we have met already on these excursions), preserved her body in spirits of wine, so that he could have the pleasure of beholding it on his return. she seems to have been a woman of considerable learning, though not free from fantastic ideas. her ultimate conversion to quakerism was a severe blow to more, who, whilst admiring the holy lives of the friends, regarded them as enthusiasts. more died in 1687. more's earliest works were in verse, and exhibit fine feeling. the following lines, quoted from a poem on "charitie and humilitie," are full of charm, and well exhibit more's character:- "farre have i clambred in my mind but nought so great as love i find: deep-searching wit, mount-moving might, are nought compar'd to that great spright. life of delight and soul of blisse! sure source of lasting happinesse! higher than heaven! lower than hell! what is thy tent? where maist thou dwell? my mansion highs humilitie, heaven's vastest capabilitie the further it doth downward tend the higher up it doth ascend; if it go down to utmost nought it shall return with that it sought."(1) (1) see _the life of the learned and pious dr henry more... by_ richard ward, a.m., _to which are annexed divers philosophical poems and hymns_. edited by m. f. howard (1911), pp. 250 and 251. later he took to prose, and it must be confessed that he wrote too much and frequently descended to polemics (for example, his controversy with the alchemist thomas vaughan, in which both combatants freely used abuse). although in his main views more is thoroughly characteristic of the school to which he belonged, many of his less important opinions are more or less peculiar to himself. the relation between more's and descartes' (1596-1650) theories as to the nature of spirit is interesting. when more first read descartes' works he was favourably impressed with his views, though without entirely agreeing with him on all points; but later the difference became accentuated. descartes regarded extension as the chief characteristic of matter, and asserted that spirit was extra-spatial. to more this seemed like denying the existence of spirit, which he regarded as extended, and he postulated divisibility and impenetrability as the chief characteristics of matter. in order, however, to get over some of the inherent difficulties of this view, he put forward the suggestion that spirit is extended in four dimensions: thus, its apparent (_i.e_. three-dimensional) extension can change, whilst its true (_i.e_. four-dimensional) extension remains constant; just as the surface of a piece of metal can be increased by hammering it out, without increasing the volume of the metal. here, i think, we have a not wholly inadequate symbol of the truth; but it remained for berkeley (1685-1753) to show position, by demonstrating that, since space and extension are perceptions of the mind, and thus exist only in the mind as ideas, space exists in spirit: not spirit in space. more was a keen believer in witchcraft, and eagerly investigated all cases of these and like marvels that came under his notice. in this he was largely influenced by joseph glanvil (1636-1680), whose book on witchcraft, the well-known _saducismus triumphatus_, more largely contributed to, and probably edited. more was wholly unsuited for psychical research; free from guile himself, he was too inclined to judge others to be of this nature also. but his common sense and critical attitude towards enthusiasm saved him, no doubt, from many falls into the mire of fantasy. as principal tulloch has pointed out, whilst more is the most interesting personality amongst the cambridge platonists, his works are the least interesting of those of his school. they are dull and scholastic, and more's retired existence prevented him from grasping in their fulness some of the more acute problems of life. his attempt to harmonise catastrophes with providence, on the ground that the evil of certain parts may be necessary for the good of the whole, just as dark colours, as well as bright, are essential to the beauty of a picture--a theory which is practically the same as that of modern absolutism,(1)--is a case in point. no doubt this harmony may be accomplished, but in another key. (1) cf. bernard bosanquet, ll.d., d.c.l.: _the principle of individuality and value_ (1912). ralph cudworth was born at aller, in somersetshire, in 1617. he entered emmanuel college in 1632, three years afterwards gained his b.a., and became m.a. in 1639. in the latter year he was elected a fellow of his college. later he obtained the b.d. degree. in 1645 he was appointed master of clare hall, in place of the ejected dr pashe, and was elected regius professor of hebrew. on 31st march 1647 he preached a sermon of remarkable eloquence and power before the house of commons, which admirably expresses the attitude of his school as concerns the nature of true religion. i shall refer to it again later. in 1650 cudworth was presented with the college living of north cadbury, which whichcote had resigned, and was made d.d. in the following year. in 1654 he was elected master of christ's college, with an improvement in his financial position, there having been some difficulty in obtaining his stipend at clare hall. in this year he married. in 1662 bishop sheldon presented him with the rectory of ashwell, in hertfordshire. he died in 1688. he was a pious man of fine intellect; but his character was marred by a certain suspiciousness which caused him wrongfully to accuse more, in 1665, of attempting to forestall him in writing a work on ethics, which should demonstrate that the principles of christian morality are not based on any arbitrary decrees of god, but are inherent in the nature and reason of things. cudworth's great work--or, at least, the first part, which alone was completed,--_the intellectual system of the world_, appeared in 1678. in it cudworth deals with atheism on the ground of reason, demonstrating its irrationality. the book is remarkable for the fairness and fulness with which cudworth states the arguments in favour of atheism. so much for the lives and individual characteristics of the cambridge platonists: what were the great principles that animated both their lives and their philosophy? these, i think, were two: first, the essential unity of religion and morality; second, the essential unity of revelation and reason. with clearer perception of ethical truth than either puritan or high churchman, the cambridge platonists saw that true christianity is neither a matter of mere belief, nor consists in the mere performance of good works; but is rather a matter of character. to them christianity connoted regeneration. "religion," says whichcote, "is the frame and temper of our minds, and the rule of our lives"; and again, "heaven is first a temper, and then a place."(1) to the man of heavenly temper, they taught, the performance of good works would be no irksome matter imposed merely by a sense of duty, but would be done spontaneously as a delight. to drudge in religion may very well be necessary as an initial stage, but it is not its perfection. (1) my quotations from whichcote and smith are taken from the selection of their discourses edited by e. t. campagnac, m.a. (1901). in his sermon before the house of commons, cudworth well exposes the error of those who made the mere holding of certain beliefs the essential element in christianity. there are many passages i should like to quote from this eloquent discourse, but the following must suffice: "we must not judge of our knowing of christ, by our skill in books and papers, but by our keeping of his commandments... he is the best christian, whose heart beats with the truest pulse towards heaven; not he whose head spinneth out the finest cobwebs. he that endeavours really to mortifie his lusts, and to comply with that truth in his life, which his conscience is convinced of; is neerer a christian, though he never heard of christ; then he that believes all the vulgar articles of the christian faith, and plainly denyeth christ in his life.... the great mysterie of the gospel, it doth not lie only in christ without us, (though we must know also what he hath done for us) but the very pith and kernel of it, consists in _*christ inwardly formed_ in our hearts. nothing is truly ours, but what lives in our spirits. salvation it self cannot save us, as long as it is onely without us; no more then health can cure us, and make us sound, when it is not within us, but somewhere at distance from us; no more than _arts and sciences_, whilst they lie onely in books and papers without us; can make us learned."(1) (1) ralph cudworth, b.d.: _a sermon preached before the honourable house of commons at westminster, mar_. 31, 1647 (1st edn.), pp. 3, 14, 42, and 43. the cambridge platonists were not ascetics; their moral doctrine was one of temperance. their sound wisdom on this point is well evident in the following passage from whichcote: "what can be alledged for intemperance; since nature is content with very few things? why should any one over-do in this kind? a man is better in health and strength, if he be temperate. we enjoy ourselves more in a sober and temperate use of ourselves."(2) (2) benjamin whichcote: _the venerable nature and transcendant benefit of christian religion. op. cit_., p. 40. the other great principle animating their philosophy was, as i have said, the essential unity of reason and revelation. to those who argued that self-surrender implied a giving up of reason, they replied that "to go against reason, is to go against god: it is the self same thing, to do that which the reason of the case doth require; and that which god himself doth appoint: reason is the divine governor of man's life; it is the very voice of god."(3) reason, conscience, and the scriptures, these, taught the cambridge platonists, testify of one another and are the true guides which alone a man should follow. all other authority they repudiated. but true reason is not merely sensuous, and the only way whereby it may be gained is by the purification of the self from the desires that draw it away from the source of all reason. "god," writes more, "reserves his choicest secrets for the purest minds," adding his conviction that "true holiness (is) the only safe entrance into divine knowledge." or as smith, who speaks of "a good life as the prolepsis and fundamental principle of divine science," puts it, "... if... knowledge be not attended with humility and a deep sense of self-penury and _*self-emptiness_, we may easily fall short of that true knowledge of god which we seem to aspire after."(1b) right reason, however, they taught, is the product of the sight of the soul, the true mystic vision. (3) benjamin whichcote: _moral and religious aphorisms op. cit_., p. 67. (1b) john smith: _a discourse concerning the true way or method of attaining to divine knowledge. op. cit_., pp. 80 and 96. in what respects, it may be asked in conclusion, is the philosophy of the cambridge platonists open to criticism? they lacked, perhaps, a sufficiently clear concept of the church as a unity, and although they clearly realised that nature is a symbol which it is the function of reason to interpret spiritually, they failed, i think, to appreciate the value of symbols. thus they have little to teach with respect to the sacraments of the church, though, indeed, the highest view, perhaps, is that which regards every act as potentially a sacrament; and, whilst admiring his morality, they criticised boehme as an enthusiast. but, although he spoke in a very different language, spiritually he had much in common with them. compared with what is of positive value in their philosophy, however, the defects of the cambridge platonists are but comparatively slight. i commend their works to lovers of spiritual wisdom. produced from images generously made available by the internet archive.) a world of wonders. a world of wonders, with anecdotes and opinions concerning popular superstitions. edited by albany poyntz. london: richard bentley, new burlington street, publisher in ordinary to her majesty. 1845. london: printed by schulze and co., 13, poland street. preface. it is surprising, considering the gigantic strides effected by modern science, how many of the errors and prejudices engendered by the ignorance of the dark ages remain current in the world in its present days of enlightenment. like the winged seeds of certain weeds, their light and impalpable nature renders them only the more difficult of extirpation. a cursory review and refutation of these popular prejudices and vulgar errors has been attempted in the following manual. a more scientific analysis of so spreading a field would have expanded into a cyclopædia. but the ancient traditions and modern instances collected in its pages may afford the reader amusement and instruction for the passing hour, as well as an incentive to more profound investigations in hours to come. london, november, 1845. contents. page chapter i. longevity of animals 1-10 chapter ii. incombustible men 11-22 chapter iii. ventriloquists 23-31 chapter iv. pope joan and the wandering jew 32-36 chapter v. the fables of history 37-45 chapter vi. melons and monsters 46-53 chapter vii. the jews 54-60 chapter viii. verbal delicacy 61-64 chapter ix. aerolites and miraculous showers 65-74 chapter x. nostrums and specifics 75-82 chapter xi. physiognomists 83-95 chapter xii. last words of dying persons 96-98 chapter xiii. the antipodes--morning and evening dew 99-102 chapter xiv. perpetual lamps and archimedes 103-109 chapter xv. the lynx and the cameleon 110-115 chapter xvi. wild women 116-118 chapter xvii. sybils 119-123 chapter xviii. fortune-tellers and chiromacy 124-130 chapter xix. albertus magnus and nostradamus 131-137 chapter xx. leeches, serpents, and the song of the dying swan 138-146 chapter xxi. negroes 147-160 chapter xxii. fascination; or, the art of pleasing 161-170 chapter xxiii. the philosopher's stone 171-177 chapter xxiv. giants and dwarfs 178-183 chapter xxv. astrology 184-190 chapter xxvi. the moon and lunar influence 191-193 chapter xxvii. apparitions 194-201 chapter xxviii. nobility and trade 202-208 chapter xxix. merit and popularity 209-219 chapter xxx. comets 220-223 chapter xxxi. popular errors 224-232 chapter xxxii. dreams 233-237 chapter xxxiii. prejudices attached to certain animals 238-243 chapter xxxiv. content and courtesy 244-248 chapter xxxv. the divining rod 249-254 chapter xxxvi. bees and ants 255-260 chapter xxxvii. prepossessions and antipathies 261-265 chapter xxxviii. the influence of bells upon thunder storms 266-269 chapter xxxix. small pox and vaccination 270-273 chapter xl. precocious and clever children 274-279 chapter xli. education of children 280-282 chapter xlii. prejudices of the french 283-288 chapter xliii. monstrous births 289-293 chapter xliv. the ichneumon and the halcyon 294-295 chapter xlv. sorcerers and magicians 296-300 chapter xlvi. male and female 301-307 chapter xlvii. minor superstitions 308-309 chapter xlviii. somnambulism 310-314 chapter xlix. a few more words about ghosts and vampires, and loup-garoux 315-344 chapter l. apocryphal animals 345-352 chapter li. professions esteemed infamous 353-356 chapter lii. supernatural human beings 357-361 a world of wonders. chapter i. longevity of animals. most scholars are familiar with the quotation "cervi dicuntur diutissime vivere," which has rendered proverbial the longevity of the stag. among birds, crows and parrots have also been said to attain miraculous length of days; among fishes, the carp and pike; among reptiles, the tortoise. but modern investigation has sufficiently proved that the number of centuries, variously assigned as the natural age of these birds, beasts and fishes, was, in the first instance, the invention of poets and fabulists, carelessly adopted as authentic by lovers of the marvellous. it is now ascertained that aloes frequently flower three times in a hundred years, and that three generations of the stag are included within the same space of time. hesiod, an ancient greek poet whose works have only partially reached us, was the first to institute a comparative inquiry into the age of the crow and the stag. hesiod assigns eighty-six years as the average span of human life; yet he asserts that the rook attains eight hundred and sixty-four years, and the crow thrice as many. towards the stag, he is still more liberal; declaring that these animals have been known to attain their thirty-fifth century. considering the age we assign to the world itself when hesiod flourished in it, no great experience as to the average existence of so sempiternal an animal could have influenced his opinion. according to many ancient writers besides hesiod, the stag is the longest lived of animals; and the egyptians have adopted it as the emblem of longevity. pliny relates that one hundred years after the death of alexander, several stags were taken in the different forests of macedonia, to whose necks that great monarch had, with his own hand, attached collars. this extension of existence is, however, scarcely worth recording, in comparison with the instance commemorated by french historians, of a stag taken in the forest of senlis, in the year 1037; having a collar round its neck on which was inscribed, "cæsar hoc me donavit." a miraculous interpretation was assigned to this inscription, which has consequently formed the ground-work of a popular error in france. the "cæsar" of the legend was admitted, without further examination, to be julius cæsar, thereby allotting ten centuries as the age of the animal; nay, seventy-seven years more, seeing that julius cæsar conquered gaul forty-two years before the birth of christ. nevertheless since the days of julius, the title of cæsar had been bestowed on a sufficient number of imperial potentates to explain the inscription on the collar upon more rational grounds: the cæsar who had thus adorned the stag being in all probability its contemporary. but this was too simple an interpretation to be acceptable to those wonder-seeking times. aristotle decided the age of the stag, not from the showing of poets and traditions, but from the indications of experiment. having dissected a considerable number of these animals, he pronounced their ordinary age to be was from thirty to thirty-six years. buffon was of a similar opinion, which has been adopted by most succeeding naturalists. it has been established as a law of comparative physiology, that the life of a mammiferous animal is in proportion to its period of gestation, and the duration of its growth. the sheep and goat, who bear their young five months, and whose growth lasts two years, live from eight to ten, the horse, which is borne ten months, and whose growth requires from five to six years, lives from thirty to forty. we are, of course, speaking of the horse in its natural state, uninjured by premature and excessive labour. when submitted to the hands of man, the noble animal is condemned to premature old age, by the application of spur and thong before it attains sufficient strength for the unnatural speed it is compelled to attempt, and the burthens it is forced to bear. nor, even under these circumstances, is it allowed to attain the span of life assigned by nature; the hand of the knacker being put in request to end its days, the moment its services cease to be profitable to its master. the camel, which is borne ten months, and requires four years for its bodily development, usually attains the age of fifty. the elephant, requiring a year's gestation, attains the climax of its growth at thirty, and lives to a hundred. the gestation of a stag, therefore, being but of eight months, there is no reason to infer a deviation in its favour from the laws governing the nature of all other animals of the same genus. "the stag," says buffon, "whose growth requires six years, lives from thirty to forty. the prodigious age originally ascribed to this animal, is a groundless invention of the poets, of which aristotle demonstrated the absurdity." a variety of instances of the miraculous longevity of animals may be found in the works of the early german naturalists. it is related in the collection of voyages and travels of malte brun, on the showing of these authorities, that the emperor frederick ii. having been presented with a singularly fine pike, caused it to be thrown into a pond adjoining his palace of kaiserslautern, after affixing to it a collar bearing the following greek inscription: "i am the first fish cast into this pond by the hands of the emperor frederick ii.; october 5th, 1230." after remaining two hundred and sixty years in the pond, the pike was taken in 1497, and carried to heidelberg, to be served at the table of the elector philip; when the collar and inscription were subjected to the examination of the curious. the pike, at that time, weighed three hundred and fifty pounds, and was nineteen feet in length--a miraculous fish in every respect; for how are we to suppose that an inscription upon an elastic collar would otherwise remain legible at the close of several centuries? this story is evidently one of the marvels that figure so profusely in the chronicles of old germany during the middle ages. it has, however, often been asserted that aquatic animals are longer-lived than others, from being cold-blooded, and losing nothing from transpiration; though, from their peculiar nature, the fact is very difficult of demonstration. fordyce made some curious experiments upon the tenacity of life in fishes; by placing gold fishes in a variety of vessels filled with water; which, at first, he refreshed every day; then, every third day, with which refreshment, and without other nourishment, they lived for fifteen months. he next distilled the water; increased the proportion of air in the vessels; and closed the apertures, so that no insect could possibly penetrate. nevertheless, the fish lived as before, and were in good condition. the experimentalist now decided that the decomposition of the air afforded them sufficient nutriment; by this theory invalidating the proverb 'that it is impossible to live on air.' without impugning the authenticity of these experiments, or the easy sustenance of fishes, we may be permitted to observe that a variety of circumstances are unfavourable to the fact of their miraculous longevity. in the first place, their organization, especially that of the carp which is supposed to be one of the longest-lived of fishes, is peculiarly delicate; and the muscular effort to move in an element eight hundred times heavier than atmospheric air, must be apt to exhaust the energies of life. such are the suggestions of common sense; too often unavailing against the marvels of tradition, accepted by the credulity of mankind. the parisians delight in boasting of the age of the venerable carp in the reservoirs at fontainebleau and chantilly; the former especially, as contemporary with francis i. other credulous persons declare that there exist gigantic carp many centuries old, in the water beneath the cathedral of strasbourg--a fact easily asserted because impossible to disprove. with respect to the tame old carp at fontainebleau, which come to the surface of the water to be fed by every visitor to that curious old palace, the only grounds for asserting their great age is the inconclusive fact, that there were tame old grey carp in the moat of fontainebleau in the reign of francis i., as at the present time. but who is to prove that they are identical? there were also troops and courtiers at fontainebleau at both epochs, whom it would be just as reasonable to assert were the same persons. the only difference is that the generations of men are visibly renewed; while the carp in the old moat slip away unnoticed, and are succeeded by a younger fry. the longevity of certain species of the feathered kind has been just as much exaggerated as that of the stag and the carp. willoughby states in his work on ornithology, that a friend of his possessed a gander eighty years of age; which in the end became so ferocious that they were forced to kill it, in consequence of the havock it committed in the barn-yard. he also talks of a swan three centuries old; and several celebrated parrots are said to have attained from one hundred to one hundred and fifty years. the experiments of able naturalists afford the best answer to such statements. according to the best established authorities, pigeons, fowls, and ducks, live, in a natural state, from ten to twelve years. magpies, crows, and jays, evince symptoms of caducity at the same age. professor hufeland, of jena, who has devoted considerable time and attention to the study of the duration of life, assures us that the great eagle, and other birds of the larger kind, such as the pelican and ostrich, are very long-lived and of vigorous constitution. specimens of the eagle tribe have been known, however, to survive in a menagerie upwards of a hundred years. hufeland relates that a mr. selwand, of london, received in 1793, from the cape of good hope, a falcon wearing a golden collar inscribed "to his majesty, king james of england, 1610." the bird was supposed to have belonged to james i., and having escaped from its keepers, in order to avoid recapture, to have traversed europe and africa, to end its days in a state of nature among the hottentots! destiny, however, was not to be defied; and the prisoner was recaptured in its old age, and sent back to england. this incident probably originated in a hoax upon the credulity of mr. selwand, practised by one of his colonial correspondents. moreover, hufeland, after publishing his conviction of the prodigious longevity of the eagle tribe, was himself very likely to become the object of one of those mystifications, for which the supporters of new theories are considered fair game. credulity is unfortunately a weakness common to the human race; and a tendency to exaggeration is scarcely less universal. between the two failings, monstrous stories obtain circulation; and as it is easier to assent than examine, the world becomes overrun with errors and prejudices. a curious anecdote related from mouth to mouth, becomes exaggerated into a miracle. thus, as regards the longevity of parrots, a bird of this species which happens to survive three generations of the same family, though the period may not exceed thirty years, is talked of in the circle of their acquaintance as a nestor or methuselah; till, at last, from exaggeration to exaggeration, its age becomes converted into a miracle. no one, however, can personally attest the age of a parrot beyond fifty or sixty years. all the rest must be hearsay. among curious examples of longevity in animals, the dog of ulysses is cited, by many ancient authors, for the intelligence displayed in his recognition of his master after twenty years' absence. a mule, which lived to the age of ninety years, at athens, has also been frequently cited. the historian, mézéray, relates, on the authority of flodard, that loup asnard, duke of aquitaine, on coming to do homage to raoul, king of france, about the beginning of the tenth century, appeared before the monarch mounted on a horse a hundred years old. such exceptions, however, even if authentic, tend no more to prove the longevity of dogs, horses or mules, than the incontestible fact that certain men, even in modern times, have survived to the age of a century and a half, tend to establish that period as the span of human existence. chapter ii. incombustible men. there are instances in which it may be fairly said that seeing is not believing. in the case of a variety of persons who have exhibited themselves, in different times and countries, as endowed with the natural power of resistance to fire, the frightful feats displayed serve only to convince the spectator, that the incombustibility of the exhibitants is but a skilful effort of legerdemain. it may be observed that the persons who pretend to this miraculous faculty, seldom expose themselves to the hazard of the investigations of the scientific world. for the exhibition of their exploits, they usually prefer small towns to great cities. in former days, incombustible men assumed, in spain, the name of _saludores_; and most of those who have since exhibited in public their insensibility to fire, are descendants or imitators of these spanish mountebanks. the _saludores_, however, pretended to a power of curing all sorts of diseases by means of their saliva; whereas, the incombustible individuals who have figured in france and germany, pretend only to handle fire with impunity, to swallow boiling oil, walk upon glowing embers, or even among flames; all which exploits they accomplish with perfect self-possession. so long as two hundred years ago, however, the _saludores_ were recognised as impostors. leonard vain relates a story of one of them, who, having pretended to the faculty of sustaining the heat of a kindled oven, was forced by the populace into one, without sufficient preparation; on opening which, at the close of an hour, the man was found to be calcined. a somewhat severe mode of punishing imposture! this example, however, did not serve to extinguish the race; and in 1806, a man who called himself the miraculous spaniard, opened an exhibition in paris, where he renewed all the skilful marvels of his predecessors, by walking barefooted on red hot iron, drawing heated bars across his arms, face and tongue, dipping his hands in molten lead, and swallowing, as if with zest, a glass of boiling oil. this exhibition, to which the idlers of the french capital resorted, produced a careful examination into the precedents of antiquity for similar instances of incombustibility. some cited the well-known lines of virgil, with reference to the exhibitions of the priests of apollo, on mount soracte, where they walked unhurt, in presence of the worshippers of their divinity, upon burning embers. others quoted the equally doubtful authority of pliny; who relates the same fact, adding that the privilege of incombustibility was hereditary in a specific family; a fact the more remarkable, because all the modern jugglers in this branch of the black art, pretend to descend from st. catherine. varro, less credulous than pliny, expressly states that the priests of the temple of soracte possessed the secret of a composition which rendered them fire-proof. long after varro, strabo related that the votaries of the goddess feronia obtained, as the price of their devotions, the faculty of walking unhurt over burning piles; and that the exhibition of this miraculous power before her altars, attracted numerous spectators. "the worship of the goddess feronia," says strabo, "is much in vogue; her temple being remarkable as the site of a miracle. those persons whose prayers the goddess deigns to propitiate, are enabled to defy the most ardent flames. this miracle is renewed at her annual festival." it is also related that, not far from the city of thyane, the birth-place of apollonius, there was a celebrated temple dedicated to diana persica; the virgins devoted wherein to the worship of the goddess of chastity, possessed the power and privilege of treading unhurt upon burning embers. a confirmation of these wonders is to be found in aristotle and apuleius. when the visitors of the miraculous spaniard had satisfied themselves, that antiquity supplied a variety of examples in substantiation of the power to which he pretended, modern history was searched for further attestation; when it appeared that ambrose paré and cardan, depose to having seen mountebanks so inured to the effects of molten lead and boiling oil, that they were able to wash their faces and hands, unhurt, with those terrible materials. delrio, delancre, and bodin, advance many curious facts of a similar nature. had these incombustible individuals existed in the days when trial by ordeal was still a form of law; or, rather, had the art of chemistry attained at that period the power of hardening the human skin into resistance of fire, the secret would have been invaluable. in those barbarous ages, a culprit sentenced to the fiery ordeal of walking upon heated ploughshares, or plunging his limbs into boiling oil, was tacitly condemned to death. we may infer, however, that kings, queens, and dignitaries of the church were of a less combustible nature than humbler mortals; for when these were forced to submit to the terrible ordeal of fire, it was observed that they escaped unsinged; while serfs and beggars, burnt like tinder: an understanding with the cruel executioners of these savage laws, being essential to establish the innocence of an accused person. it would appear as though a sinister influence had always attached itself to the ill-fated see of autun; for one of the first instances on record of the ordeal of fire being applied to a member of the hierarchy, was that of simplicius, bishop of autun, who, after submitting to it in his life-time, was canonized after death. two later bishops of autun--the abbé roquette, said to be the original of the tartuffe of molière, and the prince de talleyrand, one of the most remarkable personages of modern times, have certainly not experienced the same posthumous distinction. simplicius, being a married man, when called to the honours of the see of autun, repudiated his wife, to whom he was tenderly attached. he was, nevertheless, accused of retaining her conjugally in his palace after his promotion to the mitre; in disproof of which, he submitted, and caused his beloved wife to submit to the fiery ordeal in presence of a vast congregation; when, both having escaped unhurt, simplicius was eventually promoted to the honour of the calendar. st. brie, the successor of st. martin in the see of tours, was also accused of having become a father, to the discredit of his episcopal functions; a charge he is said to have defeated by bestowing powers of speech upon the infant, thereby enabling it to name its real father. in addition to this exculpation, he submitted to the fiery ordeal; and having gathered up his robe, and filled it with burning embers, proceeded in this guise to the tomb of his predecessor, st. martin, without experiencing the slightest injury. it is not added in the legend, whether the garments of the bishop were also uninjured. one of the most celebrated trials by fire on record, is that of thuitberge, wife of lothaire, king of france. having been accused of more than becoming intimacy with the young prince, her brother, and condemned to the ordeal, she had the good fortune to find a champion willing to undertake it in her behalf. these champions or proxies were tantamount to the special pleaders of the present day, being mostly hired by fee or reward for the purpose. the champion of thuitberge managed to establish her innocence, by plunging his arm without injury into a cauldron of boiling water; after which, lothaire was compelled to admit the injustice of his accusation, and retain her as his wife. even at that epoch, however, mistrust had arisen on this score; and certain servitors of the king openly insinuated the existence of chemical compositions, by the application of which a man might fortify his flesh against the action of boiling fluids. appeal from the decision of an ordeal was, however, decided to be impossible. a celebrated father of the oratoire, the père lebrun, published a recipe purporting to insure impunity against fire; consisting of equal parts of alcohol, sulphur, ammonia, essence of rosemary, and onion juice. at the moment père lebrun was devoting himself to experiments on the mysteries of incombustibles, an english practician, named richardson, was amazing the world of science by the performance of prodigies. this person contrived to walk upon burning embers, to place burning sulphur upon his hand, then transferring it to his tongue, allow it to consume away without apparent injury. he also allowed a piece of meat, or an oyster, to be cooked upon his tongue; the fire for the purpose being kept up in a live coal by a pair of bellows. he was also able to grasp a red hot bar of iron, and even seize it between his teeth; to swallow molten glass and a mixture of burning pitch and sulphur, so that the flames burst from his mouth as from that of a furnace; just as common mountebanks emit fire from their mouths by means of a coal wrapt in tow, which has been previously steeped in spirits of wine. these experiments attracted so much attention, that scientific men considered them deserving notice; and in 1677, dodart, of the french academy of sciences, addressed a letter on the subject to the journal de science, proving that such phenomena might be achieved by time, address, and perseverance, without the intervention of chemical agency. the ordinary hardening of the hands and feet by labour and exercise, certainly induce a belief that perseverance in the same means might be made to produce absolute callosity. it is well known, that bakers are remarkable for the muscularity of their arms and slightness of their legs; while dancers have usually slender arms and muscular legs. the difference of exercise, necessitated by their several professions, producing diverse development of limb. on the other hand, there is no need to compare the sole of the foot of a lady who seldom goes out, unless in a carriage, or treads on any other material than luxurious carpets, with that of a peasant who goes bare-footed on the flinty road, without inconvenience, to be assured that the same degree of boiling water which could be sustained by the latter without inconvenience, would blister the delicate epidermis of the former. dodart observes that, in the ordinary circumstances of life, some people are able to swallow their food much hotter than others; and that, as regards the experiments of richardson, charcoal loses its heat the moment it is extinguished, and is easily extinguished by means of the human saliva. it is a common trick of jugglers to put lighted tapers into their mouths; and in the attempts made by richardson to cook a piece of meat upon his tongue, the slice was made so to envelop the ember, as to secure his mouth from contact with the fire; while the bellows used during the process, on pretence of keeping up the flame, were on the contrary, intended to cool the mouth. as to the mixtures of boiling wax, pitch and sulphur, dodart states their temperature to have been such, that he could hold his finger in them two seconds without pain. it is well known that the workmen in the foundries are so inured to heat, as to touch, without injury, metals in a state of fusion; frequently plunging their hands into molten lead, in order to recover articles of value. moreover, as regards any ignited substance placed in the mouth, it naturally becomes extinguished the moment the lips are reclosed; the gas from the human lungs tending especially to that purpose. about the year 1774, there lived at the foundry of laune, a man who could walk unharmed over bars of red-hot iron, and hold burning coals in his hands. the skin of this man was observed to emit a sort of unctuous transpiration, which served as his preservative. these facts suffice to prove that the miraculous spaniard, who affected preternatural incombustibility, had no need of magic for the working of his wonders. for another case, equally remarkable, we are indebted to sementini, an eminent professor of chemistry at naples. a sicilian, named lionetti, came to that city for the purpose of exhibiting feats of incombustibility; and soon excited public astonishment by his power of drawing a red-hot plate of iron over his hair without singeing it, on which he afterwards stamped with his naked feet. he also drew rods of red-hot iron through his mouth, swallowed boiling oil, dipped his fingers in molten lead, and dropped some on his tongue. he fearlessly exposed his face to the flames of burning oil; poured sulphuric or muriatic acid upon lighted embers, and imbibed the fumes; ending by allowing a thick gold pin to be thrust deep into his flesh. the neapolitans were as much enchanted by the feats of lionetti as the parisian with those of the incombustible spaniard. but at naples, sementini, who was on the watch, perceived that, at the moment the fire-proof man applied the heated materials to his skin, there escaped a whitish vapour. instead of swallowing a glass of boiling oil, according to his announcement, he introduced only a quarter of a spoonful into his mouth, and a few drops of molten lead upon his tongue, which was covered with a white fur, like the secretion perceptible in cases of fever. when he took the hot iron between his teeth, symptoms of suppressed pain were perceptible; and the edges of his teeth were evidently charred by previous performances of a similar description. from these appearances, sementini inferred that lionetti made use of certain preparations which secured him against the influence of heat, by hardening the epidermis; and that his skin having become callous from use, was in itself able to resist, to a certain degree, the action of fire. these conclusions, which concur with those made by dodart, in the case of richardson, were verified by personal observation and careful experiment. after many fruitless attempts to discover the chemical agents used by the incombustibles, the persevering sementini found that by frequent frictions of sulphuric acid, he was able to inure his flesh to the contact of red-hot iron; and we are bound to admire the patience and courage of those who, for the benefit of scientific discovery, attempt experiments of so powerful and perilous a nature. to have exposed a fallacy in matters of science, is equal to the discovery of a fact; and the extirpation of a single error or false conclusion from the popular mind, is an act deserving of gratitude. sementini found that by bathing the parts thus deprived of their usual sensitiveness with a solution of alum, their former sensibility to heat was restored; and one day, happening to smear with soap the parts he had re-softened in this manner with alum, he found, to his great surprise, that they became hardened anew against the action of heat. the experimentalist instantly applied to his tongue a preparation of soap, and found that it enabled him to defy the contact of iron heated to a white heat. to neutralize the faculty thus acquired, he had only to sprinkle his tongue with sugar; a new application of soap serving at any moment to render it fire-proof. by these experiments, in various countries, the pretension to a supernatural power of incombustibility has been reduced to its true level. the priests of soracte, the virgins of diana, the champion of queen thuitberge, and the bishop of autun, were doubtless adepts in the art of the miraculous spaniard; and according to the recipe of sementini, a man may be enabled to defy the element of fire as successfully as an expert swimmer overmasters that of water, or an experienced aëronaut of air. chapter iii. ventriloquists. ventriloquists are a better order of jugglers than the incombustibles. the feats of the latter are doubtless more surprising--the former, far more amusing. to behold a man expose himself to even the semblance of a cruel torture, affords a disgusting species of excitement; and such exhibitions as those we have described, the feat of swallowing naked swords, or the favourite practice of placing in contact with half-tamed beasts of prey a human being who submits to the risk for the sake of a scanty remuneration, is an order of public entertainment that does little honour to the taste of the listless spectator. to witness feats of ventriloquism, on the contrary, is a diverting and harmless pastime; though, had messieurs comte and alexandre exhibited their marvellous powers in the olden time, there is some probability that they might have been exposed to jeopardy as sorcerers and magicians, or to exorcism, as possessed of devils. ventriloquism derives its name from an error of the ancients. so far from being effected through the body, the mouth is the sole instrument of the art or faculty we call ventriloquism. the first inference formed on this subject was by the greeks, who conceived the oracles of the pythoness to consist of the emanation of the soul from the viscera; and as the lips of ventriloquists assumed the same form in the exercise of their art as those of the pythoness during her pretended inspirations, they ascribed the effort to the same region of the body. archbishop eustatius, in treating of the witch of endor, attributes the exploits of the magician ob, in invoking the shade of samuel, and obtaining a reply from the apparition, to a devil, or the power of ventriloquism. in the book of the septanti, the witch of endor is described as a ventriloquist. father delrio, as an interpreter of the opinion of the ancients, and henri boguet, the great legist, declared from the bench, that all persons endowed with a natural power of ventriloquism, had hoarse, harsh voices, and that the spirit by which they were possessed, must be dislodged by exorcism. in the earlier days of ventriloquism, from the witch of endor downwards, the art appears to have been almost peculiar to the female sex; though in our own times professed only by males. in the fifteenth century, rolande du vernois, accused of the exercise of ventriloquism, was condemned and burnt as a witch; and about the middle of the sixteenth, the inhabitants of lisbon were amazed by the feats of a woman named cecilia, who possessed the art of causing her voice to issue from her elbow, foot, or any other part of her body. in exhibiting this apparently preternatural power, she pretended to have an invisible colleague, named pierre jean, with whom she appeared to hold conversations; an exploit that exposed her to a charge of witchcraft. she was tried for magic, and exiled to the island of st. thomas, in remission of a sentence to be burnt alive. in the same century, a little old woman who had very much the air of a witch, and whose voice appeared to issue from the centre of her body, made her appearance in italy, where she was arraigned for sorcery; but her further history is unrecorded. a female ventriloquist, named barbara jacobi, narrowly escaped being burnt at the stake in 1685, at haarlem, where she was an inmate of the public hospital. the curious daily resorted thither to hear her hold a dialogue with an imaginary personage with whom she conversed as if concealed behind the curtains of her bed. this individual, whom she called joachim, and to whom she addressed a thousand ludicrous questions, which he answered in the same familiar strain, was for some time supposed to be a confederate. but when the bystanders attempted to search for him behind the curtains, his voice instantly reproached them with their curiosity from the opposite corner of the room. as barbara jacobi had contrived to make herself familiar with all the gossip of the city of haarlem, the revelations of the pretended familiar were such as to cause considerable embarrassment to those who beset her with impertinent questions. the celebrated thiémet used to exhibit at paris a scene of a similar nature, afterwards copied in london in the monopolylogues of matthews. having concealed himself in a sentry-box, which occupied the centre of his small stage, the distant sound of a horn became audible; then, the cry of a pack of hounds gradually approaching; during the intervals of which, a miller and his wife were heard familiarly conversing in bed concerning their household affairs. in the midst of their conversation, a knock was heard; and a strange noise became audible from without, entreating the miller to rise and show the way through the forest to a young baron, who had lost the track of the hounds. the miller promised compliance; when an altercation ensued between him and his wife; the former wishing to rise, the latter preventing him with a declaration that she had not courage to be left alone in the mill. at length, the miller gets the better; and, having risen, is about to put on his clothes, when the sobs and cries of his abandoned spouse determine him to return to bed; and the scene used to terminate with a loud exclamation on the part of the lady when the cold knees of the miller apprized her of his return. this somewhat too familiar exhibition used to elicit roars of laughter from the most fashionable audiences; nor, till thiémet issued from his sentry-box, could they be prevailed upon to believe that he had been alone. ventriloquism is, in truth, the working of a curious problem in acoustics; the art resulting from a careful computation of distances and effects in the science of sound. the resources afforded by such an art to the priesthood of antiquity, who were thus enabled to create an oracle wherever they thought proper, may easily be understood. when exercised with dexterity, it was no wonder that the bewildered populace should exclaim, like the sybil of cumæ, "deus! ecce deus!" dodona and delphos are now generally believed to have been simply the scene of a clever exhibition of ventriloquism. fontenelle, and the learned benedictine, dom calmet, have both written extensively on the subject; the latter, more especially, labouring to prove that a variety of marvels related by lucian, philostratus, iamblicus, and other eminent authors, are easily explained by ventriloquism. many french historians attribute to the same origin the apostrophe of the pretended spectre in the forest of mans, which so terrified the feeble charles vi., as to deprive him of reason. such was the opinion of the abbé de la chapelle; who, in 1772, published a volume on ventriloquism, in which, among other examples, he cites the wonderful faculty of a grocer named st. gilles, residing at st. germain en laye; who, when visited by the abbé, made his voice appear to issue from every part of the house. st. gilles appears to have been a facetious personage as well as a skilful ventriloquist; for as he was one day walking in the forest of st. germain, with a rich prebendary, celebrated for his avarice and clerical abuses, a voice was heard to reproach him with his pluralities and covetousness, threatening to bury him under the ruins of his prebendal house, unless he reformed the errors of his ways. the grocer being careful to assume an appearance of the same terror that paralyzed his companion, the priest regarded this interposition as the voice of his good angel; and instantly proceeding to the nearest church, dropped the whole contents of his purse into the poor's box; and on his return to paris, devoted the remainder of his days to repentance and good works. on another occasion, st. gilles exercised his art in restoring family peace to a young couple. the husband who had abandoned a young and lovely wife, having accompanied him into the depths of the forest of st. germain for a morning walk, was also addressed by a supernatural voice, threatening him with eternal punishment unless he renounced his dissolute habits, and returned to the bosom of domestic life; a stratagem which produced the happiest results. one of the most skilful proficients in the art, appears to have been a baron von mengen, a german nobleman, as celebrated at vienna, as st. gilles in france. the baron never appeared in society without carrying a doll in his pockets, with which he used to hold imaginary conversations. an english traveller, amazed by the wit and wisdom of the doll, became at length so excited by curiosity, as to insinuate his hand into the baron's pocket, in the hope of discovering his secret; when the doll instantly shrieked aloud, and bitterly reproached the englishman for his breach of decorum. the amazement of the abashed foreigner increasing, the baron produced his doll, and explained the nature of the mystery. philippe, a favourite actor of the théâtre des variétés, on his marriage with mademoiselle volnais, the actress, proceeded with her into lorraine to visit an estate they had purchased; when the tenants having thought proper to favour them with a magnificent reception, in the course of the day, the bridegroom, deserting his place of honour, strolled out among the revellers. while he appeared to be only conversing in a grave manner with the mayor of the place, to the dismay of the simple villagers, strange voices were heard to issue from tuns of wine, reproaching them with their excesses; and from wheelbarrows, reproving them for their idleness. the whole village fancied itself bewitched; while philippe enjoyed, for the first time of his life, on his own account, a talent he had so often exercised for the amusement of others. comte, the best ventriloquist now extant, has performed a thousand similar exploits. when on his travels in belgium, he caused the voice of margaret of austria, to issue from her tomb in the church of bron, addressing a reprimand to the verger. at rheims, he was nearly the cause of depopulating the quarter of st. nicholas, by causing voices to issue from a variety of graves in the church-yard; while at nevers, he revived the miracle of balaam, by enabling an overladen ass to reproach its master with his cruelty. another time, monsieur comte, when travelling by night in a diligence, the travellers of which had fallen asleep, roused them from their slumbers by a confusion of voices of robbers at the windows, calling aloud upon the postillions to stop. the greatest consternation prevailed; when monsieur comte offered to negociate for them with the robbers, and become the depositary of their purses for the purpose. having alighted from the carriage for this object, he was heard conversing in the dark road with a variety of voices, breathing the most frightful threats; and the travellers considered themselves fortunate in being allowed to purchase their lives by the cession of all they had about them. when daylight broke, their adroit fellow-traveller restored their property; the mere mention of his name sufficing to explain the nature of the jest which had produced their alarm. on another occasion, he preserved the statues and carvings of a village church from mutilation, by causing a voice to issue from the altar, commanding the forbearance of the rustic population. he was, however, very near falling a victim to the marvels of his art, at fribourg; where the populace, asserting him to be a sorcerer, fell upon him, and would have thrown him into a heated oven to be consumed, but for the intervention of the authorities. nevertheless, in defiance of these well-known facts, ventriloquism still appears miraculous to the vulgar. thirty years ago, the learned abbé fiard wrote a treatise to prove that the ancients were justified in their belief that it proceeded from spiritual possession. fortunately, the great majority are content to accept it as a fertile source of recreation, without troubling themselves concerning the origin of the faculty. chapter iv. pope joan and the wandering jew. in the history of the world a variety of imaginary personages have found a place, whom it has become difficult to dislodge. created in the first instance by the blunders of some careless writer, or by the sickly fancy of some unsound judgment, they are adopted by popular favour, tricked up according to its caprices, and committed to the hands of tradition to mislead the opinions of posterity. the pretensions of a false demetrius, a false dauphin, a false heraclius, a lambert simnel, or a perkin warbeck, are more easily disproved and set aside than those of the mere shadows which flit over the surface of history; too impalpable to be seized upon and compelled to render an account of themselves. among these phantoms are pope joan, and the wandering jew; of whom every one has heard something, though nothing to the purpose. yet these imaginary personages are too closely connected with the mysteries of our faith to be otherwise than generally interesting. for how many years did the legend of the wandering jew, the porter of pilate, condemned to roam the earth till the second coming of christ, and having his necessities provided for by five-pence, which remained inexhaustibly in his purse, obtain favour with the world--perpetually renewed and brightened by the inventive hand of genius! even now, though no longer an article of belief among the enlightened classes, his story obtains sufficient credit with the vulgar to merit a certain degree of examination. the first writer who signalized the existence of the wandering jew, was matthew paris, an english chronicler of the thirteenth century; who was perhaps ignorant that he was only renewing a fable of the greeks; suidas having recorded that a greek named pasès possessed a miraculous piece of money, which as often as he expended it returned again into his pocket. some inventors have too much modesty to pretend to originality. so it was with matthew paris; who affected to have learned the legend of the wandering jew from an armenian bishop, who spent some time in england. this eastern dignitary, he asserts, had actually seen and conversed with the wandering jew, whose name he stated to be cartophilax; that he was porter to the tribunal to which jesus was conveyed by the roman soldiers; and had familiarly known the virgin mary and the apostles. all the romantic incidents of his story which have passed into an article of popular faith, were first related by matthew paris. but may there not have been some allegorical or concealed sense connected with the first creation of the wandering jew? at this period, jews were objects of universal persecution, and often publicly burnt. is it not likely enough that matthew paris intended to typify the whole persecuted and wandering people of the jews in the person of cartophilax; or, may he not have purposed to afford a means of safety and impunity to any jew who saw fit to take up the character? for thirteen centuries, then--as for eighteen, now--the jewish people had been driven from place to place, tracked like a beast of prey, and subjected to every species of ignominy. their destiny, in short, was a mere extended exemplification of the fortunes of the wandering jew. may not, moreover, the eternal five-pence have been intended to show, that wherever he finds himself, a jew can never be long in want of money? montesquieu only expresses the general opinion on this subject, in saying, "wherever you find gold, you will find a jew." this theory will probably be regarded as more apocryphal than the existence of cartophilax! nevertheless we would rather pin our faith on a fanciful interpretation, than admit that a writer of so much moment to the history of the world as the famous matthew paris, could voluntarily shake the stability of his chronicles by the wanton fabrication of such a miracle. the invention of pope joan is still more easily accounted for; as originating in the desire of the reformed church to expose to contempt the honour of the see of rome. no contemporary writer so much as alludes to her existence; nor till sixty years after the period assigned as that of her adventures, do we find the monk radulphus relating the scandalous chronicle of her pretended pontificate. a story of this description once set afloat, will never want for commentators; and a variety of other writers instantly seized upon it, improving the details at leisure. seldom, however, has an imposture been adopted by such grave judgments, or promulgated by such authoritative voices, as that of pope joan. but the fact is that party spirit, or rather sectarian spirit, blinded the eyes of these abettors of fraud. at the moment of the grand schism originating the reformed church, the partizans of the new faith seized upon the old wife's tale of pope joan, and converted it into a serious argument against the infallibility of rome. "you boast of the assistance of divine grace, you pretend to the inspiration of the holy ghost," said they to the catholics; "that it directs your councils and suggests your elections. how came it, then, that with so omniscient a counsellor, you were deluded into promoting a woman to the papal see?--the single name of pope joan ought to suffice to attest the incompetency of your church!" the history of this pretended personage has been too often related, and is of too gross a nature to deserve recital. even the historians who have been most serious in its attestation, disagree in the leading incidents; some of them naming the female pope agnes, some joan, and some gilberta. voltaire, who was little prone to defend the purity of the see of rome, utterly discredits her existence; and in all protestant countries, where the fable was first called into existence, the name of pope joan is cited only as a matter of jest and derision. chapter v. the fables of history. it is surprising how many of the facts of history have been reduced into fictions by the careful investigations of modern enlightenment. for centuries, it was established as an undeniable enormity of the empire, that the emperor justinian put out the eyes of belisarius. tragedies, operas and romances, were grounded upon this cruel incident; and the arts have lent their aid to the perpetuation of a popular error. let us examine the real state of the case. in 563, a conspiracy was discovered against the emperor justinian; and the conspirators were arrested on the eve of executing their criminal design. certain of his favourites, envious of the great name of belisarius, suborned false witnesses, whose testimony made it appear that he was included in the plot; upon which, justinian indulged in the bitterest reproaches against his perfidy. belisarius, strong in his sense of innocence, and the consciousness of the great services he had rendered to the empire, disdained to justify himself; and justinian, weak, versatile, and mistrustful, influenced by a paltry pusillanimity, caused him to be stripped of his offices, made prisoner in his house, and deprived of all attendants or companions. this state of things continued for the space of seven months; when the innocence of belisarius was, by the intervention of others, brought to light; and he was at once restored to his former honours and the confidence of his master. so far from being deprived of sight, and guided about by a youth, as our imaginations have been misled into depicting him by a variety of artists and men of letters, belisarius died at an advanced age in the full enjoyment of his senses. the two first authors who thought proper to load the memory of justinian with the odium of having put out the eyes of belisarius, were crinitus and raphael mafféi, both belonging to the sixteenth century. no anterior writer makes the smallest allusion to this act of barbarity; which, had it been authentic, could scarcely have been buried in obscurity for a period of ten centuries. the event which probably gave rise to so monstrous a supposition was, the disgrace of carpocratian; who, after being the chief favourite of justinian, was driven into exile in egypt, and compelled to beg his bread on the highways. but even in this instance, the fallen man was not deprived of sight. one day, a village priest who was preaching in france, on the instability of riches and the misfortunes of the great, perceiving his simple flock to be melted into tears by the pathetic nature of his recital, comforted them by adding, "nevertheless, my brethren, take comfort, for, after all, these traditions may be greatly exaggerated." it were as well, perhaps, if historians were equally candid, more especially the one who first treated of the cruel fortunes of belisarius. this great man had, in truth, no need of factitious enhancements to secure the sympathies of the sixteenth century; the nobleness of his character having fully equalled the greatness of his exploits. as the conqueror of the goths, he sustained the fortunes of the empire; sacrificing himself for his master, and refusing a crown when the throne was easily accessible. after he had achieved the conquest of italy, the jealousy of justinian recalled him from his command. yet when the fortunes of his country stood a second time in need of his sword, he did not hesitate to lay down his resentment, and take up arms for its defence. a far more authentic instance of undeserved misfortune is the case of oedipus, who, born the heir of the throne, was secretly removed from the palace in consequence of a prediction that he would become the murderer of his father. to avoid the accomplishment of the oracle, the infant was about to be destroyed; the servant, to whom the task was assigned, having literally pierced his feet, and suspended him to the branches of a tree; when unfortunately a shepherd, taking pity on the tortured babe, relieved him and conveyed him to the court of the queen of corinth, by whom, being childless, he was reared as her son. at eighteen years of age, an oracle enjoined him to go in search of his parents; and on his travels, having killed a man by whom he was insulted, the victim proved to be his father. oedipus arrives at thebes. a riddle is proposed to him, the sense of which he is so unfortunate as to guess; and having by this feat rid the country of the sphinx, he receives the promised reward in the hand of the queen of thebes, who, in process of time, proves to be the mother of her young husband. in consequence of this parricide and incest, a frightful pestilence afflicts thebes; and oedipus in despair, puts out his own eyes, banishes himself from his native country, and is followed into exile by his daughter antigone, who officiates as his guide. such misfortunes naturally inspired the minds of the heathens with a belief in the doctrine of fatality--a blind interpretation of events which also served to induce a belief in the marvellous, and confirm half the preposterous superstitions perpetuated by the weakness of the human race. nothing can be more groundless, by the way, than our vain assertion of being the only created beings who "contemplate heaven with brow erect." not only do we share this distinction with the ourang-outangs, but with a variety of birds, such as the crane and the ostrich; which, on this point, are better qualified than ourselves, seeing that instead of the upper eyelid falling, the lower eyelid rises over the eye; thus leaving them more at liberty to raise their eyes to heaven. false pretensions and vulgar errors of this kind abound in the world:--as for instance, the belief that the pelican pierces her bosom to feed her little ones with her blood--that the scent of bean-flowers produces delirium--that the mole is blind--that the dove is a model of gentleness and conjugal fidelity; and how often are the questions still mooted whether hannibal really worked a passage through the alps with vinegar--whether the coffin of mahomet be really suspended at mecca between two loadstones--whether shooting stars be fragments of shattered planets, or souls progressing from purgatory--whether beasts of prey are afraid of fire; and whether human nature have ever exhibited affinities with the brute creation in the form of fauns, dryads, satyrs, or centaurs. the fable of the centaurs explains itself naturally enough by the wonder created in the world by the first man hardy enough to reduce the horse to a state of submission, and convert it into a domestic animal. we know that a man on horseback has been regarded as a complex animal by many savage nations; just as the peruvians, when attacked by the artillery of pizarro, believed their invaders to be gods, seeing that thunder was at their disposal. as to fauns and satyrs, which probably consisted of shepherds whose lower extremities were clad in goat skins, herodotus declares that a whole nation of them existed among the mountains of scythia. plutarch relates that, in the time of sylla, a faun was caught at nymphea near apollonia, which was brought as a present to the dictator. the creature could utter no articulate sound,--its voice consisting of a noise between the cry of a goat and the neighing of a horse; but exhibited social qualities, and was much addicted to female society. this was probably some deaf and dumb idiot, left by unnatural parents to perish in infancy, and miraculously preserved; as in the case of peter, the wild boy, found during the last century in the forests of westphalia, and maintained at the cost of the king of england to a good old age. a similar specimen of degraded humanity was exhibited at paris under the name of the savage of aveyron; and the historical fable of valentine and orson was probably founded on some similar circumstance. according to philostratus, a satyr was taken in ethiopia of so mild and gentle a disposition, as to have been easily tamed; and that certain of the simeous tribes, such, for instance, as the ourang-outang called the wild man of the woods, should have been considered a satyr by both greeks and romans, on a first inspection seems natural enough. st. jerome, in his life of st. anthony, asserts that he encountered a satyr in the desart, and that they conversed and breakfasted together. we should have thought these holy personages more in danger of an encounter with wild beasts; concerning which peril, a passing remark may be made, that the idea of frightening them away by fire is a popular prejudice. tavernier relates that some soldiers having lighted a great fire to preserve themselves from the damp, in a forest of africa, were set upon by a lion, and that one of the men was greatly injured by this midnight intruder, which was luckily shot dead by one of his comrades. as regards the popular opinion concerning the tomb of mahomet, it is now proved to be at medina instead of mecca, where the belief of many centuries assigned it a place; but so far from being suspended in the air by a loadstone, the coffin lies on the ground surrounded by an iron balustrade. a learned jesuit, by dint of many patient experiments, ascertained the possibility of sustaining a human body in the air by the power of the loadstone. but the quantity employed only served to realize the miracle for the space of two seconds. on the discovery of the singular properties of the loadstone, as affecting the polarization of the needle, the vulgar naturally began to endow it with miraculous powers. in 1765, the journal encyclopédique published an essay attributing to the loadstone the power of curing the tooth-ache; the person afflicted being required to turn his face towards the north pole, and touch the aching tooth with the southern point of a magnetic needle. the system was pursued for a time by a variety of quack dentists, but soon fell to the ground. with respect to shooting stars, philosophy remains undecided as to their origin. but vulgar superstition clings to the belief that any wish formed during the transit of one of these luminous bodies will be accomplished. this idea probably purported in the first instance to demonstrate the transitory nature of human wishes, as exemplified in the momentary glimpse of the meteor. some philosophers attribute shooting stars to the encounter of the electric fluid with inflammable molecules in the atmosphere. descartes asserts that they are terrestrial particles which, meeting in the air the second element, take fire and fall back to earth; leaving where they fall a viscous matter. the truth is that they have never been known to fall back upon the earth. monsieur biot has hazarded a conjecture that they may be fragments of comets, falling with immense rapidity through the realms of space. if this point of popular prejudice remain unremoved, nothing can be more certain than that the mole possesses organs of vision--though small; and that the fable of the maternal tenderness of the pelican, originated in the flexible pouch in which she deposits the fish she collects for her own food, and that of her young. the proverbial fidelity of the dove to her mate has been equally disproved by naturalists; no person having ever kept a pair of doves without noticing that they are birds of a peculiarly irascible and quarrelsome nature. chapter vi. melons and monsters. it might form an important matter of inquiry for naturalists, whether the fruits appropriated by providence to certain climates, do not become unwholsome when transferred to others by the intervention of art. certain it is, that in various countries of the south, melons constitute an article of national food; whereas, in the north, they pass for one of the most pernicious productions of the vegetable kingdom; being the first article of food interdicted during the prevalence of the cholera. the origin of the melon, however, appears very uncertain. far from being indigenous in italy, it was asserted by the roman naturalists to have been brought from africa by metellus; while others believe it to have been derived from their earlier asiatic conquests. scipio is said by some to have first introduced it into rome. from whatever source derived, the gardeners of greece and rome made the culture of the melon a subject of especial study. pliny spoke of the delicacy and flavour of the fruit as well as of its indigestibility. it may be observed, however, that in the more ancient bas-reliefs and frescoes of fruit found in herculaneum, the melon does not appear. the modern arts of horticulture have added innumerable varieties of the melon to the round and oblong species known to the romans; and godoy, the prince of peace, devoted himself in spain to the improvement of this favourite fruit. it is a mistake, however, to suppose that the fine kind called the cantalupe, reached us from that country; the name being derived from the village of cantalupi near rome, famous for the cultivation of its melons. in spain and france, the melon is eaten with roast meat, at dinner; in england and russia, it is eaten with sugar at dessert. by many people the crudeness is qualified with pepper and ginger; but the bavarian mother of the regent, duke of orleans, provoked much criticism in paris by powdering her slice of melon with spanish snuff, according to the custom in some parts of germany. a strange object of luxury in the same country consists in snails. a large white species of snail, much cultivated at ulm, is sent to various parts of germany. one of the popular errors concerning these snails, is the opinion that when decapitated the body will produce a new head. spallanzani and voltaire tried the experiment on innumerable snails, and attest that a head was really reproduced. it is well known that the body of a fly will exist some time after being deprived of its head; and that, on crushing the shell of a snail, the creature is able to repair, by degrees, its shattered dwelling. but in spite of the authority of spallanzani and voltaire, we have no faith in the power of reproduction of a second head. valmont de bomare, after decapitating fifteen hundred, decided that the opinion was erroneous; and, unwilling to suppose that two such great authorities had imposed on public credulity, concludes that in their reluctance to the task, they merely cut off the nose and ears of the sensitive snails without effecting a positive decapitation. a fact untrue of the snail, however, has been proved as regards several varieties of polypi, which are able to reproduce themselves from fragments of a dismembered polypus. there is one species of polypus susceptible of being completely turned inside out, like a glove, without injury to the vital power! turenne, who wrote a treatise on the nature of snails, may be called the attila of the species, since he admits having decapitated thousands and thousands. he even affects compunction on the subject, after the example of the greek physician, herophilus, who dissected seven hundred bodies in illustration of his anatomical lectures in the theatre of alexandria. turenne asserts that, if valmont de bomare and adanson found no renovation of head in the snails they decapitated, it was because they failed to supply their victims with the food which snails are organized to imbibe through the pores of their bodies by crawling over vegetable matter, even when deprived of their heads. he declares that a period of two years is indispensable for the reproduction of a head. the discoveries of modern navigators have unquestionably added to our menageries a vast variety of animals unknown to the ancients, or known only by hearsay, and esteemed apocryphal. but, on the other hand, various animals with which the ancients pretended to be familiar have wholly disappeared; such as sphinxes and griffins, the phoenix, the salamander, the unicorn, besides many-headed serpents and dragons, which we now abandon to the emblazonment of heraldry. the most famous dragons of antiquity were those which drew through the air the car of medea. the philosophic possidonius--who made war so valiantly against the gout, which he maintains to be no evil--speaks of a dragon which covered an acre of ground; and could swallow a knight on horseback with as much ease as the whale did jonas. this was, however, an insignificant reptile compared with the one discovered in india by st. maximus, archbishop of tyre, which covered five acres of ground. both in sacred and profane history, dragons have honourable mention. cadmus is related to have destroyed a dragon; the garden of the hesperides was guarded by a dragon; st. george triumphed over a dragon; and the dragon of wantley has become proverbial in english song. st. augustin, bishop of hippona, speaks with authority of the existence of dragons; describing them as winged serpents which conceal themselves in caverns during the day-time, though they occasionally venture forth and rise into the air. from this it was inferred, by early naturalists, that the dragon of the ancients was one of the larger serpent tribes, having a cartilaginous substance similar to the wings of the bat, or flying-fish, attached to its body. suetonius declares that the emperor tiberius possessed a pet dragon, which was completely tame and used to eat out of his hand; probably an iguano, the sort of lizard which forms a luxurious object of food in the west indies; and which, though perfectly harmless, has a frightful appearance. crinitus records that, in the time of the emperor maurice, there was an inundation of the tiber, which left behind it, on the land, an enormous dragon. the same writer mentions that the emperor augustus kept a prodigious dragon in his palace, which he used to lead about with a string. a constellation serves to attest the existence of the dragon of lernia. the tame dragon of the imperial palace was probably a tame boa-constrictor similar to the one formerly kept in the library of the late sir joseph banks. various are the records in ancient authors of prodigious serpents. pliny declares that, in africa, the army of regulus was kept in check by an enormous serpent; a statement confirmed by aulus gellius and other historians, and admitted by rollin and bossuet in their histoire universelle, and histoire ancienne. follard refutes it in his commentary on polybius; conceiving the fact of a serpent of one hundred and twenty feet keeping at bay a large army and its engines of war to be an insult to the prowess of the roman warriors. the following is the opinion the celebrated lacépède on this subject. "travellers who have penetrated into the interior of africa," says he, "give an account of prodigious serpents, who advance among the bushes and towering reeds of some vast jungle, like a huge beam suddenly endowed with motion. herds of gazelles and other timid animals take flight on their approach; nor can iron penetrate the skin of the monster, which is, indeed, appalling when extended to its utmost length, and ravenous after food. the only chance of its extermination is by setting fire to the nearest bushes of the jungle; and thus raising, as it were, a rampart of fire between you and the gigantic reptile. "such, probably, was the serpent which arrested the progress of the roman army on the coast of africa. to compute its length at one hundred and twenty feet, after pliny, would probably be an exaggeration; but the roman naturalist adds that its skin remained some time suspended, as a trophy, in a temple in rome. unless we deny all authenticity to history, therefore, we are bound to believe in the existence of a prodigious serpent, which when irritated by hunger, was known to attack the roman soldiers; and against which, in the sequel, they had successful recourse to their engines of war." in the same manner, a distorted account may hereafter reach posterity of the death of chuny, the famous elephant, which so long inhabited a menagerie in london; until becoming rabid from the effect of high feeding and long confinement, a party of military was called in to despatch the infuriated animal by a discharge of musketry, which was with some difficulty effected. to attest the authenticity of the serpent of the time of regulus, pliny expressly adds that the tradition is the more credible, because, in former times, the serpents called boas, frequently found in italy, were of such prodigious size that, during the reign of the emperor claudius, so large a one was found on the vatican hill, that after its destruction, a child was exhibited entire in its stomach. for many centuries, no boas have been found in italy; though naturalists accord in asserting them to have existed there in the olden time; just as the kingdom of england, now wholly free from the larger beasts of prey, was formerly overrun with wolves. st. isidore of seville discredits the existence of the lernian hydra; inferring from its name that hydra only implied some torrent or lake which hercules effectually confined within banks; thus giving rise to the tradition of his having crushed it with his club. the traditionary monster, called a gargouille, said to have lived near rouen, and to have swallowed a prodigious number of victims, is now admitted to have been simply a whirlpool in the seine, destroyed by an alteration in the banks effected by st. romain, when bishop of that see. the anniversary of this event, regarded as the deliverance of the city from a monster, was celebrated at rouen till the period of the first revolution; a prisoner being annually delivered by the city on the festival of st. romain in honour of the miracle. the gargouille or whirlpool, of rouen, was but a modern edition of the hydra. chapter vii. the jews. we have already alluded incidentally to the jews. but the children of israel have been too long and too perseveringly an object of persecution to all christian nations, not to demand a more extended consideration. mankind, in the present age, though scarcely less disposed than of old to exercise the tyrannical influence of the strong over the weak, appear to have substituted political for religious animosities; and the war of sects has been converted into the feuds of parties. the days of the fagot and the pile are happily at an end; and instead of martyrs, sacrificed in the name of religion, the victim is forced to exclaim on the scaffold: "oh, liberty! in thy name, how many crimes are committed!" the number of human victims sacrificed to religious intolerance in the various countries of the world, would, however, afford grounds for a fearful computation. the very existence of the jews may be regarded as among the miracles of the christian religion. a wandering nation, without king, without country, without secular laws, maintained together only by the strength of a common worship, could never have resisted the persecutions and proscriptions of centuries, but for the intervention of the chastening hand of god. even in the countries where their existence is the happiest, stigmatized by public detestation, and in highly catholic nations treated as lepers, as parias, as infected sheep--condemned to the hardest, and most ignominious tasks--beaten, spat upon, despoiled, plundered, tortured, massacred--a prey to the cupidity of the great, and the brutality of the little--such is the history of the jews from the days of titus to the present time. nevertheless, they not only subsist, but flourish, in spite of the universal prejudice against the name; maintaining unchanged, their laws, customs, usages, and even physiognomy. the abhorrence with which they are regarded by other nations, has necessitated intermarriages from generation to generation, which serve to maintain the pure identity of the race. the romans not only detested the jews for the same motive which produced their hatred of the christians, namely--the impossibility of converting them to the worship of the false gods of paganism, but confounded jews and christians together in a common persecution. yet this equality before the tribunals and executioners of the emperors and pro-consuls of rome, never availed to diminish the mutual hatred subsisting between them. no amalgamation was possible between them, even amid the flames of a funeral pile. nero, on one occasion, attempted to illuminate rome by means of jews steeped in resinous matter, and thus committed to the flames. no sooner had the christians obtained supreme power, than they began, in their turn, to inflict upon the remnant of israel all the persecutions they had themselves sustained at the hands of the romans. the jews were compelled to wear a cap surmounted by horns, to show that they were pre-destined to eternal punishment; and in a council held at the lateran, at the commencement of the thirteenth century, they were forced to adopt for robes, stuff of a yellow colour, bearing the representation of a wheel or rack. during passion week, and at easter, it was lawful to attack them with any degree of ferocity. in many cities, it was the custom to inflict corporeal punishment on a jew publicly, every good friday, before the great door of the cathedral; in some, a positive crucifixion took place! eight times have the jews been driven out of france. dagobert enjoined them to embrace christianity, on pain of banishment; robert the pious issued the same edict; philip augustus, after crucifying several at bray sur seine, caused all their synagogues to be burned, seized their possessions, released their creditors, appropriated to himself a fifth of their substance, and the remainder to landholders of adjoining estates. philippe le bel dismissed them the kingdom, leaving them only the funds indispensable for the journey. nevertheless they returned, to be again exiled by charles vi. under louis xiii, was issued a new edict of banishment. it was only under louis xvi, one of the most humane of kings, that the jews were restored to rights of citizenship in france. nor was their condition better, at the same epochs, in great britain and other adjacent countries. a singular chance directed the attention of napoleon to the condition of the jews. a representation of racine's "esther" was given one night at the opera for a benefit; and the following morning, talma happening to breakfast with the emperor, the conversation turned on the performance of the night before. as they were discussing the character of mardochée, champagny, afterwards duc de cadore, made his appearance, who was at that time minister of the interior. napoleon instantly began interrogating him concerning the position and resources of the jews in france; and desired that a report might be drawn up on the subject, and speedily submitted to him. champagny lost no time in obeying; and the results of this accidental circumstance was the removal of the civil disabilities of the jews. the prejudice, however, attached for so many years to the remnant of israel, is far from extirpated; and though in more than one country of europe, the honours of chivalry have been bestowed upon wealthy jews, influential in the financial operations of the kingdom, and consequently in its politics, the popular feeling against them is unchanged. it is even carried to a most unreasonable degree; and the jews are reproached with the very pursuits and professions forced upon their adoption by christian persecution. commercial speculations were of course the sole resource of a people without country, and without protection; and though we are indebted to them for the useful financial substitute of bills of exchange, we use the name of jew almost synonymously with that of extortioner, without regard to their commercial importance and utility. the emancipation accorded them in france, was given chiefly for considerations developed ten years before by monsieur de clermont tonnerre, and other celebrated orators before the national assembly. "the code of moses," argued they, "is conceived in a twofold spirit--a religious, and a legislative. the political laws which it contains, have ceased to be important--being only applicable to a nation nationally combined and organized; whereas the jews are a scattered and wandering tribe, rather than a nation. the religious laws are a case of conscience; serving to enlighten the spirit, and guide the social morality of the children of israel. from the period of the destruction of the temple, the jews have politically ceased to exist; and these religious laws may be said to operate in france, upon frenchmen of the jewish persuasion; in poland, upon poles of the jewish persuasion; in germany, upon germans of the jewish persuasion, and so forth." upon this showing, civil rights were conceded to them in france, on condition of their contributing their quota to the maintenance of the laws and government of the country in which they were naturalized. till this epoch, a prejudice had prevailed in france that it was an article of faith and duty among the jews, to deceive and defraud a christian whenever it lay in their power; and that they were bound, from the moment of their birth, by the jewish law, to a strong animosity towards us christian people. horrible rumours have been revived, at different times, in different countries, of secret sacrifices of the jews, in which the blood of a christian was a necessary component. these questions were openly met and discussed in a manly and temperate manner, in the great sanhedrim, composed of the highest and most enlightened jewish authorities; when a peremptory denial was established to all these injurious charges. prejudices nearly as absurd, and quite as groundless formerly existed in england against the catholics; the removal of their civil disabilities being equally the result of the progress of public enlightenment. as regards the question of usury so often imputed to the jews, experience has proved of late years, that the most notorious extortioners of this description are of the christian faith; and it is a question of ethics to inquire whether there be greater turpitude in openly demanding an interest of thirty per cent for a loan of money, or in obtaining the same profit by sale or barter of commodities. a considerable number of tradesmen who pride themselves upon their strict integrity, require a much higher ratio of profit than the per centage of the money-lending jews; nor is it necessary to remind the reader that some of the most eminent bankers in europe, renowned equally for their probity and liberality, are of the jewish persuasion. chapter viii. verbal delicacy. there are certain words which appear to offend public delicacy more than the very objects they designate; till it might almost be inferred that all the sensitiveness of human nature had concentrated itself in the ear. the study of ancient and modern languages will attest the truth of this assertion; for many things are to be learned in a vocabulary besides the idiom it pretends to teach. the stern romans, for instance, who affected so stoical a disregard of death, would not allow the word to be pronounced in their presence; though the lives of their children was by the law placed at their mercy. their sense of delicacy would have been offended had it been mentioned before them that such a one was "dead." it was necessary to say, "he hath lived." in the noble defence of milo, by cicero, he dared not qualify by the appropriate word the act of assassination committed by the slaves of his client; but declared by periphrasis that under these circumstances, "the slaves of milo did what it became them to do." to the title of king, the romans had vowed an eternal hatred, created by the traditionary opprobrium of the tarquins, and their contempt of the innumerable kings subjected to their arms, and dragged behind their triumphal cars. but when cæsar proclaimed himself emperor, and assumed a more sovereign power than the history of nations had as yet recorded, the roman people applauded the kingly office presented to them under any other than the name abhorred. the same circumstance occurred in france at the commencement of the present century. the french, after devoting themselves to the extermination of kings, hailed with delight the coronation of an emperor; though to proclaim himself "king" would have ensured the premature downfall of napoleon. of late years, the ears of the world have become more than ever chaste and refined; and certain words freely used by shakspeare, in presence of the court of the virgin queen, and by molière, in presence of that of the most dignified of european monarchs, are now utterly proscribed, and expunged from the modern stage. the fluctuations of opinion on these points, are highly diverting. dean swift relates that, in his early days, the word "whiskers" could not be mentioned in a lady's presence; a fact we should be inclined to class among the ingenious fictions of the dean of st. patrick; but that at the present day, that rational nation, the americans, have not courage to pronounce the word leg, even in talking of the limb of a table or of a partridge. the false delicacy of the english takes refuge in a foreign language. all such articles of dress or furniture as are held of a nature unmentionable to ears polite, are named in french; as if the word _chemise_ were a less explicit designation of an indispensable under garment than the matter of fact word shift! all this is contemptible hyprocrisy, and a silly compromise with common sense. such an abbreviation as crim. con. conveys fully as indelicate an allusion as the same words written and pronounced in full. the author of the school for scandal objected to so great a variety of words as coarse and indelicate from female lips, that there sometimes existed a difficulty in narrating to him the ordinary events of life. on the other hand, it is surprising how much may be effected by a change of name with those whose ears are more impressionable than their understanding. the french had signified pretty loudly at the revolution their national opposition to a conscription, and to the _droits réunis_. against these exercises of administrative tyranny, they were prepared to break into rebellion. instead, however, of arguing with their pertinacity, the government wisely applauded it; substituting for a conscription, the recruiting system, and for the _droits réunis_ the _contributions indirectes_. we should be glad if any one would point out to us what was changed in these two important departments of public service, besides the name? this paltering, in a double sense, reminds us of the story of a frenchman, who was examining a library with persons more enlightened than himself. "ah! there are the works of my friend, cicero," cried he. "_cicéron, c'est le même que marc-tulle._" chapter ix. aerolites and miraculous showers. the fall of aërolites, often termed by the vulgar a shower of stones, is either more frequent than in days of yore, or attracts more general attention. the record of similar phenomena has, however, been handed down to us by the ancients; for we are told of a shower of stones which, in the days of tullus hostilius, fell upon the city immediately after the ruin of alba. "while the senate was occupied in its deliberations," says livy, "a shower of stones fell from heaven upon the alban mount. the prince, astonished at the report of such a phenomenon, sent to ascertain the truth, and found that a shower of pebbles had really fallen, similar to hailstones." before the time of the romans, the greeks had witnessed similar phenomena. in the thracian chersonesus there fell a huge greyish stone, which excited the greatest consternation. a stone existed in rome known as the stone of the mother of the gods, which had originally fallen from the sky, like that of the thracian chersonesus. it fell at pessinuntum, in phrygia, where the priests held it in great veneration. the oracle at rome having given out that the fortunes of the republic were secure if it could possess itself of this inestimable treasure, the senate sent an embassy into phrygia by scipio nasica, who enlarged upon the ties existing between the phrygians and romans through æneas; and skilfully setting forth the power of rome and the protection she was able to concede to the pessinuntians, the priests gave up the sacred stone. it was immediately carried in procession to rome, exposed to public view, and an annual festival instituted in its honour. a similar stone, which stood near the temple of delphos, was equally venerated, and endowed with a still more marvellous origin; being supposed to issue from the belly of saturn, the god of the stone eaters. tradition recorded that saturn, having swallowed it, and found it difficult of digestion, threw it up again, when it fell in greece. upon this point, pausanias and nonnus concur with the tradition. in the sixteenth century, a descent of stones took place on mount lebanon, accompanied by a luminous globe. various other instances might be cited from the ancients; but these may suffice to establish proof of identity between the modern and ancient phenomena. in most instances, they have been supposed to be of divine origin and of ominous nature. damascius mentions that a physician of his day, named eusebius, carried one about his person, which conduced greatly to the relief of his patients. in the sixteenth century, it is stated that there fell near the adda, in italy, nearly twelve hundred stones, one of which weighed one hundred, and another sixty pounds. true is it that cardan makes the assertion, which is therefore doubtful. but gassendi, who is deserving of credit, states that on the 27th of november, 1627, with a clear atmosphere, at ten a.m., he saw a luminous stone, about four feet in diameter, descend from heaven upon mount vaisian. it was enveloped in a luminous circle of various colours, and passed at a hundred paces from two men, who estimated its elevation at thirty-six feet. it gave out a hissing noise like a rocket, accompanied with a smell of sulphur, and fell two hundred feet from the spectators, plunging itself three feet into the soil. it was of a metallic hue, and weighed fifty-four pounds; and is still to be seen at aix, in provence. the largest ever known, fell at ensisheim, in alsace, in 1492; its weight being near three hundred pounds. in the abbé richard's natural history of the air, there is a description of a fall of stones which took place in 1768, in maine; from which we extract the following passage: "during a hurricane that took place near the château of lucé, in the province of maine, a clap of thunder was heard, followed by a noise similar to the roar of a wild beast; which was audible for many leagues round. some persons in the parish of périgné thought they perceived a dense body fall with great velocity into a meadow near the high road to mans; and on hurrying to the spot, found the stone imbedded in the ground. at first, it was hot; but soon cooling, they were enabled to examine it at leisure. it weighed seven pounds and a half, and was in form triangular; or rather it had three protuberances, of which the one plunged in the earth was grey, and the two others black. a fragment being submitted to the examination of the royal academy of sciences, for analysis, they pronounced it neither to originate in thunder, nor to have fallen from the skies, nor to be composed of mineral particles fused by the action of the electric fluid; but a species of pyrites, giving out a smell of sulphur during its solution. one hundred grains of this substance yielded, upon analysis, eight grains and a half of sulphur, thirty-six of iron, and fifty-five and a half of vitrifiable earth." the evidence of science, however, seldom reaches the ear of the vulgar; and it would be difficult to persuade the populace that aërolites do not fall from the sky. aristotle, in mentioning the stone that fell in thrace, rejects the idea of its coming from the heavens; and pliny confesses that most naturalists are of the same opinion. this was a step towards the extinction of a popular error. fréret denies the existence of atmospheric stones, and declares them to be volcanic emissions driven by the force of the winds. he supposes mount albano to have been formerly a volcano; and that the stones that fell must have issued from a re-opening of the crater. falconet, the sculptor, wrote a volume to prove that pliny was in error concerning atmospheric stones. while the learned world was thus at variance, the multitude was justified in asserting them to fall from the moon, since men of science were unable to prove the contrary. on the 26th of april, 1803, there fell a vast number of atmospheric stones at aigle, in the department of orne. the peasants of the place, thinking it was the end of the world, fell on their knees invoking divine mercy; and even their betters shared their alarm. this phenomenon happened most opportunely, as the world of science, both in paris and london, was just then discussing similar occurrences which had taken place in india and provence; and after most diligent inquiry, the institute resolved to despatch one of its members to the spot. monsieur biot, an enthusiast in the cause of science, arrived on the spot on the 16th of july, and collected the following facts. "about one o'clock, p.m., the sky being calm, with only a few greyish clouds above the horizon, which did not diminish the fineness of the weather, a luminous globe was seen, from caen, from pont audemer, from the vicinity of alençon, falaise, and verneuil, rushing with great velocity through the atmosphere; and immediately afterwards, a violent explosion was heard at aigle and thirty leagues round; lasting six minutes, and resembling a discharge of artillery followed by that of musketry, and terminating as with a roll of drums. "a small cloud of rectangular form seemed to have been the origin of all this terrible noise; the broader side of which was towards the west. it appeared to be motionless throughout the phenomenon; vapours being emitted after each discharge. the cloud was very high in the air. the inhabitants of two villages, situated a league asunder, perceived it as if exactly suspended above their heads. a hissing noise, similar to a stone hurled from a sling, was heard wherever it hovered; and at the same time, numerous solid bodies fell, which being collected, proved to be meteoric stones. "when tested, they were found to contain sulphur, iron in the metallic state, magnesia and nickel; which, in the mineral kingdom have no analogy." monsieur biot also stated that the direction of the meteor was precisely that of the magnetic meridian; an important remark, as a guide for future observations. the great point gained in this inquiry, is that the highest order of science, agreeing with the earliest professors, adopts what by progressive science was denied. the fact of showers of stones being established, all that remains to be proved is their origin. some still assert that they fall from the moon; others attribute them to volcanos. neither fact can be proved; and the descent of aërolites at present remains a mystery. one phenomenon often succeeds another; and shortly after the fall of stones at aigle, a shower of peas took place in spain, and the kingdom of leon. this last phenomenon occurred in the month of may of the same year; and, in spain, fifteen quintals of an unknown seed were collected after a violent storm; being round in form, white in colour, less than peas in size, and resembling no known seed. they seemed, however, to belong to the leguminous family of plants. cavanilla, the botanist, analized them without being able to determine their class. these productions, at least, could neither be supposed to come from the moon, nor to have a volcanic origin. some of the seeds were sown in the botanic garden of madrid, but without result. this is, however, by no means a solitary instance of a miraculous shower. pliny, livy, solinus, and julius obsequius have recorded showers of blood, milk, wool, money, and pieces of flesh! those authors make frequent mention of such occurrences; dupes, no doubt, to the traditions of the ancients. lamothe levayer, however, surpasses them all, and mentions the fall of a man from the sky. unless from a balloon, or the scaffolding of some lofty building, we must be permitted to doubt; though he may, perhaps, allude to some individual carried up by the force of a whirlwind; for in the autumn of 1812, on the road to genoa, a mule was raised up by the wind, sustained during thirty seconds in the air, then disappeared in a ravine, where it probably perished. if we deny the existence of showers of blood, we must admit that there have been phenomena such as to justify impostors in propagating such delusions. during the siege of genoa, in 1774, there fell a red rain upon the suburb of san pietro d'arena, which caused much consternation among the inhabitants; the wind having carried up a quantity of red earth, which proved the cause of general alarm. a similar phenomenon took place, near hermanstadt, in transylvania. "on the 17th of may, 1810," says a german journal, "there was a rain of blood which lasted a quarter of an hour, accompanied by a violent storm, and gusts of wind towards the south-west. being collected on the spot by a physician, and submitted to the chemical tests of sulphurated nitrous, muriatic acid, acetate of lead, lime water, mercury, and saponaceous spirit, it exhibited neither precipitation, nor loss of colour. tested with a solution of alum and fixed alkali, the precipitate induced a belief that the colouring matter of this strange rain pertained to the vegetable kingdom. to elucidate the mystery of the rain at hermanstadt, it sufficed to inquire in what point was the wind. for on examining the localities in the southwesterly direction, the hills proved to be clothed with fir, in bloom, and the rain of blood was instantly explained. for in the north of europe rains of a reddish yellow, impregnated with the bloom of the fir, constantly occur. in 1608, the walls of aix in provence were covered with red spots, which the people conceived to be blood. but peiresc, a man of profound science, undeceived them by proving them to be the spots left by a species of butterfly on emerging from its crysalis; the number having been immense that year at aix. till balloons and other aërial carriages are used as engines of warfare, we despair of having to record an authentic shower of blood, or any other than common place hail, rain, and snow. there is an instance of a shower of money, or rather of false coinage, mentioned by dion cassius; who states that a certain rain turned copper white, assigning to it the hue of silver, which lasted for three days. this is far from miraculous; as it requires only a portion of volatilized mercury to mingle with the rain, as in the instance of the fir bloom, to produce such an effect. showers of milk are explained by cretaceous matter carried into the air by whirlwinds. the shreds of human flesh we read of are the red fragments vomited by volcanoes; while showers of wool consist of the down of certain trees, such as willows and osiers. showers of cinders are of course the result of volcanic eruption. the wind conveys them a prodigious distance; for when herculaneum and pompeii were imbedded in lava, the ashes fell at rome, and even in africa. about a century ago, the deck of a vessel sailing from marseilles to martinique was covered with ashes some inches deep, which were known to proceed from an earthquake in the island of st. vincent. no other cause could be assigned, though the vessel was one hundred leagues from the island. the velocity of a cannon-ball or shell has been calculated; but that of the wind, like the origin of the meteoric stones, remains a problem. chapter x. nostrums and specifics. the title of "talisman" might be fairly prefixed to this chapter; but we will content ourselves with the word nostrum. considering the number of these specifics, and the blind confidence of the world in their efficacy, the credulous must be surprised at the ailments which still afflict humanity. previous to the introduction of quinine, the ague was supposed to be cured by dipping in three holy waters, in three different churches, on the same sunday; a difficult remedy for people residing where there is only one church! a variety of charms for the ague are still in popular use. unsuccessful gamesters used formerly to make a knot in their linen; of late years they have contented themselves with changing their chair as a remedy against ill-luck. as a security against cowardice, it was once only necessary to wear a pin plucked from the winding sheet of a corpse. to insure a prosperous accouchement to your wife, you had but to tie her girdle to a bell and ring it three times. to get rid of warts, you were to fold up in a rag as many peas as you had warts, and throw them upon the high road; when the unlucky person who picked them up became your substitute. in the present day, to cure a tooth-ache, you go to your dentist. in the olden time you would have solicited alms in honour of st. lawrence, and been relieved without cost or pain. the greater number of these charms or remedies were not resorted to by the multitude alone, but recommended by paracelsus and albertus magnus. in the treaty on superstitions by the learned curé, thiers, these remedies are recorded; being about as effective as the talismans of the ancients, including the famed palladium of troy. rome had faith in celestial bucklers, and the stone of the mother of the gods. virgil was skilled in the composition of talismans; a brazen fly attributed to him attained more celebrity in his time than the immortal "georgics." this fly being suspended from one of the gates of naples, the charm proved so effective, that not a fly entered that city for a space of eight years. a trumpet held by a statue, also invented by virgil, possessed the power of laying the dust in his garden! gregory of tours mentions that the city of paris was secured from rats, snakes, and fires, during a long period by means of a rat, a snake, and dormouse of brass, which were destroyed by the vandals. pliny suggests that milo of crotona was indebted for his prodigious strength to a talisman, as we know that of samson to have lain in his hair. the egyptian warriors wore figures of scarabs, in order to fortify their courage; and dr. hufeland informs us that a german army having been defeated by the french in the olden time, talismans were found upon the bodies of the dead and wounded. among the first talismans was that mentioned by suidas as worn by the kings of egypt to endow them with the love of justice. pericles was proud of wearing a talisman presented to him by the grecian ladies. macrobus relates that the victors in the public games used to procure themselves little boxes, in which mathematicians had inclosed preservatives against envy; while thiers informs us that an illustrious astrologer invented a talisman for intercepting the approach of flies to a house; when to his horror, no sooner was it suspended, than a fly, more daring than the rest, deposed a contemptuous mark of disregard upon the charm. the absurdity of these inventions, it is needless to assert; but let us consider the subject of the ancient talismans simply as subjects only of curiosity. talismans were cast in metal melted under the influence of a constellation communicating some specific virtue. amulets, talismans of a secondary order, but equally efficacious, were formed of plants, figures designed on ivory, metals, or precious stones. such designs were called "_gamahez_"--whence the word "_cameo_;"--and were preservatives against fever, rheumatism, gout, tooth-ache, paralysis, apoplexy, cold, and other diseases. the platonists were great champions of amulets and talismans. gaffard wrote a treatise in assertion of their efficacy, and to defend them against the imputation of magic. not many years ago, the ladies of paris used to wear iron rings, manufactured by the celebrated locksmith, georget, which, like the galvanic rings now in fashion, were considered a guarantee against the headache. a few uneradicated roots of popular prejudice will always remain to produce a new crop. how were simple mortals to suppose themselves in error when following such examples as cato, varro, and julius cæsar? the two first conceived that no evil could overtake them so long as they made use of certain mysterious words; and cæsar, after falling out of his chariot, would not resume his place till he had recited certain words to which he attributed the virtue of warding off falls. father thiers relates that, in his time, the benedictines of germany and france pretended to possess medals which protected them and their cattle from accidents, sorcery, and witchcraft. according to his version, about the year 1647, there was a vigorous crusade against sorcery, and many magicians were executed. at straubing, several declared, when legally examined, that their maledictions were of no effect upon either the cattle or inhabitants of the castle of nattemberg, in which were deposited certain medals of st. benedict, of which they gave the precise description. a certain number of initials were inscribed upon them, which being filled up with latin words, signified "divine cross, guide my steps, banish satan, cease to tempt me, i know thy poisons, and will eschew them." no sooner did the monks hear of this discovery than they began casting medals of a peculiar kind, which soon abounded in germany. the french benedictines became equally zealous; and having struck a similar medal, published that it contained a charm against witchcraft and disease, and was a guarantee against all ailings of man or beast; the former requiring only to carry them in their pockets, the latter suspended bell-fashion from their necks. father thiers so far from accrediting the efficacy of these medals, declares that the french benedictines ought to be too enlightened to encourage such absurdities. but whether in good or bad faith, certain it is that they made a speculation of trading with the medals. thiers also treats as impostors the curers of burns, and preventers of fire, who pretend to disregard the danger of fire arms. according to a popular tradition, a burn was cured by saying: "fire lose thy heat, as judas did his colour when he betrayed the lord." a chimney on fire was extinguished by making three crosses upon the chimney-piece. any fire was quickly subdued by throwing an egg into the flames, which had been laid on the thursday, or friday of holy week, during the celebration of divine service. no fire arms availed against a person repeating thrice, "malatus dives fulgiter regissa," or wearing a band with a mystical inscription, every letter being separated by a cross. the learned father declares such practices to be absurd, and relates the following anecdote. "an old woman of louvain, who had an affection of the eyes was assured she had only to pronounce a few mysterious words to be cured. she instantly addressed a young scholar of the university, offering to present him with a new coat if he would write the words she dictated to him. the youth consented, and seemed to write as she dictated. but on delivering to her the sealed document, he enjoined her not to open it till she was cured, on which she presented him the new coat and withdrew. shortly afterwards, her eyes being recovered, she confided her secret to a neighbour suffering from the same affliction; who taking the mysterious paper into her care, received the same benefit. enchanted by their good fortune, they determined to know the secret, and broke the seal of the document; which was found to contain the following phrase, which the youth had maliciously inserted. 'may the devil tear out thine eyes, old witch, and fill up the sockets with burning embers.'" in the beginning of the last century, there were individuals who professed to have a powder which extinguished fire. this was contained in a barrel, and thrown into the flames. the barrel was in fact double, the external one being full of water, the internal charged with gunpowder sufficient to cause an explosion; and the water so dispersed, of course, extinguished the fire, if inconsiderable. had the authors of this invention not kept it secret, we might have respected them; for though it produced no great result, an idea though only half conceived may be the forerunner of more important discoveries. attempts have been made of late years to guarantee thatched roofs against fire, by impregnating them with a preparation of which we know not the composition. the success, though not complete, should not be discouraged; for repeated experiments may be finally successful. flowers of sulphur are often employed for the extinction of fires in chimnies, possessing properties which render the action of fire less intense. however absurd the miraculous virtues attributed to talismans and amulets, in some cases, the security they inspire may be of use to those who have faith in their power. imagination counts for something in the moral organisation of man; and through the constant action and reaction of the one on the other, the body may be at times advantageously soothed by the serenity conferred on the mind through the influence of the fancy. chapter xi. physiognomists. the world and its inhabitants are still exposed to a variety of grievous afflictions and visitations in spite of the infallible nostrums for preventing them, in general use; which appears surprising when we consider the number of able scientific men constantly devoted to the study of our physical nature, and the plausible novel theories which they every now and then unfold to the world. let those who devote themselves to the study of physiological science persevere in their researches; which if not valuable to others are at least amusing to themselves. according to the abbé cottin's line, "the pleasure is to learn and not to know." between the successive systems of lavater and gall, we give the decided preference to the latter; the studies and experiments upon which are founded on principles equally applicable to all human beings, whatever their condition, sex, age, or habits; whether belonging to an uncultivated or civilised state; while all other systems for promoting the knowledge of human character, gravitate in a sphere more or less exceptional; so that the application could never become general. an eminent magistrate used to pretend that he could capitally convict a man by a sight of his handwriting; and many people affect to pronounce upon the shades and variations of human character on a similar indication. considering the number of persons ignorant of the calligraphic art, we almost prefer the system of the barber of picard, who needed only to shave a man to judge of his disposition! all the inferential systems that now command our attention were subjects of contemplation to the ancients. human physiognomy, above all, must have ever presented a subject of powerful interest. it is a daily object of reflection to all men, though unperceived by ourselves. a countenance pleases or displeases us at first sight; yet we know not whether it be beauty that charms, or the want of it that repels us. a face which charms one man, disgusts another. such a person is said to have a happy countenance, such another, an unhappy one, on which the former may be felicitated, the latter pitied; but it is most unfair to deduce from such evidence the existence of good qualities in the one, or vices and defects in the other. such, however, is the elementary study of physiognomy, and such the delusion which our antipathies often create. dimension and proportion first attracted the attention of the philosophers. aristotle compares a man whose head possesses extraordinary volume to an owl; while albertus magnus looks upon him as an idiot; and the physician, porta, significantly informs us that vitellius had an immense head. if, on the contrary, a man possess a cerebrum of the usual circumference, but exceeding by a little the volume of ordinary heads, the same authors regard him as a man of superior intelligence, endowed with a noble soul, a brilliant and fertile imagination; and, as an example, adduce the head of plato which exceeded in proportion the remainder of his body. alexander the great had a small head, compared even with his person, which as is well known was diminutive. the quality and colour of the hair was likewise a subject of speculative theory for the ancients. lank hair was considered indicative of pusillanimity and cowardice; yet the head of napoleon was guiltless of a curl! frizzly hair was thought an indication of coarseness and clumsiness. the hair most in esteem, was that terminating in ringlets. dares, the historian, states that achilles and ajax telamon had curling locks; such also was the hair of cymon, the athenian. as to the emperor augustus, nature had favoured him with such redundant looks, that no hair-dresser in rome could produce the like. auburn or light brown hair was thought the most distinguished, as portending intelligence, industry, a peaceful disposition, as well as great susceptibility to the tender passion. castor and pollux had brown hair; so also had menelaus. black hair does not appear to have been esteemed by the romans; but red was an object of aversion. ages before the time of judas, red hair was thought a mark of reprobation, both in the case of typhon, who deprived his brother of the sceptre of egypt, and nebuchednezzar who acquired it in expiation of his atrocities. even the donkey tribe suffered from this ill-omened visitation, according to the proverb of "wicked as a red ass." asses of that colour were held in such detestation among the copths, that every year they sacrificed one by hurling it from a high wall. next in importance to the hair, were the ears; the size and shape of which harmless cartilages, supplied important conjectures. according to aristotle, large ears are indicative of imbecility; while small ones announce madness. ears which are flat, point out the rustic and brutal man. those of the fairest promise, are firm and of middling size. happy the man who boasts of square ears; a sure indication of sublimity of soul and purity of life. such, according to suetonius, were the ears of the emperor augustus. having considered the conformation of the head, the colour and quality of the hair, and the shape of the ears, let us treat of the complexion; of which the most unfavourable is the yellow, livid, or leaden, like those of caligula, attila, and the most notorious tyrants of the olden time. the eyes should neither be too large nor too little; the first announcing laziness, like those of the ox. such were the eyes of domitian, the vainest, most inert, and cowardly of men. upon this point, aristotle is at complete variance with homer; who is so enraptured with large eyes, that, in order to define the beauty of those of juno, he names her _boopis_ or "ox-eyed." neither large nor small eyes afford proof of intellect; and no person who is not afflicted with squinting has any right to complain. it is usual to consider large eyes the finest, a prejudice so universal, that it is commonly said, "she is ugly, certainly; but then she has such fine eyes!"--or, "she is a pretty woman; but her eyes are too small." whereas neither form nor dimension constitutes the beauty or influence of eyes; but rather their expression. the colour of eyes is a mere matter of taste; though aristotle asserts that persons gifted with almond shaped blue eyes, are frank and intelligent; with brown, clever and good; with green, courageous and enterprising. as to black eyes, aristotle pronounces them to be the sure prognostics of timidity and pusillanimity. red eyes are indicative of bad temper. the gossips of france have quite as good a theory as that of aristotle; viz: that "les yeux bleus vont aux cieux; les yeux gris, en paradis; les yeux noirs, en purgatoire, les yeux verts, en enfer!" bushy eyebrows are indicative of a brutal obstinate and impious character; long eyebrows, of arrogance, and insolence; spare eyebrows, of effeminacy and cowardice. but if they are thick, flexible, and parallel, you may rely on a sound judgment and superior wisdom. such are ever the brows of jupiter; attesting the theory of aristotle. the question of noses occupies a prominent place in theories of the human physiognomy. the flat nose is indicative of a propensity to pleasure and luxury; the pointed, of ill-temper and frivolity; a deviation from the straight line, of a disposition to malice and repartee. since the days of aristotle, this opinion has been permanent; a crooked nose, being the attribute of a satirical mind. the owner of a diminutive nose, is usually cunning and dissimulating; of a large nose, imprudent and discourteous. let us here observe, that if there be one feature in the human face more characteristic than another, it is the nose. examine the head of a skeleton which exhibits trace of human features, save the nasal bone; which though prominent, is an integral part of the cerebral globe. now if the brain be the seat of intelligence, may not the nose be influenced by its propinquity to the brain? humbly submitting this question to the consideration of science, we proceed to consider the theories of other speculators. amongst europeans, the italians rank first for beauty of nose; the dutch, for the excessive ugliness of that feature. the english nose is apt to be thick and cartilaginous; that of the jews, somewhat crooked. in france, almost every man of genius has had a well-formed nose. short and flat noses, so censured by aristotle, still rank low in the science of physiognomy. socrates, however, was a singular instance of a hideous nose. boerhaave and gibbon possessed one of the same disagreeable form. the mouth attracted the notice of the ancients as much as the nose. a moderate mouth was, in their estimation, a symbol of courage, capacity, and nobleness of heart. the indication indeed was infallible when accompanied with a square and well-formed chin, an expansive forehead, and firm and rosy cheeks. the greeks did not confine their observations to the head and face in forming a judgment of the moral and intellectual faculties; but regarded every component part of the human frame. since, however, we are more discreetly clothed than the greeks, we decline following their researches. the eyelids, nails, moles, and even teeth, were taken into consideration: more especially the latter, as indicative of the workings of the mind. if authentic, the science of physiognomy would be universally studied, for how useful would it be to detect the good or evil qualities of man or woman by a glance at their faces! as it stands at present, however, many false inferences would be made. for instance, we are told that well shaped blue eyes, portend intelligence and frankness; qualities incompatible with a sound nose. but if found together, as is often the case, what is to be decided between two positive contradictions, the nose rendering impossible the virtues promised by the eyes? the indications of the mouth and eyebrows may be equally at variance; and physiognomy presents a tissue of similar contradictions. having established the fallacy of the physiognomical system, we must nevertheless render homage to the sagacity of lavater, to his ingenious and fascinating system, and conscientious enthusiasm for an art which he has enriched with much valuable observations, and endeavoured to elevate into a science. lavater was sincerely devoted to his art, which predominated over every other idea, and exalted his imagination to such a degree, that he became rather the poet than the disciple of physiognomy. gifted with a highly impressionable nature, the countenances of certain persons used to haunt his memory; and in early life, he made such striking inferences from certain physiognomies, that he was induced to persist in his studies. "my first attempts," said he, "were pitiful. required to furnish a discourse to the society of sciences at zurich, i decided upon the theme of physiognomy, and composed it with heedlessness and precipitation. "i was censured, praised, and laughed at; and could not refrain from smiling, well aware how much of this was undeserved. at this moment, my physiognomical convictions are so strong that i decide upon certain faces with as absolute a certainty as of my existence." the sincerity of lavater is undeniable. but even had we his convictions, we should hesitate to decide in favour of the infallibility or applicability of his system; which is more the result of a peculiar personal sagacity, constantly on the watch, than the efficacy of the art. a man may be born a physiognomist. but to become one by mere force of study, is next to impossible. zopirus was doubtless a great physiognomist. one day, on entering the school of socrates, he pronounced, at a glance, a man who was present to be extremely vicious; and his conjecture was correct. but such sweeping applications of the art of physiognomy would sanction calumny, by allowing the accidents of nature to be made a test of character; when the influence of religion, reason, or education might have successfully subdued them. were such a verdict held good, a fatal impediment would be placed against all moral improvement. refinement of intellect is often connected with a coarse exterior; and the most prepossessing physiognomy with the grossest violations of decency. "a pretty woman deficient in sense," says madame de staël, "is a flower without fragrance;" and how many scentless flowers of this kind are to be met with in society!--the face of the esteemed la fontaine was that of an idiot. jean jacques rousseau was remarkable for a stupid serenity of countenance, wholly at variance with the impetuous and volcanic nature of his mind. the face of fénélon was devoid of all expression. i have heard of two brothers, one possessing a charming countenance, and yet a rascal; the other, a villainous face, yet a perfectly honest man. moreover, our features are constantly varying; and if our moral and intellectual faculties are to be inferred from these changes, how are we to establish or follow up any fixed principle, amid such a labyrinth of confusion? a system based upon the general development of the brain is far more rational; because the lobes of the brain are born with us, and if time develop them, it is in manifest proportions. we admit, therefore, the talents of certain individuals for pronouncing upon the characters of men, according to their physiognomy; and that they may, by constant practice, enhance this personal aptitude. individuals educated for a diplomatic career, ought not to neglect this study, proficiency in which is essential to their success. to divine, yet never be divined; to read the physiognomy of others, while your own is devoid of expression, formed one of the grand secrets of monsieur de talleyrand. most people who converse with a multiplicity of persons become physiognomists; and if mistaken in their judgments, are less often so than those who have intercourse with few. but the civilized man is so different from the being pure from the hands of his creator, that any system comprising confusedly the state of nature and of civilization must necessarily be fallacious. study lavater, therefore, and practice his art as a recreation among friends; but make no serious conclusions drawn from physiognomical rules, which abound in contradictions. let us now proceed to point out the similitudes of feature betwixt certain men and certain animals. though we were created after the image of god, many theorists establish physiognomical analogies between man and the animal race. these speculators pretend that every human being had his correspondent beast in this world; just as every good christian has his patron among the elect of paradise. charles lebrun, the favourite painter of louis xiv, was a zealous adherent to this theory. before his time, porta had devoted his attention to this ancient supposition; and congratulated himself upon having detected a likeness between the face of a setter and that of the divine plato; an idea which prompted further speculation. that a painter continually watching nature under every aspect should be allured by such a theory, in which his practised eye has compared and approximated objects, and detected similitudes unintelligible to the vulgar, cannot be surprising. a mere hint, or trace suffices him for the composition of a face, just as cuvier recomposed the mastodon by merely seeing one of the bones. after profound studies, charles lebrun concluded that every human face had features more or less correspondant with those of the various animal species. his opinion rested upon a diagram, uniting a quantity of designs with an explanatory text. the designs still exist, but the text is not forthcoming; though something is known of it by means of one of his pupils who survived him. lebrun could distinguish by a glance at an animal's head, whether it were carnivorous, or herbivorous, timid, or bold, peaceful, or ferocious. to the bump on the higher part of the nose, he assigned the locality of courage. to ascertain this endowment, either in man or animals, therefore, you had only to cast an eye on the nose. "all men of eminence," said he, "have well proportioned noses, of which the aquiline has ever been esteemed the most distinguished; probably from its similitude to the beak of the king of the air--the eagle. the persians esteemed the aquiline nose so highly, that supreme power was inaccessible without it. cyrus, artaxerxes, and every monarch who ever swayed the eastern world, boasted of this mark of distinction. like all new theories, the paradoxes of lebrun commanded much attention, presenting a subject of inexhaustible controversy, as coming within the scope of every one's observation. according to the system of lebrun, the great condé enjoyed the distinction of possessing the most heroic nose in the kingdom, which, of course, brought the system into credit. examine the designs of lebrun. the analogy between certain men and animals there portrayed, is most striking. but the skill of a clever artist contrives and exaggerates resemblances, like the wit of the caricaturist, whose monstrosities, however absurd, often exhibit a remarkable degree of likeness. as regards mere physical analogy, nothing can be cleverer than the works of grandville, whose animals seem to emulate our absurdities, habits, and manners. but lebrun and his disciples looked upon the thing seriously; instituting pernicious deductions from certain accidents of form, and tending to approximate enlightened man to the brute creation. the materialism thus inculcated, would lead to the most serious moral results. chapter xii. last words of dying persons. are the last words of the dying to be considered prophetic? is a supernatural intelligence vouchsafed to the last efforts of expiring nature? examples are cited in substantiation of this belief; but the subject is one demanding the most serious consideration. napoleon was of opinion that hannibal was the greatest warrior of antiquity; founding his opinion upon the fact that the roman historians, in describing his character, must have rather disparaged than aggrandised the great enemy of rome. this luminous appreciation acquires to be constantly kept in view. every historian is more or less biassed with regard to the personages he describes. he relates events after their accomplishment, and occasionally miraculous incidents to enhance the value of his recital. the words spoken on death-beds may have been accidentally realized; as often occurs to the prophesies of the living. but this does not confer the gift of prophecy upon every death-bed. ferdinand iv., king of castille, having been cited by one of his victims to appear in the presence of god; died on the thirtieth day. but the most remarkable summons of this nature was that made by jacques molay, grand master of the templars, to philip le bel and clement v., to appear in the presence of god forty days before the end of the year. at the time specified, clement was carried to the tomb; but philip did not follow him until a year later, 1314, the martyrdom of the templars having taken place in 1312. it is true that ferdinand iv. condemned to death the brothers carvajal, unjustly accused of the murder of a spanish gentleman; and that their citation to the king in their dying moments was accomplished to a day. but the health of the monarch was, at the time of their condemnation, much impaired by the excesses of the table; so that his approaching end seemed certain. as we observed respecting talismans, some imaginations are worked upon by encouragement, while others are affected in the contrary sense; and it needed no miracle for the menace of the carvajals to hasten the end of the king of castille. sometimes a careless word or sentence acquires, by accident, a semblance of importance. at the death of louis xv., all france recalled to mind the words the bishop of senez had pronounced before him: "in forty days, nineveh shall be destroyed." louis xv. died on the fortieth day, and the bishop was thought a prophet; a mere figure of eloquence having become metamorphosed into a prediction. much such a prophecy was uttered in the church of notre dame, by a priest named beauregard, some years previous to the revolution. "thy temples lord," said he, "shall be thrown down and pillaged, thy name blasphemed, thy rites proscribed. great god! what do i hear! the holy canticles with which these vaults once echoed, are drowned by profane and lascivious songs; and the infamous divinities of paganism usurp the place of god, the creator, sitting on the throne of the holy of holies, and receiving the sacred incense of our altars." these words became remarkable when realized at the revolution. but when they were uttered, the revolution was already impending. beauregard, endowed with a zealous and vehement nature, touched upon the probable consequence of a philosophy which he contemplated with horror; thus becoming an unconscious refutation of the proverb, that "no man is a prophet in his own country." chapter xiii. the antipodes--morning and evening dew. it is a gratifying thing when popular prejudices are overcome by the progress of public enlightenment. the existence of the antipodes was formerly disbelieved. before the spherical form of our globe was ascertained, how was it possible to suppose that there existed human beings under our feet standing with their head downwards? till the newtonian theory was developed, it seemed impossible but that persons so placed must fall into the realms of endless space. there is a general disposition in human nature to believe all that is impossible as well as to doubt every thing that really exists; and such was the incredulity of the world with regard to the antipodes. the ancients, who admitted many absurdities, denied the existence of the antipodes. the fathers of the church followed in their steps; some indeed pronounced it heresy to hold such a belief. st. augustin expressly says, "take heed lest thou believe such a fable." in his treatise on the acts of the apostles, there is an argument remarkable enough, considering that the rotundity of the earth was then unknown. "faith teaches us, that all men are from adam. but if there were other men under the earth, they could not be of adam. how could they have found their way to the antipodes? not by land, for the antipodes are cut off from our hemisphere by boundless seas. not by sea; for the most experienced pilot would not dare launch his vessel in such boundless space. it is, therefore, evident that the doctrine of the antipodes is false and heretical." time and experience have taught us the folly of deciding upon topics exceeding our comprehension. yet, perhaps, even now we deny a host of truths, which at some time may give us an insight into futurity. in great as well as trifling things, every day brings its tribute to the cause of truth. the antipodes are admitted to exist. the earth revolves round the sun, though once supposed to be stationary in its place in the heavens; while the dew, which our ancestors believed to descend from heaven, is known to be an emanation from the earth." such an error was pardonable enough. the dews are often made use of in holy writ as a term of comparison; and the mercy of the lord is implored to descend upon his people like the dews from heaven. after many experiments in elucidation of the origin of dew, a scientific observer obtained the following results. having placed some plants under glass bells, he examined them the following morning, and finding them to be covered with dew like those left in the air, he cut shreds of flannel; and placing them at graduated heights, found that those nearest the earth were first wet, and that the dew gradually rose towards the highest. upon weighing the shreds, he found those below to be the most saturated. lastly, upon examining plants grown in green-houses, he felt convinced that they also imbibed abundant dew. these experiments excited attention; and muschembroek, the author, had many imitators. among others, dufay, who placed a double ladder thirty-two feet high, in the centre of a garden, suspending tablets of glass at different altitudes; so that each was equally exposed to the action of the atmosphere. he remained at the foot of the ladder to watch the progress of the phenomenon, and found that the tablets nearest the earth were the first moist, and that the humidity ascended gradually to the highest. several other men of science repeated the same experiment with similar results. the problem was thus solved, and proof obtained that dew ascended from the earth. to the joy, however, of some, a doubt presented itself. by renewed experiments it was found that this dew from the earth did not equally affect all bodies, and was partial in its bearing. for instance, it appeared to avoid gold, silver, metal, and polished marbles; while it adhered to glass, oily and resinous substances. place a gold or plated vessel under a crystal vase in a garden during the night, and in the morning you will find the edges perfectly dry, while the crystal vase will be wet. the cause of this difference is not accounted for. reaumur supposes, but does not affirm, that the golden vessel, containing more caloric than the crystal, repels the dew, while the latter attracts it. in confirmation of this supposition, reaumur proposed the following experiment. place a china cup upon a stone within a hot-bed; and further on, and beyond the influence of the hot-bed, another cup of similar form, substance, and diameter; this will be charged with dew, the other will remain dry. in explanation of this difference, it may be imagined that the phenomenon of which they sought the solution, originated in electricity; an opinion, however, which has no influence over the main discovery that dews arise from the ground, instead of falling from the skies, as asserted by the mythology of the ancients, and the tropes of scripture. chapter xiv. perpetual lamps and archimedes. stability is not the characteristic of man or his works. the discovery of perpetual motion has long been the object of our ambition; the sole approach to which appears to be our futile perseverance in the pursuit. let us be content, therefore, with aspiring to duration, a sufficient triumph for perishable man; and be it noted that this quality, though impressed by human art upon inert matter, such as the pyramids of egypt, is incompatible with the mutability of our social institutions. the word perpetual has been too often and too easily applied. the marvellous is too often substituted for the true, just as great vices are more widely apparent than great virtues. who has not heard, for instance, of perpetual lamps, miraculous as the wonderful lamp of the arabian tales! the pagan priesthood originated these fabulous sepulchral lights; and those of our own faith who had the weakness to adopt their deception, endangered our confidence by recourse to unworthy trickeries. pausanias mentions a lamp of massive gold, consecrated by callimachus, and endowed with such properties as to endure a year without deterioration. another is said to have existed in a temple in england. pope gelasius affirms, in the acts of st. sylvester, that in the baptistery of rome, there was a lamp which had burned without intermission since the reign of constantine, viz., half a century. that the dark ages should have admitted such marvels is not surprising. but one of the illuminati of the sixteenth century, fortunio liceti, composed a treaty concerning the existence of such lamps, asserting that, upon opening the tomb of the giant pallas, a lamp was found which had been burning since the times of the pious æneas. another was stated to have been found in the tomb of tullia, during the pontificate of paulinus, about fifteen centuries and a half after its construction. in the reign of justinian, a portrait of our saviour was discovered at edessa with a lamp unrenovated from the period of the christian era, that is, during a period of five centuries. fortunio cites a vast number of similar examples; from which he infers that the romans possessed the secret of making inextinguishable lamps. his conviction upon the subject is such, that he attempts to explain the possibility by a theory that the combustion of the smoke produced fresh oil for the nourishment of the lamp. this must surely have been the far-famed oil of the phoenix. it is scarcely worth while to controvert such absurdities; the fable of perpetual lamps having faded before the dawning light of reason. is it, however, to be credited, that the genius of descartes did not secure him against this vulgar error? the views of that great man on the subject deserve to be quoted as a proof of the aberrations to which superior minds are subject. "after considering the fire produced by gunpowder," says descartes, "which is the most transitory in existence, let us inquire whether there can exist a flame, enduring without the aid of fresh matter for its support, like those found in the tombs of the ancients shut up for centuries. i will not vouch for the truth of their existence; but think it possible that in a vault so close that the air could never be disturbed, the parts of the oil transformed into smoke, and from smoke into soot, might, by sub-formation, arch themselves over the flame so as to protect it from the air, and render it so weak as to lose the power of consuming either oil or wick, so long as there should remain a shred unburnt by which means the primary element existent in the flame and identified with the little self-formed vault, might revolve therein like a little star. it necessarily follows that the second element became expelled on all sides, while trying to penetrate the pores still remaining in the little dome; and the flame which remained feeble while the place was closed, brightened the moment it was opened, and the external air admitted. the surrounding smoke dispersed, the flame recovers its vigour for a moment, and then expires. such lamps, in fact, become perpetual, only from having exhausted their oil." this statement is extracted from the fourth book of the principles of philosophy of descartes. in spite of the respect due to his name, we see in it only a tissue of verbosity exhibiting science at a nonplus, and advocating a groundless theory. but such a chimera on the part of so eminent a man, ought to afford consolation to second-rate capacities, as a proof that no one is exempt from delusions. from descartes, let us turn to archimedes, who conferred ten-fold power upon the arm of man by arming it with the lever; and with becoming deference avow our want of faith in the mirror by the burning reflections of which he managed to destroy the roman galleys! "combustible bodies," observes descartes, "cannot be ignited by means of mirrors unless comprehended in the necessary focus. geometry shows us that the distance of a focus of a concave mirror is equal to the half of its sphere; that is, if the mirror have been set from a sphere of a radius of one foot, the distance of the focus will be of six inches. a sphere having a radius of one foot, gives, therefore, but a focus of six inches, so that to establish a focus at two hundred feet, would require a sphere with a radius of four hundred feet, or eight hundred in diameter! besides, how could archimedes procure such a mirror, when the art of casting mirrors was unknown, and the manufacture of glass in its infancy? that it was a metallic mirror is difficult to conceive. such were the solutions attempted of an insoluble problem. doubtful anecdotes are so often and so boldly adopted by the authors of antiquity, that we may regard as unsubstantiated all facts upon which they are silent. neither livy, diodorus, nor polybius mention the mirror of archimedes; so that the invention is probably modern, and most likely a fable of the sixteenth century, prolific in inventions and amplifications. the press, then in its infancy, delighted in the propagation of marvels and fallacies attributed by their imbecile authors to the ancients, so as to assign them some semblance of truth. among such inventions was the mirror of archimedes. gallienus, indeed, mentions the burning of the fleet by archimedes; but is mute on the subject of the mirror, which he could scarcely have omitted, had the fact been genuine. tzetzes and zoronas are the first who mention it; the former in the following words: "when the roman galleys were within arrow-shot, archimedes caused an hexagonal mirror to be made, and other smaller ones, each having twenty-four angles, which were placed at a proportionate distance, and could be worked by their hinges and certain metallic blades; their position being such that the rays of the sun reflected upon their surface, produced a fire which destroyed the roman galleys, though at the distance of a bow-shot." the author does not condescend to give his authority; relying for the evidence of his authenticity upon his confederate, zoronas, who relates that, at the siege of constantinople, under the reign of anastasius, probus burnt the enemy's fleet by means of brazen mirrors. he states that the invention was not new, but belonged to archimedes, who, as testified by dion, used them at the siege of syracuse by marcellus. the mutual confederacy of a couple of mountebanks is as easily understood as it would be susceptible of annihilation; did not such men as kirchen and buffon become sureties, not for what archimedes has done, but for what he was capable of effecting. previous to descartes, the former had asserted the possibility of igniting combustible matter at a great distance by means of small plane mirrors, which could be managed so that the rays might be directed upon any given object. this was simply a theory; but buffon decided upon making the experiment, the result of which is well known. he caused to be constructed one hundred and sixty-eight little mirrors six inches by eight, and directing their rays towards a point, succeeded in igniting a body at a considerable distance. by this he discovered a new principle, viz: that the action of the solar rays reflected is in direct ratio of the diameter of the focus; proving, moreover, that by multiplying the mirrors, an indefinite line of combustion might be established. can we infer, however, from these experiments of buffon, that archimedes actually destroyed the roman galleys? we think not; considering the silence of the roman writers on the subject, and the progress of science in the time of buffon, with reference to its discoveries in the time of the siege of syracuse by marcellus. whether this mirror existed or not, however, archimedes must be admitted to be one of the greatest geniuses the world of science ever produced. chapter xv. the lynx and the cameleon. the title of this chapter seems to promise a fable rather than a dissertation; and a very amusing one might be grounded on the attributes of the two animals, considering the perspicacity affected by poor short-sighted mortals, and the mutability of colour of so many a human mind. it is not, however, as emblems that we are about to treat of the lynx and the cameleon. the lynx figures extensively in the poetry of the ancients. not only do they attribute miraculous properties to the eyes of the animal, as being able to see through walls, but pliny assures us that the excrements of the lynx were transformed into amber, rubies, and carbuncles. the nature or habits of this animal were so delicate, however, that its secretions were as difficult to discover as those of cats; in consequence of which much treasure was lost! they might as well have asserted at once, that jewels found in mines were the produce of antediluvian lynxes. they proceeded, however, to attribute the optical powers of the lynx to a variety of individuals; nor have modern writers hesitated to follow their example. valerius maximus, varro, and even cicero, speak with ecstasies of the powers of vision of the sicilian, strabo; who, from cape lilyboeum could descry carthage, and count the vessels sailing out of the port; the distance being forty-five leagues! these worthies forgot, that even had the sight of strabo been still more powerful, the intermediary obstacles caused by the rotundity of the globe must have circumvented his view. cæsar is said to have seen from gaul all that passed in a port in britain; probably by a figure of speech purporting that he knew all that passed in conquered countries, just as the eye of napoleon was said to survey at once his whole empire. about the year 1725, the marvellous history of a portuguese woman set the whole world of science into confusion, as will be found by referring to the mercure de france. this female was said to possess the gift of discovering treasures. without any other aid than the keen penetration of her eyes, she was able to distinguish the different strata of earth, and pronounce unerringly upon the utmost distances at a single glance. her eye penetrated through every substance, even the human body; and she could discern the mechanism, and circulation of all animal fluids, and detect latent diseases; although less skilful than the animal magnetiser, she did not affect to point out infallible remedies. ladies could learn from her the sex of their forthcoming progeny. in short, her triumphs were universal. the king of portugal, greatly at a loss for water in his newly built palace, consulted her; and after a glance at the spot, she pointed out an abundant spring, upon which his majesty rewarded her with a pension, the order of christ, and a patent of nobility. in the exercise of her miraculous powers, certain preliminaries were indispensable. she was obliged to observe a rigid fast; indigestion, or the most trifling derangement of the stomach, suspending the marvellous powers of her visual organs. the men of science of the day were of course confounded by such prodigies. but instead of questioning the woman, they consulted the works of their predecessors; not forgetting the inevitable aristotle. by dint of much research, they found a letter from huygens asserting that there was a prisoner of war at antwerp, who could see through stuffs of the thickest texture provided they were not red. the wonderful man was cited in confirmation of the wonderful woman, and vice versâ. the antwerp lynx, meanwhile, had attained considerable credit, from the fact of two ladies visiting him in person, upon which he burst into immoderate laughter. on the cause of his mirth being inquired into, he stated that one of them had on no under garment, the truth of which statement caused the ladies to take a hasty departure, in the dread of revelations still more indiscreet. in the beginning of the present century there lived a physician at lyons, who seriously asserted that one of his patients had the power of reading letters, though sealed. this was evidently a device to obtain notoriety, and fill his purse at the expense of a credulous public. for what, in fact, can be more grossly absurd than the assertion that either human eyes, or those of the lynx possess the faculty of reading through opaque bodies? many attempts have been recently made by the upholders of magnetism to exhibit similar impositions. from the lynx we proceed to the cameleon; hoping to exonerate this much defamed animal from the imputations of mutability so long lavished upon its nature. instead of being adopted as the symbol of fickleness, the cameleon ought, in fact, to become the emblem of frankness and truth, betraying in its changes of hue every impression of which it is susceptible. the ancients denied the existence of the cameleon, treating it as an ideal animal devoid of natural colour. they conceded to it, on the other hand, a radiant body, and the faculty of existing without food. such were the opinions of pliny, aristotle, and oelian. but daubenton and lacépède devoted serious attention to the nature of the cameleon; and the scrutiny of science has served to rectify a popular error. cameleons have been brought alive to france, and a pair is now living in the zoological gardens of england. but till lately, they were known in europe only through the preparations of our museums of natural history. this singular animal belongs to the lizard tribe, and is found in hot climates. its length is from thirteen to fourteen inches; of which the tail counts for half. the head is surmounted by a kind of cartilaginous pyramid inclining backwards. the mouth is so formed as scarcely to afford a view of its disproportionably large swallow. for some time too, the cameleon passed for being devoid of hearing; but camper has established that it possesses that faculty, though in a limited degree. the organs of sight on the other hand, are so acute as to exceed by far those of the lynx. it can turn its eyes in every direction; moves with deliberate dignity, and feeds on insects. but is not entitled to the encomiums of the ancients with respect to sobriety; though it can fast for a period exceeding a year. of a pacific nature, it has numerous enemies; and being timid to excess, its endless variations of hue are perceptible through a very transparent skin. heat and light influence the changes of its colours; which vary between yellow, red, black, green, and white. mademoiselle de scudery possessed a pair of cameleons, from observations upon which, it was seen that adjacent colours produced no effect upon them; other colours than those near them often manifesting themselves on the body. bichat supposed that the mutations of the cameleon proceeded from the quantity of air contained in the arterial blood; an opinion the better founded, that this animal is able to fill itself with air and discharge it at will. when asleep, or cold, or dead, the hue of the cameleon is white. such is the exact truth concerning two animals which poets and historians have invested with fabulous properties; and to which mankind have often been assimilated--by analogies now admitted to be groundless. chapter xvi. wild women. no age has been exempt from popular delusions; but there are certain prejudices peculiar to certain localities. one of the characteristic superstitions of germany subsisted so lately as the middle of the last century, as may be seen by a tradition of the date of 1753. "at that time," said the peasants of grödich, "it was not uncommon to see wild women issue from the wunderburg, and approach the youths and maidens attending their herds near the cavern of glanegg, whom they asked for bread. sometimes, they would come out to glean in the fields; leaving the mountain betimes, and at nightfall returning to their haunts without even sharing the meals of their fellow-gleaners. one day, a little boy mounted upon a cart-horse, approached the wunderburg, when the wild women rushed forward, and would have carried him off. the father, however, ran up and protected him. unaware of the mysteries connected with that awful mountain, he demanded what they meant by attempting to carry off his son; to which the savages replied: 'that among them he would be better taken care of, and that no harm should happen to him in their abode.' but the father held fast his child, and the women went weeping away." another time these wild women entered kügelstadt, a village beautifully situated upon the same mountain, and carried off a boy watching a herd. at the end of a year he returned, dressed in green, and sat on the trunk of a tree at the foot of the mountain.[1] the woodsmen and his parents went the next day in search of him, but in vain; nor was the youth ever beheld again. a wild woman from the mountain went towards the village of anif, about half a league from wunderburg, where she hollowed out a place of shelter in the earth. [1] the reader will be struck by the affinity between this legend, and the ettrick shepherd's beautiful tale of "kilmeny," taken from a highland tradition. her hair was of great length and beauty falling to her feet, and proved highly attractive to a peasant who chanced to encounter her, and who at length ventured to make an avowal of his passion. the wild woman inquired whether he were married; and the peasant not daring to own the truth, answered in the negative. shortly afterwards, his wife, terrified by his absence from home, came in search of him; but instead of upbraiding him with his infidelity, fled in dismay at the sight of the lady of the beautiful locks. the mysterious woman now upbraided him with his want of veracity; assuring him that had his wife testified the smallest jealousy, she would have killed him on the spot. bidding him be more faithful in future to the marriage tie, she bestowed a bag of money upon him, and was never again seen in the neighbourhood of grölich. this story was treated as a jest by several french writers of the last century. yet the age, so severe upon the credulity of the simple peasants of wunderburg, believed in the devices of cagliostro and the miracles of mesmer! the extremes of science and ignorance may consequently be said to meet in the bewildering mazes of superstition. chapter xvii. sybils. the existence of one or more sybils in the ancient world has been distinctly proved. classic authors are unanimous upon the subject. suidas tells us that there were fourteen; varro, ten. oelian asserts that there were only four; while martinus capella reduces them to two. dr. petit, however, the author of the essay "de sybilla," reduces them to one. let us grant that the sybil of cumæ was the only authentic sybil, whether originating in ionia, syria, or campania. let us even establish that her name was demo, according to pausanias, though virgil declares that she was called deiphobe, and was the daughter of glaucus. suidas calls his fourteen by the common name of eriphile; aristotle styles the sybil, malanchrenes. after due consideration of these names, certain writers unanimously adopted that of amalthea. be it our business to inquire into the question upon the only reasonable grounds, namely, in a symbolical sense. a man had need to belong to rome or greece to entertain a due respect for the subject; where the existence of supernatural beings placed by the gods between heaven and earth, and predominating over kings and their subjects, was regarded as a blessing. in those times, such creations had a salutary influence of which we cannot now appreciate the value. the ancient social institutions, of so many centuries past, are scarcely to be understood from books; since those by which we are actually surrounded are not altogether comprehensible. great was the veneration conceded to the sybils in greece and rome; in proof of which we need only cite the sybilline volume--to discredit which in the olden time, would have been a matter of danger. it is known to all that a venerable sybil came to tarquin, and offered to sell him nine volumes of her prophecies, when her price being taxed as exorbitant, she threw three volumes into the fire, still requiring the same price for the remaining six. still denied her price by tarquin, three more of the books shared the same fate; and on her adhering to her original demand for the remaining three; tarquin assembled the augurs, who advised the purchase, and the monarch was forced to submit to the terms of the sybil. from that moment, the sybilline leaves became objects of veneration. they were made over to the custody of the priests, and consulted upon occasions of importance after a decree of the senate. these volumes were destroyed in the conflagration of the capitol, eighty-three years before christ; a severe calamity to the romans, who looked upon the sybilline books as a sacred charta. it is remarkable, that after the destruction of these volumes, the republic gradually declined, and fell under the yoke of the emperors. immense as was the loss of the volumes, considering their influence over the minds of the people, the augurs and senate hoped to replace the loss. zealous missionaries were sent to all the cities of europe, asia and africa, which affected to possess sybilline verses; and more than two thousand were brought back. but we are to conclude they were far from genuine, as the sybilline oracles declined in credit. augustus suppressed many of the verses, and the rest were burned by stilicon, father-in-law of the emperor honorius. in all countries of the ancient world, virgins were objects of worship; and even as connected with pagan idolatries, there is something beautiful and touching in the homage paid to virginal purity, more particularly in contrast with the ferocity of manners of the early romans. the most abject corruption respected the worship of virginity. no virgin could be immolated by the romans; and octavia was reduced to infamy ere she could be lawfully sacrificed to the vengeance of nero. the sybils were sacred virgins, which accounted for the veneration paid to them and their oracles. st. jerome expressly states that the gift of prophecy was bestowed upon them in honour of their purity. as to the sybil of cumæ, she was said to have rejected the advances of apollo himself, though the god offered to endow her with eternal youth and beauty; to which she preferred the infirmities of mortal decrepitude in order to live and die in chastity. as society is now constituted, nothing founded on error, or the frauds usually called pious, can be termed justifiable. tarquin and the augurs probably understood the inauthenticity of the sybilline books; but it was their cue to create a deep veneration for them, and assign a divine origin to the laws, which in those days might not otherwise have been respected by the people. in the time of cicero, the romans had learned to blush for their own credulity; and in the following centuries, were confounded at seeing the fathers of the christian church return indirectly to ideas long fallen into desuetude. st. ambrose, however, denounced such doctrines; declaring to the early christians who were disposed to seek in the sybilline books exposition of their faith, that they were the idle production of fanatical women. the sybils of old were apparently prophetesses after the manner of joanna southcote and madame krudener in the present century. the sybilline books, as existent in the days of st. ambrose, teemed with frauds and anachronisms, proving the ignorance of their authors, as much as the credulity of those who believed in them. the events of the christian dispensation are as clearly announced in them as in the holy writ. the personages are even mentioned by their proper names. isaiah wrote: "a virgin shall conceive." the sybil is made to say, "the virgin mary shall conceive, and shall bring forth jesus in a stable in bethlehem." the sybil also announces the baptism of the messiah in the jordan; the coming of the holy ghost under the form of a dove; the circumstances of the passion; and the preaching of the gospel by the apostles. she pretends to have witnessed events long after the coming of the messiah; relates the second conflagration of the temple of vesta, which took place one hundred and seventy years after jesus christ, in the reign of commodus, and affects to have been in noah's ark; yet is so ignorant of the holy writings, that she supposes noah to have sojourned therein only forty and one days; while moses states him to have been an entire year. she also places mount ararat in phrygia instead of armenia. such was the value of the last edition of the sybilline volumes; conceived, no doubt, with good intentions; but, as articles of faith, little better than a fiction. chapter xviii. fortune-tellers and chiromancy. of the numerous family of impostors, composed of mountebanks, gypsies, chiromancers, fortune-tellers, and sorcerers; the gypsies date from the fifteenth century, and were first seen in bohemia, in strange garbs, with swarthy faces, and pretending to great proficiency in the art of soothsaying. they made their appearance in paris, 1442; proclaiming themselves to be pilgrims wandering in expiation of their sin. among them, were a duke, a count, and ten cavaliers. the remainder, one hundred and twenty in number were on foot. these strangers were lodged at the holy chapel, to which the parisians flocked to obtain a view of them. they had sallow complexions and black frizzly hair, and spoke an unknown tongue. the females who accompanied them, devoted themselves to fortune-telling. the bishop of paris eventually excommunicated them, and had them expelled the city; a persecution which served to create an interest in their favour; and returning to paris, they multiplied both in that city and in other parts of france to such a degree that, in 1560, the states of orleans found it necessary to rid the kingdom of them; and subject them to the pain of the gallies if they dare return. treated with merciless severity, they gradually disappeared; taking refuge in germany, hungary, england, and the banks of the danube; where they have remained ever since. gypsies are known by different names, according to the countries they inhabit; and constitute a wandering tribe in all the civilized states of europe, still retaining their pristine habits and customs. public curiosity has long been directed towards the origin of the gypsies. theologians first traced them to cain on the following grounds: when by the murder of his brother, the elder born of adam had brought upon himself the supreme malediction, a mark was set upon him to secure his recognition, at that time mankind were white. the almighty is supposed to have changed the complexion of cain, that all men might know him. the gypsies, therefore, who exhibit such remarkable complexions, and lead such vagabond lives, had every appearance of being a proscribed race; and the progeny of the first murderer. other theologians make the gypsies descend from shem, the son of noah, or cham, the inventor of magic; for the gypsies pretend to be magicians, and to descend from cham. father delrio asserts their sorcery to be so effective, that if you give them a piece of money, the others in your purse invariably take flight to join their fellow. the gypsies, uncertain of their origin, suppose themselves to have been expelled from egypt, and condemned to wander the world for having refused hospitality to joseph and the holy virgin, when they took refuge on the banks of the nile. but even in egypt, the gypsies are declared to be of foreign origin; so that the problem has still to be decided. these people ground their predictions upon an inspection of the palm of the hand. juvenal distinctly alludes to female drawers of horoscopes. "such a woman," said he, "exhibits her hand and forehead to the diviner." the chiromantic principle has much analogy with those of judiciary astrology; and aristotle cites chiromancy as a positive science. chiromancers divide the hand into several regions, each presided by a planet. the thumb belongs to venus, the index to jupiter, the middle finger to saturn, the annulary to the sun, the auricular to mercury, the centre of the hand to mars, the remainder to the moon. the direction of the line of life is still undecided by chiromancers; some placing it between the thumb and index, traversing the centre of the palm; while the hebrew cabalists make it diverge in a quarter of a circle from the middle of the wrist to the first joint of the index. to denote long life, this line should be deeply defined; when feeble and superficial, it implies a limited existence, (even if the person so qualified should have survived his eightieth year!) the triangle in the palm of the hand is consecrated to mars; the three lines of which it is formed being regarded by chiromancers as most important, and comprehending the united indications of mind and body. the hepatic line proceeds from the liver, and forms one of the large sides of the triangle. when deeply indicated, it is characteristic of an exalted soul and magnanimous character; but accompanied by a propensity to anger and despondency. the mediana, which forms the base of the triangle, implies frankness, sprightliness, and the love of pleasure. should the thumb and its root be furrowed with numerous lines, crossing at right angles, or forming ellipses, stars, and repeated circles, you are favoured by venus; but should you possess the ring of gyges, beware of her wrath. this name implies the circular line of the thumb, and indicates an infamous death. adrian sicler declares in 1639, a notorious villain who met his fate on the wheel had this awful sign on the first phalanx. between chiromancers and fortune-tellers with cards, the sole difference consists in the means employed; and if you watch the sleight of hand of the latter, instead of listening to their chattering, you will be amazed by their dexterity. card-conjurors are mere upstarts by comparison with chiromancers, who were consulted by augustus in the zenith of his power. their art cannot have existed previous to the days of charles vi., for whose diversion cards were invented. the miserable personal plight of these foreshowers of the future, is singularly at variance with their reputation. how many of them grovel in filthy retreats; where for the smallest sum, they dispense their promises of fame and fortune. it is lamentable to think how many dupes such impostors still command. fortune-tellers captivate the confidence of the vulgar, by predicting circumstances of frequent and common-place occurrence, with the certainty of occasionally hitting home. should one of these by accident make a fortunate guess, his fame is established. but their extortions are unimportant compared with the debasement of faculties apparent in those who consult them; whom they disgust with their useful callings by fostering hopes of impossible eventualities; or keep weak minds in a state of terror for the mere guerdon of a piece of silver. there are examples of people being so awe-struck by the predictions of jugglers, as to fall their victim. a person has been known to die at forty, merely because that term of life was assigned him by a fortune-teller. a slight illness having brought to mind the fatal prediction at the appointed period, cerebral fever ensued which ended in death. such a fact is mentioned by dr. bruhier in his work upon the caprices of the imagination. though evil is said never to exist without corresponding good, it would be difficult to point out a compensation for the mischiefs of fortune-tellers and card-conjurors. their predictions have often proved fatal in private life, and they have exercised their evil influence by urging princes to acts of cruelty. the emperor valens having incensed his subjects by his tyrannies, certain of them, meditating his overthrow, consulted a soothsayer, who predicted future events by means of a cock. a circle being described with the letters of the alphabet around it, a grain of corn was dropped on each, and a cock placed in the centre. the letters from which he pecked the corn were immediately taken up and a horoscope grounded upon them; and the cock having, in the present instance, pecked up grains from letters t. h. e. o. d., the conspirators concluded that the empire ought to belong to theodore, the secretary of valens, a man of merit, and generally esteemed. the crown was offered to him, which he was rash enough to accept; but the plot being discovered, he and his accomplices were executed. not satisfied with this act of vengeance, valens banished all those whose names began by the letters selected by the cock. but this did not prevent theodosius the great from being his successor. chapter xix. albertus magnus and nostradamus. in the year 1248, the emperor william of holland arrived at cologne on the anniversary of the festival of the epiphany; when albertus the great, invited him and his whole court to a banquet in a garden near the convent of the preaching friars. the emperor accepted the offer: but on the appointed day, there was a great fall of snow; and the emperor and his court were much disconcerted by the invitation. but though inclined to avoid exposure to such inclemency of weather, they adhered to their engagement and proceeded to the scene of the entertainment, where they found the tables spread, but the trees and turf covered with snow. the guests were of course indignant at so absurd an arrangement; but albertus had contrived that no one could go out of the garden, by placing at every entrance guards of imposing stature. the emperor and princes having seated themselves, the dishes were placed on the table; when the day became gradually fine, and the snow disappearing as if by enchantment, the shrubs and flowers recovered their verdure and perfume; while the trees suddenly presented fruits in luscious maturity, with innumerable birds perched upon their branches warbling heart-stirring music. the heat increasing, the guests were forced to throw off their outward garb; but no one could conjecture whence or by whom the dishes of the feast were produced; the menials who served them being strangers, richly attired, and of the most courteous deportment. the feast being at an end, servitors and birds vanished; the turf lost its verdure, the flowers their odour; and the snow re-appeared as if in the gloom of winter. the outward garments of the guests were, of course, resumed; and all persons repaired to a vast hall, where a good fire was blazing. the emperor, gratified with this wonderful entertainment, endowed the convent of which albertus was a member with a valuable estate; expressing great esteem for the skill and dexterity of his entertainer. such is the monkish legend; nor is it worth while to contest such absurdities, no one being weak enough to believe seriously in tales of enchantment worthy only to figure in the pages of a romance. many such marvels are recorded of albertus, entitling us to believe him a sorcerer, and the ally of satan. but he is known to have been, like friar bacon, one of the most enlightened men of the thirteenth century; and it often happens, that in order to enhance the fame of illustrious persons, their biographers have resource to exaggerations that deteriorate their well-won fame. such was the case with nostradamus; who, in spite of himself, was made a prophet. the real name of nostradamus, was michael of notre-dame, but a custom prevailed in his time of latinizing names; and nostradamus was one of the high-sounding titles likely to ensure popularity. among the french, it enjoyed equal fame with that of matthew länsberg among the germans. the family of nostradamus was of jewish extraction, and proclaimed itself descended from issachar; a personage reputed to have been profoundly versed in chronological science. michael was born, december 14, 1503, at twelve precisely, in the village of st. remi, in provence. he studied at avignon, where he distinguished himself in rhetoric; then proceeded to montpellier for the study of medicine. having attained the degree of doctor at twenty-six, an unusual occurrence, he was considered the successor of hippocrates and galen; but disdaining all earthly vocations, he devoted himself to astrology, and mysterious speculations upon the future. nostradamus first published his ephemeris, proclaiming agricultural epochs, eclipses, phases of the moon, the returns of the season, and the variations of atmosphere; and predicted the approach of epidemics, the progress of governments, the births and marriages of the great; peace, war, land, and sea fights, and many other things, which, as a matter of course, must be realized in some part or other of the world. his predictions were so fortunate, that he was soon acknowledged to be a prophet; every one seeking to benefit by his vast enlightenment. the wily man, aware that speculation upon popular prejudices is a sure road to fortune, and seeing the love of the marvellous predominate, soon laid aside his almanack, and gave full play to his fecund imagination as a soothsayer. had nostradamus been only a man of profound science, he would have pined in obscurity; but as affording diversion for the court of france, his fame soon prevailed throughout europe. when his predictions first appeared, in 1555, they had such success, that henry ii. and catherine de medicis invited him to paris. enriched by their munificence, he returned to his vocation in provence; and four years later, the duke of savoy and marguerite of france, on their way to nice, visited nostradamus at salon. the duchess being _enceinte_, the duke desired to know the probable sex of the issue; a tolerable safe order of prediction as the chances of verification are even. in this case, he foretold a son who afterwards became the greatest captain in europe--charles emanuel, duke of savoy. the system of nostradamus was partly original; but grafted upon several others. he not only consulted the stars to cast a nativity, but the form and features of the party. the governor of henry iv. wishing to have the horoscope of his youthful master, applied to him, when he demanded to see the royal youth naked. henry at first resisted, thinking it a trick, and that they perhaps meant to castigate him unjustly; but finally consented, and after the examination, it was predicted that he would become king of france, and enjoy a long reign. these facts are avouched by the biographers of nostradamus; who, though he predicted the future to others, was unable to foresee his approaching end. he died in july 1566, aged sixty-two; but his fame survived him, and his tomb became a kind of shrine, being inscribed with testimonials to his profound science and miraculous qualities. louis xiii. visited it in 1622, and louis xiv. in 1660. like most men possessed of high renown, who profit by the credulity of their contemporaries, he had a host of fanatical adulators. among them, none more enthusiastically devoted than a man named chavigny, who abandoned every thing to follow the fortune of the prophet, and received his last sigh. chavigny became the interpreter and eulogist of his great master, as he had been the depository of his secrets. he even ventured upon some posthumous predictions. inconsolable for the loss of his illustrious master, chavigny abandoned provence, and settled at lyons; where he solaced his regrets by reflecting upon the predictions and discoveries of the great astrologer. he commented upon three hundred stanzas of the great work of nostradamus, the result of thirty years' study; and published the first part of the "french janus," or rather, a partial explanation of his prophecies. in this curious work, chavigny collated, compared and approximated the stanzas bearing reference to the events of his own century; and composed a chronological table, so remarkable for order and method, as to impose upon superficial minds. so singularly happy are some of the stanzas of nostradamus, and their associations with history are so striking, that the renowned doctor might almost pass for having been inspired. such, at least, is the opinion of many who have strictly examined the work. in 1695, one guinaud, one of the royal pages and a zealous supporter of nostradamus, proposed to reconcile the prophecies of nostradamus with history, from the time of henry ii. till that of louis xiv. presuming upon his genius for exposition, he undertook to prove that nothing could be clearer and less mysterious than the predictions of his favourite astrologer. in support of this opinion, he applies the following lines to the massacre of st. bartholomew: le gros airain qui les heures ordonne; sur le trépas du tyran cassera; fleurs plainte et cris, eau glace, pain ne donne, v.s.c. paix, l'armée passera. the explanation of guinaud is, perhaps, more striking than the lines of nostradamus. the "_gros airain_," he declares to be the little bell of the palaces. in the "_trépas du tyran_," he foresees the death of coligny; and in the initials "_v.s.c._," he finds an unaccountable indication of philip ii. and charles v. the other analogies were equally far-fetched; and, as is not unusually the case, the absurdity of the annotation was visited upon the original work. the prophesies of nostradamus, like those of merlin, are now nothing more than a literary curiosity. chapter xx. leeches, serpents, and the song of the dying swan. in the conclusions of naturalists there is much to respect. but we must beware of false inferences. for instance, no one will deny that swallows skim the surface of the earth on the approach of a storm. but it is simply because insects then swarm in the lower regions of the atmosphere. the swallows seek their prey where instinct teaches them that it is most abundant; not because a peculiar sympathy warns them of the coming storm. swans, ducks, goslings, also, indicate hot weather by plunging oftener than usual, because the temperature being oppressive, they seek a fresher one under the water. in the list of meteorological animals, leeches hold a prominent place. an english physician pretends that they are lively when the sky is clear and serene, and raise their heads above water to breathe the pure air. but if the sky be gloomy and clouded, they conceal themselves in the mud, and are evidently agitated at the approach of storms. the following are the observations of dr. vitet, in his "treaty on medical leeches." "close up a quantity of leeches in jars of equal size containing the same water, and expose them together to the open air. never will you see identity of action. in one jar, they are at the surface, in another at the bottom, while in another they will be completely out of the water sticking to the cover. again, you will see all the leeches of the same jar in all these different positions; some adhering by their tails from the borders of the jar, others balancing themselves with the most perfect regularity. it follows, therefore, that leeches are devoid of meteorological susceptibility." had not dr. vitet made his experiments on so large a scale, a single leech, well-watched, would always have been said to announce changes of weather and temperature. in the case of the rana arboria, or tree-frog, which is sometimes confined in a glass jar to form a sort of living weather-glass, it may be noticed that, when two frogs of the same species are kept in the same glass, one is sure to be found at the top of the ladder and one at the bottom, proving how little such indications are to be depended upon. to leeches is attributed another peculiarity, equally groundless; the faculty, namely, of ridding us of our corrupt blood, while they respect the pure; a fact disproved by daily experience. according to a popular prejudice in many countries, snakes and vipers will creep down the throats of persons imprudent enough to sleep in the open fields with their mouths open; and strange things are related on this subject, especially in germany. about fifty years ago, the german newspapers announced that in styria a young girl being asleep with her mouth open, a viper made its way into her throat. she was not aware of the fact; but a few days afterwards began to experience an insupportable irritation. on a subsequent day, the viper reappeared by the channel it had penetrated, hissing and raising itself on its tail as if overjoyed at its emancipation; and immediately afterwards, the girl vomited a quantity of viper's eggs. this anecdote so charmed the french journalists, that they republished it in various directions, neither suspecting that they were renewing a fable of the greeks, nor inquiring whether vipers were oviparous. the adventures of the styrian girl was nearly forgotten, when a french surgeon gave a fresh version of it in the following shape: "in the month of june, 1806, a child of four years old having fallen asleep on the bank of the canal de l'ourcq with her mouth open, a snake crept in and passed into her stomach, where it remained for nineteen days; at the expiration of which, the child accidentally drank a glass of white wine, when forth came the snake in the presence of her whole family!" witnesses were found to attest the fact; and the medical man who attended the child, asserted the reptile to have been eighteen inches long! dr. masson, surgeon to the civil hospitals of paris, made a report upon the subject to the faculty of medicine, attributing the attraction of the snake to the child having fed upon bread and milk, the predilection of those reptiles for that sustenance being well known. before we return to the above subject, we may as well inquire whether the predilection of snakes for milk be really true. the french peasants agree in this opinion with pliny, aldovrandus and gesner. yet all are wrong. snakes are furnished with numerous little teeth at the extremity of their mouths, that their prey may not escape; so that if they sucked the cows as asserted by the peasants, their teeth must become inextricably entangled in the udder. the diminution of the milk in the dairies of the french provinces, is nevertheless often most conveniently ascribed to the interposition of snakes, innocent at least of this species of mischief. we must, therefore, conclude that dr. masson's little patient was not the victim of the passion of the snake in question for milk. is it credible, however, that a snake eighteen inches long could introduce itself into the mouth of a sleeping child without awaking it, or creep down the æsophagus and into the stomach without being perceived? the marvellous snake was probably nothing more than a worm such as is frequently ejected from the mouths of children. snakes, vipers, and serpents have always been leading features in fable, and, at times, in history. without alluding to the serpent-tempter, we have the serpent of aaron, which also serves as the attribute of esculapius, and ornaments the caduceus of mercury. we have the serpent python, and those which entwined themselves round the laocoon and his sons; the serpent concealed under the flowers, whose sting caused the death of eurydice; and finally, the asp of cleopatra. but upon such matters, the moderns have gone far beyond the ancients. if, for instance, the asp which bit the bosom of cleopatra had pertained to the species which father charleroix saw at paraguay, it might have been the rival of anthony; for the padre expressly asserts that serpents are ever on the watch to carry off females in the forests of that province. these may be considered rivals to the great sea serpent of the americans. bertholin, the learned swedish doctor, relates strange anecdotes of lizards, toads and frogs; stating that a woman, thirty years of age, being thirsty, drank plentifully of water at a pond. at the end of a few months, she experienced singular movements in her stomach, as if something were crawling up and down; and alarmed by the sensation, consulted a medical man, who prescribed a dose of orvietan in a decoction of fumitary. shortly afterwards, the irritation of the stomach increasing, she vomited three toads and two young lizards, after which, she became more at ease. in the spring following, however, her irritation of the stomach was renewed; and aloes and bezoar being administered, she vomited three female frogs, followed the next day by their numerous progeny. in the month of january following, she vomited five more living frogs, and in the course of seven years, ejected as many as eighty. dr. bertholin protests that he heard them croak in her stomach! the utter incompatibility of the nature of these reptiles with the temperature of the human stomach, renders denial of the truth of this scientific anecdote almost superfluous. the journal des débats, then called the journal de l'empire, published the following circumstances as having taken place at joinville, in the department of the meuse. "marie ragot, a widow, having complained for two years of a distaste for food, and suffered from internal cramps. "these symptoms were at first attributed to an aneurism of the viscera; but were soon found to proceed from some strange substance in the stomach. after two months, marie ragot ejected from her mouth a living reptile in the presence of many; who, on seeing it creep away, in the hurry of the moment, inconsiderately crushed it. this reptile belonging to the lizard class, was thin and long, its colour light grey, brown on the back, and dark yellow under the belly. it had four small legs, each having nail-tipped feelers, a triangular head, rather obtuse at the nose, bent, a short tail and filiform at the extremity. this is all we have been able to learn, the witnesses having stupidly destroyed the reptile. ragot died soon afterwards, and it remains undecided whether her death was caused by the reptile remaining so long in her stomach. the lizard we have described was doubtless the grey common wall lizard. it is supposed to have crept into her mouth when asleep." while occupied by consideration of the marvels of physiological history, we must not omit to mention the song of the dying swan; formerly applied as a standard of composition for the highest pitch which melody could attain, and as typical of the last strains emanating from the soul of the poet. virgil, fénélon and shakspeare, are known as the swan of mantua, the swan of cambray, and swan of avon. pliny, whose propensity for handing down popular fallacies we have already noticed, says, in treating of the gift of song conceded to swans by the poets: "the doleful strain attributed to the swan, at the moment of death, is a prejudice disproved by experience." modern observation confirms his opinion that the song of the swan is a mere metaphor. to urge this matter further would be equivalent to pleading after judgment; had not dr. bertholin, who attended the woman of the eighty frogs, endeavoured to revive the idea of the ancients; quoting the declaration of one of his friends, grégoire wilhelmi, that having seen one of a flight of swans expire, the others hastened to its aid, giving forth harmonious sounds, as if singing the funeral dirge of their departed companion. this story is evidently a romantic fiction. but if the domestic swan be mute, it is not so with the wild one, which is guilty of the most discordant noises, instead of the fabulous harmony so long attributed to it. the abbé arnaud carefully observed two wild swans which sought refuge on the waters of chantilly, more particularly, as regarded their cries. buffon notices that they have a shrill, piercing shriek, far from agreeable, and are quite insensible to the sound of music. the song of the swan, therefore, must be admitted to be as much a creation of the poets as the song of the syrens which, according to homer, attracted the vessel of ulysses. chapter xxi. negroes. two important questions present themselves with regard to negroes: first, the lawfulness or expediency of slavery; and secondly, the comparative equality of the whites and blacks. the history of the world teaches us that slavery is independent of colour, and existed every where of old, under every form of government. but the abolition of slavery was the work of the christian religion, of which it is one of the noblest mercies; and let us never forget the saying of montesquieu, "that it is our business to prove the negroes less than men, lest they prove us to be less than christians." the celebrated abbé grégoire was one of the most zealous and persevering advocates of the negroes. so enthusiastic was he in their cause, that he might have been supposed to have undertaken it as a reproach to their white brethren. with regard to the question of innate equality between the two races, we cannot conceive a more apt illustration than that made by a creole child, on hearing at his father's table, a discussion upon negroes, a subject on which most colonists differ entirely from the abbé grégoire. in the course of dessert, a gentleman, who had been loudest in opprobriating the negroes, desired to be helped to grapes. the child pertinaciously insisted on giving him white grapes instead of the black, to which he had pointed. "one kind is as good as the other," said the gentleman, "the only difference is in the colour of the skin." "and why then," cried the child, "do you persist in refusing the same concession to the poor negroes?" the scholiasts have written much which has tended only to render more obscure the origin of the negro race; some deriving it from cain, and attributing its blackness to divine wrath after the murder of abel; others from shem, the son of noah, which is the opinion of dr. hanneman, as is seen in his latin treatise upon the colour of "the descendants of shem." the learned german quotes numerous proofs of the culpable conduct of shem towards his father; adding that shem had long practised the art of magic, and being unable to transport into the ark all his works of witchcraft and magic, had them engraved upon brass and stone, so as to find them after the deluge. hanneman cites the authority of luther, who formally asserts that the skin of shem was blackened as a punishment for his irreverence; and quotes a passage from the learned ulricius, who in his treaty de tacticis, established that the sons of ham had white skins, those of japhet a brownish complexion, while those of shem were black as ebony. the anatomist, meiners, adopting the theory of the facial angle, excluded the negroes from the human race, and placed them in the family of apes and ourang-outangs. according to the abbé grégoire, all black skinned races descend from the ethiopian. he founds his opinion upon the works of herodotus, theophrastes, pausanias, athenoeus, eusebius, heliodorus, josephus, pliny, and terence; all of whom, in speaking of negroes, call them ethiopians. as regards their origin, all we know is, that the ethiopians are from the interior of africa, and that their ancestors had short and woolly hair, black skins, and thick lips. how are we to conciliate these pretensions with the assertions of diodorus, the sicilian, supported by those of the learned hearne? some affirm, on the other hand, that the egyptians descend direct from the ethiopians; the pure egyptian race existing only in the copts, who have woolly hair, round heads, flattened noses, and protruding cheek-bones. similar signs certainly characterize both negroes and ethiopians. egypt was the cradle of civilization, and if inhabited by the ethiopian race, with the negroes originated sciences, arts, and institutions. in that case, the problem of equality of intelligence becomes painfully solved; and if we now possess a vast superiority of intellect over the negroes, we owe it to their ancestors, who were our masters in almost every branch of polite knowledge. with regard to colour, virgil has said, "nimium ne crede colori." dr. beddoes, moreover, completely overcame the difficulty; for by frequently immersing the hand of a negro in a solution of muriatic acid, he rendered it as white as ivory. in these speculative times, we should not be much surprised to see a company established for washing the black population white. this might furnish matter for reflection to mr. williams, of vermont, who in his history of that state, requires four thousand years for effecting the transition from black to white, through the sole influence of climate. meiners, as we have seen, classes the negroes in the monkey tribe. how are we to reconcile this sacrilegious classification with the dogmas of the church, which canonize two blacks, viz. st. elesbaan, patron of the portuguese and spaniards, and the queen of sheba, the wife of solomon? another great writer affirms, that black was the original colour of the human race; and that the white race is in a state of degeneration. monsieur de pauw shows the question of the negroes in another light, refusing them an aptitude for civilization equal to the whites; but attributing their colour to the scorching heat of the sun, which, by wasting the brain, diminishes the faculties and organs of intelligence that distinguish europeans. dr. gall goes further, and pronounces the negroes to be wholly deficient in the organs of music and mathematics. we cannot, however, expect to find the organ of music prominent in the organization of man in a state of nature. as to the organ of mathematics, were the negroes completely deficient in this, meiners would be correct in his assimilation; for the higher order of mathematics is not here implied, but the simplest acts of calculation. no operation of the mind, however, is possible without the aid of a certain kind of calculation. moreover, experience tends to confute the system of dr. gall. it is well known that in africa, there are nations far advanced in civilization; a false kind of civilization, perhaps, and tainted with barbarism. they have no opera, for instance, nor a jockey club, nor the excitement of breaking their necks at steeple-chases. but they have cities, tribunals, laws, judges, institutions, and armies; they declare war and make peace; discuss the interests of the state, raise taxes, and regulate the public expenditure. denyan, who resided thirteen years in the kingdom of juida, was astonished by their wonderful policy; affirming that their diplomatists were capable of competing with the most wary european cabinets. the daccas, who occupy the fertile point of cape verd, are organized into a republic, under directors, lieutenants, and a hierarchy, analagous to the different states existing in europe. bornou is governed by a monarchy; but the throne is both hereditary and elective at the death of the reigning prince. his successors being selected from among his children without respect to primogeniture. the most worthy is nominated to reign. the funeral discourse is a panegyric or a censure, according to the tenor of the reign of the deceased. this is stronger evidence of civilization than to possess a tenor equal to rubini, or a dancer comparable with taglioni. the cities of africa are not mere encampments. the capital of the foulans has seven thousand inhabitants. mungo park mentions that they are fond of instruction, and read the books permitted by the mahomedan religion with great assiduity. in his expedition to the interior of africa, this celebrated traveller expresses his surprise at meeting with so much unexpected magnificence. the city of sego had thirty thousand inhabitants; her population being less than those of jenna, timbuctoo, and haussa. barrow extols the character and pleasing manners of the boushouannas. their capital, litah, has from twelve to fifteen thousand souls; ruled by a patriarchal government. the chief executes the will of the people, emanating from a council composed of elders. is such a council characteristic of barbarism? or a proof that the moral organization of the negroes is inferior to that of the whites? judging from the narratives of travellers, the maritime populations are generally inferior to those of the interior. if this opinion be well founded, there is every reason to infer that the circumstance arises from the access of europeans being less frequent with the interior than the littoral. often have we to deplore the demoralization we have conveyed to distant countries. is it just, therefore, to speak of the brutal barbarity of the negroes, when all we see of it is partly our own work? if we proceed from nations to individuals, a whole catalogue of eminent black men and mulattos presents itself. the name of henry diaz, demands a prominent place on the list. from a common slave, he became colonel of a portuguese regiment, which by his able tactics and daring courage often defeated experienced generals. in an engagement, in which, overpowered by numbers, he perceived some troops on the point of giving way, he rushed among them exclaiming: "are these the brave companions of henry diaz?" on hearing which, his men returned to the charge, and drove the enemy from the field. in 1645, in the heat of battle, a ball penetrated his left hand which he was about to have amputated, when he exclaimed: "every finger of my right hand shall learn to grasp the sword!" the famous st. george was a mulatto. his skill in fencing won him an european reputation, and no one could surpass him in the art of equitation. moreover, dr. gall would have been forced to admit his prodigious talent for music. fifty years ago, the compositions of st. george were eminently the fashion in the parisian drawing-rooms. the republican armies boasted among the bravest of the brave, general alexander dumas, who, though a mulatto, was surnamed by his companions in arms, the horatius cocles of the tyrol. before lille, accompanied only by four of his men, he attacked a post of fifty austrians, of whom he killed six, and made sixteen prisoners. with the army of the alps, he scaled mount st. bernard, stormed a redoubt, and turned the guns against the enemy. he was the father of the french dramatist, alexander dumas, who has immolated as many victims in his dramas, as his father destroyed in the enemies of his country. job-ben-solomon, son of the mahomedan king of banda, on the gambia, was taken prisoner in 1750, conducted to america, and sold as a slave. he had a superior order of mind, understood arabic, and was distinguished for his talents. he enjoyed the friendship of sir hans sloane, for whom he translated several arabic manuscripts; and was treated with distinction by the court of london, till the african company had him reconducted to his states. at the death of his father, he assumed the sceptre, and after being the slave of europeans, became the idol of his subjects. the history of job-ben-solomon presents a victorious argument against the prejudice concerning negroes, for in him there existed not only courage but intellect. a son of the king of nimbana, who was educated in england, died soon after his return to his native land; but during his stay in england, he manifested great proofs of ability. he cultivated several sciences with success, learnt several languages, and read the bible in the original. ramsay, who passed twenty years of his life among the negroes, mentions their impressive eloquence when excited, as well as their talent for mimicry and acting, in which they were not inferior to some of the best performers then known in england. in africa, they have various national musical instruments, of which sixteen are stringed; without counting their famous balafon, resembling the once famed spinet. vocal music is as familiar to them as instrumental; and their composers have been known to produce melodies replete with grace. we may here quote gossec, whose opinion on the subject of music is preferable to that of dr. gall, as being one of the greatest musical composers of his time; and in his famous opera of the "camp de grand pré," he introduced a negro melody from st. domingo, which met with immense success. the abbé grégoire also speaks of certain itinerant negro minstrels, who sang, played, and narrated like the minstrels of old. the negro race, therefore, have produced both heroes and artists, as well as figured with distinction in the sciences. derrham, once a slave at philadelphia, was made over to a physician, who employed him in the compounding of his medicines. but soon ambition laid hold of the soul of the slave, he acquired french, english, spanish, and latin; and perfected himself in the hygienic and therapeutic sciences with such success, that, in 1788, he was esteemed the most eminent practitioner in new orleans, and consulted from all parts of america. another negro, named amo, claims attention as distinguished in the annals of science. a native of guinea, he was brought to amsterdam in 1707, and presented to the duke augustus of wolfenbüttel, who sent him to study at halle and wittenberg. after distinguishing himself at both those universities, he publicly sustained a thesis upon the rights of the negroes, "de jure manorum." amo was versed in astronomy; spoke latin, greek, hebrew french, dutch, and german, there were, indeed, few better linguists. some years ago, a swedish professor having addressed one of our academies in latin, the different members, perplexed by their insufficient acquaintance with that tongue, sent in great haste for one of their absent members, the only one qualified to answer the learned foreigner. this was the late andrieux; but had the negro, amo, been in the way, he might have supplied his place. amo was not only a man of universal information, but had the art of imparting it to others. differing from his white colleagues, he preferred instructing his scholars to the ambition of acquiring personal renown. his lectures, from the able manner in which he combined the advantages of the ancient and modern systems, attracted numerous auditors. he was invested with a diploma in 1744; the first instance of a negro arriving at that distinction. amo left a dissertation upon sensation considered as distinct from the soul, and present to the body. frederick the great, who then reigned in prussia, conferred the dignity of councillor of state upon amo. but these honours, unprecedented for a man of his colour, did not dazzle him so as to render him insensible to the land of his birth. pining for his native air, he resolved, after the death of his patron, the duke of brunswick, to return, after thirty years' absence, to his birth-place, axim, on the gold coast; nor was anything further heard of him in europe after his departure for that obscure place. buffon, who was the contemporary of amo, did not distinguish himself by his definition of the negro race. "negroes," said he, "are tall, fat, well-made, but devoid of mind and genius." the great naturalist looked no deeper than the epidermis, and was greatly mistaken in asserting negroes to be tall and fat; as in general their stature scarcely equals our own. father charleroy, goes farther than buffon, by stating that, the negroes of guinea have but limited capacities, some being quite imbecile, and few being able to count beyond three; that they possess no memory, the past being as unknown to them as the future. "on the other hand," he observes, "they are docile, simple, humane, credulous, superstitious." this definition of father charleroy may apply to a certain number of negroes; but it also applies to a certain number of whites. buffon maintains that the negroes colonized at sierra leone had only the occupations of women, and a disgust for all useful employment. their dwellings he states to be miserable hovels; declaring that they prefer sterile and wild spots to beautiful valleys clothed with trees, and watered by the clearest streams. their roads, he adds, are twice as long as necessary; yet they always follow the beaten track, insensible to the waste of time, which they never calculate. m. descourtils, who resided at st. domingo, and closely observed the negroes, declares them to be ignorant, superstitious, and barbarous; their music being detestable and unmeaning. but though such asseverations may be founded to a certain degree on fact--after having shown the difference that exists between the maritime and fluvial tribes of africa, and those settled in the interior--we are inclined to inquire whether the negroes of america, more particularly those of st. domingo, ought to be selected as the standard of the negro race? are not disabilities attributed to colour which are, in truth, caused by slavery? had not the spartan helots the same skin as agis and epaminondas? yet what could be more marked than their distinction of nature? would it even be fair to judge the inhabitants of paris and london by the swarms of footmen in those cities? nevertheless, we are bound to agree with the most experienced physiologists, that, independent of colour, independent of cerebral conformation, independent of facial angularity, the most perfect specimens of the human race are to be found in the temperate regions. the history of the world bears out the fact; and upon this point, the best intentions of philanthropy fall to the ground. religion and humanity call aloud for the abolition of slavery; while the massacres of st. domingo prove the necessity of its being prudent and progressive. at some still remote period, posterity will probably abjure the prejudice of the white race against the blacks. but this great revolution of popular feeling will not be effected without long-established previous proof on the part of the negro population, that the blessings of freedom have brought forth all the fruits anticipated by the advocates of abolition. to decide upon their equality of nature, in their present unequal condition, would be rash and premature. chapter xxii. fascination; or, the art of pleasing. no individual of the human race, but at the bottom of his heart is ambitious to please! but the charm is not more unequal in distribution than the means are various. so various, indeed, and so uncertain, that in our attempts to please we frequently produce the contrary effect. this universal propensity has given rise to absurd prejudices and ridiculous efforts; and to a thousand arts, and trickeries, affording an amusing subject for consideration. the desire of pleasing tended greatly to enhance, in the earlier stages of society, the reputation and influence of sorcerers, fairies, and supernatural beings; whose power was often invoked to increase the personal attractions of their votaries. the wild efforts of medea to secure the affections of her faithless jason are sufficiently known. love potions and philtres were a favourite resource of the ancients, never weary of consulting sorcerers and enchantresses concerning their aptitude to please. virgil, ovid, tibullus, propertius, all allude to the love charms which could be procured at the hands of different magicians. ovid, who has so poetically described the delicate mysteries of the art of love, laughs, it is true, at these incentives. "had magicians," says he, "the power of inflaming lovers' hearts, would circe have allowed ulysses to abandon her?" horace accuses canidia of killing children for the purpose of composing love-potions; ignorant, apparently, that animal substances were inadmissible in their composition. vervain and rue, with a few other mystic plants, gathered by the light of the moon, formed their chief ingredients. according to some, a sovereign charm consists of _enula campana_, or st. john's wort, plucked on the eve of that saint, before sunrise, ambergris, and other substances, of which the virtue would be forfeited unless superscribed with the word "scheva." one of the most ingenious authors of antiquity, apuleius, has given, in his work of the golden ass, a recipe for a love-charm composed of different fishes; the claws of crayfish, crabs, and oyster shells. he was accused of having tried its influence in obtaining the affections of his wife to induce her to make a will in his favour. this recipe is the only one of the kind not limited to the vegetable kingdom. pudentilla, a rich dowager, who had been a widow for fifteen years, chose for her future husband, the young, handsome, and clever apuleius, who, according to the account of the "golden ass," pleaded his cause as follows before the tribunal. "i am accused," said he, "of sorcery, because pudentilla espoused me after fifteen years of widowhood. but would it not be better to inquire why she consented to remain a widow so long? in support of the accusation of magic, you say that i instructed fishermen to bring me fish for unlawful purposes. ought i to have employed a lawyer, a blacksmith, or a bird-catcher? i am accused of collecting vermiculated oysters, striped cockle-shells, and sea crayfish. but when aristotle, democritus, theophrastus, and other naturalists made collections of natural history, did you infer that it was for the confection of love-charms? a child accidentally fell down, in my presence, on my return home, and i am accused of sorcery! for the future, then, i presume i shall be bound to hold in leading strings all the children that approach me; and to prevent all little girls from stumbling, i must pick up the stones in the street, and do away with the threshold of my door, lest any one make a false step in entering my house. pudentilla, it seems, informed her neighbours that i was a magician. she might have seen fit to call me a consul; but would that have elevated me to the consular dignity?" having pleaded his own cause in this vein of pleasantry, the judges acquitted apuleius, seeing clearly that so amiable and graceful a man needed no love-charm for the conquest of the old widow. in those times, sovereigns as well as subjects were in the habit of purchasing love-charms! according to suetonius, cesonia administered a potion to her husband, caligula, which increased both his madness and his cruelty. the death of the poet lucretius was caused by a similar potion administered by his mistress, lucilia. eusebius mentions a governor of egypt, who died from the same cause, and there are innumerable instances of these potent decoctions producing insanity, as well as fatal enfeeblement of body. ovid furnishes the true recipe for love: "ut ameris, amabilis esto!" "to be loved, be amiable!" but such a charm being out of the reach of many, it seems easier to purchase cosmetics at the perfumers, which are about as effective in the creation of the tender passion as the magic potions of darker ages. a pretension to youthful habits and appearance at an advanced period of life, is perhaps one of the most effectual methods of becoming distasteful and ridiculous. still, however, a suitable attention to the care and variations of the toilet, proves a great enhancement to beauty in its civilized state; nor can there be a more vulgar error than the dictum of the poet, proclaiming: "beauty unadorned, adorned the most." in the female bosom, the love of dress is an instinctive passion. look at two children of the same age, a girl and a boy; the one will be seen to delight in feats of strength and agility; the other, as if in evidence of the desire of pleasing instinctive in the opposite sex, is sure to prefer a doll, a ribbon, or a pretty frock, in place of the drum or gun chosen by the boy. both have intuitively adopted their different vocations. both are ambitious to conquer by means suitable to their several sexes. what prodigies of art have been effected in france in consequence of the love of dress generated in the fair sex by a desire to please; from the period when the fair gauls attired themselves in a sheep-skin fastened at the throat with a thorn; but were not the less coquettish for this enforced simplicity. at that period, their notions of coquetry consisted in having fanciful designs tattooed upon their persons; and instead of pearls and diamonds, by way of adornment, cockle-shells were suspended from their ears. their sole cosmetic consisted in unguents, which we now abhor as characteristic of the hottentots. can the present inhabitants of paris be really descended from these savages? at that time all the elegance and refinement of dress, arising from the desire to please, were concentrated in rome; nor have modern times raised the fair parisians to a similar state of refinement. juvenal relates that it was thought indecent by the roman ladies to spit or make use of a handkerchief in public; and at athens, the fair sex never presumed to leave their chambers when suffering from a cold. what would they have thought of the disgusting habits of the parisian belles, who contaminate their handkerchiefs by taking snuff, and yet ornament them with embroideries!--but the ladies of the antique world scrupulously avoided all that could provoke disgust--an essential preliminary in the art of pleasing. in the early age of the republic, the most refined cleanliness distinguished the habits of the fair romans. under the cæsars, and after the conquest of the east, a taste for luxury, perfumes, and futilities of all kinds was first indulged; while the sumptuous prodigality of the table surpassed all precedent. the science of cosmetics then attained perfection; and there appeared no limit to their coquetry. pliny states that the roman ladies, in order to make their skin white, made use of a juice expressed from the seeds of the wild grape;--while minium, white lead and chalk, filled up their wrinkles, and effaced unseemly spots. "tabula," said martial, "is afraid of the rain; and sabilla of the sun; the one alarmed for the solution of her complexion, the other lest the heat should evaporate the roses of her cheeks." ovid has transmitted to us a recipe for a paste to secure whiteness of skin, consisting of barley flour and lentils, eggs, hartshorn, narcissus bulbs, gum, and honey. poppæa invented a paste, which was moulded like a mask upon the face, to be worn in the house. this mask was called at rome the husband's face, because it was only taken off for the suitor. when poppæa travelled, she was followed by a troop of donkeys, whose milk she used for her toilet; and in the baths of the roman palaces, the most unlimited luxury prevailed. the ladies were served by numerous slaves, each having particular attributions. one superintended the hair; another the eye-brows; another the hands, which were dyed with pink; another, the face; while the rest were devoted to the care of the wardrobe and jewels. these customs, handed down both by historians and poets, had solely for their object the desire to please; among women, the most ungovernable of all desires, and exceeding even the love of command. to please, however, is a preliminary to authority. in modern times, the cosmetic art has become a branch of the sciences, and forms a considerable source of industry and revenue. the walls of our towns are covered with announcements of miraculous discoveries, pastes and capillary oils, odoriferous waters,--all and each being efficacious and infallible. red hair may be transformed into beautiful black tresses;--baldness may be made to give place to flowing locks; and all these oils, pastes, and masks, which periodically change their name, are in fact the same villanous cosmetics which never yet restored elasticity to a withered skin, converted black to white, or bestowed curls upon a bald pate. art is great, but time far greater; nor are the ravages of years to be concealed. in divers of these preparations of lead, bismuth and tin, the sulphurated and phosphoric properties produce the most injurious effects. in others, the calcareous and aluminous substances obstruct the pores of the skin, and by hardening it, annihilate its elasticity. minium, coral, and vegetable powders, are not less pernicious; their corroding action augmenting, instead of diminishing the ailments of the teeth and gums. these salutary observations were made long before our time; and it has been as often observed that for the preservation of the complexion, innocuous substances should be employed such as milk, honey, cucumber, or melon-juice, mallow-water, and above all, that best of cosmetics, fresh water, which is within the reach of all, and wants no alluring aid of chinese engravings on gilded bottles to recommend its miraculous properties. the increased use of baths has fortunately rendered this cosmetic a matter of universal adoption; and nothing is more likely to confer softness of skin. anne of austria, the mother of louis xiv., had so fine a skin, that no linen could be found sufficiently delicate for her use, which caused cardinal mazarin to observe that in another world, her eternal punishment would consist in sleeping in coarse sheets. all the cold cream in the world would not have effected a change in the susceptible epidermis of anne of austria; and we repeat that cosmetics are both useless and dangerous. not even the consummate art of jezebel availed to repair the irretrievable ravages of time. young girls of redundant health have been known to swallow acids to counteract corpulency; after succeeding in which, they die prematurely of pulmonary affections. an equally fatal result of the desire to please is produced by over-lacing. ladies desirous to conceal their obesity had far better rely upon a well-chosen dress than upon this injurious expedient. on the other hand, a tight shoe only exhibits more prominently a foot of large dimensions. nothing is more erroneous than the proverb, "that people must suffer in order to look well." to be graceful, the movements of the body should be unrestrained. we have already pointed out the distinction between the art of pleasing, and the desire of pleasing. the desire is common to all, the art limited to a few; and they who charm most are those who please naturally and without effort. chapter xxiii. the philosopher's stone. how was the world ever brought to believe that students, in rags, possessed the power of producing gold, when the misery of their personal condition was so apparent? how could individuals, in the enjoyment of competence, ever be tempted to own themselves in the pursuit of chimerical opulence? how could an enlightened century give birth to so monstrous a delusion? the alchemists, though not comprised among sorcerers, and requiring a separate notice, rivalled them in the pretence to magic; for their volumes abound in recipes for raising the dead, universal elixirs, the regeneration of old people, the transformation of the ugly into the beautiful, and even the creation of men and animals, without other aid than that of a few cinders and herbs! such miracles, however, were insignificant compared with the science of producing gold; which, according to some was known to job. the philosopher's stone is said, by certain legends, to have been the origin of his fortune; and his poverty to have been occasioned by its loss. these alchemists do not explain how he came to forfeit the scientific powers which had originally produced the stone; such details being beneath the notice of the grand science. the philosopher's stone was, on the contrary, a creation of the fourteenth century, and much accredited among the scientific men of that day. raymond lully, nicholas flamel, arnaud de villeneuve, paracelsus, and several others, were initiated into the secret. nicholas flamel was a celebrated alchemist, and having acquired an immense fortune, it was attributed to the philosopher's stone, which of course stimulated the cupidity of the proselytes of alchemy. eager was their pursuit of a study which was to endow them with boundless wealth; and these lunatics found coadjutors in persons of weak and credulous mind, while wiser men diverted themselves by sustaining their hopes, and affecting conviction of their success. such was van helmont, who published his belief in the existence of the philosopher's stone, protesting that he had seen it, and tasted it; that with a grain, he had produced several marks of pure gold. the ardour with which conjectural sciences are adopted, proves a serious injury to positive science. many learned men asserted the possibility of the transmutation of metals; among others, the famous pica of mirandola. alchemists, however, were not unanimous concerning the principles of the art. some placed its origin in heaven, and looked upon the rays of the sun as its primitive source; the quintessence of which was called, in their gibberish, the powder of projection. others maintained that its elements existed throughout every department of nature, constituting the active principle of the universe. some ascribed the principle to the metals themselves. mercury presented itself to them as the agent for producing silver, according to the properties we have already described with reference to miraculous showers. according to them, mercury had only to be condensed, its mobility fixed, and its different parts coagulated, to create silver. but by far the greater number indulged in still wider speculations. most of those who attempted the pursuit were brought to want and wretchedness; and one of them observed, in his last moments, that he could not imagine a bitterer curse to bequeath than the love of alchemy! all, however, were not martyrs to the art. many of its advocates perambulated the world, finding dupes in princes, kings and emperors, who paid dearly for their imaginary discoveries. these mountebanks were the only real possessors of the philosopher's stone. after the treaty of westphalia, in 1648, the emperor ferdinand was convinced that he had converted half a pound of mercury into gold by means of a philosophical tincture; and in commemoration of the event, had a medal struck, bearing the effigy of a youth with a face like a sun, shooting forth rays. on the reverse was inscribed, "glory to god for deigning to impart to his humble creatures a portion of his infinite power." the mountebank to whom this transmutation was attributed, by name richthausen, was created a baron; and repeated his experiments before the elector of mayence and many other sovereigns. his name was long celebrated in germany; but his end is unknown. it is well known that cardinal de richelieu witnessed several experiments in pursuit of the philosopher's stone, generously rewarding the operator. this may have been an expedient of his eminence in order to secure the services of these adroit individuals; who, admitted into the bosom of illustrious families, became a source of useful information. voltaire relates that he saw one, damusi, marquis of conventiglio, handsomely remunerated by certain rich noblemen, after producing, in their presence, two or three crowns of gold. no one has written more to the purpose on the subject of alchemists, than fontenelle. "nothing but the blindness induced by avidity," says he, "could induce the belief that a man, possessing the power of making gold, must receive gold from another, before he can exhibit his art. how can such a person stand in need of money? nevertheless, these mountebanks, by their fanatical conduct, mysterious language, and exorbitant promises, far from rendering themselves objects of suspicion, acquire the utmost influence. without deciding upon the impractibility of making gold, experience teaches us that the extreme difficulty of the operation must render it unavailable in practice, if not in theory. but supposing that by the means of a sulphur of gold, completely separated from other principles, the point were gained by applying it to silver, so as to produce a mass of gold of the same weight and volume, what would be the result beyond a curious experiment effected at an enormous cost?" in this appreciation of alchemy, fontenelle expresses himself with the scrupulousness worthy the philosopher who said that he would not have opened his hand had it been full of truth. in this instance he opens it partially, admitting an experimental possibility which he knew did not exist. not only kings and emperors, but even the populace, delighting in the marvellous, believed in the existence of the philosopher's stone; choosing to attribute several sudden accumulations of wealth to this mysterious source. raymond lullé had become rich by farming the duty imposed by edward iii. upon the exportation of wool from england to flanders. arnaud de villeneuve, an eminent physician and chemist, effected cures by specifics only known to himself, which were highly requited. nicholas flamel enriched himself by seizing the ledgers of the jews when expelled from france; their creditors preferring a settlement with him, to paying their liabilities into the exchequer; in return for which, he effaced their names from the registers. these mountebanks are now known to have made use of a hollow cane, the extremity being plugged with wax, by introducing which into the crucible, on pretext of stirring up the different matters, as the wax melted the gold fell out, and the miracle appeared to be accomplished. others had their crucibles lined with a substance which yielded to the action of the fire, when the gold concealed behind it appeared. these clumsy tricks of legerdemain succeeded for several centuries; but credulity flits round error, as the moth is attracted by the flame of the taper, and is at length annihilated. in the beginning of the last century, a well-known princess was the victim of an absurd fraud. being famed for her humanity, a wounded soldier knocked at the door of her palace, and solicited hospitality. having been nobly received, on recovering from his wounds, he desired to offer some acknowledgment of gratitude previous to his departure. this man pretended to be possessed of three reeds, which, being placed in a crucible, converted mercury into gold. these reeds he pretended to have discovered in a ruined abbey in wurzbourg; a fact which he disinterestedly communicated to the princess; who, in return, loaded him with marks of munificence. when, however, her highness proceeded to apprize the bishop of wurzbourg of the treasure concealed in his diocese, no such abbey as the one described by the crafty soldier was found to be in existence. this kind of philosophers' stone is not a new invention, and there is little chance of the secret being lost. there are still many persons engaged in the decomposition and transmutation of metals;--viz: the coiners of base money. even the academy of sciences of paris has still one member devoted to the miracles of the crucible--baron cagnard de la tour; who has made many wonderful experiments on the nature and reproduction of diamonds. chapter xxiv. giants and dwarfs. "have dwarfs and giants ever really existed?" "only so long as no traveller penetrated the countries they were supposed to inhabit," would be the reasonable reply. for since the globe has been explored in all directions, and tourists are compelled to be more measured in their narratives, travellers' wonders are greatly diminished. a belief in the existence of nations of giants and dwarfs was, however, long entertained; one of the many errors bequeathed to us by antiquity, and adopted by modern credulity. the ancients had their titans and cyclops; of whom polyphemus, the most towering, was three hundred feet high; while we moderns, more moderate, allow only ten feet to the patagonian. from the period the magellan regions became better known, their proportions were still further reduced; and we now allow only an average of seven feet. credulity, distance, and the love of the marvellous, tend greatly to the exaggeration of such allotments. the bible, like mythology, has its giants; but in most cases, they are exceptional; and it is undeniable that nature often digresses, and produces individuals differing in stature from the ordinary standard of mankind. most people have heard of bébé, the famous dwarf of the king of poland, who came to paris in the early part of the consulate; and of friand, the giant, whose height exceeded seven feet two inches. but these two were exceptions, not the types of a race. excepting the greenlanders, laplanders, and samoyedes, there is little variation of stature among the different populations of the globe, certainly not more than a tenth. as regards the inhabitants of the arctic regions, we must bear in mind that their stunted proportions are in harmony with the rigid, and unkindly nature of their climates; in proof of which may be cited the similarity of climate between lapland and certain vallies of the frozen regions of switzerland. a similar influence is manifest in the inhabitants of the two localities; the peasants of the valais, afflicted with the goitre, having more analogy with the laplanders than with the fine population of switzerland. there are few phenomenal races, though many individuals; just as the monstrous fruits grown for horticultural prizes cannot be regarded as fair samples of a species. it would be as rational to cite, by way of example, the fabulous creations of rabelais and swift, the giant gargantua, and the nation of lilliputians. polyphemus and his cyclops are real, as they exist in the pages of homer and virgil; but ideal the moment flasellus asserts that the remains of polyphemus were found in sicily, near mount eripana, of which he gives the following account. "the giant was seated with his left hand resting on the mast of a ship terminated like a club, and carrying fifteen hundred weight of lead. it crumbled into dust upon being touched, except part of his skull; which would have contained several bushels of corn. three teeth of which the least weighed one hundred ounces, and a thigh bone, one hundred and twenty feet long, were still perfect." between homer, and virgil, and thomas flasellus there is all the difference of ingenious fiction and the grossest imposture produceable in prose. in former days, the head of adam was believed to have out-topped the atmosphere, and that he touched the arctic pole with one hand, and the antarctic with the other; one of the hyperbolical exaggerations of the rabbinical scriptures. after adam, the rabbins rank og, the king of basan, to whom holy writ assigns thirteen or fourteen feet, while the rabbinical writings declare that the stature of og was such that the waters of the deluge only came up to his knee. in the war against the israelites, he hurled a mountain against the enemy; but as he held it above his head, god decreed that the ants should excavate it, so that it fell about his neck like a collar. moses, who was six ells high, profiting by the circumstance, grasped a formidable axe, and making a spring of his own height, could only strike the giant on the instep. the king, however, fell, and encumbered by the mountain, was put to death. polyphemus, and all other giants might have danced upon the palm of king og; and the thigh of the cyclops would scarcely have furnished him a toothpick. the jewish rabbins affirm that the thigh bone of og, the king of basan, was about twelve leagues long. they do not, however, give the precise measure. pomponius mela, the most incredible of the authors of antiquity, states that certain of the indian tribes were of such exceeding stature, that they mounted their elephants as we do our horses. father rhetel, a capuchin friar, saw at thessalonica the bones of a giant ninety-six feet long; the skull of which could contain twenty-four bushels of corn. herodotus states that the shoe of perseus measured three feet. the wise plutarch, himself adopted the history of the giant antæus, related by that illustrious liar gabirius. according to some historians, king tentradus was twenty-five feet high; goliath was nine feet four inches; the emperor maximin was more than eight; and the elector of brandenbourg, joachim, had at his court a man named michael, who was about eight feet high. the height of goliath, maximin and michael were mere instances of the caprices of nature. the early legends of stupendous giants arose from the fact, that the fossil remains of antediluvial animals were originally ascribed to the human race; whereas, geologists have never found, either in calcareous or granitical formations, any bones of the human species which could have preceded the deluge. having dismissed the giants, let us consider the dwarfs, concerning whom our conclusions are the same:--that they are exceptions to the general rule. nay, the impossibility of establishing a race has been proved by a german princess, who having married and settled several couples of dwarfs, failed in securing a diminutive progeny. the existence of pygmies is the sole question concerning the dwarfish species requiring attention; but though so long credited by the ancients, it is now looked upon as fabulous. aristotle, the evangelist of science, affirms that pygmies were not fabulous; and placed them near the source of the nile, in a country created purposely for them, in which the nature of every thing was proportionate. some authors have pronounced the pygmies to have been twenty-eight inches high; but juvenal only allows them a foot. these ideal dwarfs must have been about the size of the young american, popularly known under the name of general tom thumb. the pygmies are said to have been courageous and enterprising; dexterous with the bow, and, according to pliny, hewed down with an axe the corn, which to them was in about the proportions of the oaks of dodona. the most valorous exploit attempted by the pygmies was the siege of hercules. pliny relates, that one day the son of alcmena having fallen asleep in the country of the pygmies, their king assembling his troops, led a division against his right arm, surrounded his left, then at the head of his troops charged the head, leaving the remainder of the army to capture the feet. on awaking, hercules spread out his cloak, and made the whole army of pygmies prisoners. this is a pretty fable, and may have originated the lilliputians of the dean of st. patrick's. but we have no hesitation in affirming, that though the words giants and pygmies may serve as terms of comparison, they have no prototypes among the nations of the earth. chapter xxv. astrology. among the most popular delusions of mankind, in earlier ages, were the deductions drawn from the stars, under the name of astrology; a science so long sustained by men of superior intellect, as to justify the credulity of the ignorant. hippocrates consulted the moon before he administered medicine to his patients. horace, virgil, richelieu, mazarin, believed in judicial astrology. some attributed the honour of this discovery to abraham, others to zoroaster; while the greeks claim it for one of the seven sages of greeks, chilo of lacedemonia, who professed to have discovered in the heavens the germ and principle of our various temperaments. the romans adopted these astrological superstitions; and since that period, both the study of the moon and stars, with the view to prognostication, has proved a profitable pursuit. petronius and the poet manilius assured their contemporaries that a child born under aquarius, could not fail to prefer fountains and cascades. but they forgot that aquarius was known long before the invention of fountains. astrology was then in its infancy, but like a youth improved by his travels, it acquired strength and consistency among the arabs. long before the arabs, however, the great hermes had asserted: "as men have seven apertures in the head, and there exist seven planets, it must be inferred that every planet presides over one of these apertures in the human head." the following is the manner in which hermes disposed of them. he made jupiter and saturn preside over the ears; mars and venus the nostrils; the sun and moon represented the eyes; and mercury had the care of the mouth. new planets, however, have since been discovered; and in all conscience, the disciples of hermes ought to have made proportionate holes in the head in support of his doctrines. proceeding from the physical to the moral world, they established seven presidencies; venus over love, mercury over eloquence, saturn over grief, the sun over glory, and the moon over domestic economy. after this ingenious arrangement, they assigned to every colour its peculiar star. blue belonged to jupiter, yellow to the sun, green to venus, red to mars, probably from his sanguinary influence, white to the moon, black to saturn, while mercury presided over the different shadings of all the colours. after the theory ensued the application, which was nearly as follows: "place a child in the centre of a circle, upon the circumference of which the stars are disposed as at the moment of his conception, or birth. their influences concentrate upon him, and confer on him a fixed and unalterable destiny. he will be virtuous or vicious, prosperous, or unfortunate in this world, according to the configuration of the planets." according to the moral character of the stars, the sun is benevolent and auspicious; saturn, dull, morose, and cold; the moon moist and melancholy; jupiter, temperate, and his influences kindly; mars, dry and fervent; venus prolific and affable; mercury, inconstant and variable. astrologers assigned twelve houses to the zodiac, appropriated to the different planets. the first was consecrated to life and the body; from whence emanates the white, black, and copper coloured races, giants, dwarfs, albinos, idiots, and men of genius. the second house is devoted to the interests of society in general; and in the third house, family affairs between relatives of different degrees, excepting testamentary dispositions, to which they devoted a fourth house. to pass from grave to gay, enter the fifth house, where all is mirth, pleasure, and infantine pastimes. lackies and sempstresses occupy the sixth house, but they have but little repose if the wall between it and the next house be not tolerably thick; being inhabited by beautiful women, envy, hatred, and malice. the eighth house of the zodiac is the cemetery; the ninth, the head-quarters of voyages, missions, and processions; whilst the tenth is the resort of the highest society, the nobility and dignitaries of state. the eleventh house is destined for the prosperous, who pass their lives in the delights of wit and friendship. the twelfth differs from the preceding, being devoted to the groans of the wretched in their dungeons, and the haunt of treason and shame. in building these zodiacal houses, the representative form of certain governments had not been anticipated, or a better balance of power might have been effected. such were the chimeras of antiquity, as handed down to modern times. plutarch relied so much on the efficacy of the stars, that he prevented the lacedemonians from going into battle before the full moon; and cæsar and pompey frequently consulted the astrologers. the emperor augustus, born under the sign capricorn, had a medal struck in honour of his natal star. caracalla had the horoscope drawn of all those he employed; while his policy, favour, and misgivings were uniformly decided by the stars. when the horoscope of any influential person augured ill, caracalla had him put to death;--a fine triumph for astrology! phrenology has now usurped the throne of astrology; and were sovereigns or judges to form their judgments after the theory of dr. gall, they would save themselves a world of trouble. the reign of catherine de medicis was the triumph of astrology in france. not a high-born dame but had her _baron_, a name assigned to the family astrologer, who was as much a matter of course as, in other times, a family confessor. the astrological rage subsided during the reign of louis xiv; but disappeared only under the regency. voltaire, writes in 1757, when he was sixty, that in his youth, the last adepts of astrology, count boulainvilliers and the italian calonna, foretold his end at thirty years of age. voltaire remarks, "i have done them by thirty years!"--to which the sequel added upwards of twenty more. when the europeans first penetrated the vast regions of asia, astrology was found to be much in vogue in persia and china. in the latter country, the emperor, on his accession, has his horoscope drawn. the japanese consult the stars previous to undertaking any enterprise. if they succeed, they thank their stars; if they fail, they resign themselves to their irresistible influence. astrology had its hero, a cato or vatel, in the astrologer cardan; who, having predicted his death to the day and the hour, and failed in his calculations, killed himself for the credit of science! a more judicious prediction was that of the astrologer to louis xi.; his master, who having inquired of him the hour of his own death: "two after that of your majesty!" replied he; and the oracle became a safeguard over his days. human pride often stimulates the influence of superstition. napoleon once pointed out his star to cardinal fesch, who could not make it out. "it is lost upon you," said the emperor, "but i see it plainly enough!" napoleon affected reliance upon an influence which was known to be auspicious to his fortunes. had the cardinal, in return, pretended to similar distinction, he would probably have answered as jean jacques rousseau did to a shopkeeper, who complained of his stars. "how, sir, do such people as you pretend to have stars?" were astrologers in general, like cardan, content to exercise their art upon themselves, we should not oppose their proceedings. but their predictions have been known to produce a panic throughout an entire population. for instance, a german mathematician, named stoffler, whose audacity was only equalled by the credulity of his proselytes, predicted, towards the end of the fifteenth century, another deluge for the month of february, 1524. "how was it possible," he argued, "to escape from the calamity, when at that particular period mars and pisces, saturn and jupiter were to be in conjunction." upon the eve of this awful event, in various countries of europe, carpenters could scarcely be found in sufficient numbers to build the arks in preparation. not a drop of rain, however, fell during the dreaded month of february, and stoffler became an object of general ridicule. far, however, from feeling himself defeated or acknowledging his error, he professed to have made a mistake in the date; and predicted the end of the world for 1588. these predictions, alarming only to women and children, have been frequently renewed by others. about the middle of the same century, the jews were one day seen waiting at their windows, expecting the arrival of their messiah; an israelite, named avenar, having announced his coming. cardan predicted a long and glorious reign to edward vi, king of england; who nevertheless died in his sixteenth year! chapter xxvi. the moon and lunar influence. from the stars in general to the moon in particular, there is but a step; nor will we separate the midnight luminary from the company in which we usually find her. lovers and poets have from time immemorial found solace in her beams; while the early philosophers pretended that she swallowed stones in the manner of the mountebanks, in order to cast them down upon us in the form of aërolites. this conclusion is as absurd as a thousand others, of which the moon has been the object. the ingenuousness of the old lady, who on hearing continually of new moons, inquired anxiously what became of the old ones, is scarcely more surprising than the complex mass of commentaries and hypotheses which regard the influence of the orb of night. in former centuries, it was the custom to attribute the decay of public monuments to the influence of the moon upon the surface of granite and stone. naturalists, however, having watched the work of animalculæ among oysters, madrepores and corals, attributed this to the true cause. in the year 1666, a physician of caen remarked upon a stone wall of southern aspect forming part of the abbey of the benedictines, a number of cavities, into the deep sinuosities of which the hand could be inserted. instead of attributing this to the moon, he ascertained that they were worked by insects whom he found concealed in the cavities. experiment opens the safest road to truth; while absurd theories transmitted from generation to generation, obstruct the steps of a temple already sufficiently difficult of ascent. thomas moult, the author of an almanack superior to the general run of those popular publications, devoted himself to conjectures on the variations of the weather as influenced by the moon; and consulted the observations previously made by the abbé toaldo, who had noted down the effect of eleven hundred and six moons upon the weather. he found that nine hundred and fifty were accompanied by changes of weather; while the other one hundred and fifty six, produced no effect. the proportion being as one to six, the chances are that a new moon will produce a change of weather; the influence being susceptible of increase from various circumstances, in the proportion of thirty-three to one, when the new moon is at its perigæum. physicians formerly believed the phases of the moon to influence certain diseases. hippocrates and galen assigned them as the cause of periodical returns of epilepsy; while people of deranged intellect are vulgarly styled lunatics. bertholon observed the paroxysms of a maniac during one year, and declared them to be aggravated by the full moon. it has been asserted that among maritime populations, a greater number of deaths occurred at the ebb than at the flow of the tide. at brest, rochefort and st. malo, a register was kept for thirty months of the number of deaths, and the hours at which they took place; when the number was found to be less at the hours supposed most fatal. the doctrine of aristotle, which had still many adherents, was overthrown by experience. dr. mead, an english physician, wrote a treatise on the influence of the moon upon the human constitution, which has also fallen into oblivion. chapter xxvii. apparitions. the following anecdote is contained in one of the letters of pliny, the younger, which we select from many which figure in the annals of antiquity as a type reproduced in various forms, with a change of scenery, by an infinite number of chroniclers. "there was at athens a spacious and convenient house, which was abandoned because in the dead of night its inhabitants were invariably disturbed by a clash of iron, and rattling of chains, which appeared to approach gradually, and afterwards grow fainter and fainter. a spectre at length appeared, in the shape of an old man with a venerable beard, and his hair standing on end, with chains on his feet and hands, which he shook furiously; so that those who had courage to take shelter in the house passed fearful and sleepless nights. this privation of rest produced illness, which increasing by constant panic, death often ensued. "the philosopher athenodorus having arrived at athens, and heard the story of the deserted house, hired it, and took up his residence. "when evening set in, he had his bed put up in the front apartment; and his tablets, lights, and writing implements placed on the table; after which, his attendants retired to the rear of the house. lest his imagination should conjure up phantoms, he concentrated his whole attention in writing. "at the beginning of the night, a deep silence prevailed. but at a later hour, he heard the ring of chains, but continued to write on disbelieving the evidence of his ears. "the noise becoming louder, seemed to approach his chamber door; and on looking up, he beheld the spectre we have described; which seemed to beckon him with its finger. athenodorus made sign to his visitor to wait, and continued his writing. the spectre shook its chains anew in the ears of the philosopher; who, perceiving it to be still beckoning, rose, took up the light, and followed it. the phantom walked as if sinking under the weight of its chains; and on reaching the court-yard vanished, leaving athenodorus picking up herbs and leaves to mark the place of its disappearance. "on the following day, he sought the magistrates of the city, and begged to have the scene of the adventure examined. on due investigation, a human skeleton, entangled in chains, was found interred on the ominous spot. the bones were carefully collected, and publicly buried; and after receiving the sacred rites of the dead, the spectre never again troubled the repose of the house." pliny does not relate this story as deserving of credence; but offered it to his contemporaries as an ingenious lesson upon the influence of the imagination, serving to inculcate the respect due from the living towards the dead. honours have been offered to the mortal remains of illustrious men in all times and countries; and a reverence towards the grave may be accepted as an indication of civilization. plato affirmed that he saw the souls of the departed flitting about like shadows; a prejudice we forgive the more readily in the man who first revealed the existence of the soul, of which, in the name of socrates, he consecrated the immortality. pausanias relates that whole armies reappeared after death with their arms and baggage. "four hundred years after the battle of marathon," says he, "the neighing of horses and cries of soldiers were heard upon the scene of action." the object of pausanias was to hold up to the athenians the example of their illustrious ancestors by immortalizing the heroic combatants of that memorable battle. but he no more heard the neighing of horses on the spot, than napoleon beheld forty centuries surveying his army from the apex of the pyramids, as figurately described in his sublime address to his troops. unmindful of the moral sense of things, and prone to judge the recitals of antiquity according to the standard of our own ideas, regardless of the changes of time, in our efforts to rectify the errors of our predecessors, we fall into new ones. due allowance ought to be made for time and place in perusing such recitals as the following: "st. spiridion, bishop of trimitonte, in egypt, had a daughter, named irene, who died a virgin. after her decease, an individual presented himself and claimed a deposit which had been in her custody, unknown to her father, which was vainly sought for by st. spiridion. proceeding, however, to his daughter's tomb, he called aloud her name, and demanded what she had done with the object confided to her? 'you will find it buried in such a spot!' replied a voice from the tomb; and proceeding to the place pointed out, the treasure was found." st. martin of tours, disgusted by the reverence paid in his neighbourhood to a pretended saint, proceeded to his tomb, and enjoined him to arise. the dead man issued from his grave, confessed that he was a robber justly punished for his crimes, and condemned to eternal punishment. to appreciate these two miracles, we must revert to the times of those two saints, that is, to the reign of superstition; in which the priesthood officiated with magisterial power, keeping in check, by their moral influence, the licentiousness of manners, and the perpetration of crime. of these bishops, the one saw fit to defend the reputation of his daughter, and inculcate the sacred nature of a trust; while the other chose to exhibit the untenability of an assumed reputation. in both instances, this was probably accomplished by means to which the priesthoods of all countries have not disdained to resort; finding them far more effectual with an unenlightened populace than abstract argument. a somewhat similar instance is related by martinus polonius, platinus, and pierre damien, of pope benedict ix. this pontiff, they assure us, not only rose again from the grave; but in the form of a wild beast, having the head of an ass, the body of a bear, and the tail of a cat. as he wandered in the forest, a holy hermit met and conversed with him. the truth is that the three authors of this story were guelphs, and chose to convert the ghibeline pontiff into a monster, by a pretended apparition. so is it ever with party-writers, who do not disdain to have recourse to the most absurd and disgraceful means in order to discredit their opponents. as regards the vulgar family of ghosts, there can be little doubt that such persons as really believe themselves to have been exposed to spectral visitation, were affected either by some optical delusion, similar to that of the "fata morgana" on the coast of sicily, or the "mirage" of the desart; in most cases, produced by the fatigue of over-study, and infirmity of digestion. such effects are, also, easily produced by the interposition of malicious or jocose persons, in the way of phantasmagoria. a celebrated instance of this kind is on record. the wife of the provost of orleans dying in that city, limited by her will to the sum of six golden crowns the expenses of her funeral; which was to take place at the convent of the cordeliers. her heirs conformed strictly to her injunctions; thereby greatly incensing the friars, who determined to be revenged. the superior of the convent caused a young monk to be secreted in the vaults, and instructed him to cry aloud, and utter strange shrieks during the performance of matins, and if invoked, to give no other answer than by knocking thrice. the youth faithfully executed his charge; and, at the moment agreed upon, made a hideous noise; so that the affrighted monks suspended the sacred office. the officiating priest adjured the disturbed spirit to tell them what was the matter; when three solemn knocks formed the only answer, which was repeated three days consecutively. the phenomenon was soon bruited abroad by the monks; and on the days of holy office, the noise was louder than usual; till the faithful deserted the church in consternation. at length, they had recourse to exorcism; and when the exorciser conjured the phantom, demanding to know whose was the soul in torment, and naming in succession the various persons buried in the church, no answer was returned till they came to the name of the offending lady, when three loud knocks were distinctly audible. the spirit was next interrogated whether she were not condemned to eternal punishment for having secretly embraced the doctrines of luther; and three, knocks instantly confirmed the charge. she was next asked whether it would not assuage her torments if her body were carried out of the catholic church to be more appropriately interred; and three knocks again replied in the affirmative. the chapter being convoked, decided upon giving up the lady to her husband, as being convicted of lutheranism. but the provost, instead of giving credence to the opposition, submitted the case to the tribunals of paris, obtaining a special commission from the chancellor duprat for the purpose. the result was the confession of the secreted friar; whereupon the superior of the cordeliers and his confederate were condemned to fine and imprisonment. such delusions have been frequent from the time the preaching friars of bordeaux took occasion to relieve souls of purgatory in proportion to the offerings placed before them, to that of the convulsionaries, who, at the commencement of the last century, exhibited their freaks on the site of the cemetery of st. médard. the most diverting piece of imposition is that related by erasmus of a priest, who, finding the fervour of his flock relax to the evident diminution of his revenues, let loose one night in his burying-ground a quantity of cray-fish, each having a lighted taper attached to it. the parishioners instantly repaired to their pastor, who affirmed that these wandering lights were souls from purgatory in search of masses; a considerably supply of which was ordered on the spot. owing, however, to the carelessness of the priest, a cray-fish, with a piece of taper adhering to it, was picked up the following day in the church-yard. let those who are disposed to yield credit to ghost stories, visit but once a good exhibition of ombres chinoises, or fantasmagoria, or the display of some able ventriloquist; and they will perceive that a good ghost story is as easy of manufacture as a hat or a pair of gloves. chapter xxviii. nobility and trade. the subject before us is too closely connected with the prejudices of mankind not to call for consideration. the question is delicate, but we hazard the argument, though at the risk of giving offence. the honours conceded to men of pre-eminent merit, who have rendered service to their country, or to humanity in general, excite no dissatisfaction;--the reaction begins with the second generation. hereditary nobility is a time-honoured prejudice. the founder of an illustrious race is entitled to the respect of his contemporaries; but his descendants become esteemed in proportion to the value attached to their name. unless they have conferred on it additional lustre, the inherited rank exacts little consideration. conquest was the origin of the most ancient nobility, as well as the foundation of royalty. in france, from clovis to philip le bel, there were no other races of nobility; but after the reign of the latter, the kings of france exercised the right of ennoblement. from a right, nobility in france became a concession. it is clear, therefore, that the power of ennoblement, from the time of philip le bel, extinguished the illusions concerning nobility which had previously prevailed. the facile formation of nobility, the metamorphosis of the serf of yesterday into the baron of the morrow, undeceived the multitude as to the right divine they had hitherto attributed to the nobles; and deteriorated the consequence of the order. from that epoch, illustrious names started forth from the middle classes to figure at the courts of sovereigns; and in each succeeding reign, we find names issuing from obscurity to cast a halo over the pages of history. many such still figure there; and some have added fresh lustre to the names bequeathed them by their ancestors. a king of france one day ennobled all the burghers of paris; who refused the honour, conscious that, all being noble, nobility must cease to exist. the homage we pay to a great historical name is a justifiable feeling. among the ancient privileges of such nobility, one of the finest was that of defending the country against foreign invasion. previous to the use of artillery, our armies were chiefly composed of cavalry. the infantry became important under francis i. at the battle of marignan; after which, this privilege became of less account. till then, the defence of the country was entrusted to its nobility. at the first declaration of war, the king convoked the chief vassals of the crown; who, in their turn, assembled their barons and counts, according to the order of the feudal system,--their vassals, and their vassals' vassals; all marching under the banners of their chiefs. many were reduced to ruin by such expeditions. montesquieu asserts that fear is the soul of a despotic government, honour of a monarchical, and virtue of a republican. were he now alive, he would perhaps assign money as the pivot of the representative system. how do things proceed in a citizen kingdom? precisely as in feudal times! upon the first decision of a loan, government convenes the whole financial vassalage, confers with the barons and counts of the stock exchange, with the puissant lords of speculations, and humbler knights of stock jobbing. armed cap-à-pie with the irresistible credit of the great vassals, after a series of combats of which the stock-jobbers are the heralds and trumpeters, they defeat the unfortunate gauls of the exchange; while the triumphant franks risk nothing in the expedition. there is little exaggeration in this comparison. it often happens that a mere substitution, and not the overthrow of a system, takes place. feudalism still exists, not only in the financial world, but among individuals engaged in the same profession. now that the law of constitutional governments has proclaimed the principle of equality, the thirst for distinction and supremacy has become more prevalent than ever. in military and civil communities, a hierarchy is indispensable to exact respect from the lower towards the higher grades; without which, all discipline would be impossible. but among men equally free, engaged in the same calling, and eating the same bread, we can imagine nothing more absurd than the assumed superiority of the fortunate over the unprosperous. the insolence of the tradesman in a great way of business towards the tradesman commencing his career far exceeds the insolence of the patrician towards the plebeian; and the field officer of a regiment is often seen to treat his subalterns as though they were footmen. that artists and men of letters should mutually treat each other according to the reputation they may have acquired, is not surprising; seeing that, in spite of the mercantile nature of modern literary productions, and the dramatic and literary societies formed for the protection of their material interests, men of letters, poets, painters, architects, sculptors, musicians, and even actors, assume in the eyes of the public precisely the place assigned to each by public favour and success; standing on the ground of their individual, and not upon their corporate, merit. nevertheless, in all academies of art, science, and literature, the principle of equality prevails. the only persons they regard as inferior, are those who on their deaths will probably succeed to their places. though we have alluded with sneering levity to the counts and barons of finance, we have no intention of speaking lightly on the subject. nothing can be more serious than the substitution of financial supremacy for those more gloriously earned honours, the extinction of which would strike a death-blow at civilisation. there are several banks in europe exceeding in wealth and power the richest citizens of rome after the conquest of asia. independent of steam, of gigantic undertakings, manufacturing or commercial, there is another predominating power of the utmost importance; the enormous accumulation of capital in the hands of a few, not to be lavished like that of the romans in patronage of the arts, or acts of beneficence; but doled out in speculative fractions, often fatal to the interests of honest industry, and rarely conducing to the interests of the country. in feudal times, the extortions of the barons were undeniable; and compulsory labour was a humiliating hardship. but upon their return from the wars, when exacting from their serfs compensation for their shattered armour, it was at least for the defence of the soil, as well as to face the enemy again, if necessary, that these benevolences were required. in countries where the feudal system is yet in force, such as russia, the moral existence of the serfs is inferior to that of our manufacturing workmen; while as regards subsistence, the condition of the serfs is much less precarious. like our peasants of old, they enjoy their family ties, breathe the fresh air, and tread upon their native soil; tilling the land for the benefit of their lord, instead of receiving a grudging remuneration for their labour. having frequently inquired of heads of manufactories, the wages of their workmen; we have received such evasive answers, as to be reduced to our own conjectures on the subject. suppose that in a manufactory, one hundred pair of hands be daily employed, and that the profits be £2000 per annum, it is clear that every individual produces £20. a mutual convention exists; the master having the power of dismissing the workman, and the latter of quitting the master; the former being liable to the disasters of fire or bankruptcy, from which the workman is exempt. the manufacturer having embarked his capital, has an unquestionable right to high profits. but all this, is nevertheless serfdom under another form; and we behold with pity these industrious beings, breathing the burning and mephitic air prevailing in the factories. the serf when sick, is cared for by his lord; but the factory man is dismissed without ceremony. for in the manufacturing districts, man counts but as a machine, which if worn out, is replaced by another. we can scarcely be surprised, therefore, if the financial and manufacturing aristocracy,--the strongbox nobility,--assume at the present day the consequence of the chivalrous nobility of the olden time. it is but fair, however, to admit that there are generous-minded manufacturers; just as there were good-hearted barons among the feudal tyrants. much might be added on this subject; but a further disquisition would only prolong into a political discussion, what we have only pretended to treat on the score of vulgar prejudice. chapter xxix. merit and popularity. what is popularity? by what indications is it known? who ratifies its titles? and do those titles, conferred by favoritism, error, influence, prejudice, interest, or flattery, possess more value or more durability than the scattered leaves on which the sybil inscribed her oracles? is merit a positive thing or a relative--a matter of conversation, or of proof? what, we say again, is popularity? how is it acquired? how forfeited? is it the result of merit, or a capricious out-burst of opinion impersonating itself so as to enjoy its own homage under the traits of a living statue? to these questions, it is difficult to give a definitive and conclusive reply. popularity is often the privilege and shield of a fool or rascal; while genuine merit of a real and indisputable quality seldom secures it unless from some accidental cause. those who aspire to popularity care more for the amount of suffrages, than for their specific worth. they delight in being the object of popular excitement; and hearing their name re-echoed, assign their personal qualities as the cause of these capricious demonstrations. true merit heeds not such fulsome acclamations;--too well aware that the man who becomes the tool of popularity, ends in being an object of contempt. there are numerous ways of achieving popularity. but we must not forget to distinguish the difference between the popularity of men, and the popularity of their productions. both are variable; being subject to the influence of events, the vacillations of parties, and of human inconstancy. popularity is, however, less fickle as regards the masterpieces of the mind of man, than as regards individuals whom it frequently raises to the sky, the better to fling them down into the dust. a man may sometimes be popular in spite of himself; dragged from his seclusion, elevated above his natural position only to sink for want of appropriate support. how many examples are to be found in our history, of such ephemeral popularity; the idol of to-day being proscribed on the morrow of his ovation! on such occasions, the public resembles a mind obeying by turns two directly opposite impulsions. in such perplexities, the scales are rarely held with a steady hand; and when they discover a man to be deficient in the merit they have gratuitously attributed to him, they avenge themselves by unnecessarily depreciating that which they have capriciously overrated. the man who delights in popularity is as much subjugated as the veriest slave in rome. he must obey those whom he desires to command; must adopt measures he wishes to repress; and if for a moment he venture to pause for the admeasurement of the abyss he is approaching, is taxed with cowardice and treachery! how great was the popularity of the brothers lameth, when mirabeau made the terrible allusion: "and i too could command a triumph. but from the capitol to the tarpeian rock, there is but a step!" how great was the popularity of that very colossus of eloquence, mirabeau himself; who died in the nick of time that he might not survive the public favour which was rapidly declining. what king was ever so popular as louis xvi.? yet his popularity had passed away long before he ascended that throne of revolutions, the scaffold. the popularity of henri iv. lasted during his life, and was renewed by his tragic end; but lay torpid for a century after his death, to be revived by the genius of voltaire. under louis xiii. and louis xiv., the name of henri iv. was never mentioned; and had not the poem of the henriade refreshed the memory of the only king of whom the people are said to keep holy the recollection; henri iv., like louis xii., and other excellent kings of france, would have been forgotten. after repopularizing henri iv., voltaire became in his turn the most popular man in france, especially in the regions of the social and intellectual world. voltaire was the prince of flatterers. he flattered, at the same time, kings and the people, but reproved as skilfully, so that he delighted kings by their personal praise, and the people by general reproaches against kings. voltaire enjoyed immense popularity during his life, and high honours after death; but in the sequel, he reaped the bitter fruits of the tree of evil he had planted. all but forgotten during the revolution, quite so during the empire, voltaire only renewed his popularity at the restoration. the official censure issued against the reprinting of his works, served for a time to restore him to importance. voltaire so completely absorbed the attention of his time, that not one of the great geniuses moving in the same sphere, arrived at any thing approaching his popularity. montesquieu would not compete with him; and even jean jacques rousseau, in spite of the superiority of his style, barely acquired popularity. in general, popularity attaches rather to political than literary eminence; inclining towards trivialities, such as songs and epigrams, rather than to works of merit. a particular style of dress, or a cap of a particular colour is often necessary to secure popular favour. yet popularity among the vulgar is not to be despised, being often the guerdon of works of genuine merit; more particularly as regards the fine arts. barrel organs grinding the beautiful airs of our great composers in the streets, stamp them with a certificate of popularity; while, as regards pictures, their popularity is often insured by the intervention of some unskilful engraver. popularity sometimes attaches itself to tyrants; and caligula and nero were more popular in rome than germanicus. what mattered the slaughter of senators and patricians, or the confiscation of their property, so long as the proceeds afforded food and sports to the people? the populace delight especially in the downfall of royal favourites; and the overthrow of the statue of sejanus, once the idol of rome, was hailed with shouts of exultation. we cannot be surprised, however, that the emperors of rome were popular; since louis xi. of france, and henry viii. of england were popular because they humbled the great, and summoned into their council men of the lowest origin. cardinal richelieu completed the work of louis xi. and destroyed the last vestiges of feudalism. but in this case, the same course produced a contrary effect. richilieu was not popular. so true is it that popularity knows neither law nor precedent. louis xiv., though not individually popular, was honoured for his conquests, so long as he remained victorious. louis xv. was popular only twice in his long life; once, when a false report of his death had prevailed; and once, when he alighted from his carriage in paris to kneel before the holy sacrament. popularity possesses a somewhat loose morality; at times adopting the mistresses of kings; such as gabrielle d'estrées, agnes sorel, and even the infamous pompadour and du barry. of the great men who adorned the reign of louis xiv., few were popular during their life-time, with the exception of molière and corneille. molière, because the power of his genius placed itself between the monarch and his people, castigating the vices of all classes with equal ridicule; corneille, because he excited the heroism of the kingdom by exalting the romans. his popularity was, however, less the result of his genius, than of the envious persecutions of cardinal richelieu. racine, boileau, la fontaine, acquired only posthumous fame, purely literary, and likely to last for ever. men of science are seldom popular; their devotion to science, and the purity of their calling confining their renown within certain limits. those who benefit by the results of their labours, think of them as lightly as those who enjoy the warmth of the sun, without bestowing a thought upon its source. few who use the barrow and the truck are aware that for these useful inventions they are indebted to pascal; and what more popular than certain proverbs and quotations forming part of every conversation, of which few of us are able to name the author. the revolution of 1789 was popular, and men of the highest merit shared in its popularity by their adherence. mathieu de montmorency was popular when the representative of the first christian barony sacrificed his titles to the love of equality. the bishop of autun was popular when he presented to the constituent assembly a proposition for applying the revenues of the church to make good the deficit in the public revenue. the abbé sièyes was popular when he pointed out the rights of man, omitting to speak of his duties; and no popularity ever exceeded that of bailly, till the fatal day of his death upon the scaffold. the taking of the bastille cannot be considered a popular act, if the quality and number of the instigators be taken into account. but the remembrance of the act became popular; and it was consecrated the following year by the first federation solemnized in the champ de mars. never were there two more striking examples of the changes of public opinion, than rienzi at rome, and marat at paris. the same populace which dragged the remains of the former through the mud, afterwards assisted to place his relics in the pantheon dedicated to the illustrious men of the country. in like manner, cromwell, whose memory was for more than a century infamous in england, is about to obtain a statue in the national senate. robespierre forfeited his popularity the moment he attempted to check the effusion of blood of the victims; when the good cause of 1789 had become sanguinary and frantic. danton was more popular than barrère. the girondins were popular with the people; the mountagre faction with the populace. it is remarkable, that in those times, every new administration of government was hailed by the acclamations of the people: who were just as sure to rejoice at its downfall. so has it been in every great crisis in france. in public exigencies, promises are made, incapable of realization; every successive government having shrunk from innovation and reform, when it came to the moment of fulfilment. after the first revolution, popularity attended their military successes; but deserted the vacillating policy of the directory, and followed the banner of conquest to italy, under which the genius of napoleon first shone forth; saluting its victorious general on his return to paris, accompanying him into egypt; and on his second return, raising him to sovereign power. from the 18th brumaire, till the year 1812, popularity adhered constantly to a single victorious standard. at the murder of the duke d'enghien, popular enthusiasm underwent a certain degree of modification, and partially adopted the empress josephine as the palladium of the imperial fortunes; to which vulgar credulity and subsequent events seemed to lend authenticity. the popularity of the emperor declined after his divorce. in our examination of the influence of events upon the french people, we have only twice found them manifest, at the same moment, exultation and sorrow. their indignation at the emperor's cruel usage of josephine, vanished before the cradle of the king of rome, and france was unanimous in its gratulations on the birth of the imperial infant. the other event is of later date. the day after the assassination of the duke de berry, the gloom was universal. some were horror-struck at the murder, some deeply attached to the prince and his family; while many were astonished to find a mortal man where they had hitherto only discerned a prince. nevertheless, the partizans of the imperial cause regarded the event as the removal of an obstacle. popularity escorted charles x. from st. cloud to paris upon proceeding there to take possession of his throne, and restore the liberty of the press, which was destined some day to reverse it. it also attached itself to the gates of the palais royal as the residence of the orleans family; but merely to mark a growing aversion to the tuileries; a negative triumph like that of an opposition united only by a common enmity to the powers that be. in england, a similar transition was visible when the once popular prince of wales, adopted by the people in opposition to the court of the reigning sovereign, became, as prince regent, an object of public dislike! among the heroes and victims of popularity may be numbered la fayette. for half a century did he wrestle with the fluctuations of public favour. when at the head of the urban guard, which subsequently assumed the name of the national guard, la fayette was at the zenith of his glory. the colour of his very horse became popular; and every one adopted his method of dressing his hair. popularity becoming negligent of her idol, the scowls of the court served to revive it; but falling into disgrace with the legislative assembly, it was again at fault. thus ended the first act of the drama of la fayette's popularity. madame de staël pronounced him to be an obstacle to his adversaries, rather than an aid to his friends. the public soon lost sight of the man so long the toy of its caprices. shut up in the prison of olmütz, he owed his deliverance to the conqueror of italy, and returned to france unnoticed; he afterwards offended the first consul by presuming to offer lessons to him upon the art of government, and till the restoration lived in complete seclusion. a trip to the united states, in securing whose independence he had distinguished himself in early life, served to stir up the smouldering embers of his popularity, which he left no means unattempted to increase; and at the revolution of july, popularity assigned to la fayette the honours of a new triumph; restoring to him the command of the national guard. the rapidity with which his name fell into oblivion on his decease, proves that these apparitions of departed popularity--these reflections of an earlier favour--are rarely permanent; and that to attain the honours of history, a more solid merit is required than that which secures the ephemeral sunshine of popularity. chapter xxx. comets. comets played a leading part among the omens of the olden time; and the appearance of one in the heavens was the signal for popular panic. the unlooked for appearance of a comet became a godsend to the astrologers. the credit of omens, however, was on the decline from the time when cato declared that it was impossible for two augurs to meet without a smile; and for the romans, the discredit of presages and omens was an important matter, nature and all her works furnishing them with indications from which auguries might be elicited. the omens of which they stood most in awe were invariably connected with the left side. thunder audible from the left, or even the croaking of a frog to the left, filled them with such consternation, that they instantly propitiated the gods by an offering. the sudden appearance of a mouse, determined fabius maximus to abdicate the dictatorship; and the consul flaminius renounced a command of cavalry in consequence of the same sinister omen. great events certainly proceeded in those centuries from the smallest causes. but in all this, the self-love and vanity of the human race were chiefly apparent, the ancients being convinced that even in the most insignificant details of their lives, the gods were actively interested. hannibal rose superior to this weakness. having advised prusias to give battle to the romans, it is related that the king of bithynia declined, alleging that the entrails of the victims suggested a contrary conclusion. "you prefer then," said the carthaginian hero, "the advice of a sheep's liver to that of the head of a veteran general?--i pity you!" ancient history affords only too many instances of similar superstition; from the sacred fowls which were consulted only in imminent dangers, to the deformed children flung into the tiber, lest they should bring down evil on the republic. the practice of the ancient germans, by the way, of plunging new-born infants into the danube to render them robust, is more easily explained; since being necessarily fatal to weakly children, the qualities of the healthy ones who survived were readily attributable to the immersion. the absurd prejudices connected with the appearance of comets, are about equally deserving of attention. madame de sévigné writes upon this subject in her usual lively style. "we are visited by a comet," says she, in one of her letters to her daughter, "which is the finest of its kind, and possesses one of the most splendid tails ever beheld in the heavens. all our great personages are terrified; conceiving that providence, having nothing better to do than watch over their paltry comings and goings, has decreed their downfall, and sent an intimation of it to the world by means of this comet." cardinal mazarin was just then given over by his physicians, and those about him saw fit to flatter his vanity by pretending that the almighty had signalized his last moments by a prodigy. having mentioned to him that a terrible comet was announcing the great event which struck panic into the world, he had strength of mind to jest upon their vile adulation, assuring them that the comet "did him a great deal too much honour." it would be well, were all men to judge as wisely; for human pride must be blind indeed, to suppose that the stars have no other duty in their spheres than to regulate the affairs of mortals. a celebrated spanish author has written concerning comets with even less reverence than madame de sévigné. "comets," said he, "are the very braggarts of the sky. they have been aptly used as engines for the intimidation of sovereigns, who have less to fear upon the face of the earth than other men. still, it is scarcely necessary that the celestial bodies should derange themselves to appal them, so long as they have the ambition of neighbouring princes, the insubordination of their subjects, and the numerous plagues of government to hold them in subjection." the same writer attacks the influence of comets in terms less reverential than those of the learned dissertations of bayle; for he pretends that the earth is too small a planet to attract so vast a meteor. as regards their influence in the necrology of kings, he proves that the average life of royal personages equals the average life of peasants; without requiring the aid of a comet to announce their natural dissolution. various interpretations have been affixed at different times to the appearance of comets. thus, the one that appeared at rome, shortly after the death of julius cæsar, was regarded as a glorification of the deceased emperor; and in 1811, on the appearance of the comet which has given its name to the year, as, "l'année de la comète,"--(the wines made from grapes grown under its fervid influence being sold under the name of comet wines)--an attempt was made to convert it into an homage to the glory of the emperor napoleon! chapter xxxi. popular errors. a popular error of the most fatal kind was the idea formerly prevalent that a drowned person, being overpowered by the quantity of water he had swallowed, was susceptible of restoration by suspending him with the head downwards, so as to force him to disgorge it. more persons owed their death to this stupid operation, than to the suspended respiration it was intended to restore. it is only during the present century that the experiments of the faculty all over the world have pointed out that the only course to pursue with persons taken insensible out of the water, is to restore circulation by warmth and friction of the extremities; and respiration, by the introduction of air into the lungs. an equally strange legislative abuse connected with this subject, prevailed in paris till within the last few years. a reward of twelve francs, or ten shillings was given to any person who saved another from drowning by extricating his body from the seine, while a reward of six-and-thirty francs, or three times as much, was given to the person who rescued a dead body from the water! this was evidently conceived in the hygienic interests of a city, where the river water is in such extensive use for baths and drinking; but it was in point of fact offering a premium for murder: the morality of navigatory populations being in most countries at a low ebb. another french delusion fatal to human preservation, is the idea that the person who cuts down the body of another found hanging, legally involves himself in an accusation of murder; and nothing can be more injudicious than the harshness with which the proceedings of an inquest are often pursued; as if to justify the poltroonery of those whose first impulse on discovering a body is to go in search of witnesses of the circumstances attending the discovery, instead of lending immediate aid. a more innocent, but not less groundless popular prejudice is, that which attaches itself to that most useful of domestic animals, the ass--the war-horse of the poor. in all countries, this sure-footed and faithful animal is adopted as an emblem of stupidity, from the patience with which it submits to punishment and endures privation. a pair of ass's ears is inflicted upon a child in reproof of his duncehood; and through life we hear every blockhead of our acquaintance called an ass. whereas the ass is a beast of great intelligence; and we often owe our safety to its sure and unerring foot beside the perilous precipice, where the steps of the man of science would have faltered. the fathers of the church, and the disciples of the sorbonne, persuaded of the universal influence of the christian faith, believed the dark cross on the back of the ass to date only from the day on which our saviour made his entry into jerusalem. the ass of the desart was an animal of great price. pliny mentions that the senator arius paid for one the sum of four hundred thousand sesterces. naturalists have frequently remarked the extraordinary dimensions of an ass's heart, which is thought an indication of courage; and it is the custom of the peasantry of some countries to make their children wear a piece of ass's skin about their person. the ass's skin is peculiarly valuable, both for the manufacture of writing-tablets and drums; which may be the reason why a dead ass is so rarely seen. it is too valuable to be left on the highway. in many places, the ass serves as a barometer. if he roll in the dust, fine weather may be expected; but if he erect his ears, rain is certain. why should not animals experience the same atmospheric influences as man? are we not light-hearted in the sunshine, and depressed in a heavy atmosphere. louis xi., of france, was a great patron of the ass. his astrologers having failed in their predictions concerning the weather, he dismissed them, and substituted an ass in their place, as being more weather-wise. certain physicians consider the emanations from the ass's body to possess beneficial medical properties; while, in former days, the blood of the bull was considered poisonous. the credulous plutarch declared that themistocles poisoned himself with bullock's blood, upon the authority of the priests of egina, who are also cited by pliny; and this same bullock's blood, esteemed poisonous, was also considered a moral purification;--sins being expiated by the sprinkling of the human body with the blood of the bull. on solemn occasions, when the criminal was a man of wealth and distinction, so that a bull was dedicated to his use, the blood was made to fall in a perforated vessel, and the criminal standing beneath, received the sacred aspersion upon his face and attire. the emperor julian submitted to this act of expiation. bullock's blood is now known to be as innocuous as that of other animals; and is extensively used in more than one manufacture. during the middle ages, ground glass was supposed to act as an infallible poison; and was long known by the name of "succession powder." montfleury speaks of it in one of his comedies. one of the personages, showing a packet of it, observes: "here is the making of many an heir!" portal, and several other french physicians, have asserted in their works, that ground glass is fatal to the swallower; and it is frequently used by the poor as ratsbane, mixed up with the compositions intended for the extermination of vermin. jugglers were the first to controvert this error, by publicly swallowing it with impunity, a feat which dr. franck having witnessed, he immediately experimentalized on himself, and published the results as conclusive against the received opinion. about the year 1810, a physician of caen, named sauvage, confirmed the opinion of franck. a young lady under his care swallowed a quantity of powdered glass for the purpose of self-destruction without experiencing the least injury; upon which sauvage tried experiments on various animals, administering ground glass to cats, dogs, and rats, on opening the bodies of which, he could not detect the smallest effect. many similar experiments produced the same results. dr. cayol, in presence of his colleagues, swallowed a quantity of irregular fragments of glass. so, also, did sauvage, without producing the smallest derangement of the digestive organs. it is worthy of remark, that mountebanks often clear the way for the march of science; a proof that the most trivial observations may be the origin of the grandest results. some students of oxford, on visiting newton, found him blowing bubbles from a straw, and considered the occupation childish. the philosopher was studying the theory of light. since we have alluded to mountebanks, let us devote a few more words to them. jugglers have been known to swallow, not only pounded glass, but stones and knife blades. a celebrated spaniard, accused by the inquisition, proved his innocence by swallowing fiery coals without injury; and the savage found in the woods at aveyron, devoured all sorts of fowls with their feathers. but these exploits will not bear comparison with those of the molucca savage, of whom we read an account in a volume entitled: "the testament of jerome sharp," printed in 1786. "i entered," says the narrator, "with one of my friends, and found a man resembling an ourang-outang crouched upon a stool in the manner of a tailor. his complexion announced a distant climate, and his keeper stated that he found him in the island of molucca. his body was bare to the hips, having a chain round the waist, seven or eight feet long, was fastened to a pillar, and permitted him to circulate out of the reach of the spectators. his looks and gesticulations were frightful. his jaws never ceased snapping, except when sending forth discordant cries, which were said to be indicative of hunger. he swallowed flints when thrown to him, but preferred raw meat, which he rushed behind his pillar to devour. he groaned fearfully during his repast, and continued groaning until fully satiated. when unable to procure more meat, he would swallow stones with frightful avidity; which, upon examination of those which he accidentally dropped, proved to be partly dissolved by the acrid quality of his saliva. in jumping about, the undigested stones were heard rattling in his stomach." the men of science quickly set to work to account for these feats, so completely at variance with the laws of nature. but before they had hit upon a theory, the pretended molucca savage proved to be a peasant from the neighbourhood of besançon, who chose to turn to account his natural deformities. when staining his face for the purpose, in the dread of hurting his eyes, he left the eyelids unstained, which completely puzzled the naturalists. by a clever sleight of hand, the raw meat was left behind the pillar, and cooked meat substituted in its place. some asserted his passion for eating behind the pillar to be a proof of his savage origin; most polite persons, and more especially kings, being addicted to feeding in public. the stones swallowed by the pretended savage were taken from a vessel left purposely in the room full of them; small round stones, encrusted with plaster, which afterwards gave them the appearance of having been masticated in the mouth. before the discovery of all this, the impostor had contrived to reap a plentiful harvest. some time afterwards, a woman was exhibited near the louvre, who devoured flints and slate with the utmost avidity. but the scientific world, forewarned by its former credulity, took no note of her peculiarities of appetite. it is recorded in the gazette of health, that the abbé monnier, of st. jean d'angély, used in his youth to grind between his teeth fragments of stone for recreation, and even in his declining age, continued the custom. he would swallow a spoonfull during the day, and did not consider his dinner complete without them. he was always pale and emaciated, which was attributed to his singular diet. but his brother, who did not feed upon stones, was precisely of the same temperament and appearance. the abbé lived till the age of ninety-eight. diseased persons have been known to devour without injury, earth, stones, chalk, and plaster; and an eminent physician used to eat small lumps of plaster-of-paris, as others swallow sugar-plums. in the anatomical inquiries of menelaus winsemius, a dutch physician, he relates that in his time, a peasant of friesland was in the habit of swallowing flints, wood, glass, and live fish. in wurtemberg, there was also a miller, who for money would swallow birds, mice, lizards, caterpillars, or fragments of glass and stone. he one day swallowed an inkstandish, with all its appurtenances. these feats were publicly attested by the senate of wurtemberg; after which, the man lived nineteen years, subsisting upon twelve pounds of food per diem. there is scarcely a fair throughout europe at which such feats are not exhibited on a minor scale. chapter xxxii. dreams. in modern times, dreams have become a gratuitous affair; but in the time of lotteries they possessed the greatest value with the votaries of blind fortune. at the french offices, a register was kept of lucky numbers, whose prizes were the result of dreams. not a day passed but the office keepers were applied to for numbers, the combination of which was foretold by dreams. however great the weakness of those who put undue faith in such omens, it must be admitted that the wanderings of the mind during sleep have been productive of marvellous results. but just as the slightest opinions of montaigne are the result of the minutest self-study, a person desirous to ascertain the real importance of a dream ought to consider what was the state of health, disposition, mind and feeling of the dreamers. many dreams constitute a mere continuation of the occupations of the day. others arise from our habitual strain of mind. during illness or fever, the mind, and consequently the dreams by which it is perplexed, assume an exalted and unnatural tone. authors have been known to compose during their sleep. voltaire declares that he composed his verses to monsieur touron while asleep; and on returning from a ball, what young dancer does not fancy during the night, that the violins of the orchestra are still ringing in his ears? hippocrates was so persuaded of the analogy of dreams with our physical condition, that he points out specifics against evil dreaming. if the stars turn pale in your dreams, you are to run in a circle; if the moon, you must run in a straight line; if the sun, you must run both in a straight line and a circle to avoid a repetition of the evil omen. by these prescriptions, he prevailed upon the lazy athenians to assist their bad digestion by the effect of exercise, so as to procure a calm and gentle sleep. pliny, the younger, mentions the following fact: "one of my slaves, who was sleeping with his companions in the place usually allotted to them, dreamed that two men, dressed in white, entered through the window, and having shaven their heads, departed by the way they came. the following morning he was found shaved, and his hair scattered on the ground." this was probably some waggish trick practised on him by his companions when in a state of intoxication. valerius maximus, on the authority of cicero, relates a remarkable dream: "two fellow-travellers arrived at megara; the one putting up at an hotel, the other at the house of a friend. scarcely had the former fallen asleep, when he saw his companion imploring him to come to his aid, as his host was attempting to murder him. the impression was so strong as to wake him; when, finding it a delusion, he went to sleep again. once more, his friend appeared, announcing the accomplishment of the crime, and that his assassin had concealed his body under the dunghill, to which he begged his companion to repair betimes, before they had time to remove it out of the city. overawed by so awful a vision, the friend rose forthwith, and proceeding to the scene of the murder, found a carter and his cart about to quit the court. on insisting to examine the load, the carter fled; when the body was extricated from the dung, the whole affair discovered, and the host condemned to death." this greek story is related on the authority of cicero, who was never at megara, and consequently knew the fact by hearsay. had cicero asserted that he witnessed the affair, the story would have been difficult to believe; as it is, posterity is absolved from the smallest credence. there lived at marseilles, a bigoted woman, who passed her days at church, and dreamt every night that she was transformed into a lamp: a dream she chose to verify; for, on the day of her death, a silver lamp was suspended, at her cost, in the choir of the church in which she was wont to follow her devotions. dreams are the peculiar province of the poet. æneas, to justify his abandonment of dido, cites the commands of his father, who appears to him every night. what more beautiful, except perhaps the dream of athalia, than the dream of æneas, in which hector presents himself to the son of anchises, pale and ghastly, as after he had become a victim to the vengeance of achilles? in the greek plays, and the french tragedies imitated from the greek, dreams form a prominent feature. the family of atrides were great dreamers:--atreus, agamemnon, orestes, and egisthus, the son of atreus, had all remarkable dreams. in lemercier's tragedy of "agamemnon," egisthus relates that which is evidently the result of a dream;--but he will not admit it to be a dream, declaring that he "did not sleep." the impressions of dreams are often so vivid that we confound in our memory real facts with the visions of sleep. hence, no doubt, the popular expression of "you must have dreamt that!" the existence of dreams must be coeval with the human race. by the ancients, the gods were thought to preside over them. the dreams of pharaoh made the fortune of joseph; and artemidorus acquired a great reputation under the antonines, by interpreting dreams. according to him, to dream of being weighed down by a mountain, portended proscription; and to dream of death, meant marriage. to dream that you are deprived of sight, intimates that you are about to lose one of your children. artemidorus interpreted dreams in the same manner as the celebrated mademoiselle lenormand, or as mrs. williams, so well-known in london at the commencement of the present century. chapter xxxiii. of prejudices attached to certain animals. innumerable are the auguries which the remnants of ancient superstition have attached to certain animals. to meet a flock of sheep, is considered a lucky omen. to overtake one when proceeding to the house of a friend, determines many people to turn back as indicative of an inhospitable reception. two magpies are sure forerunners of good news; but a single one is supposed to foreshow tidings of the death of a friend. spiders are of evil omen; though the mischief they convey is attributed, in scotland, solely to the family of bruce. there is a french proverb which says, "arraignée du soir--espoir," as if the hour of the day influenced the nature of the omen. lalande, the astronomer, is known to have been fond of eating spiders. yet the insect is an object of repugnance to most people; and is, in some species, venomous. of all reptiles, the toad is the most universally detested; as if gifted with a magnetism of repulsion. the abbé rousseau asserts in his treatise on natural history, that the sight of a toad has been known to produce convulsions and death. "having enclosed one of these reptiles," says he, "in a glass jar, i stood watching it; when the creature rose on its hinder legs, fixing its red and inflamed eyes upon me, till i became so faint and depressed, as to be on the point swooning. a cold dew rose upon my face, such as announces the approach of death." this was probably the result of fear alone. two living beings cannot long stare fixedly at each other without one giving way. the power of the visual organ is very great; and the stronger controls the weaker. as the pointer arrests the partridge, the eye of marius arrested the arm of the cimber sent to assassinate him; and by fixing his eye upon a troublesome dog, talma could always prevent its barking. the toad is a disgusting animal, but not a noxious animal. it destroys many insects injurious to the beauty of our flower-gardens, and plumpness of our esculents; while for sobriety, it has no competitor. toads have been found imbedded in blocks of marble and trunks of trees, deprived of all chance of external air or nutriment. the lizard, which is nearly as unseemly to look on as the toad, has long been deemed the friend of man; and the vulgar had formerly a superstition that a piece of lizard's tail worn on the person secured good fortune. lizards are sociably disposed, and fond of the human voice. they are said by travellers in surinam and cayenne, to awake a sleeping person on the approach of the rattlesnake. alarmed at the approach of a snake, they have probably been known to cross the face of some man lying asleep; and have thus given rise to a popular fallacy. but if lizards be not the benefactors of the human race, at least they do us no harm; a quality that might be advantageously transferred to many of our own species. pliny maintains that oysters grow fat or thin according to the phases of the moon; while most modern oyster-eaters attribute the change to certain months rather than certain weeks of the year. it is an equally erroneous supposition that milk promotes the digestion of oysters; which may be proved by trying to dissolve them in hot or cold milk. the prejudice that they are out of season when no r figures in the name of the month, originated in the difficulty of transferring them fresh from the coast to the capital during the months of may, june, july, and august. by the sea-side, they will be found good at all seasons of the year. in ancient times, the appearance of an owl in the day-time was esteemed a prodigy; and the romans used to rush to the temples, offering incense to the gods! pliny considers the apparition of an owl an omen of sterility; and an omelet made of owl's eggs was a sovereign specific against ebriety. among villagers, the shriek of the owl is still dreaded as a summons to the other world. yet this bird was favoured by dedication to the goddess of wisdom, though ungifted with the powers of divination ascribed by the greeks to the vulture. according to the ancients, the vulture possessed such olfactory powers, that it could foreshow the death of a person three days previous to his decease. it may be observed, that all the animals to which particular superstitions are attached, were known to the ancients; whereas those discovered during the latter ages are free from imputation of supernatural power. the wild beasts of all climates make man their prey; but none kill him by a look, as was said of the basilisk. among the ancients, aristotle, pliny, and galen, persisted in the foregoing opinion; and among modern propagators of errors, the german athazen, and the italian vitello. if rome, the superb, crouched before an owl, a basilisk compelled alexander to raise the siege of an asiatic city. taking the besieged under its protection, a basilisk, esconced betwixt two stones on the ramparts, repulsed, without moving, two hundred macedonians who were rash enough to attack it. sir thomas brown suggests the possibility, that the poison of the basilisk may be so intense and subtle, as to be darted forth by means of its visual organ. the venomous bite of the viper has given rise to a variety of popular prejudices. the tooth of st. amable was once the only specific; to which succeeded a faith in the antidote of maltese earth. meanwhile the utmost efforts of the faculty remain fruitless against the bite of the rattle-snake, of the cobra di manilla, and several other of the more venomous species. the quality of their venom is supposed to remain unimpaired by the death of the reptiles; and instances are cited of individuals having died of handling them, even after being preserved in spirits of wine. the venom is deposited in two vesicles on either side the head, above the muscle of the upper jaw, the remainder of its body being completely innocuous; so that, in former days, viper broth was frequently prescribed in pulmonary complaints. the venom of the viper becomes less intense as it advances in age. it used to be believed, that the saliva of man was fatal to vipers, as their venom to ourselves; an opinion maintained by aristotle, galen, varro, pliny, and figuier, the surgeon. the latter asserts that he killed a viper by the effect of his own saliva. the experiments by redi, the learned physician of the grand duke of tuscany, and many others, proved the absurdity of the idea. benvenuto cellini declares, in his memoirs, that he saw a salamander in the midst of his own fire; probably a lizard, inadvertantly brought from the country among the logs of wood. no one has yet pleaded guilty to having seen a phoenix, though for ages, a popular superstition attached to this fabulous bird. the unicorn also continues to be placed among the apocryphal animals, with the great sea-serpent of the american coast. the bite of the tarentula spider was long said to produce involuntary dancing; simply because the persons bitten, on applying to the local practitioners of the healing art, were instantly ordered to dance the _pizzica_, the rapid sicilian dance of the provinces where the tarentula abounds, in order to promote circulation and neutralize the effects of the poison. whole villages used to assemble to witness the result, and whenever the patient expired of the bite of the reptile, he was said to have danced himself to death. such is the origin of the neapolitan superstition of the tarentula. chapter xxxiv. content and courtesy. the first ambition of mankind is to be happy. to the brute creation, and to man in a state of nature, happiness consists in sensual gratification. to this, succeeds the factitious happiness of civilization; whence the origin of a variety of popular errors and prejudices. from the days of horace to our own, people have been prone to envy those who pursue any career but their own. but if the soldier envy the position of the civilian, and _vice versâ_, it is clear that the ambition of being what one is not, arises from the fact that every one is acquainted with the drawback on his own profession, and only appreciates the advantages of that to which he does not belong. la fontaine never imagined anything more true, or more charming, than the fable of the cobbler entreating the financier to restore him his song and peaceful sleep, in exchange for the hundred crowns he had bestowed upon him. every one has heard the persian apologue of the sophi, to whom, in a fit of acute suffering, the sole remedy prescribed was the shirt of a happy man; a treasure difficult to discover either in court or city; till at length a ragged wretch was found in the suburbs of ispahan, who admitted himself to be perfectly happy; but alas! he had not a shirt to his back; and the cure of the sophi was not more advanced than before. history has its lessons on this head as well as fiction. the comte de ségur relates in his memoirs, that previous to the revolution, the duke de lauraguais wrote to him as follows: "congratulate me, my dear ségur. thanks be to heaven, i am completely ruined! i have nothing left, but am delivered from the importunities of my creditors." towards the termination of his career, this witty nobleman subsided into voluntary habits of simplicity, differing strangely from his past splendours. never, however, had he been happier!--his peace of mind was from within; superior to all incidents of birth, position, and fortune. it requires to have inhabited the various stories of the social edifice, to be able to judge man under the various aspects resulting from fortune and station. happiness has little to do with either; fortune and misfortune have alike their evil influences. covetousness is as insatiable as ambition. in proportion as people scale the ladder of opulence, they discover others richer than themselves to excite their envy; and vanity pervades every rank of society, marring the quietude of the human mind. the laurels of miltiades gave umbrage to themistocles; and cæsar declared that he would rather be the first of a village, than second in rome. a wiser man was the shepherd who said: "were i a king, i would keep my sheep on horseback." the ceremonies of politeness, when carried to excess, are a source of public inconvenience. the custom of addressing a lady bare-headed, as was the case in france a century ago, when louis xiv., even in a shower, refused to put on his hat in the presence of females, was the cause of many a serious indisposition. the custom of appearing bare-headed in church is also dangerous to many; and, so far unreasonable, that men are unable to appear in hats, while it would be accounted singular for a woman to appear there without a bonnet. can any reasonable motive be assigned for such a distinction? again, what is the origin of the ridicule attached to a person who is left-handed? it is clear that some are born with an instinctive facility in the use of the right hand--some of the left. yet mothers punish their children for using the left hand, as an act of awkwardness. the preference given to the use of the right hand, though existing from the times of antiquity, is not the less ridiculous. in holy writ, the right hand is made an instrument of benediction; which probably conferred a superiority over the left. theologians also contend that the son of god sat on the right of the heavenly throne. the romans conceded such superiority to the right hand, that when at table, they lay on the left side that the right hand might be free. aristotle maintained that the pre-eminence of the right hand proceeded from the same conformation by which the cray-fish have the right claw larger than the left. politeness in these days requires we should place the person we wish to distinguish, on the right. the indiscriminate use of both hands is the best lesson to teach a child:--indifference to the distinction bestowed by the assignment of a place on either, the best lesson to be practised by adolescence. parisians consider it a lesson of politeness to their young children to kiss their right hand before receiving any thing presented to them. the left hand is, however, devoted to the wedding-ring. this is not a christian custom; but prevailed among the assyrians, medes, egyptians, babylonians, and most of the people of antiquity. many people object to uttering the word farewell in parting from a friend, influenced by a prejudice that a fatality attaches to the word. whence the french mode of taking leave with "_sans adieu_!" the compliments formerly paid to a person sneezing are now happily abandoned; having arisen in those early days of civilization when epidemics were so far more frequent and fatal than now. it was the custom, in most european countries, to say "god bless you," to the person who sneezed, lest it should be symptomatic of the commencement of an illness. sneezing has been the object of a variety of ridiculous prejudices. aristotle pronounces sneezing to be a gift from the gods, and to be honoured as a thing of holiness, and a sign of good health. hippocrates agrees with aristotle, and pronounces it a great relief to parturient women. the rabbins assert that adam sneezed after his fall; and that in the primitive times, sneezing was a sure prognostic of death; and remained so till the patriarch jacob obtained from god that it should no longer be the forerunner of dissolution. it is fortunate this change took place previous to the use of snuff; or the snuffbox would have been accounted fatal as that of pandora. chapter xxxv. the divining rod. the superstition of the divining rod prevailed only a century and a half ago. the following story concerning it, is too curious to be omitted. in the year 1692, a vintner of lyons and his wife were murdered in their cellar, their assassins making away with their money. all attempts to discover the culprits were vain, till a simple dauphinese peasant, named jacques aymar, boasted that, with the aid of a simple hazel twig, he could discern the assassins. having visited the scene of the murder, rod in hand, it became agitated; and on following its indications till he reached the right bank of the rhone, aymar entered the house of a gardener, where three bottles stood on the table; when, lo! the rod instantly intimated that the bottles had been emptied by the assassins! two children of the house owned that three ill-looking men had been there; on which aymar began to obtain some credit. traces of three men were found imprinted on the sand by the river-side; and, persuaded that they had embarked, aymar followed them, inquiring as he proceeded, and detecting the spots where they had halted, to the astonishment of those who accompanied him. at the sablon, the rod becoming agitated, aymar announced that the assassins were evidently in the camp; and his divining rod led him as far as the gate of the prison of beaucaire; which being opened, twelve of the fifteen prisoners confined were brought before him. but the divining rod was motionless till the approach of a certain humpbacked prisoner, who declared his utter ignorance of the crime committed at lyons. on the indications of the rod, however, the hunchback being conducted to the gardener's house was recognised as having been one of the party. at length he confessed his guilt; protesting, however, that he was an involuntary spectator, and did not participate in the murder. having furnished aymar with information concerning the direction the assassins had taken, he traced their steps to an inn at toulon, where they had dined the previous evening. on finding that the culprits had put to sea, he also embarked and followed the course of their boat to its landing-place. but on reaching the frontier, all further trace of them was lost. this wonderful story afforded a topic of discussion to the whole kingdom. so many persons bore testimony to the truth of the story, that it was impossible to doubt it; the more so, that aymar followed it up with exploits equally wonderful. he detected several thieves, as well as the places where they had concealed their booty; and as a test of his powers, the lady of the chief officer of police possessed herself, by stealth, of the purse of one of her friends, and begged him to come to her and detect the thief. aymar instantly declared that they were amusing themselves at his expense. the prince de condé, who, far from being superstitious, had greater faith in his field-marshal's baton than the divining rod, could not resist his curiosity to witness the feats of aymar, and sent for him to paris. as soon as he recovered the fatigues of his journey, he was conducted to a bureau, from which something of considerable value had disappeared; but whether or not the magnificence of the place annihilated the power of the divining rod, the charm was gone! holes were dug in various parts of the garden, in which were deposited gold, copper, stones, and other substances. but the rod failed to point out the hidden treasure. in the interim, a pair of silver candlesticks having been stolen from mademoiselle de condé, aymar's rod pointed out a goldsmith's shop, the master of which being accused, was highly indignant. thirty-six livres were forwarded, however, the following morning as the price of the objects; and it was supposed that aymar had resorted to this expedient, with the view of re-establishing his reputation. but it was all in vain! the divining rod had lost its reputation, and jacques aymar was pronounced to be an impostor. at his own request, however, he accompanied the king's advocate to a street in which a murder had been committed; and the result being unsatisfactory, aymar was considered either a mountebank, or a man following, with new pretensions, the old trade of recovering for reward the stolen goods, in the abstraction of which he had participated. science becomes dangerous in the hands of empirics, as weapons in the hands of children. about forty years ago, a german doctor revived the marvels of the divining rod, grounding his system upon the phenomena of galvanism. but the philosophy of volta disdained such an association. pleasantly exposed to ridicule in the admirable pages of the antiquary, it is now estimated as on a par with the charm once supposed to be inherent in the rope by which a human being had suffered the sentence of the law. it is still proverbial with the vulgar, that any singularly lucky person "carries a bit of hangman's rope in his pocket." uninquiring incredulity is as great a proof of weakness as over credulousness. the following instance of that incomprehensible foresight which flashes upon the brain of certain individuals, under the name of presentiment, passed under the notice of gratien de sémur. madame de saulce, the wife of a rich planter of st. domingo, was residing in france about the time of the revolution. her husband occasionally visited his native country, leaving his lady at paris, who was a woman of sense and piety, by no means of a nervous temperament. during the last voyage of her husband, being engaged at cards at an evening party, she suddenly uttered a shriek, and sunk on her chair, exclaiming, "monsieur saulce is dead!" her friends crowding about her, attempted to tranquillize her by their remonstrances, till by degrees she recovered her reason. so powerful, however, had been the sensation or presentiment, that she had no peace till she obtained news of her husband. a favourable letter arrived; but, alas! the date was anterior to that of her vision. and soon afterwards, one of the friends present at the scene of madame de saulce's ejaculation, received a communication from a stranger in st. domingo, requesting him to communicate to that lady the distressing news of her husband's decease. monsieur de saulce had been assassinated by his negroes, on the very day and hour of her fatal presentiment. the event occurred in the presence of at least twenty persons; and till the day of her death, the widow remained a prey to sorrow mingled with awe and consternation. in the memoirs of the great sully will be found the record of the presentiments of assassination, which oppressed the mind of henry iv. "the king," says he, "had the strongest presentiment of his dreadful destiny. as the moment of his coronation approached, his alarm and consternation increased; and in answer to my remonstrance, he exclaimed: 'in spite of all you can urge, this ceremony is most distasteful to me. my heart assures me that some misfortune will be the result.' after uttering these desponding words, he sank back, overcome by gloomy anticipations; and remained tapping the case of his spectacles, absorbed in gloomy reverie." the presentiment of henri iv. of his approaching assassination, is confirmed by the testimony of l'etoile and bassompierre, who, in their memoirs, relate the same particulars; and the fact is as historically established as the evil dream of calphurnia, and the denunciation of the soothsayer to julius cæsar, on a parallel occasion. chapter xxxvi. bees and ants. dull must be the blockhead, who could reproach la fontaine with ignorance of natural history, and pronounce the fable of the "ant and the grasshopper" bad, because the fabulist has not shown himself a rigid naturalist. the great fault charged against la fontaine, by the critics, is having made the grasshopper sing. its cry is considered by most people far from melodious. the bee possesses a thousand poetical associations derived from our early conversancy with the georgics. from the remotest periods of antiquity, bees have been recognised as attached to monarchical government, though not to the salique law. a hive has been compared to the palace of a czarina of muscovy. the queen bee reigns over hundreds of male subjects with the despotism of a sultan; with the additional privilege of peopling her own dominions. when the queen is on the point of increasing her numerous subjects, the females invade the seraglio of their sovereign, and with their stings exterminate all the male admirers of her majesty. the fecundity of a queen is such, that she can produce sixty thousand of her species annually. the males are easily recognized, being the sleekest and best formed of the hive; and all its labours are carried on by them. to gather honey, and bring back every day to the common exchequer the fruits of the plunder, separate the honey from the wax, and with the latter construct their cell, distil the honey, and die, constitute the duties of the bee. it has been asserted that the queen bee has no sting, which is an error. another error prevails, that after a bee has stung, it dies, leaving its sting in the wound. some one probably crushed a bee, and found the sting in his finger, from which isolated fact a general conclusion has been made. réaumur applied himself to the study of bees; not, however, so devoutly as the philosopher, aristomachus, who consecrated fifty-eight years to it; or the philosopher, hytiscus, who conceived so great a passion for bees, that he retired into the desart, the better to observe them. he simply cleared the way of errors, and discountenanced old traditions; but all was conjecture with regard to bees, till the invention of glass hives; when the government of those interesting insects became no longer a secret. the devotion of the working bees to their queen is now well-known. when in danger, or the hive is attacked, they rush to her aid; and even form a mass to conceal her, and die in her defence. réaumur relates the following anecdote of which he was a witness. a queen bee, and some of her attendants were apparently drowned in a brook. he took them out of the water, and found that neither the queen bee, nor her attendants were quite dead. réaumur exposed them to a gentle heat, by which they were revived. the plebeian bees recovered first. the moment they saw signs of animation in their queen, they approached her, and bestowed upon her all the care in their power, licking and rubbing her; and when the queen had acquired sufficient force to move, they hummed aloud, as if in triumph! it has been thought that bees were prejudicial to the fructification of plants, by robbing them of their pollen. this is not only an error, but naturalists worthy of faith, are of opinion that their movement in a blossom tends to sprinkle the pollen, and promote fecundity. bees are of twofold service to the human race, by furnishing us with the most refined means of lighting our houses, and of brightening our furniture; to say nothing of their aromatic honey, surpassing the sweetness of sugar. little is known of the republics or monarchies of ants; or indeed of their precise form of government. from the most remote period, however, it has been the custom to represent the ant as the symbol of industry. the industrious habits of the ant cannot be questioned; but their much vaunted foresight, as described by boileau, and addison's spectator, is now recognized as fabulous. according to naturalists, the ant is not without a certain analogy with the bee; seeing that they have not one queen to each swarm, but a certain number of queens for the reproduction of the species; there being productive and unproductive ants. the working class is of a neutral sex. the female ant deposits an egg, whence proceeds a worm, which becomes the ant. as architects, also, to ants must be assigned the precedence over bees; their cellular formations resulting from instinct, and not from calculation. in the stupendous ant-hills so frequently seen in forests, what a series of galleries, dormitories, corridors, and magazines is contained; so that the numerous occupants find ample means of circulation. but the ant cannot pretend to the gratitude of man in the same degree as the bee. the following is a curious and well-attested fact. after the death of the illustrious lagrange, parseval deschênes, his coadjutor in his scientific pursuits, who announced the coming of pallas ten years previous to the discovery of that planet--renounced his mathematical researches; and from long habits of study acquired fresh occupation for his mind. while spending the summer with his friend, m. d'aubusson de la feuillade, in the course of one of his rambles in the woods, he found an immense ant-hill, and immediately resolved to make ants his study. he went every day early enough to the ant-hill to see the first ant issue forth; and followed it from the moment of its departure to that of its return. "about four o'clock in the afternoon," says he, "i saw my own particular ant arrive heavily laden at the foot of the diminutive mountain; and, finding it impossible to carry its burthen up the hill, deposit it and look around for a confederate. none being at hand, it set forth again; and about fifteen steps on its progress i saw my ant meet another equally loaded. both halted, and seemed to hold council; after which, they proceeded together to the foot of the ant-hill. then began the most interesting scene i ever witnessed. the second ant disembarrassed itself of its burthen; and, having provided themselves with a blade of grass, they slipped it under the overweighted load, and, by their united efforts, conveyed it over the hillock, and entered their respective cells! "after abandoning the study of mathematics as too abstruse," observes parseval, "i found the lever of archimedes in use in an ant-hill." chapter xxxvii. prepossessions and antipathies. undue prepossession against or in favour of some object, is as much to be guarded against as any other irrational prejudices. it is not uncommon to hear people reply when some particular dish is offered to them: "thank you, i have never eaten any, and nothing could persuade me to touch it." such a prepossession scarcely would be pardonable in women or children. an anecdote is related in the life of talma, which has lately formed the subject of a drama. a poor strolling player, universally rejected, arrived, at his wits' end, in a city where the illustrious actor was expected. a bright idea flashed across his mind to personate talma; as whom he accordingly announced himself. the authorities of the town hastened to offer him their homage. the theatre was crowded, and all the world enraptured with his performance. in the midst of his popularity, the real talma arrived; but foreseeing that a prepossession once established in favour of the imitator was not likely to be easily reversed, departed without making himself known. the chances were that he might have been hissed. it is difficult to comprehend the use of the flatteries of painters to princes and princesses about to be married by proxy. the portraits being exchanged, the betrothed receive a first strong impression, and form their opinions accordingly. a favourable prepossession is conceived; and in place of an agreeable and expressive countenance, a frightful reality is often rendered more frightful by disappointment. with regard to literary predilections, the works of an unknown author, however meritorious, often lie mildewed on the shelf, while some trash, protected by a favourite name, becomes popular. the admirable leading articles of benjamin constant produced no effect till he signed them with his well-known name, when their merit was instantly recognised. when michael angelo first exhibited the productions of his chisel, they were treated as far inferior to the sculptures of the ancient world. in the seclusion of his studio, and unknown to any one, he accordingly set to work on a statue of cupid; of which he broke off the arm, and concealed the mutilated statue in the midst of the excavations making by the pope. when the statue was discovered, all rome fell into ecstasies; pronouncing it to be the work of phidias or praxiteles. michael angelo immediately produced the mutilated arm, and his former critics became rebuked into silence. at the time when the rage for italian music excluded every other composition from the stage, and the great french composers had fallen in public estimation, méhul avenged himself much in the manner of michael angelo. zealous in the cause of french music, he composed the opera of the irato, the words by the ingenious hoffmann; who, to render the illusion complete, made the libretto as incomprehensible as possible. the opera was rehearsed in secret, though fifty persons were engaged in it; and it was circulated in the world, that the forthcoming opera was a mere pasticcio, borrowed from the operas recently in vogue in italy. when the curtain rose, the overture was enthusiastically applauded. still more so, the different airs executed by ellevion, martin, and the excellent company of the comic opera. the theatre was crowded with enthusiastic admirers of italian music, whose applause was vehement; one person declaring that the music was by fioravanti, and that he had heard it at naples; another, that it was by cimarosa. at the end of the opera, it was announced to be by méhul, when the amateurs of the italian school were confounded. teniers also exposed the unjust prejudices of his countrymen; who, underrating his paintings, they sold far short of their value. having previously published a report of his death and burial, he instructed his wife to assume widow's weeds; and, after a certain time, to announce the sale of the paintings of her deceased husband. the stratagem succeeded, his very detractors enhancing the value of his works. teniers afterwards returned to his native country, and resumed his labours, which were never afterwards disparaged. when a history of france by pigault le brun was announced, it was pronounced to be detestable long before it appeared; solely because pigault lebrun was the author of a variety of amusing novels. the famous physician portal turned to good account the prejudice that prevails in paris in favour of fashion. established in the capital, he was some time without obtaining practice. at length, he devoted all his means to the purchase of a beautiful equipage, and sent it every day to stand before the doors of illustrious patients. of course the numerous inquirers after the invalid, could not fail to remark the beautiful equipage of the physician in every quarter of the town; and the marchioness immediately determined to try the physician of the duchess, and _vice versâ_; till in a short time, portal received applications from all quarters, calling in his advice to the noblest sufferers of the capital. endowed with a distinguished appearance, elegant manners, and considerable powers of conversation, he became the indispensable attendant of all fashionable invalids; and thus, founded a reputation to which he subsequently proved himself entitled. chapter xxxviii. the influence of bells upon thunder storms. science has long demonstrated the folly of ringing church bells during a storm. the vibration of the air, produced by the movement of a bell, was formerly supposed to disperse the fluid; which, on the contrary, it attracts. for these fifty years past, the civic authorities have compelled the bell-ringers to be silent during a storm. in former ages, when the priests caused the bells to be rung during a storm, it was an act of piety and not a physical experiment. scientific men, on the contrary, have been justified in declaring the vibration caused by the sound of a church bell upon a cloud charged with electricity to be injurious, from the fact that ringers have been struck dead by the electric fluid during the discharge of their functions. but though bells are no longer rung during a storm, the fluid falls just as often upon church steeples. it is, however, as well to forbid the ringing of bells during a storm, for the simple reason that to ring the bells, the ringer must be in the tower, where he is in greater danger than elsewhere. steeples are often surmounted by an iron cross, or weathercock, which attracts the fluid. it is only lately we have made any proficiency in electrical science. franklin, who at the same moment brought fire from heaven and wrested the sceptre from the potentates of the earth, was the inventor of the conductor, which has probably preserved many monuments from destruction. in the reign of louis xiv, sailors were in the habit of affixing a pointed sword to the summit of the mast, most likely acting under the experience and impression which produced the conductor. a learned priest, the abbé thiers, who died in 1703, in enumerating the superstitious practices of his time, mentions the custom of affixing a pointed sword to a mast during storms. the good old priest saw in it only a kind of superstition; while the discovery of franklin commanded the admiration of the world. it is not unlikely that from the bosom of vulgar superstitions, science might extract many a valuable discovery. in a late number of the almanack of the board of longitude, monsieur arago published a curious theory upon thunder, citing many interesting facts; the only means of conferring popularity on knowledge, which, in its severer garb, is too often banished to the lecture-room. the influence of storms upon animate as well as inanimate bodies, is incontestable; for which of us has not felt or witnessed the effects? previous to the approach of the storm, the depression of the air is perceptible upon our limbs and spirits; and on beholding the dejected, languid, and uneasy demeanour of the animal species, it might be supposed that so powerful a sensation would be more oppressive to ourselves, were it not restrained by reason. a similar sensation is experienced in a far higher degree, previous to the shock of an earthquake. with the first drops of rain of a thunder storm, however, we experience relief. both animal and vegetable substances become decomposed during a storm. objects formed of goat or sheep-skin give out a nauseous smell. white paper and other substances have been known to become covered with spots of various hues. oxen killed by lightning are unfit for use, so nauseous and black is the flesh. dairy-maids place a nail under the vessels containing the milk, to prevent it turning, as well as under a hen which is sitting. remote approaches towards the conductor! of the phenomena which signalize storms, nothing is more remarkable than the repugnance of the electric fluid for silk. the steel ornaments of a purse have been known to become twisted by the fluid, while the silk remained uninjured. a covering of silk is accordingly the surest preservative. but it is a curious fact that to none of the insect species is a thunder-storm more fatal than to the silk-worm; as the silk-growers know to their cost. the protective power of the laurel is now known to be fabulous; the laurel tree being as much a conductor as any other. chapter xxxix. small pox and vaccination. if any thing could excuse the exercise of arbitrary power on the part of a government, it would surely be in the act of compelling parents to vaccinate their children; but the aversion to vaccination being still only too common among certain classes of the people. yet surely the law which punishes parents for ill-usage of their children, might be extended to punish their leaving these helpless creatures exposed to the infection of pain and disfigurement? jenner is decidedly one of the greatest benefactors of the human race; for the vast increase of population in the different countries of europe is ascribed, by many political economists, to the safeguard of vaccination, which has preserved more lives since its introduction, than the terrible wars of the present century have destroyed. in england, this admirable discovery was far more readily adopted than in france; where, however versatile in fashions and governments, any improvement tending to benefit the human race is slowly and cautiously accepted. in the reign of louis xiv, the introduction of yeast in the making of bread met with general opposition; and it required the interference of the legislature to secure its adoption. the introduction of bark and emetics was also attended with violent opposition; and inoculation introduced from turkey into western europe by lady mary wortley montague, found great difficulty in establishing itself in france. it was not, however, surprising that parents should hesitate about giving their children a loathsome disease; before it became certified by long experience that the virulence of the disorder was considerably lessened by preparation; so as to secure a mother against the terrible self-reproaches arising from the loss of a child under the inoculated malady. in england, more particularly in the county of gloucester, from time immemorial cows were subject to a contagious disease, which infected the hands of the milkmaids, who were observed never to suffer from the small-pox. this surmise being confirmed by experiment, dr. jenner established himself in the county of gloucester; where, by inoculating people with vaccine matter, he secured them against the small-pox. so far from turning his discovery to pecuniary account, as most others would have done, jenner nobly proclaimed it to mankind, calling upon all philantrophists to share his triumph. the duke de rochefauld-liancourt having witnessed the effects of vaccination in england, introduced it into france, and did more for its propagation than the slow deliberations of the parisian schools of medicine. dr. pinel, however, tried experiments at the hospital of the salpétrière, with perfect success; while dr. aubert was despatched by government to england to report upon the subject. the result was favourable. matter was imported from england in the month of may, 1800, when thirty-eight children were vaccinated at the hospital of la pitié; and commissions were instantly instituted throughout france. jenner had, however, his opponents. in london, it was denounced from the pulpit, as an infringement on the dispensation of providence; and in france, doctors vaume, chapon and others pronounced vaccination to be injurious to the human constitution, and capable of reducing man to the condition of a brute, by the introduction of animal virus into the blood. as if we resembled a calf or sheep the more for having swallowed a mutton chop or veal cutlet. with a few rare exceptions, vaccination has proved a security against the small-pox, and the practice ought consequently to become universal. but old women are still to be found with instances of children who have died of convulsions after vaccination; as if that were the origin of their illness and death. among the lower orders, a prejudice prevails that an inferior kind of vaccine matter is provided for them; and whenever their children exhibit symptoms of disease or deformity, they comfort their self-love by attributing it to the influence of vaccination. "such maladies were unknown in their families, till the madness of introducing matter from the body of a stranger into that of their child conveyed also the germs of disease." chapter xl. precocious and clever children. it is a common observation respecting children, "that such or such a child is too clever to live;" and though abundance of precocious children have grown up, and into very ordinary men, it stands to reason that the premature development of any particular quality in an extraordinary degree, must exhaust the subject upon whom it operates. gardeners thin the superfluous shoots on trees, that those remaining may attain their perfect growth. it would be difficult, perhaps, to pursue this system with children who manifest supernaturally precocious capacities. but when such cases present themselves, the vanity of parents often serves to forward an evil result. the parents of children of genius usually stimulate instead of checking the impulses requiring restraint; thus increasing the already existing exhaustion. proud of their infantine prodigy, which, in humble life, becomes the object of some abominable speculation, nothing can be more lamentable than the exhibition of these interesting little beings, carried about from place to place, obtaining a notoriety of the most injurious nature, and often let out for hire to some able speculator. the exhibitionist, bent upon realising the largest profit in the shortest time, and, reckless as to the source, having attained his end, cares not whether the child perish in misery; and the laws, so severe upon the poor hucksters in our streets, unprovided with a licence, sanction these homicidal speculations! baillet mentions one hundred and sixty-three children endowed with extraordinary talents, among whom few arrived at an advanced age. the two sons of quintilian, so vaunted by their father, did not reach their tenth year. hermogenes, who at the age of fifteen, taught rhetoric to marcus aurelius, who triumphed over the most celebrated rhetoricians of greece, did not die, but at twenty-four, lost his faculties and forgot all he had previously acquired. pica di mirandola died at thirty-two; johannes secundus at twenty-five; having at the age of fifteen composed admirable greek and latin verses, and become profoundly versed in jurisprudence and letters. pascal, whose genius developed itself at ten years old, did not attain the third of a century. in 1791, a child was born at lubeck, named henri heinekem, whose precocity was miraculous. at ten months of age, he spoke distinctly; at twelve, learnt the pentateuch by rote, and at fourteen months, was perfectly acquainted with the old and new testaments. at two years of age, he was as familiar with ancient history as the most erudite authors of antiquity. sanson and danville only could compete with him in geographical knowledge; cicero would have thought him an "alter ego," on hearing him converse in latin; and in modern languages, he was equally proficient. this wonderful child was unfortunately carried off in his fourth year. according to a popular proverb--"the sword wore out the sheath." the american family of the davisons, whose memoirs have been recently before the public, afford two melancholy instances in point. nevertheless, the duty of every created being is to give the most ample development to the predispositions conferred on him by his creator; and this is certainly to be accomplished without injury to the human frame. the mission of woman is the perpetuation of the human race; and the statistical table of all countries demonstrate that fruitful women have been remarkable for their longevity. on the other hand, the tables of blair and others prove that unmarried women, whether spinsters or nuns, are shorter lived than matrons. as regards the influence of an excessive exercise of the intellect on the life of man, we can quote many instances of longevity among the most eminent of ancient or modern times. hippocrates, the greatest physician the world has ever seen, died at the age of one hundred and nine, in the island of cos, his native country. galen, the most illustrious of his successors, reached the age of one hundred and four. the three sages of greece, solon, thales, and pittacus, lived for a century. the gay democritus outlived them by two years. zeno wanted only two years of a century when he died. diogenes ten years more; and plato died at the age of ninety-four, when the eagle of jupiter is said to have borne his soul to heaven. xenophon, the illustrious warrior and historian, lived ninety years. polemon and epicharmus ninety-seven; lycurgus eighty-five; sophocles more than a hundred. gorgias entered his hundred and eighth year; and asclepiades, the physician, lived a century and a half. juvenal lived a hundred years; pacuvius and varro but one year less. carneades died at ninety; galileo at sixty-eight; cassini at ninety-eight; and newton at eighty-five. in the last century, fontenelle expired in his ninety-ninth year; buffon in his eighty-first; voltaire in his eighty-fourth. in the present century, prince talleyrand, goethe, rogers, and niemcewicz are remarkable instances. the cardinal du belloy lived nearly a century; and marshal moncey lately terminated a glorious career at eighty-five. voltaire, though not a juvenile prodigy, was still young when he achieved his brilliant reputation. at seventeen, he wrote the poem of la ligue, which afterwards became the henriade; and at nineteen, produced the tragedy of oedipus. his constitution was then far from strong; and his correspondence attests his frequent sufferings. no man, perhaps, ever made a larger demand on his faculties. yet his head may be said to have survived the other members of his body, the extremities of which were long insensible; his body reduced to a skeleton, his stomach rejecting all sustenance, while to the last moment, his spirit gave proofs of wit and genius. among the precocious children who survived to maturity, though of weakly health, were alexander pope and dr. johnson, both of whom may be said to have "lisped in numbers." liceti, the son of a genoese physician, came into the world only a few inches long, and it was thought impossible he could live. his father, however, gave him the name of fortunio, a singular selection, considering the circumstances of the event, and placed him in an oven of even temperature, under the care of an attentive nurse; and in the course of a few months, fortunio liceti differed in nothing from children born in the usual manner. the early years of this child passed much as that of others, except that he evinced signs of superior intelligence. at nineteen, he wrote a "treatise on the soul;" and in the course of a life of seventy-nine years, embellished the literature of his country with eighty works, bearing the stamp of great erudition. marshal richelieu was a child of untimely birth; and so delicate in frame, as to be considered impossible to rear, though carefully wrapped in cotton. yet he lived to the age of eighty-five! without intending to set up richelieu as a first-rate man, or defend his licentiousness, we cannot deny him a prominent place among the distinguished frenchmen of the last century; being as much the representative of the tone and manners of the great world, as voltaire of the wit, or mirabeau of the eloquence of the country. chapter xli. education of children. neither the illustrious preceptor of alexander, nor the amiable preceptor of the duke of burgundy, nor all the professors of the universities of england and france, ever effected so much in the way of education, as that unrecognised president of all universities and public schools--example!--from the hour of their birth, children begin to imitate. their first words are mimicries of what they hear pronounced before them. hence the origin of different idioms and enunciations. montaigne made latin the mother tongue of his son, by surrounding him with persons who spoke no other language, and even a nurse who spoke latin. the intellect of children expands long before they have the power of expressing their ideas. physicians have affirmed that children have been known to die of jealousy, before they were old enough to express their sensations. excessive notice of another child, or seeming neglect of themselves, has been found to induce a state of languor, and hasten their end. young children suffer doubly in illness, from the incapability of expressing their pain. their language being formed upon our own, and their conduct framed upon our own, the duty of placing desirable examples before them is sufficiently evident; yet we frequently punish them for faults of which the first lesson was given by ourselves. in many conditions of life, however, parents are forced to delegate to other hands the care of their progeny. the labouring poor, for instance, cannot constantly watch over them. while the rich wantonly confide their infants to the care of menial hands, the poor trust them to any which god is pleased to send to their aid. it is even more essential to avoid giving bad examples to children than to offer them good. yet how often are family dissensions and recriminations exposed to their observation! a man and wife living ill together, who so far forget themselves as to quarrel before their children, create a preference and partizanship which must diminish the respect equally due to both parents. in humbler life, abusive language often ends with blows; and what must be the effect of such scenes on the tender mind of infancy? the presence of children on such occasions, when proved before the magistracy, ought to be considered an aggravation of the offence against the law. fathers and mothers by upbraiding each other in presence of their children, often beget impressions which all their future representations are unable to eradicate; and of what avail to the comfort of parents the brilliant accomplishments and attractive manners of their children, if a son have been taught to disparage his father, or a daughter to think ill of her mother! often do children so young as to appear deficient in observation, receive vague but indelible impressions, afterwards recalled by a retrospective view; when the past appears clear and free from the vapours which veiled it from our earlier comprehension. among the lower orders, if a poor man be laborious, his son is usually the same. but the son of a father who ill-uses the mother, is pretty sure to turn out an idler and a dunce in childhood, and, in riper years, a ruffian. chapter xlii. prejudices of the french. the prevailing weakness of the french, collectively and individually, is to esteem themselves the type and model of perfection; the standard by which the universe ought to be regulated. an italian author once asserted that the face of man was not made after that of god; but that the face of the creator was to be imagined after that of man. the french consider all that resembles them, right: all that differs from them, wrong. this prejudice entitles foreigners to laugh at them, whether justly or not. the word "_fat_" appears to have been exclusively invented for the nation. vain, presumptuous, haughty, disdainful men are to be found in all countries; but _fatuité_ is the peculiar attribute of frenchmen; nor does any other language possess an equivalent term. the french, unhesitatingly, pronounce themselves the most polished nation of the universe; and paris, the capital of the civilized world,--the city of arts, sciences, elegance of manners, and refinement. in paris only, does genius receive due homage,--merit, encouragement,--or the mind its full development. but the temple they have erected to their national vanity, has begun to totter upon its flimsy foundation. notwithstanding their assumed pre-eminence, no nation is more prone to imitate the customs, usages, fashions, and forms of government of others. just as the romans placed the gods of their defeated enemies in their pantheon, the french, under napoleon, brought back the customs of foreign nations. for twelve centuries, the french possessed a system of government of their own; but they decided, at length, to adopt that of the english. a revolution having occurred in england, and a king been beheaded in london, an analogous event appeared indispensable; and a king of france, consequently, ended his reign on the scaffold. in early times, one legislative chamber was considered sufficient; but as there existed two in england, their national vanity could not rest till gratified by a similar number. in all this, there is little to support the vaunted superiority of the french. till the close of the last century, the french wore what is still termed, on the continent, the french costume, or _habit français_, with bags and swords, which in england we call a court-dress. but the english having laid aside these inconvenient appendages in favour of hunting and riding coats, the latter were quickly adopted by the parisians under the name of _redingotte_. the lord cadogan of marlborough's time, having found it convenient to double up his queue, and bind it with a bow of black ribbon, the whole french army adopted the fashion; and his lordship's name became immortalized in france by "_les perruques à la cadogan_." the strong horses of normandy required an easy but somewhat solid kind of saddle, the form of which had prevailed from the time of louis xiv. but the english using a lighter and smaller kind, it was adopted in preference; and certain moral philosophers who proceeded to england to study the laws, manners, and system of government, having remarked in addition that the english treated their horses as alcibiades did his dog, the horses on the other side the channel were forthwith anglicised by the abbreviation of their tails. on the arrival of the bourbons and the english in france, in 1814, the long waists and cottage-bonnets of the ladies were made the ground-work of innumerable caricatures. yet a few years afterwards, generally they were adopted! this anglomania has been as much a matter of reproach to the french for centuries past; as, in england, the preference of the english ladies for french goods and manufactures. a serious source of discussion between napoleon and josephine was her rage for english fashions. in the early part of the revolution, the duke of orleans made frequent excursions to england; in one of which he purchased a sword hilt of steel, the execution of which was admirable. on his return to paris, he exhibited it to a celebrated steel worker, challenging him to produce its equal; on which, taking up the hilt, the man pointed out his own name to the prince, as the manufacturer of the article, which had been exported to london. during the brilliant campaigns of field-marshal suwarow, the form of his hat and boots was copied by the military men of france; and when bolivar and murillo were ascertained to wear hats of different dimensions, the french partizans of the two chiefs assumed on one part, broad-brimmed spanish hats, on the other, a narrower shape. when the russians came to paris at the restoration, another change took place. instead of the boots worn to protect the legs from the mud, the wide trowsers of the russians made to cover their boots, in consideration of the bitterness of their climate, were instantly adopted by the nation which pronounces itself the arbiter of europe in matters of taste. the padded chests of the russian uniforms, also worn as a defence against the weather, were imitated in defiance of climate and common sense. previous to the arrival of the russians in paris, smoking was limited to the operative classes, and soldiers who had fought in the german campaign. but from the moment the russians began to smoke in the open street, the capital so famed for elegance, became polluted with the smell of tobacco. a modern man of fashion can no more dispense with his cigar-case than bayard with his sword; and in imitation of the spanish women, the fashionable parisian ladies, known by the name of _lionnes_, have taken to smoking. in order to mark their estimation of the swedes, when they elected to be their prince, bernadotte, who is a frenchman, they thought to do them the highest honour by calling them the french of the north. two noblemen, the one an aide-de-camp of napoleon, the other of the emperor alexander, having made acquaintance at tilsit, the former observed, with the intention of paying a compliment: "you might really be taken for a frenchman!" to which the russian, indignant at his rudeness, replied: "depend upon it you could never pass for a russian!" it is a favourite vaunt of the braggarts of france, that their children are born soldiers. "stamp upon the soil of france, and myriads of warriors will start up!" says one of their popular writers. in answer to this boast, observe the results of the drawing for the conscription, when the most trifling bodily defects are put forth to secure exemption from military service!--nothing can exceed the despair of those who draw what is called "a bad number;" though a military career presents nearly the same advantages to a working man as any other to which he may devote himself. the self-sufficiency of the nation stands perpetually self-convicted; and it is now proverbial in europe to "be as great a boaster as a frenchman." chapter xliii. monstrous births. the attachment existing betwixt animals of different kinds is an undoubted fact. dogs have been known to take kittens under their protection during the absence, or after the death of the parent cat. most people who have been at the jardin des plantes, must have noticed the affection evinced by the lion for the little dog that shares his cage. two horses and an ass having fed from the same rack during a period of fourteen years, on the death of the ass, his two companions refused food and died. these inclinations are probably the result of the familiarity with mankind produced by domestication, which destroys their natural instincts. parrots, starlings, jays, and magpies, do not talk in their wild state; nor would a dog, or squirrel, of its free will, have turned a wheel. in a norman farm, so singular an affection subsisted between a hen and a cat attached to the barn-yard, that the cat was frequently seen sitting upon the nest during the absence of her friend; and the eggs thus hatched produced a hybrid race of fowl and cat--a fact certified by an eminent norman naturalist, dr. vimond, at the close of the last century. towards the beginning of the present, there was exhibited in the rue st. honoré, a mastiff bitch having a litter of two puppies and two cats, which she had brought into the world at a birth. the ancients frequently speak of monstrous progeny. besides the famous minotaur of crete, pliny relates that a roman lady, named alcippa, produced a young elephant, and that a female slave brought forth a serpent. julius obsequens describes two italian women, who, in the middle of the fifteenth century, produced on the same day, the one a cat, the other a dog. in such instances, dogs and cats seem to enjoy the preference. a swiss woman, however, is asserted to have produced a hare; a thuringian, a toad. bayle speaks of a mare which produced a calf; and of a woman, who became the mother of a black cat, which was burnt by command of the holy inquisition in the belief that it was the offspring of the devil. these marvels have been chiefly attested by monks and physicians; but there is scarcely an instance in which any distinguished naturalist has been able to confirm the fact. during the thirteenth century, in three different places, at wittenberg, misnia, and villefranche, children were born without heads. they died upon coming into the world; but not without having exhibited symptoms of life. carpi, the anatomist, mentions a child born in 1729, in whose head was found nothing but clear water without a vestige of brain. on the other hand, children have come into the world with a double volume of brain. in 1684, a woman gave birth to twins, of which the first-born survived only a few hours, while the second exhibited a double head, having four eyes, two noses, two tongues, but only two ears. the annals of anatomy furnish many such instances; and the cases of the siamese twins, and of the unfortunate sisters of sgöny, are too well known to need description. but if all the instances on record were recapitulated, these blunders of nature are but as a grain of sand compared with the regularity of her productions through an infinity of ages. the idea of individuals having a double sex, created probably by plato in the fable of the androgyne, the most ingenious fiction bequeathed to us by antiquity, was for ages supposed to have its foundation in fact; and every now and then, the irregularities of a chevalier d'eon revive the chimera, to which anatomists oppose a decided negative. the beautiful statue of the florentine hermaphrodite at the louvre is as much a chimerical being as a sphinx. the memoirs of the chevalier d'eon, published in america, declare one of the most illustrious dynasties of modern europe to be his descendents; an assertion easily disproved by a comparison of the date of his visit to russia with that of the birth of the emperor paul. the albinos were formerly considered a distinct race. they were sought in the olden time as favourite appendages to the courts of african and asiatic monarchs. pliny places them in albania, probably from the similitude of name; but does not state that they constituted a nation. his description of them, however, perfectly agrees with those of modern times; having white hair, and eyes which he describes as resembling those of a partridge. the albinos are, in truth, an exceptional race; and their peculiarities are seldom found to be hereditary. the morbid longings of women during pregnancy afford many remarkable facts. goulard relates, that in the neighbourhood of andernach, on the rhine, a woman experienced such a longing for the flesh of her husband, that she murdered him, ate one half of the body and salted the other; when her appetite being appeased, she confessed the deed to two friends of her husband. in the helvetic chronicles it is related, that in the time of martin iv., an illustrious lady of rome, an object of affection to the supreme head of the church, gave birth to a son having the semblance of a wild beast; which monstrous production was ascribed to the passion of his holiness for paintings of animals, numbers of which ornamented his palace, till the continual view of such objects influenced the mind and body of his fair inmate. a black child is generally believed to have been born to marie thérèse, the wife of louis xiv., in consequence of a little negro page in her service having started from a hiding-place, and stumbled over her dress early in her pregnancy. this child was educated at the convent of moret, near fontainebleau, where she took the veil, and where, till the epoch of the revolution, her portrait was shown. mallebranche has assigned the greatest scope of imagination to women under such circumstances. he mentions one, who having been present at the breaking of a criminal on the wheel, gave birth to a child whose limbs were broken at the exact places where those of the criminal were fractured. scarcely an anatomical museum but contains monstrous productions. the question unsolved is the influence of the imagination of the mother in producing these aberrations of nature. chapter xliv. the ichneumon and the halcyon. buffon assumes that the ichneumon has been brought to a state of domesticity. but he probably generalized from a single instance. the pacha of egypt has a tame lion; and many other instances might be cited. but the lion cannot be regarded as reduced to a domestic animal. according to pliny, the ichneumon was an object of veneration among the egyptians. so also was the crocodile; these two determined enemies being equally objects of adoration. by the ancients, the ichneumon was said to watch the moment of the crocodile's sleep; when, finding the monster's jaws open, it instantly crept in, and having devoured the bowels, made its way out by the way it entered. denon has given us the following account of the ichneumon in his travels in egypt. "the ichneumon is seen lying upon the reeds of the nile, in the neighbourhood of the villages, to which it repairs in search of poultry and eggs. the supposed antagonism of the ichneumon and crocodile, the one eating the eggs of the other, and the former creeping down the throat of the latter, is pure invention. these two animals do not dwell in the same regions. crocodiles are not known in lower, nor ichneumons in upper egypt; so that there can be no grounds for the prejudice which has existed twenty centuries:--for pliny, himself, probably handed down a tradition! the fable of the halcyon is so charming, that it ought to have been founded on fact. but ovid was a better poet than naturalist. to the power of tranquillizing the tempest, the halcyon was supposed to add the gift of foretelling good or bad weather. by degrees, writers of fiction endowed its feathers with the power of rendering silk proof against the sting of insects, of yielding wealth and harmony, and conferring grace and beauty on the wearers. the halcyon deposits its eggs on the sea-shore, on the banks of lakes and rivers; and its breeding season is that when the air is most calm and serene; but its power of controlling the elements is wholly fabulous. chapter xlv. sorcerers and magicians. in the works of st. augustin, we are informed that there existed in his time in italy, women possessed of the power attributed by the poets to circe, who transformed men into beasts of burthen, and compelled them to bear their baggage. st. augustin mentions that a priest named præstantius unfortunately meeting one of those women, was changed into a mule, and compelled to bear a trunk on his back; and that it was only when she had no further occasion for his services, he was allowed to resume his gown and band. are we to infer from this passage, that one of the greatest minds that ever enlightened the church believed in this species of transformation? certainly not! the works of st. augustin are not to be literally interpreted. the hyperbole simply implies that there are in italy women whose charms are so powerful, and whose allurements so dangerous, that men who give way to their influence, ceasing to be men, are reduced to the condition of brutes, and exercise the most degrading labour. as to the priest præstantius, his name contains the key to the mystery; and he was probably one of the minor canons of the church converted into a slave to do the errands of some attractive dame. this version of the passage of st. augustin, so often cited for twelve centuries by the believers in magic, was simply an exhortation against female seduction to the laity and clergy of his time. it has proved, however, no small advantage to mountebanks to be backed by the authority of the illustrious name of st. augustin! the annals of the jesuits abound in terrible histories of atonement made at the stake for imputed sorcery. the following instance is related by dom calmet. charles iv., duke of lorraine, had in his service a valet-de-chambre, named desbordes, who was accused of having hastened, by the art of sorcery, the death of the princess mary of lorraine, mother to the duke. "charles iv. conceived suspicions against desbordes, from the period of his having furnished a grand banquet given by the duke to a hunting party at a moment's notice: desbordes having made no other preparatives than to open a chest, having three trays, upon which were three courses ready prepared. during another hunting party, desbordes reanimated three criminals suspended from a gibbet, and commanded them to make obeisance to the duke; having done which, he bade them hang themselves again. another time, he made the figures in a piece of tapestry come down and join in the dance. charles iv., alarmed at these supernatural feats, eventually brought desbordes to trial; and he was condemned and executed as a magician for mere acts of sleight of hand. the real cause of his condemnation was the enmity of the court-physicians of lorraine; whom he had irritated by the disappointment of their predictions touching the death of the princess mary; for had his judges really believed in his power of restoring the dead to life, their sentence of execution would have been absurd. the most learned men of times famed for their learning have sometimes condescended to confirm these popular errors. baronius affirms the bridge of the spiritus sanctus, in rome, to have been erected by a glance from the eye of a child of twelve years old, named benezet; and his assertion is founded upon five papal bulls. paulus jovius, a man of unquestionable erudition, confirms the popular legend concerning the black dog of cornelius agrippa; stating that, when on his death-bed at lyons, he uttered dreadful imprecations against his faithful attendant, who was supposed by the vulgar to be a familiar spirit disguised under the form of a cur; saying, "away with thee wretched beast, through whom i am lost to all eternity!" on which the dog precipitated itself into the saône, and appeared no more. unfortunately for the historian, agrippa died at grenoble, and not at lyons, so that the saône is rather far fetched. but those who believe in familiar spirits are apt to be loose in their notions of geography. the work of james i., upon demonology, is one of the most curious records of the superstition of his time, of which the feats of nicholas hopkins, the witch-finder, afford so cruel an evidence. the royal author would, perhaps, have been better employed in seeing a more enlightened education bestowed upon his ill-advised son, than in perpetuating his own credulity. the memoirs of the cardinal de richelieu admit his belief in witchcraft. in his time, it was an advantage to a minister of state to have at his disposal accusations of a mysterious crime, where disculpation was next to impossible. urbain grandier, the priest, who was condemned to death for allowing the nuns of loudun to communicate with the devil, was one among many victims to the darkness of the public mind. by the parliaments of france, hundreds were burnt for witchcraft in the course of a few months. the shepherds of la brie alone supplied innumerable victims; as the supposed authors of all the domestic misfortunes of the district, the murrain that carried off the cattle, and the hooping-cough that carried off the children. like the old women in scotland, they were "na canny;" and like them, expiated the prejudice among faggots and tar-barrels. but though we no longer burn for witchcraft, the profession is far from extinct; and in the remote districts of england, scotland, ireland, and wales, there scarcely exists a country magistrate but has had some charge brought before him implying the exercise of witchcraft. the horse-shoe is still seen nailed above the doors of our villages; and fortune-tellers, and spaewives are consulted, in spite of sunday schools and the lancastrian system. not a day passes, but the ordeal of the bible and key, the sortes virgiliane of the vulgar, is resorted to in some village of the british empire; but the exorcisms of the school-master will probably drive both witches and witch-finders from the land. chapter xlvi. male and female. when the learned spaniard, feijoo, was about to decide upon the comparative power and merit of the two sexes, he invoked an angel to descend from heaven to enlighten his mind; so perplexing did he feel the arguments on both sides. rousseau, in comparing the sexes, observes, "as i pursue my investigations, i perceive on all sides affinity--on all sides discrepancy." and long may that discrepancy exist. the merit of woman consists in the oppositeness of her qualities to those of the male sex. to be completely woman, is her perfection; as man is never more perfect than when most completely man. sybarites and amazons are alike at variance with nature; and hercules handling the distaff of omphale could not be more absurd than omphale wielding the club of hercules. in heathen times, and even now, in countries uncivilized by christianity, the condition of women is of a subordinate and miserable nature. aristotle was one of the greatest depreciators of women; regarding them as an incomplete production, and at variance with the ends of nature. he fancied that, in a more perfect order of things, only men would be seen on earth. in the tragedies of euripides, women are treated with unmeasured contempt; and his opinions being embraced by the greeks, were adopted by the early theologians alluded to by st. augustin; who pretended that at the day of judgment, god would reform his work, and the dead of both sexes rise again of the masculine gender. in the fifth century, it was agitated in council, whether our saviour died for women as well as men; nor was it till after the most violent contestation, decided in the affirmative. mahomet, the most violent opponent of the equality of sexes excluded women from paradise except in a few favoured instances. chivalry was the first defender of the weaker sex. at the beginning of the twelfth century, a doctor, named amauri, of the diocese of chartres, attempted to renew the doctrine of aristotle concerning women, declaring them to be imperfect works accidentally proceeding from the hands of god. the archbishop of paris, however, convened a council, which declared his doctrine to be heretical; and anathemized amauri, who having died previous to the decree, his lady was disinterred, and thrown into the common sewer. this proceeding gave much satisfaction to the parisian populace; but was scarcely necessary to refute the impertinent assertions of aristotle and his disciple. it is unnecessary to dwell upon the criticisms, satires, and diatribes, of which women have been the objects,--from juvenal, to boileau and pope; and from boccaccio and brantome, to la fontaine and byron:--for their champions are, at least, as numerous as their assailants. among themselves madame de genlis in france, and mary wolstonecroft in england, have fought a good fight in favour of the equality of the sexes. mallebranche, one of the writers who has most profoundly studied the question, accords to women a decided superiority in point of sensibility; but decides them to be equally inferior to the male sex in point of abstract ideas. arguing upon the difference of organisation, and conceiving the brain to be the seat of intellectual operations, he shows that the brain of women is of a more feeble organization, and less extended than that of men; and concludes, from the diameter of their head being less, that their minds must maintain the same proportion. this opinion is based upon the craniological, or phrenological system. mallebranche agrees with dr. gall in the belief that the seat of intelligence lies essentially in the brain, and that the amount of our faculties is proportioned to the volume of that organ: that stupid animals have scarcely any brain, and sagacious animals much; that no animal can vie in proportion with that of man; and that among men, idiots are remarkable for deficiency of brain. on this point, the learned and the ignorant fully coincide;--a fool or idiot, having been always styled a brainless fellow. the cretins of the valais, and the pyrenees, who have very diminutive heads, are alike devoid of intellect, and suffer from the same affliction. in the intellectual physiology of domangeon, he relates, that, of two maniacs under his care, a young person suddenly bereft of reason had a head incredibly small; while an old woman, similarly afflicted, had a brain no larger than that of a child of three years old. experiment has now proved the brain to be the seat of human intelligence. the celebrated dr. richerand, attended a patient whose brain was accidentally exposed, and anxious to convince himself that the brain was really the seat of intelligence, he pressed that of his patient with his hand, when the intellectual powers immediately ceased, and upon withdrawing his hand, they recovered their faculties. those who still deny the brain to be the seat of intelligence, instance, in support of their theory, the existence of reason after the ossification of the brain; and of children, born deficient in spinal marrow. duverney exhibited to the academy of sciences at paris, the head of an ox nearly petrified, notwithstanding which, it had never betrayed the least uneasiness, or any unusual symptoms. it is certain that considerable portions of the brain have been removed from a living subject, in cases of accident, without prejudice to the intellectual faculties. but the lobes being double, a portion may be cut away without affecting its power; as in losing an eye or an ear, the faculty of seeing and hearing remains. all this, however, is a digression from the fact asserted; that the brain of a woman weighs less by one sixteenth than that of a man! the mean weight of the brain of a man is estimated at three pounds; and it is found to be two pounds thirteen ounces in that of a woman, from which it may be inferred that man is a sixteenth part more intelligent than woman. it may, however, be argued that this is only accordant with the other comparative proportions of the human frame. the stature of woman is a sixteenth less than that of man, and the brain ought surely to be in proportion to the stature. on this point, j. j. rousseau observes, "a perfect woman and perfect man ought to be as dissimilar in form and face, as in soul. a well-conditioned man should not be less than five feet and a half in height, with a sonorous voice and well-bearded chin." but considering the number of men who expend many hours a day in adorning and perfuming their persons, and lounging upon a sofa or beside a work-table, it is not wonderful that women should be tempted to consider themselves somewhat nearer on a par with those who renounce the manly attributes of their sex. in establishing between man and woman certain relations and differences, providence has clearly distinguished the condition of the two sexes. to the stronger, he assigned rude labour and the tillage of the earth; to the weaker, domestic duties, and the rearing of progeny. the one has an out-door, the other an in-door existence; and by the duties of the mother, the position of the slighter sex is distinctly pointed out. it would appear as if the comparative merit of the sexes were influenced by the effect of climate; the salique-law still prevailing in several of the most civilized countries of europe, in spite of the glorious reigns of elizabeth and anne in england, and catherine in russia; and the living example of three female sovereigns on the throne. but it may be added that in two of the countries where woman is excluded from the throne, she exercises in private life fourfold the influence assigned her in england, spain, or portugal, where she is admitted to the privileges of supreme power. chapter xlvii. minor superstitions. one of the most prevalent minor superstitions has its origin in a religious influence. friday is regarded as the most unlucky day of the week, from being that of the crucifixion of jesus christ. people of all classes object to commencing an undertaking, or a journey, on friday; and the calabrian brigands forbear to assassinate on that day, however difficult to postpone the premeditated crime till the following morning. they feel convinced that a murder committed on a friday will be overtaken by the hand of justice. in paris, the average quantity of new pieces produced at the different theatres is from a hundred and fifty to two hundred; and for the last thirty years, not one of these has been produced for the first time on a friday. boileau, in one of his satires, places among the number of human weaknesses, the superstition which makes twelve grouped together, fear an other one. the origin of this sentiment dates from the last supper; when, thirteen being at table, one of them betrayed and another denied his master, and "went and hanged himself;" and a prejudice has ever since prevailed that out of every thirteen dipping together in the dish, one must fall a victim before the end of the year. the probability that one out of every thirteen may die in the course of the year, exceeds but little the usual chances of mortality. the dislike which many entertain of seeing a knife and fork crossed on a plate, has also reference to a religious objection as an emblem of the crucifixion. yet it sometimes obtains ascendancy over unbelievers. frederick the great disliked seeing a knife and fork crossed so much, that he never failed to uncross them. others dislike to see three candles lighted; an omen borrowed from the ancients, who regarded them as symbolic of the fates, the furies, and the three heads of cerberus. chapter xlviii. somnambulism. "dreams are the interludes of a busy fancy," say the copybooks; and in some instances they appear to excite in the body impulses equally active. condillac, the mathematician, when surprised by sleep in the midst of his abstruse calculations, often found that, on awaking, the solution of a problem presented itself spontaneously to his mind, as though he had been working in his sleep. but a more familiar instance of somnambulism is that of a deceased hampshire baronet. this gentleman was nearly driven to distraction by the fact that, every night, he went to bed in a shirt, and every morning awoke naked, without the smallest trace of the missing garment being discovered. hundreds of shirts disappeared in this manner; and as there was no fire in his room, it was impossible to account for the mystery. the servants believed their master to be mad; and even he began to fancy himself bewitched. in this conjuncture, he implored an intimate friend to sleep in the room with him; and ascertain by what manner of mysterious midnight visitant his garment was so strangely removed. the friend, accordingly, took up his station in the haunted chamber; and lo! as the clock struck one, the unfortunate baronet, who had previously given audible intimation of being fast asleep, rose from his bed, rekindled with a match the candle which had been extinguished, deliberately opened the door, and quitted the room. his astonished friend followed; saw him open in succession a variety of doors, pass along several passages, traverse an open court, and eventually reach the stable-yard; where he divested himself of his shirt, and disposed of it in an old dung heap, into which he thrust it by means of a pitch fork. having finished this extraordinary operation, without taking the smallest heed of his friend who stood looking on, and plainly saw that he was walking in his sleep, he returned to the house, carefully reclosed the doors, re-extinguished the light, and returned to bed; where the following morning he awoke, as usual, stripped of his shirt! the astonished eye-witness of this extraordinary scene, instead of apprizing the sleep-walker of what had occurred, insisted that the following night, a companion should sit up with him; choosing to have additional testimony to the truth of the statement he was about to make; and the same singular events were renewed, without the slightest change or deviation. the two witnesses, accordingly, divulged all they had seen to the baronet; who, though at first incredulous, became of course convinced, when, on proceeding to the stable-yard, several dozens of shirts were discovered; though it was surmised that as many more had been previously removed by one of the helpers, who probably looked upon the hoard as stolen goods concealed by some thief. a far stranger circumstance has been related by a highly-beneficed member of the roman catholic church. in the college where he was educated was a young seminarist who habitually walked in his sleep; and while in a state of somnambulism, used to sit down to his desk and compose the most eloquent sermons; scrupulously erasing, effacing, or interlining, whenever an incorrect expression had fallen from his pen. though his eyes were apparently fixed upon the paper when he wrote, it was clear that they exercised no optical functions; for he wrote just as well when an opaque substance was interposed between them and the sheet of paper. sometimes, an attempt was made to remove the paper, in the idea that he would write upon the desk beneath. but it was observed that he instantly discerned the change; and sought another sheet of paper, as nearly as possible resembling the former one. at other times, a blank sheet of paper was substituted by the bystanders for the one on which he had been writing; in which case, on reading over, as it were, his composition, he was sure to place the corrections, suggested by the perusal, at precisely the same intervals they would have occupied in the original sheet of manuscript. this young priest, moreover, was an able musician; and was seen to compose several pieces of music while in a state of somnambulism; drawing the lines of the music paper for the purpose with a ruler and pen and ink, and filling the spaces with his notes with the utmost precision, besides a careful adaptation of the words, in vocal pieces. on one occasion, the somnambulist dreamt that he sprang into a river to save a drowning child; and, on his bed, was seen to imitate the movements of swimming. seizing the pillow, he appeared to snatch it from the waves and lay it on the shore. the night was intensely cold; and so severely did he appear affected by the imaginary chill of the river, as to tremble in every limb; and his state of cold and exhaustion when roused, was so alarming, that it was judged necessary to administer wine and other restoratives." it would require a volume to relate the wonders of artificial somnambulism produced by animal magnetism, _i. e._ the somnolency produced in certain organizations by persons constitutionally endowed for the purpose; during which, some patients become so utterly insensible, that surgical operations of the most painful nature, such as amputation, have been performed upon them without their knowledge. others appear to be transported into a higher sphere; and in a frame of mind described under the name of _clairvoyance_, become capable of reading sealed letters and closed books; of speaking languages of which they are otherwise ignorant, and indicating the name and nature of misunderstood diseases, as well as the means of cure; though at the cessation of the state of somnambulism, all recollection is effaced of the wonders they have performed under its influence. the mysteries of magnetic science are at present so imperfectly understood, and afford so wide a field for scientific argument, that it would be presumptuous to enter further into the subject in a work affecting to treat of errors and superstitions. chapter xlix. a few more words about ghosts, vampires, and loup-garoux. in the winter of 1758, the sacristan of polliac expired, after a few hours' illness, of a fright produced by the sight of a large white rabbit seated on the grave-stone of a famous poacher recently deceased, as he was crossing the church-yard at midnight after accompanying the curate to administer the last sacrament to a dying parishioner. the mind of this poor fellow, who was a proficient in the ghost stories of the neighbourhood, was probably deeply impressed by the melancholy scene he had been witnessing; which, combined with the desperate character and blasphemous habits of blaise rolland, the poacher, induced him to suppose that the soul of the defunct had undergone transformation, or that satan himself was watching over his grave, in the shape of one of the animals he had so often appropriated to himself. the rabbit proved in the sequel to be a tame one escaped from a neighbouring farm. but in the interim, the poor man had fallen a victim to his panic! a more rational being would have inquired of himself for what purpose the almighty could be supposed to suffer the soul of an obscure poacher to revisit the earth, when we learn from divine writ his refusal to permit the appearance of dives to his brethren, as a superfluous concession. "if they hear not moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead!" nothing can be more absurd than the functions attributed to ghosts, when we know that the soul, at the moment of its separation from the body, is an impalpable, invisible, substance. yet this spiritual essence, which eye hath not seen, or ear heard, is supposed to have exercised the power of dragging chains, undrawing curtains, opening doors, ringing bells, uttering groans, articulating reproaches; in the face of the scriptural revelation "that the body shall return to the dust, and the spirit unto god who gave it!" we find in st. john's gospel, that the souls of mankind in the different mansions of the almighty, receive after death the reward of deeds done in the body. is it likely then that they should have leisure or inclination for revisiting their dreary mansion of clay? there is one instinct which we are bound to accord to ghosts; _i. e._ a wonderful aptitude for the discovery of cowards! in the ghost-stories of all countries, it is observable that the first impulse of the person addressed by a spectre is to take to his heels. with the exception of the lady of the beresford family, who is said to have sat and talked theology with her brother, there is no record of a rational conversation between a disembodied spirit and those of the flesh; for the pretended apparition of mrs. veale, is now known to have been an ingenious bookseller's puff of the work of drelincourt on death. in most instances, ghost-stories have their origin in some incident which no one has been at the pains to investigate. in 1746, the public theatre of anatomy, in paris, was disturbed by the sudden frenzy of the porter in care of the dissecting-room; who protested that the spirit of a young man, whose body had been deposited there the preceding day, after having committed suicide by throwing himself into the seine, had appeared to him in the course of the night, bewailing and lamenting the dreadful consequences of his crime. bruhier, the learned professor of anatomy, aware of the injurious consequences likely to arise from a report that the theatre was haunted, examined carefully into the details of the case; when it appeared that this unfortunate young man, having recovered in the course of the night from the state of insensibility in which he was deposited in the dissecting-room, and terrified by the horrible aspect of the spot in which he found himself, among dead bodies, skeletons and anatomical preparations faintly illuminated by the light of a lamp, had dragged himself to the door of the small adjoining room inhabited by the porter, and in faint accents implored his assistance, and described the agonies of his situation. the porter, roused from his sleep by the appeal of a dead man wrapped in his winding-sheet, instantly lost his senses; and the doors being locked upon them, the exhausted young man, whom providence had thus fruitlessly restored, sank a victim to cold and exhaustion. his body was discovered stretched on the floor of the dissecting-room near the porter's door. but for the judicious investigations of monsieur bruhier, this would have been established as an authentic instance of spectral visitation! a similar circumstance occurred in lancashire some years ago. a lady, the wife of a wealthy squire, died after a protracted illness; and on the evening of her decease, her husband, desirous to pass a solitary hour by the body, sent the nurse who was watching beside it, out of the room. before the expiration of an hour, the bell by which the deceased had been in the habit of summoning the nurse, rang violently; and the woman, fancying the unfortunate widower was taken suddenly ill, hurried into the room. he dismissed her angrily, however, protesting that he had not rung. shortly afterwards, the bell was rung a second time; when the woman observed to one of the servants that she should not attend to the summons, as the gentleman might again repent having summoned her, and dismiss her ungraciously. "it cannot be my master who is ringing now," replied the footman, "for i have this moment left him in the drawing-room." and while he was still speaking, the bell of the chamber of death rang a third time--and still more violently than before. the nurse was now literally afraid to obey the summons: nor was it till several of the servants agreed to accompany her, that she could command sufficient courage. at length, they ventured to open the door, expecting to discover, within, some terrible spectacle. all, however, was perfectly tranquil; the corpse extended upon the bed under a holland sheet, which was evidently undisturbed. such, however, was the agitation of the poor nurse, that nothing would induce her to remain alone with the body; and one of the housemaids accordingly agreed to become her companion in the adjoining dressing-room. they had not been there many minutes, when the bell again sounded; nor could there be any mistake on the subject, for the bell-wire passing round the dressing-room was in motion, and the servants in the offices could attest the vibration of the bell. the family butler accordingly determined to support the courage of the terrified women by accompanying them back to the dressing-room, in which they were to sit with the door open, so as to command a view of the bed. these precautions effectually unravelled the mystery! a string had been attached to the bell-pull to enable the sick lady to summon her attendants without changing her position, which, still unremoved, hung down upon the floor; and a favourite kitten, often admitted into the room to amuse the invalid, having entered the chamber unobserved, was playing with the string, which, being entangled in her feet, had produced this general panic. but for the opportune explanation of this trivial incident, the family mansion would have obtained the notoriety of a haunted house, and probably been deserted! such was the case with the crown inn at antwerp, where some years ago, a white spectre, bearing a lamp in one hand and a bunch of keys in the other, was seen by a variety of travellers passing along a corridor till it disappeared in a particular chamber. nothing would satisfy the neighbours that an unfortunate traveller had not been, at some period or other, despatched in that fatal room by one of the previous landlords of the house; and the crown gradually obtained the name of the haunted inn, and ceased to be frequented by its old patrons. the landlord, finding himself on the brink of ruin, determined to sleep in the haunted-room with a view of proving the groundlessness of the story; and caused his ostler to bear him company, on pretence of requiring a witness to the absurdity of the report; but in reality, from cowardice. at dead of night, however, just as the two men were composing themselves to sleep in one bed, leaving another which was in the room untenanted, the door flew open, and in glided the white spectre! without pausing to ascertain what it might attempt on approaching the other bed, towards which it directed its course, the two men rushed naked out of the room; and by the alarm they created, confirmed, more fully than ever, the evil repute of the house. unable longer to sustain the cost of so unproductive an establishment, the poor landlord advertised for sale the house in which he and his father before him were born and bred. but bidders were as scarce as customers; the inn remaining on sale for nearly a year, during which, from time to time, the spectre reappeared. at length, an officer of the garrison, who had formerly frequented the house, and recollected the excellent quality of its wine, moved to compassion in favour of the poor host, undertook to clear up the mystery by sleeping in the haunted chamber; nothing doubting that the whole was a trick of some envious neighbour, desirous of deteriorating the value of the freehold in order to become a purchaser. his offer having been gratefully accepted, the captain took up his quarters in the fatal room, with a bottle of wine, and a brace of loaded pistols on the table before him; determined to shoot at whatever object might enter the doors. at the usual hour of midnight, accordingly, when the door flew open and the white spectre bearing a lamp and a bunch of keys made its appearance, he seized his weapons of destruction; when, lo! as his finger was on the point of touching the trigger, what was his panic on perceiving that the apparition was no other than the daughter of his host, a young and pretty girl, evidently walking in her sleep! preserving the strictest silence, he watched her set down the lamp, place her keys carefully on the chimney-piece, and retire to the opposite bed, which, as it afterwards proved, she had often occupied during the life-time of her late mother who slept in the room. no sooner had she thoroughly composed herself, than the officer, after locking the door of the room, went in search of her father and several competent witnesses; including the water-bailiff of the district, who had been one of the loudest in circulating rumours concerning the haunted inn. the poor girl was found quietly asleep in bed; and her terror on waking in the dreaded chamber, afforded sufficient evidence to all present of the state of somnambulism in which she had been entranced. from that period, the spectre was seen no more; probably because the landlord's daughter removed shortly afterwards to a home of her own. it has frequently occurred, for ill-disposed persons to profit by the ill-name of a haunted house, as in the case of gangs of coiners and thieves, who raise such reports in order to secure impunity in their haunts. the palace of the tuileries is said to be haunted by a red man, who regularly appears on the eve of any popular tumult, betiding evil to the royal family of france. and appear he will, to the end of time; for those who wish to create a political panic, take care that the apparition shall be periodically renewed. the palace at berlin was at one time in danger of having a weisse frau, or white lady, to match with the red man. during the reign of frederick i., one of the princesses, his daughters, being dangerously ill, a white spectre was seen to traverse the royal corridor leading to her apartments; and from that moment, the royal family gave up all hope of her recovery. the following night, the princess expired; and not a soul about the court doubted that the fatal event had been announced by the appearance of the white lady, who, on being challenged by the guard at the head of the staircase had flitted past like a shadow. great difficulty was found in procuring proper attendants to watch beside the body of her royal highness; when one of the royal chaplains requested a sight of the depositions of the soldiers by whom the spectre had been accosted. the mystery was instantly explained. a favourite attendant of the late princess, who, from the moment of her death had been confined to her bed by severe affliction, happened to have mentioned to the chaplain that, on quitting her royal highness's room in search of him, about midnight, the night preceding her mistress's demise, having a white veil thrown over her head to keep her from the night air, she had been challenged by the sentinel on guard; which being contrary to etiquette in a spot where her person was well known, she had not thought proper to reply. on further investigation, the evidence of the young lady herself was obtained; when it appeared that the period of her passage in a white night-dress, to and from the princess's apartments, corresponded exactly with the apparitions of the white lady described by the soldiers a happy relief for those who were compelled to inhabit that wing of the palace. a curious discovery occurred some years ago, at the head-quarters of the french army on the banks of the rhine. it appears that rumours became suddenly prevalent of the repeated appearance of the spectre of the famous general marceau, who, was killed at altenkirchen near coblentz, in 1796, and buried in the glacis of that city. he was, nevertheless, seen in his uniform as a general of chasseurs, with a drawn sword in his hand, by several sentries and patroles; and nothing was discussed in paris but the nature of the omens to be inferred from this apparition of one of the bravest officers of the republic. it happened that the french commandant of the city of coblentz was a school-fellow and intimate friend of general marceau; and either in hopes of once more beholding one so much beloved, or with a view of detecting the impostor who had presumed to trifle with his memory, he marched to the spot pointed out as the usual haunt of the spectre, escorted by a company of grenadiers. shortly after his arrival, the ghost made its customary appearance, and by way of military salute, the commandant ordered his men to "make ready" and "present!" but ere he could add the fatal word "fire," the ghost was upon its knees, whining piteously; realizing the officer's shrewd suspicions that it would prove to be one of the boatmen of the rhine, who had assumed this appalling costume in order to pursue his calling unmolested, of conveying by night to the fortress of ehrenbreitstein, opposite coblentz, (at that moment besieged by the french) the provisions and succours so vital to the garrison. in the character of marceau's ghost, accordingly, he had nightly paraded the glacis; keeping the coast clear from intrusion, while his boats traversed the river towards the fortress. every one who has travelled in hungary is familiar with the superstitions of the willis, or dancing-brides, and the vampires, or bodies that preserve a posthumous life by the suction of blood from human veins. but the latter superstition has found its way to other countries. a grave having been accidentally opened in a church-yard in lorraine, about the year 1726, the body of a schoolmaster who, in his lifetime, had been strongly suspected of proficiency in the occult sciences, but who had been dead nearly half a century, was discovered in his coffin, as plump and fresh as though still alive; his eyes bright--his air joyous. the whole village having crowded to the spot to behold the miracle, instantly recognised a vampire in this healthful corpse. thousands of anecdotes were instantly cited of children lost in the neighbourhood; who, though previously supposed to have fallen into the river, or been destroyed by wolves, had evidently satisfied the dreadful appetites of the dead schoolmaster! in order to keep him, for the future, quiet and harmless in his grave, the villagers drove a stake through the body, after having cut off his head and burnt it on the spot. had they persevered in their search, they would doubtless have found reason to fear, from the evidence of the adjoining graves, that their own fathers and mothers were also vampires. many soils, particularly those impregnated with nitre, have the property of preserving bodies by converting them to a substance resembling spermaceti. similar discoveries have been made in several church-yards in england; but luckily without provoking suspicions so preposterous. in the course of a few years, thanks to the progress of national education, the best authenticated ghost-story going will scarcely find an auditor. half of the magic rites and mystic wonders of the olden time have found able expositors in our own, in the retort and the crucible. we no longer exorcise a ghost:--we decompose it,--like any other gas. the orgies of intemperance used to be a fertile source of apparitions; as in the case of the female spectre which rebuked the infidelity of lord lyttleton--and the appearance of lord lyttleton himself to his friend miles peter andrews; two _bon vivants_, who were most likely indebted for their nocturnal visions to an extra bottle of claret, and a broiled bone. a clergyman, who had been struggling hard and sacrificing his nights' rest for a series of months to a new translation of the prophecies, took it into his head one night, that three children had entered his room and were seated at his writing table. as there was nothing alarming in such a visitation, he continued to write on; and on retiring to bed, at daybreak, left his young visitors apparently occupying their place. when he woke in the morning, they had of course disappeared. the illusion was, however, so strong, and recurred so often, that his studies were seriously interrupted; till at last he took the only wise step ever taken by an inveterate ghost-seer:--he consulted an eminent physician. "you have been overworking yourself," was the judicious reply, "and unless you have recourse to air and exercise, your nervous system will become seriously impaired. such cases are by no means rare among men of studious habits. in some instances, the spectrum is created by a disorder of the optic nerve. in yours, i am pretty nearly sure that it arises from derangement of the stomach. a good dose of calomel, my dear sir, will lay all your ghosts in the red sea!" an ignominious conclusion of a romance, which in some respects resembles the story of the lutheran clergyman related in wraxall's memoirs! who, on taking possession of his cure, was awoke early next morning by the spectre of a pastor in his gown and band, praying beside the desk at the foot of his bed, and holding a ghastly child by either hand, whom he recognised--by a likeness suspended in the parish church--as his predecessor in the living. this occurred in summer time; but at the beginning of winter, when the stove in his chamber came to be lighted, as it never used to be in the time of the former pastor, an unpleasant smell issuing from the chimney caused a search to be instituted; when lo! the bones of two young children were found among the ashes in the stove. the incumbent, who had already circulated the report of his ghost story, had of course the comfort of finding child-murder attributed to his predecessor. the instance of eugene aram and 'dan clarke's bones' affords strong proof that those who hide can find; and in the ease in question, there appears some doubt whether the spectre were the delinquent. the subject of ghosts, however, must not be treated with less reverence than its due. samuel and the witch of endor, and the declaration of the evangelist that, during the passion of our saviour "the dead were raised up, and seen by many in the city of jerusalem," remind us that spectral visitations are consistent with the records of holy writ. but in this case, as in that of demoniacal possession, the christian era has produced a revolution in the pschycological phenomena of nature; the power of the evil one over the human race being modified so that the dead are no longer raised up; while the angels of the lord no longer manifest themselves to the eyes of mankind, nor do his fallen angels take possession of the living soul. a remarkable story connected with the belief in spectral visitations, is that of the celebrated bernhardi of vienna; who after spending the evening in a gay carouse with a party of young men of infidel principles, where he boldly avowed his disbelief in the existence of ghosts, undertook to proceed, as the bell tolled midnight, to an adjoining church-yard, and stick into a grave pointed out to him, a fork which was taken from the supper-table and presented to him for the purpose. a considerable wager was to depend upon his execution of the feat; and at the appointed hour, with a daring deportment bernhardi quitted the company, and repaired to the scene of action. it was agreed that he should return to the supper-table, leaving the fork sticking in the grave so as to be found on the morrow, in token of his accomplishment of the exploit. ten minutes would have sufficed for his visit to the church-yard. but at the close of an hour he was still absent; when his companions became convinced that he had turned coward and sneaked home to bed. they instantly determined to convict his defection by following him to his lodgings; but on their arrival, found, with no small consternation, that he had not made his appearance. one of them, more his friend than the rest, really alarmed for his safety, proposed that they should visit the church-yard, and ascertain, at least, whether he had accomplished the feat. when lo! extended on the grave lay the lifeless body of the scoffer; who had burst a blood-vessel and died of fright. having accidentally pinned down his cloak to the earth in sticking the fork into the ground, where it still remained, he probably fancied himself transfixed by the hands of the grisly tenant of the grave he was thus unpardonably violating, for the sport of a drunken frolic; and thus became the victim of his unwarrantable sacrilege. let those who jest upon such fearful matters, take warning by bernhardi! another superstition connected with the disembodied spirit, is the belief that spectres are to be found in the neighbourhood of hidden treasures. in barbarous countries, it was the practice to kill a slave on a spot where treasures were deposited, in order that his soul might watch over the hoard, and terrify others from the spoil. in ireland, such murders would be gratuitous; for almost every spot pointed out as having been a depository of treasures, in the olden time, is said to be haunted by a banshee. the same superstition appears to prevail in germany and the low countries. some years ago, a most ridiculous incident, founded upon this prejudice, came before the inquisition of the saxon tribunals. the burgomaster of the village of brummersdorf, being a man of dissolute propensities, was in the habit of frequenting the public-house of the place, in order to enjoy with loose companions the irregularities he dared not attempt in his own house, in the fear of drawing upon himself the reprehension of his superiors in office. a fellow of the name of osterwald, who acted as his clerk, was usually the companion of these excesses; and many a good bottle of wine formed the cement of the excellent understanding between them. one summer night, as they were seated, according to custom, in the public room of the inn, considerably the worse for a carouse prolonged after the decent inhabitants of the village had retired to rest, a stranger entered the inn demanding a night's lodging; and having approached the table at which the burgomaster and his friend were drinking, continued to attract their attention by uttering profound sighs. provoked by the interruption, the burgomaster, whose name was listenbach, demanded the cause of his affliction; to which the fellow replied that it was one with which he did not choose to trouble two gentlemen so distinguished as those he saw before him. tickled by this flattery, osterwald insisted on an explanation; and, at length, after much show of caution and mystery, the stranger declared that being a poor student of the university of jena, he had been warned by a dream to repair to the old castle of brummersdorf; where he would find a fertile source of prosperity for his old age. "i knew not," said the stranger, "that there existed such a spot as brummersdorf on the face of the globe; but on consulting my books of science, the following morning, i discovered, not only that it possessed the ruins of an ancient castle, formerly one of the finest in westphalia, but that the constellations were favourable to the enterprize." "i recommend you then to set off at daybreak for the castle," said osterwald, "which is situated only a few hundred yards' distance, on the cliff overhanging the village." "alas! i have just returned from thence!" replied the stranger. "i was expressly enjoined in my dream to visit the spot at the full of the moon." "and what success have you met with, my good friend?" demanded listenbach, with increasing curiosity. "i need not tell you gentlemen, since you appear to be inhabitants of the place," replied the stranger, "that the old castle of brummersdorf is the depository of a prodigious treasure, the property of the extinct house of that name." "indeed!" exclaimed his astonished auditors. "that accounts for the edict issued by government that the inhabitants should on no account be permitted to disturb a stone of that ancient monument!" "on arriving at the spot," rejoined the stranger, "i made known in a loud voice the spiritual authority by which my mission was appointed. when lo! the spirit to whom is delegated the guardianship of the hidden treasure replied that he was not permitted to divulge the spot where it was buried, unless adjured by three persons at once; and unless the vault containing it were opened by a magic key--to be formed of pure gold. but alas! however tempting the prospect, gentlemen, how is a poor devil like myself to procure the twenty-one ducats which the spirit asserts to be indispensable for the casting of the key; or the attendance of two enterprizing companions willing to share my exploit, and its noble reward?" "your two companions are before you," exclaimed the boozy burgomaster, "if you will accept our company. let me see what money i have in my purse!" even without paying the reckoning--including a fresh bottle of wine, called for to drink to the success of their expedition--the purse of the burgomaster did not furnish half the necessary sum. nothing was easier for him, however, than to despatch his clerk to the strong box of his office; which, as he was obliging enough to acquaint them, contained nearly a couple of hundred ducats. in as short a time as the condition of his intellects would allow, osterwald returned with the requisite sum; and the three companions, after an inspiriting bumper, took their way towards the ruins of the old castle.[2] [2] the scene of dousterswivel in the house of the antiquary, may, perhaps, owe its origin to the heroes of the castle of brummersdorf. having arrived on a platform before the venerable gateway, distinctly visible by the brilliant light of the moon, the stranger drew from his pocket a short black stick, with which he traced upon the parched turf a small circle, adorning it with several mystical devices and symbols. "within this magic circle," said he, addressing his companions who were overcome, partly by wine and partly by awe, "you must place yourselves, in order to be secure from the molestation of the evil spirits besetting the spot; while i proceed to fulfil the conditions of the guardian spirit of the eastern tower." the two drunkards, not a little pleased to be thus secured from an interview so tremendous, readily complied; and having furnished the stranger with the purse, took up their position within the circle. for some time, intense anxiety kept them silent. at length, they ventured to communicate to each other their opinion, that the interview between the strange student and the spirit of the castle was somewhat long; but being fortified by their position within the magic circle, weary of standing, and oppressed by drowsiness, they agreed to stretch their limbs on the ground. next morning, the village of brummersdorf was disturbed by the discovery that in the course of the night the office of the burgomaster had been broken into, and its strong box pillaged, the iron safe being left empty on the floor. a further search was immediately instituted; but no burgomaster was to be found; and his clerk being also absent, the dissolute character of listenbach and osterwald caused them to fall under suspicion of having embezzled and carried off the public funds. the testimony of the village landlord, however, soon induced other surmises; and the constables, by whom the robbery was discovered, having proceeded at the head of a body of peasants to the ruins of the old castle, the hapless burgomaster and his drunken clerk were discovered stretched on the ground:--not, as was in the first instance apprehended, bathed in their gore, but quietly sleeping off the fumes of their carouse! the loss of his money was succeeded, of course, by the loss of the place for which he had shown himself so incompetent. but in the course of the summer, the cunning impostor was arrested; and it was the evidence of the parties themselves on his trial which gave publicity to the story! an amusing anecdote occurs in the memoirs of the president de thou; whose son, also a lawyer of eminence, having been despatched by government in 1596 to the town of saumur, on a mission of consequence, was desired to take up his quarters in the ancient hôtel-de-ville, the seat of government. having retired to bed with the uneasy feelings usually attendant on sleeping in a strange place, particularly one of so gloomy and solitary an aspect, the president was awoke about midnight by the weight of some heavy burthen suddenly flung upon his chest; and entertained little doubt that an attempt was about to be made upon his life. being a man of strength and courage, he seized the object in his arms, and flung it violently on the floor; when, by the heavy moans that ensued, he perceived it to be a human being. "doubtless some thief," was his next reflection, "who was searching under my bolster during my slumbers for my watch and purse." while the president was preparing to jump out of bed, the figure, which was attired in white, rose feebly from the floor, and by the dim light of the moon, assumed a somewhat spectral appearance. "who are you?" cried the president, "answer this moment, or i will fell you to the earth!" "who am i, ignoramus? who _should_ i be but the queen of heaven!" replied a cracked female voice; while the servant of the president, who slept in an adjoining room, being now disturbed, rushed in with lights; and with the aid of the porter of the hôtel-de-ville discovered the intruder to be a poor maniac, accustomed to wander about the streets of saumur and find shelter where she could. perceiving the doorway of the private apartments of the hôtel-de-ville to be open, the poor woman had profited by so unusual a circumstance to secure the best bed-room. on monsieur de thou's return to paris, the king, who insisted on hearing from his own lips his ridiculous adventure, complimented him on his presence of mind; admitting that, for his own part, he stood more in fear of ghosts than of the shot of the enemy. had the servants of monsieur de thou encountered this midnight visitant instead of their master, it is probable that the town of saumur would have enjoyed the reputation of having a haunted hôtel-de-ville as long as one stone remained upon another. the forest of ratenau, in westphalia, passed, during a whole year, for being haunted by white spectres of the gnome or imp description; who having accosted, not only the peasants of the neighbourhood, but some of the servants of the count returning after nightfall from the neighbouring market, the road through the forest came to be deserted, and the greatest consternation prevailed at the schloss von ratenau. "on my arriving at the castle from berlin to spend the summer," said the count, in relating the story, "i found the poor people firmly persuaded that a supernatural race of beings had attained supreme power over a portion of my estate; and it was vain to attempt to argue them into a more rational frame of mind. judge, however, of my surprise, when, on returning through the forest, a few nights after my arrival, from the house of one of my neighbours, the carriage stopped suddenly, the horses reared violently; and the postillion, instead of attempting to keep his saddle, began roaring aloud, 'the spirits--the evil spirits!' "another minute and the carriage was dashed from the road and overturned in a ravine; nor was it without much difficulty that i extricated myself, the postillion having already taken to his heels accompanied his fellow servants. i confess to you, that, half stunned by the accident, i experienced some uneasiness at the idea of finding myself alone, at midnight, with the object which had produced this fearful consternation, whether robber or impostor; nay, i will not swear that some of the fantastic tales of schiller and goethe did not recur to my mind. "great, therefore, was my satisfaction on emerging from the broken vehicle, and perceiving two white shapes bounding and gambolling at a distance among the hoary trunks of the oak trees, to recognize two handsome white grey-hounds, which i afterwards ascertained to have strayed from the kennel of the prince henry of prussia, and to have subsisted for a year on their depredations in the forest of ratenau!" another adventure occurred on the estate of a nobleman of the same family, in the duchy of brunswick. an attempt was made to rob the village church; the sacramental plate and poor-box being found one morning in the nave of the church wrapped in a piece of old sacking, so as to give rise to an opinion that the thieves must have been disturbed in their sacrilegious enterprize. some time afterwards, a gang of burglars having been arrested, the judge of the neighbouring town charged them, after their conviction of divers other robberies, with being accessory to the crime in question. in a moment, these fellows, who had preserved the most hardened audacity, fell on their knees, and freely confessed the attempt; adding, that they had been prevented carrying off their booty by the sudden appearance of the evil one emerging from the vestry; and as far as the uncertain light of their dark lantern in that vast area enabled them to judge, in the form of a horned monster. a general laugh instantly arose in court; several of the inhabitants of the village in question recognizing by this description, a tame stag, the pet of a former incumbent of the living, which was allowed the run of the presbytery orchard and church-yard; and which, having most opportunely sought shelter in the porch on the night in question, had probably followed the robbers into the church, which they entered by means of false keys, leaving the doors open for their readier escape. it is recorded in the memoirs of one of the free-thinking circle which surrounded baron d'holbach, in paris, previous to the revolution, that having retired to bed one night after a gay supper, during which this _coterie_ of sceptics amused themselves with the most blasphemous conversation, his gay companions, in order to try his courage, introduced into his bed-room a goat, whose fleece had been steeped in spirits of wine; which, when set on fire, gave to the unlucky animal an aspect truly horrific. the goat almost equally terrified with its intended victim, instantly ran to the bed and attempted to extinguish the flames by rubbing itself against the bed-clothes, which it set on fire; and the young man, having drunk freely at supper so as to be heavily asleep was with difficulty extricated from the flames. the goat died of the consequences of this cruel experiment; and the young man was subject for the remainder of his life to epileptic fits. many instances are on record of an equally serious termination to these foolish practical jokes. witness the well-known story of the young lady, who, after boasting of her intrepidity, had a skeleton from a neighbouring surgery brought into her bed-room by her brothers and some young friends staying in her father's house. on retiring to rest, these cruel jesters listened anxiously for the shrieks which they hoped would betray her cowardice, and were greatly disappointed to find her as self-possessed as she had announced; for instead of screaming, she went quietly to bed. but alas! next morning, when the servant entered her room, she was found playing with the skeleton, in a state of complete fatuity!-in the southern provinces of france, there prevails a superstition, derived probably from the lycanthropy of the ancients, that certain persons assume at night the form of wolves, and roam the country for prey, under the name of _loup-garoux_; a fable which gave rise to perrault's charming fairy-tale of little red riding hood. in a neighbourhood said to be frequented by one of these devastators, who was of course no other than a man in wolf's clothing, who, in this assumed character pillaged the adjacent farms, a _garde champêtre_ or country constable, who had been several times attacked by the supposed monster, contrived to lop off his paw with a hatchet; and, on the escape of the _loup-garou_, found, as he expected, that the furry paw contained a human hand! all the labourers of the neighbourhood were accordingly visited by the gendarmes to ascertain, by his mutilation, the identity of the sheep-stealer. but the delinquent had already fled the country; and the imputed cause of his flight was confirmed a few years afterwards, by his re-appearance in another department of france, maimed of his left hand! sometimes, these _loup-garoux_ are madmen, whose insanity has taken this monomaniacal form; as in the instance of the vintager near padua, in the sixteenth century, who was apprehended on a charge of furiously biting his neighbours on pretence of his lycanthropic propensities. when reminded that his face was unchanged, while the real _loup-garoux_ have always a wolfish physiognony, he asserted that he was permitted to wear his wolf-skin inwards; whereupon the barbarous village tribunal by which he was tried, ordered his hands to be amputated and skinned, to ascertain the truth of the assertion! inflammation ensued, and the wretched lunatic died of his wounds!-chapter l. apocryphal animals. the tarantula is a spider about the size of a nut; the head being surmounted by two horns charged with venomous matter. it has also antennæ which become violently agitated at the sight of its prey; with eight legs, and the same number of eyes, usually of a grey colour, but occasionally marked with livid spots upon a blueish ground. this variety is considered the most dangerous. the tarantula is hairy in the body, and lies torpid in the earth during winter. it revives at the return of spring, when the inhabitants of the district wear half boots for the protection of their legs. in the month of june which is their breeding season, their venom acquires more virulence. the part wounded by this animal becomes livid, yellow, or black; and the victim sinks into despondency, as in cases of hydrophobia. the following account of the bite of a tarantula is borrowed from the letters of the physician st. andré. a neapolitan soldier who had been bitten by a tarantula, though apparently cured, suffered from an annual attack of delirium, after which he used to sink into a state of profound melancholy; his face becoming livid, his sight obscure, his power of breathing checked, accompanied by sighs and heavings. sometimes he fell senseless, and devoid of pulsation; ejecting blood from his nose and mouth, and apparently dying. recourse was had to the influence of music; and the patient began to revive at the sound, his hands marking the measure, and the feet being similarly affected. suddenly rising and laying hold of a bystander, he began to dance with the greatest agility during an uninterrupted course of four-and-twenty hours. his strength was supported by administering to him wine, milk, and fresh eggs. if he appeared to relapse; the music was repeated, on which he resumed his dancing. this unfortunate being used to fall prostrate if the music accidentally stopped, and imagine that the tarantula had again stung him. after a few years he died, in one of these annual attacks of delirium. st. andré is not the only man of science who attributes awful effects to the bite of the tarantula. baglini, a man of considerable eminence, maintains that not only the bite causes the patient to dance, but that the insect itself is readily excitable by music. the properties attributed to the tarantula, in modern times, are not borne out by the testimony of the ancients. dr. pinel, in his commentaries upon the works of baglini, a most eminent authority in the world of science, quotes the adverse opinion of another man of acknowledged merit, epiphany-ferdinandi, who declares that many persons of his acquaintance had been bitten by tarantulas, without experiencing any other inconvenience than might have occurred from the sting of a wasp. thus reduced to the class of a venomous spider, it becomes stripped of its magic powers as the scorpion ceased to be a salamander, when the ordeal of burning alcohol was found to be invariably fatal. the renown of the salamander is, however, of far more ancient date than that of the tarantula. aristotle, pliny, oelian, nicander, all the illustrious apostles of the marvellous, declare that the salamander lives in the midst of flames, and exercises such a control over them, that one salamander was capable of extinguishing the lemnian forges. in the time of henri ii., the famous ambroise paré, pronounced the salamander to be incombustible. others assert that they have seen salamanders extinguish burning embers by emitting a viscous humour, and benvenuto cellini, in his memoirs, gives an account of having seen a salamander in the midst of his fire. the salamander, or rather the newt that bears that name, partakes of the lizard and frog, being generally from five to six inches in length. naturalists admit two kinds, the land and the water salamander. maupertius, among many others, submitted both species to the test of fire, and the result was the same as with any other animal. the were-wolves of antiquity, and _loup-garoux_ of the middle ages, disappeared in the open daylight of modern science. virgil confers on moeris the power of transforming himself into a wolf, varro pamponius, mela, strabo, ascribe the same faculty to various individuals skilled in the art of magic. in the annals of the early french courts of law, there may be found many instances of condemnation for witchcraft and transformation into were-wolves for criminal purposes; and more than one of these wretched victims, probably in a fit of mental aberration, pleaded guilty to the accusation. in 1521, pierre burgot and michael verdun, confessed before the parliament of besançon, that they had frequently transformed themselves into were-wolves, and attacked little girls and boys. half a century later, the parliament of paris condemned to the flames jacques rollet for having transformed himself into a were-wolf, and half devoured a little boy. if we can believe the account of job pincel, constantinople was so infested with were-wolves, in the middle of the sixteenth century, that the sultan went forth with his guard and exterminated one hundred and fifty, when the remainder took to flight. in a conference of theologians convened by the emperor sigismund, transformation into were-wolves was pronounced a crime, and any assertion to the contrary was accounted heresy. in the same century, domestic goblins or familiars were generally accredited. in the twelfth century, a goblin domesticated in a small town of saxony, was known by the name of cap-a-point, and a great favourite with the inhabitants; for whom he cleared their wood, lit their fires, and turned their spits. he was, however, of a vindictive temper; and a turnspit, in one of the kitchens he frequented, having ill-used him, he strangled him in the night, cut him in pieces, and served him to his master in a ragout. the goblin, who saved himself by flight, was anathematized by the clergy as an evil spirit; being, in all probability, some half idiotic deaf and dumb urchin, like peter the wild boy. in the thirteenth century, a house in the rue d'enfer in paris, subsequently a monastery, was infested by goblins, and in the year 1262, the king granted the reverend fathers an exemption from taxes, provided they were able to exorcise these familiar spirits by their prayers and invocations. among the last on record were those seen by monsieur berbiginer de terre neuve, who lived in the rue guénégaud, and left copious memoirs of his contentions with these imaginary beings!-while witches, spirits, and salamanders, have disappeared from the surface of europe, modern asia appears to have sustained a far greater loss in the phoenix, which has ceased to rise from its ashes. many writers, both ancient and modern, have minutely described the appearance and habits of this fabulous bird; as though an object of natural history rather than of poetical fiction. the phoenix may be regarded as an allegorical type, like most mythological fables. among the great writers who appear to have believed in its actual existence was tacitus. in the sixth book of his annals, he affirms that the phoenix was seen in egypt under the consulate of paulus fabius, and lucius vitellius; and that its appearance gave rise to much discussion among the scientific men of egypt and greece. tacitus adds that the periodical return of the phoenix is an incontestable truth. the scholiast, solinus, relates the same facts; adding that the phoenix was taken during the last year of the eighth century of the foundation of rome, where it was exhibited to the public gaze. the event was recorded in the imperial archives. the account given by tacitus is far more doubtful than that of solinus. the emperor claudius probably chose that the romans should see a phoenix in a certain bird presented to their admiration; and many a modern sovereign might, by the same means, have created a phoenix. the fathers of the church profess the same conviction as tacitus and solinus concerning the phoenix. a passage taken from an epistle to the corinthians by st. clement, in speaking of the resurrection of mankind, has the following passage: "there exists in arabia, a bird, the only one of its kind, which is called the phoenix. after living one hundred years, on the eve of death it embalms itself; and having collected myrrh, incense, and aromatics, forms a funeral pyre for its own obsequies. when its flesh is decomposed, a worm is generated, which forms and perfects itself from the remains into a new phoenix. having acquired strength to take wing, it carries off the tomb containing the mortal remains of its parent, and carries it from arabia to the city of heliopolis, in egypt. having traversed the air, visible to all eyes, it places its burthen on the altar of the sun, and flies away again. the priests, by consulting their chronicles, have discovered that this phenomenon is repeated every five hundred years." the description of the phoenix by solinus is as follows:--"this bird is of the size of an eagle; its head embellished with a cone of feathers; its neck surrounded with heron-like plumes and dazzling as gold. the remainder of the body is of a beautiful violet, excepting the tail, which is a mingled rose and blue." plutarch speaks of the phoenix with as much reverence as if it were an illustrious man. he states the brain to be an article of delicacy for the table, though he does not mention having tasted it! the fable of the phoenix, which is both graceful and ingenious, and has been rendered available by the poets of the last two thousand years, was probably invented by the priests of egypt, the first embalmers of the dead. another bird of arabia--the roc, or condor, has given rise to a thousand oriental fables. the bird of paradise, which was for centuries supposed to be the inhabitant of a higher sphere, so rarely was it seen alive, has now been tamed in an european aviary at canton. let us hope that some future menagerie may obtain a specimen of the phoenix. chapter li. professions esteemed infamous. in the reign of louis xviii., an oration was made in the french chamber of deputies, complaining of the vileness of certain parties employed by the police. the duc decazes, then at the head of the administration, replied: "point out to me honest men who would undertake the same functions, and i promise to employ them." the infamy attached to spies and common informers is a wholesome prejudice. in england, the nature of our constitution and political institutions secures us from the intrusion of such vermin; who were extensively employed in france by the police of the elder bourbons and of napoleon. in austria, and, above all, in russia, no society is secure against them; and half the russian travellers dispersed through europe, even those bearing illustrious names, are neither more nor less than spies. the fashionable watering places of the continent are infested by these individuals, most of whom have solicited from the emperor the honourable appointment of travelling spy. a vocation which must always convey infamy, and which is more essential to the well-being of society, is that of public executioner; and notwithstanding the disgust with which it is contemplated, whenever there occurs a vacancy in the office, in any country, a host of solicitors present themselves. in russia, which many pretend to consider a barbarous country, there is no salaried executioner. so infamous is the office considered, that in the event of a capital execution, a criminal convicted of a less heinous crime undertakes it, and thereby gains his pardon. formerly, in state executions, the executioner used to be masked, to secure him from the odium attending his calling. in some countries, the stage, or rather the profession of an actor is an object of violent prejudice. in france actors were denied for several centuries the rites of christian burial, and even in the present century have been made objects of excommunication. england was the first to show a more liberal example, by the interment of garrick in westminster abbey, and the intermarriage of the nobility with actresses;--a violent and pernicious extreme. during the consulate in france, even on occasion of state dinners, mademoiselle coutat was admitted as the associate of madame bonaparte, as talma of the first consul. but on the restoration of the bourbons, public opinion resumed in this particular nearly all its former inveteracy. in england, the leading members of the profession, such as the kembles, young, macready, charles kean, whose conduct in private life is as exemplary as their talents on the stage are distinguished, are received in society with the same respect conceded to any other order of literary persons. in france, this honourable position would be untenable; so deeply rooted are the prejudices of the vulgar. a clever french writer, who was in his youth an actor, relates the following anecdote:-"being once engaged in a company of players in a town in the south of france, he devoted the leisure of his theatrical duties to literary pursuits. a shoe-maker, whom he employed, an ardent admirer of the dramatic art, occasionally attempted to engage him in conversation; and the actor indulged the man's passion for theatricals by presenting him with tickets of free admission. at the end of some month's acquaintance, the shoemaker entered the actor's lodgings one morning in the greatest glee, and informed him that it was his daughter's wedding-day, and that he was come to invite him to the ceremony. the actor, hesitating to accept the invitation, made a variety of polite excuses to his humble friend, who seized him cordially by the hand. "i see how it is," said he. "you think my friends will not like to sit at table with an actor! but never mind. i am not proud, and for my sake they will overlook it!" the gentlemen of the household of louis xiv. refused to make the king's bed with molière, who had purchased a small place in the royal household, because he had been an actor. this was a just punishment to one who should have abstained from a position so infinitely below his rank in the great scale of human nature. of the individuals thus fastidious, the names are unknown to posterity. that of molière is immortal. john kemble was the occasional guest of the prince regent, and mrs. siddons enjoyed the highest distinctions from the highest personages in the realm. still, even in england, among the lower classes, a prejudice prevails against comedians; but arising chiefly from the irregularities with which many belonging to the inferior class of the profession are unfortunately chargeable. chapter lii. supernatural human beings. there is no species of supernatural power to which some impostor or other has not pretended; some to incombustibility; some to insubmergeability; some to invulnerability; some to invisibility. men have been found who pretend to fly,--to walk upon the surface of the waters,--to penetrate, by the acuteness of their optics, into the depths of the earth. but though an announcement of a balloon, a diving-bell, an electrical telegraph, or even a railroad, would have appeared as much a matter of empty vaunt to the ancients as these pretensions to ourselves, no extent of modern discovery has enabled or is likely to enable mankind so thoroughly to defy the existing laws of nature. the conformation of the human form expressly points out the purposes and capabilities for which it was created. we read in old books, in proverbial reference to human speed, that such a one 'runs like a man without a spleen;' and it has been asserted that the bearers of the posts of the ancients, had their spleen extracted in order to facilitate despatch. even with our present chirurgical proficiency, such an operation would be somewhat hazardous. but certain it is that dogs from which the spleen has been removed in the way of experiment, are observed to grow unnaturally fat, which would be no great advantage to a pedestrian. if the operation in question were both harmless and effectual, it is deserving the consideration of the king of naples; who is accompanied by running footmen from his palace in that city to his country palace of caserta at some leagues' distance; the unfortunate men being compelled to keep up on foot with the hard trotting of the horses. not a year passes, but one of these victims of royal state drops dead from the exertion. running footmen constituted a very imposing portion of royal and noble equipage in former times, when preceding the stately carriages of prelates, drawn by mules, or the lumbering coaches and six of the days of the stuarts; when part of their business was to forewarn the coachmen of holes in the pavement, or water-courses in the imperfect roads. but the office of running footman in the days of macadamization, is a work of supererogation. the act of barbarity of removing the spleen from such men would not be much more cruel, however, than killing them by so terrible an excess of exertion. nothing could be more remarkable than the feats of activity performed in france by the _coureurs_, or running-footmen of the nobility prior to the revolution, and without any dangerous consequences. they were generally basques, or natives of the frontier country of gascony, proverbially light and active. in the landes, adjoining their district, another species of activity prevails--the walking or running on stilts, necessitated by the sandy nature of the soil. a large company of the inhabitants of that curious desart, proceeding to market, resembles the course of a troop of ostriches, or emus, over the pampas. the first aspect of these strangely-mounted men, probably gave rise to some of the fictions of our early fairy-tales, such as the seven-leagued boots of the ogre; just as the laplanders and patagonians originated races of beings which exaggeration rendered fabulous. the marvels related by the traveller, mandeville, and the more recent wonders described by mungo park, drew down upon their narrators a charge of mendacity, for which we have been forced to make atonement to their memory. how curious will be the first book of travels in england, written by a new zealander!--the author would be sacrificed by his countrymen, on his return, as a wanton impostor! it is related in french jest-books, that during the period of the religious troubles of france, when decapitation was so common, a gascon executioner, boasting of his skill, was heard to protest that his victims were so artistically despatched as to remain unconscious of their execution. he was forced to say to them, 'have the goodness to shake your head!'--when it rolled to the ground. in emulation of this foolish joke, people used to assert during the reign of terror, that they were forced to shake their heads every morning to be certain that, amid the general massacre, they had escaped the guillotine. a century hence, what with the acceleration of motion in every department--the application of caoutchouc and bitumen to all sorts of purposes--and the general diffusion of chemical science, we shall scarcely know whether we are on terra-firma, or in the air; and the reflective powers of the human race may chance to become strangely confused by such universal motation. we may at least anticipate from the same source, the obliteration of vulgar errors, and the dissolution of popular prejudices. our successors will have no time to cherish such chimeras as omens, presages, or presentiments: no leisure for listening to old wives' tales, or traditions of ghosts and devils. for all classes, education effects the miracle of making the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk; and in our own, its operations commence at too early an age to leave our children at the mercy of ignorant nurses--the fountain-head of all popular superstition. a love of the marvellous is, however, so strongly implanted in certain natures, and our capacity is after all so finite, that prejudices must ever, to a certain extent, prevail. hypochondriacs, invalids, and pregnant women, will always be susceptible of the terrors of superstition; and so long as children are born with the marks and deformities to which all animated nature is liable, so long as the winter wind howls, 'the owls shriek, and the crickets cry,' nervous persons will not be wanting to listen to the foolish interpretations of any empty-headed gossip at hand. to remedy the mischief, it becomes a peremptory duty to render the rising generation 'wise virgins' in their youth, in order that they may not become foolish old women in their age, to perpetuate the evils of popular prejudices and national superstitions. end. london: printed by schulze & co., 13, poland street. * * * * * +------------------------------------------------+ | transcriber's note: some very obvious typos | | were corrected in this text. for a list please | | see the bottom of the document. | +------------------------------------------------+ * * * * * [illustration: "for the blast of death is on the heath, and the grave yawns wide for the child of moy."] strange pages from family papers by t.f. thiselton dyer author of "great men at play," "church lore gleanings," "the ghost world," &c. london sampson low, marston & company limited st. dunstan's house, fetter lane, fleet street, e.c. 1895 london: printed by horace cox, windsor house, bream's buildings, e.c. contents chapter i. fatal curses page 1 chapter ii. the screaming skull 29 chapter iii. eccentric vows 46 chapter iv. strange banquets 69 chapter v. mysterious rooms 88 chapter vi. indelible bloodstains 114 chapter vii. curious secrets 135 chapter viii. the dead hand 154 chapter ix. devil compacts 162 chapter x. family death omens 180 chapter xi. weird possessions 198 chapter xii. romance of disguise 208 chapter xiii. extraordinary disappearances 229 chapter xiv. honoured hearts 253 chapter xv. romance of wealth 262 chapter xvi. lucky accidents 279 chapter xvii. fatal passion 289 index 309 list of illustrations 1. "for the blast of death is on the heath, and the grave yawns wide for the child of moy." frontispiece. 2. she opened it in secret page 38 3. "madam, you have attained your end. you and i shall meet no more in this world" 72 4. the figure stood motionless 150 5. lady sybil at the eagle's crag 168 6. dorothy vernon and the woodman 214 7. lady mabel and the palmer 248 8. there came an old irish harper, and sang an ancient song 272 strange pages from family papers. chapter i. fatal curses. may the grass wither from thy feet! the woods deny thee shelter! earth a home! the dust a grave! the sun his light! and heaven her god. byron, _cain_. many a strange and curious romance has been handed down in the history of our great families, relative to the terrible curses uttered in cases of dire extremity against persons considered guilty of injustice and wrong doing. it is to such fearful imprecations that the misfortune and downfall of certain houses have been attributed, although, it may be, centuries have elapsed before their final fulfilment. such curses, too, unlike the fatal "curse of kehama," have rarely turned into blessings, nor have they been thought to be as harmless as the curse of the cardinal-archbishop of rheims, who banned the thief--both body and soul, his life and for ever--who stole his ring. it was an awful curse, but none of the guests seemed the worse for it, except the poor jackdaw who had hidden the ring in some sly corner as a practical joke. but, if we are to believe traditionary and historical lore, only too many of the curses recorded in the chronicles of family history have been productive of the most disastrous results, reminding us of that dreadful malediction given by byron in his "curse of minerva": "so let him stand, through ages yet unborn, fix'd statue on the pedestal of scorn." a popular form of curse seems to have been the gradual collapse of the family name from failure of male-issue; and although there is, perhaps, no more romantic chapter in the vicissitudes of many a great house than its final extinction from lack of an heir, such a disaster is all the more to be lamented when resulting from a curse. a catastrophe of this kind was that connected with the m'alister family of scotch notoriety. the story goes that many generations back, one of their chiefs, m'alister indre--an intrepid warrior who feared neither god nor man--in a skirmish with a neighbouring clan, captured a widow's two sons, and in a most heartless manner caused them to be hanged on a gibbet erected almost before her very door. it was in vain that, with well nigh heartbroken tears, she denounced his iniquitous act, for his comrades and himself only laughed and scoffed, and even threatened to burn her cottage to the ground. but as the crimson and setting rays of a summer sun fell on the lifeless bodies of her two sons, her eyes met those of him who had so basely and cruelly wronged her, and, after once more stigmatizing his barbarity, with deep measured voice she pronounced these ominous words, embodying a curse which m'alister indre little anticipated would so surely come to pass. "i suffer now," said the grief-stricken woman, "but you shall suffer always--you have made me childless, but you and yours shall be heirless for ever--never shall there be a son to the house of m'alister." these words were treated with contempt by m'alister indre, who mocked and laughed at the malicious prattle of a woman's tongue. but time proved only too truly how persistently the curse of the bereaved woman clung to the race of her oppressors, and, as sir bernard burke remarks, it was in the reign of queen anne that the hopes of the house of m'alister "flourished for the last time, they were blighted for ever." the closing scene of this prophetic curse was equally tragic and romantic; for, whilst espousing the cause of the pretender, the young and promising heir of the m'alisters was taken prisoner, and with many others put to death. incensed at the wrongs of his exiled monarch, and full of fiery impulse, he had secretly left his youthful wife, and joined the army at perth that was to restore the pretender to his throne. for several months the deserted wife fretted under the terrible suspense, often silently wondering if, after all, her husband--the last hope of the house of m'alister--was to fall under the ban of the widow's curse. she could not dispel from her mind the hitherto disastrous results of those ill-fated words, and would only too willingly have done anything in her power to make atonement for the wrong that had been committed in the past. it was whilst almost frenzied with thoughts of this distracting kind, that vague rumours reached her ears of a great battle which had been fought, and ere long this was followed by the news that the pretender's forces had been successful, and that he was about to be crowned at scone. the shades of evening were fast setting in as, overcome with the joyous prospect of seeing her husband home again, she withdrew to her chamber, and, flinging herself on her bed in a state of hysteric delight, fell asleep. but her slumbers were broken, for at every sound she started, mentally exclaiming "can that be my husband?" at last, the happy moment came when her poor overwrought brain made sure it heard his footsteps. she listened, yes! they were his! full of feverish joy she was longing to see that long absent face, when, as the door opened, to her horror and dismay, there entered a figure in martial array without a head. it was enough--he was dead. and with an agonizing scream she fell down in a swoon; and on becoming conscious only lived to hear the true narrative of the battle of sheriff-muir, which had brought to pass the widow's curse that there should be no heir to the house of m'alister. this story reminds us of one told of sir richard herbert, who, with his brother, the earl of pembroke, pursuing a robber band in anglesea, had captured seven brothers, the ringleaders of "many mischiefs and murders." the earl of pembroke determined to make an example of these marauders, and, to root out so wretched a progeny, ordered them all to be hanged. upon this, the mother of the felons came to the earl of pembroke, and upon her knees besought him to pardon two, or at least one, of her sons, a request which was seconded by the earl's brother, sir richard. but the earl, finding the condemned men all equally guilty, declared he could make no distinction, and ordered them to be hanged together. upon this the mother, falling upon her knees, cursed the earl, and prayed that god's mischief might fall upon him in the first battle in which he was engaged. curious to relate, on the eve of the battle of edgcot field, having marshalled his men in order to fight, the earl of pembroke was surprised to find his brother, sir richard herbert, standing in the front of his company, and leaning upon his pole-axe in a most dejected and pensive mood. "what," cried the earl, "doth thy great body" (for sir richard was taller than anyone in the army) "apprehend anything, that thou art so melancholy? or art thou weary with marching, that thou dost lean thus upon thy pole-axe?" "i am not weary with marching," replied sir richard, "nor do i apprehend anything for myself; but i cannot but apprehend on your part lest the curse of the woman fall upon you." and the curse of the frantic mother of seven convicts seemed, we are told, to have gained the authority of heaven, for both the earl and his brother sir richard, were defeated at the battle of edgcot, were both taken prisoners and put to death. sir walter scott has made a similar legend the subject of one of his ballads in the "minstrelsy of the scottish border," entitled "the curse of moy," a tale founded on an ancient highland tradition that originated in a feud between the clans of chattan and grant. the castle of moy, the early residence of mackintosh, the chief of the clan chattan, is situated among the mountains of inverness-shire, and stands on the edge of a small gloomy lake called loch moy, in which is still shown a rocky island as the spot where the dungeon stood in which prisoners were confined by the former chiefs of moy. on a certain evening, in the annals of moy, the scene is represented as having been one of extreme merriment, for in childbed lay the lady fair, but now is come the appointed hour. and vassals shout, "an heir, an heir!" it is no ordinary occasion, for a wretched curse has long hung over the castle of moy, but at last the spell seems broken, and, as the well-spiced bowl goes round, shout after shout echoes and re-echoes through the castle, "an heir, an heir!" many a year had passed without the prospect of such an event, and it had looked as if the ill-omened words uttered in the past were to be realised. it was no wonder then that "in the gloomy towers of moy" there were feasting and revelry, for a child is born who is to perpetuate the clan which hitherto had seemed threatened with extinction. but, even on this festive night when every heart is tuned for song and mirth, there suddenly appears a mysterious figure, a pale and shivering form, by "age and frenzy haggard made," who defiantly exclaims "'tis vain! 'tis vain!" at once all eyes are turned on this strange form, as she, in mocking gesture, casts a look of withering scorn on the scene around her, and startles the jovial vassals with the reproachful words "no heir! no heir!" the laughter is hushed, the pipes no longer sound, for the witch with uplifted hand beckons that she had a message to tell--a message from death--she might truly say, "what means these bowls of wine--these festive songs?" for the blast of death is on the heath, and the grave yawns wide for the child of moy. she then recounts the tale of treachery and cruelty committed by a chief of the house of moy in the days of old, for which "his name shall perish for ever off the earth--a son may be born--but that son shall verily die." the witch brings tears into many an eye as she tells how this curse was uttered by one margaret, a prominent figure in this sad feud, for it was when deceived in the most base manner, and when betrayed by a man who had violated his promise he had solemnly pledged, that she is moved to pronounce the fatal words of doom: she pray'd that childless and forlorn, the chief of moy might pine away, that the sleepless night, and the careful morn might wither his limbs in slow decay. but never the son of a chief of moy might live to protect his father's age, or close in peace his dying eye, or gather his gloomy heritage. such was the "curse of moy," uttered, it must be remembered, too, by a fair young girl, against the chief of moy for a blood-thirsty crime--the act of a traitor--in that, not content with slaying her father, and murdering her lover, he satiates his brutal passion by letting her eyes rest on their corpses. "and here," they said, "is thy father dead, and thy lover's corpse is cold at his side." her tale ended, the witch departs, but now ceased the revels of the shuddering clan, for "despair had seized on every breast," and "in every vein chill terror ran." on the morrow, all is changed, no joyous sounds are heard, but silence reigns supreme--the silence of death. the curse has triumphed, the last hope of the house of moy is gone, and- scarce shone the morn on the mountain's head when the lady wept o'er her dying boy. but tyranny, or oppression, has always been supposed to bring its own punishment, as in the case of barcroft hall, lancashire, where the "idiot's curse" is commonly said to have caused the downfall of the family. the tradition current in the neighbourhood states that one of the heirs to barcroft was of weak intellect, and that he was fastened by a younger brother with a chain in one of the cellars, and there in a most cruel manner gradually starved to death. it appears that this unnatural conduct on the part of the younger brother was prompted by a desire to get possession of the property; and it is added that, long before the heir to barcroft was released from his sufferings, he caused a report to be circulated that he was dead, and by this piece of deception made himself master of the barcroft estate. it was in one of his lucid intervals that the poor injured brother pronounced a curse upon the family of the barcrofts, to the effect that their name should perish for ever, and that the property should pass into other hands. but this malediction was only regarded as the ravings of an imbecile, unaccountable for his words, and little or no heed was paid to this death sentence on the barcroft name. and yet, light as the family made of it, within a short time there were not wanting indications that their prosperity was on the wane, a fact which every year became more and more discernible until the curse was fulfilled in the person of thomas barcroft, who died in 1688 without male issue. after passing through the hands of the bradshaws, the pimlots, and the isherwoods, the property was finally sold to charles towneley, the celebrated antiquarian, in the year 1795.[1] whatever the truth of this family tradition, barcroft is still a good specimen of the later tudor style, and its ample cellarage gives an idea of the profuse hospitality of its former owners, some rude scribblings on one of the walls of which are still pointed out as the work of the captive. in a still more striking way this spirit of persecution incurred its own condemnation. in the 17th century, francis howgill, a noted quaker, travelled about the south of england preaching, which at bristol was the cause of serious rioting. on returning to his own neighbourhood, he was summoned to appear before the justices who were holding a court in a tavern at kendal, and, on his refusing to take the oath of allegiance, he was imprisoned in appleby gaol. in due time, the judges of assizes tendered the same oath, but with the like result, and evidently wishing to show him some consideration offered to release him from custody if he would give a bond for his good behaviour in the interim, which likewise declining to do, he was recommitted to prison. in the course of his imprisonment, however, a curious incident happened, which gave rise to the present narrative. having been permitted by the magistrates to go home to grayrigg for a few days on private affairs, he took the opportunity of calling on a justice of the name of duckett, residing at grayrigg hall, who was not only a great persecutor of the quakers but was one of the magistrates who had committed him to prison. as might be imagined, justice duckett was not a little surprised at seeing howgill, and said to him, "what is your wish now, francis? i thought you had been in appleby gaol." howgill, keenly resenting the magistrate's behaviour, promptly replied, "no, i am not, but i am come with a message from the lord. thou hast persecuted the lord's people, but his hand is now against thee, and he will send a blast upon all that thou hast, and thy name shall rot out of the earth, and this thy dwelling shall become desolate, and a habitation for owls and jackdaws." when howgill had delivered his message, the magistrate seems to have been somewhat disconcerted, and said, "francis, are you in earnest?" but howgill only added, "yes, i am in earnest, it is the word of the lord to thee, and there are many living now who will see it." but the most remarkable part of the story remains to be told. by a strange coincidence the prophetic utterance of howgill was fulfilled in a striking manner, for all the children of justice duckett died without leaving any issue, whilst some of them came to actual poverty, one begging her bread from door to door. grayrigg hall passed into the possession of the lowther family, was dismantled, and fell into ruins, little more than its extensive foundations being visible in 1777, and, after having long been the habitation of "owls and jackdaws," the ruins were entirely removed and a farmhouse erected upon the site of the "old hall," in accordance with what was popularly known as "the quaker's curse, and its fulfilment." cornish biography, however, tells how a magistrate of that county, sir john arundell, a man greatly esteemed amongst his neighbours for his honourable conduct--fell under an imprecation which he in no way deserved. in his official capacity, it seems, he had given offence to a shepherd who had by some means acquired considerable influence over the peasantry, under the impression that he possessed some supernatural powers. this man, for some offence, had been imprisoned by sir john arundell, and on his release would constantly waylay the magistrate, always looking at him with the same menacing eye, at the same time slowly muttering these words: "when upon the yellow sand, thou shalt die by human hand." notwithstanding sir john arundell's education and position, he was not wholly free from the superstition of the period, and might have thought, too, that this man intended to murder him. hence he left his home at efford and retired to the wood-clad hills of trevice, where he lived for some years without the annoyance of meeting his old enemy. but in the tenth year of edward iv., richard de vere, earl of oxford, seized st. michael's mount; on hearing of which news, sir john arundell, then sheriff of cornwall--led an attack on st. michael's mount, in the course of which he received his death wound in a skirmish on the sands near marazion. although he had broken up his home at efford "to counteract the will of fate," the shepherd's prophecy was accomplished; and tradition even says that, in his dying moments, his old enemy appeared, singing in joyous tones: "when upon the yellow sand, thou shalt die by human hand." the misappropriation of property, in addition to causing many a family complication, has occasionally been attended with a far more serious result. there is a strange curse, for instance, in the family of mar, which can boast of great antiquity, there being, perhaps, no title in europe so ancient as that of the earl of mar. this curse has been attributed by some to thomas the rhymer, by others to the abbot of cambuskenneth, and by others to the bard of the house at that epoch. but, whoever its author, the curse was delivered prior to the elevation of the earl, in the year 1571, to be the regent of scotland, and runs thus: "proud chief of mar, thou shalt be raised still higher, until thou sittest in the place of the king. thou shalt rule and destroy, and thy work shall be after thy name, but thy work shall be the emblem of thy house, and shall teach mankind that he who cruelly and haughtily raiseth himself upon the ruins of the holy cannot prosper. thy work shall be cursed, and shall never be finished. but thou shalt have riches and greatness, and shall be true to thy sovereign, and shalt raise his banner in the field of blood. then, when thou seemest to be highest, when thy power is mightiest, then shall come thy fall; low shall be thy head amongst the nobles of the people. deep shall be thy moan among the children of dool (sorrow). thy lands shall be given to the stranger, and thy titles shall lie among the dead. the branch that springs from thee shall see his dwelling burnt, in which a king is nursed--his wife a sacrifice in that same flame; his children numerous, but of little honour; and three born and grown who shall never see the light. yet shall thine ancient tower stand; for the brave and the true cannot be wholly forsaken. thou, proud head and daggered hand, must _dree thy_ weird, until horses shall be stabled in thy hall, and a weaver shall throw his shuttle in thy chamber of state. thine ancient tower--a woman's dower--shall be a ruin and a beacon, until an ash sapling shall spring from its topmost stone. then shall thy sorrows be ended, and the sunshine of royalty shall beam on thee once more. thine honours shall be restored; the kiss of peace shall be given to thy countess, though she seek it not, and the days of peace shall return to thee and thine. the line of mar shall be broken; but not until its honours are doubled, and its doom is ended." in support of this strange curse, it may be noted that the earl of 1571 was raised to be regent of scotland, and guardian of james vi. as regent, he commanded the destruction of cambuskenneth abbey, and took its stones to build himself a palace at stirling, which never advanced farther than the faã§ade, which has been popularly designated "marr's work." in the year 1715, the earl of mar raised the banner of his sovereign, the chevalier james stuart, son of james the second, or seventh. he was defeated at the battle of sheriff-muir, his title being forfeited, and his lands of mar confiscated and sold by the government to the earl of fife. his grandson and representative, john francis, lived at alloa tower (which had been for some time the abode of james vi. as an infant) where, a fire breaking out in one of the rooms, mrs. erskine was burnt, and died, leaving, beside others, three children who were born blind, and who all lived to old age. but this remarkable curse was to be further fulfilled, for at the commencement of the present century, upon the alarm of the french invasion, a troop of the cavalry and yeomen of the district took possession of the tower, and for a week fifty horses were stabled in its lordly hall; and in the year 1810, a party of visitors were surprised to find a weaver plying his loom in the grand old chamber of state. between the years 1815 and 1820, an ash sapling might be seen in the topmost stone, and many of those who "clasped it in their hands wondered if it really were the twig of destiny, and if they should ever live to see the prophecy fulfilled." in the year 1822, george iv. visited scotland and searched out the families who had suffered by supporting the princes of the stuart line. foremost of them all was the erskine of mar, grandson of mar who had raised the chevalier's standard, and to him the king restored his earldom. john francis, the grandson of the restored earl, likewise came into favour, for when queen victoria accidentally met his countess in a small room in stirling castle, and ascertained who she was, she detained her, and, after conversing with her, kissed her. although the countess had never been presented at st. james's, yet, in a marvellous way, "the kiss of peace was given to her, though she sought it not"; and then, after the curse had worked through 300 years, the "weird dreed out, and the doom of mar was ended."[2] another instance which may be quoted relates to sherborne castle. according to the traditionary accounts handed down, it appears that osmund, one of william the conqueror's knights, who had been rewarded, among other possessions, with the castle and barony of sherborne, in the decline of life determined to resign his temporal honours, and to devote himself exclusively to religion. in pursuance of this object, he obtained the bishopric of salisbury, to which he gave certain lands, but annexed to the gift the following conditional curse: "that whosoever should take those lands from the bishopric, or diminish them in great or small, should be accursed, not only in this world, but in the world to come, unless in his lifetime he made restitution thereof." in a strange and wonderful manner this curse is said to have been more than once fulfilled. upon osmund's death, the castle and lands fell into the hands of the next bishop, roger niger, who was dispossessed of them by king stephen, on whose death they were held by the montagues, all of whom, it is affirmed, so long as they kept these lands, were subjected to grievous disasters, in so much that the male line became altogether extinct. about two hundred years from this time, the lands again reverted to the church, but in the reign of edward vi. the castle of sherborne was conveyed by the then bishop of sarum to the duke of somerset, who lost his head on tower hill. sir walter raleigh, again, obtained the property from the crown, and it was to expiate this offence, it has been suggested, he ultimately lost his head. but in allusion to this reputed curse, sir john harrington gravely tells how it happened one day that sir walter riding post between plymouth and the court, "the castle being right in the way, he cast such an eye upon it as ahab did upon naboth's vineyard, and whilst talking of the commodiousness of the place, and of the great strength of the seat, and how easily it might be got from the bishopric, suddenly over and over came his horse, and his very face--which was then thought a very good one--ploughed up the earth where he fell." then again prince henry died shortly after he took possession, and carr, earl of somerset, the next proprietor fell in disgrace. but the way the latter obtained sherborne was far from creditable, for, having discovered a technical flaw in the deed in which sir walter raleigh had settled the estate on his son, he solicited it of his royal master, and obtained it. it was in vain that lady raleigh on her knees appealed to james against this injustice, for he only answered, "i mun have the land, i mun have it for carr." but lady raleigh was a woman of high spirit, and there on her knees, before king james, she prayed to god that he would punish those who had thus wrongfully exposed her, and her children, to ruin. she was, in fact, re-echoing the curse uttered centuries beforehand. and that prayer was not long unanswered, for carr did not enjoy sherborne for any length of time. committed to the tower for the murder of sir thomas overbury, he was at last released and restricted to his house in the country, "where in constant companionship with the wife, for the guilty love of whom he had become the murderer of his friend, he passed the remainder of his life, loathing the partner of his crimes, and by her as cordially detested." spelman goes so far as to say that "all those families who took or had church property presented to them, came, either in their own persons or those of their descendants, to sorrow and misfortune." one of the many strange occurrences relating to sir anthony browne, standard-bearer to king henry viii., was communicated some years ago in connection with the famous cowdray castle, the principal seat of the montagues. it is said that at the great festival given in the magnificent hall of the monks at battle abbey, on sir anthony browne taking possession of his sovereign's gift of that estate, a venerable monk stalked up the hall to the daã¯s, where sir anthony browne sat, and, in prophetic language, denounced him and his posterity for usurping the possessions of the church, predicting their destruction by fire and water--a fate which was eventually fulfilled. one of the last viscounts was, in 1793, drowned when trying to pass the falls of schaffhausen on the rhine, accompanied by mr. sedley burdett, the elder brother of the distinguished sir francis. they had engaged an open boat to take them through the rapids; but it seems the authorities tried to prevent so dangerous an enterprise. in order, however, to carry out their project, they started two hours earlier than the time previously fixed--four o'clock in the morning--and successfully passed the first or upper fall. but, unhappily, the same good fortune failed them in their next descent, for "the boat was swamped and sunk in passing the lower fall, and was supposed to have been jammed in a cleft of the submerged rock, as neither boat nor adventurers ever appeared again. in the same week, the ancient seat of the family, cowdray castle, was destroyed by fire, and its venerable ruins are the significant monument at once of the fulfilment of the old monk's prophecy, and of the extinction of the race of the great and powerful noble." it is further added that the last inheritor of the title--the immediate successor and cousin of the ill-fated young nobleman of schaffhausen, anthony browne, the last montague, who died at the opening of this century--left no male issue, and his estates devolved on his only daughter, who married mr. stephen poyntz, a great buckinghamshire landlord. some years after their marriage mr. poyntz was desirous of obtaining a grant of the dormant title "viscount montague" in favour of the elder of his two sons, issue of this marriage; but his hopes were suddenly destroyed by the death of the two boys, who were drowned while bathing at bognor, the "fatal water" thus becoming the means, in fulfilment of the monk's terrible denunciation on the family in his fearful curse. in a similar manner the great tichborne trial followed, it is said, upon the fulfilment, in a manner, of a prophecy, respecting that ancient family, made more than seven hundred years before. when the lady mabelle tichborne, wife of the sir roger who flourished in the reign of henry ii., was lying on her death-bed, she besought her husband to grant her the means of leaving behind her a charitable bequest in the form of an annual dole of bread. to gratify her whim, he accordingly promised her the produce of as much land in the vicinity of the park as she could walk over while a certain brand was burning; for, as she had been bedridden for many years, he supposed that she would be able to go round only a small portion of the property. but when the venerable dame was carried out upon the ground, she seemed to regain her strength, and, greatly to the surprise of her husband, crawled round several rich and goodly acres, which, to this day, retain the name of "the crawls." on being reconveyed to her chamber, lady mabelle summoned her family to her bedside and predicted its prosperity so long as the annual dole was observed, but she left her solemn curse on any of her descendants who should discontinue it, prophesying that when such should happen, the old house would fall, and the family name "become extinct from failure" of male issue. and she further added, that this would be foretold by a generation of seven sons being followed immediately after by a generation of seven daughters and no son. the custom of the annual doles was observed for six hundred years on every 25th of march, until--owing to the complaints of the magistrates and local gentry that vagabonds, gipsies, and idlers of every description swarmed into the neighbourhood, under the pretence of receiving the dole--it was discontinued in the year 1796. strangely enough, sir henry tichborne, the baronet of that day, had issue seven sons, and his eldest son, who succeeded him, had seven daughters and no son. the prophecy was apparently completed by the change of name of the possessors of the estate to doughty, in the person of sir edward doughty, who had assumed the name under the will of a relative from whom he inherited certain property. finally, it may be added, "the claimant" appeared, and instituted one of the most costly lawsuits ever tried, in which the tichborne estate was put to an expense of close upon one hundred thousand pounds! but, occasionally, the effect of a family curse, through the misappropriation of property, has been more sweeping and speedy in its retribution, as in the case of furvie or forvie, which now forms part of the parish of slains, scotland--much, if not most of it, being covered with sand. the popular account of the downfall of this parish tells how, in times gone by, the proprietor to whom it belonged left three daughters as heirs of his fair lands; who were, however, most unjustly bereft of their property, and thrown homeless on the world. on quitting their home--their legal heritage--they uttered a terrible curse, which was quickly accomplished, and was considered an unmistakable sign of divine displeasure at the wrong they had received. before many days had elapsed, a storm of almost unparalleled violence--lasting nine days--burst over the district, and transformed the parish of forvie into a desert of sand;--a calamity which is said to have befallen the district about the close of the 17th century. in this way, many local traditions account for the ruined and desolate condition of certain wild and uninhabited spots. ettrick hall, for instance, near the head of ettrick water, had such a history. on and around its site in former days there was a considerable village, and "as late as the revolution, it contained no fewer than fifty-three fine houses." but about the year 1700, when the numbers in this little village were still very considerable, james anderson, a member of the tushielaw family, pulled down a number of small cottages, leaving many of the tenants--some of whom were aged and infirm--homeless. it was in vain that these poor people appealed to him for a little merciful consideration, for he refused to lend an ear to their complaints, and in a short time a splendid house was built on the property, known as ettrick hall. what was considered by the inhabitants far and wide as an act of cruel injustice incurred its own punishment, for a prophetic rhyme was about the same period made on it, by whom nobody could tell, and which, says james hogg, writing in the year 1826, has been most wonderfully verified: ettrick hall stands on yon plain, right sore exposed to wind and rain; and on it the sun shines never at morn, because it was built in the widow's corn; and its foundations can never be sure, because it was built on the ruin of the poor. and or an age is come and gane, or the trees o'er the chimly-taps grow green, we kinna wen where the house has been. the curse that alighted on this fair mansion at length accomplished its destructive work, because nowadays there is not a vestige of it remaining, nor has there been for these many years; indeed, so complete was the collapse of this ill-fated house, that its site could only be identified by the avenue and lanes of trees; while many clay cottages, on the other hand, which were built previously, long remained intact. equally fatal, also, was the curse uttered against the old persecuting family of home of cowdenknowes--a place in the immediate neighbourhood of st. thomas's castle. vengeance, vengeance! when and where? upon the house of cowdenknowes, now and evermair! this anathema, awful as the cry of blood, is generally said to have been realised in the extinction of the family and the transference of their property to other hands. but some doubt, writes mr. robert chambers,[3] seems to hang on the matter, "as the earl of home--a prosperous gentleman--is the lineal descendant of the cowdenknowes branch of the family which acceded to the title in the reign of charles i., though, it must be admitted, the estate has long been alienated." love and marriage, again, have been associated with many imprecations, one of which dates as far back as the time of edmund, king of the east angles, in connection with his defeat and capture at hoxne, in suffolk, on the banks of the waveney not far from eye. the story, as told by sir francis palgrave in his anglo-saxon history, is this: "being hotly pursued by his foes, the king fled to hoxne, and attempted to conceal himself by crouching beneath a bridge, now called goldbridge. the glittering of his golden spurs discovered him to a newly-married couple, who were returning home by moonlight, and they betrayed him to the danes. edmund, as he was dragged from his hiding place, pronounced a malediction upon all who should afterwards pass this bridge on their way to be married. so much regard was paid to this tradition by the good folks of hoxne that no bride or bridegroom would venture along the forbidden path." that inconstancy has not always escaped with impunity may be gathered from the following painful story, one which, if it had not been fully attested, would seem to belong to the domain of fiction rather than truth: on april 28, 1795, a naval court-martial, which had lasted for sixteen days, and created considerable excitement, was terminated. the officer tried was captain anthony james pye molloy, of h.m. ship _cã¦sar_ and the charge brought against him was that, in the memorable battle of june 1, 1794, he did not bring his ship into action, and exert himself to the utmost of his power. the decision of the court was adverse to the captain, but, "having found that on many previous occasions captain molloy's courage had been unimpeachable," he was sentenced to be dismissed his ship, instead of the penalty of death. it is said that captain molloy had behaved dishonourably to a young lady to whom he was betrothed. the friends of the lady wished to bring an action for breach of promise against the captain, but the lady declined doing so, only remarking that god would punish him. some time afterwards the two accidentally met at bath, when the lady confronted her inconstant lover by saying: "capt. molloy, you are a bad man. i wish you the greatest curse that can befall a british officer. when the day of battle comes, may your false heart fail you!" her words were fully realised, his subsequent conduct and irremediable disgrace forming the fulfilment of her wish.[4] another curse, which may be said to have a historic interest, has been popularly designated the "midwife's curse." it appears that colonel stephen payne, who took a foremost part in striving to uphold the tottering fortunes of the stuarts, had wooed and won a fair wife amid the battles of the rebellion. the duke of york promised to stand as godfather to the first child if it should prove a boy; but when a daughter was born, the colonel in his mortification, it is said, "formally devoted, in succession, his hapless wife, his infant daughter, himself and his belongings, to the infernal deities." but the story goes that the midwife, douce vardon, was commissioned by the shade of normandy's first duke to announce to her master that not only would his daughter die in infancy, but that neither he nor anyone descended from him would ever again be blessed with a daughter's love. not many days afterwards the child died, "whose involuntary coming had been the cause of the payne curse." time passed on, and that "heaven is merciful," writes sir bernard burke,[5] stephen payne experienced in his own person, for his wife subsequently presented him with a son, who was sponsored by the duke of york by proxy. "but six generations of the descendants of colonel stephen payne," it is added, "have come and gone since the utterance of the midwife's curse, but they never yet have had a daughter born to them." such is the immutability of the decrees of fate. footnotes: [1] harland's "lancashire legends" (1882), 4, 5. [2] see sir j. bernard burke's "family romance," 1853. [3] "popular rhymes of scotland" (1870), 217-18. [4] see "book of days," i., 559. [5] "the rise of great families," 191-202. chapter ii. the screaming skull. "look on its broken arch, its ruined wall, its chambers desolate, its portals foul; yes, this was once ambition's airy hall- the dome of thought, the palace of the soul." byron. there are told of certain houses, in different parts of the country, many weird skull stories, the popular idea being that if any profane hand should be bold enough to remove, or in any way tamper with, such gruesome relics of the dead, misfortune will inevitably overtake the family. hence, for years past, there have been carefully preserved in some of our country homes numerous skulls, all kinds of romantic traditions accounting for their present isolated and unburied condition. an old farmstead known as bettiscombe, near bridport, dorsetshire, has long been famous for its so-called "screaming skull," generally supposed to be that of a negro servant who declared before his death that his spirit would not rest until his body was buried in his native land. but, contrary to his dying wish, he was interred in the churchyard of bettiscombe, and hence the trouble which this skull has ever since occasioned. in the august of 1883, dr. richard garnett, his daughter, and a friend, while staying in the neighbourhood determined to pay this eccentric skull a visit, the result of which is thus amusingly told by miss garnett: "one fine afternoon a party of three adventurous spirits started off, hoping to discover the skull and investigate its history. this much we knew, that the skull would only scream when it was buried, and so we hoped to get leave to inter it in the churchyard. the village of bettiscombe was at length reached, and we found our way to the old farmhouse, which stood at the end of the village by itself. it had evidently been a manor house, and a very handsome one, too. we were admitted into a fine paved hall, and attempted to break the ice by asking for milk. we then endeavoured to draw the good woman of the house into conversation by admiring the place, and asking in a guarded manner respecting the famous skull. on this subject she was most reserved. she had only lately had the farmhouse, and had been obliged to take possession of the skull also; but she did not wish us to suppose that she knew much about it; it was a veritable 'skeleton in the closet' to her. after exercising great diplomacy, we persuaded her to allow us a sight of it. we tramped up the fine old staircase till we reached the top of the house, when, opening a cupboard door, she showed us a steep, winding staircase, leading to the roof, and from one of the steps the skull sat grinning at us. we took it in our hands and examined it carefully; it was very old and weather-beaten, and certainly human. the lower jaw was missing, the forehead very low and badly proportioned. one of our party, who was a medical student, examined it long and gravely, and then, after first telling the good woman that he was a doctor, pronounced it to be, in his opinion, the skull of a negro. after this oracular utterance, she resolved to make a clean breast of all she knew, which, however, did not amount to much. the skull, we were informed, was that of a negro servant, who had lived in the service of a roman catholic priest. some difference arose between them; but whether the priest murdered the servant, in order to conceal some crimes known to the negro, or whether the negro, in a fit of passion, killed his master, did not clearly appear. however, the negro had declared before his death that his spirit would not rest unless his body was taken to his native land and buried there. this was not done, he being buried in the churchyard of bettiscombe. then the haunting began; fearful screams proceeded from the grave, the doors and windows of the house rattled and creaked, strange sounds were heard all over the house; in short, there was no rest for the inmates until the body was dug up. at different periods attempts were made to bury the body, but similar disturbances always recurred. in process of time the skeleton disappeared, 'all save the skull,' and its reputation as 'the screaming skull' remains unimpaired." in a farm-house in sussex are preserved two skulls from hastings priory, about which many gruesome stories are current in the neighbourhood. one of these skulls, it appears, has been in the house many years; the other was placed there by a former tenant of the farm. it is the prevalent impression in the locality, that, if by any chance the former skull were to be removed, the cattle in the farm would die, and unearthly sounds be heard in and about the house at night time. according to a local tradition, the skull belonged to a man who murdered the owner of the house, and marks of blood are pointed out on the floor of the adjoining room, where the murder is said to have been committed, and which no washing will remove. but, on more than one occasion, the skull has been taken away without any ill-effects, and, one year, was placed by a profane hand in a branch of a neighbouring tree, where it remained a whole summer, during which time a bird's nest was constructed within it, and a young brood successfully reared. and yet the old superstition still survives, and the prejudice against tampering with this peculiar skull has in no way diminished.[6] there are the remains of a skull, in three parts, at tunstead, a farmhouse about a mile and a half from chapel-en-le-frith, which, although popularly known by the male cognomen "dickie," has always been said to be that of a woman. how long it has been located in its present home is not known, but tradition tells how one of two co-heiresses residing here was murdered, who solemnly affirmed that her bones should remain in the place for ever. in days past, this skull has been guilty of all sorts of eccentric pranks, many of which are still told by the credulous peasantry with respectful awe. it is added,[7] also, that if "dickie" should accidentally be removed, everything in the farm will go wrong. the cows will be dry and barren, the sheep have the rot, and horses fall down, breaking their knees and otherwise injuring themselves. the story goes, too, that when the london and north-western railway to manchester was being made, the foundations of a bridge gave way in the yielding sands and bog, and, after several attempts to build the bridge had failed, it was found necessary to divert the highway, and pass it under the railway on higher ground. these engineering failures were attributed to the malevolent influence of "dickie," but as soon as the road was diverted it was bridged successfully, because no longer in dickie's territory. a similar superstition attaches to a skull kept in a farmhouse at chilton cantelo, in somersetshire. from the date on the tombstone of the former owner of the skull--1670--it has been conjectured that he came to the retired village, in which he was buried, after taking an active part, on the republican side, in the civil war; and that seeing the way in which the bodies of some of them who had acted with him were treated after the restoration, he wished to provide against this in his own case. but, whatever the previous history of this curious skull, it has at times caused a good deal of trouble, resenting any proposal to consign it to the earth, for buried it will not be, no matter how many attempts are made to do so. strange to say, most of this class of skulls behave in the same extraordinary fashion. at a short distance from turton tower--one of the most interesting structures in the neighbourhood of bolton--is a farmhouse locally designated timberbottom, or the skull house, so called from the circumstance that two skulls are or were kept there, one of which was much decayed, whereas the other appeared to have been cut through by a blow from some sharp instrument. these skulls, it is said, have been buried many times in the graveyard at bradshaw chapel, but they have always had to be exhumed, and brought back to the farm-house. on one occasion, they were thrown into the adjacent river, but to no purpose; for they had to be fished up and restored to their old quarters before the ghosts of their owners could once more rest in peace. a popular cause assigned for this strange behaviour on the part of certain skulls is that their owners met with a violent death, and that the avenging spirit in this manner annoys the living, reminding us of macbeth's words: "blood hath been shed ere now, i' the olden time, ere human statute purg'd the gentle weal; ay, and since too, murders have been performed too terrible for the ear; the times have been that, when the brains were out, the man would die and there an end; but now they rise again, with twenty mortal murders on their crowns, and push us from our stools. this is more strange than such a murder is." hence, a romantic and tragic story is told of two skulls which have long haunted an old house near ambleside. it appears that a small piece of ground, known as calgrath, was owned by a humble farmer, named kraster cook, and his wife dorothy. but their little inheritance was coveted by a wealthy magistrate, myles phillipson, who, unable to induce them to part with it, swore "he'd have that ground, be they 'live or dead." as time wore on, however, he appeared more gracious to kraster and dorothy, and actually invited them to a great christmas banquet given to the neighbours. it was a dear feast for them, for myles phillipson pretended they had stolen a silver cup, and, sure enough, it was found in kraster's house--a "plant," of course. such an offence was then capital, and, as phillipson was the magistrate, kraster and dorothy were sentenced to death. thereupon, dorothy arose in the court-room and addressed phillipson in words that rang through the building and impressed all for their awful earnestness: "guard thyself, myles phillipson! thou thinkest thou hast managed grandly, but that tiny lump of land is the dearest a phillipson has ever bought or stolen, for you will never prosper, neither your breed. whatever scheme you undertake will wither in your hand; the side you take will always lose; the time shall come when no phillipson shall own an inch of land; and while calgarth walls shall stand we'll haunt it night and day. never will ye be rid of us!" henceforth, the phillipsons had for their guests two skulls. they were found at christmas at the head of a staircase. they were buried in a distant region, but they turned up in the old house again. again and again were the two skulls burned; they were brazed to dust and cast to the winds, and for several years they were cast in the lake, but the phillipsons could never get rid of them. in the meantime, dorothy's weird went steadily on to its fulfilment, until the family sank into poverty, and at length disappeared.[8] as a more rational explanation of the matter, it is told by some local historians "that there formerly lived in the house a famous doctress, who had two skeletons by her for the usual purposes of her profession, and these skulls, happening to meet with better preservation than the rest of the bones, they were accidentally honoured" with this singular tradition.[9] wardley hall, lancashire, has its skull, which is supposed to be the witness of some tragedy committed in the past, and to have belonged to roger downes, the last male representative of his family, and who was one of the most abandoned courtiers of charles ii. roby, in one of his "traditions," entitled "the skull house," has represented him as rushing forth "hot from the stews," drawing his sword as he staggered along, and swearing that he would kill the first man he met. terrible to say, that fearful oath was fulfilled, for his victim was a poor tailor, whom he ran through with his weapon and killed on the spot. he was apprehended for the crime, but his interest at court quickly procured him a free pardon, and he soon continued his reckless course. but one evening, as his sister and cousin eleanor were chatting together at wardley, the carrier from manchester brought a wooden box, "which had come all the way from london by antony's waggon." suspecting that there was something mysterious connected with this package, for the direction was "a quaint, crabbed hand," she opened it in secret, when, to her amazement and horror, this writing attracted her notice: "thy brother has at length paid the forfeit of his crimes. the wages of sin is death! and his head is before thee. heaven hath avenged the innocent blood he hath shed. last night, in the lusty vigour of a drunken debauch, passing over london bridge, he encounters another brawl, wherein, having run at the watchmen with his rapier, one blow of the bill which they carried severed thy brother's head from his trunk. the latter was cast over the parapet into the river. the head only remained, which an eye witness, if not a friend, hath sent to thee!" his sister tried at first to keep the story of her brother's death a secret, and hid with all speed this ghastly memorial for ever, as she hoped, from the gaze and knowledge of the world. it was her desire to conceal this foul stain upon the family name, but "the grave gives back its dead. the charnel gapes. the ghastly head hath burst its cold tabernacle, and risen from the dust." no human power could drive it away. it hath "been torn in pieces, burnt, and otherwise destroyed, but even on the subsequent day it is seen filling its wonted place. yet it was always observed that sore vengeance lighted on its persecutors. one who hacked it in pieces was seized with such horrible torments in his limbs that it seemed as though he might be undergoing the same process. sometimes, if only displaced, a fearful storm would arise, so loud and terrible that the very elements themselves seemed to become the ministers of its wrath." nor will this eccentric piece of mortality allow the little aperture in which it rests to be walled up, for it remains there still, whitened and bleached by the weather, "looking forth from those rayless sockets upon the scenes which, when living, they had once beheld." towards the close of the last century, thomas barritt, the manchester antiquary, visited this skull--"this surprising piece of household furniture," as he calls it, and adds that "one of us who was last in company with it, removed it from its place into a dark part of the room, and there left it, and returned home." but on the following night a violent storm arose in the neighbourhood, causing an immense deal of damage--trees being blown down and roofs unthatched--and the cause, as it was supposed, being ascertained, the skull was replaced, when these terrific disturbances ceased. and yet, as thomas barritt sensibly remarks, "all this might have happened had the skull never been removed; but withal it keeps alive the credibility of the tradition." formerly two keys were provided for this "place of a skull," one being kept by the tenant of the hall, and the other by the countess of ellesmere, the owner of the property. the countess occasionally accompanied visitors from the neighbouring worsley hall, and herself unlocked the door, and revealed to her friends the grinning skull of wardley hall.[10] [illustration: she opened it in secret.] another romantic story is associated with burton agnes hall, between bridlington and driffield, yorkshire, which is haunted by the spirit of a lady a former co-heiress of the estate--who is popularly known as "awd nance." the skull of this lady is carefully preserved in the hall, and so long as it is left undisturbed all goes well, but whenever any attempt is made to remove it, the most unearthly noises are heard in the house, and last until it is restored. according to a local tradition, many years ago the three co-heiresses of the estate of burton agnes were possessed of considerable wealth, and finding the ancient mansion, in which they resided, not in harmony with their ideas of what a home should be suited to their position, determined to erect a house in such a style as should eclipse all others in the neighbourhood. the most prominent organiser of the scheme was the younger sister, anne, who could talk or think of nothing but the magnificent home about to be built, which in due time, it is said, "emerged from the hands of artists and workmen, like a palace erected by the genii of the arabian nights, a palace encrusted throughout on walls, roof, and furniture with the most exquisite carvings and sculptures of the most skilled masters of the age, and radiant with the most glowing tints of the pencil of peter paul." but soon after its completion and occupation by its three co-heiresses, anne, the enthusiast, paid an afternoon visit to the st. quentins, at harpham. on starting to return home about nightfall with her dog, she had gone no great distance when she was confronted by two ruffianly-looking beggars, who asked alms. she readily gave them a few coins, and in doing so the glitter of her finger-ring accidentally attracted their notice, which they at once demanded should be given up to them. this she refused to do, as it had been her mother's ring, and was one which she valued above all price. "mother or no mother," gruffly replied one of the rogues, "we mean to have it, and if you do not part with it freely, we must take it," whereupon he seized her hand and attempted to drag off the ring. frightened at this act of violence, anne screamed for help, at which the other ruffian, exclaiming, "stop that noise!" struck her a blow, and she fell senseless to the earth. but her screams had attracted attention, and the approach of some villagers caused the villains to make a hasty retreat, without being able to get the ring from her finger. in a dying condition, as it was supposed, anne was carried back to harpham hall, where, under the care of lady st. quentin, she made sufficient recovery to be removed the following day to her own home. the brutal treatment she had received from the highwaymen, however, had done its fatal work, and after a few days, during which she was alternately sensible and delirious, she succumbed to the effects. her one thought previous to death was her devotion to her home, which had latterly been the ruling passion of her life; and bidding her sisters farewell, she addressed them thus:-"sisters, never shall i sleep peacefully in my grave in the churchyard unless i, or a part of me at least, remain here in our beautiful home as long as it lasts. promise me this, dear sisters, that when i am dead my head shall be taken from my body and preserved within these walls. here let it for ever remain, and on no account be removed. and understand and make it known to those who in future shall become possessors of the house, that if they disobey this my last injunction, my spirit shall, if so able and so permitted, make such a disturbance within its walls as to render it uninhabitable for others so long as my head is divorced from its home." her sisters promised to accede to her dying request, but failed to do so, and her body was laid entire under the pavement of the church. within a few days burton agnes hall was disturbed by the most alarming noises, and no servant could be induced to remain in the house. in this dilemma, the two sisters remembered that they had not carried out anne's last wish, and, at the suggestion of the clergyman, the coffin was opened, when a strange sight was seen. the "body lay without any marks of corruption or decay; but the head was disengaged from the trunk, and appeared to be rapidly assuming the semblance of a fleshless skull." this was reported to the two sisters, and on the vicar's advice the skull of anne was taken to burton agnes hall, where, so long as it remained undisturbed, no ghostly noises were heard. it may be added that numerous attempts have from time to time been made to rid the hall of this skull, but without success. many other similar skulls are still existing in various places, and, in addition to their antiquarian interest, have attracted the sightseer, connected as they mostly are with tales of legendary romance. an amusing anecdote of a skull is told by the late mr. wirt sikes.[11] it seems that on a certain day some men were drinking at an inn when one of them, to show his courage and want of superstition, affirmed that he was "afraid of no ghosts," and dared to go to the church and fetch a skull. this he did, and after an hour or so of merrymaking over the skull, he carried it back to where he had found it; but, as he was leaving the church, "suddenly a tremendous blast like a whirlwind seized him, and so mauled him that he ever after maintained that nothing should induce him to do such a thing again." the man was still more convinced that the ghost of the original owner of the skull had been after him, when his wife informed him that the cane which hung in his room had been beating against the wall in a dreadful manner. byron had his skull romance at newstead, but in this case the skull was more orderly, and not given to those unpleasant pranks of which other skulls have seemingly been guilty. whilst living at newstead, a skull was one day found of large dimensions and peculiar whiteness. concluding that it belonged to some friar who had been domesticated at newstead--prior to the confiscation of the monasteries by henry viii.--byron determined to convert it into a drinking vessel, and for this purpose dispatched it to london, where it was elegantly mounted. on its return to newstead, he instituted a new order at the abbey, constituting himself grand master, or abbot, of the skull. the members, twelve in number, were provided with black gowns--that of byron, as head of the fraternity, being distinguished from the rest. a chapter was held at certain times, when the skull drinking goblet was filled with claret, and handed about amongst the gods of this consistory, whilst many a grim joke was cracked at the expense of this relic of the dead. the following lines were inscribed upon it by byron: start not, nor deem my spirit fled; in me behold the only skull from which, unlike a living head, whatever flows is never dull. i lived, i loved, i quaff'd, like thee; i died: let earth my bones resign. fill up, thou canst not injure me; the worm hath fouler lips than mine. where once my wit, perchance, hath shone, in aid of others, let me shine, and when, alas! our brains are gone, what nobler substitute than wine. quaff while thou canst. another race, when thou and thine, like me, are sped, may rescue thee from earth's embrace, and rhyme and revel with the dead. why not? since through life's little day our heads such sad effects produce; redeem'd from worms and wasting clay, this chance is theirs, to be of use. the skull, it is said, is buried beneath the floor of the chapel at newstead abbey. footnotes: [6] sussex archã¦ological collections xiii. 162-3. [7] see _notes and queries_, 4th s., xi. 64. [8] told by mr. moncure conway in _harper's magazine_. [9] "tales and legends of the english lakes," 96-7. [10] "harland's lancashire legends," 1882, 65-70. [11] "british goblins," 1880, p. 146. chapter iii. eccentric vows. no man takes or keeps a vow, but just as he sees others do; nor are they 'bliged to be so brittle as not to yield and bow a little: for as best tempered blades are found before they break, to bend quite round, so truest oaths are still more tough, and, tho' they bow, are breaking-proof. butler's "hudibras," ep. to his lady, 75. some two hundred and fifty years ago, the prevailing colour in all dresses was that shade of brown known as the "couleur isabelle," and this was its origin:--a short time after the siege of ostend commenced, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, isabella eugenia, gouvernante of the netherlands, incensed at the obstinate bravery of the defenders, is reported to have made a vow that she would not change her chemise till the town surrendered. it was a marvellously inconvenient vow, for the siege, according to the precise historians thereof, lasted three years, three months, three weeks, three days, and three hours; and her highness's garment had wonderfully changed its colour before twelve months of the time had expired. but the ladies and gentlemen of the court, in no way dismayed, resolved to keep their mistress in countenance, and, after a struggle between their loyalty and their cleanliness, they hit upon the compromising expedient of wearing dresses of the presumed colour, finally attained by the garment which clung to the imperial archduchess by force of religious obstinacy. but, foolish and eccentric as was the conduct of isabella eugenia, there have been persons gifted, like herself, with sufficient mental power and strength of character to keep the vows they have sworn. thus, at a tournament held on the 17th november, 1559--the first anniversary of queen elizabeth's accession--sir henry lee, of quarendon, made a vow that every year on the return of that auspicious day, he would present himself in the tilt yard, in honour of the queen, to maintain her beauty, worth, and dignity, against all comers, unless prevented by infirmity, accident, or age. elizabeth accepted sir henry as her knight and champion; and the nobility and gentry of the court formed themselves into an honourable society of knights tilters, which held a grand tourney every 17th november. but in the year 1590, sir henry, on account of age, resigned his office, having previously, by her majesty's permission, appointed the famous earl of cumberland as his successor. on this occasion, the royal choir sang the following verses as sir henry lee's farewell to the court: my golden locks time hath to silver turned, o time, too swift, and swiftness never ceasing! my youth 'gainst age, and age at youth both spurned, but spurned in vain--youth waned by increasing; beauty, and strength, and youth, flowers fading been; duty, faith, love, are roots and evergreen. my helmet now shall make a hive for bees, and lover's songs shall turn to holy psalms; a man-at arms must now sit on his knees, and feed on prayers that are old age's alms. and so from court to cottage i depart, my saint is sure of mine unspotted heart. and when i sadly sit in homely cell, i'll teach my saints this carol for a song: blest be the hearts that wish my sovereign well! cursed be the souls that think to do her wrong! goddess! vouchsafe this aged man his right to be your beadsman now, that was your knight. but not long after sir henry lee had resigned his office of especial champion of the beauty of the sovereign, he fell in love with the new maid of honour--the fair mrs. anne vavasour--who, though in the morning flower of her charms, and esteemed the loveliest girl in the whole court, drove a whole bevy of youthful lovers to despair by accepting this ancient relic of the age of chivalry.[12] queen isabella vowed to make a pilgrimage to barcelona, and return thanks at the tomb of that city's patron saint, if the infanta eulalie recovered from an apparently mortal illness, and queen joan of naples honoured the knight galeazzo of mantua by opening the ball with him at a grand feast at her castle of gaita. at the conclusion of the dance, galeazzo, kneeling down before his royal partner, vowed, as an acknowledgment of the honour he had received, to visit every country where feats of arms were performed, and not to rest until he had subdued two valiant knights, and presented them as prisoners to the queen, to be disposed of at her royal pleasure. after an absence of twelve months, galeazzo, true to his vow, appeared at naples, and laid his two prisoners at the feet of queen joan, but who, it is said, displayed commendable wisdom on the occasion, and "declined her right to impose rigorous conditions on her captives, and gave them liberty without ransom." such cases, it is true, have been somewhat rare, for made oftentimes on the impulse of the moment, "unheedful vows," as shakespeare says, "may heedfully be broken." but, scarce as the records of unbroken vows may be, they are deserving of a permanent record, more especially as the direction of their eccentricity is, for the most part, in itself curious and uncommon. love, for instance, has been responsible for many strange and curious vows in the past, and some years ago it was stated that the original of charles dickens's miss havisham was living in the flesh not far from ventnor in the person of an old maiden lady, who, because of the maternal objection to some love affair in her early life, made and kept a vow that she would retire to her bed, and there spend the remainder of her days. it was a stern vow but she kept her word, "and the years have come and gone, and the house has never been swept or garnished, the garden is an overgrown tangle, and the eccentric lady has spent twenty years between the sheets." but whether this piece of romance is to be accepted or not, love has been the cause of many foolish acts, and many a disappointed damsel, has acted in no less eccentric a fashion than miss havisham, who was so completely overcome by the failure of compeyson to appear on the wedding morning that she became fossilised, and gave orders that everything was to be kept unchanged, but to remain as it had been on that hapless day. henceforth she was always attired in her bridal dress with lace veil from head to foot, white shoes, bridal flowers in her white hair, and jewels on her hands and neck. years went on, the wedding breakfast remained set on the table, while the poor half demented lady flitted from one room to another like a restless ghost; and the case is recorded of another lady whose lover was arrested for forgery on the day before their marriage was to have taken place. her vow took the form of keeping to her room, sitting winter and summer alike at her casement and waiting for him who was turning the treadmill, and who was never to come again. on the other hand, vows have been made, but persons have contrived to rid themselves of the inconveniences without breaking them, reminding us of benedick, who finding the charms of his "dear lady disdain" too much for his celibate resolves, gets out of his difficulty by declaring that "when i said i would die a bachelor, i did not think i should live till i were married." equally ludicrous, also, is the story told of a certain man, who, greatly terrified in a storm, vowed he would eat no haberdine, but, just as the danger was over, he qualified his promise with "not without mustard, o lord." and voltaire, in one of his romances, represents a disconsolate widow vowing that she will never marry again, "so long as the river flows by the side of the hill." but a few months afterwards the widow recovers from her grief, and, contemplating matrimony, takes counsel with a clever engineer. he sets to work, the river is deviated from its course, and, in a short time, it no longer flows by the side of the hill. the lady, released from her vow, does not allow many days to elapse before she exchanges her weeds for a bridal veil. however far fetched this little romance may be, a veritable instance of thus keeping the letter of the vow and neglecting the spirit, was recorded not so very long ago: a salopian parish clerk seeing a woman crossing the churchyard with a bundle and a watering can, followed her, curious to know what intentions might be, and discovered that she was a widow of a few months' standing. inquiring what she was going to do with the watering pot, she informed him that she had been obtaining some grass seed to sow on her husband's grave, and had brought a little water to make it spring up quickly. the clerk told her there was no occasion to trouble, the grave would be green in good time. "ah! that may be," she replied, "but my poor husband made me take a vow not to marry again until the grass had grown over his grave, and, having a good offer, i do not wish to break my vow, or keep as i am longer than i can help." but vows have not always been broken with impunity. janet dalrymple, daughter of the first lord stair, secretly engaged herself to lord rutherford, who was not acceptable to her parents, either on account of his political principles, or his want of fortune. the young couple broke a piece of gold together, and pledged their troth in the most solemn manner, the young lady, it is said, imprecating dreadful evils on herself should she break her plighted faith. but shortly afterwards another suitor sought the hand of janet dalrymple, and, when she showed a cold indifference to his overtures, her mother, lady stair, insisted upon her consenting to marry the new suitor, david dunbar, son and heir of david dunbar of baldoon, in wigtonshire. it was in vain that janet dalrymple confessed her secret engagement, for lady stair treated this objection as a mere trifle. lord rutherford, apprised of what had happened, interfered by letter, and insisted on the right he had acquired by his troth plighted with janet dalrymple. but lady stair answered in reply that "her daughter, sensible of her undutiful behaviour in entering into a contract unsanctioned by her parents, had retracted her unlawful vow, and now refused to fulfil her engagement with him." lord rutherford wrote again to lady stair, and briefly informed her that "he declined positively to receive such an answer from anyone but janet dalrymple," and, accordingly, an interview was arranged between them, at which lady stair took good care to be present, with pertinacity insisting on the levitical law, which declares that a woman shall be free of a vow which her parents dissent from. while lady stair insisted on her right to break the engagement, lord rutherford in vain entreated janet dalrymple to declare her feelings; but she remained "mute, pale, and motionless as a statue," and it was only at her mother's command, sternly uttered, she summoned strength enough to restore the broken piece of gold--the emblem of her troth. at this unexpected act lord rutherford burst into a tremendous passion, took leave of lady stair with maledictions, and, as he left the room, gave one angry glance at janet dalrymple, remarking, "for you, madam, you will be a world's wonder"--a phrase denoting some remarkable degree of calamity. in due time, the marriage between janet dalrymple and david dunbar of baldoon, took place, the bride showing no repugnance, but being absolutely impassive in everything lady stair commanded or advised, always maintaining the same sad, silent, and resigned look. the bridal feast was followed by dancing, and the bride and bridegroom retired as usual, when suddenly the most wild and piercing cries were heard from the nuptial chamber, which at length became so hideous that a general rush was made to learn the cause. on opening the door a ghastly scene presented itself, for the bridegroom was discovered lying on the floor, dreadfully wounded, and streaming with blood. the bride was seen sitting in the corner of the large chimney, dabbled in gore--grinning--in short, absolutely insane, and the only words she uttered were; "take up your bonny bridegroom." she survived this tragic event little over a fortnight, having been married on the 24th august, and dying on the 12th september. the unfortunate bridegroom recovered from his wounds, but, strange to say, he never permitted anyone to ask him respecting the manner in which he had received them; but he did not long survive this dreadful catastrophe, meeting with a fatal injury by a fall from a horse as he was one day riding between leith and holyrood house. as might be expected, various reports went abroad respecting this mysterious affair, most of them being inaccurate.[13] but the story has gained a lasting notoriety from sir walter scott having founded his "bride of lammermoor" upon it; who, in his introductory notes to that novel, has given some curious facts concerning this tragic occurrence, quoting an elegy of andrew symson, which takes the form of a dialogue between a passenger and a domestic servant. the first recollecting that he had passed lord stair's house lately, and seen all around enlivened by mirth and festivity, is desirous of knowing what has changed so gay a scene into mourning, whereupon the servant replies:- "sir, 'tis truth you've told, we did enjoy great mirth; but now, ah me! our joyful song's turned to an elegie. a virtuous lady, not long since a bride, was to a hopeful plant by marriage tied, and brought home hither. we did all rejoice even for her sake. but presently her voice was turned to mourning for that little time that she'd enjoy: she waned in her prime, for atropos, with her impartial knife, soon cut her thread, and therewithal her life; and for the time, we may it well remember it being in unfortunate september; where we must leave her till the resurrection, 'tis then the saints enjoy their full perfection." many a vow too rashly made has been followed by an equally tragic result, instances of which are to be met with in the legendary lore of our county families. a somewhat curious legend is connected with a monument in the church of stoke d'abernon, surrey. the story goes that two young brothers of the family of vincent, the elder of whom had just come into his estate, were out shooting on fairmile common, about two miles from the village. they had put up several birds, but had not been able to get a single shot, when the elder swore with an oath that he would fire at whatever they next met with. they had not gone far before a neighbouring miller passed them, whereupon the younger brother reminded the elder of his oath, who immediately fired at the miller, and killed him on the spot. through the influence of his family, backed by large sums of money, no effective steps were taken to apprehend young vincent, but, after leading a life of complete seclusion for some years, death finally put an end to the insupportable anguish of his mind. a pretty romance is told of furness abbey, locally known as "the abbey vows." many years ago, matilda, the pretty and much-admired daughter of a squire residing near stainton, had been wooed and won by james, a neighbouring farmer's son. but as matilda was the only child, her father fondly imagined that her rare beauty and fortune combined would procure her a good match, little thinking that her heart was already given to one whose position he would never recognise. it so happened, however, that the young people, through force of circumstances, were separated, neither seeing nor hearing of each other for some years. at last, by chance, they were thrown together, when the active service in which james was employed had given his fine manly form an appearance which was at once imposing and captivating. matilda, too, was improved in every eye, and never had james seen so lovely a maid as his former playmate. their youthful hearts were disengaged, and they soon resolved to render their attachment as binding and as permanent as it was pure and undivided. the period had arrived, also, when james must again go to sea, and leave matilda to have her fidelity tried by other suitors. both, therefore, were willing to bind themselves by some solemn pledge to live but for each other. for this purpose they repaired, on the evening before james's departure, to the ruins of furness abbey. it was a fine autumnal evening; the sun had set in the greatest beauty, and the moon was hastening up the eastern sky; and in the roofless choir they knelt, near where the altar formerly stood, and repeated, in the presence of heaven, their vows of deathless love. they parted. but the fate of the betrothed lovers was a melancholy one. james returned to his ship for foreign service, and was killed by the first broadside of a french privateer, with which the captain had injudiciously ventured to engage. as for matilda, she regularly went to the abbey to visit the spot where she had knelt with her lover; and there, it is said, "she would stand for hours, with clasped hands, gazing on that heaven which alone had been witness to their mutual vows." another momentous vow, but one of a terribly tragic nature, relates to samlesbury hall, which stands about midway between preston and blackburn, and has long been famous for its apparition of "the lady in white." the story generally told is that one of the daughters of sir john southworth, a former owner, formed an attachment with the heir of a neighbouring house, and nothing was wanting to complete their happiness except the consent of the lady's father. sir john was accordingly consulted by the youthful couple, but the tale of their love for each other only increased his rage, and he dismissed them with the most bitter denunciations. "no daughter of his should ever be united to the son of a family which had deserted its ancestral faith," he solemnly vowed, and to intensify his disapproval of the whole affair, he forbade the young man his presence for ever. difficulty, however, only served to increase the ardour of the lovers, and, after many secret interviews among the wooded slopes of the ribble, an elopement was arranged, in the hope that time would eventually bring her father's forgiveness. but the day and place were unfortunately overheard by the lady's brother, who had hidden himself in a thicket close by, determined, if possible, to prevent what he considered to be his sister's disgrace. on the evening agreed upon both parties met at the appointed hour, and, as the young knight moved away with his betrothed, her brother rushed from his hiding-place, and, in pursuance of a vow he had made, slew him. after this tragic occurrence, lady dorothy was sent abroad to a convent, where she was kept under strict surveillance; but her mind at last gave way--the name of her murdered sweetheart was ever on her lips--and she died a raving maniac. it is said that on certain clear, still evenings, a lady in white can be seen passing along the gallery and the corridors, and then from the hall into the grounds, where she meets a handsome knight, who receives her on his bended knees, and he then accompanies her along the walks. on arriving at a certain spot, in all probability the lover's grave, both the phantoms stand still, and as they seem to utter soft wailings of despair, they embrace each other, and then their forms rise slowly from the earth and melt away into the clear blue of the surrounding sky.[14] a strange and romantic story is told of blenkinsopp castle, which, too, has long been haunted by a "white lady." it seems that its owner, bryan de blenkinsopp, despite many good qualities, had an inordinate love of wealth which ultimately wrecked his fortune. at the marriage feast of a brother warrior with a lady of high rank and fortune, the health was drunk of bryan de blenkinsopp and his "lady love." but to the surprise of all present bryan made a vow that "never shall that be until i meet with a lady possessed of a chest of gold heavier than ten of my strongest men can carry into my castle." soon afterwards he went abroad, and after an absence of twelve years returned, not only with a wife, but possessed of a box of gold that took three of the strongest men to convey it to the castle. a grand banquet was given in honour of his return, and, after several days feasting and rejoicing, vague rumours were spread of dissensions between the lord and his lady. one day the young husband disappeared, and never returned to blenkinsopp, nothing more being heard of him. but the traditionary account of this mystery asserts that his young wife, filled with remorse at her undutiful conduct towards him, cannot rest in her grave, but must wander about the old castle, and mourn over the chest of gold--the cursed cause of all their misery--of which it is supposed she, with the assistance of others, had deprived her husband. it is generally admitted that the cause of bryan de blenkinsopp's future unhappiness was the rash vow he uttered at that fatal banquet. associated with this curious romance there are current in the neighbourhood many tales of a more or less legendary character, but there has long been a firm belief that treasure lies buried beneath the crumbling ruins. according to one story given in richardson's "table book of traditions" some years ago, two of the more habitable apartments of blenkinsopp castle were utilized by a labourer of the estate and his family. but one night, the parents were aroused by screams from the adjoining room, and rushing in they found their little son sitting up in bed, terribly frightened. "what was the matter?" "the white lady! the white lady!" cried the boy. "what lady," asked the bewildered parents; "there is no lady here!" "she is gone," replied the boy, "and she looked so angry because i would not go with her. she was a fine lady--and she sat down on my bedside and wrung her hands and cried sore; then she kissed me and asked me to go with her, and she would make me a rich man, as she had buried a large box of gold, many hundred years since, down in a vault, and she would give it me, as she could not rest so long as it was there. when i told her i durst not go, she said she would carry me, and was lifting me up when i cried out and frightened her away." when the boy grew up he invariably persisted in the truth of his statement, and at forty years of age could recall the scene so vividly as "to make him shudder, as if still he felt her cold lips press his cheeks and the death-like embrace of her wan arms." equally curious is the old tradition told of lynton castle, of which not a stone remains, although, once upon a time, it was as stately a stronghold as ever echoed to the clash of knightly arms. one evening there came to its gates a monk, who in the name of the holy virgin asked alms, but the lady of the castle liked not his gloomy brow, and bade him begone. resenting such treatment, the monk drew up his well-knit frame, and vowed:--"all that is thine shall be mine, until in the porch of the holy church, a lady and a child shall stand and beckon." little heed was taken of these ominous words, and as years passed by a baron succeeded to the lynton estates, whose greed was such that he dared to lay his sacrilegious hand even upon holy treasures. but as he sate among his gold, the black monk entered, and summoned him to his fearful audit; and his servants, aroused by his screams, found only a lifeless corpse. this was considered retribution for his sins of the past, and his son, taking warning, girded on his sword, and in palestine did doughty deeds against the saracen. by his side was constantly seen the mysterious black monk--his friend and guide--but "at length the wine-cup and the smiles of lewd women lured him from the path of right." after a time the knight returned to devonshire, "and lo, on the happy sabbath morning, the chimes of the church-bells flung out their silver music on the air, and the memories of an innocent childhood woke up instantly in his sorrowing heart." in vain the black monk sought to beguile him from the holy fane, and whispered to him of bright eyes and a distant bower. he paused only for a moment. in the shadow of the porch stood the luminous forms of his mother and sister, who lifted up their spirit hands, and beckoned. the knight tore himself from the black monk's grasp and rushed towards them, exclaiming, "i come! i come! mother, sister, i am saved! o, heaven, have pity on me!" the story adds that the three were borne up in a radiant cloud, but "the black monk leapt headlong into the depths of the abyss beneath, and the castle fell to pieces with a sudden crash, and where its towers had soared statelily into the sunlit air was now outspread the very desolation--the valley of the rocks--" and thus the vow was accomplished, all that remains nowadays to remind the visitor of that stately castle and its surroundings being a lonely glen in the valley of rocks where a party of marauders, it is said, were once overtaken and slaughtered. in some cases churches have been built in performance of vows, and at the tichborne trial one of the witnesses deposed how sir edward doughty made a vow, when his son was ill, that if the child recovered he would build a church at poole. contrary to all expectation, the child "did recover most miraculously, for it had been ill beyond all hope, and sir edward built a church at poole, and there it stands until this day." there are numerous stories of the same kind, and the peculiar position of the old church of st. antony, in kirrier, cornwall, is accounted for by the following tradition: it is said that, soon after the conquest, as some normans of rank were crossing from normandy into england, they were driven by a terrific storm on the cornish coast, where they were in imminent danger of destruction. in their peril and distress they called on st. antony, and made a vow that if he would preserve them from shipwreck they would build a church in his honour on the spot where they first landed. the vessel was wafted into the durra creek, and there the pious normans, as soon as possible, fulfilled their vow. a similar tradition is told of gunwalloe parish church, which, a local legend says, was erected as a votive offering by one who here escaped from shipwreck, for, "when he had miraculously escaped from the fury of the waves, he vowed that he would build a chapel in which the sounds of prayer and praise to god should blend with the never-ceasing voice of those waves from which he had but narrowly escaped. so near to the sea is the church, that at times it is reached by the waves, which have frequently washed away the walls of the churchyard." but vows of a similar nature have been connected with sacred buildings in most countries, and vienna owes the church of st. charles to a vow made by the emperor charles the sixth during an epidemic. the silver ship, given by the queen of st. louis, was made in accordance with a vow. according to joinville, the queen "said she wanted the king, to beg he would make some vows to god and the saints, for the sailors around her were in the greatest danger of being drowned." "'madam,' i replied, 'vow to make a pilgrimage to my lord st. nicholas at varengeville, and i promise you that god will restore you in safety to france. at least, then, madam, promise him that if god shall restore you in safety to france, you will give him a silver ship of the value of five masses; and if you shall do this, i assure you that, at the entreaty of st. nicholas, god will grant you a successful voyage.' upon this, she made a vow of a silver ship to st. nicholas." similarly, there was a statue at venice said to have performed great miracles. a merchant vowed perpetual gifts of wax candles in gratitude for being saved by the light of a candle on a dark night, reminding us of byron's description of a storm at sea, in 'don juan' (canto ii.): "some went to prayers again and made vows of candles to their saints." numerous vows of this kind are recorded, and it may be remembered how a certain empress promised a golden lamp to the church of notre dame des victoires, in the event of her husband coming safely out of the doctor's hands; and, as recently as the year 1867, attired in the garb of a pilgrim of the olden time, walked, in fulfilment of a vow, from madrid to rome when she fancied herself at death's door. many card-players and gamesters, unable to bear reverse, have made vows which they lacked the moral courage to keep. dr. norman macleod tells a curious anecdote of a well-known character who lived in the parish of sedgley, near wolverhampton, and who, having lost a considerable sum of money by a match at cock-fighting--to which practice he was notoriously addicted--made a vow that he would never fight another cock as long as he lived, "frequently calling upon god to damn his soul to all eternity if he did, and, with dreadful imprecations, wishing the devil might fetch him if he ever made another bet." for a time he adhered to his vow, but two years afterwards he was inspired with a violent desire to attend a cock-fight at wolverhampton, and accordingly visited the place for that purpose. on reaching the scene he soon disregarded his vow, and cried: "i hold four to three on such a cock!" "four what?" said one of his companions. "four shillings," replied he. "i'll lay," said the other, upon which they confirmed the wager, and, as his custom was, he threw down his hat and put his hand in his pocket for the money, when he instantly fell down dead. terrified at the sight, "some who were present for ever after desisted from this infamous sport; but others proceeded in the barbarous diversion as soon as the dead body was removed from the spot." another inveterate gambler was colonel edgeworth, who on one occasion, having lost all his ready cash at the card tables, actually borrowed his wife's diamond earrings, and staking them had a fortunate turn of luck, rising a winner; whereupon he solemnly vowed never to touch cards or dice again. and yet, it is said, before the week was out, he was pulling straws from a rick, and betting upon which should prove the longest. on the other hand, tate wilkinson relates an interesting anecdote of john wesley who in early life was very fond of a game of whist, and every saturday was one of a constant party at a rubber, not only for the afternoon, but also for the evening. but the last saturday that he ever played at cards the rubber at whist was longer than he expected, and, "on observing the tediousness of the game he pulled out his watch, and to his shame he found it was some minutes past eight, which was beyond the time he had appointed for the lord. he thought the devil had certainly tempted him beyond his hour, he suddenly therefore gave up his cards to a gentleman near him to finish the game," and left the room, making a vow never to play with "the devil's pages," as he called them, again. that vow he never broke. political vows, as is well known, have a curious history, and an interesting incident is told in connection with one of the ancestors of sir walter scott. it appears that walter scott, the first of raeburn, by ann isabel, his wife, daughter of william macdougall, had two sons, william, direct ancestor of the lairds of raeburn, and walter, progenitor of the scotts of abbotsford. the younger, who was generally known by the curious appellation of "bearded watt," from a vow which he had made to leave his beard unshaven until the restoration of the stuarts, reminds us of those servian patriots who during the bombardment of belgrade thirty years ago, made a vow that they would never allow a razor to touch their faces until the thing could be done in the fortress itself. five years afterwards, in 1867, the servians marched through the streets of belgrade, with enormous beards, preceded by the barbers, each with razor in hand, and entered the fortresses to have the last office of the vow performed on them. footnotes: [12] agnes strickland, "lives of the queens of england," 1884, iii., 454-5. [13] see sir walter scott's notes to the "bride of lammermoor." [14] harland's "lancashire legends," 1882, p. 263-4. chapter iv. strange banquets. "o'rourke's noble feast will ne'er be forgot by those who were there--or those who were not." in the above words the dean of st. patrick has immortalised an irish festival of the eighteenth century; and some such memory will long cling to many a family or historic banquet, which--like the tragic one depicted in "macbeth," where the ghost of the murdered banquo makes its uncanny appearance, or that remarkable feast described by lord lytton, where zanoni drinks with impunity the poisoned cup, remarking to the prince, "i pledge you even in this wine"--has been the scene of some unusual, or extraordinary occurrence. at one time or another, the wedding feast has witnessed many a strange and truly romantic occurrence, in some instances the result of unrequited love, or faithless pledges, as happened at the marriage feast of the second viscount cullen. at the early age of sixteen he had been betrothed to elizabeth trentham, a great heiress; but in the course of his travels abroad he formed a strong attachment to an italian lady of rank, whom he afterwards deserted for his first betrothed. in due time arrangements were made for their marriage; but on the eventful day, while the wedding party were feasting in the great hall at rushton, a strange carriage, drawn by six horses, drew up, and forth stepped a dark lady, who, at once entering the hall and, seizing a goblet--"to punish his falsehood and pride"--to the astonishment of all present, drank perdition to the bridegroom, and, having uttered a curse upon his bride, to the effect that she would live in wretchedness and die in want, promptly disappeared to be traced no further. no small consternation was caused by this unlooked-for _contretemps_; but the young viscount made light of it to his fair bride, dispelling her alarm by explanations which satisfied her natural curiosity. but, it is said, in after days, this unpleasant episode created an unfavourable impression in her mind, and at times made her give way to feelings of a despondent character. as events turned out, the curse of her marriage day was in a great measure fulfilled. it is true she became a prominent beauty of the court of charles ii., and was painted with less than his usual amount of drapery by sir peter lely. it is recorded also, that she twice gave an asylum to monmouth, in the room at rushton, still known as the "duke's room"; but, living unhappily with her husband, she died, notwithstanding her enormous fortune, in comparative penury, at kettering, at a great age, as recently as the year 1713. a curious tale of love and deception is told of bulgaden hall, once--according to ferrers, in his "history of limerick"--the most magnificent seat in the south of ireland--erected by the right hon. george evans, who was created baron carbery, county of cork, on the 9th of may, 1715. a family tradition proclaims him to have been noted for great personal attractions, so much so, that queen anne, struck by his appearance, took a ring from her finger at one of her levees, and presented it to him--a ring preserved as a heir-loom at laxton hall, northamptonshire. in 1741, he married grace, the daughter, and eventually heiress of sir ralph freke, of castle freke, in the county of cork, by whom he had four sons and the same number of daughters; and it was george evans, the eldest son and heir, who became the chief personage in the following extraordinary marriage fraud. it appears that at an early age he fell in love with the beautiful daughter of his host, colonel stamer, who was only too ready to sanction such an alliance. but, despite the brilliant prospects which this contemplated marriage opened to the young lady, she turned a deaf ear to any mention of it, for she loved another. as far as her parents could judge she seemed inexorable, and they could only allay the suspense of the expectant lover by assuring him that their daughter's "natural timidity alone prevented an immediate answer to his suit." but what their feelings of surprise were on the following day can be imagined, when miss stamer announced to her parents her willingness to marry george evans. it was decided that there should be no delay, and the marriage day was at once fixed. at this period of our social life, the wedding banquet was generally devoted to wine and feasting, while the marriage itself did not take place till the evening. and, according to custom, sobriety at these bridal feasts was, we are told, "a positive violation of all good breeding, and the guests would have thought themselves highly dishonoured had the bridegroom escaped scathless from the wedding banquet." accordingly, half unconscious of passing events, george evans was conducted to the altar, where the marriage knot was indissolubly tied. but, as soon as he had recovered from the effects of the bridal feast, he discovered, to his intense horror and dismay, that the bride he had taken was not the woman of his choice--in short, he was the victim of a cheat. indignant at this cruel imposture, he ascertained that the plot emanated from the woman who, till then, had been the ideal of his soul, and that she had substituted her veiled sister anne for herself at the altar. the remainder of this strange affair is briefly told:--george evans had one, and only one, interview with his wife, and thus addressed her in the following words: "madam, you have attained your end. i need not say how you bear my name; and, for the sake of your family, i acknowledge you as my wife. you shall receive an income from me suitable to your situation. this, probably, is all you cared for with regard to me, and you and i shall meet no more in this world." [illustration: "madam, you have attained your end. you and i shall meet no more in this world."] he would allow no explanation, and almost immediately left his home and country, never to meet again the woman who had so basely betrayed him. the glory of bulgaden hall was gone. its young master, in order to quench his sorrow and bury his disgust, gave way to every kind of dissipation, and died its victim in 1769. and, writes sir bernard burke, "from the period of its desertion by its luckless master, bulgaden hall gradually sank into ruin; and to mark its site nought remains but the foundation walls and a solitary stone, bearing the family arms." a strange incident, of which, it is said, no satisfactory explanation has ever yet been forthcoming, happened during the wedding banquet of alexander iii. at jedburgh castle, a weird and gruesome episode which edgar poe expanded into his "masque of the red death." the story goes that in the midst of the festivities, a mysterious figure glided amongst the astonished guests--tall and gaunt, and shrouded from head to foot in the habiliments of the grave, the mask which concealed the visage resembling the countenance of a stiffened corpse. "who dares," demands the royal host, "to insult us with this blasphemous mockery? seize him and unmask him, that we may know whom we have to hang at sunrise from the battlements." but when the awe-struck revellers took courage and grasped the figure, "they gasped in unutterable horror on finding the grave cerements and corpse-like mask, which they handled with so violent a rudeness, untenanted by any tangible form, vanishing as suddenly as it had appeared." all sorts of theories have been suggested to account for this mysterious figure, but no satisfactory solution has been forthcoming, an incident of which, it may be remembered, heywood has given a graphic picture: in the mid-revels, the first ominous night of their espousals, when the room shone bright with lighted tapers--the king and queen leading the curious measures, lords and ladies treading the self-same strains--the king looks back by chance and spies a strange intruder fill the dance, namely, a mere anatomy, quite bare, his naked limbs both without flesh and hair (as he deciphers death), who stalks about, keeping true measure till the dance be out. inexplicable, however, as the presence of this unearthly, mysterious personage was felt to be by all engaged in the marriage revels, it was regarded as the forerunner of some approaching catastrophe. prophets and seers lost no time in turning the affair to their own interest, and amongst them thomas the rhymer predicted that the 16th of march would be "the stormiest day that ever was witnessed in scotland." but when the supposed ill-fated day arrived, it was the very reverse of stormy, being still and mild, and public opinion began to ridicule the prophetic utterance of thomas the rhymer, when, to the amazement and consternation of all, there came the appalling news, "the king is dead," whereupon thomas the rhymer ejaculated, "that is the storm which i meant, and there was never tempest which will bring to scotland more ill-luck." the disappearance of the heir to a property, which has always been a favourite subject with novelists and romance writers, has occasionally happened in real life, and a shropshire legend relates how, long ago, the heir of the house of corbet went away to the wars, and remained absent so many years that his family--as in the case of enoch arden--gave up all hope of ever seeing him again, and eventually mourned for him as dead. his younger brother succeeded to the property, and prepared to take to himself a wife, and reign in the old family hall. but on the wedding day, in the midst of the feasting, a pilgrim came to the gate asking hospitality and alms. he was bidden to sit down and share the feast, but scarcely was the banquet ended when the pilgrim revealed himself as the long lost elder brother. the disconcerted bridegroom acknowledged him at once, but the latter generously resigned the greater part of the estates to his brother, and, sooner than mar the prospects of the newly married couple, he lived a life of obscurity upon one small manor. there seems, however, to be a very small basis of fact for this story. the corbets of shropshire--one branch of whom are owners of moreton corbet--are among the very oldest of the many old shropshire families. they trace their descent back to corbet the norman, whose sons, robert and roger, appear in domesday book as holding large estates under roger, earl of shrewsbury. the grandsons of roger corbet were thomas corbet of wattlesborough, and robert corbet. thomas, who was evidently the elder of the two, it seems went beyond seas, leaving his lands in the custody of his brother robert. both brothers left descendants, but the elder branch of the family never attained to such rank and prosperity as the younger one." hence, perhaps, the origin of the legend; but moreton corbet did not come into the possession of the family till long after this date.[15] whatever truth there may be in this old tradition, there is every reason to believe that some of the worst tragedies recorded in family history have been due to jealousy; and an extraordinary instance of such unnatural feeling was that displayed by the second wife of sir robert scott, of thirlestane, one of the most distinguished cadets of the great house of buccleuch. distracted with mortification that her husband's rich inheritance would descend to his son by his first wife, she secretly resolved to compass the destruction of her step-son, and determined to execute her hateful purpose at the festivities held in honour of the young laird's twentieth birthday. having taken into her confidence one john lally, the family piper, this wretched man procured three adders, from which he selected the parts replete with the most deadly poison, and, after grinding them to fine powder, lady thirlestane mixed them in a bottle of wine. previous to the commencement of the birthday feast, the young laird having called for wine to drink the healths of the workmen who had just completed the mason work of the new castle of gamescleugh--his future residence--the piper lally filled a silver cup from the poisoned bottle, which the ill-fated youth hastily drank off. so potent was the poison that the young laird died within an hour, and a feeling of horror seized the birthday guests as to who could have done so foul a deed. but the father seems to have had his suspicions, and having caused a bugle to be blown, as a signal for all the family to assemble in the castle court, he inquired, "are we all here?" a voice answered, "all but the piper, john lally!" these words, it is said, sounded like a knell in sir robert's ear, and the truth was manifest to him. but unwilling to make a public example of his own wife, he adopted a somewhat unique method of vengeance, and publicly proclaimed that as he could not bestow the estate on his son while alive, he would spend it upon him when dead. accordingly, the body of his son was embalmed with the most costly drugs, and lay in state for a year and a day, during which time sir robert kept open house, feasting all who chose to be his guests; lady thirlestane meanwhile being imprisoned in a vault of the castle, and fed upon bread and water. "during the last three days of this extraordinary feast", writes sir bernard burke,[16] "the crowds were immense. it was as if the whole of the south of scotland was assembled at thirlestane. butts of the richest and rarest wine were carried into the fields, their ends were knocked out with hatchets, and the liquor was carried about in stoups. the burn of thirlestane literally ran with wine." sir robert died soon afterwards, and left his family in utter destitution, his wife dying in absolute beggary. thus was avenged the crime of this cruel and unprincipled woman, whose fatal jealousy caused the ruin of the family. political intrigue, again, has been the origin of many an act of treachery, done under the semblance of hospitality, or given rise to strange incidents. to go back to early times, it seems that edward the confessor had long indulged a suspicion that earl godwin--who had in the first instance accused queen emma of having caused the death of her son--was himself implicated in that transaction. it so happened that the king and a large concourse of prelates and nobility were holding a large dinner at winchester, in honour of the easter festival, when the butler, in bringing in a dish, slipped, but recovered his balance by making adroit use of his other foot. "thus does brother assist brother," exclaimed earl godwin, thinking to be witty at the butler's expense. "and thus might i have been now assisted by my alfred, if earl godwin had not prevented it," replied the king: for the earl's remark had recalled to his mind the suspicion he had long entertained of the earl having been concerned in prince alfred's death. resenting the king's words, the earl holding up the morsel which he was about to eat, uttered a great oath, and in the name of god expressed a wish that the morsel might choke him if he had in any way been concerned in that murder. accordingly he there and then put the morsel into his mouth, and attempted to swallow it; but his efforts were in vain, it stuck fast in his throat--immovable upward or downward--his respiration failed, his eyes became fixed, his countenance convulsed, and in a minute more he fell dead under the table. edward, convinced of the earl's guilt, and seeing divine justice manifested, and remembering, it is said, with bitterness the days past when he had given a willing ear to the calumnies spread about his innocent mother, cried out, in an indignant voice, "carry away that dog, and bury him in the high road." but the body was deposited by the earl's cousin in the cathedral. several accounts have been written of that terrible banquet, to which the earl of douglas was invited by sir alexander livingstone and the chancellor crichton--who craftily dissembled their intentions--to sup at the royal table in the castle of edinburgh. the earl was foolhardy enough to accept the ill-fated invitation, and shortly after he had taken his place at the festive board, the head of a black bull--the certain omen, in those days in scotland, of immediate death--was placed on the table. the earl, anticipating treachery, instantly sprang to his feet, and lost no time in making every effort to escape. but no chance was given him to do so, and with his younger brother he was hurried along into the courtyard of the castle, and after being subjected to a mock trial, he was beheaded "in the back court of the castle that lieth to the west". the death of the young earl, and his untimely fate, were the subjects of lament in one of the ballads of the time. "edinburgh castle, town, and tower, god grant them sink for sin; and that even for the black dinner earl douglas gat therein." this emphatic malediction is cited by hume of godscroft in his "history of the house of douglas," as referring to william, sixth earl of douglas, a youth of eighteen; and hume, speaking of this transaction, says, with becoming indignation: "it is sure the people did abhorre it--execrating the very place where it was done, in detestation of the fact--of which the memory remaineth yet to our dayes in these words." many similar stories are recorded in the history of the past, the worst form of treachery oftentimes lurking beneath the festive cup, and in times of commotion, when suspicion and mistrust made men feel insecure even when entertained in the banqueting hall of some powerful host, it is not surprising that great persons had their food tasted by those who were supposed to have made themselves acquainted with its wholesomeness. but this practice could not always afford security when the taster was ready to sacrifice his own life, as in king john (act v. sc. 6): hubert. the king, i fear, is poisoned by a monk: i left him almost speechless. bastard. how did he take it? who did taste to him? hubert. a monk, i tell you; a resolved villain. but, in modern days, one of the most unnatural tragedies on record was the murder of sir john goodere, foote's maternal uncle, by his brother captain goodere, a naval officer. in the year 1740, the two brothers dined at a friend's house near bristol. for a long time they had been on bad terms, owing to certain money transactions, but at the dinner table a reconciliation was, to all appearance, made between them. but it was a most terrible piece of underhand treachery, for on leaving that dinner table, sir john was waylaid on his return home by some men from his brother's vessel--acting by his brother's authority--carried on board, and deliberately strangled; captain goodere not only unconcernedly looking on, but actually furnishing the rope with which this fearful crime was committed. one of the strangest parts of this terrible tale, foote used to relate, was the fact that on the night the murder was committed he arrived at his father's house in truro, and was kept awake for some time by the softest and sweetest strains of music he had ever heard. at first he fancied it might be a serenade got up by some of the family to welcome him home, but not being able to discover any trace of the musicians, he came to the conclusion that he was deceived by his own imagination. shortly afterwards, however, he learnt that the murder had been committed at the same hour of the same night as he had been haunted by the mysterious sounds. in after days, he often spoke of this curious occurrence, regarding it as a supernatural warning, a conviction which he retained till his death. but, strange and varied as are the scenes that have taken place at the banquet, whether great or small, such acts of fratricide have been rare, although, according to a family tradition relating to osbaldeston hall, a similar tragedy once happened at a family banquet. there is one room in the old hall whose walls are smeared with several red marks, which, it is said, can never be obliterated. these stains have some resemblance to blood, and are generally supposed to have been caused when, many years ago, one of the family was brutally murdered. the story commonly current is that there was once a great family gathering at osbaldeston hall, at which every member of the family was present. the feast passed off satisfactorily, and the liquor was flowing freely round, when, unfortunately, family differences began to be discussed. these soon caused angry recriminations, and at length two of the company challenged each other to mortal combat. friends interfered, and, by the judicious intervention on their part, the quarrel seemed to be made up. but soon afterwards the two accidentally met in this room, and thomas osbaldeston drew his sword and murdered his brother-in-law without resistance. for this crime he was deemed a felon, and forfeited his lands. ever since that ill-fated day the room has been haunted. tradition says that the ghost of the murdered man continues to haunt the scene of the conflict, and during the silent hours of the night it may be seen passing from the room with uplifted hands, and with the appearance of blood streaming from a wound in the breast.[17] but, turning to incidents of a less tragic nature, an amusing story is told of the earl of hopetoun, who, when he could not induce a certain scottish laird, named dundas, to sell his old family residence known as "the tower," which was on the very verge of his own beautiful pleasure grounds, tried to lead him on to a more expensive style of living than that to which he had been accustomed, thinking thereby he might run into debt, and be compelled to sell his property. accordingly, dundas was frequently invited to hopetoun house, and on one occasion his lordship invited himself and a fashionable shooting party to "the tower," "congratulating himself on the hole which a few dinners like this would make in the old laird's rental." but, as soon as the covers were removed from the dishes, no small chagrin was caused to lord hopetoun and his friends when their eyes rested on "a goodly array of alternate herrings and potatoes spread from the top to the bottom," dundas at the same time inviting his guests to pledge him in a bumper of excellent whiskey. drinking jocularly to his lordship's health, he humorously said, "it won't do, my lord; it won't do! but, whenever you or your guests will honour my poor hall of stang hill tower with your presence at this hour, i promise you no worse fare than now set before you, the best and fattest salt herrings that the forth can produce, and the strongest mountain dew. to this i beg that your lordship and your honoured friends may do ample justice." it is needless to say that lord hopetoun never dined again at stang hill tower but some time after, when dundas was on his death-bed, he advised his son to make the best terms he could with lord hopetoun, remarking, "he will, sooner or later, have our little property." an exchange was made highly advantageous to the dundas family, the estate of aithrey being made over to them.[18] a curious and humorous narrative is told of general dalzell, a noted persecutor of the covenanters. in the course of his continental service he had been brought into the immediate circle of the german court, and one day had the honour to be a guest at a splendid imperial banquet, where, as a part of his state, the german emperor was waited on by the great feudal dignitaries of the empire, one of whom was the duke of modena, the head of the illustrious house of este. after his appointment by charles ii. as commander-in-chief in scotland, he was invited by the duke of york--afterwards james ii., and then residing at holyrood--to dine with him and the duchess, princess may of modena. but as this was, we are told, what might be called a family dinner, the duchess demurred to the general being admitted to such an honour, whereupon he naively replied that this was not his first introduction to the house of este, for that he had known her royal highness's father, the duke of modena, and that he had stood behind his chair, while he sat by the emperor's side. there was another kind of banquet, in which it has been remarked the defunct had the principal honours, having the same ceremonious respect paid to his waxen image as though he were alive. thus we are reminded how the famous henrietta, duchess of marlborough demonstrated her appreciation for congreve in a most extraordinary manner. report goes that she had his figure made in wax, talked to it as if it had been alive, placed it at the table with her, took every care that it was supplied with different sorts of meat, and, in short, the same formalities were, throughout, scrupulously observed in these weird and strange repasts, just as if congreve himself had been present. saint foix, it may be remembered, who wrote in the time of louis xiv., has left an interesting account of the ceremonial after the death of a king of france, during the forty days before the funeral, when his wax effigy lay in state. it appears that the royal officers served him at meals as though he were still alive, the maã®tre d'hotel handed the napkin to the highest lord present to be delivered to the king, a prelate blessed the table, and the basins of water were handed to the royal armchair. grace was said in the accustomed manner, save that there was added to it the "de profundis." we cannot be surprised that such strange proceedings as these gave rise to much ridicule, and helped to bring the court itself into contempt. footnotes: [15] miss jackson's "shropshire folklore," 101. [16] family romance, 1853, pp. 1-8. [17] harland's "lancashire legends," 271-2. [18] sir bernard burke, "family romance," 1853, i., 307-12. chapter v. mysterious rooms. a jolly place, said he, in days of old; but something ails it now--the spot is curst. wordsworth. a peculiar feature of many old country houses is the so-called "strange room," around which the atmosphere of mystery has long clung. in certain cases, such rooms have gained an unenviable notoriety from having been the scene, in days gone by, of some tragic occurrence, the memory of which has survived in the local legend, or tradition. the existence, too, of such rooms has supplied the novelist with the most valuable material for the construction of those plots in which the mysterious element holds a prominent place. historical romance, again, with its tales of adventure, has invested numerous rooms with a grim aspect, and caused the imagination to conjure up all manner of weird and unearthly fancies concerning them. walpole, for instance, writing of berkeley castle, says: "the room shown for the murder of edward ii., and the shrieks of an agonising king, i verily believe to be genuine. it is a dismal chamber, almost at the top of the house, quite detached, and to be approached only by a kind of footbridge, and from that descends a large flight of steps that terminates on strong gates, exactly a situation for a _corps de garde_." and speaking of edward's imprisonment here, may be mentioned the pathetic story told by sir richard baker, in his usual odd, circumstantial manner: "when edward ii. was taken by order of his queen and carried to berkeley castle, to the end that he should not be known, they shaved his head and beard, and that in a most beastly manner; for they took him from his horse and set him upon a hillock, and then, taking puddle water out of a ditch thereby, they went to wash him, his barber telling him that the cold water must serve for this time; whereat the miserable king, looking sternly upon him, said that whether they would or no he would have warm water to wash him, and therewithal, to make good his word, he presently shed forth a shower of tears. never was king turned out of a kingdom in such a manner." and there can be no doubt that many of the rooms which have attracted notice on account of their architectural peculiarities, were purposely designed for concealment in times of political commotion. of the numerous stories told of the mysterious death of lord lovel, one informs us[19] how, on the demolition of a very old house--formerly the patrimony of the lovel's--about a century ago, there was found in a small chamber, so secret that the farmer who inhabited the house knew it not, the remains of an immured being, and such remnants of barrels and jars as appeared to justify the idea of that chamber having been used as a place of refuge for the lord of the mansion; and that after consuming the stores which he had provided in case of a disastrous event, he died unknown even to his servants and tenants. but the circumstances attending lord lovell's death have always been matter of conjecture, and in the "annals of england," another version of the story is given:[20] "lord lovel is believed to have escaped from the field, and to have lived for a while in concealment at minster lovel, oxfordshire, but at length to have been starved to death through the neglect or treachery of an attendant." at broughton castle there is a curiously designed room, which, at one time or another, has attracted considerable attention. according to lord nugent, in his "memorials of hampden," this room is "so contrived, by being surrounded by thick stone walls, and casemated, that no sound from within can be heard. the chamber appears to have been built about the time of king john, and is reported, on very doubtful grounds of tradition, to have been the room used for the sittings of the puritans." and, he adds: "it seems an odd fancy, although a very prevailing one, to suppose that wise men, employed in capital matters of state, must needs choose the most mysterious and suspicious retirements for consultation, instead of the safer and less remarkable expedient of a walk in the open fields." it was probably in this room that the secret meetings of hampden and his confederates were held, which anthony ã  wood thus describes: "several years before the civil war began, lord sage, being looked upon as the godfather of that party, had meetings of them in his house at broughton, where was a room and passage thereunto, which his servants were prohibited to come near. and when they were of a complete number, there would be a great noise and talkings heard among them, to the admiration of those that lived in the house, yet never could they discern their lord's companions." amongst other secret rooms which have their historical associations, are those at hendlip hall, near worcester. this famous residence--which has scarcely a room that is not provided with some means of escape--is commonly reported to have been built by john abingdon in the reign of queen elizabeth, this personage having been a zealous partisan of mary queen of scots. it was here also, under the care of mr. and mrs. abingdon, that father garnet was concealed for several weeks in the winter of 1605-6, but who eventually paid the penalty of his guilty knowledge of the gunpowder plot. a hollow in the wall of mrs. abingdon's bedroom was covered up, and there was a narrow crevice into which a reed was laid, so that soup and wine could be passed by her into the recess, without the fact being noticed from any other room. but the government, suspecting that some of the gunpowder conspirators were concealed at hendlip hall, sent sir henry bromley, of holt castle, a justice of the peace, with the most minute orders, which are very funny: "in the search," says the document, "first observe the parlour where they use to dine and sup; in the last part of that parlour it is conceived there is some vault, which to discover, you must take care to draw down the wainscot, whereby the entry into the vault may be discovered. the lower parts of the house must be tried with a broach, by putting the same into the ground some foot or two, to try whether there may be perceived some timber, which if there be, there must be some vault underneath it. for the upper rooms you must observe whether they be more in breadth than the lower rooms, and look in which places the rooms must be enlarged, by pulling out some boards you may discover some vaults. also, if it appear that there be some corners to the chimneys, and the same boarded, if the boards be taken away there will appear some secret place. if the walls seem to be thick and covered with wainscot, being tried with a gimlet, if it strike not the wall but go through, some suspicion is to be had thereof. if there be any double loft, some two or three feet, one above another, in such places any person may be harboured privately. also, if there be a loft towards the roof of the house, in which there appears no entrance out of any other place or lodging, it must of necessity be opened and looked into, for these be ordinary places of hovering (hiding)." the house was searched from garret to cellar without any discovery being made, and mrs. abingdon, feigning to be angry with the searchers, shut herself up in her bedroom day and night, eating and drinking there, by which means through the secret tube she fed father garnet and another jesuit father. but after a protracted search of ten days, these two men surrendered themselves, pressed, it is said, "for the need of air rather than food, for marmalade and other sweetmeats were found in their den, and they had warm and nutritive drinks passed to them by the reed through the chimney," as already described. this historic mansion, it may be added, on account of its elevated position, was capitally adapted as a place of concealment, for "it afforded the means of keeping a watchful look-out for the approach of the emissaries of the law, or of persons by whom it might have been dangerous for any skulking priest to be seen, supposing his reverence to have gone forth for an hour to take the air." another important instance of a strange room is that existing at ingatestone hall, in essex, which was, in years gone by, a summer residence belonging to the abbey of barking. it came with the estate into possession of the family of petre in the reign of henry viii., and continued to be occupied as their family seat until the latter half of the last century. in the south-east corner of a small room attached to what was probably the host's bedroom, there was discovered some years ago a mysterious hiding place--fourteen feet long, two feet broad, and ten feet high. on some floor-boards being removed, a hole or trap door--about two feet square--was found, with a twelve-foot ladder, to descend into the room below, the floor of which was composed of nine inches of dry sand. this, on being examined, brought to light a few bones which, it has been suggested, are the remains of food supplied to some unfortunate occupant during confinement. but the existence of this secret room must, it is said, have been familiar to the heads of the family for several generations, evidence of this circumstance being afforded by a packing case which was found in this hidden retreat, and upon which was the following direction: "for the right honble the lady petre, at ingatestone hall, in essex." the wood, also, was in a decayed state, and the writing in an antiquated style, which is only what might be expected considering that the petre family left ingatestone hall between the years 1770 and 1780. there are numerous rooms of this curious description which, it must be remembered, were, in many cases, the outcome of religious intolerance in the sixteenth century, and early in the seventeenth, when the celebration of mass in this country was forbidden. hence those families that persisted in adhering to the roman catholic faith oftentimes kept a priest, who celebrated it in a room--opening whence was a secret one, to which in case of emergency he could retreat. evelyn in his _diary_, speaking of ham house, at weybridge, belonging to the duke of norfolk, as having some of these secret rooms, writes: "my lord, leading me about the house, made no scruple of showing me all the hiding places for popish priests, and where they said masse, for he was no bigoted papist." the old manor house at dinsdale-upon-tees has a secret room, which is very cleverly situated at the top of the staircase, to which access is gained from above. the compartment is not very large, and is between two bedrooms, and alongside of the fireplace of one of them. "it would be a very snug place when the fire was lighted," writes a correspondent of "notes and queries," "and very secure, as it is necessary to enter the cockloft by a trap door at the extreme end of the building, and then crawl along under the roof into the hiding-place by a second trap-door." among further instances of these curious relics of the past may be mentioned armscott manor, two or three miles distant from shipston-on-stour. according to a local tradition, george fox at one time lived here. in a passage at the top of the house is the entrance to a secret room, which receives light from a small window in one of the gables, and in this room george fox is said to have been concealed during the period he was persecuted by the county magistrates. but sometimes such rooms furthered the designs of those who abetted and connived at deeds that would not bear the light, and southey records an anecdote which is a good illustration of the bad uses to which they were probably often put: "at bishop's middleham, a man died with the reputation of a water drinker; and it was discovered that he had killed himself by secret drunkenness. there was a roman catholic hiding place, the entrance to which was from his bedroom. he converted it into a cellar, and the quantity of brandy which he had consumed was ascertained." indeed, it is impossible to say to what ends these secret rooms were occasionally devoted; and there is little doubt but that they were the scenes of many of those thrilling stories upon which many of our local traditions have been founded. political refugees, too, were not infrequently secreted in these hiding places, and in the manor house, trent, near sherborne, there is a strangely constructed chamber, entered from one of the upper rooms through a sliding panel in the oak wainscoting, in which tradition tells us charles ii. lay concealed for a fortnight on his escape to the coast, after the battle of worcester. and boscobel house, which also afforded charles ii. a safe retreat, has two secret chambers; and there are indications which point to the former existence of a third. the hiding place in which the king was hidden is situated in the squire's bedroom. it appears there was formerly a sliding panel in the wainscot, near the fireplace, which, when opened, gave access to a closet, the false floor of which still admits of a person taking up his position in this secret nook. the wainscoting, too, which concealed the movable panel in the bedroom was originally covered with tapestry, with which the room was hung. a curious story is told of street place, an old house, a mile and a half north of plumpton, in the neighbourhood of lewes, which dates from the time of james i., and was the seat of the dobells. behind the great chimney-piece of the hall was a deep recess, used for purposes of concealment; and it is said that one day a cavalier horseman, hotly pursued by some troopers, broke into the hall, spurred his horse into the recess, and disappeared for ever. bistmorton court, an old moated manor house in the malvern district, has a cunningly contrived secret room, which is opened by means of a spring, and this hidden nook is commonly reported to have played an important part in the war of the roses, when numerous persons were concealed there at this troublous period. and a curious discovery was made some years ago at danby hall, in wensleydale, yorkshire, when, on a small secret room being brought to light, it was found to contain arms and saddlery for a troop of forty or fifty horse. it is generally supposed that these weapons had been hidden away in readiness for the jacobite rising of 1715 or 1745. in certain cases it would appear that, for some reason or other, the hiding place has been specially kept a secret among members of the family. in the north of england there is netherall, near maryport, cumberland, the seat of the old family of senhouse. in this old mansion there is said to be a veritable secret room, its exact position in the house being known but to two persons--the heir-at-law and the family solicitor. it is affirmed that never has the secret of this hidden room been revealed to more than two living persons at a time. this mysterious room has no window, and, despite every endeavour to discover it, has successfully defied the ingenuity of even visitors staying in the house. this netherall tradition is very similar to the celebrated one connected with glamis castle, the seat of lord strathmore, only in the latter case the secret room possesses a window, which, nevertheless, has not led to its identification. it is known as the "secret room" of the castle, and, although every other part of the castle has been satisfactorily explored, the search for this famous room has been in vain. none are supposed to be acquainted with its locality save lord strathmore, his heir, and the factor of the estate, who are bound not to reveal it unless to their successors in the secret. many weird stories have clustered round this remarkable room; one legend connected with which has been thus described: the castle now again behold, then mark yon lofty turret bold, which frowns above the western wing, its grim walls darkly shadowing. there is a room within that tower no mortal dare approach; the power of an avenging god is there. dread--awfully display'd--beware! and enter not that dreadful room, else yours may be a fearful doom. according to one legendary romance--founded on an incident which is said to have occurred during one of the carousals of the earl of crawford, otherwise styled "earl beardie" or the "tiger earl"--there was many years ago a grand "meet" at glamis, as the result of which many a noble deer lay dead upon the hill, and many a grizzly boar dyed with his heart's blood the rivers of the plain. as the day drew to its close, "the wearied huntsmen, with their fair attendants, returned, 'midst the sounds of martial music and the low whispered roundelays of the ladies, victorious to the castle." in the old baronial dining hall was spread a sumptuous and savoury feast, at which "venison and reeking game, rich smoked ham and savoury roe, flanked by the wild boar's head, and viands and pasties without name, blent profusely on the hospitable board, while jewelled and capacious goblets, filled with ruby wine, were lavishly handed round to the admiring guests." at the completion of the banquet, the minstrel strung his ancient harp, and soon the company tripped lightly on the oaken floor, till the rafters rang with the merry sounds of their midnight revelry. for three days and nights the hunt and the feast continued, and as, at last, the revelries drew to a close, still four dark chieftains remained in the inner chamber of the castle, "and sang, and drank, and shouted, right merrilie. the day broke, yet louder rang the wassail roar; the goblets were over and over again replenished, and the terrible oaths and ribald songs continued, and the dice rattled, and the revelry became louder still, till the many walls of the old castle shook and reverberated with the awful sounds of debauchery, blasphemy, and crime." "at length their wild, ungovernable frenzy reached its climax. they had drunk until their eyes had grown dim, and their hands could scarcely hold the hellish dice, when, driven by expiring fury, with fiendish glee, they defiantly gnashed their teeth and cursed the god of heaven! then, with returning strength, and exhausting its last and fitful energies in still louder imprecations and more fearful yells, they deliberately and with unanimous voice consigned their guilty souls to the nethermost hell! fatal words! in a bright, broad sheet of lurid and sulphurous flame the prince of darkness appeared in their midst, and struck--not the shaft of death, but the vitality of eternal life--and there to this day in that dreaded room they sit, transfixed in all their hideous expression of ghastly terror and dismay--doomed to drink the wine cup and throw the dice till the dawning of the great judgment day."[21] another explanation of the mystery is that during one of the feuds between the lindsays and the ogilvies, a number of the latter clan, flying from their enemies, came to glamis castle, and begged hospitality of the owner. he admitted them, and on the plea of hiding them, he secured them all in this room, and then left them to starve. their bones, it is averred, lie there to this day, the sight of which, it has been stated, so appalled the late lord strathmore on entering the room, that he had it walled up. some assert that, owing to some hereditary curse, like those described in a previous chapter, at certain intervals a kind of vampire is born into the family of the strathmore lyons, and that as no one would like to destroy this monstrosity, it is kept concealed till its term of life is run. but, whatever the mystery may be, such rooms, like the locked chamber of blue beard, are not open to vulgar gaze, a circumstance which has naturally perpetuated the curiosity attached to them. the reputation, too, which glamis castle has long had for possessing so strange a room has led to a host of the most gruesome stories being circulated in connection with it, many of which from time to time have appeared in print. according to one account,[22] "a lady, very well known in london society, an artistic and social celebrity, went to stay at glamis castle for the first time. she was allotted very handsome apartments just on the point of junction between the new buildings--perhaps a hundred or two hundred years old--and the very ancient part of the castle. the rooms were handsomely furnished; no grim tapestry swung to and fro, all was smooth, easy, and modern, and the guest retired to bed without a thought of the mysteries of glamis. in the morning she appeared at the breakfast table cheerful and self-possessed, and, to the inquiry how she had slept, replied, "well, thanks, very well, up to four o'clock in the morning. but your scottish carpenters seem to come to work very early. i suppose they are putting up their scaffolding quickly, though, for they are quiet now." her remarks were followed by a dead silence, and, to her surprise, she noticed that the faces of the family party were very pale. but, she was asked, as she valued the friendship of all there, never to speak on that subject again, there had been no carpenters at glamis for months past. the lady, it seems, had not the remotest idea that the hammering she had heard was connected with any story, and had no notion of there being some mystery connected with the noise until enlightened on the matter at the breakfast table. at rushen castle, isle of man, there is said to be a room which has never been opened in the memory of man. various explanations have been assigned to account for this circumstance, one being that the old place was once inhabited by giants, who were dislodged by merlin, and such as were not driven away remain spellbound beneath the castle. waldron, in his "description of the isle of man," has given a curious tradition respecting this strange room, in which the supernatural element holds a prominent place, and which is a good sample of other stories of the same kind: "they say there are a great many fine apartments underground, exceeding in magnificence any of the upper rooms. several men, of more than ordinary courage have, in former times, ventured down to explore the secrets of this subterranean dwelling-place, but as none of them ever returned to give an account of what they saw, the passages to it were kept continually shut that no more might suffer by their temerity. but about fifty years since, a person of uncommon courage obtained permission to explore the dark abode. he went down, and returned by the help of a clue of packthread, and made this report: 'that after having passed through a great number of vaults he came into a long narrow place, along which having travelled, as far as he could guess, for the space of a mile, he saw a little gleam of light. reaching at last the end of this lane of darkness, he perceived a very large and magnificent house, illuminated with a great many candles, whence proceeded the light just mentioned. after knocking at the door three times, it was opened by a servant, who asked him what he wanted. "i would go as far as i can," he replied; "be so kind as to direct me, for i see no passage but the dark cavern through which i came hither." the servant directed him to go through the house, and led him through a long entrance passage and out at the back door. after walking a considerable distance, he saw another house, more magnificent than the former, where he saw through the open windows lamps burning in every room. he was about to knock, but looking in at the window of a low parlour, he saw in the middle of the room a large table of black marble, on which lay extended a monster of at least fourteen feet long, and ten round the body, with a sword beside him. he therefore deemed it prudent to make his way back to the first house where the servant reconducted him, and informed him that if he had knocked at the second door he never would have returned. he then took his leave, and once more ascended to the light of the sun.'" but, leaving rooms of this supernatural kind, we may allude to those which have acquired a strange notoriety from certain peculiarities of a somewhat gruesome character; and, with tales of horror attached to their guilty walls, it is not surprising that many rooms in our old country houses have long been said to be troubled with mysterious noises, and to have an uncanny aspect. wye coller hall, near colne, which was long the seat of the cunliffes of billington, had a room which the timid long avoided. once a year, it is said, a spectre horseman visits this house and makes his way up the broad oaken staircase into a certain room, from whence "dreadful screams, as from a woman, are heard, which soon subside into groans." the story goes that one of the cunliffes murdered his wife in that room, and that the spectre horseman is the ghost of the murderer, who is doomed to pay an annual visit to the house of his victim, who is said to have predicted the extinction of the family, which has literally been fulfilled. this strange visitor is always attired in the costume of the early stuart period, and the trappings of his horse are of a most uncouth description; the evening of his arrival being generally wild and tempestuous. at creslow manor house, buckinghamshire, there is another mysterious room which, although furnished as a bedroom, is very rarely used, for it cannot be entered, even in the daytime, without trepidation and awe. according to common report, this room, which is situated in the most ancient portion of the building, is haunted by the restless spirit of a lady, long since deceased. what the antecedent history of this uncomfortable room really is no one seems to know, although it is generally agreed that in the distant past it must have been the silent witness of some tragic occurrence. but littlecote house, the ancient seat of the darrells, is renowned, writes lord macaulay, "not more on account of its venerable architecture and furniture, than on account of a horrible and mysterious crime which was perpetrated there in the days of the tudors." one of the bedchambers, which is said to have been the scene of a terrible murder, contains a bedstead with blue furniture, which time has made dingy and threadbare. in the bottom of one of the bed curtains is shown a strange place where a small piece has been cut out and sewn in again--a circumstance which served to identify the scene of a remarkable story, in connection with which, however, there are several discrepancies. according to one account, when littlecote was in possession of its founders--the darrells--a midwife of high repute dwelt in the neighbourhood, who, on returning home from a professional visit at a late hour of the night, had gone to rest only to be disturbed by one who desired to have her immediate help, little anticipating the terrible night's adventure in store for her, and which shall be told in her own words: "as soon as she had unfastened the door, a hand was thrust in which struck down the candle, and at the same time pulled her into the road. the person who had used these abrupt means desired her to tie a handkerchief over her head and not wait for a hat, and, leading her to a stile where there was a horse saddled, with a pillion on its back, he desired her to seat herself, and then, mounting, they set off at a brisk trot. after travelling for an hour and a half, they entered a paved court, or yard, and her conductor, lifting her off her horse, led her into the house, and thus addressed her: 'you must now suffer me to put this cap and bandage over your eyes, which will allow you to breathe and speak, but not to see. keep up your presence of mind; it will be wanted. no harm will happen to you.' then, taking her into a chamber, he added, 'now you are in a room with a lady in labour. perform your office well, and you shall be amply rewarded; but if you attempt to remove the bandage from your eyes, take the reward of your rashness." shortly afterwards a male child was born, and as soon as this crisis was over the woman received a glass of wine, and was told to prepare to return home, but in the interval she contrived to cut off a small piece of the bed curtain--an act which was supposed sufficient evidence to fix the mysterious transaction as having happened at littlecote. according to sir walter scott, the bandage was first put over the woman's eyes on her leaving her own house that she might be unable to tell which way she travelled, and was only removed when she was led into the mysterious bedchamber, where, besides the lady in labour, there was a man of a "haughty and ferocious" aspect. as soon as the child was born, adds scott, he demanded the midwife to give it him, and, hurrying across the room, threw it on the back of a fire that was blazing in the chimney, in spite of the piteous entreaties of the mother. suspicion eventually fell on darrell, whose house was identified by the midwife, and he was tried for murder at salisbury, "but, by corrupting his judge, sir john popham, he escaped the sentence of the law, only to die a violent death by a fall from his horse." this tale of horror, it may be added, has been carefully examined, and there is little doubt but that in its main and most prominent features it is true, the bedstead with a piece of the curtain cut out identifying the spot as the scene of the tragic act.[23] with this strange story sir walter scott compares a similar one which was current at edinburgh during his childhood. about the beginning of the eighteenth century, when "the large castles of the scottish nobles, and even the secluded hotels, like those of the french _noblesse_, which they possessed in edinburgh, were sometimes the scenes of mysterious transactions, a divine of singular sanctity was called up at midnight to pray with a person at the point of death." he was put into a sedan chair, and after being transported to a remote part of the town, he was blindfolded--an act which was enforced by a cocked pistol. after many turns and windings the chair was carried upstairs into a lodging, where his eyes were uncovered, and he was introduced into a bedroom, where he found a lady, newly delivered of an infant. he was commanded by his attendants to say such prayers by her bedside as were suitable for a dying person. on remonstrating, and observing that her safe delivery warranted better hopes, he was sternly commanded to do as he had been ordered, and with difficulty he collected his thoughts sufficiently to perform the task imposed on him. he was then again hurried into the chair, but as they conducted him downstairs he heard the report of a pistol. he was safely conducted home, a purse of gold was found upon him, but he was warned that the least allusion to this transaction would cost him his life. he betook himself to rest, and after a deep sleep he was awakened by his servant, with the dismal news that a fire of uncommon fury had broken out in the house of ****, near the head of the canongate, and that it was totally consumed, with the shocking addition that the daughter of the proprietor, a young lady eminent for beauty and accomplishments had perished in the flames. the clergyman had his suspicions; he was timid; the family was of the first distinction; above all, the deed was done, and could not be amended. time wore away, but he became unhappy at being the solitary depository of this fearful mystery, and, mentioning it to some of his brethren, the anecdote acquired a sort of publicity. the divine, however, had long been dead, and the story in some degree forgotten, when a fire broke out again on the very same spot where the house of **** had formerly stood, and which was now occupied by buildings of an inferior description. when the flames were at their height, the tumult was suddenly suspended by an unexpected apparition. a beautiful female, in a nightdress, extremely rich, but at least half a century old, appeared in the very midst of the fire, and uttered these words in her vernacular idiom: "anes burned, twice burned; the third time i'll scare you all." the belief in this apparition was formerly so strong that on a fire breaking out and seeming to approach the fatal spot, there was a good deal of anxiety manifested lest the apparition should make good her denunciation. but family romance contains many such tales of horror, and one told of sir richard baker, surnamed "bloody baker," is a match even for blue beard's locked chamber. after spending some years abroad in consequence of a duel, he returned to his old home at cranbrook, in kent; he only brought with him a foreign servant, and these two lived alone. very soon strange stories began to be whispered of unearthly shrieks having been frequently heard at nightfall to issue from his house, and of persons who were missed and never heard of again. but it never occurred to anyone to connect incidents of this kind with sir richard baker, until, one day, he formed an apparent attachment to a young lady in the neighbourhood, who always wore a great number of jewels. he had often pressed her to call and see his house, and, happening to be near it, she determined to surprise him with a visit. her companion tried to dissuade her from doing so, but she would not be turned from her purpose. they knocked at the door, but receiving no answer determined to enter. at the head of the staircase hung a parrot, which, on their passing, cried out: "peapot, pretty lady, be not too bold, or your red blood will soon run cold." and the blood of the adventurous women did "run cold" when on opening one of the room doors they found it nearly full of the bodies of murdered persons, chiefly women. and when, too, on looking out of the window they saw "bloody baker" and his servant bringing in the body of a lady, paralysed with fear they concealed themselves in a recess under the staircase, and, as the murderers with their ghastly burden passed by, the hand of the murdered lady hung in the baluster of the stairs, which, on baker chopping it off with an oath, fell into the lap of one of the concealed ladies. they quickly made their escape with the dead hand, on one of the fingers of which was a ring. reaching home, they told the story, and in proof of it displayed the ring. families in the neighbourhood who had lost friends or relatives mysteriously were told of this "blood chamber of horrors," and it was arranged to ask baker to a party, apparently in a friendly manner, but to have constables concealed ready to take him into custody. he accepted the invitation, and then the lady, pretending it was a dream, told him all she had seen. "fair lady," said he, "dreams are nothing; they are but fables." "they may be fables," she replied, "but is this a fable?" and she produced the hand and ring, upon which the constables appeared on the scene, and took baker into custody. the tradition adds that he was found guilty, and was burnt, notwithstanding that queen mary tried to save him on account of his holding the roman catholic religion.[24] this tradition, of course, must not be taken too seriously; the red hand in the armorial bearings having led, it has been suggested, to the supposition of some sanguinary business in the records of the family. among the monuments in cranbrook church, kent, there is one erected to sir richard baker--the gauntlet, red gloves, helmet, and spurs, having been suspended over the tomb. on one occasion, a visitor being attracted by the colour of the gloves, was accosted by an old woman, who remarked, "aye, miss, those are bloody baker's gloves; their red colour comes from the blood he shed." but the red hand is only the ulster badge of baronetcy, and there is scarcely a family bearing it of which some tale of murder and punishment has not been told. footnotes: [19] andrew's "history of great britain," 1794-5. [20] oxford, 1857. [21] "scenes and legends of the vale of strathmore." j. cargill guthrie, 1875. [22] "all the year round," 1880. [23] see "wilts archã¦ological magazine," vols. i.-x. [24] see "notes and queries," 1st s., i., p. 67. chapter vi. indelible blood stains. "will all great neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? no; this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnardine, making the green one red."--macbeth. it was a popular suggestion in olden times that when a person had died a violent death, the blood stains could not be washed away, to which macbeth alludes, as above, after murdering duncan. this belief was in a great measure founded on the early tradition that the wounds of a murdered man were supposed to bleed afresh at the approach or touch of the murderer. to such an extent was this notion carried, that "by the side of the bier, if the slightest change were observable in the eyes, the mouth, feet, or hands of the corpse, the murderer was conjectured to be present, and many an innocent spectator must have suffered death. this practice forms a rich pasture in the imagination of our old writers; and their histories and ballads are laboured into pathos by dwelling on this phenomenon."[25] at blackwell, near darlington, the murder of one christopher simpson is described in a pretty local ballad known as "the baydayle banks tragedy." a suspected person was committed, because when he touched the body at the inquest, "upon his handlinge and movinge, the body did bleed at the mouth, nose, and ears," and he turned out to be the murderer. similarly macbeth (act iii., sc. 4), speaking of the ghost, says:- "it will have blood; they say blood will have blood; stones have been known to move and trees to speak, auguries and understood relations have by magot pies and choughs and rooks brought forth the secret'st man of blood." shakespeare here, in all probability, alludes to some story in which the stones covering the corpse of a murdered man were said to have moved of themselves, and so revealed the secret. in the same way, it was said that where blood had been shed, the marks could not be obliterated, but would continually reappear until justice for the crime had been obtained. on one occasion, nathaniel hawthorne enjoyed the hospitality of smithells hall, lancashire, and was so impressed with the well-known legend of "the bloody footstep" that he, in three separate instances, founded fictions upon it. in his romance of "septimius" he gives this graphic account of what he saw: "on the threshold of one of the doors of smithells hall there is a bloody footstep impressed into the doorstep, and ruddy as if the bloody foot had just trodden there, and it is averred that on a certain night of the year, and at a certain hour of the night, if you go and look at the doorstep, you will see the mark wet with fresh blood. some have pretended to say that this is but dew, but can dew redden a cambric handkerchief? and this is what the bloody footstep will surely do when the appointed night and hour come round." a local tradition says that the stone bearing the imprint of the mysterious footprint was once removed and cast into a neighbouring wood, but in a short time it had to be restored to its original position owing to the alarming noises which troubled the neighbourhood. this strange footprint is traditionally said to have been caused by george marsh, the martyr, stamping his foot to confirm his testimony, and has been ever since shewn as the miraculous memorial of the holy man. the story is that "being provoked by the taunts and persecutions of his examiner, he stamped with his foot upon a stone, and, looking up to heaven, appealed to god for the justice of his cause, and prayed that there might remain in that place a constant memorial of the wickedness and injustice of his enemies." it is also stated that in 1732 a guest sleeping alone in the green chamber at smithells hall saw an apparition, in the dress of a minister with bands, and a book in his hand. the ghost of marsh, for so it was pronounced to be, disappeared through the doorway, and on the owner of smithells hearing the story, he directed that divine service--long discontinued--should be resumed at the hall chapel every sunday.[26] then there are the blood stains on the floor at the outer door of the queen's apartments in holyrood palace, where rizzio was murdered. sir walter scott has made these blood marks the subject of a jocular passage in his introduction to the "chronicles of the canongate," where a cockney traveller is represented as trying to efface them with the patent scouring drops which it was his mission to introduce into use in scotland. in another of his novels--"the abbot"--sir walter scott alludes to the rizzio blood stains, and in his "tales of a grandfather" he deliberately states that the floor at the head of the stair still bears visible marks of the blood of the unhappy victim. in support of these blood stains, it has been urged that "the floor is very ancient, manifestly much more so than the late floor of the neighbouring gallery, which dated from the reign of charles ii. it is in all likelihood the very floor upon which mary and her courtiers trod. the stain has been shown there since a time long antecedent to that extreme modern curiosity regarding historical matters which might have induced an imposture, for it is alluded to by the son of evelyn as being exhibited in the year 1722."[27] at condover hall, shropshire, there is supposed to be a blood stain which has been there since the time of henry viii., and cannot be effaced. according to a local tradition, which has long been current in the neighbourhood, it is the blood of lord knevett--the owner of the hall and estate at this period--who was treacherously slain by his son. but unfortunately this piece of romance, which is utterly at variance with facts bearing on the history of condover and its owners in years gone by, must be classed among the legendary tales of the locality. one room in clayton old hall, lancashire, has for years past been knicknamed "the bloody chamber," from some supposed stains of human gore on the oaken floor planks. numerous stories have, at different times, been started to account for these blood-tokens, which have gained all the more importance from the mansion having, from time immemorial, been the favourite haunt of a mischievious boggart until laid by the parson, and now- whilst ivy climbs and holly is green clayton hall boggart shall no more be seen. in lincoln cathedral there are two fine rose windows, one made by a master workman, and the other by his apprentice, out of the pieces of stained glass the former had thrown aside. the apprentice's window was declared to be the more magnificent, when the master, in a fit of chagrin, threw himself from the gallery beneath his boasted _chef d'oeuvre_, and was killed upon the spot. but his blood-stains on the floor are declared to be indelible. at cothele, a mansion on the banks of the tamar, the marks are still visible of the blood spilt by the lord of the manor when, for supposed treachery, he slew the warder of the drawbridge; but these are only to be seen on a wet day. but there is no mystery about the so-called "bloody chamber," for the marks are only in reality natural red tinges of the wood, denoting the presence of iron. in addition to the appearance of such indelible marks of crime, oftentimes the ghost of the spiller of blood, or of the murdered person, haunts the scene. thus, northam tower, yorkshire, an embattled structure of the time of henry vii.--a true border mansion--has long been famous for the visits of some mysterious spectre in the form of a lady who was cruelly murdered in the wood, her blood being pointed out on the stairs of the old tower. another tragic story is told of the manor house which bishop pudsey built at darlington. it was for very many years a residence of the bishops of durham, and a resting place of margaret, bride of james iv., of scotland, and daughter of henry vii., in her splendid progress through the country. this building was restored at great expense in the year 1668, and gained a widespread notoriety on account of the ghost story of lady jerratt, who was murdered there; but, as a testimony of the violent death she had received, "she left on the wall ghastly impressions of a thumb and fingers in blood for ever," and always made her appearance with one arm, the other having been cut off for the sake of a valuable ring on one of the fingers. one room of holland house is supposed to be haunted by lord holland, the first of his name and the chief builder of this splendid old mansion. according to princess marie lichtenstein, in her "history of holland house," "the gilt room is said to be tenanted by the solitary ghost of its first lord, who, runs the tradition, issues forth at midnight from behind a secret door, and walks slowly through the scenes of former triumphs with his head in his hand." and to add to this mystery, there is a tale of three spots of blood on one side of the recess whence he issues--three spots which can never be effaced. stains of blood--stains that cannot be washed away--are to be seen on the floor of a certain room at calverley hall, yorkshire. and there is one particular flag in the cellar which is never without a mysterious damp place upon it, all the other flags being dry. of course these are the witnesses of a terrible tragedy which was committed years ago within the walls of calverley hall. it appears that walter calverley, who had married philippa brooke, daughter of lord cobham, was a wild reckless man, though his wife was a most estimable and virtuous lady, and that one day he went into a fit of insane jealousy, or pretended to do so, over the then vavasour of weston. money lenders, too, were pressing him hard, and he had become desperate. rushing madly into the house, he plunged a dagger into one and then into another of his children, and afterwards tried to take the life of their mother, a steel corset which she wore luckily saving her life. leaving her for dead, he mounted his horse with the intention of killing the only other child he had, and who was then at norton. but being pursued by some villagers, his horse stumbled and threw him off, and the assassin was caught, being pressed to death at york castle for his crimes. not only have the stains of this bloody tragedy ever since been indelible, but the spirit of walter calverley could not rest, having often been seen galloping about the district at night on a headless horse.[28] and, speaking of ghosts which appear in this eccentric fashion, we may note that eastbury house, near blandford--now pulled down--had in a certain marble-floored room, ineffaceable stains of blood, attributable, it is said, to the suicide of william doggett, the steward of lord melcombe, whose headless spirit long haunted the neighbourhood. as a punishment for her unnatural cruelty in causing her child's death, it is commonly reported that the spirit of lady russell is doomed to haunt bisham abbey, berkshire, the house where this act of violence was committed. lady russell had by her first husband a son, who, unlike herself, had a natural antipathy to every kind of learning, and so great was his obstinate repugnance to learning to write that he would wilfully blot over his copy-books in the most careless and slovenly manner. this conduct so irritated his mother that, to cure him of the propensity, she beat him again and again severely, till at last she beat him to death. to atone for her cruelty, she is now doomed to haunt the room where the fatal deed was perpetrated; and, as her apparition glides along, she is always seen in the act of washing the blood stains of her son from her hands. although ever trying to free herself of these marks of her unnatural crime, it is in vain, as they are indelible stains which no water will remove. by a strange coincidence, some years ago, in altering a window shutter, a quantity of antique copy-books were discovered pushed into the rubble between the joints of the floor, and one of these books was so covered with blots as to fully answer the description in the narrative above. it is noteworthy, also, that lady russell had no comfort in her sons by her first husband. her youngest son, a posthumous child, caused her special trouble, insomuch so that she wrote to her brother-in-law, lord burleigh, for advice how to treat him. this may have been, it has been suggested, the unfortunate boy who was flogged to death, though he seems to have lived to near man's estate. lady russell was buried at bisham, by the remains of her first husband, sir thomas hoby, and her portrait may still be seen, representing her in widow's weeds and with a very pale face. a mysterious crime is traditionally reported to have, some years ago, taken place at the old parsonage at market, or east lavington, near devizes--now pulled down. the ghost of the lady supposed to have been murdered haunted the locality, and it has been said a child came to an untimely end in the house. "previous to the year 1818," writes a correspondent of _notes and queries_, "a witness states his father occupied the house, and writes that 'in that year on feast day, being left alone in the house, i went to my room. it was the one with marks of blood on the floor. i distinctly saw a white figure glide into the room. it went round by the washstand near the bed and disappeared!'" it may be added that part of the road leading from market lavington to easterton which skirts the grounds of fiddington house, used to be looked upon as haunted by a lady who was locally known as the "easterton ghost." but in the year 1869 a wall was built round the roadside of the pond, and curiously close to the spot where the lady had been in the habit of appearing two skeletons were disturbed--one of a woman, the other of a child. the bones were buried in the churchyard, and no ghost, it is said, has since been seen. it would seem, also, that blood stains, wherever they may fall, are equally indelible; and even to this day the new forest peasant believes that the marl he digs is still red with the blood of his ancient foes, the danes, a form of superstition which we find existing in various places. for very many years the road from reigate to dorking, leading through a lonely lane into the village of buckland, was haunted by a local spectre known as the "buckland shag," generally supposed to have been connected with a love tragedy. in the most lonely part of this lane a stream of clear water ran by the side of--which laid for years--a large stone, concerning which the following story is told: once on a time, a lovely blue-eyed girl, whose father was a substantial yeoman in the neighbourhood, was wooed and won by the subtle arts of an opulent owner of the manor house of buckland. in the silence of the evening this lane was their accustomed walk, the scene of her devoted love and of his deceitful vows. here he swore eternal fidelity, and the unsuspecting girl trusted him with the confiding affection of her innocent heart. it was at such a moment that the wily seducer communicated to her the real nature of his designs, the moon above being only the witness of his perfidy and her distress. she heard the avowal in tremulous silence, but her deadly paleness, and her expressive look of mingled reproach and terror created alarm even in the mind of her would-be seducer, and he hastily endeavoured to recall the fatal declaration; but it was too late, she sprang from his agitated grasp, and, with a sigh of agony, fell dead at his feet. when he beheld the work of his iniquitous designs, he was seized with distraction, and drawing a dagger from his bosom, he plunged it into his own false heart, and lay stretched by the side of her he had so basely wronged. on the morrow, as a peasant passed over the little stream, he saw a dark stone with drops of blood trickling from its heart into the pure limpid water. from that day the stream retained its untainted purity, and the stone continued its sacrifice of blood. soon afterwards a terrific object was seen hovering at midnight about this fatal spot, taking its position at first upon the "bleeding stone," but it was ousted by the lord of the manor, who removed the blood-tainted stone to his own premises, to satisfy the timid minds of his neighbours. but the stone still continued to bleed, nor did its removal in any way intimidate the spectre. connected with this alarming midnight visitor, writes a correspondent of _the gentleman's magazine_, "i remember a circumstance related to me by those who were actually acquainted with the facts, and with the person to whom they refer. an inhabitant of buckland, who had attended reigate market and become exceedingly intoxicated, was joked by a companion upon the subject of the 'buckland shag,' whereupon he laid a wager that if shag appeared in his path that night he would fight him with his trusty hawthorn. accordingly he set forth, and arrived at the haunted spot. the spectre stood in his path, and, raising his stick, he struck it with all his strength, but it made no impression, nor did the goblin move. the stick fell as upon a blanket--so the man described it--and he instantly became sober, while a cold tremor ran through every nerve of his athletic frame. he hurried on, and the spectre followed. at length he arrived at his own door; then, and not till then, did the spectre vanish, leaving the affrighted man in a state of complete exhaustion upon the threshold of his cottage. he was carried to his bed, and from that bed he never rose again; he died in a week." similarly, there is a romantic old legend connected with kilburn priory, to the effect that there was formerly, not far distant, a stone of dark red colour, which was said to be the stain of the blood of st. gervase de mertoun. the story goes that stephen de mertoun, being enamoured of his brother's wife, made immoral overtures to her, which she threatened to make known to sir gervase, to prevent which disclosure stephen resolved to waylay his brother and slay him. by a strange coincidence, the identical stone on which his murdered body had expired formed a part of his tomb, and the eye of the murderer resting upon it, adds the legend, blood was seen to issue from it. struck with horror at this sight, stephen de mertoun hastened to the bishop of london, and making confession of his guilt, demised his property to the priory of kilburn. in the same way the cornishman knows, from the red, filmy growth on the brook pebbles, that blood has been shed--a popular belief still firmly credited. some years ago a cornish gentleman was cruelly murdered, and his body thrown into a brook; but ever since that day the stones in this brook are said to be spotted with gore--a phenomenon which had never occurred previously. and, according to another strange cornish belief told of st. denis's blood, it is related that at the very time when his decapitation took place in paris, blood fell on the churchyard of st. denis. it is further said that these blood stains are specially visible when a calamity of any kind is near at hand; and before the breaking out of the plague, it is said the stains of the blood of st. denis were seen; and, "during our wars with the dutch, the defeat of the english fleet was foretold by the rain of gore in this remote and sequestered place." it is also a common notion that not only are the stains of human blood wrongfully shed ineffaceable, but a curse lights upon the ground, causing it to remain barren for ever. there is, for instance, a dark-looking piece of ground devoid of verdure in the parish of kirdford, sussex. local tradition says that this was formerly green, but the grass withered gradually away soon after the blood of a poacher, who was shot there, trickled down on the place. but perhaps the most romantic tale of this kind was that known as the "field of forty footsteps." a legendary story of the period of the duke of monmouth's rebellion describes a mortal conflict which took place between two brothers in long fields, afterwards called southampton fields, in the rear of montague house, bloomsbury, on account of a lady who sat by. the combatants fought so furiously as to kill each other, after which their footsteps, imprinted on the ground in the vengeful struggle, were reported "to remain, with the indentations produced by their advancing and receding; nor would any grass or vegetation grow afterwards over these forty footsteps." the most commonly received version of the story is, that two brothers were in love with the same lady, who would not declare a preference for either, but coolly sat upon a bank to witness the termination of a duel which proved fatal to both. southey records this strange story in his "commonplace book,"[29] and after quoting a letter from a friend, recommending him to "take a view of those wonderful marks of the lord's hatred to duelling, called 'the brothers' steps,'" he thus describes his own visit to the spot: "we sought for near half an hour in vain. we could find no steps at all within a quarter of a mile, no, nor half a mile, of montague house. we were almost out of hope, when an honest man, who was at work, directed us to the next ground adjoining to a pond. there we found what we sought, about three-quarters of a mile north of montague house and five hundred yards east of tottenham court road. the steps are of the size of a large human foot, about three inches deep, and lie nearly from north-east to south-west. we counted only twenty-six; but we were not exact in counting. the place where one or both the brothers are supposed to have fallen is still bare of grass. the labourer also showed us the bank where, the tradition is, the wretched woman sat to see the combat." miss porter and her sister founded upon this tragic romance their story, "coming out, or the field of forty footsteps"; and at tottenham street theatre was produced, many years ago, an effective melodrama based upon the same incident, entitled "the field of footsteps." another romantic tale of a similar nature is connected with montgomery church walls, and is locally designated "the legend of the robber's grave," of which there are several versions, the most popular one being this: once upon a time, a man was said to have been wrongfully hanged at montgomery; and, when the rope was round his neck, he declared in proof of his innocence that grass would never grow on his grave. curious to relate, be the cause what it may, there is yet to be seen a strip of sterility--in the form of a cross--amidst a mass of verdure.[30] likewise, the peasantry still talk mysteriously of lord derwentwater's execution, and tell how his blood could not be washed away. deep and lasting were the horror and grief which were felt when the news of his death reached his home in the north. the inhabitants of the neighbourhood, it is said, saw the coming vengeance of heaven in the aurora borealis which appeared in unwonted brilliancy on the evening of the execution, and which is still known as "lord derwentwater's light" in the northern counties; the rushing devil's water, too, they said, ran down with blood on that terrible night, and the very corn which was ground on that day came tinged from the mill with crimson. lord derwentwater's death, too, was all the more deplored on account of his having long been undecided as to whether he should embrace the enterprise against the house of hanover. but there had long been a tradition in his family that a mysterious and unearthly visitant appeared to the head of the house in critical emergencies, either to warn of danger, or to announce impending calamity. one evening, a few days before he resolved to cast in his lot with the stuarts, whilst he was wandering amid the solitudes of the hills, a figure stood before him in robe and hood of grey. this personage is said to have sadly reproached the earl for not having already joined the rising, and to have presented him with a crucifix which was to render him secure against bullet or sword thrust. after communicating this message the figure vanished, leaving the earl in a state of bewilderment. the mysterious apparition is reported to have spoken with the voice of a woman, and as it is known that "in the more critical conjunctures of the history of the stuarts every device was practised by secret agents to gain the support of a wavering follower," it is not difficult to guess at a probable explanation of the ghost of the dilston groves. it may be added that at dilston, lady derwentwater was long said to revisit the pale glimpses of the moon to expiate the restless ambition which impelled her to drive lord derwentwater to the scaffold. but how diverse have been the causes of many of these romantic blood stains may be gathered from another legendary tale connected with plaish hall, near cardington, shropshire. the report goes that a party of clergymen met together one night at plaish hall to play cards. in order that the real object of their gathering might not be known to any but themselves, the doors were locked. before very long, however, they flew open without any apparent cause. again they were locked, but presently they burst open a second time, and even a third. astonished at what seemed to baffle explanation, and whilst mutually wondering what it could mean, a panic was suddenly created when, in their midst, there appeared a mysterious figure resembling the evil one. in a moment the invited guests all rose and fled, leaving the unfortunate host by himself "face to face with the enemy." what happened after their departure was never divulged, for no one "ever saw that wretched man again, either alive or dead." that he had died some violent death was generally surmised, for a great stain of blood shaped like a human form was found on the floor of the room, and despite all efforts the mark could never be washed out. ever since this inexplicable occurrence, the house has been haunted, and at midnight a ghostly troop of horses are occasionally heard, creating so much noise as to awaken even heavy sleepers. and aubrey in his "miscellanies" tells how when the bust of charles i., carved by bernini, "was brought in a boat upon the thames, a strange bird--the like whereof the bargemen had never seen--dropped a drop of blood, or blood-like, upon it, which left a stain not to be wiped off." the strange story of this ill-fated bust is more minutely told by dr. zacharay grey in a pamphlet on the character of charles i.: "vandyke having drawn the king in three different faces--a profile, three-quarters, and a full face--the picture was sent to rome for bernini to make a bust from it. bernini was unaccountably dilatory in the work, and upon this being complained of, he said that he had set about it several times, but there was something so unfortunate in the features of the face that he was shocked every time that he examined it, and forced to leave off the work, and, if there was any stress to be laid on physiognomy, he was sure the person whom the picture represented was destined to a violent end." the bust was at last finished and sent to england. as soon as the ship that brought it arrived in the river, the king, who was very impatient to see the bust, ordered it to be carried immediately to chelsea. it was conveyed thither, and placed upon a table in the garden, whither the king went with a train of nobility to inspect the bust. as they were viewing it, a hawk flew over their heads with a partridge in his claws, which he had wounded to death. some of the partridge's blood fell upon the neck of the bust, where it remained without being wiped off. this bust was placed over the door of the king's closet at whitehall and continued there till the palace was destroyed by fire. footnotes: [25] d'israeli's "curiosities of literature." [26] see harland and wilkinson's "lancashire folklore," 135-136. [27] "book of days," i., 235. [28] this tradition is the basis of the drama called "the yorkshire tragedy," and was adopted by ainsworth in his "romance of rookwood." [29] 2nd ser., p. 21. [30] a curious legend is related by roger de hoveden, which shows the antiquity of the wakefield mills. "in the year 1201, eustace, abbot of flaye, came over into england, preaching the duty of extending the sabbath from three o'clock p.m. on saturday to sunrising on monday morning, pleading the authority of an epistle written by christ himself, and found on the altar of st. simon at golgotha. the people of yorkshire treated the fanatic with contempt, and the miller of wakefield persisted in grinding his corn after the hour of cessation, for which disobedience his corn was turned into blood, while the mill-wheel stood immovable against all the water of the calder." chapter vii. curious secrets. "and now i will unclasp a secret book, and to your quick-conceiving discontent i'll read your matter deep and dangerous." 1. henry iv., act 1., sc. 3. "the depository of the secrets of all the world" was the inscription over one of the brazen portals of fakreddin's valley, reminding us of what ossian said to oscar, when he resigned to him the command of the morrow's battle, "be thine the secret hill to-night," referring to the gaelic custom of the commander of an army retiring to a secret hill the night before a battle to hold communion with the ghosts of departed heroes. but, as it has been often remarked of secrets--both political and social--they are only too frequently made to be revealed, a truth illustrative of ben jonson's words in "the case is unaltered "- a secret in his mouth is like a wild bird put into a cage, whose door no sooner opens but 'tis out. in family history, some of the strangest secrets have related to concealment of birth, many a fraud having been devised to alter or perpetuate the line of issue. early in the present century, a romantic story which was the subject of conversation in the circles both of london and paris, related to lady newborough, who had always considered herself the daughter of lorenzo chiappini, formerly gaoler of modigliana, and subsequently constable at florence, and of his wife vincenzia diligenti. possessed in her girlhood of fascinating appearance and charming manners, she came out as a ballet dancer at the principal opera at florence, and one night she so impressed lord newborough that, by means of a golden bribe, he had her transferred from the stage to his residence. his conduct towards her was tender and affectionate, and, in spite of the disparity of years, he afterwards married her, introducing her to the london world as lady newborough. some time after her marriage, according to a memoir stated to be written by the fair claimant of the house of orleans, and printed in paris before the revolution of 1830 but immediately suppressed, when staying at sienna she received a posthumous letter from her supposed father, which, from its extraordinary disclosures, threw her into complete bewilderment.[31] it ran as follows: my lady,--i have at length reached the term of my days without having revealed to anyone a secret which directly concerns me and yourself. the secret is this: on the day when you were born, of a person whom i cannot name and who now is in the other world, a male child of mine was also born. i was requested to make an exchange; and, considering the state of my finances in those days, i accepted to the often-repeated and advantageous proposals, and at that time i adopted you as my daughter in the same manner as my son was adopted by the other party. i observe that heaven has repaired my faults by placing you in better circumstances than your father, although his rank was somewhat similar. this enables me to end my days with some comfort. let this serve to extenuate my culpability towards you. i entreat your pardon for my fault. i desire you, if you please, to keep this transaction secret, in order that the world shall not have any opportunity to speak of an affair which is now without remedy. this, my letter, you will not receive until after my death. lorenzo chiappini. after receiving this letter, lady newborough sent for ringrezzi, the confessor of the late gaoler, and fabroni, a confessor of the late countess borghi, and was told by the former that, in his opinion, she was the daughter of the grand duke leopold; but the latter disagreed, saying, "myladi is the daughter of a french lord called count joinville, who had considerable property in champagne; and i entertain no doubt that if your ladyship were to go to that province you would there find valuable documents, which i have been told were there left in the hands of a respectable ecclesiastic." it is further stated that two old sisters of the name of bandini, who had been born and educated in the house of the borghis, and been during all their life in the service of that family, informed lady newborough, and afterwards in the ecclesiastical court of faenza, that in the year 1773 they followed their master and mistress to modigliana, where the latter usually had their summer residence in a chateau belonging to them; that, arriving there, they found a french count, louis joinville, and his countess, established in the pretorial palace. they further affirmed that between the borghis and this family a very intimate intercourse was soon established and that they daily interchanged visits. furthermore, the foreign lord, it is said, was extremely familiar with persons of the lowest rank, and particularly with the gaoler, chiappini, who lived under the same roof. the wives of both were pregnant; and it appeared that they expected their delivery much about the same time. but the count was tormented with a grievous anxiety; his wife had as yet had no male offspring, and he much feared that they would never be blessed with any. having communicated his project to the borghis, he at length made an overture to the gaoler, telling him he apprehended the loss of a very great inheritance, which absolutely depended on the birth of a son, and that he was disposed, in case the countess gave birth to a daughter, to exchange her for a boy, and that for this exchange he would liberally recompense the father. the man, highly pleased at finding his fortune thus unexpectedly made, immediately accepted the offer, and the bargain was concluded. immediately after the accouchment of the ladies, one of the bandinis went to the pretorial palace to see the new-born babies, when some women in the house told her that the exchange had already taken place; and chappiani himself being present, confirmed their statement. but as there were several persons in the secret--however solemnly secrecy had been promised--public rumour soon accused the barterers. the count louis, fearing the people's indignation, concealed himself in the convent of st. bernard, at brisighella. the lady, it is added, departed with her suppositious son; her own daughter being baptized and called maria stella petronilla, and designated as the daughter of lorenzo chappiani and vincenzia diligenti. having learnt so much, lady newborough being in paris in the year 1823, had recourse to a stratagem by which she expected to gain additional information. accordingly she inserted in the newspapers, "that she had been desired by the countess pompeo borghi to discover in france a count louis joinville, who in the year 1773 was with his countess at modigliana, where the latter gave birth to a son on the 16th april, and that if either of these persons were still alive, or the child born at modigliana, she was empowered to communicate to them something of the highest importance. subsequently to this advertisement, she was waited upon by a colonel joinville, but he derived his title only from louis xviii. but before the colonel was out of the door, she had a call from the abbã© de saint-fare, whom she gave to understand that she was anxious to discover the identity of a birth connected with the sojourn with the late comte de joinville. in the course of conversation, this abbã© is stated to have made most injudicious admissions, from which lady newborough gathered that he was the confidential agent of the duke of orleans, being currently said to be his illegitimate brother. lady newborough was now convinced in her own mind that she was the eldest child of the late duke of orleans, and hence was the first princess of the blood of france, and the rightful heiress of immense wealth. but this discovery brought her no happiness, and subjected to her to much discomfort and misery. her story--whether true or false--will in all probability remain a mystery to the end of time, being one of those political puzzles which must remain an open question. secret intrigue, however, at one time or another, has devised the most subtle plans for supplanting the rightful owner out of his birthright--a second wife through jealously entering into some shameful compact to defraud her husband's child by his former wife of his property in favour of her own. such a secret conspiracy is connected with draycot, and, although it has been said to be one of the most mysterious in the whole range of english legends, yet, singular as the story may be, writes sir bernard burke, "no small portion of it is upon record as a thing not to be questioned; and it is not necessary to believe in supernatural agency to give all parties credit for having faithfully narrated their impressions." the main facts of this strange story are briefly told: walter long of draycot had two wives, the second being catherine, daughter of sir john thynne, of longleat. on their arrival at draycot after the honeymoon, there were great rejoicings into which all entered save the heir of the houses of draycot and wraxhall, who was silent and sad. once arrived in her new home, the mistress of draycot lost no time in studying the character of her step-son, for she had an object in view which made it necessary that she should completely understand his character. her design was, in short, that the young master of draycot, "the heir of all his father's property--the obstruction in the way of whatever children there might be by the second marriage--must be ruined, or at any rate so disgraced as to provoke his father to disinherit him." taking into her confidence her brother, sir egremont thynne, of longleat, with his help she soon discovered that the youthful heir of draycot was fond of wine and dice, and that he had on more than one occasion met with his father's displeasure for indulgence in such acts of dissipation. having learnt, too, that the young man was kept on short supplies by his parsimonious father, and had often complained that he was not allowed sufficient pocket-money for the bare expenses of his daily life; the crafty step-mother seized this opportunity for carrying out her treacherous and dishonourable conduct. commiserating with the inexperienced youth in his want of money, and making him feel more than ever dissatisfied at his father's meanness to him, she quickly enlisted him on her side, especially when she gave him liberal supplies of money, and recommended him to enjoy his life whilst it was in his power to do so. with a full rather than an empty purse, the young squire was soon seen with a cheerful party over the wine bottle, and, at another time, with a gambling group gathered round the dice box. but this kind of thing suited admirably his step-mother, for she took good care that such excesses were brought under the notice of the lad's father, and magnified into heinous crimes. from time to time this unprincipled woman kept supplying the unsuspecting youth with money, and did all in her power to encourage him in his tastes for reckless living. fresh stories of his son's dissipated conduct were continually being told to the master of draycot, until at last, "influenced by the wiles of his charming wife, on the other by deeper wiles of his brother-in-law, he agreed to make out a will disinheriting his son by his first wife, and settling all his possessions on his second wife and her relations." hitherto, the secret entered into by brother and sister had been a perfect success, for not only was the son completely alienated from his father, but the latter deemed it a sin to make any provision for one who was given to drink and gambling. a draft will was drawn up by sir egremont thynne, and when approved of was ordered to be copied by a clerk. but here comes the remarkable part of the tale. the work of engrossing demands a clear, bright light, and the slightest shadow intervening between the light and the parchment would be sure to interrupt operations. such an interruption the clerk was suddenly? subjected to, when, "on looking up he beheld a white hand--a lady's delicate white hand--so placed between the light and the deed as to obscure the spot on which he was engaged. the unaccountable hand, however, was gone almost as soon as noticed." the clerk concluding that this was some optical delusion, proceeded with his work, and had come to the clause wherein the master of draycot disinherited his son, when again the same ghostly hand was thrust between the light and the parchment. terrified at this unearthly intervention, the clerk awoke sir egremont from his midnight slumbers, and told him what had occurred, adding that the spectre hand was no other than that of the first wife of the master of draycot, who resented the cruel wrong done to her son. in due time the deed was engrossed by another clerk, and duly signed and sealed. but the "white hand" had not appeared in vain, for the clerk's curious adventure afterwards became the topic of general conversation, and the injustice done to the disinherited heir of draycot excited so much sympathetic indignation that "the trustees of the late lady long arrested the old knight's corpse at the church door, her nearest relations commenced a suit against the intended heir, and the result was a compromise between the parties, john long taking possession of wroxhall, while his other half-brother was allowed to retain draycot," a settlement that, it is said, explains the division of the two estates, which we find at the present day. the secret between the brother and sister was well kept, and whatever explanation may be given to the "white hand," the story is as singular as any in the annals of domestic history. it was the betrayal of a secret, on the other hand, on the part of a woman that is traditionally said to have caused the sudden and tragic death of richard, second earl of scarborough. this nobleman, it seems, was in the confidence of the king, and had been entrusted by him with the keeping of a most important secret. but, like most favourites, the earl was surrounded by enemies who were ever on the alert to compass his ruin, and, amidst other devices, they laid their plans to prevail on the unsuspecting earl to betray the confidence which the king had implicitly reposed on him. finding it, however, impossible by this means to make him guilty of a breach of trust towards the king, they had recourse to another scheme which proved successful, and thereby irrevocably compromised him in the king's eyes. having discovered that the earl was in love with a certain lady and was in the habit of frequently visiting her, some of his enemies discovered where she lived, and, calling on her, promised an exceeding rich reward if she could draw the royal secret from her lover, and communicate it to them. easily bought over by the offer of so rich a bribe, the treacherous woman, like delilah of old, soon prevailed upon the earl to give her the desired information, and the secret was revealed. as soon as the earl's enemies were apprised of the same, they lost no time in hurrying to the king, and submitting to him the proofs of his protã©gã©'s imprudence. they gained their end, for the next time the earl came into the royal presence, the king said to him in a sad but firm voice, "lumley, you have lost a friend, and i a good servant." this was a bitter shock to the earl, for he learnt now for the first time that she in whom he had reposed his love and faith had been his worst enemy, and that, as far as his relations to the king were concerned, he was disgraced as a man of honour in his estimation. with his proud and haughty spirit, unable to bear the misery and chagrin of his fall and ruin, he had recourse to the suicide's escape from trouble--he shot himself. but another secret, no less tragic and of a far more sensational nature, related to a certain mr. macfarlane. one sunday, in the autumn of the year 1719, sir john swinton, of swinton, in berwickshire, left his little daughter margaret, who had been indisposed through a childish ailment, at home when he went with the rest of his family to church, taking care to lock the outer door. after the lapse of an hour or so, the child had become dull through being alone, and she made her way into the parlour below stairs, where, on her arrival, she hastily bolted the door to keep out any ghost or bogie, stories relating to which had oftentimes excited her fears. but great was her terror when, on looking round, she was confronted by a tall lady, gracefully attired, and possessed of remarkable handsome features. the poor child stood motionless with terror, afraid to go forwards or backwards. her throbbing heart, however, quickly recovered from its fright, as the mysterious lady, with a kind eye and sweet smile, addressed her by name, and taking her hand, spoke: "margaret, you may tell your mother what you have seen, but, for your life, to no one else. if you do, much evil may come of it, some of which will fall on yourself. you are young, but you must promise to be silent as the grave itself in this matter." full of childish wonderment, margaret, half in shyness and half in fear at being an agent in so strange a secret, turned her head towards the window, but on turning round found the lady had disappeared, although the door remained bolted. her curiosity was now more than before aroused, and she concluded that after all this lady must be one of those fairies she had often read of in books; and it was whilst pondering on what she had seen that the family returned from church. surprised at finding margaret bolted in this parlour, sir john learnt that "she had been frightened, she knew not why, at the solitude of her own room, and had bolted herself in the parlour." although she was soon laughed out of her childish fears, lady swinton was quick enough to perceive that margaret had not communicated everything, and insisted upon knowing the whole truth. the child made no objection, as she had not been told to keep the secret from her mother. after describing all that happened, lady swinton kissed her daughter tenderly and said, "since you have kept the secret so well, you shall know something more of this strange lady." thereupon lady swinton pushed aside one of the oaken panels in the parlour, which revealed a small room beyond, where sat the mysterious lady. "and now, margaret dear," said her mother, "listen to me. this lady is persecuted by cruel men, who, if they find her, will certainly take her life. she is my guest, she is now yours, and i am sure i need not tell you the meanest peasant in all scotland would shame to betray his guest." margaret promised to keep the secret, never evincing the slightest curiosity to know who the lady was, and it is said she had reached her twentieth year when one day the adventure of her childhood was explained. it seems that the lady in question was a mrs. macfarlane, daughter of colonel charles straiton, a zealous jacobite. when about nineteen years old she married john macfarlane--law agent of simon fraser, lord lovat--who was many years her senior. soon after her marriage mrs. macfarlane made the acquaintance of captain john cayley, a commissioner of customs, and on september 29th, 1716, he called on her at edinburgh, when, for reasons only known to herself or him, she fired two shots at him with a pistol, one of which pierced his heart. according to sir bernard burke, it was when she would not yield to captain cayley's immoral overtures that the latter vowed to blacken her character, a threat which he so successfully carried out "that not one of her female acquaintances upon whom she called would admit her; not one of all she met in the street would acknowledge her." desperate at this villainy on his part, mrs. macfarlane, under pretence of agreeing to captain cayley's overtures, sent for him, when fully confident that he was about to reap the fruit of his infamous daring he obeyed her summons. but no sooner had he entered the room than she locked the door, and, snatching up a brace of pistols, she exclaimed: "wretch, you have blasted the reputation of a woman who never did you the slightest wrong. you have fixed an indelible stain upon the child at her bosom; and all this because, coward as you are, you thought there was no one to take her part." at the same time, it is said, she fired two shots at him with a pistol, one of which pierced his heart. her husband asserted, however, that she fired to save herself from outrage, an explanation which she affirmed was "only too true." her husband also declared that his wife was desirous of sending for a magistrate and of telling him the whole story, but that he advised her against it. but not appearing to stand her trial in the ensuing february, she was outlawed, and obtained refuge in the mansion house of the swinton family in the concealed apartment already described.[32] according to sir walter scott, she "returned and lived and died in edinbugh"; but her life must have been comparatively short, as her husband married again on october 6th, 1719. akin to this dramatic episode may be mentioned one concerning robert perceval, the second son of the right hon. sir john perceval, when reading for the law in his chambers in lincoln's inn. the clock had just struck the hour of midnight, when, on looking up from his book, he was astonished to see a figure standing between himself and the door, completely muffled up in a long cloak so as to defy recognition. "who are you?" but the figure made no answer. "what do you want?" no reply. the figure stood motionless. thinking it made a low hollow laugh, the young student struck at the intruder with his sword, but the weapon met with no resistance, and not a single drop of blood stained it. this was amazing, and still no answer. determined to solve the mystery of this strange being, he cast aside its cloak, when lo! "he saw his own apparition, bloody and ghostly, whereat he was so astonished that he immediately swooned away, but, recovering, he saw the spectre depart." at first this occurrence left the most unpleasant impressions on his mind, but as days passed by without anything happening, the warning, or whatever it was, faded gradually from his memory, and he lived as before, drinking and quarrelling, managing to embroil himself at play with the celebrated beau fielding. the day at last came, however, when his equanimity was disturbed, for, as he was walking from his chambers in lincoln's inn to a favourite tavern in the strand, he imagined that he was followed by an ungainly looking man. he tried to avoid him, but the man followed on, and after a time, fully convinced that he was dogged by this man, he demanded "who he was, and why he followed him?" [illustration: the figure stood motionless.] but the man replied, "i am not following you; i'm following my own business." by no means satisfied, young perceval crossed over to the opposite side of the street, but the man followed him step by step, and before many minutes had elapsed he was joined by another man as ungainly-looking as himself. perceval, no longer doubting that he was followed, called upon the two men to retire at their peril, and although he succeeded in making them take to their heels after a sharp sword skirmish, he was himself wounded in the leg, and made his way to the nearest tavern. this unpleasant encounter, reviving the memory of the ghastly figure he had seen in his chambers, made him feel that he was a doomed man, and he was not far wrong, for that night near the so-called may-pole in the strand he was found dead--but how he died was a secret never divulged. another equally strange incident connected with this mysterious crime happened to a mrs. brown, "perhaps from her holding some situation in the family of his uncle, sir robert." on this fatal night, writes sir bernard burke, she dreamt that one mrs. shearman--the housekeeper--came to her and asked for a sheet. she demanded, "for what purpose," to which mrs. shearman replied, "poor master robert is killed, and it is to wind him in." curious to say, in the morning mrs. shearman came at an early hour into her room, and asked for a sheet. for what purpose? inquired mrs brown. "poor mr. robert is murdered," was the reply; "he lies dead in the strand watch-house, and it is to wind his body in." in the year 1848, the warwick magistrates investigated a most extraordinary and preposterous charge of murder against lord leigh, his deceased mother, and persons employed by them, in the course of which inquiry one of the accusers professed to have been in possession of a secret connected with the matter for a number of years. the accusation seems to have originated from the attempt of certain parties to seize stoneleigh abbey on pretence that it rightfully belonged to them, and not to lord leigh. in november, 1844, a mob took possession of the place for one george leigh; several of the ringleaders were tried for the offence, and not fewer than twenty-eight were convicted. the account of this curious conspiracy, as given in the "annual register," goes on to say that richard barnett made the charge of murder: in 1814 he was employed under lady julia leigh and her son at the abbey, where a number of workmen were engaged in making alterations; four of these men were murdered by large stones having been allowed to fall on them, and their bodies were placed within an abutment of a bridge, and then inclosed with masonry. another man was shot by hay, a keeper. in cross-examination, the witness said he "had kept silence on these atrocities for thirty years, because he feared lord leigh, and because he did not expect to obtain anything by speaking. he first divulged the secret to those who were trying to seize the estate; as this information he thought would help them to get it, for the murders were committed to keep out the proper owners." in the course of the inquiry, john wilcox was required to repeat evidence which he had given before a master of chancery; but, instead of doing so, the man confessed that he was not sober when he made the declaration. he further declared how some servants of the leigh family had burned pictures, and had been paid to keep "the secrets of the house." the whole story, however, was a deliberate and wilful fabrication, the facts were contradicted and circumstantially refuted, and of course so worthless a charge was dismissed by the bench. footnotes: [31] see "annual register" (1832), 152-5. [32] this incident suggested to sir walter scott his description of the concealment and discovery of the countess of derby in "peveril of the peak." see "dictionary of national biography," xxxv., 74. chapter viii. the dead hand. open, lock, to the dead man's knock! fly, bolt, and bar, and band; nor move, nor swerve, joint, muscle, or nerve, at the spell of the dead man's hand. ingoldsby legends. one of the most curious and widespread instances of deception and credulity is the magic potency which has long been supposed to reside in the so-called "hand of glory"--the withered hand of a dead man. numerous stories are told of its marvellous properties as a charm, and on the continent many a wonderful cure is said to have been wrought by its agency. southey, it may be remembered, in his "thalaba, the destroyer," has placed it in the hands of the enchanter, king mohareb, when he would lull to sleep zohak, the giant keeper of the caves of babylon. and the history of this wonder-working talisman, as used by mohareb, is thus graphically told: thus he said, and from his wallet drew a human hand, shrivelled and dry and black. and fitting, as he spake, a taper in his hold, pursued: "a murderer on the stake had died. i drove the vulture from his limbs and lopt the hand that did the murder, and drew up the tendon strings to close its grasp, and in the sun and wind parched it, nine weeks exposed." from the many accounts given of this "dead hand," we gather that it has generally been considered necessary that the hand should be taken from a man who has been put to death for some crime. then, when dried and prepared with certain weird unguents, it is ready for use. sir walter scott, in the "antiquary" has introduced this object of superstition, making the german adventurer, dousterswivel, describe it to the assembled party among the ruins at st. ruth's thus jocosely: "de hand of glory is very well known in de countries where your worthy progenitors did live; and it is a hand cut off from a dead man as he has been hanged for murder, and dried very nice in de smoke of juniper wood; then you do take something of de fatsh of de bear, and of de badger, and of de great eber (as you do call ye grand boar), and of de little sucking child as has not been christened (for dat is very essential), and you do make a candle, and put into de hand of glory at de proper hour and minute, with the proper ceremonials; and he who seeketh for treasures shall never find none at all." possessed of these mystic qualities, such a hand could not fail to find favour with those engaged in any kind of evil and enterprise; and, on account of its lulling to sleep all persons within the circle of its influence, was of course held invaluable by thieves and burglars. thus the case is recorded of some thieves, who, a few years ago, attempted to commit a robbery on a certain estate in the county meath. to quote a contemporary account of the affair, it appears that "they entered the house armed with a dead man's hand, with a lighted candle in it, believing in the superstitious notion that a candle placed in a dead man's hand will not be seen by any but by those by whom it is used, and also that if a candle in a dead hand be introduced into a house, it will prevent those who may be asleep from awaking. the inmates, however, were alarmed, and the robbers fled, leaving the hand behind them." another story communicated by the rev. s. baring-gould, tells how two thieves, having come to lodge in a public-house, with a view to robbing it, asked permission to pass the night by the fire, and obtained it. but when the house was quiet the servant girl, suspecting mischief, crept downstairs, and looked through the keyhole. she saw the men open a sack, and take out a dry withered hand. they anointed the fingers with some unguents, and lighted them. each finger flamed, but the thumb they could not light--that was because one of the household was not asleep. the girl hastened to her master, but found it impossible to arouse him--she tried every other sleeper, but could not break the charmed sleep. at last stealing down into the kitchen, while the thieves were busy over her master's strong-box, she secured the hand, blew out the flames, and at once the whole house was aroused. among other qualities which have been supposed to belong to a dead man's hand, are its medicinal virtues, in connection with which may be mentioned the famous "dead hand," which was, in years past, kept at bryn hall, lancashire. there are several stories relating to this gruesome relic, one being that it was the hand of father arrowsmith, a priest, who, according to some accounts, is said to have been put to death for his religion in the time of william iii. it is recorded that when about to suffer he desired his spiritual attendant to cut off his right hand, which should ever after have power to work miraculous cures on those who had faith to believe in its efficacy. this relic, which forms the subject of one of roby's "traditions of lancashire," was preserved with great care in a white silk bag, and was resorted to by many diseased persons, who are reported to have derived wonderful cures from its application. thus the case is related of a woman who, attacked with the smallpox, had this dead hand in bed with her every night for six weeks, and of a poor lad living near manchester who was touched with it for the cure of scrofulous sores. it has been denied, however, that father arrowsmith was hanged for "witnessing a good confession," and mr. roby, in his "traditions of lancashire," says that, having been found guilty of a rape, in all probability this story of his martyrdom, and of the miraculous attestation to the truth of the cause for which he suffered, were contrived for the purpose of preventing the scandal that would have come upon the church through the delinquency of an unworthy member. it is further said that one of the family of the kenyons attended as under-sheriff at the execution, and that he refused the culprit some trifling favour at the gallows, whereupon arrowsmith denounced a curse upon him, to wit, that, whilst the family could boast of an heir, so long they never should want a cripple--a prediction which was supposed by the credulous to have been literally fulfilled. but this story is discredited, the real facts of the case, no doubt, being that he was hanged "under sanction of an atrocious law, for no other reason but because he had taken orders as a roman catholic priest, and had endeavoured to prevail upon others to be of his own faith." according to another version of the story, edmund arrowsmith was a native of haydock, in the parish of winwick. he entered the roman catholic college of douay, where he was educated, afterwards being ordained priest. but in the year 1628 he was apprehended and brought to lancaster on the charge of being a priest contrary to the laws of the realm, and was executed on 26th august, 1628, his last words being "bone jesu."[33] as recently as the year 1736, a boy of twelve years, the son of caryl hawarden, of appleton-within-widnes, county of lancaster, is stated to have been cured of what appeared to be a fatal malady by the application of father arrowsmith's hand, which was effected in the following manner: the boy had been ill fifteen months, and was at length deprived of the use of his limbs, with loss of his memory and impaired sight. in this condition, which the physicians had declared hopeless, it was suggested to his parents that, as wonderful cures had been effected by the hand of "the martyred saint," it was advisable to try its effects upon their afflicted child. the "holy hand" was accordingly procured from bryn, packed in a box and wrapped in linen. mrs. hawarden, having explained to the invalid boy her hopes and intentions, applied the back part of the dead hand to his back, stroking it down each side the backbone and making the sign of the cross, which she accompanied with a fervent prayer that jesus christ would aid it with his blessing. having twice repeated this operation, the patient, who had before been utterly helpless, rose from his seat and walked about the house, to the surprise of seven persons who had witnessed the miracle. from that day the boy's pains left him, his memory was restored, and his health became re-established. this mystic hand, it seems, was removed from bryn hall to garswood, a seat of the gerard family, and subsequently to the priest's house at ashton-in-makerfield. but many ludicrous tales are current in the neighbourhood, of pilgrims having been rather roughly handled by some of the servants, such as getting a good beating with a wooden hand, so that the patients rapidly retraced their steps without having had the application of the "holy hand." it is curious to find that such a ghastly relic as a dead hand should have been preserved in many a country house, and used as a talisman, to which we find an amusing and laughable reference in the "ingoldsby legends": open, lock, to the dead man's knock! fly bolt, and bar, and band; nor move, nor swerve, joint, muscle, or nerve, at the spell of the dead man's hand. sleep, all who sleep! wake, all who wake! but be as dead for the dead man's sake. the story goes on to tell how, influenced by the mysterious spell of the enchanted hand, neither lock, bolt, nor bar avails, neither "stout oak panel, thick studded with nails"; but, heavy and harsh, the hinges creak, though they had been oiled in the course of the week, and the door opens wide as wide may be, and there they stand, that wondrous band, lit by the light of the glorious hand, by one! by two! by three! at danesfield, berkshire--so-called from an ancient horseshoe entrenchment of great extent near the house, supposed to be of danish origin--is preserved a withered hand, which has long had the reputation of being that presented by henry i. to reading abbey, and reverenced there as the hand of james the apostle. it answers exactly to "the incorrupt hand" described by hoveden, and was found among the ruins of the abbey, where it is thought to have been secreted at the dissolution. footnotes: [33] baines's "lancashire," iii., 638; harland and wilkinson's "lancashire folklore," 158-163. chapter ix. devil compacts. mephistopheles.--i will bind myself to your service here, and never sleep nor slumber at your call. when we meet on the other side, you shall do as much for me. goethe's "_faust_." the well-known story of faust reminds us of the many similar weird tales which have long held a prominent place in family traditions. but in the majority of cases the devil is cheated out of his bargain by some spell against which his influence is powerless. according to the popular notion, compacts are frequently made with the devil, by which he is bound to complete, for instance, a building--as a house, a church, a bridge, or the like--within a certain period; but, through some artifice, by which the soul of the person for whom he is doing the work is saved, the completion of the undertaking is prevented: thus the cock is made to crow, because, like all spirits that shun the light of the sun, the devil loses his power at break of day. the idea of bartering the soul for temporary gain has not been confined to any country, but as an article of terrible superstition has been widespread. mr lecky has pointed out how, in the fourteenth century, "the bas-reliefs on cathedrals frequently represent men kneeling down before the devil, and devoting themselves to him as his servants." in our own country, such compacts were generally made at midnight in some lonely churchyard, or amid the ruins of some castle. but fortunately for mankind, by resorting to spells and counterspells the binding effects of these "devil-bonds" as they have been termed were, in most cases, rendered ineffectual, the devil thereby losing the advantage. it is noteworthy that the wisdom of the serpent is frequently outwitted by a crafty woman, or a cunning priest. a well-known lancashire tradition gives a humorous account of how the devil was on one occasion deluded by the shrewdness of a clever woman. barely three miles from clitheroe, on the high road to gisburne, stood a public house with this title, "the dule upo' dun," which means "the devil upon dun" (horse). the story runs that a poor tailor sold himself to satan for seven years on his granting him certain wishes, after which term, according to the contract, signed, as is customary, with the victim's own blood, his soul was to become "the devil's own." when the fatal day arrived, on the advice of his wife, he consulted "the holy father of salley" in his extremity. at last the hour came when the evil one claimed his victim, who tremblingly contended that the contract was won from him by fraud and dishonest pretences, and had not been fulfilled. he even ventured to hint at his lack of power to bestow riches, or any great gift, on which satan was goaded into granting him another wish. "then," said the trembling tailor, "i wish thou wert riding back again to thy quarters on yonder dun horse, and never able to plague me again, or any other poor wretch whom thou has gotten into thy clutches!" the words were no sooner uttered than the devil, with a roar which was heard as far as colne, went away rivetted to the back of this dun horse, the tailor watching his departure almost beside himself for joy. he lived for many years in health and affluence, and, at his death, one of his relatives having bought the house where he resided, turned it into an inn, having for his sign, "the dule upo' dun." on it was depicted "old hornie" mounted on a scraggy dun horse, without saddle or bridle, "the terrified steed being off and away at full gallop from the door, while a small hilarious tailor with shears and measures," viewed his departure with anything but grief or disapprobation.[34] the authors of "lancashire legends," describing this old house, inform us that it was "one of those ancient gabled black and white edifices, now fast disappearing under the march of improvement. many windows of little lozenge-shaped panes set in lead, might be seen here in all the various stages of renovation and decay. over the door, till lately, swung the old and quaint sign, attesting the truth of the tradition." occasionally similar bargains have been rendered ineffectual by cunning device. in the north wall of the church of tremeirchion, north wales, has long been shown the tomb of a former vicar, who was also celebrated as a necromancer, flourishing in the middle of the fourteenth century. it is reported that he proved himself more clever than the wicked one himself. a bargain was made between them that the vicar should practise the black art with impunity during his life, but that the devil should possess his body after death, whether he were buried within or without the church. but the worthy vicar dexterously cheated his ally of his bargain by being buried within the church wall itself. a similar tradition is told of other localities, and amongst them of barn hall, in the parish of tolleshunt knights, on the border of the essex marshes. in the middle of a field is shown an enclosed uncultivated spot, where, the legend says, it was originally intended to erect the hall, had not the devil come by night and destroyed the work of the day. this kind of thing went on for some time, when it was arranged that a knight, attended by two dogs, should watch for the author of this mischief. he had not long to wait, for, in the quiet of the night, the prince of darkness made his appearance, bent on his mischievous errand. a tussle ensued, in the course of which, snatching up a beam from the building, he hurled it to the site of the present hall, exclaiming: "wheresoe'er this beam shall fall, there shall stand barn hall." but the devil, very angry at being thus foiled by the knight, vowed that he would have him at his death, whether he was buried in the church or out of it. "but this doom was averted by burying him in the wall--half in and half out of the church. at brent pelham church, herts, too, there is the tomb of one piers shonkes, and there is a tale current in the neighbourhood that the devil swore he would have him, no matter whether buried within or without the church. so, as a means of escape, he was built up in the wall of the sacred edifice." another extraordinary story has long been told of hermitage castle, one of the most famous of the border keeps in the days of its splendour. it is not surprising, therefore, that for many years past it has had the reputation of being haunted, having been described as:- "haunted hermitage, where long by spells mysterious bound, they pace their round with lifeless smile, and shake with restless foot the guilty pile, till sink the smouldering towers beneath the burdened ground." it is popularly said that lord soulis, "the evil hero of hermitage," in an unguarded moment made a compact with the devil, who appeared to him in the shape of a spirit wearing a red cap, which gained its hue from the blood of human victims in which it was steeped. lord soulis sold himself to the demon, and in return he was permitted to summon his familiar, whenever he was desirous of doing so, by rapping thrice on an iron chest, the condition being that he never looked in the direction of the spirit. but one day, whether wittingly or not has never been ascertained, he failed to comply with this stipulation, and his doom was sealed. but even then the foul fiend kept the letter of the compact. lord soulis was protected by an unholy charm against any injury from rope or steel; hence cords could not bind him, and steel could not slay him. but when at last he was delivered over to his enemies, it was found necessary to adopt the ingenious and effective expedient of rolling him up in a sheet of lead, and boiling him to death, and so: on a circle of stones they placed the pot, on a circle of stones but barely nine; they heated it red and fiery hot and the burnished brass did glimmer and shine. they rolled him up in a sheet of lead- a sheet of lead for a funeral pall; they plunged him into the cauldron red and melted him, body, lead, bones and all. this was the terrible end of the body of lord soulis, but his spirit is supposed to still linger on the scene. and once every seven years he keeps tryst with red cap on the scene of his former devilries. and still when seven years are o'er is heard the jarring sound when hollow opes the charmã¨d door of chamber underground. a tradition well-known in yorkshire relates how on the eagle's crag, otherwise nicknamed the "witches' horseblock," the lady of bernshaw tower made that strange compact with the devil, whereby she not only became mistress of the country around, but the dreaded queen of the lancashire witches. it seems that this lady sybil was possessed of almost unrivalled beauty, and scarcely a day passed without some fresh admirer seeking her hand--an additional attraction being her great wealth. her intellectual attainments, too, were commonly said to be far beyond those of her sex, and oftentimes she would visit the eagle's crag in order to study nature and admire the varied aspects of the surrounding country. [illustration: lady sybil at the eagles' crag.] it was on these occasions that lady sybil often felt a strong desire to possess supernatural powers; and, in an unwary moment, it is said that she was induced to sell her soul to the devil, in order that she might be able to take a part in the nightly revelries of the then famous lancashire witches. it is added that the bond was duly attested with her blood, and that in consequence of this compact her utmost wishes were at all times granted. hapton tower was, at this time, occupied by a junior branch of the towneley family, and, although lord william had long been a suitor for the hand of lady sybil, his proposals were constantly rejected. in his despair, he determined to consult a famous lancashire witch--one mother helston--who promised him success on the ensuing all hallows' eve. when the day arrived, in accordance with her directions, he went out hunting, and on nearing eagle's crag he started a milk-white doe, but, after scouring the country for miles--the hounds being well-nigh exhausted--he returned to the crag. at this crisis, a strange hound joined them--the familiar of mother helston, which had been sent to capture lady sibyl, who had assumed the disguise of the white doe. the remainder of the curious family legend, as told by mr. harland, is briefly this: during the night, hapton tower was shaken as by an earthquake, and in the morning the captured doe appeared as the fair heiress of bernshaw. counter spells were adopted, her powers of witchcraft were suspended, and before many days had passed lord william had the happiness to lead his newly-wedded bride to his ancestral home. but within a year she had renewed her diabolical practices, causing a serious breach between her husband and herself. happily a reconciliation was eventually effected, but her bodily strength gave way, and her health rapidly declined. when it became evident that the hour of her death was drawing near, lord william obtained the services of the neighbouring clergy, and by their holy offices the devil's bond was cancelled. soon afterwards, lady sybil died in peace, but bernshaw tower was from that time deserted. popular tradition, however, still alleges that her grave was dug where the dark eagle's crag shoots out its cold, bare peak into the sky, and on the eve of all hallows, the hound and the milk-white doe are supposed by the peasantry to meet on the crag, pursued by a spectre huntsman in full chase. it is further added that the belated peasant crosses himself at the sound, remembering the sad fate of lady sybil of bernshaw tower. it is curious to find no less a person than sir francis drake charged with having been befriended by the devil; and the many marvellous stories current respecting him still linger among the devonshire peasantry. by the aid of the devil, it is said, he was enabled to destroy the spanish armada. and his connection with the old abbey of buckland is equally singular. an extensive building attached to the abbey, for instance, which was no doubt used as barns and stables after the place had been deprived of its religious character, was reported to have been built by the devil in three nights. "after the first night," writes mr. hunt,[35] "the butler, astonished at the work done, resolved to watch and see how it was performed. consequently, on the second night, he mounted into a large tree and hid himself between the forks of its five branches. at midnight, so the story goes, the devil came, driving teams of oxen, and, as some of them were lazy, he plucked this tree from the ground and used it as a goad. the poor butler lost his senses and never recovered them." although, as it has been truly remarked, "on the waters that wash the shores of the county of devon were achieved many of those triumphs which make sir francis drake's life read more like a romance than a sober chronicle of facts;" the extraordinary traditions told respecting him have largely invested his life with the supernatural. but, whatever may have been the nature of his dealings with the devil, we are told that he has had to pay dearly for any earthly advantages he may have derived therefrom in his lifetime, "being forced to drive at night a black hearse, drawn by headless horses, and urged on by running devils and yelping headless dogs, along the road from tavistock to plymouth." among the many tales related, in which the demoniacal element holds a prominent place, there is one relating to the projected marriage of his wife. it seems that sir francis was abroad, and his wife, not hearing from him for seven years, concluded he must be dead, and hence was at liberty to enter for a second time the holy estate of matrimony. her choice was made and the nuptial day fixed; but sir francis drake was informed of all this by a spirit that attended him. and just as the wedding was about to be solemnised, he hastily charged one of his big guns and discharged a ball. so true was the aim that "the ball shot up right through the globe, dashed through the roof of the church, and fell with a loud explosion between the lady and her intended bridegroom." the spectators and assembled guests were thrown into the wildest confusion; but the bride declared it was an indication that sir francis drake was still alive, and, as she refused to allow another golden circlet to be placed on her finger, the intended ceremony was, in the most abrupt and unexpected manner, ended. the prettiest part of the tale remains to be told. not long afterwards sir francis drake returned, and, disguised as a beggar, he solicited alms from his wife at her own door; when, unable to prevent smiling in the midst of a feigned tale of abject poverty, she recognised him, and a very joyful meeting took place. and even buckland abbey did not escape certain strange influences. some years ago, a small box was found in a closet which had been long closed, containing, it is supposed, family papers. it was arranged that this box should be sent to the residence of the inheritor of the property. the carriage was at the abbey door, into which it was easily lifted. the owner having taken his seat, the coachman attempted to start his horses, but in vain. they would not, they could not, move. more horses were brought and then the heavy farm horses, and eventually all the oxen. they were powerless to start the carriage. at length a mysterious voice was heard declaring that the box could never be moved from buckland abbey. accordingly it was taken from the carriage easily by one man, and a pair of horses galloped off with the carriage. the famous jewish banker, samuel bernard, who died in the year 1789, leaving an enormous property, had, it is said, "a favourite black cock which was regarded by many as uncanny, and as unpleasantly connected with the amassing of his fortune." the bird died a day or two before his master. it would seem that in bygone years black cocks were extensively used in magical incantations and in sacrifices to the devil, and burns, it may be remembered, in his "address to the deil" says, "some cock or cat your rage must stop;" and a well-known french recipe for invoking the evil one runs thus: "take a black cock under your left arm, and go at midnight to where four cross roads meet. then cry three times 'poul noir!' or else utter 'robert' nine times, and the devil will appear." among the romantic stories told of kersal hall, lancashire, it is related how eustace dauntesey, one of its chiefs in days of old, wooed a maiden fair with a handsome fortune; but she gave her heart to a rival suitor. the wedding day was fixed, but the prospect of her marriage was a terrible trouble to eustace, and threatened to mar the happiness of his life. having, however, in his youth perfected himself in the black art, he drew a magic circle, at the witching hour of night, and summoned the evil one to a consultation. the meeting came off, at which the usual bargain was quickly struck, the soul of eustace being bartered for the coveted body of the beautiful young lady. the compact, it was arranged, should close at her death, but the evil one was to remain meanwhile by the side of dauntesey in the form of an elegant "self," or genteel companion. in due course the eventful day arrived when eustace stood before the altar. but the marriage ceremony was no sooner over than, on leaving the sacred edifice, the elements were found to be the reverse of favourable to them. the flowers strewed before their feet stuck to their wet shoes, and soaking rain cast a highly depressing influence on all the bridal surroundings; and, on arriving at the festive hall where the marriage feast was to be held, the ill-fortune of eustace assumed another shape. strange to say, his bride began to melt away before his very eyes, and, thoroughly familiar as he was with the laws of magic, here was a new phase of mystery which was completely beyond his comprehension. in short, poor eustace was the wretched victim of a complete swindle, for while, on the one hand, something is recorded about "a holy prayer, a sunny beam, and an angel train bearing the fair maiden slowly to a fleecy cloud, in whose bosom she became lost to earth," dauntesey, on the other hand, awakened to consciousness by a touch from his sinister companion, saw a huge yawning gulf at his feet, and felt himself gradually sinking in a direction exactly the opposite of that taken by his bride, who, in the short space of an hour, was lost to him for ever. but one of the most curious cases of this kind was that recorded in an old tractate[36] published in 1662, giving an account attested by "six of the sufficientest men of the town," of what happened to a certain john leech, a farmer living at raveley. being desirous of visiting whittlesea fair, he went beforehand with a neighbour to an inn for the purpose of drinking "his morninges draught." whilst the two were enjoying their "morninges draught," mr. leech began to be "very merry," and, seeing his friend was desirous of going, he exclaimed, "let the devil take him who goeth out of this house to-day." but in his merriment he forgot his rash observation, and shortly afterwards, calling for his horse, set out for the fair. he had not travelled far on the road when he remembered what he had said, "his conscience being sore troubled at that damnable oath which he had took." not knowing what to do, he rode about, first one way and then another, until darkness set in, and at about two o'clock in the night "he espied two grim creatures before him in the likeness of griffins." these were the devil's messengers, who had been sent to take him at his word, and take him they did, according to the testimony of the "six sufficientist men of the town." they roughly handled him, took him up in the air, stripped him, and then dropped him, "a sad spectacle, all bloody and goared," in a farmyard just outside the town of doddington. here he was discovered, lying upon some harrows, in the condition described. he was picked up, and carried to a gentleman's house, where, being well cared for, he narrated the remarkable adventure which had befallen him. before long, however, he "grew into a frenzy so desperate that they were afraid to stay in his chamber," and the gentleman of the house, not knowing what to do, "sent for the parson of the town." prompted, it is supposed, by the satanic influence which still held him, mr. leech rushed at the minister, and attacked him with so much fury that it was "like to have cost him his life." but the noise being heard below, the servants rushed up, rescued the parson, and tied mr. leech down in his bed, and left him. the next morning, hearing nothing, they thought he was asleep, but on entering his room "he was discovered with his neck broke, his tongue out of his mouth, and his body as black as a shoe, all swelled, and every bone in his body out of joint."[37] we may conclude these extraordinary cases of "devil-bonds" with two further strange incidents, one an apparent record of a case of a similar kind, which was practised, amidst the frivolities and plotting of the french court, by no less celebrated a lady than catharine de medicis. in the "secret history of france for the last century,"[38] this incredible story is given: "in the first civil war, when the prince of conde was, in all appearance, likely to prevail, and katherine was thought to be very near the end of her much desired regency, during the young king's minority, she was known to have been for two days together retired to her closet, without admitting her menial servants to her presence." some few days after, having called for monsieur de mesme, one of the long robe, and always firm to her interest, she delivered him a steel box, fast locked, to whom she said, giving him the key: 'that in respect she knew not what might come to her by fortune, amidst those intestine broils that then shook france, she had thought fit to enclose a thing of great value within that box, which she consigned to his care, not to open it upon oath, but by an express order under her own hand.' the queen dying without ever calling for the box, it continued many years unopened in the family of de mesme, after both their deaths, till, at last, curiosity, or the suspicion of some treasure, from the heaviness of it, tempted monsieur de mesme's successor to break it open, which he did. instead of any rich present from so great a queen, what horror must the lookers on have when they found a copper plate of the form and bigness of one of the ancient roman votive shields, on which was engraved queen katherine de medicis on her knees, in a praying posture, offering up to the devil sitting upon a throne, in one of the ugliest shapes they used to paint him, charles the ixth, then reigning, the duke of anjou, afterwards henry iii., and the duke of alanson, her three sons, with this motto in french, "so be it, i but reign." and in the court rolls of the manor of hatfield, near the isle of axholme, yorkshire, the following ridiculous story is given: "robert de roderham appeared against john de ithon, for that he had not kept the agreement made between them, and therefore complains that on a certain day and year, at thorne, there was an agreement between the aforesaid robert and john, whereby the said john sold to the said robert the devil, bound in a certain bond, for threepence farthing, and thereupon, the said robert delivered to the said john one farthing as earnest money, by which the property of the said devil, was vested in the person of the said robert, to have livery of the said devil on the fourth day next following, at which day the said robert came to the forenamed john and asked delivery of the said devil, according to the agreement between them made. but the said john refused to deliver the said devil, nor has he yet done it, &c., to the great damage of the said robert, to the amount of 60gs, and he has, therefore, brought his suit. "the said john came, and did not deny the said agreement; and because it appeared to the court that such a suit ought not to subsist among christians, the aforesaid parties are, therefore, adjourned to the infernal regions, there to hear their judgment, and both parties were amerced by william de scargell, seneschall." footnotes: [34] harland and wilkinson's "lancashire legends," 15-16. [35] "romances of the west of england." [36] "a strange and true relation of one mr. john leech," 1662. [37] "saunders' legends and traditions of huntingdonshire," 1878, 1-3. [38] london, printed for a. bell, 1714. chapter x. family death omens. "say not 'tis vain! i tell thee, some are warned by a meteor's light, or a pale bird flitting calls them home, or a voice on the winds by night- and they must go. and he too, he, woe for the fall of the glorious tree." --mrs. hemans. a curious chapter in the history of many of our old county families is that relating to certain forewarnings, which, from time immemorial, have been supposed to indicate the approach of death. however incredible the existence of these may seem, their appearance is still intimately associated with certain houses, instances of which have been recorded from time to time. thus cuckfield place, sussex, is not only interesting as a fine elizabethan mansion, but as having suggested to ainsworth the "rookwood hall" of his striking romance. "the supernatural occurrence," he says, "forming the groundwork of one of the ballads which i have made the harbinger of doom to the house of rookwood, is ascribed, by popular superstition, to a family resident in sussex, upon whose estate the fatal tree--a gigantic lime, with mighty arms and huge girth of trunk--is still carefully preserved." in the avenue that winds towards the house the doom-tree still stands:- "and whether gale or calm prevail, or threatening cloud hath fled, by hand of fate, predestinate, a limb that tree will shed; a verdant bough, untouched, i trow, by axe or tempest's breath, to rookwood's head, an omen dread of fast approaching death." "cuckfield place," adds ainsworth, "to which this singular piece of timber is attached, is the real rookwood hall, for i have not drawn upon imagination, but upon memory, in describing the seat and domains of that fated family." a similar tradition is associated with the edgewell oak, which is said to indicate the coming death of an inmate of castle dalhousie by the fall of one of its branches; and camden in his "magna britannia," alluding to the antiquity of the brereton family, relates this peculiar fact which is reported to have been repeated many times: "this wonderful thing respecting them is commonly believed, and i have heard it myself affirmed by many, that for some days before the death of the heir of the family the trunk of a tree has always been seen floating in the lake adjoining their mansion;" a popular superstition to which mrs. hemans refers in the lines which head the present chapter. a further instance of a similar kind is given by sir bernard burke, who informs us that opposite the dining-room at gordon castle is a large and massive willow tree, the history of which is somewhat singular. duke alexander, when four years old, planted this willow in a tub filled with earth. the tub floated about in a marshy-piece of land, till the shrub, expanding, burst its cerements, and struck root in the earth below; here it grew and prospered till it attained its present goodly size. it is said the duke regarded the tree with a sort of fatherly and even superstitious regard, half-believing there was some mysterious affinity between its fortune and his own. if an accident happened to the one by storm or lightning, some misfortune was not long in befalling the other. it has been noted, also, that the same thing is related of the brave but unfortunate admiral kempenfeldt, who went down in the royal george off portsmouth. during his proprietary of lady place, he and his brother planted two thorn trees. but one day, on coming home, the brother noted that the tree planted by the admiral had completely withered away. astonished at this unexpected sight, he felt some apprehensions as to admiral kempenfeldt's safety, and exclaimed with some emotion, "i feel sure that this is an omen that my brother is dead." by a striking coincidence, his worst fears were realised, for on that evening came the terrible news of the loss of the royal george. whenever any member of the family of kirkpatrick of closeburn, in the county of dumfries was about to die--either by accident or disease--a swan that was never seen but on such occasions, was sure to make its appearance upon the lake which surrounded closeburn castle, coming no one knew whence, and passing away as mysteriously when the predicted death had taken place, in connection with which the following singular legend has been handed down: in days gone by, the lake of closeburn castle was the favourite resort during the summer season of a pair of swans, their arrival always being welcome to the family at the castle from a long established belief that they were ominous of good fortune to the kirkpatricks. "no matter," it is said, "what mischance might have before impended, it was sure to cease at their coming, and so suddenly, as well as constantly, that it required no very ardent superstition to connect the two events into cause and effect." but a century and a half had passed away, when it happened that the young heir of closeburn castle--a lad of not quite thirteen years of age--in one of his visits to edinburgh attended at the theatre a performance of "the merchant of venice," in the course of which he was surprised to hear portia say of bassanio that he should "make a swan-like end, fading in music." often wondering whether swans really sang before dying he determined, at the first opportunity, to test the truth of these words for himself. on his return home, he was one day walking by the lake when the swans came sailing majestically towards him, and at once reminded of portia's remark. without a moment's thought, he lodged in the breast of the foremost one a bolt from his crossbow, killing it instantly. frightened at what he had done, he made up his mind it should not be known; and, as the water drifted the dead body of the bird towards the shore, he buried it deep in the ground. no small surprise, however, was occasioned in the neighbourhood, when, for several years, no swans made their annual appearance, the idea at last being that they must have died in their native home, wherever that might chance to be. the yearly visit of the swans of closeburn had become a thing of the past, when one day much excitement was caused by the return of a single swan, and much more so when a deep blood-red stain was observed upon its breast. as might be expected, this unlooked-for occurrence occasioned grave suspicions even amongst those who had no great faith in omens; and that such fears were not groundless was soon abundantly clear, for in less than a week the lord of closeburn castle died suddenly. thereupon the swan vanished, and was seen no more for some years, when it again appeared to announce the loss of one of the house by shipwreck. the last recorded appearance of the bird was at the third nuptials of sir thomas kirkpatrick, the first baronet of that name. on the wedding-day, his son roger was walking by the lake, when, on a sudden, as if it had emerged from the waters, the swan appeared with the bleeding breast. roger had heard of this mysterious swan, and, although his father's wedding bells were ringing merrily, he himself returned to the castle a sorrowful man, for he felt convinced that some evil was hanging over him. despite his father's jest at what he considered groundless superstition on his part, the young man could not shake off his fears, replying to his father, "perhaps before long you also may be sorrowful." on the night of that very day the son died, and here ends the strange story of the swans of closeburn.[39] similarly, whenever two owls are seen perched on the family mansion of the noble family of arundel of wardour, it has long been regarded as a certain indication that one of its members before very long will be summoned out of the world; and the appearance of a white-breasted bird was the death-warning of the oxenham family, particulars relating to the tragic origin of which are to be found in a local ballad, which commences thus[40]: where lofty hills in grandeur meet, and taw meandering flows, there is a sylvan, calm retreat, where erst a mansion rose. there dwelt sir james of oxenham, a brave and generous lord; benighted travellers never came unwelcome to his board. in early life his wife had died; a son he ne'er had known; and margaret, his age's pride, was heir to him alone. in course of time, margaret became affianced to a young knight, and their wedding-day was fixed. on the evening preceding it, her father, in accordance with custom, gave a banquet to his friends, in order that they might congratulate him on the approaching happy union. he stood up to thank them for their kind wishes, and in alluding to the young knight--in a few hours time to be his daughter's husband--he jestingly called him his son:- but while the dear unpractised word still lingered on his tongue, he saw a silvery breasted bird fly o'er the festive throng. swift as the lightning's flashes fleet, and lose their brilliant light, sir james sank back upon his seat pale and entranced with fright. with some difficulty he managed to conceal the cause of his embarrassment, but on the following day the priest had scarcely begun the marriage service, when margaret with terrific screams made all with horror start. good heavens! her blood in torrents streams, a dagger in her heart. the deed had been done by a discarded lover, who, by the aid of a clever disguise, had managed to station himself just behind her:- "now marry me, proud maid," he cried, "thy blood with mine shall wed"; he dashed the dagger in his side, and at her feet fell dead. and this pathetic ballad concludes by telling us how poor margaret, too, grows cold with death, and round her hovering flies the phantom bird for her last breath, to bear it to the skies. equally strange is the omen with which the ancient baronet's family of clifton, of clifton hall, in nottinghamshire, is forewarned when death is about to visit one of its members. it appears that in this case the omen takes the shape of a sturgeon, which is seen forcing itself up the river trent, on whose bank the mansion of the clifton family is situated. and, it may be remembered, how in the park of chartley, near lichfield, there has long been preserved the breed of the indigenous staffordshire cow, of white sand colour, with black ears, muzzle, and tips at the hoofs. in the year of the battle of burton bridge a black calf was born; and the downfall of the great house of ferrers happening at the same period, gave rise to the tradition, which to this day has been current in the neighbourhood, that the birth of a parti-coloured calf from the wild breed in chartley park is a sure omen of death within the same year to a member of the family. by a noticeable coincidence, a calf of this description has been born whenever a death has happened in the family of late years. the decease of the earl and his countess, of his son lord tamworth, of his daughter mrs. william joliffe, as well as the deaths of the son and heir of the eighth earl and his daughter lady frances shirley, were each preceded by the ominous birth of a calf. in the spring of the year 1835, an animal perfectly black, was calved by one of this mysterious tribe in the park of chartley, and it was soon followed by the death of the countess.[41] the park of chartley, where this weird announcement of one of the family's death has oftentimes caused so much alarm, is a wild romantic spot, and was in days of old attached to the royal forest of needwood and the honour of tutbury--of the whole of which the ancient family of ferrers were the puissant lords. their immense possessions, now forming part of the duchy of lancaster, were forfeited by the attainder of earl ferrers after his defeat at burton bridge, where he led the rebellious barons against henry iii. the chartley estate, being settled in dower, was alone reserved, and has been handed down to its present possessor. of chartley castle itself--which appears to have been in ruins for many years--many interesting historical facts are recorded. thus it is said queen elizabeth visited her favourite, the earl of essex, here in august, 1575, and was entertained by him in a half-timbered house which formerly stood near the castle, but was long since destroyed by fire. it is questionable whether mary queen of scots was imprisoned in this house, or in a portion of the old castle. certain, however, it is that the unfortunate queen was brought to chartley from tutbury on christmas day, 1585. the exact date at which she left chartley is uncertain, but it appears she was removed thence under a plea of taking the air without the bounds of the castle. she was then conducted by daily stages from the house of one gentleman to another, under pretence of doing her honour, without her having the slightest idea of her destination, until she found herself on the 20th of september, within the fatal walls of fotheringhay castle. cortachy castle, the seat of the earl of airlie, has for many years past been famous for its mysterious drummer, for whenever the sound of his drum is heard it is regarded as the sure indication of the approaching death of a member of the ogilvie family. there is a tragic origin given to this curious phenomenon, the story generally told being to the effect that either the drummer, or some officer whose emissary he was, had excited the jealousy of a former lord airlie, and that he was in consequence of this occurrence put to death by being thrust into his own drum, and flung from the window of the tower, in which is situated the chamber where his music is apparently chiefly heard. it is also said that the drummer threatened to haunt the family if his life were taken, a promise which he has not forgotten to fulfil. then there is the well-known tradition that prior to the death of any of the lords of roslin, roslin chapel appears to be on fire, a weird occurrence which forms the subject of harold's song in the "lay of the last ministrel." o'er roslin all that dreary night a wondrous blaze was seen to gleam; 'twas broader than the watch-fire light and redder than the bright moonbeam. it glared on roslin's castled rock, it ruddied all the copse-wood glen; 'twas seen from dryden's groves of oak, and seen from cavern'd hawthornden. seem'd all on fire that chapel proud, where roslin's chiefs uncoffin'd lie; each baron, for a sable shroud, sheathed in his iron panoply. seem'd all on fire, within, around, deep sacristy and altar's pale shone every pillar, foliage-bound, and glimmer'd all the dead men's mail. blazed battlement and pinnet high, blazed every rose-carved buttress fair; so still they blaze when fate is nigh the lordly line of hugh st. clair. but, although the last "roslin," as he was called, died in the year 1778, and the estates passed into the possession of the erskines, earls of rosslyn, the old tradition has not been extinguished. something of the same kind is described as having happened to the old cornish family of the vingoes on their estate of treville, for "through all time a peculiar token has marked the coming death of one of the family. above the deep caverns in the treville cliff rises a carn. on this chains of fire were seen ascending and descending, and oftentimes were accompanied by loud and frightful noises. but it is reported that these tokens have not taken place since the last male of the family came to a violent end. according to mr. hunt,[42] "tradition tells us this estate was given to an old family who came with the conqueror to this country. this ancestor is said to have been the duke of normandy's wine taster, and to have belonged to the ancient counts of treville, hence the name of the estate. for many generations the family has been declining, and the race is now nearly, if not quite, extinct. in some cases, families have been apprised of an approaching death by some strange spectre, either male or female, a remarkable instance of which occurs in the ms. memoirs of lady fanshaw, and is to this effect: "her husband, sir richard, and she, chanced, during their abode in ireland, to visit a friend, who resided in his ancient baronial castle surrounded with a moat. at midnight she was awakened by a ghastly and supernatural scream, and, looking out of bed, beheld by the moonlight a female face and part of the form hovering at the window. the face was that of a young and rather handsome woman, but pale; and the hair, which was reddish, was loose and dishevelled. this apparition continued to exhibit itself for some time, and then vanished with two shrieks, similar to that which had at first excited lady fanshaw's attention. in the morning, with infinite terror, she communicated to her host what had happened, and found him prepared not only to credit, but to account for, what had happened. "a near relation of mine," said he, "expired last night in the castle. before such an event happens in this family and castle, the female spectre whom you have seen is always visible. she is believed to be the spirit of a woman of inferior rank, whom one of my ancestors degraded himself by marrying, and whom afterwards, to expiate the dishonour done his family, he caused to be drowned in the castle moat." this, of course, was no other than the banshee, which in times past has been the source of so much terror in ireland. amongst the innumerable stories told of its appearance may be mentioned one related by mrs. lefanu, the niece of sheridan, in the memoirs of her grandmother, mrs. frances sheridan. from this account we gather that miss elizabeth sheridan was a firm believer in the banshee, and firmly maintained that the one attached to the sheridan family was distinctly heard lamenting beneath the windows of the family residence before the news arrived from france of mrs. frances sheridan's death at blois. she adds that a niece of miss sheridan's made her very angry by observing that as mrs. frances sheridan was by birth a chamberlaine, a family of english extraction, she had no right to the guardianship of an irish fairy, and that therefore the banshee must have made a mistake. likewise, many a scotch family has its death-warning, a notable one being the bodach glass, which sir walter scott has introduced in his "waverley" as the messenger of bad-tidings to the macivors, the truth of which, it is said, has been traditionally proved by the experience of no less than three hundred years. it is thus described by fergus to waverley: "'you must know that when my ancestor, ian nan chaistel, wanted northumberland, there was appointed with him in the expedition a sort of southland chief, or captain of a band of lowlanders, called halbert hall. in their return through the cheviots they quarrelled about the division of the great booty they had acquired, and came from words to blows. the lowlanders were cut off to a man, and their chief fell the last, covered with wounds, by the sword of my ancestor. since that day his spirit has crossed the vich ian vohr of the day when any great disaster was impending.'" fergus then gives to waverley a graphic and detailed account of the appearance of the bodach: "'last night i felt so feverish that i left my quarters and walked out, in hopes the keen frosty air would brace my nerves. i crossed a small foot bridge, and kept walking backwards and forwards, when i observed, with surprise, by the clear moonlight, a tall figure in a grey plaid, which, move at what pace i would, kept regularly about four yards before me.' "'you saw a cumberland peasant in his ordinary dress, probably.' "'no; i thought so at first, and was astonished at the man's audacity in daring to dog me. i called to him, but received no answer. i felt an anxious troubling at my heart, and to ascertain what i dreaded, i stood still, and turned myself on the same spot successively to the four points of the compass. by heaven, edward, turn where i would, the figure was instantly before my eyes at precisely the same distance. i was then convinced it was the bodach glass. my hair bristled, and my knees shook. i manned myself, however, and determined to return to my quarters. my ghastly visitor glided before me until he reached the footbridge, there he stopped, and turned full round. i must either wade the river or pass him as close as i am to you. a desperate courage, founded on the belief that my death was near, made me resolve to make my way in despite of him. i made the sign of the cross, drew my sword, and uttered, 'in the name of god, evil spirit, give place!' "'vich ian vohr,' it said, in a voice that made my very blood curdle; 'beware of to-morrow.' "'it seemed at that moment not half a yard from my sword's point; but the words were no sooner spoken than it was gone, and nothing appeared further to obstruct my passage.'" an ancestor of the family of mcclean, of lochburg, was commonly reported, before the death of any of his race, to gallop along the sea-beach, announcing the event by dismal cries, and lamentations, and sir walter scott, in his "peveril of the peak," tells us that the stanley family are forewarned of the approach of death by a female spirit, "weeping and bemoaning herself before the death of any person of distinction belonging to the family." these family death-omens are of a most varied description, having assumed particular forms in different localities. corby castle, cumberland, was famed for its "radiant boy," a luminous apparition which occasionally made its appearance, the tradition in the family being that the person who happened to see it would rise to the summit of power, and after reaching that position would die a violent death. as an instance of this strange belief, it is related how lord castlereagh in early life saw this spectre; as is well-known, he afterwards became head of the government, but finally perished by his own hand. then there was the dreaded spectre of the goblin friar associated with newstead abbey: a monk, arrayed in cowl and beads, and dusky garb, appeared, now in the moonlight, and now lapsed in shade, with steps that trod as heavy, yet unheard-this apparition was generally supposed to forebode evil to the member of the family to whom it appeared, and its movements have thus been poetically described by lord byron, who, it may be added, maintained that he beheld this uncanny spectre before his ill-starred union with miss millbanke: by the marriage bed of their lords, 'tis said, he flits on the bridal eve; and 'tis held as faith, to their bed of death he comes--but not to grieve. when an heir is born, he is heard to mourn, and when aught is to befall that ancient line, in the pale moonshine he walks from hall to hall. his form you may trace, but not his face, 'tis shadowed by his cowl; but his eyes may be seen from the folds between, and they seem of a parted soul. an ancient roman catholic family in yorkshire, of the name of middleton, is said to be apprised of the death of anyone of its members by the appearance of a benedictine nun, and berry pomeroy castle, devonshire, was supposed to be haunted by the daughter of a former baron, who bore a child to her own father, and afterwards strangled the fruit of their incestuous intercourse. but, after death, it seems this wretched woman could not rest, and whenever death was about to visit the castle she was generally seen sadly wending her way to the scene of her earthly crimes. according to another tradition, there is a circular tower, called "margaret's tower," rising above some broken steps that lead into a dismal vault, and the tale still runs that, on certain evenings in the year, the spirit of the ladye margaret, a young daughter of the house of pomeroy, appears clad in white on these steps, and, beckoning to the passers-by, lures them to destruction into the dungeon ruin beneath them. and, indeed, it would seem to have been a not infrequent occurrence for family ghosts to warn the living when death was at hand--a piece of superstition which has always held a prominent place in our household traditions, reminding us of kindred stories on the continent, where the so-called white lady has long been an object of dread. there has, too, long been a strange notion that when storms, heavy rains, or other elemental strife, take place at the death of a great man, the spirit of the storm will not be appeased till the moment of burial. this belief seems to have gained great strength on the occasion of the duke of wellington's funeral, when, after some weeks of heavy rain, and some of the highest floods ever known, the skies began to clear, and both rain and flood abated. it was a common observation in the week before the duke's interment, "oh, the rain won't give o'er till the duke is buried!" footnotes: [39] "family romance"--sir bernard burke--1853, ii., 200-210. [40] in 1641 there was published a tract, with a frontispiece, entitled "a true relation of an apparition, in the likeness of a bird with a white breast, that appeared hovering over the death-bed of some of the children of mr. james oxenham, &c." [41] this tradition has been wrought into a romantic story, entitled "chartley, or the fatalist." [42] "popular romances of west of england." chapter xi. weird possessions. "but not a word o' it; 'tis fairies' treasure, which, but revealed, brings on the blabber's ruin." massinger's "_fatal dowry_." from the earliest days a strange fatality has been supposed to cling to certain things--a phase of superstition which probably finds as many believers nowadays as when homer wrote of the fatal necklace of eriphyle that wrought mischief to all who had been in possession of it. in numerous cases, it is difficult to account for the prejudice thus displayed, although occasionally it is based on some traditionary story. but whatever the origin of the luck, or ill-luck, attaching to sundry family possessions, such heirlooms have been preserved with a kind of superstitious care, handed down from generation to generation. one of the most remarkable curiosities connected with family superstitions is what is commonly known as "the coalstoun pear," the strange antecedent history of which is thus given in a work entitled, "the picture of scotland": "within sight of the house of lethington, in haddingtonshire, stands the mansions of coalstoun, the seat of the ancient family of coalstoun, whose estate passed by a series of heirs of line into the possession of the countess of dalhousie. this place is chiefly worthy of attention here, on account of a strange heirloom, with which the welfare of the family was formerly supposed to be connected. "one of the barons of coalstoun, about three hundred years ago, married jean hay, daughter of john, third lord yester, with whom he obtained a dowry, not consisting of such base materials as houses or land, but neither more nor less than a pear. 'sure such a pear was never seen,' however, as this of coalstoun, which a remote ancestor of the young lady, famed for his necromantic power, was supposed to have invested with some enchantment that rendered it perfectly invaluable. lord yester, in giving away his daughter, informed his son-in-law that, good as the lass might be, her dowry was much better, because, while she could only have value in her own generation, the pear, so long as it was continued in his family, would be attended with unfailing prosperity, and thus might cause the family to flourish to the end of time. accordingly, the pear was preserved as a sacred palladium, both by the laird who first obtained it, and by all his descendants; till one of their ladies, taking a longing for the forbidden fruit while pregnant, inflicted upon it a deadly bite: in consequence of which, it is said, several of the best farms on the estate very speedily came to the market." the pear, tradition goes on to tell us, became stone hard immediately after the lady had bit it, and in this condition it remains till this day, with the marks of lady broun's teeth indelibly imprinted on it. whether it be really thus fortified against all further attacks of the kind or not, it is certain that it is now disposed in some secure part of the house--or as we have been informed in a chest, the key of which is kept secure by the earl of dalhousie--so as to be out of all danger whatsoever. the "coalstowne pear," it is added, without regard to the superstition attached to it, must be considered a very great curiosity in its way, "having, in all probability, existed five hundred years--a greater age than, perhaps, has ever been reached by any other such production of nature." another strange heirloom--an antique crystal goblet--is said to have been for a long time in the possession of colonel wilks, the proprietor of the estate of ballafletcher, four or five miles from douglas, isle of man. it is described as larger than a common bell-shaped tumbler, "uncommonly light and chaste in appearance, and ornamented with floral scrolls, having between the designs on two sides, upright columell㦠of five pillars," and according to an old tradition, it is reported to have been taken by magnus, the norwegian king of man, from st. olave's shrine. although it is by no means clear on what ground this statement rests, there can be no doubt but that the goblet is very old. after belonging for at least a hundred years to the fletcher family--the owners of ballafletcher--it was sold with the effects of the last of the family, in 1778, and was bought by robert cã¦sar, esq., who gave it to his niece for safe keeping. the tradition goes that it had been given to the first of the fletcher family more than two centuries ago, with this special injunction, that "as long as he preserved it, peace and plenty would follow; but woe to him who broke it, as he would surely be haunted by the 'ihiannan shee' or 'peaceful spirit' of ballafletcher." it was kept in a recess, whence it was never removed, except at christmas and eastertide, when it was "filled with wine, and quaffed off at a breath by the head of the house only, as a libation to the spirit for her protection." then there is the well-known english tradition relating to eden hall, where an old painted drinking-glass is preserved, the property of sir george musgrave of edenhall, in cumberland, in the possession of whose family it has been for many generations. the tradition is that a butler going to draw water from a well in the garden, called st. cuthbert's well, came upon a company of fairies at their revels, and snatched it from them. they did all they could to recover their ravished property, but failing, disappeared after pronouncing the following prophecy: if this glass do break or fall farewell the luck of edenhall. so long, therefore, runs the legendary tale, as this drinking glass is preserved, the "luck of edenhall" will continue to exist, but should ever the day occur when any mishap befalls it, this heirloom will instantly become an unlucky possession in the family. the most recent account of this cup appeared in _the scarborough gazette_ in the year 1880, in which it was described as "a glass stoup, a drinking vessel, about six inches in height, having a circular base, perfectly flat, two inches in diameter, gradually expanding upwards till it ends in a mouth four inches across. the general hue is a warm green, resembling the tone known by artists as brown pink. upon the transparent glass is traced a geometric pattern in white and blue enamel, somewhat raised, aided by gold and a little crimson." the earliest mention of this curious relic seems to have been made by francis douce, who was at edenhall in the year 1785, and wrote some verses upon it, but there does not seem to be any authentic family history attaching to it. there is a room at muncaster castle which has long gone by the name of henry the sixth's room, from the circumstance of his having been concealed in it at the time he was flying from his enemies in the year 1461, when sir john pennington, the then possessor of muncaster, gave him a secret reception. when the time for the king's departure arrived, before he proceeded on his journey, he addressed sir john pennington with many kind and courteous acknowledgments for his loyal reception, regretting, at the same time, that he had nothing of more value to present him with, as a testimony of his goodwill, than the cup out of which he crossed himself. he then gave it into the hands of sir john, accompanying the present with these words: "the family shall prosper so long as they preserve it unbroken." hence it is called the "luck of muncaster." "the benediction attached to its security," says roby, in his "traditions of lancashire," "being then uppermost in the recollection of the family, it was considered essential to the prosperity of the house at the time of the usurpation, that the luck of muncaster should be deposited in a safe place; it was consequently buried till the cessation of hostilities had rendered all further care and concealment unnecessary." but, unfortunately, the person commissioned to disinter the precious relic, let the box fall in which it was locked up, which so alarmed the then existing members of the family, that they could not muster courage enough to satisfy their apprehensions. the box, therefore, according to the traditionary story preserved in the family, remained unopened for more than forty years; at the expiration of which period, a pennington, more courageous than his predecessors, unlocked the casket, and, much to the delight of all, proclaimed the luck of muncaster to be uninjured. it was an auspicious moment, for the doubts as to the cup's safety were now dispelled, and the promise held good: it shall bless thy bed, it shall bless thy board, they shall prosper by this token, in muncaster castle good luck shall be, till the charmed cup is broken. some things, again, have gained a strange notoriety through the force of circumstances. a curious story is told, for instance, of a certain iron chest in ireland, the facts relating to which are these: in the year 1654, mr. john bourne, chief trustee of the estate of john mallet, of enmore, fell sick at his house at durley, when his life was pronounced by a physician to be in imminent danger. within twenty-four hours, while the doctor and mrs. carlisle--a relative of mr. bourne--were sitting by his bedside, the doctor opened the curtains at the bed-foot to give him air, when suddenly a great iron chest by the window, with three locks--in which chest were all the writings and title deeds of mr. mallet's estate--began to open lock by lock. the lid of the iron chest then lifted itself up, and stood wide open. it is added that mr. bourne, who had not spoken for twenty-four hours, raised himself up in the bed, and looking at the chest, cried out, "you say true, you say true; you are in the right; i will be with you by and bye." he then lay down apparently in an exhausted condition, and spoke no more. the chest lid fell again, and locked itself lock by lock, and within an hour afterwards mr. bourne expired. there is a story current of lord lovat that when he was born a number of swords that hung up in the hall of the house leaped, of themselves, out of the scabbard. this circumstance often formed the topic of conversation, and, among his clan, was looked upon as an unfortunate omen. by a curious coincidence, lord lovat was not only the last person beheaded on tower hill, but was the last person beheaded in this country--april 9, 1747--an event which walpole has thus described in one of his letters, telling us that he died extremely well, without passion, affectation, buffoonery, or timidity. he professed himself a jansenist, made no speech, but sat down a little while in a chair on the scaffold and talked to the people about him. and aubrey, relating a similar anecdote of a picture, tells us how sir walter long's widow did make a solemn promise to him on his death-bed that she would not marry after his decease; but this she did not keep, for "not long after, one sir----fox, a very beautiful young gentleman, did win her love, so that, notwithstanding her promise aforesaid, she married him. they were at south wrathall, where the picture of sir walter hung over the parlour door," and, on entering this room on their return from church, the string of the picture broke, "and the picture, which was painted on wood, fell on the lady's shoulder and cracked in the fall. this made her ladyship reflect on her promise, and drew some tears from her eyes." chapter xii. romance of disguise. pisanio to imogen: you must forget to be a woman; change command into obedience: fear and niceness- the handmaids of all women, or, more truly, woman its pretty self, into a waggish courage: ready in gibes, quick answered, saucy, and as quarrelsome as the weasel; nay, you must forget that rarest treasure of your cheek exposing it--but, oh! the harder heart! alack! no remedy! to the greedy touch of common-kissing titan, and forget your laboursome and dainty trims. "_cymbeline_," act iii., sc. 4. that a woman, under any circumstances, should dismiss her proper apparel, it has been remarked, "may well appear to us as something like a phenomenon." yet instances are far from uncommon, the motive being originated in a variety of circumstances. a young lady, it may be, falls in love, and, to gain her end, assumes male attire so that she may escape detection, as in the case of a girl, who, giving her affections to a sailor, and not being able to follow him in her natural and recognised character, put on jacket and trousers, and became, to all appearance, a brother of his mess. in other cases, a pure masculinity of character "seems to lead women to take on the guise of men. apparently feeling themselves misplaced in, and misrepresented by, the female dress, they take up with that of men simply that they may be allowed to employ themselves in those manly avocations for which their taste and nature are fitted." in caulfield's "portraits of remarkable persons," we find a portrait of anne mills, styled the female sailor, who is represented as standing on what appears to be the end of a pier and holding in one hand a human head, while the other bears a sword, the instrument doubtless with which the decapitation was effected. in the year 1740, she was serving on board the _maidstone_, a frigate, and in an action between that vessel and the enemy, she exhibited such desperate and daring valour as to be particularly noticed by the whole crew. but her motives for assuming the male habit do not seem to have transpired.[43] a far more exciting career was that of mary anne talbot, the youngest of sixteen illegitimate children, whom her mother bore to one of the heads of the noble house of talbot. she was born on february 2nd, 1778, and educated under the eye of a married sister, at whose death she was committed to the care of a gentleman named sucker, "who treated her with great severity, and who appears to have taken advantage of her friendless situation in order to transfer her, for the vilest of purposes, to the hands of a captain bowen, whom he directed her to look upon as her future guardian." although barely fourteen years old, captain bowen made her his mistress; and, on being ordered to join his regiment at st. domingo, he compelled the girl to go with him in the disguise of a footboy and under the name of john taylor. but captain bowen had scarcely reached st. domingo when he was remanded with his regiment to europe to join the duke of york's flanders expedition. and this time she was made to enrol herself as a drummer in the corps. she was in several skirmishes, being wounded once by a ball which struck one of her ribs, and another time by a sabre stroke on the side. at valenciennes, however, captain bowen was killed; and, finding among his effects several letters relating to herself, which proved that she had been cruelly defrauded of money left to her, she resolved to leave the regiment, and to return, if possible, to england. accordingly she set out attired as a sailor boy, and eventually hired herself to the commander of a french lugger, which turned out to be a privateer. but when the vessel fell in with some of lord howe's vessels in the channel, she refused to fight against her countrymen, "notwithstanding all the blows and menaces the french captain could use." the privateer was taken, and our heroine was carried before lord howe, to whom she told candidly all that had happened to her--keeping her sex a secret. mary anne talbot, or john taylor, was next placed on board the _brunswick_, where she witnessed lord howe's great victory of the 1st june, and was actively engaged in it. but she was seriously wounded, "her left leg being struck a little above the knee by a musket-ball, and broken, and severely smashed lower down by a grape shot." on reaching england she was conveyed to haslar hospital, where she remained four months, no suspicion having ever been entertained of her being a woman. but she was no sooner out of the hospital than, retaining her disguise, she entered a small man-of-war--the _vesuvius_, which was captured by two french ships, when she was sent to the prisons of dunkirk. here she was incarcerated for eighteen months, but, having been discovered planning an escape with a young midshipman, she was confined in a pitch-dark dungeon for eleven weeks, on a diet of bread and water. an exchange of prisoners set her at liberty, and, hearing accidentally an american merchant captain inquiring in the streets of dunkirk for a lad to go to new york as ship's steward she offered her services, and was accepted. accordingly, in august, 1796, she sailed with captain field, and, on arriving at rhode island, she resided with the captain's family. but here another kind of adventure was to befall her--for a niece of captain field's fell deeply in love with her, even going so far as to propose marriage. on leaving rhode island, the young lady had such alarming fits that, after sailing two miles, mary anne talbot was called back by a boat, and compelled to promise a speedy return to the enamoured young lady. on reaching england, she was one day on shore with some of her comrades when she was seized by a press-gang, and finding there was no other way of getting off than by revealing her sex, she did so, her story creating a great sensation. from this time she never went to sea again, and soon afterwards lived in service with a bookseller, mr. kirby, who wrote her memoir.[44] and the late colonel fred burnaby has recorded the history of a singular case, the facts of which came under his notice when he was with don carlos during the carlist rising of the year 1874: "a discovery was made a few days ago that a woman was serving in the royalists' ranks, dressed in a soldier's uniform. she was found out in the following manner. the priest of the village to where she belonged happening to pass through a town where the regiment was quartered, and chancing to see her, was struck by the likeness she bore to one of his parishioners. "you must be andalicia bravo," he remarked. "no, i am her brother," was the reply. the cure's suspicions were aroused, and at his suggestion, an inquiry was made, when it was discovered that the youthful soldier had no right to the masculine vestments she wore. don carlos, who was told of the affair, desired that she should be sent as a nurse to the hospital of durango, and, when he visited the establishment, presented the fair amazon with a military cross of merit. the poor girl was delighted with the decoration, and besought the "king" to allow her to return to the regiment, as she said she was more accustomed to inflicting wounds than to healing them. in fact, she so implored to be permitted to serve once more as a soldier, that at last, don carlos, to extricate himself from the difficulty, said, "no, i cannot allow you to join a regiment of men; but when i form a battalion of women, i promise, upon my honour, that you shall be named the colonel." "it will never happen," said the girl, and she burst into tears as the king left the hospital. at haddon hall may still be seen "dorothy vernon's door," whence the heiress of haddon stole out one moonlight night to join her lover. the story generally told is that, while her elder sister, the affianced bride of sir thomas stanley, second son of the earl of derby, was made much of in her recognised attachment, dorothy, on the other hand, was not only kept in the background, but every obstacle was thrown in her way against a connection she had formed with john manners, son of the earl of rutland. but "something of the wild bird," it is said, "was noticed in dorothy, and she was closely watched, kept almost a prisoner, and could only beat her wings against the bars that confined her." this kind of surveillance went on for some time, but did not check the young lady's infatuation for her lover, and it was not long before the young couple contrived to see one another. disguised as a woodman, john manners lurked of a day in the woods round haddon for several weeks, obtaining now and then a stolen glance, a hurried word, or a pressure of the hand from the fair dorothy. at length, however, an opportunity arrived which enabled dorothy to carry out the plan which had been suggested to her by john manners. it so happened that a grand ball was given at haddon hall, to celebrate the approaching marriage of the elder daughter, and, whilst a throng of guests filled the ball-room, where the stringed minstrels played old dances in the minstrels' gallery, and the horns blew low, everyone being too busy with his own interests and pleasures to attend to those of another, the young miss dorothy stole away unobserved from the ball-room, "passed out of the door, which is now one of the most interesting parts of this historic pile of buildings, and crossed the terrace to where, at the "ladies' steps," she could dimly discern figures hiding in the shadow of the trees. another moment, and she was in her lover's arms. horses were waiting, and dorothy was soon riding away with her lover through the moonlight, and was married on the following morning. this story, which has been gracefully told by eliza meteyard under the title of "the love steps of dorothy vernon," has always been regarded as one of the most romantic and pleasant episodes in the history of haddon hall. through dorothy's marriage, the estate of haddon passed from the family of vernon to that of manners, and a branch of the house of rutland was transferred to the county of derby." [illustration: dorothy vernon and the woodman.] but love has always been an inducement, in one form or another for disguise, and a romantic story is told of sir john bolle, of thorpe hall, in lincolnshire, who distinguished himself at cadiz, in the year 1596. among the prisoners taken at this memorable seige, was "a fair captive of great beauty, high rank, and immense wealth," and who was the peculiar charge of sir john bolle. she soon became deeply enamoured of her gallant captor, and "in his courteous company was all her joy," her infatuation being so great that she entreated him to allow her to accompany him to england disguised as his page. but sir john had a wife at home, and replied--to quote the version of the story given in dr. percy's "relics of ancient english poetry":- "courteous lady, leave this fancy, here comes all that breeds the strife; i in england have already a sweet woman to my wife. i will not falsify my vow for gold or gain, nor yet for all the fairest dames that live in spain." thereupon the fair lady determined to retire to a convent, admiring the gallant soldier all the more for his faithful devotion to his wife. "o happy is that woman that enjoys so true a friend! many happy days god send her! of my suit i make an end, on my knees i pardon crave for my offence, which did from love and true affection first commence. "i will spend my days in prayer, love and all her laws defy; in a nunnery will i shroud me, far from any company. but ere my prayers have an end be sure of this, to pray for thee and for thy love i will not miss." but, before forsaking the world, she transmitted to her unconscious rival in england her jewels and valuable knicknacks, including her own portrait drawn in green--a circumstance which obtained for the original the designation of the "green lady," and thorpe hall has long been said to be haunted by the lady in green, who has been in the habit of appearing beneath a particular tree close to the mansion. a story, which has been gracefully told in one of moore's irish melodies, relates to henry cecil, earl of exeter, who early in life fell in love with the rich heiress of the vernons of hanbury. a marriage was eventually arranged, but this union proved a complete failure, and terminated in a divorce. thereupon young cecil, distrustful of the conventionalities of society, and to prevent any one of the fair sex marrying him on account of his position, resolved "on laying aside the artificial attractions of his rank, and seeking some country maiden who would wed him from disinterested motives of affection." accordingly he took up his abode at a small inn in a retired shropshire village, but even here his movements created suspicion, "some maintaining that he was connected with smugglers or gamesters, while all agreed that dishonesty or fraud was the cause of the mystery of the 'london gentleman's' proceedings." annoyed at the rude molestations to which he was daily, more or less, exposed, he quitted the inn and removed to a farm-house in the neighbourhood, where he remained for two years, in the course of which time he purchased some land, and commenced building himself a house: but the landlord of the cottage where he lived had a beautiful daughter of about seventeen years, to whom young cecil became so deeply attached that, in spite of her humble birth, and simple education, he resolved to make her his wife, taking an early opportunity of informing her parents of his resolve. the matter came as a surprise to the farmer and his wife, and all the more so because they had always regarded mr. cecil as far too grand a person to entertain such an idea. "marry our daughter?" exclaimed the good wife, in amazement. "what, to a fine gentleman! no, indeed!" "yes, marry her," added the husband, "he shall marry her, for she likes him. has he not house and land, too, and plenty of money to keep her?" so the rustic beauty was married, and it was not long afterwards that her husband found it necessary to repair to town on account of the earl of exeter's death. setting out, as the young bride thought, on a pleasure trip, they stopped in the course of their journey at several noblemen's seats, where, to her astonishment, cecil was welcomed in the most friendly manner. at last they reached burleigh, in northamptonshire--the home of the cecils. and on driving up to the house, cecil unconcernedly asked his wife, "whether she would like to be at home there?" "oh, yes," she excitedly exclaimed; "it is, indeed, a lovely spot, exceeding all i have seen, and making me almost envy its possessor." "then," said the young earl, "it is yours." the whole affair seemed like a fairy tale to the bewildered girl, and who, but herself, could describe the feelings she experienced at the acclamations of joy and welcome which awaited her in her magnificent home. but it was no dream, and as soon as the young earl had arranged his affairs, he returned to shropshire, threw off his disguise, and revealed his rank to his wife's parents, assigning to them the house he had built, with a settlement of â£700 per annum. "but," writes sir bernard burke, "if report speak truly, the narrative must have a melancholy end. her ladyship, unaccustomed to the exalted sphere in which she moved, chilled by its formalities, and depressed in her own esteem, survived only a few years her extraordinary elevation, and sank into an early grave," although moore has given a brighter picture of this sad close to a pretty romance. you remember ellen, our hamlet's pride, how meekly she blessed her humble lot, when the stranger, william, had made her his bride, and love was the light of their lowly cot. together they toiled through wind and rain till william at length in sadness said, "we must seek our fortunes on other plains"; then sighing she left her lowly shed. they roam'd a long and weary way, nor much was the maiden's heart at ease, when now, at close of one stormy day they see a proud castle among the trees. "to night," said the youth, "we'll shelter there; the wind blows cold, the hour is late"; so he blew the horn with a chieftain's air, and the porter bow'd as they pass'd the gate. "now welcome, lady!" exclaimed the youth; "this castle is thine, and these dark woods all." she believed him wild, but his words were truth, for ellen is lady of rosna hall! and dearly the lord of rosna loves what william the stranger woo'd and wed; and the light of bliss in those lordly groves is pure as it shone in the lowly shed. but one of the most extraordinary instances of disguise was that of the chevalier d'eon, who was born in the year 1728, and was an excellent scholar, soldier, and political intriguer. in the service of louis xv., he went to russia in female attire, obtained employment as the female reader to the czarina elizabeth, under which disguise he carried on political and semi-political negotiations with wonderful success. in the year 1762, he appeared in england as secretary of the embassy to the duke of nivernois, and when louis xvi. granted him a pension and he went over to versailles to return thanks for the favour, marie antoinette is said to have insisted on his assuming women's attire. accordingly, to gratify this foolish whim, d'eon is reported to have one day swept into the royal presence attired like a duchess, which character he supported to the great delight of the royal spectators. in the year 1794, he returned to this country, and, being here after the revolution was accomplished, his name was placed in the fatal list of _emigrã©s_, and he was deprived of his pension. the english government, however, gave him an allowance of â£200 a year; and in his old days he turned his fencing capabilities to account, for he occasionally appeared in matches with the chevalier de st. george, and permanently reassumed female attire. this eccentric character was the subject of much speculation in his lifetime, and, curious to say, in the year 1771, it was proved to the satisfaction of a jury, on a trial before lord chief justice mansfield, that the chevalier was of the female sex. the case in question arose from a wager between hayes, a surgeon, and jacques, an underwriter, the latter having bound himself, on receiving a premium, to pay the former a certain sum whenever the fact was established that d'eon was a woman. one of the witnesses was morande, an infamous frenchman, who gave such testimony that no human being could doubt the fact of d'eon being of the female sex, and two french medical men gave equally conclusive evidence. the result of this absurd trial was that the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff, with â£702 damages.[45] but all doubt was cleared away when d'eon died, in the year 1810, for, an examination of the body being made, it was publicly declared that the chevalier was an old man. walpole collected some facts about this remarkable man, and writes: "the due de choiseul believed it was a woman. after the death of louis xv., d'eon had leave to go to france, on which the young comte de guerchy went to m. de vergennes, secretary of state, and gave him notice that the moment d'eon landed at calais he, guerchy, would cut his throat, or d'eon should his; on which vergennes told the count that d'eon was certainly a woman. louis xv. corresponded with d'eon, and when the duc de choiseul had sent a vessel, which lay six months in the thames, to trepan and bring off d'eon, the king wrote a letter with his own hand to give him warning of the vessel." like the chevalier d'eon, a certain individual named russell, a native of streatham, adopted the guise and habits of the opposite sex, and so skilfully did he keep up the deception that it was not known till after his death. it appears from streatham register that he was buried on april 14, 1772, the subjoined memorandum being affixed to the entry: "this person was always known under the guise or habit of a woman, and answered to the name of elizabeth, as registered in this parish, november 21, 1669, but on death proved to be a man. it also appears from the registers of streatham parish, that his father, john russell, had three daughters, and two sons--william, born in 1668, and thomas in 1672; and there is very little doubt that the above person, who was also commonly known as betsy the doctress, was one of these sons." it is said that when he assumed the garb of the softer sex he also took the name of his sister elizabeth, who, very likely, either died in infancy, or settled at a distance; but, under this name, he applied, about two years before his death, for a certificate of his baptism. early in life, he associated with the gypsies, and became the companion of the famous bampfylde moore carew. later on in life he resided at chipstead, in kent, and there catered for the miscellaneous wants of the villagers. he also visited most parts of the continent as a stroller and a vagabond, and sometimes in the company of a man who passed for his husband, he moved about from one place to another, changing his "maiden" name to that of his companion, at whose death he passed as his widow, being generally known by the familiar name of bet page. according to lysons, in the course of his wanderings he attached himself to itinerant quacks, learned their remedies, practised their calling, his knowledge, coupled with his great experience, gaining for him the reputation of being "a most infallible doctress." he also went in for astrology, and made a considerable sum of money, but was so extravagant that when he died his worldly goods were not valued at half-a-sovereign. about a year before his death he returned to his native parish, his great age bringing him into much notoriety; but his death was very sudden, and great was the surprise on all sides when it became known that he was a man. in life this strange character was a general favourite, and mr. thrale was wont to have him in his kitchen at streatham park, while dr. johnson, who considered him a shrewd person, held long conversations with him. to prevent the discovery of his sex he used to wear a cloth tied under his chin, and a large pair of nippers, found in his pocket after death, are supposed to have been the instruments with which he was in the habit of removing the tell-tale hairs from his face.[46] in some instances, as in times of political intrigue and commotion, disguise has been resorted to as a means of escape and concealment of personal identity, one of the most romantic and remarkable cases on record being that of lord clifford, popularly known as the "shepherd lad." it appears that lady clifford, apprehensive lest the life of her son, seven years of age, might be sacrificed in vengeance for the blood of the youthful earl of rutland, whom lord clifford had murdered in cold blood at the termination of the battle of sandal, placed him in the keeping of a shepherd who had married one of her inferior servants--an attendant on the boy's nurse. his name and parentage laid aside, the young boy was brought up among the moors and hills as one of the shepherd's own children. on reaching the age of fourteen, a rumour somehow spread to the court that the son of "the black-faced clifford," as his father had been called, was living in concealment in yorkshire. his mother, naturally alarmed, had the boy immediately removed to the vicinity of the village of threlkeld, amidst the cumberland hills, where she had sometimes the opportunity of seeing him. but, strange to say it is doubtful whether lady clifford made known her relationship to him, or whether, indeed, the "shepherd lord" had any distinct idea of his lofty lineage. it is generally supposed, however, that there was a complete separation between mother and child--a tradition which was accepted by wordsworth, with whom the story of the shepherd boy was an especial favourite. in his "song at the feast of brougham castle," the poet thus prettily describes the shepherd boy's curious career:- "now who is he that bounds with joy on carroch's side, a shepherd boy? no thoughts hath he but thoughts that pass, light as the wind along the grass. can this be he who hither came in secret, like a smothered flame? o'er whom such thankful tears were shed for shelter, and a poor man's bread! god loves the child; and god hath willed that those dear words should be fulfilled, the lady's words, when forced away, the last she to her babe did say, 'my own, my own, thy fellow guest i may not be; but rest thee, rest, for lowly shepherd's life is best.'" many items of traditionary lore still linger about the cumberland hills respecting the young lord who grew up "as hardy as the heath on which he vegetated, and as ignorant as the rude herds which bounded over it." but the following description of young clifford in his disguise, and of his employment, as given by wordsworth, probably gives the most reliable traditionary account respecting him that prevailed in the district where he spent his lonely youth:- "his garb is humble, ne'er was seen such garb with such a noble mien; among the shepherd grooms no mate hath he, a child of strength and state! yet lacks not friends for solemn glee, and a cheerful company, that learned of him submissive ways; and comforted his private days. to his side the fallow deer came, and rested without fear; the eagle, lord of land and sea, stooped down to pay him fealty; and both the undying fish that swim, through bowscale-tarn did wait on him, the pair were servants to his eye in their immortality; they moved about in open sight, to and fro, for his delight. he knew the rocks which angels haunt on the mountains visitant, he hath kenned them taking wing; and the caves where fairies sing he hath entered; and been told by voices how men lived of old." but one of the first acts of henry vii., on his accession to the throne was to restore young clifford to his birthright, and to all the possessions that his distinguished sire had won. there are few authentic facts, however, recorded concerning him; for it seems that as soon as he had emerged from the hiding-place where he had been brought up in ignorance of his rank, finding himself more illiterate than was usual, even in an illiterate age, he retired to a tower, which he built in a beautiful and sequestered forest, where, under the direction of the monks of bolton abbey, he gave himself up to the forbidden studies of alchemy and astrology. his descendant anne clifford, countess of pembroke, describes him as "a plain man, who lived for the most part a country life, and came seldom either to court or london, excepting when called to parliament, on which occasion he behaved himself like a wise and good english nobleman." he was twice married, and was succeeded by his son, called wild henry clifford, from the irregularities of his youth. and we may cite the case of matthew hale, who, on one occasion was instrumental to justice being done through himself appearing in disguise, and supporting the wronged party. it is related that the younger of two brothers had endeavoured to deprive the elder of an estate of â£500 a year by suborning witnesses to declare that he died in a foreign land. but appearing in court in the guise of a miller, sir matthew hale was chosen the twelfth juryman to sit on this cause. as soon as the clerk of the juryman had sworn in the juryman, a short dexterous fellow came into their apartment, and slipped ten gold pieces into the hands of eleven of the jury, giving the miller only five, while the judge was generally supposed to be bribed with a large sum. at the conclusion of the case, the judge summed up the evidence in favour of the younger brother, and the jury were about to give their verdict, when the supposed miller stood up, and addressed the court. to the surprise of all present, he spoke with energetic and manly eloquence, "unravelled the sophistry to the very bottom, proved the fact of bribery, shewed the elder brother's title to the estate from the contradictory evidence of the witnesses," and in short, he gained a complete victory in favour of truth and justice. footnotes: [43] see "annual register," 1813, 1835, and 1842, for similar cases. [44] see notes and queries, 6th series, x., _passim_, for "women on board ships in action"; and "chambers's pocket miscellany," "disguised females, 1853." [45] see "dictionary of national biography," xiv., 485. [46] arnold's "history of streatham," 1866, 164-166. an extraordinary case of concealment of sex is recorded in the "annual register," under jan. 23, 1833. an inquiry was instituted by order of the home secretary relative to the death of "a person who had been known for years by the name of eliza edwards," but who turned out to be a man. chapter xiii. extraordinary disappearances. "o annie, it is beyond all hope, against all chance, that he who left you ten long years ago should still be living; well, then--let me speak; i grieve to see you poor and wanting help: i cannot help you as i wish to do unless--they say that women are so quick- perhaps you know what i would have you know- wish you for my wife." enoch arden. a glance at the agony columns of our daily newspapers, or the notice boards of police stations, it has been remarked, shows how many individuals disappear from home, from their business haunts, and from the circle of their acquaintances, and leave not the slightest trace of their whereabouts. in only too many instances, no satisfactory explanation has ever been forthcoming to account for a disappearance of this nature, and in the vast majority of cases no evidence has been discovered to prove the death of such persons. it is well known that "in france, before the revolution, the vanishing of men almost before the eyes of their friends was so common that it scarcely excited any surprise at all. the only inquiry was, had he a beautiful wife or daughter, for in that case the explanation was easy; some one who had influence with the government had designs upon the lady, and made interest to have her natural guardian put out of the way while those designs were being fulfilled." but, accountable as the disappearance of an individual was at such an unquiet time in french history, such a solution of the difficulty cannot be made to apply to our own country. like other social problems, which no amount of intellectual ingenuity has been able to unravel, the reason why, at intervals, persons are missed and never found must always be regarded as an open question. thus a marriage is recorded which took place in lincolnshire, about the year 1750. in this instance, the wedding party adjourned after the marriage ceremony to the bridegroom's residence, and dispersed, some to ramble in the garden and others to rest in the house till the dinner hour. but the bridegroom was suddenly summoned away by a domestic, who said that a stranger wished to speak to him, and henceforward he was never seen again. all kinds of inquiries were made but to no purpose, and terrible as the dismay was of the poor bride at this inexplicable disappearance of the bridegroom, no trace could be found of him. a similar tradition hangs about an old deserted welsh hall, standing in a wood near festiniog. in a similar manner, the bridegroom was asked to give audience to a stranger on his wedding day, and disappeared from the face of the earth from that moment. the bride, however, seems to have survived the shock, exceeding her three score years and ten, although, it is said, during all those years, while there was light of sun or moon to lighten the earth, she sat watching--watching at one particular window which commanded a view of the approach to the house. in short, her whole faculties, her whole mental powers, became completely absorbed in that weary process of watching, and long before she died she was childish, and only conscious of one wish--to sit in that long high window, and watch the road, along which he might come. family romance records, from time to time, many such stories, and it was not so very long ago that a bridal party were thrown into much consternation by the non-arrival of the bridegroom. everything was in readiness, the clergy and the choir, already vested, stood in the robing room, crimson carpets were laid down from the door to the carriages; some of the guests were at the church and others at the bride's house, when an alarm was raised by the best man that the bridegroom could nowhere be found. the bride-expectant burst into a flood of tears at this cruel disappointment, especially when the ominous news reached the church that the bridegroom's wedding suit had been found in the room, laid out ready to wear, but that there was not the slightest clue as to his whereabouts. it only remained for the bridal party to return home, and for the dejected and disconsolate bride to lay aside her veil and orange-blossoms. sometimes, on the other hand, it is the bride who disappears at this crisis. not many years back, an ex-lieutenant in the royal navy applied to a london magistrate, as he wanted to find his newly married wife. the applicant affirmed that the lady he had wedded was an actress, and that they were married at the registry office at croydon. the magistrate asked if there had been any wedding breakfast. the applicant said "no"; they had partaken of a little luncheon and that was all. mysterious and inexplicable as was this disappearance of a wife so shortly after marriage, it was suggested by the magistrate whether there were any rivals, but the applicant promptly replied, "no, certainly not, and that made the matter all the more incomprehensible." of course, the magistrate could not recover the missing bride; but, remarking that the application was a very singular one, he recommended the applicant to consult the police on the matter, who replied that "he would do so, as he was really afraid that some mischief had happened to her," utterly disregarding the proposition of the magistrate as to whether the lady could not possibly have changed her mind, remarking that such a thing had occasionally happened. in the life of dr. raffles, an amusing story is quoted, which is somewhat to the point: "on our way from wem to hawkstone, we passed a house, of which the following occurrence was told: 'a young lady, the daughter of the owner of the house, was addressed by a man who, though agreeable to her, was disliked by her father. of course, he would not consent to their union, and she determined to disappear and elope. the night was fixed, the hour came, he placed the ladder to the window, and in a few minutes she was in his arms. they mounted a double horse, and were soon at some distance from the house. after awhile the lady broke silence by saying, 'well, you see what a proof i have given you of my affection; i hope you will make me a good husband!' "he was a surly fellow, and gruffly answered, 'perhaps i may, and perhaps not.' "she made him no reply, but, after a few minutes' silence, she suddenly exclaimed, 'o, what shall we do? i have left my money behind me in my room!' "'then,' said he, 'we must go and fetch it.' they were soon again at the house, the ladder was again placed, the lady remounted, while the ill-natured lover waited below. but she delayed to come, and so he gently called, 'are you coming?' when she looked out of the window and said, 'perhaps i may, and perhaps not,' then shut down the window, and left him to return upon the double horse alone." but, if traditionary lore is to be believed, the sudden disappearance of the bride on her wedding day has had, in more than one instance, a very romantic and tragic origin. there is the well-known story which tells how lord lovel married a young lady, a baron's daughter, who, on the wedding night, proposed that the guests should play at "hide-and-seek." accordingly, the bride hid herself in an old oak chest, but the lid falling down, shut her in, for it went with a spring lock. lord lovel and the rest of the company sought her that night and many days in succession, but nowhere could she be found. her strange disappearance for many years remained an unsolved mystery, but some time afterwards the fatal chest was sold, which, on being opened, was found to contain the skeleton of the long-lost bride. this popular story was made the subject of a song, entitled "the mistletoe bough," by thomas haynes bayley, who died in 1839; and marwell old hall, near winchester, once the residence of the seymours, and afterwards of the dacre family, has a similar tradition attached to it. indeed, the very chest has been preserved in the hall of upham rectory, having been removed from marwell some forty years ago. the great house at malsanger, near basingstoke, has a story of a like nature connected with it, reminding us of that of tony forster in kenilworth, and of rogers's ginevra: "there then had she found a grave! within that chest had she concealed herself, fluttering with joy, the happiest of the happy, when a spring lock that lay in ambush there, fastened her down for ever." this story is found in many places, and the chest in which the poor bride was found is shown at bramshill, in hampshire, the residence of sir john cope. but only too frequently the young lady disappears from some preconcerted arrangement; a striking instance being that of agnes, daughter of james ferguson, the mechanist. while walking down the strand with her father, she slipt her hand out of his whilst he was absorbed in thought, and he never saw her from that day, nor was anything known of the girl's fate till many years after ferguson's death. at the time, the story of her extraordinary disappearance was matter of public comment, and all kinds of extravagant theories were started to account for it. the young lady, however, was gone, and despite the most patient search, and the most persistent inquiries, no tidings could be gained as to her whereabouts. in course of years the mystery was cleared up, and revealed a pitiable case of sin and shame. it appears that a nobleman to whom she had become known at her father's lectures took her, in the first instance, to italy, and afterwards deserted her. in her distress, being ashamed to return home, she resolved to try the stage as a means of livelihood, and applied to garrick, who gave her a trial on the boards, but the attempt proved a failure. she then turned her hand to authorship, but with no better success. although reduced to the most abject poverty, she would not make herself known to her relatives, and in complete despair, and overwhelmed with a sense of her disgrace, in her last extremity she threw herself on the streets, and died in miserable beggary and wretchedness in round court, off the strand. it was on her death-bed that she disclosed to the surgeon who attended her the melancholy and tragic story of her wasted life. but from the localities in which she had habitually moved, she must have many a time passed her relatives in the streets, though withheld by shame from making herself known, when they imagined her to be in some distant country, or in the grave. the strange disappearance of lady cathcart, on the other hand, whose fourth husband was hugh maguire, an officer in the hungarian service, is an extraordinary instance of a wife being, for a long term of years, imprisoned by her own husband without any chance of escape. it seems that, soon after her last marriage, she discovered that her husband had only made her his wife with the object of possessing himself of her property, and, alarmed at the idea of losing everything, she plaited some of her jewels in her hair and others in her petticoat. but she little anticipated what was in store for her, although she had already become suspicious of her husband's intentions towards her. his plans, however, were soon executed; for one morning, under the pretence of taking her for a drive, he carried her away altogether: and when she suggested, after they had been driving some time, that they would be late for dinner, he coolly replied, "we do not dine to-day at tewing, but at chester, whither we are journeying." some alarm was naturally caused, writes sir bernard burke, "by her sudden disappearance, and an attorney was sent in pursuit with a writ of _habeas corpus_ or _ne exeat regno_, who found the travellers at chester, on their way to ireland, and demanded a sight of lady cathcart. colonel maguire at once consented, but, knowing that the attorney had never seen his wife, he persuaded a woman to personate her. the attorney, in due time, was introduced to the supposed lady cathcart, and was asked if she accompanied colonel maguire to ireland of her own free will. "perfectly so," said the woman. whereupon the attorney set out again for london, and the colonel resumed his journey with lady cathcart to ireland, where, on his arrival at his own house at tempo, in fermanagh, his wife was imprisoned for many years." during this period the colonel was visited by the neighbouring gentry, "and it was his regular custom at dinner to send his compliments to lady cathcart, informing her that the company had the honour to drink her ladyship's health, and begging to know whether there was anything at table that she would like to eat? but the answer was always the same, "lady cathcart's compliments, and she has everything she wants." fortunately for lady cathcart, colonel maguire died in the year 1764, when her ladyship was released, after having been locked up for twenty years, possessing, at the time of her deliverance, scarcely clothes to her back. she lost no time in hastening back to england, and found her house at tewing in possession of a mr. joseph steele, against whom she brought an act of ejectment, and, attending the assize in person, gained her case. although she had been so cruelly treated by colonel maguire, his conduct does not seem to have injured her health, for she did not die till the year 1789, when she was in her ninety-eighth year. and, when eighty years of age, it is recorded that she took part in the gaieties of the welwyn assembly, and danced with the spirit of a girl. it may be added that although she survived colonel maguire twenty years, she was not tempted, after his treatment, to carry out the resolution which she had inscribed as a poesy on her wedding ring. if i survive i will have five.[47] another disappearance and supposed imprisonment which created considerable sensation in the last century was that of elizabeth canning. on new year's day, 1753, she visited an uncle and aunt who lived at saltpetre bank, near well close square, who saw her part of the way home as far as houndsditch. but as no tidings were afterwards heard of her, she was advertised for, rumours having gone abroad, that she had been heard to shriek out of a hackney coach in bishopsgate-street. prayers, too, were offered up for her in churches and meeting-houses, but all inquiries were in vain, and it was not until the 29th of the month that the missing girl returned in a wretched condition, ill, half-starved, and half-clad. her story was that after leaving her uncle and aunt on the 1st of january, she had been attacked by two men in great coats, who robbed, partially stripped her, and dragged her away to a house in the hertfordshire road, where an old woman cut off her stays, and shut her up in a room in which she had been imprisoned ever since, subsisting on bread and water, and a mince pie that her assailants had overlooked in her pocket, and ultimately, she said, she had escaped through the window, tearing her ear in doing so. her story created much sympathy for her, and steps were immediately taken to punish those who had abducted her in this outrageous manner. the girl, who was in a very weak condition, was taken to the house she had specified, one "mother" wells, who kept an establishment of doubtful reputation at enfield wash, and on being asked to identify the woman who had cut off her stays, and locked her up in the room referred to, pointed out one mary squires, an old gipsy of surpassing ugliness. accordingly, squires and wells were committed for trial for assault and felony; the result of the trial being that squires was condemned to death, and wells to be burned in the hand, a sentence which was executed forthwith, much to the delight of the excited crowd in the old bailey sessions-house. but the lord mayor, sir crisp gascoyne, who had presided at the trial _ex-officio_, was not satisfied with the verdict, and caused further and searching inquiries to be made. the verdict, on the weight of fresh evidence obtained, was upset, and squires was granted a free pardon. on 29th april, 1754, elizabeth canning was summoned again to the old bailey, but this time to take her trial for wilful and corrupt perjury. the trial lasted eight days, and, being found guilty, she was transported in august, "at the request of her friends, to new england." according to the "annual register," she returned to this country at the expiration of her sentence to receive a legacy of â£500, left to her three years before by an old lady of newington green; whereas, later accounts affirm that she never came back, but died 22nd july, 1773, at weathersfield, in connecticut, it being further stated that she married abroad a quaker of the name of treat, "and for some time followed the occupation of a schoolmistress." the mystery of her life--her disappearance from jan. 1st to the 29th of that month, and what transpired in that interval--is a secret that has never been to this day divulged. indeed, as it has been observed, "notwithstanding the many strange circumstances of her story, none is so strange as that it should not be discovered in so many years where she had concealed herself during the time she had invariably declared she was at the house of mother wells."[48] another curious disappearance is recorded by sir john coleridge, forming a strange story of romance. it seems there lived in cornwall, a highly respectable family, named robinson, consisting of two sons--william and nicholas--and two daughters. the property was settled on the two sons and their male issue, and in case of death on the two daughters. nicholas was placed with an eminent attorney of st. austen as his clerk, with a prospect of being one day admitted into partnership. but his legal studies were somewhat interrupted by his falling in love with a milliner's apprentice; the result being that he was sent to london to qualify himself as an attorney. but he had no sooner been admitted an attorney of the queen's bench and common pleas than he disappeared, and thenceforward he was never seen by any member of his family or former friends, all search for him proving fruitless. in course of time the father died, and william, the elder son, succeeded to the property, dying unmarried in may, 1802. as nothing was heard of nicholas, the two sisters became entitled to the property, of which they held possession for twenty years, no claim being made to disturb their possession of it. but in the year 1783, a young man, whose looks and manners were above his means and situation, had made his appearance as a stranger at liverpool, going by the name of nathaniel richardson--the same initials as nicholas robinson. he bought a cab and horse, and plied for hire in the streets of liverpool--and being "a civil, sober, and prudent man," he soon became prosperous, and drove a coach between london and liverpool. he married, had children, and gradually acquired considerable wealth. having gone to wales, however, in the year 1802, to purchase some horses, he was accidentally drowned in the mersey. many years after his death, it was rumoured in 1821 that this nathaniel richardson was no other than nicholas robinson, and his eldest son claimed the property, which was then inherited by the two daughters. an action was accordingly tried in cornwall to recover the property. the strange part of the proceedings was that nearly forty years had elapsed since anyone had seen nicholas robinson; but, says sir john coleridge, "it was made out conclusively, in a most remarkable way, and by a variety of small circumstances, all pointing to one conclusion, that nathaniel richardson was the identical nicholas robinson". the cornish and liverpool witnesses agreed in the description of his person, his height, the colour of his hair, his general appearance, and, more particularly, it was mentioned that he had a peculiar habit of biting his nails, and that he had a great fondness for horses. in addition to other circumstances, there was this remarkable one--that nathaniel's widow married again and that the furniture and effects were taken to the second husband's house. among the articles, was an old trunk, which she had never seen opened; but, on its contents being examined one day, among other letters and papers, were found the two certificates of nicholas robinson's admission as attorney to the courts of queen's bench and common pleas--and, on the trial, the old master of nicholas robinson, alias nathaniel richardson, swore to his handwriting, and so the property was discovered. it has been often remarked that london is about the only place in all europe where a man, if so desirous, can disappear and live for years unknown in some secure retreat. about the year 1706, a certain mr. howe, after he had been married some seven or eight years, rose early one morning, and informed his wife that he was obliged to go to the tower on special business, and at about noon the same day he sent a note to his wife informing her that business summoned him to holland, where he would probably have to remain three weeks or a month. but from that day he was absent from his home for seventeen years, during which time his wife neither heard from him, nor of him. his strange and unaccountable disappearance at the time naturally created comment, but no trace could be found of his whereabouts, or as to whether he had met with foul treatment. and yet the most curious part of the story remains to be told. on leaving his house in jermyn street, piccadilly, mr. howe went no further than to a small street in westminster, where he took a room, for which he paid five or six shillings a week, and changing his name, and disguising himself by wearing a black wig--for he was a fair man--he remained in this locality during the whole time of his absence. at the time he disappeared from his home, mr. howe had had two children by his wife, but these both died a few years afterwards. but, being left without the necessary means of subsistence, mrs. howe, after waiting two or three years in the hope of her husband's return, was forced to apply for an act of parliament to procure an adequate settlement of his estate, and a provision for herself out of it during his absence, as it was uncertain whether he was alive or dead. this act mr. howe suffered to be passed, and read the progress of it in a little coffee-house which he frequented. after the death of her children, mrs. howe removed from her house in jermyn street to a smaller one in brewer street, near golden square. just over against her lived one salt, a corn chandler, with whom mr. howe became acquainted, usually dining with him once or twice a week. the room where they sat overlooked mrs. howe's dining room, and salt, believing howe to be a bachelor, oftentimes recommended her to him as a suitable wife. and, curious to add, during the last seven years of his mysterious absence, mr. howe attended every sunday service at st. james's church, piccadilly, and sat in mr. salt's seat, where he had a good view of his wife, although he could not be easily seen by her. at last, however, mr. howe made up his mind to return home, and the evening before he took this step, sent her an anonymous note requesting her to meet him the following day in birdcage walk, st. james's square. at the time this billet arrived, mrs. howe was entertaining some friends and relatives at supper--one of her guests being a dr. rose, who had married her sister. after reading the note, mrs. howe tossed it to dr. rose, laughingly remarking, "you see, brother, old as i am, i have got a gallant." but dr. rose recognised the handwriting as that of mr. howe, which so upset mrs. howe that she fainted away. it was eventually arranged that dr. rose and his wife, with the other guests who were then at supper, should accompany mrs. howe the following evening to the appointed spot. they had not long to wait before mr. howe appeared, who, after embracing his wife, walked home with her in the most matter-of-fact manner, the two living together in the most happy and harmonious manner till death divided them. the reason of this mysterious disappearance, mr. howe would never explain, but dr. rose often maintained that he believed his brother would never have returned to his wife had not the money which he took with him--supposed to have been from one to two thousand pounds--been all spent. "anyhow," he used to add, "mr. howe must have been a good economist, and frugal in his manner of living, otherwise the money would scarce have held out." a romance associated with haigh hall, in lancashire, tells how sir william bradshaigh, stimulated by his love of travel and military ardour, set out for the holy land. ten years elapsed, and, as no tidings reached his wife of his whereabouts, it was generally supposed that he had perished in some religious crusade. taking it for granted, therefore, that he was dead, his wife mabel did not abandon herself to a life of solitary widowhood, but accepted an offer of marriage from a welsh knight. but, not very long afterwards, sir william bradshaigh returned from his prolonged sojourn in the holy land, and, disguised as a palmer, he visited his own castle, where he took his place amongst the recipients of lady mabel's bounty. as soon, however, as lady mabel caught sight of the palmer, she was struck by the strong resemblance he bore to her first husband; and this impression was quickly followed by bewilderment when the mysterious stranger handed to her a ring which he affirmed had been given him by sir william, in his dying moments, to bear to his wife at haigh hall. in a moment lady mabel's thoughts travelled back into the distant past, and she burst into tears as the ring brought back the dear memories of bygone days. it was in vain she tried to stifle her feelings, and, as her second husband--the welsh knight--looked on and saw how distressed she was, "he grew," says the old record, "exceeding wroth," and, in a fit of jealous passion, struck lady mabel. this ungallant act was the climax of the painful scene, for there and then sir william threw aside his disguise, and hastened to revenge the unchivalrous conduct of the welsh knight. completely confounded at this unexpected turn of events, and fearing violence from sir william, the welsh knight rode off at full speed, without waiting for any explanation of the matter. but he was overtaken very speedily and slain by his opponent, an offence for which sir william was outlawed for a year and a day; while mabel, his wife, "was enjoined by her confessor to do penance by going once every week, barefoot and bare legged, to a cross near wigan, popularly known as mab's cross.[49] in wigan parish church, two figures of whitewashed stone preserve the memory of sir william bradshaigh and his lady mabel, he in an antique coat of mail, cross-legged, with his sword, partly drawn from the scabbard, by his left side, and she in a long robe, veiled, her hands elevated and conjoined in the attitude of fervent prayer. sir walter scott informs us that from this romance he adopted his idea of "the betrothed," "from the edition preserved in the mansion of haigh hall, of old the mansion house of the family of bradshaigh, now possessed by their descendants on the female side, the earls of balcarres."[50] [illustration: lady mabel and the palmer.] scottish tradition ascribes to the clan of tweedie a descent of a similar romantic nature. a baron, somewhat elderly, had wedded a buxom young wife, but some months after their union he left her to ply the distaff among the mountains of the county of peebles, near the sources of the tweed. after being absent seven or eight years--no uncommon space for a pilgrimage to palestine--he returned, and found, to quote the account given by sir walter scott, "his family had not been lonely in his absence, the lady having been cheered by the arrival of a stranger who hung on her skirts and called her mammy, and was just such as the baron would have longed to call his son, but that he could by no means make his age correspond with his own departure for palestine. he applied, therefore, to his wife for the solution of the dilemma, who, after many floods of tears, informed her husband that, walking one day along the banks of the river, a human form arose from a deep eddy, termed tweed-pool, who deigned to inform her that he was the tutelar genius of the stream, and he became the father of the sturdy fellow whose appearance had so much surprised her husband." after listening to this strange adventure, "the husband believed, or seemed to believe, the tale, and remained contented with the child with whom his wife and the tweed had generously presented him. the only circumstance which preserved the memory of the incident was that the youth retained the name of tweed or tweedie." having bred up the young tweed as his heir while he lived, the baron left him in that capacity when he died, "and the son of the river-god founded the family of drummelzier and others, from whom have flowed, in the phrase of the ettrick shepherd, 'many a brave fellow, and many a bauld feat.'" it may be added that, in some instances, the science of the medical jurist has aided in elucidating the history of disappearances, through identifying the discovered remains with the presumed missing subjects. some years ago, the examination of a skeleton found deeply imbedded in the sand of the sea-coast at a certain scotch watering-place showed that the person when living must have walked with a very peculiar and characteristic gait, in consequence of some deposits of a rheumatic kind which affected the lower part of the spine. the mention of this circumstance caused a search to be made through some old records of the town, and resulted in the discovery of a mysterious disappearance, which, at the time, had been duly noted--the subject being a person whose mode of walking had made him an object of attention, and whose fate, but for the observant eye of the anatomist, must have remained wholly unknown. similarly, it has been pointed out how skeletons found in mines, in disused wells, in quarries, in the walls of ruins, and various other localities "imply so many social mysteries which probably occasioned in their day a wide-spread excitement, or at least agitated profoundly some small circle of relatives or friends." according to the "annual register" (1845, p. 195), while some men were being employed in taking the soil from the bottom of the river in front of some mills a human skeleton was accidentally found. at a coroner's inquest, it transpired that about nine years before a jew whose name was said to be abrams, visited taverham in the course of his business, sold some small articles for which he gave credit to the purchasers, and left the neighbourhood on his way to drayton, the next village, with a sum of â£90 in his possession. but at drayton he disappeared, and never returned to taverham to claim the amount due to him. search was made for the missing man, but to no purpose, and after the excitement in the neighbourhood had abated, the matter was soon forgotten. but some time afterwards a man named page was apprehended for sheep stealing, tried, and sentenced to be transported for life. during his imprisonment, he told divers stories of robberies and crimes, most of which turned out to be false. but, amongst other things, he wrote a letter promising that if he were released from gaol and brought to cossey, "he would show them that, from under the willow tree, which would make every hair in their heads rise up." the man was not released, but the river was drawn, and some sheep's skins and sheep's heads were found, which were considered to be the objects alluded to by page. the search, however, was still pursued, and from under the willow tree the skeleton was fished up, evidently having been fastened down. it was generally supposed that these were the bones of the long lost jew, who, no doubt, had been murdered for the money on his person--a crime of which page was aware, if he were not an accomplice. footnotes: [47] see "romantic records of the aristocracy," 1850, i., 83-87. [48] see "dict. of nat. biog.," viii., 418-420; caulfield's "remarkable persons," and gent. mag., 1753 and 1754. [49] sir b. burke's "vicissitudes of families," first series, 270-273. harland's "lancashire legends," 45-47. roby's "traditions of lancashire." [50] the tale of the noble moringer is, in some respects, almost identical with this tradition. it exists in a collection of german popular songs, and is supposed to be extracted from a manuscript "chronicle of nicholas thomann, chaplain to st. leonard in weissenhorn," and dated 1533. chapter xiv. honoured hearts. "i will ye charge, after that i depart to holy grave, and thair bury my heart, let it remaine ever bothe tyme and hour, to ye last day i see my saviour." --old ballad quoted in sir walter scott's notes to "marmion." a curious and remarkable custom which prevailed more or less down to the present century was that of heart burial. in connection with this strange practice numerous romantic stories are told, the supreme regard for the heart as the source of the affections, having caused it to be bequeathed by a relative or friend, in times past, as the most tender and valuable legacy. in many cases, too, the heart, being more easy to transport, was removed from some distant land to the home of the deceased, and hence it found a resting place, apart from the body, in a locality endeared by past associations. westminster abbey, it may be remembered, contains the hearts of many illustrious personages. the heart of queen elizabeth was buried there, and it is related how a prying westminster boy one day, discovering the depositories of the hearts of elizabeth and her sister, queen mary, subsequently boasted how he had grasped in his hand those once haughty hearts. prince henry of wales, son of james i., who died at the early age of eighteen, was interred in westminster abbey, his heart being enclosed in lead and placed upon his breast, and among further royal personages whose hearts were buried in a similar manner may be mentioned charles ii., william and mary, george, prince of denmark, and queen anne. the heart of edward, lord bruce, was enclosed in a silver case, and deposited in the abbey church of culross, near the family seat. in the year 1808, this sad relic was discovered by sir robert preston, the lid of the silver case bearing on the exterior the name of the unfortunate duellist; and, after drawings had been taken of it, the whole was carefully replaced in the vault; and in st. nicholas's chapel, westminster, was enshrined the heart of esme stuart, duke of richmond, where a monument to his memory is still to be seen with this fact inscribed upon it. many interesting instances of heart burial are to be found in our parish churches. in the church of horndon-on-the-hill, essex, which was once the seat of sir thomas boleyn, a nameless black marble monument is pointed out as that of anne boleyn. according to a popular tradition long current in the neighbourhood, this is said to have contained the head, or heart. "it is within a narrow seat," writes miss strickland, "and may have contained her head, or her heart, for it is too short to contain a body. the oldest people in the neighbourhood all declare that they have heard the tradition in their youth from a previous generation of aged persons, who all affirm it to be anne boleyn's monument." but, it would seem, there has always been a mysterious uncertainty about anne boleyn's burial place, and a correspondent of the _gentleman's magazine_ (october, 1815), speaks of "the headless remains of the departed queen, as deposited in the arrow chest and buried in the tower chapel before the high altar. where that stood, the most sagacious antiquary, after a lapse of more than 300 years, cannot now determine; nor is the circumstance, though related by eminent writers, clearly ascertained. in a cellar, the body of a person of short stature, without a head, not many years since, was found, and supposed to be the reliques of poor anne, but soon after it was reinterred in the same place and covered with earth."[51] by her testament, eleanor, duchess of buckingham, wife of edward, duke of buckingham, who was beheaded on may 17th, 1521, appointed her heart to be buried in the church of the grey friars, within the city of london; and in the sackville vault, in withyam church, sussex, is a curiously shaped leaden box in the form of a heart, on a brass plate attached to which is this inscription: "the heart of isabella, countess of northampton, died on october 14th, 1661." a leaden drum deposited in a vault in the church of brington is generally supposed to contain the head of henry spencer, earl of sunderland, who received his death wound at the battle of newbury; and at wells cathedral, in a box of copper, a heart was accidentally discovered, supposed to be that of one of the bishops; and in the family vault of the hungerfords, at farley castle, a heart was one day found in a glazed earthenware pot, covered with white leather. the widow of john baliol, father of bruce's rival, showed her affection for her dead lord in a strange way, for she embalmed his heart, placed it in an ivory casket, and during her twenty years of widowhood she never sat down to meals without this silent reminder of happier days. on her death, she left instructions for her husband's heart to be laid on her bosom, and from that day "new abbey" was known as sweet heart abbey, and "never," it is said, "did abbey walls shelter a sweeter, truer heart than that of the lady of barnard castle." among the many instances of heart-bequests may be noticed that of edward i., who on his death-bed expressed a wish to his son that his heart might be sent to palestine, inasmuch as after his accession he had promised to return to jerusalem, and aid the crusade which was then in a depressed condition. but, unfortunately, owing to his wars with scotland, he failed to fulfil his engagement, and at his death he provided two thousand pounds of silver for an expedition to convey his heart thither, "trusting that god would accept this fulfilment of his vow, and grant his blessing on the undertaking"; at the same time imprecating "eternal damnation on any who should expend the money for any other purpose." but his injunction was not performed. robert bruce, king of scotland, the avowed foe of edward i., also gave directions to his trusted friend, sir james douglas, that his heart should be buried in the holy land, because he had left unfulfilled a vow to assist in the crusade, but his wish was frustrated owing to the following tragic occurrence. after the king's death, his heart was taken from his body, and, enclosed in a silver case, was worn by sir james douglas suspended to his neck, who set out for the holy land. on reaching spain, he found the king of castile engaged in war with the moors, and thinking any contest with saracens consistent with his vows, he joined the spaniards against the moors. but being overpowered by the enemy's horsemen, in desperation he took the heart from his neck, and threw it before him, shouting aloud, "pass on as thou wert wont, i will follow or die." he was almost immediately struck down, and under his body was found the heart of bruce, which was intrusted to the charge of sir simon locard of lee, who conveyed it back to scotland, and interred it beneath the high altar in melrose abbey, in connection with which mrs. hemans wrote some spirited lines:- heart! thou didst press forward still when the trumpet's note rang shrill, where the knightly swords were crossing and the plumes like sea-foam tossing. leader of the charging spear, fiery heart--and liest thou here? may this narrow spot inurn aught that so could heat and burn? the heart of richard, the lion-hearted, has had a somewhat eventful history. it seems that this monarch bequeathed his heart to rouen, as a lasting recognition of the constancy of his norman subjects. the honour was gratefully acknowledged, and in course of time a beautiful shrine was erected to his memory in the cathedral. but this costly structure did not escape being destroyed in the year 1738 with other plantagenet memorials. a hundred years afterwards the mutilated effigy of richard was discovered under the cathedral pavement, and near it the leaden casket that had inclosed his heart, which was replaced. before long it was taken up again, and removed to the museum of antiquities, where it remained until the year 1869, when it found a more fitting resting-place in the choir of the cathedral. james ii. bequeathed his heart to be buried in the church of the convent dames de st. marie, at chaillot, whence it was afterwards removed to the chapel of the english benedictines in the faubourg st. jacques. and the heart of mary beatrice, his wife, was also bequeathed to the monastery of chaillot, in perpetuity, "to be placed in the tribune beside those of her late husband, king james, and the princess, their daughter." dr. richard rawlinson, the well known antiquary bequeathed his heart to st. john's college, oxford; and edward, lord windsor, of bradenham, bucks, who died at spa in the year 1754, directed that his body should be buried in the "cathedral church of the noble city of liege, with a convenient tomb to his memory, but his heart to be enclosed in lead and sent to england, there to be buried in the chapel of bradenham, under his father's tomb, in token of a true englishman." paul whitehead, who died in the year 1774, left his heart to his friend lord le despencer, to be deposited in his mausoleum at west wycombe. lord le despencer accepted the bequest, and on the 16th may, 1775, the heart, after being wrapped in lead and placed in a marble urn, was carried with much ceremony to its resting place. preceding the bier bearing the urn, "a grenadier marched in full uniform, nine grenadiers two deep, the odd one last; two german flute players, two surpliced choristers with notes pinned to their backs, two more flute players, eleven singing men in surplices, two french horn players, two bassoon players, six fifers, and four drummers with muffled drums. lord le despencer, as chief mourner, followed the bier, in his uniform as colonel of the bucks militia, and was succeeded by nine officers of the same corps, two fifers, two drummers, and twenty soldiers with their firelocks reversed. the dead march in "saul" was played, the church bell tolled, and cannons were discharged every three and a half minutes." on arriving at the mausoleum, another hour was spent by the procession in going round and round it, singing funeral dirges, after which the urn containing the heart was carried inside, and placed upon a pedestal bearing the name of paul whitehead, and these lines: unhallowed hands, this urn forbear; no gems, no orient spoil, lie here concealed; but what's more rare, a heart that knew no guile. but in the year 1829 some unhallowed hand stole the urn, and the whereabouts of whitehead's heart remains a mystery to the present day. in recent times an interesting case of heart burial was that of lord byron, whose heart was enclosed in a silver urn and placed at newstead abbey in the family vault; and another was that of the poet, shelley, whose body, according to italian custom after drowning, was burnt to ashes. but the heart would not consume, and so was deposited in the english burying ground at rome. it is worthy, too, of note that heart burial prevailed to a very large extent on the continent. to mention a few cases, the heart of philip, king of navarre, was buried in the jacobin's church, paris, and that of philip, king of france, at the convent of the carthusians at bourgfontaines, in valois. the heart of henri ii., king of france, was enshrined in an urn of gilt bronze in the celestins, paris; that of henri iii., according to camden, was enclosed in a small tomb, and henri iv.'s heart was buried in the college of the jesuits at la fleche. heart burial, again, was practised at the deaths of louis ix., xii., xiii., and xiv., and in the last instance was the occasion of an imposing ceremony. "the heart of this great monarch," writes miss hartshorne, "was carried to the convent of the jesuits. a procession was arranged by the cardinal de rohan, and, surrounded by flaming torches and escorted by a company of the royal guards, the heart arrived at the convent, where it was received by the rector, who pronounced over it an eloquent and striking discourse." the heart of marie de medicis, who built the magnificent palace of the luxembourg, was interred at the church of the jesuits, in paris; and that of maria theresa, wife of louis xiv., was deposited in a silver case in the monastery of val de grace. the body of gustavus adolphus, the illustrious monarch who fell in the field of lutzen, was embalmed, and his heart received sepulchre at stockholm; and, as is well known, the heart of cardinal mazarin was, by his own desire, sent to the church of the theatins. and anne of austria, the mother of louis xiv., directed in her will that her body should be buried at st. denis near to her husband, "of glorious memory," but her heart she bequeathed to val de grace; and she also decreed that it should be drawn out through her side without making any further opening than was absolutely necessary. instances such as these show the prevalence of the custom of heart burial in bygone times, a further proof of which may be gathered from the innumerable effigies or brasses in which a heart holds a prominent place. footnotes: [51] see timbs' "abbeys, castles, and ancient halls of england," i., p. 300; and "enshrined hearts of warriors and illustrious people," by emily sophia hartshorne, 1861. chapter xv. romance of wealth. the unsunn'd heaps of miser's treasure. milton. stories of lost or unclaimed property have always possessed a fascinating charm, but, unfortunately, the links for proving the rightful ownership break off generally at the point where its history seems on the verge of being unravelled. at the same time, however romantic and improbable some of the announcements relating to such treasure-hoards may seem, there is no doubt that many a poor family, at the present day, would be possessed of great wealth if it could only gain a clue to the whereabouts of money rightfully its own. the legal identification, too, of such property when discovered has frequently precluded its successfully being claimed by those really entitled to enjoy it, and few persons are aware of the enormous amount of unclaimed money--amounting to some millions--which lies dormant, although continually made public in the "agony columns" of the _times_ and other daily newspapers. it should be also remembered that wealth of this kind is carefully preserved in all kinds of places; bankers' cellars, for instance, containing some of the most curious unclaimed deposits, many of them being of rare intrinsic value, whilst others are of great romantic interest. thus, not many years ago, there was accidentally discovered in the vaults of the bank of england a large chest of some considerable age, which, on being removed from its resting place, almost fell to pieces. on the contents of this old chest being examined, some massive plate of the time of charles ii. was brought to light, of very beautiful and chaste workmanship. nor was this all, for much to the surprise of the explorers, a bundle of love letters, written during the period of the restoration, was found carefully packed away with the plate. on search being made by the directors of the bank in their books, the surviving heir of the original depositor was ascertained, to whom the plate and packet of love letters were handed over. many similar cases might be quoted, for in most of our bank cellars are hoarded away family treasures, which for some inexplicable reason have never been claimed. some, again, of our old jewellers' shops have had strange deposits in their cellars, the history and whereabouts of their owners having baffled the most searching and minute inquiries. as an illustration, may be given an instance which occurred some years back in connection with a jeweller's shop near soho. it seems that an old lady lodged for a few weeks over the said shop, and, on leaving for the continent, left behind her, for safety's sake, several boxes of plate to be taken care of until further notice. but years passed by and no tidings of the lady reached the jeweller, although from time to time the most careful inquiries were instituted. at last, however, it transpired that she had died somewhat suddenly, but, as no record was found amongst her papers relating to the boxes of plate, a lengthened litigation arose as to the rightful claimant of the property. occasionally, through domestic differences, homes are broken up and the members dispersed, some perhaps going abroad. in many cases, such persons it may be are not only lost sight of for years, but are never heard of again, and hence, when they become entitled to money, large sums are frequently spent in advertising for their whereabouts, and oftentimes with no satisfactory results. indeed, advertisements for missing relatives are, it is said, yearly on the increase, and considerable sums of money cannot be touched owing to the uncertainty as to whether persons of this description are alive or dead. an interesting instance occurred in the year 1882, when sir james hannen had the following case brought before him: "counsel applied on behalf of augustus alexander de niceville for letters of administration to the property of his father, supposed to be dead, as he had not been heard of since the year 1831, and who, if alive, would be 105 years old. in early life he held a commission in the french army, but in the year 1826 he came to this country and settled in devonshire. on the breaking out of the french revolution he returned with his wife to france, but his wife came back to england, and corresponded with her husband till the year 1831, when she ceased to hear from him. in spite of every means employed for tracing his whereabouts, nothing was ever heard of him, his wife dying in the year 1875. affidavits in support of these facts having been read, the application was granted." then there are the well-known unclaimed funds in chancery, concerning which so much interest attaches. it may not be generally known what a mine of wealth these dormant funds constitute, amounting to many millions; indeed, the royal courts of justice have been mainly built with the surplus interest of this money, and occasionally large sums from this fund have been borrowed to enable the chancellor of the exchequer to carry through his financial operations. by an act passed in the year 1865, facilities are afforded to apply â£1,000,000 from funds standing in the books of the bank of england to an account thus designated: "account of securities purchased with surplus interest arising from securities carried to the account of moneys placed out for the benefit and better security of the suitors of the court of chancery." not so very long ago the subject was discussed in parliament, when it was urged that, as the government were trustees of these funds, something should be done, as far as possible, by publicity, to adopt measures whereby the true owners might become claimants if they had but the knowledge of their rights. another reason for money remaining unclaimed for a number of years, is through missing wills. hence many a family forfeits its claim to certain property on account of the testator's last wishes not being forthcoming. thackeray makes one of his plots hang in a most ingenious way upon a missing will, which is discovered eventually in the sword-box of a family coach, and various curious instances are on record of wills having been discovered years after the testator's death in the most out-of-the-way and unlikely hiding places. in some cases, also, through a particular clause in a will being peculiarly or doubtfully worded, heirs have been deprived of what was really due to them, a goodly part of the property having been squandered and wasted in prolonged legal expenses. then, again, it is universally acknowledged that there is an immense quantity of money, and other valuables, concealed in the earth. in olden days, the householder was the guardian of his own money, and so had to conceal it as his ingenuity could devise. accordingly large sums of money were frequently buried underground, and in excavating old houses, treasures of various kinds are oftentimes found underneath the floors. the custom of making the earth a stronghold, and confiding to its safe-keeping deposits of money, prevailed until a comparatively recent period, and was only natural, when it is remembered how, in consequence of civil commotions, many a home was likely to be robbed of its most valuable belongings. hence every precaution was taken, a circumstance which accounts for the cunning secretal of rich and costly relics in old buildings. according to an entry given by pepys in his "diary," a large amount was supposed to be buried in his day, and he gives an amusing account of the hiding of his own money by his wife and father when the dutch fleet was supposed to be in the medway. times of trouble, therefore, will account for many of the treasures which were so carefully secreted in olden times. many years ago, as the foundations of some old houses in exeter were being removed, a large collection of silver coins was discovered--the money found dating from the time of henry viii. to charles i., or the commonwealth--and it has been suggested that the disturbed state of affairs in the middle of the 17th century led to this mode of securing treasure. this will account in some measure for the traditions of the existence of large sums of hidden money associated with some of our old family mansions. an amusing story is related by thomas of walsingham, which dates as far back as the 14th century. a certain saracen physician came to earl warren to ask permission to kill a dragon which had its den at bromfield, near ludlow, and committed great ravages in the earl's lands. the dragon was overcome; but it transpired that a large treasure lay hid in its den. thereupon some men of herefordshire went by night to dig for the gold, and had just succeeded in reaching it when the retainers of the earl of warren, having learnt what was going on, captured them and took possession of the hoard for the earl. a legend of this kind was long connected with hulme hall, formerly a seat of a branch of the prestwich family. it seems that during the civil wars its then owner, sir thomas prestwich, was very much impoverished by fines and sequestrations, so that he was forced to sell the mansion and estate to sir oswald mosley. on more than one occasion his mother had induced him to advance large sums of money to charles i. and his adherents, under the assurance that she had hidden treasures which would amply repay him. this hoard was generally supposed to have been hidden, either in the hall itself, or in the grounds adjoining, and it was said to be protected by spells and incantations, known only to the lady dowager herself. time passed on, and the old lady became every day more infirm, and at last she was struck down with apoplexy before she could either practise the requisite incantations, or inform her son where the treasure was secreted. after her burial, diligent search was made, but to no effect; and sir thomas prestwich went down to the grave in comparative poverty. since that period fortune-tellers and astrologers have tried their powers to discover the whereabouts of this hidden hoard, and, although they have been unsuccessful, it is still believed that one day their labours will be rewarded, and that the demons who guard the money will be forced to give up their charge. some years ago the hall and estate were sold to the duke of bridgewater, and, the site having been required for other purposes, the hall was pulled down, but no money was discovered. in ireland, there are few old ruins in and about which excavations have not been made in the expectation of discovering hidden wealth, and in some instances the consequence of this belief has been the destruction of the building, which has been actually undermined. about three miles south of cork, near the village of douglas, is a hill called castle treasure, where a "cross of gold" was supposed to be concealed; and the discovery, some years ago, of a rudely-formed clay urn and two or three brazen implements attracted for some time crowds to the spot. but such stories are not confined to any special locality, and there is, in most parts of england, a popular belief that vast treasures are hidden beneath the old ruins of many houses, and that supernatural obstacles always prevent their being discovered. indeed, scotland has numerous legends of this kind, some of which, as mr. chambers has pointed out, have been incorporated into its popular rhymes. thus, on a certain farm in the parish of lesmahagow, from time immemorial there existed a tradition that underneath a very large stone was secreted a vast treasure in the shape of a kettleful, a bootful, and a bull-hide full "of gold, all of which have been designated 'katie neevie's hoord,'" having given rise to the following adage: between dillerhill and crossford there lies katie neevie's hoord. and at fardell, anciently the seat of sir walter raleigh's family, in the courtyard formerly stood an inscribed bilingual stone of the roman british period; the stone is now in the british museum. the tradition current in the neighbourhood makes the inscription refer to a treasure buried by sir walter raleigh, and hence the local rhyme: between this stone and fardell hall lies as much money as the devil can haul. a curious incident happened in ireland about the commencement of the last century. the bishop of derry being at dinner, there came in an old irish harper, and sang an ancient song to his harp. the bishop, not being acquainted with irish, was at a loss to understand the meaning of the song, but on inquiry he ascertained the substance of it to be this--that in a certain spot a man of gigantic stature lay buried, and that over his breast and back were plates of pure gold, and on his fingers rings of gold so large that an ordinary man might creep through them. the spot was so exactly described that two persons actually went in quest of the garden treasure. after they had dug for some time, they discovered two thin pieces of gold, circular, and more than two inches in diameter. but when they renewed their excavations on the following morning they found nothing more. the song of the harper has been identified as "moiva borb," and the lines which suggested the remarkable discovery have been translated thus: in earth, beside the loud cascade, the son of sora's king we laid; and on each finger placed a ring of gold, by mandate of our king. the loud cascade was the well-known waterfall at ballyshannon, known as "the salmon leap" now. [illustration: there came in an old irish harper and sang an ancient song to his harp.] it was also a common occurrence for a miser to hide away his hoards underground, and before he had an opportunity of making known their whereabouts he died, without his heirs being put in the necessary possession of the information regarding that part of the earth wherein he had kept secreted his wealth. at different times, in old houses have been discovered misers' hoards, and which, but for some accident, would have remained buried in their forgotten resting-place. this will frequently account for money being found in the most eccentric nooks, an illustration of which happened a few years ago in paris, when a miser died, leaving behind him, as was supposed, money to the value of sixty pounds. after some months had passed by, the claimant to the property made his appearance, and, on the miser's apartments being thoroughly searched, no small astonishment was caused by the discovery of the large sum of thirty-two thousand pounds. it may be noted that in former years our forefathers were extremely fond of hiding away their money for safety, making use of the chimney, or the wainscot or skirting-board. there it frequently remained; and such depositories of the family wealth were occasionally, from death and other causes, completely forgotten. in one of hogarth's well-known pictures, the young spendthrift, who has just come into his inheritance, is being measured by a fashionable tailor, when, from behind the panels which the builders are ripping down, is seen falling a perfect shower of golden money. there can be no doubt that there is many an old house in this country which, if thoroughly ransacked, would be found to contain treasures of the most valuable and costly kind. some years ago, for example, a collection of pictures was discovered at merton college, oxford, hidden away between the ceiling and the roof; and missing deeds have from time to time been discovered located in all sorts of mysterious nooks. in a set of rooms in magdalen college, too, which had been originally occupied by one of the fellows, and had subsequently been abandoned and devoted to lumber, was unearthed a strong wooden box, containing, together with some valuable articles of silver plate, a beautiful loving-cup, with a cover of pure gold. when, also, the vicarage house of ormesby, in yorkshire, required reparation, some stonework had to be removed in order to carry out the necessary alterations, in the course of which a small box was found, measuring about a foot square, which had been embedded in the wall. the box, when opened, was full of angels, angelets, and nobles. some of the money was of the reign of edward iv., some of henry vi., and some, too, of the reigns of henry vii. and henry viii. it has been suggested that when henry viii. dissolved the lesser monasteries, the monks of guisboro' priory, which was only about six miles off, fearing the worst, fled with their treasures, and, with the craft and cunning peculiar to their order, buried a portion of them in the walls of the parsonage house of ormesby.[52] to quote another case, dunsford, in his "memories of tiverton" (1790), p. 285, speaking of the village of chettiscombe, says that in the middle of the 16th century, in the north part of this village was "a chapel entire, dedicated to st. mary. the walls and roof are still whole, and served some years past for a dwelling-house, but is now uninhabited." it appears that not only was there some superstition attaching to this building, which accounted for its untenanted condition, but certain money was supposed to be hidden away, to discover which every attempt had hitherto been in vain. "it was therefore proposed," says the author, "that some person should lodge in the chapel for a night to obtain preternatural information respecting it. two persons at length complied with the request to do so, and, aided by strong beer, approached about nine o'clock the hallowed walls. they trembled exceedingly at the sudden appearance of a white owl that flew from a broken window with the message that considerable wealth lay in certain fields, that if they would diligently dig there, they would undoubtedly find it." they quickly attended to this piece of information, and employed a body of workmen who, before long, succeeded in bringing to light the missing money. a similar tradition was associated with bransil castle, a stronghold of great antiquity, situated in a romantic position about two miles from the herefordshire beacon. the story goes that the ghost of lord beauchamp, who died in italy, could never rest until his bones were delivered to the right heir of bransil castle. accordingly, they were sent from italy enclosed in a small box, and were for a considerable time in the possession of mr. sheldon, of abberton. the tradition further states that the old castle of bransil was moated round, and in that moat a black crow, presumed to be an infernal spirit, sat to guard a chest of money, till discovered by the rightful owner. the chest could never be moved without the mover being in possession of the bones of lord beauchamp. such stories of hidden wealth being watched over by phantom beings are not uncommon, and remind us of those anecdotes of treasures concealed at the bottom of wells, guarded over by the "white ladies." in shropshire, there is an old buried well of this kind, at the bottom of which a large hoard has long been supposed to lie hidden, or as a local rhyme expresses it: near the brook of bell there is a well which is richer than any man can tell. in the south of scotland it is the popular belief that vast treasures have for many a year past been concealed beneath the ruins of hermitage castle; but, as they are supposed to be in the keeping of the evil one, they are considered beyond redemption. at different times various efforts have been made to dig for them, yet "somehow the elements always on such occasions contrived to produce an immense storm of thunder and lightning, and deterred the adventurers from proceeding, otherwise, of course the money would long ago have been found." and to give another of these strange family legends, may be quoted one told of stokesay castle, shropshire. it seems that many years ago all the country in the neighbourhood of stokesay belonged to two giants, who lived the one upon view edge, and the other at norton camp. the story commonly current is that "they kept all their money locked up in a big oak chest in the vaults under stokesay castle, and when either of them wanted any of it he just took the key and got some. but one day one of them wanted the key, and the other had got it, so he shouted to him to throw it over as they had been in the habit of doing, and he went to throw it, but somehow he made a mistake and threw too short, and dropped the key into the moat down by the castle, where it has remained ever since. and the chest of treasure stands in the vaults still, but no one can approach it, for there is a big raven always sitting on the top of it, and he won't allow anybody to try and break it open, so no one will ever be able to get the giants' treasure until the key is found, and many say it never will be found, let folks try as much as they please."[53] amongst further reasons for the hiding away of money, may be noticed eccentricity of character, or mental delusion, a singular instance of which occurred some years ago. it appears that whilst some workmen were grubbing up certain tree at tufnell park, near highgate, they came upon two jars, containing nearly four hundred pounds in gold. this they divided, and shortly afterwards, when the lord of the manor claimed the whole as treasure trove, the real owner suddenly made his appearance. in the course of inquiry, it transpired that he was a brassfounder, living at clerkenwell, and having been about nine months before under a temporary delusion, he one night secreted the jars in a field at tufnell park. on proving the truth of his statement, the money was refunded to him. footnotes: [52] "journal of the archã¦ological association," 1859, vol. xv., p. 104. [53] "shropshire folklore" (miss jackson), 7, 8. chapter xvi. lucky accidents. "as the unthought-on accident is guilty of what we wildly do, so we profess ourselves to be the slaves of chance, and flies of every wind that blows." "winter's tale," act iv., sc. 3. pascal, one day, remarked that if cleopatra's nose had been shorter the whole face of the world would probably have been changed. the same idea may be applied to the unforeseen advantages produced by accidents, some of which have occasionally had not a little to do with determining the future position in life of many eminent men. prevented from pursuing the sphere in this world they had intended, compulsory leisure compelled them to adopt some hobby as a recreation, in which, unconsciously, their real genius lay. thus david allan, popularly known as the "scottish hogarth," owed his fame and success in life to an accident. when a boy, having burnt his foot, he amused the monotony of his leisure hours by drawing on the floor with a piece of chalk--a mode of passing his time which soon obtained an extraordinary fascination for him. on returning to school, he drew a caricature of his schoolmaster punishing a pupil, which caused him to be summarily expelled. but, despite this punishment, his success as an artist was decided, the caricature being considered so clever that he was sent to glasgow to study art, where he was apprenticed in 1755 to robert foulis, a famous painter, who with his brother andrew had secretly established an academy of arts in that city. their kindness to him he was afterwards able to return when their fortunes were reversed. if sir walter scott had not sprained his foot in running round the room when a child, the world would probably have had none of those works which have made his name immortal. when his son intimated a desire to enter the army, sir walter scott wrote to southey, "i have no title to combat a choice which would have been my own, had not my lameness prevented." in the same way, the effects of a fall when about a year old rendered talleyrand lame for life, and being, on this account, unfit for a military career, he was obliged to renounce his birthright in favour of his second brother. but what seemed an obstacle to his future success was the very reverse, for, turning his attention to politics and books, he eventually became one of the leading diplomatists of his day. again, josiah wedgwood was seized in his boyhood with an attack of smallpox, which was followed by a disease in the right knee, some years afterwards necessitating the amputation of the affected limb. but, as mr. gladstone, in his address on wedgwood's life and work delivered at burslem, oct. 26th, 1863, remarked, the disease from which he suffered was, no doubt, the cause of his subsequent greatness, for "it prevented him from growing up to be the active, vigorous english workman, but it put upon him considering whether, as he could not be that, he might not be something else, and something greater. it drove him to meditate upon the laws and secrets of his art." flamsteed was an astronomer by accident. being removed from school on account of his health, it appears that a cold caught in the summer of 1660 while bathing, which produced a rheumatic affection of the joints, accompanied by other ailments. he became unable to walk to school, and he finally left in may, 1662. his self-training now began, and sacroborco's "de sphã¦ra" was lent to him, with the perusal of which he was so pleased that he forthwith commenced a course of astronomic studies. accordingly, he constructed a rude quadrant and calculated a table of the sun's altitudes, pursuing his studies, as he said himself, "under the discouragement of friends, the want of health, and all other instructors, except his better genius."[54] alluding to accidents as sometimes developing greatness, mr. smiles remarks that pope's satire was in a measure the outcome of his deformity; and lord byron's club foot, he adds, "had probably not a little to do with determining his destiny as a poet. had not his mind been embittered, and made morbid by his deformity, he might never have written a line. but his misshapen foot stimulated his mind, roused his ardour, threw him upon his own resources, and we know with what result." again, in numerous other ways, it has been remarked, accidents have taken a lucky turn, and, if not being the road to fortune, have had equally important results. the story is told of a young officer in the army of general wolfe who was supposed to be dying of an abscess in the lungs. he was absent from his regiment on sick leave, but resolved to join it when a battle was expected, "for," said he, "since i am given over i had better be doing my duty, and my life's being shortened a few days matters not." he received a shot which pierced the abscess and made an opening for the discharge, the result being that he recovered and lived to eighty years of age. brunel, the celebrated engineer, had a curious accident, which might have forfeited his life. while one day playing with his children and astonishing them by passing a half sovereign through his mouth out at his ear, he unfortunately swallowed the coin, which dropped into his windpipe. brunel regarded the mischief caused by the accident as purely mechanical; a foreign body had got into his breathing apparatus, and must be removed, if at all, by some mechanical expedient. but he was equal to the emergency, and had an apparatus constructed which had the effect of relieving him of the coin. in after days he used to tell how, when his body was inverted, and he heard the gold piece strike against his upper front teeth, was, perhaps, the most exquisite moment in his whole life, the half sovereign having been in his windpipe for not less than six weeks. in the year 1784, william pitt almost fell the victim to the folly of a festive meeting, for he was nearly accidentally shot as a highwayman. returning late at night on horseback from wimbledon to addiscombe, together with lord thurlow, he found the turnpike gate between tooting and streatham thrown open. both passed through it, regardless of the threats of the turnpike man, who, taking the two for highwaymen, discharged the contents of his blunderbuss at their backs; but, happily, no injury was done, and pitt had the good fortune to escape from what might have been a very serious, if not fatal, accident. foote, too, met with a bad accident on horseback, which, at the time, seemed a lasting obstacle to his career as an actor. whilst riding with the duke of york and some other noblemen, he was thrown from his horse and his leg broken, so that an amputation became necessary. in consequence of this accident, the duke of york obtained for him the patent of the haymarket theatre for his life; but he continued to perform his former characters with no less agility and spirit than he had done before to the most crowded houses. similarly, on one occasion--a very important one--charles james matthews was nearly prevented making his first appearance on the stage through being thrown from his horse, but, to quote his own words, "the excitement of the evening dominated all other feelings, and i walked for the time as well as ever." some men, again, have owed their success to the accidents of others. a notable instance was that of baron ward, the well-known minister of the duke of parma. after working some time as a stable-boy in howden, he went to london, where he had the good luck to come to the duke of parma's assistance after a fall from his horse in rotten row. the duke took him back to lucca as his groom, and ere long ward made the ducal stud the envy of italy. he soon rose to a higher position, and became the minister and confidential friend of the duke of parma, with whom he escaped in the year 1848 to dresden, and for whom he succeeded in recovering parma and placenza. indeed, lord palmerston once remarked, "baron ward was one of the most remarkable men i ever met with." it was through witnessing an accident that sir astley cooper made up his final decision to take up surgery as his profession. a young man, having been run over by a cart, was in danger of dying from loss of blood, when young cooper lost no time in tying his handkerchief about the wounded limb so as to stop the hemorrhage. it was this incident which assured him of his taste for surgery. in the same way, the story is quoted of the eminent french surgeon, ambrose parã©. it is stated that he was acting as stable-boy to an abbã© at laval when a surgical operation was about to be performed on one of the brethren of the monastery. on being called in to assist, ambrose parã© not only proved so useful, but was so fascinated with the operation that he made up his mind to devote his life to the study and practice of surgery. instances of this kind might be enumerated, being of frequent occurrence in biographical literature, and showing to what unforeseen circumstances men have occasionally owed their greatness. a romance which, had it lacked corroborative evidence, would have seemed highly improbable, is told of the two countesses of kellie. in the latter half of the last century, mr gordon, the proprietor of ardoch castle--situated upon a high rock, overlooking the sea--was one evening aroused by the firing of a gun evidently from a vessel in distress near the shore. hastening down to the beach, with the servants of the castle, it was evident that the distressed vessel had gone down, as the floating spars but too clearly indicated. after looking out in vain for some time, in the hope of recovering some of the passengers--either dead or alive--he found a sort of crib, which had been washed ashore, containing a live infant. the little creature proved to be a female child, but beyond the fact that its wrappings pointed to its being the offspring of persons in no mean condition, there was no trace as to who these were. the little foundling was brought up with mr. gordon's own daughters, and when she had attained to womanhood, by an inexplicable coincidence, a storm similar to that just mentioned occurred. an alarm-gun was fired, and this time mr. gordon had the satisfaction of receiving a shipwrecked party, whom he at once made his guests at the castle. amongst them was one gentleman passenger, who after a comfortable night spent in the castle, was surprised at breakfast by the entrance of a troop of blooming girls, the daughters of his host, as he understood, but one of whom specially attracted his attention. "is this young lady your daughter, too?" he inquired of mr. gordon. "no," replied his host, "but she is as dear to me as if she were." he then related her history, to which the stranger listened with eager interest, and at its close he not a little surprised mr. gordon by remarking that he "had reason to believe that the young lady was his own niece." he then gave a detailed account of his sister's return from india, corresponding to the time of the shipwreck, and added, "she is now an orphan, but if i am not mistaken in my supposition, she is entitled to a handsome provision which her father bequeathed to her in the hope of her yet being found." before many days had elapsed, sufficient evidence was forthcoming to prove that by this strange, but lucky, accident of the shipwreck, the long lost niece was found. the young heiress keenly felt leaving the old castle, but to soften the wrench it was arranged that one of the misses gordon should accompany her to gottenburg, where her uncle had long been settled as a merchant. the sequel of this romance, as it is pointed out in the "book of days,"[55] is equally astonishing. it seems that among the scotch merchants settled in the swedish port, was mr. thomas erskine--a younger son of a younger brother of sir william erskine, of cambo, in fife--an offshoot of the family of the earl of kellie--to whom miss anne gordon was married in the year 1771. a younger brother, named methven, ten years later married joanna, a sister of miss gordon. it was never contemplated that these two brothers would ever come near to the peerage of their family--there being at one time seventeen persons between them and the family titles; but in the year 1797 the baronet of cambo became earl of kellie, and two years later the title came to the husband of anne gordon. in short, "these two daughters of mr. gordon, of ardoch, became in succession countesses of kellie in consequence of the incident of the shipwrecked foundling, whom their father's humanity had rescued from the waves." footnotes: [54] see "dictionary of national biography," xix., 242. [55] "the two countesses of kellie," ii. 41, 42. chapter xvii. fatal passion. what dreadful havoc in the human breast the passions make, when, unconfined and mad, they burst, unguided by the mental eye, the light of reason, which, in various ways, points them to good, or turns them back from ill! thomson. the annals of some of our old and respected families have occasionally been sadly stained "by hideous exhibitions of cruelty and lust," in certain instances the result of an unscrupulous disregard of moral duty and of a vindictive fierceness in avenging injury. it has been oftentimes remarked that few tragedies which the brain of the novelist has depicted have surpassed in their unnatural and horrible details those enacted in real life, for when headstrong passion gets the reins of reason, the force of nature, like too strong a gale, for want of ballast, oversets the vessel. love, indeed, which has been proverbially said to lead to as much evil as any impulse that agitates the human bosom, must be held responsible for only too many of those crimes which from time to time outrage society, for, as the authors of "guesses at truth" have remarked, "jealousy is said to be the offspring of love, yet, unless the parent make haste to strangle the child, the child will not rest till it has poisoned the parent." thus, a tragedy which made the castle of corstorphine the scene of a terrible crime and scandal in the year 1679, may be said to have originated in an unhallowed passion. george, first lord forrester, having no male issue, made an arrangement whereby his son-in-law, james baillie, was to succeed him as second lord forrester and proprietor of the estate of corstorphine. just four years after this compact was made, lord forrester died, and james baillie, a young man of twenty-five, succeeded to the title and property. but this arrangement did not meet with the approval of lord forrester's daughters, who regarded it as a manifest injustice that the honours of their ancient family should devolve on an alien--a feeling of dissatisfaction which was more particularly nourished by the third daughter, lady hamilton, whose husband was far from wealthy. it so happened that lady hamilton had a daughter, christian, who was noted for her rare beauty and high spirit. but, unfortunately, she was a girl of strong passion, which, added to her self-will, caused her, when she had barely arrived at a marriageable age, to engage herself to one james nimmo, the son of an edinburgh merchant. before many weeks had elapsed, the young couple were married, and the handsome young wife was settled in her new home in edinburgh. time wore on, the novelty of marriage died away, and as mrs. nimmo dwelt on her mercantile surroundings, she recognised more and more what an ill-assorted match she had made, and in her excitable mind, "she cursed the bond which connected her with a man whose social position she despised, and whose occupations she scorned." the report, however, of her uncommon beauty, could not fail to reach the ears of young lord forrester, who on the score of relationship was often attracted to mrs. nimmo's house. at first he was received with coldness, but, by flattering and appealing to her vanity, he gradually "accomplished the ruin of this unhappy young woman," and made her the victim of his licentious and unprincipled designs. but no long time had elapsed when this shameful intrigue became the subject of common talk, and public indignation took the side of the injured woman, when lord forrester, after getting tired of her, "was so cruel and base as to speak of her openly in the most opprobrious manner," even alluding to her criminal connection with him. in so doing, however, he had not taken into consideration the violent character of the woman he had wronged, nor thought he of her jealousy, wounded pride, and despair. in his haste, also, to rid himself of the woman who no longer fascinated him, he paid no heed to the passion that was lurking in her inflamed bosom, nor counted on her _spret㦠injuria formã¦_. on the other hand, whilst he was forgetting the past in his orgies, mrs. nimmo--whose love for him was turned to the bitterest hate--was hourly reproaching him, and at last the fatal moment arrived when she felt bound to proceed to corstorphine castle, and confront her evil-doer. at the time, lord forrester was drinking at the village tavern, and, when the infuriated woman demanded to see him, he was flushed with claret, and himself in no amiable mood. the altercation, naturally, "soon became violent, bitter reproaches were uttered on the one side, and contemptuous sneers on the other." goaded to frenzy, the unhappy woman stabbed her paramour to the heart, killing him instantly. when taken before the sheriff of edinburgh, she confessed her crime, and, although she told the court in the most pathetic manner how basely she had been wronged by one who should have supported rather than ruined her, sentence of death was passed upon her. she managed, writes sir bernard burke,[56] to postpone the execution of her sentence by declaring that she was with child by her seducer, and during her imprisonment succeeded in escaping in the disguise of a young man. but she was captured, and on the 12th november, 1679, paid the penalty of her rash act, appearing at her execution attired in deep mourning, covered with a large veil. radcliffe to this day possesses the tradition of a terrible tragedy of which there are several versions. it appears that one sir william de radclyffe had a very beautiful daughter whose mother died in giving her birth. after a time he married again, and the step-mother, actuated by feeling of jealousy, conceived a violent hatred to the girl, which ere long prompted her to be guilty of the most insane cruelty. one day, runs the story, when sir william was out hunting, she sent the unsuspecting girl into the kitchen with a message to the cook that he was to dress the white doe. but the cook professing ignorance of the particular white doe he was to dress, asserted, to the young lady's intense horror, that he had received orders to kill her, which there and then he did, afterwards making her into a pie. on sir william's return from hunting, he made inquiries for his daughter, but his wife informed him that she had taken the opportunity in his absence of going into a nunnery. suspicious, however, of the truth of her story--for her jealous hatred of his daughter had not escaped his notice--he flew into a passion, and demanded in the most peremptory manner where his daughter was, whereupon the scullion boy denounced the step-mother, and warned sir william against eating the pie. the whole truth was soon revealed, and the diabolic wickedness of lady william did not pass unpunished, for she was burnt, and the cook was condemned to stand in boiling lead. a ballad in the pepys' collection, entitled, "the lady isabella's tragedy, or the step-mother's cruelty," records this horrible barbarity; and in a lancashire ballad, called "fair ellen of radcliffe", it is thus graphically told:- she straighte into the kitchen went, her message for to tell; and then she spied the master cook, who did with malice swell. "nowe, master cooke, it must be soe, do that which i thee tell; you needs must dress the milk-white doe, you which do knowe full well." then straight his cruel, bloody hands, he on the ladye laid, who, quivering and ghastly, stands while thus to her he sayd: "thou art the doe that i must dress; see here! behold, my knife! for it is pointed, presentli to rid thee of thy life." o then, cryed out the scullion boye, as loud as loud might be, "o save her life, good master cook, and make your pyes of me." the tradition adds that sir william was not unmindful of the scullion boy's heroic conduct, for he made him heir to his possessions. another cruel case of woman's jealousy, which, happily, was not so disastrous in its result as the former, relates to maria, daughter of the hon. alexander mackenzie, second son of kenneth, earl of seaforth, who was maid of honour to queen caroline. report goes that between this young lady, who was one of the greatest beauties about the court, and a mr. price, an admired man about town, there subsisted a strong attachment. unfortunately for miss mackenzie, mr. price was an especial favourite of the celebrated countess of deloraine, who, to get rid of her rival in beauty, poisoned her. but this crime was discovered in time, antidotes were administered with success, and the girl's life was saved; although her lovely complexion is said to have been ruined, ever after continuing of a lemon tint. queen caroline, desirous of shielding the countess of deloraine from the consequences of her act, persuaded "the poisoned beauty" to appear, as soon as she was sufficiently recovered, at a supper, given either by the countess of deloraine or where she was to be present. accordingly, on the night arranged, some excitement was caused by the arrival of miss mackenzie, for as she entered the room, someone exclaimed, "how entirely changed!" but mr. price, who was seated by lady deloraine remarked, "in my eyes she is more beautiful than ever," and it only remains to add that they were married next morning. like jealousy, thwarted love has often been cause of the most unnatural crimes, and a tragic story is told of the untimely death of mr blandy, of henley, in oxfordshire, who, by practice as an attorney, had accumulated a large fortune. he had an only child, mary, who was regarded as an heiress, and consequently had suitors many. on one occasion, it happened that william cranstoun, brother of lord cranstoun, being upon a recruiting party in oxfordshire, and hearing of miss blandy's "great expectations," found an opportunity of introducing himself to the family. the captain's attentions, however, to miss blandy met with the strong disapproval of her father, for he had ascertained that this suitor for his daughter's hand had been privately married in scotland. but against this objection captain cranstoun replied that he hoped to get this marriage speedily set aside by a decree of the supreme court of session. and when the court refused to annul the marriage, mr. blandy absolutely refused to allow his daughter to have any further communications with so dishonourable a man; a resolution to which he remained inexorable. intrigue between the two was the result, for it seems that miss blandy's affection for this profligate man--almost double her age--was violent. as might be expected, captain cranstoun not only worked upon her feelings, but imposed on her credulity. he sent her from scotland a pretended love powder, which he enjoined her to administer to her father, in order to gain his affection and procure his consent. this injunction she did not carry out, on account of a frightful dream, in which she saw her father fall from a precipice into the ocean. thereupon the captain wrote a second time, and told her in words somewhat enigmatical, but easily understood by her, his design. horrible to relate, the wicked girl was so elated with the idea of removing her father, that she was heard to exclaim before the servants, "who would not send an old fellow to hell for thirty thousand pounds?" the fatal die was cast. the deadly powder was mixed and given to him in a cup of tea, after drinking which he soon began to swell enormously. "what have you given me, mary?" asked the unhappy dying man. "you have murdered me; of this i was warned, but, alas! i thought it was a false alarm. o, fly; take care of the captain!" thus mr. blandy died of poison, but his daughter was captured whilst attempting to escape, and was conveyed to oxford castle, where she was imprisoned till the assizes, when she was tried for parricide, was found guilty, and executed. captain cranstoun managed to effect his escape, and went abroad, where he died soon afterwards in a deplorable state of mind, brought about by remorse for the evil and misery he had caused. almost equally tragic was the fatal passion of sir william kyte, forming another strange domestic drama in real life. possessed of considerable fortune, and of ancient family, sir william was deemed a very desirable match, and when he offered his hand to a young lady of noble rank, and of great beauty, he was at once accepted. the marriage for the first few years turned out happily, but the crisis came when sir william was nominated, at a contested election, to represent the borough of warwick, in which county lay the bulk of his estate. after the election was over, lady kyte, by way of recompensing a zealous partisan of her husband, took an innkeeper's daughter, molly jones, for her maid; "a tall, genteel girl, with a fine complexion, and seemingly very modest and innocent." but before many months had elapsed, sir william was attracted by the girl, and, eventually, became so infatuated by her charms, that, casting aside all restraints of shame or fear, he agreed to a separation between his wife and himself. accordingly, sir william left lady kyte, with the two younger children, in possession of the mansion-house in warwickshire, and retired with his mistress and his two eldest sons to a farmhouse on the cotswold hills. charmed with the situation, he was soon tempted to build a handsome house here, to which were added two large side-fronts, for no better reason than that molly jones, one day, happened to say, "what is a kite without wings." but the expense of completing this establishment, amounting to at least â£10,000, soon involved sir william in financial difficulties, which caused him to drown his worries in drink. at this juncture, molly jones, forgetting her own past, was injudicious enough to engage a fresh coloured country girl--who was scarcely twenty--as dairymaid, for whom sir william quickly conceived an amorous regard. actuated by jealousy or disgust, molly jones threatened to leave sir william, a resolution which she soon carried out, retiring to cambden, a neighbouring market town, where she was reduced to keep a small sewing school as a means of livelihood. although left to carry on his intrigue undisturbed, sir william soon became a victim to gloomy reflections, feeling at times that he had not only cruelly wronged a good wife, but had been deserted by the very woman for whose sake he had brought this trouble and disgrace upon his family. tormented by these conflicting passions, he occasionally worked himself up into such a state of frenzy that even his new favourite was terrified, and had run away. it was when almost maddened with the thought of his evil past that he formed that fatal resolve which was a hideous ending to "the dreadful consequence of a licentious passion not checked in its infancy." one october evening, as a housemaid was on the stairs, suddenly "the lobby was all in a cloud of smoke." she gave the alarm, and on the door being forced open whence the smoke proceeded, it was discovered that sir william had set fire to a large heap of fine linen, piled up in the middle of the room. from an adjoining room, where sir william had made his escape, the flames burst out with such fury that all were glad to make their escape out of the house, the greater part of which was in a few hours burnt to the ground--no other remains of its master being found next morning but the hip-bone, and bones of the back. a case which, at the time, created considerable sensation was the murder of thynne of longleat by a jealous antagonist. the eleventh duke of northumberland left an only daughter, whose career, it has been said, "might match that of the most erratic or adventurous of her race." before she was sixteen years old, she had been twice a widow, and three times a wife. at the age of thirteen, she was married to the only son of the duke of newcastle, a lad of her own age, who died in a few months. her second husband was thynne of longleat, "tom of ten thousand," but the tie was abruptly severed by the bullet of an assassin, set on by the notorious count konigsmark, who had been a suitor for her hand, and was desirous of another chance. after his death, the young widow, who was surrounded by a host of admirers, married the duke of somerset, and she seems to have made him a fitting mate, for when his second wife, a finch, tapped him familiarly on the shoulder, or, according to another version, seated herself on his knee, he exclaimed indignantly: "my first wife was a percy, and she never thought of taking such a liberty." it may be added that one of the most remarkable incidents in this celebrated beauty's life was when by dint of tears and supplications she prevented queen anne from making swift a bishop, out of revenge for the "windsor prophecy," in which she was ridiculed for the redness of her hair, and upbraided as having been privy to the brutal murder of her second husband. "it was doubted," says scott, "which imputation she accounted the more cruel insult, especially since the first charge was undoubted, and the second arose only from the malice of the poet." another tragedy of a similar kind was the murder of william mountford, the player. captain richard hill had conceived a violent passion for mrs. bracegirdle, the beautiful actress, and is said to have offered her his hand, and to have been refused. at last his passion became ungovernable, and he determined to carry her off by force. to carry out his purpose, he induced his friend lord mohun to assist him in the attempt. according to one account, "he dodged the fair actress for a whole day at the theatre, stationed a coach near the horseshoe tavern, in drury lane, to carry her off in, and hired six soldiers to force her into it. as the beautiful actress came down drury lane, at ten o'clock at night, accompanied by her mother and brother, and escorted by her friend mr. page, one of the soldiers seized her in his arms, and endeavoured to force her into the coach. but the lady's scream attracted a crowd, and captain hill, finding his endeavours ineffectual, bid the soldiers let her go. disappointed in their object, lord mohun and captain hill vowed vengeance; and mrs. bracegirdle on reaching home sent her servant to mr. mountford's house to take care of himself, warning him against lord mohun and captain hill, "who she feared, had no good intention toward him, and did wait for him in the street." it appears that mountford had already heard of the attempt to carry off mrs. bracegirdle, and hearing that lord mohun and captain hill were in the street, did not shrink from approaching them." the account says that he addressed lord mohun, and told him how sorry he was to find him in the company of such a pitiful fellow as captain hill, whereupon, it is said, "the captain came forth and said he would justify himself, and went towards the middle of the street, and mr. mountford followed him and drew." the end of the quarrel was that mountford fell with a terrible wound, of which he died on the following day, declaring in his last moments that captain hill ran him through the body before he could draw his sword. captain hill, it seems, owed mountford a deadly grudge, having attributed his rejection by mrs. bracegirdle to her love for him--an unlikely passion, it is thought, as mountford was a married man, with a good-looking wife of his own, afterwards mrs. verbruggen, and a celebrated actress. oulton house, suffolk, long known as the "haunted house," acquired its ill-omened name from a tragic occurrence traditionally said to have happened many years ago, and the peasantry in the neighbourhood affirm that at midnight a wild huntsman, with his hounds, accompanied by a lady carrying a poisoned cup, is occasionally seen. the story is that, in the reign of george ii., a squire, returning unexpectedly home from the chase, discovered his wife with an officer, one of his guests, in too familiar a friendship. high words followed, and the indignant husband, provoked by the cool manner in which the officer treated the matter, struck him, whereupon the guilty lover drew his sword and drove it through the squire's heart, the faithless wife and her paramour afterwards making their escape. some years afterwards, runs the tale, the squire's daughter, who had been left behind in the hasty departure, having grown to womanhood, was affianced to a youthful farmer of the neighbourhood. but on their bridal eve, as they were sitting together talking over the new life they were about to enter, "a carriage, black and sombre as a hearse, with closely drawn curtains, and attended by servants clad in sable liveries, drew up to the door." the young girl was seized by masked men, carried off in the carriage to her unnatural mother, while her betrothed was stabbed as he vainly endeavoured to rescue her. a grave is pointed out in the cemetery at namur, as that in which was laid the body of the unhappy girl, poisoned, it is alleged, by her unscrupulous and wicked mother. it is not surprising, we are told, that the locality was supposed to be haunted by the wretched woman--both as wife and mother equally criminal. family romance, once more, has many a dark page recording how despairing love has ended in self-destruction. at the beginning of the present century, a sad catastrophe befell the shuckburghs of shuckburgh hall. it appears the bedfordshire militia were stationed near upper shuckburgh, and the officers were in the habit of visiting the hall, whose hospitable owner, sir stewkley shuckburgh, received them with every mark of cordiality. his daughter, then about twenty years of age, was a young lady of no ordinary attractions, and her fascinations soon produced their natural effect on one of the officers, lieutenant sharp, who became deeply attached to her. but as soon as sir stewkley became aware of this love affair, he gave it his decided disapproval. lieutenant sharp was forbidden the house, and miss shuckburgh resolved to smother her love in deference to her father's wishes. it was accordingly decided between the young people that their intimacy should cease, and that the letters which had passed between them should be returned. an arrangement was, therefore, made that the lady should leave the packet for lieutenant sharp in the summer-house in the garden on a specified evening, and that on the following morning she should find the packet intended for her in the same place. the sad engagement was kept, and having left her packet in the evening, miss shuckburgh set out on the following morning to find her own. a servant, it is said, who saw her in the garden, was curious to know what could have brought her out at so early an hour. he followed her unobserved, and on drawing near to the summer-house, "he heard the voices of the lieutenant and of the lady in earnest dispute. the officer was loud and impassioned, the lady firm but unconsenting. immediately was heard the report of a pistol, and the fall of a body--another report and fall. guessing the tragic truth, the servant raised an alarm, and the two lovers were found lying dead in their own blood." it is generally supposed that this terrible act of self-destruction was the result of mutual agreement--the outcome of passion and despair. "since that hour," writes howitt, "every object, about the place which could suggest to the memory this fatal event, has been changed or removed. the summer-house has been razed to the ground; the disposition of the garden itself altered; but," he adds, "such tragic passages in human life become part and parcel of the scene where they occur--they become the topic of the winter fireside. they last while passions and affections, youth and beauty last. they fix themselves into the soil, and the very rock on which it lies, and though the house was razed from the spot, and its park and pleasaunces turned into ploughed fields, it would still be said for ages: here stood shuckburgh hall, and here fell the young and lovely miss shuckburgh by the hand of her despairing lover." and to conclude with a romance in brief, some forty or fifty years ago, in the far north of england a girl was on the eve of being married. her wedding dress was ordered, the guests were bidden. but, it is said that at the eleventh hour, in a fit of passion and paltry jealousy, she resented some fancied want of devotion in her lover. he was single-minded, loyal, and altogether of finer stuff than herself; but she was a wretched slave to such old stock phrases as delicacy, family pride, and the like, and so he was allowed to go, for she came of people who looked upon unforgiveness as a virtue. accordingly the discarded lover exchanged into a regiment under orders for afghanistan. at the time, our troops were engaged there in hot fighting. the lad fell, and hidden on his breast was found a locket which his sweetheart had once given him. it came back to her through a brother officer, who had known something of his sad story, with a stain on it--a stain of his blood. when that painful relic silently told her of the devotion which she had so unjustly and basely wronged, there came, in the familiar lines: a mist and a weeping rain, and life was never the same again. that stain marked every day of a lonely life throughout forty years or more. footnotes: [56] "vicissitudes of families," 1863, iii. ser., 202-203. index. "abbey vows," the, 56-58. abingdon, john, secret room built by, at hendlip hall, 91-93. abrams, disappearance of a jew named, 251, 252. accidents, lucky, 279-288. adolphus, gustavus, burial of, 262. ainsworth and cuckfield place, 180, 181. alexander iii., banquet of, 73-75. alfred, prince, death of, 79, 80. allan david, the painter, 279, 280. anne of austria, heart of, 262. anne of burton agnes hall, skull of, 40-43. antoinette, m., and the chevalier d'eon, 220. armscott manor, secret room at, 95, 96. arrowsmith, father, hand of, 158-160. arundell, sir john, 12, 13. aubrey's "miscellanies," 132, 133. "awd nance" of burton agnes hall, 40-43. baillie, james, 290-292. baker, sir richard, 110-112. baker, sir richard, and the murder of edward ii., 89. baliol, john, the heart of, 256. ballafletcher, estate of, 201, 202. ballyshannon, waterfall at, 272. bandini, the sisters, 137-140. bank of england, discovery in the vaults of the, 264. banquets, strange, 69-87. banshee, the, 193. barcroft hall; the idiot's curse, 9, 10. baring-gould, rev. s., story by, 156, 157. barn hall, tradition of, 165, 166. barritt, thomas, and the wardley hall skull, 39, 40. baydoyle bank's tragedy, the, 115. "bearded watt," the, 68. beauchamp, lord, ghost of, 275, 276. belgrade, bombardment of, vow made by the servians at, 68. benedick, vow of, 51. berkeley castle, walpole and, 88, 89. bernard, samuel, "address to the deil," 173. bernshaw tower, lady sybil of, 168-170. berry pomeroy castle, spectre at, 197. betsy, the doctress (russell), 222-224. bettiscombe, screaming skull at, 29-32. bisham abbey, spirit of lady russell at, 122, 123. bistmorton court, secret room at, 97. blackwell, murder at, 114, 115 blandy, miss, 296, 297. blandy, mr., of henley, poisoning of, 296, 297 blenkinsopp castle, romantic story of, 60-62. blood stains, indelible, 114-134. "bloody baker," 110-112. "bloody chamber," the, 118, 119 "bloody footstep," legend of the, 115-117. bodach glass, the, 193-195. boleyn, anne, monument to, 254, 255. bolle, sir john, story of, 215, 216. boscobel house, secret chambers at, 97. bourne, mr. john, 205, 206. bracegirdle, mrs., the actress, 301-303. bradshaigh, sir william, 246-248. bramshill, a chest at, 235. bransie castle, tradition associated with, 275, 276. brent pelham church, 166. brereton family, the, 181. bromfield, story of a dragon at, 268, 269. bromley, sir henry, 92. broughton castle, room at, 90, 91. brown, mrs., and the death of robert perceval, 151, 152. browne, sir anthony, and cowdray castle, 19-21. bruce, robert, the heart of, 257-258. brunel, the engineer, 282, 283. bryn hall, "dead hand" at, 157-160. buckland abbey, sir f. drake and, 170-173. "buckland shag," spectre of the, 124-126. bulgaden hall, tale of, 71-73. burdett, mr. sedley, 20. burke, sir bernard, and bulgaden hall, 73; and sir robert scott of thirlestane, 78; and capt. cayley, 148; and cecil, earl of exeter, 219; and draycot, 141; and gordon castle, 182; and mrs. nimmo, 292. burnaby, col. fred., incident of the carlist rising, 212, 213 burton agnes hall, "awd nance" of, 40-43. byron, lord, and skull at newstead abbey, 44, 45; club foot of, 282; and the spectre of newstead abbey, 196; the heart of, at newstead abbey, 260. calverley hall, blood stains at, 120, 121. calverley, walter, 120, 121. cambuskenneth abbey, destruction of, 15. canning, elizabeth, disappearance of, 239-241. carbery, baron, tale of, 71-73. carew, b.m., a companion of russell, 223. carlist rising in 1874, incident of the, 212, 213. caroline, queen, and the countess of deloraine, 295. carr, earl of somerset, 18, 19. castle dalhousie, death omen, 181. castle treasure, near cork, 270. castlereagh, lord, and the "radiant boy" spectre, 196. cathcart, lady, strange disappearance of, 236-238. cayley, capt. john and mrs. macfarlane, 148, 149. cecil, earl of exeter, 217-220. chancery, unclaimed funds in, 266, 267. charles i., bernini's bust of, 133, 134. charles ii., at the trent manor house, 96; at boscobel house, 97. chartley, park at, 187-189. chattan, clan of, 6-9. chettiscombe, village of, 274, 275. chiappini, l., daughter of, 136-140. chilton cantels, skull in a farmhouse in, 34. "claimant," the, 23. clayton old hall, the "bloody chamber" at, 118. clifford, lord, the "shepherd lad," 224-227. clifford, wild henry, 227. clifton, family of, death omen of, 187. closeburn castle, lake at, 183-185. "coalstoun pear," the, 199-201. coleridge, sir john, strange romance recorded by, 241-243. compacts with the devil, 162-179. condover hall, blood stain at, 118. congreve and henrietta, duchess of marlborough, 86. cook, kraster, myles phillipson and, 35-37. cooper, sir astley, 285. cope, sir john, 235. corbet, legend of the house of, 75, 76. corby castle, "radiant boy" spectre of, 196. cornish belief _re_ st. denis' blood, 127. corstophine, castle of, tragedy at, 290-293. cortachy castle, 189, 190. cothele, blood stains at, 119. "couleur isabelle" dresses, origin of, 46, 47. cowdenknowes, curse of the house of, 25. cowdray castle, 19, 20. cows at chartley park, 187-189 cranbrook, sir r. baker at, 110-112. cranstoun, capt., 296, 297. crawford, earl of, 99. "crawls," the, estate named, 22. creslow manor house, mysterious room at, 105, 106. crichton chancellor, banquet given by, 80, 81. cuckfield place, 180, 181. cullen, viscount, marriage feast of, 69-71. cunliffes, the, of billington, 105 curious secrets, 135-153. curses: m'alister family, 2-5; the curse of moy, 6-9; idiot's curse, 9, 10; quaker's curse, 10-12; a shepherd's curse on sir j. arundell, 12, 13; curse on the family of mar, 14-17; on sherborne castle, 17-19; on cowdray castle, 19, 20; the curse of furvie, 23; of ettrick hall, 24, 25; on the earl of home, 25; of edmund, king of the east angles, 26; on capt. molloy, 26, 27; the midwife's curse, 27, 28. dalrymple, janet, 52-56. dalzell, gen., 85, 86. danby hall, secret room at, 98. danesfield, withered hand at, 161. darrells, the, of littlecote house, 106-108. dauntesey, eustace, story of, 173-176. dead hand, the, 154-161. death omens, 180-191. deloraine, countess of, 295. d'eon, chevalier, in woman's attire, 220-222. derwentwater, lord, execution of, 130, 131. despencer, lord le, 259, 260. devil compacts, 162-179. "devil upon dun" public house, story of the, 163, 164. "dickie," skull called, at tunstead, 33, 34. dickens, chas., original of miss havisham, 50, 51. dilston groves, ghost of the, 131 disappearances, extraordinary, 229-252. disguise, romance of, 208-228. dobells, seat of the, 97. doggett, wm., suicide of, 121. don carlos, col. fred. burnaby and, 212, 213. doughty, sir edward, 23; vow made by, 64. douglas, sir james, and the heart of robert bruce, 257, 258. douglas, earl of, at sir a. livingstone's banquet, 80, 81. downes, roger, of wardley hall, 37-40. dragon at bromfield, story of, 268, 269. drake, sir francis, befriended by the devil, 170-173. draycot, walter long of, 141-144. drinking glass in possession of sir george musgrave, 202, 203. drummer, mysterious, at cortachy castle, 189, 190. duckett, justice, 11-12. dunbar, david, and jane dalrymple, 53-56. dundas, laird named, lord hopetoun and, 84, 85. eagle's crag, lady sybil and the, 168-170. "earl beardie," 99. eastbury house, blood stains at, 121. easterton ghost, the, 123, 124. east lavington, mysterious crime at, 123, 124. eccentric vows, 46-68. eden hall, tradition relating to, 202, 203. edgewell oak, tradition, 181. edgeworth, col., 67. edinburgh, mysterious crime at; sir walter scott and, 108-110. edmund, king of the east angles, 25, 26. edward, lord bruce, heart of, 254 edward, lord windsor, the body of, 259. edward the confessor and earl godwin, 79, 80. edward i., the heart of, 256, 257. edward ii., the murder of, 88, 89. eleanor, duchess of buckingham, 255. ellesmere, countess of, and the wardley hall skull, 40. elizabeth, queen, and sir henry lee, 47, 48. erskine, mr. thomas, 287. erskine of mar, the, 16. ettrick hall, curse of, 24, 25. evans, right hon. george, tale of, 71-73. evelyn's "diary," and ham house, weybridge, 95. exeter, coins found in, 268. extraordinary disappearances, 229-252. family death omens, 180-198. fanshaw, lady, strange spectre of, 192. fardell, stone at, 271. fatal curses, 1-28. fatal passion, 289-307. ferguson, agnes, disappearance of, 235, 236. "field of forty footsteps," tale of the, 128, 129. fielding, beau, and robert perceval, 150, 151. flamsteed, the astronomer, 281. foote, accident to, 283. forrester, first lord, 290, 291. foulis, mr. robert, 280. fox, george, at armscott manor, 96. freke, sir ralph, daughter of, 71-73. furness abbey, romance of, 56-58. furvie, curse of, 23. galeazzo of mantua, ball given by, 49. garnet, father, 91, 93. garnett, dr. richard, and skull at bottiscombe, 30-32. garrick, david, and agnes ferguson, 235, 236. garswood, "dead hand" at, 160. gascoyne, sir crisp, 240. gladstone, mr., address on wedgwood's life, 281. glamis castle, tradition relating to, 98-103. goblet in possession of colonel wilks, 201, 202. godwin, earl, edward the confessor and, 79, 80. goldbridge, 26. goodere, sir john, murder of, 82, 83. gordon, mr., of ardoch castle, daughters of, 285-288. gordon castle, tree at, 182. grayrigg hall, 11, 12. grey, dr. z., and bust of charles i., 133, 134. guisboro' priory, the monks of, 274. gunpowder conspirators, the, at hendlip hall, 92, 93. gunwalloe parish church, tradition relating to, 64, 65. haddon hall, "dorothy vernon's door" at, 213-215. haigh hall, romance associated with, 246-248. hale, sir matthew, in disguise, 227, 228. ham house, weybridge, secret rooms at, 95. hand, the dead, 154-161. hannen, sir james, and the case of de niceville, 265 hapton tower, 168, 169. harper, story of an old irish, 271, 272. harpham hall, 41, 42. harrington, sir john, 18. hastings priory, skulls from, 32. havisham, miss, the original of, 50, 51. hawthorne, nathaniel, and the legend of "the bloody footsteps," 115, 116. heart burial on the continent, 260. hearts, honoured, 253-262. helston, mother, a lancashire witch, 169. hendlip hall, secret room at, 91-93. herbert, sir richard, at the battle of edgcot field, 5, 6. hermitage castle, story of, 166; treasures hidden in, 270, 271, 276. hidden money and treasure, traditions _re_, 268-278. hill, captain r., 301-303. hoby, sir thomas, 123. holland house, room at, 120. holyrood palace, blood stains on floor of, 117. home of cowdenknowes, family of, 25. honoured hearts, 253-262. hopetoun, earl, and laird named dundas, 84, 85. horndon-on-the-hill church, 254, 255. howe, mr., strange disappearance of, 244-246. howe, lord, and "john taylor," 211. howgill, francis, a noted quaker, 10-12. hoxne, tradition at, 26. hulme hall, legend connected with, 269, 270. hume's "history of the house of douglas," 81. hungerford, vault of the, 256. idiot's curse, the, 9, 10. indelible blood stains, 114-134. indre, m'alister, curse of, 2-5. ingatestone hall, strange room at, 94. "ingoldsby legends," dead hand mentioned in, 160, 161. iron chest in ireland, story of an, 205, 206. isabella, countess of northampton, 256. isabella eugenia, of the netherlands, 46, 47. isabella, queen, 49. ithon, john de, story of, 178, 179. james ii., the heart of, 259. jerratt, lady, ghost story of, 119, 120. joan, queen of naples, 49. johnson, dr., conversations with a man in woman's attire, 224. joinville, count louis, 138-140. jones, molly, sir wm. kyte and, 298-300. "katie neevie's hoard," 271. kellie, the two countesses of, 285-288. kempenfeldt, admiral, 182. kersal hall, romantic story of, 173-176. kilburn priory, legend connected with, 126, 127. kirdford, piece of ground at, 128. kirkpatrick of closeburn, family of, 183-185. knevett, lord, murder of, 118. konigsmark, count, 300. kyte, sir wm., and molly jones, 298-300. lally, john, a piper, 77, 78. lecky, mr., and devil compacts in the fourteenth century, 163. lee, sir henry, queen elizabeth and, 47, 48. leech, john, strange story of, 175, 176. lefanu, mrs., story of "the banshee," 193. legend of the robber's grave, 129, 130. leigh, lord, charge of murder against, 152, 153. lincoln cathedral, blood stains at, 118, 119. lincolnshire, strange disappearance at a marriage in 1750, 230. lindsays, the, 101. littlecote house, mysterious crime at, 106-108. livingstone, sir a., banquet given by, 80, 81. long, walter, of draycot, 141-144. long, sir walter, story of his widow, 206, 207. louis xiv., burial of heart of, 261. lovat, lord, story of, 206. lovel, lord, disappearance of his bride, 234. lovell, lord, the mysterious death of, 89, 90. "luck of muncaster," the, 203-205. lucky accidents, 279-288. lynton castle, tradition relating to, 62-64. mab's cross, near wigan, 248. m'alister family, curse of the, 2-5. mcclean, family of, 195. macfarlane, mrs., secret relating to, 146-149. mackenzie, maria, 295. macleod, dr. norman, anecdote told by, 66, 67. magdalene college, oxford, cup found at, 274. maguire, col., and lady cathcart, 236-238. malsanger, house at, 234, 235. manners, john, and dorothy vernon of haddon hall, 214, 215. manor house at darlington, 119. mansfield, lord chief justice, and the chevalier d'eon, 221. mar, the earl of, 14-17. market parsonage, mysterious crime at, 123, 124. marlborough, duchess of, and congreve, 86. marsh, george, the martyr, 116. marwell old hall, traditions _re_, 234. mary queen of scots at chartley park, 189. matthews, c.j., the actor, 284. mazarin, cardinal, heart of, 262. medicis, marie de, heart of, 261. medicis, queen catherine de, story of, 177, 178. merton college, oxford, pictures discovered at, 273. mertoun, stephen de, murder committed by, 126, 127. middleton family in yorkshire, 197. midwife's curse, the, 27, 28. millbanke, miss, lord byron and, 196, 197. mills, anne, the female sailor, 209. misers' hoards, 272, 273. missing wills, 267. "mistletoe bough," the (song), 234. modena, the duke of, 85, 86. mohun, lord, 301, 302. "moiva borb" (song), 272. molloy, captain, of h.m.s. "cã¦sar," 26, 27. montagues, the, and sherborne castle, 18; and cowdray castle, 19. montgomery church walls, tale of, 129, 130. morley, sir oswald, 269. mountford, wm., murder of, 301-303. moy, the curse of, 6-9. muncaster castle, room at, 203-205. musgrave, sir george, 202, 203. mysterious rooms, 88-113. newborough, lady, romantic story relating to, 136-140. netherall, secret room at, 98. newstead abbey, skull at, 44, 45; spectre of, 196; lord byron's heart at, 260. niceville a.a. de, 265, 266. nimmo, mrs., 290-293. northam tower, spectre at, 119. northumberland, duke of, the eleventh daughter of the, 300, 301. nugent, lord, "memorials of hampden," 90, 91. ogilvies, the, 101. omens, family death, 180-198. ormesby, treasure found at the vicarage house of, 274. osbaldeston hall, tradition relating to, 83, 84. oulton house, tragedy at, 303. overbury, sir thomas, murder of, 19. owls, the family of arundel of wardour and, 185. oxenham family, death warning of the, 185-187. page, murderer of a jew named abrams, 251, 252. parã©, ambrose, the surgeon, 285. parma, duke of, and baron ward, 284. passion, fatal, 289-307. payne, col. stephen, curse on, 27, 28. pear, the coalstoun, 199-201. pembroke, earl of, at the battle of edgcot fields, 5, 6. pennington, sir john, 204. perceval, robert, strange death of, 150-152. phillipson, myles, 35-37. pitt, wm., accident to, 283. plaish hall, legendary tale connected with, 132. poe, edgar a., "masque of the red death," 73-75. political vows, 68. pope's satire, 282. possessions, weird, 199-207. poyntz, mr. stephen, 21. prestwich, sir thomas, 269, 270. price, mr., 295. prophecy relating to cowdray castle, 19, 20. pudsey, bishop, 119. quaker's curse, the, 10-12. radcliffe, tragedy at, 293, 294. radclyffe, sir wm. de, 293, 294. "radiant boy" of corby castle, 196. raffles, dr., amusing story in the life of, 233, 234. raleigh, sir walter, and sherborne castle, 18, 19; seat at fardell, 271. rawlinson, dr. r., the heart of, 259. richard i., the heart of, 258. rizzio, murder of, 117. robinson, nicholas, disappearance of, 241-243. roby's "traditions of lancashire:" the "dead hand" at bryn hall, 157, 158; and the "luck of muncaster," 204, 205. roderham, robert de, story of, 178, 179. romance of wealth, 263-278. "rookwood hall," ainsworth's, 180, 181. rooms, mysterious, 88-113. roslin, the lords of, traditions regarding, 190, 191. _royal george_, sinking of the, 182. rushen castle, secret room at, 103-105. rushton, the duke's room at, 70. russell, of streatham, in women's attire, 222-224. russell, lady, of bisham abbey, 122, 123. rutherford, lord, and janet dalrymple, 52-56. st. antony, church of, in cornwall, tradition relating to, 64. st. denis' blood, belief relating to, 127. st. foix, account of ceremonial after the death of a king of france, 86, 87. st. louis, queen of, vow by the, 65. st. michael's mount, sir j. arundell and, 13. samlesbury hall, vow relating to, 58-60. scarborough, second earl of, death of, 144-146. scotland, legends _re_ hidden treasures in, 270, 271, 276. scott, sir robert, of thirlestane, second wife of, 77, 78. scott, sir walter, vow by an ancestor of, accident to, 68, 280; and the mysterious crime at littlecote house, 108; at edinburgh, 108-110; and the murder of rizzio, 117; and the clan of tweedie, 249. scott, sir walter, "antiquary," 155. scott, sir walter, "peveril of the peak," 149, 195. scott, sir walter, "tales of a grandfather," 117. scott, sir walter, "the betrothed," 248. scott, sir walter, "the bride of lammermoor," 55, 56. scott, sir walter, and "the curse of moy," 6-9. scott, sir walter, "waverley," the bodach glass in, 193-195. "scottish hogarth," the, 279, 280. screaming skulls, 29-45. secrets, curious, 135-153. sedgley, vow made by a parishioner of, 66, 67. servian patriots, the, 68. sharp, lieut., 304-306. shelley, the poet, heart of, 260, 261. "shepherd lad," lord clifford as the, 224-227. sherborne castle, curse of, 17-19. sheriff-muir, battle of, 5, 15. shonkes, piers, tomb of, 166. shropshire, buried well in, 276. shuckburgh hall, tragedy at, 304-306. sikes, wirt, anecdote of a skull, 43, 44. simpson, christopher, murder of, 115. skull, the screaming, 29-45. skull house, near turton tower, bolton, 34, 35. smithell's hall, 115, 116. soulis, lord, compact with the devil, 166-168. southey, anecdote recorded by, 96. southey and "the brothers' steps," 128, 129. southey's "thalaba, the destroyer," 154, 155. southworth, sir john, daughter of, 58-60. spectre, lady fanshaw's strange, 192. spectre of the "buckland shag," 124-126. stair, lord, daughter of the first, 52-56. stamer, col., daughter of, 71-73 stoke d'abernon, monument in the church of, 56. stokesay castle, treasure at, 277. stoneleigh abbey, 152, 153. strathmore, lord, of glamis castle, 98-103. street place, old house called, 97. swans of closeburn, the, 184, 185. "sweet heart abbey," 256. swinton, sir john, 146-149. sybil, lady, and the eagle's crag, 168-170. talbot, mary anne as "john taylor," sailor, 209-212. talleyrand, accident to, 280. "taylor, john," _alias_ mary anne talbot, 209-212. thirlestone, lady, 77-78. thomas the rhymer, 75. thorpe hall, the "green lady" of, 215, 216. thrale, mr., of streatham park, 223, 224. thynne, sir egremont, 141-144. thynne of longleat, murder of, 300. tichborne, sir henry, 21. tichborne, lady mabelle, 21-23. tichborne trial, the great, 21-23, 64. "tiger earl," the, 99. timberbottom, skull at farmhouse called, 34, 35. towneley, charles, 10. treasures concealed in the earth, 267, 268. tremeirchon church, 165. trentham, elizabeth, viscount cullen and, 69-71. trent, manor house at, strange chamber in, 96, 97. tufnell park, find of gold at, 278. tunstead, skull at, 33, 34. tweedie, the clan of, 249, 250. vardon, douce, a midwife, 28. vavasour, mrs. a., and sir henry lee, 48. venice, statue at, 65, 66. vernons of hanbury, cecil, earl of exeter, and one of the, 217-220. vienna, the church of st. charles, 65. vincent, family of, at stoke d'abernon, 56. voltaire, vow in one of his romances, 51, 52. vows, eccentric, 46-68. wakefield mills, the, 130. walpole and berkeley castle, 88, 89. ward, baron, 284. wardley hall, skull at, 37-40. wealth, romance of, 263-278. wedgwood, josiah, 280, 281. weird possessions, 199-207. wellington, duke of, strange belief on the occasion of his funeral, 198. wells, "mother," 240, 241. wesley, john, and the game of whist, 67, 68. westminster abbey, hearts of illustrious personages at, 253. whitehead, paul, the heart of, 259, 260. widow's curse, the, 2-5. wilkinson, tate, 67, 68. wilks, col., heirloom in possession of, 201, 202. wills, missing, 267. witches' horseblock, the, 168-170. wordsworth's "song at the feast of brougham castle," 225-227. wye coller hall, room at, 105. * * * * * typos corrected in text: page 53: 'jane' corrected to 'janet'. page 143: 'suddedly' corrected to 'suddenly'. page 190: 'fulful' corrected to 'fulfil'. page 219: 'accompany-' corrected to 'accompanying'. page 269: 'various others localities' corrected to 'various other localities'. page 279: 'playes' corrected to 'players'. page 281: 'de sphoera' corrected to 'de sphã¦ra' [on the basis of information found here: www.hps.cam.ac.uk/starry/sacrobosco.html]. page 294: 'call' corrected to 'called'. * * * * * gutenberg. omens and superstitions of southern india by edgar thurston, c.i.e. sometime superintendent of the madras government museum and of the ethnographic survey of the madras presidency t. fisher unwin london: adelphi terrace leipsic: inselstrasse 20 1912 preface this book deals mainly with some aspects of what may be termed the psychical life of the inhabitants of the madras presidency, and the native states of travancore and cochin. in my "ethnographic notes in southern india" (1906), i stated that the confused chapter devoted to omens, animal superstitions, evil eye, charms, sorcery, etc., was a mere outline sketch of a group of subjects, which, if worked up, would furnish material for a volume. this chapter has now been remodelled, and supplemented by notes collected since its publication, and information which lies buried in the seven bulky volumes of my encyclopædic "castes and tribes of southern india" (1909). the area dealt with (roughly, 182,000 square miles, with a population of 47,800,000) is so vast that i have had perforce to supplement the personal knowledge acquired in the course of wandering expeditions in various parts of southern india, and in other ways, by recourse to the considerable mass of information, which is hidden away in official reports, gazetteers, journals of societies, books, etc. to the many friends and correspondents, european and indian, who have helped me in the accumulation of facts, and those whose writings i have made liberal use of, i would once more express collectively, and with all sincerity, my great sense of indebtedness. my thanks are due to mr l. k. anantha krishna iyer for supplying me with the illustrations of malabar yantrams. contents   page i. omens 13 ii. animal superstitions 73 iii. the evil eye 109 iv. snake worship 121 v. vows, votive and other offerings 137 vi. charms 180 vii. human sacrifice 199 viii. magic and human life 224 ix. magic and magicians 237 x. divination and fortune-telling 273 xi. some agricultural ceremonies 289 xii. rain-making ceremonies 305 index 312 list of illustrations malayan exorcist with fowl in mouth (see p. 246) frontispiece   page sacred vultures, tirukazhukunram 86 evil eye figures, malabar 112 evil eye figures set up in fields 114 impressions of hand on wall of house 119 praying for offspring before lingam, snake-stones, and figure of ganesa 124 pulluvan with pot-drum 129 vettuvans wearing leafy garments 152 silver votive offerings 160 clay and metal offerings, south canara 162 subramaniya yantram 185 hanuman yantram 186 meriah sacrifice post 202 jumadi bhutha, south canara 237 figure washed ashore at calicut 249 korava woman telling fortune 283 omens and superstitions of southern india i omens in seeking for omens, natives consult the so-called science of omens or science of the five birds, and are guided by them. selected omens are always included in native calendars or panchangams. to the quivering and throbbing of various parts of the body as omens, repeated reference is made in the hindu classics. thus, in kalidasa's sakuntala, king dushyanta says: "this hermitage is tranquil, and yet my arm throbs. whence can there be any result from this in such a place? but yet the gates of destiny are everywhere." again, sakuntala says: "alas! why does my right eye throb?" to which gautami replies: "child, the evil be averted. may the tutelary deities of your husband's family confer happy prospects!" in the raghuvamsa, the statement occurs that "the son of paulastya, being greatly incensed, drove an arrow deep into his right arm, which was throbbing, and which, therefore, prognosticated his union with sita." a quivering sensation in the right arm is supposed to indicate marriage with a beautiful woman; in the right eye some good luck. during a marriage among the telugu tottiyans, who have settled in the tamil country, a red ram without blemish is sacrificed. it is first sprinkled with water, and, if it shivers, this is considered a good omen. it is recorded, [1] in connection with the legends of the badagas of the nilgiris, that "in the heart of the banagudi shola (grove), not far from the dodduru group of cromlechs, is an odd little shrine to karairaya, within which are a tiny cromlech, some sacred water-worn stones, and sundry little pottery images representing a tiger, a mounted man, and some dogs. these keep in memory, it is said, a badaga who was slain in combat with a tiger; and annually a festival is held, at which new images are placed there, and vows are paid. a kurumba (jungle tribe) makes fire by friction, and burns incense, throws sanctified water over the numerous goats brought to be sacrificed, to see if they will shiver in the manner always held necessary in sacrificed victims, and then slays, one after the other, those which have shown themselves duly qualified." in many villages, during the festival to the village deity, water is poured over a sheep's back, and it is accepted as a good sign if it shivers. "when the people are economical, they keep on pouring water till it does shiver, to avoid the expense of providing a second victim for sacrifice. but, where they are more scrupulous, if it does not shiver, it is taken as a sign that the goddess will not accept it, and it is taken away." [2] before the thieving koravas set out on a predatory expedition, a goat is decorated, and taken to a shrine. it is then placed before the idol, which is asked whether the expedition will be successful. if the body of the animal quivers, it is regarded as an answer in the affirmative; if it does not, the expedition is abandoned. if, in addition to quivering, the animal urinates, no better sign could be looked for. thieves though they are, the koravas make it a point of honour to pay for the goat used in the ceremony. it is said that, in seeking omens from the quivering of an animal, a very liberal interpretation is put on the slightest movement. it is recorded by bishop whitehead [3] that, when an animal has been sacrificed to the goddess nukalamma at coconada, its head is put before the shrine, and water poured on it. if the mouth opens, it is accepted as a sign that the sacrifice is accepted. at the death ceremonies of the idaiyans of coimbatore, a cock is tied to a sacrificial post, to which rice is offered. one end of a thread is tied to the post, and the other end to a new cloth. the thread is watched till it shakes, and then broken. the cock is then killed. of omens, both good and bad, in malabar, the following comprehensive list is given by mr logan [4]:- "good.--crows, pigeons, etc., and beasts as deer, etc., moving from left to right, and dogs and jackals moving inversely, and other beasts found similarly and singly; wild crow, ruddy goose, mungoose, goat, and peacock seen singly or in couples either at the right or left. a rainbow seen on the right and left, or behind, prognosticates good, but the reverse if seen in front. buttermilk, raw rice, puttalpira (trichosanthes anguina, snake-gourd), priyangu flower, honey, ghi (clarified butter); red cotton juice, antimony sulphurate, metal mug, bell ringing, lamp, lotus, karuka grass, raw fish, flesh, flour, ripe fruits, sweetmeats, gems, sandalwood, elephants, pots filled with water, a virgin, a couple of brahmans, rajas, respectable men, white flower, white yak tail, [5] white cloth, and white horse. chank shell (turbinella rapa), flagstaff, turban, triumphal arch, fruitful soil, burning fire, elegant eatables or drinkables, carts with men in, cows with their young, mares, bulls or cows with ropes tied to their necks, palanquin, swans, peacock and crane warbling sweetly. bracelets, looking-glass, mustard, bezoar, any substance of white colour, the bellowing of oxen, auspicious words, harmonious human voice, such sounds made by birds or beasts, the uplifting of umbrellas, hailing exclamations, sound of harp, flute, timbrel, tabor, and other instruments of music, sounds of hymns of consecration and vedic recitations, gentle breeze all round at the time of a journey. "bad.--men deprived of their limbs, lame or blind, a corpse or wearer of a cloth put on a corpse, coir (cocoanut fibre), broken vessels, hearing of words expressive of breaking, burning, destroying, etc.; the alarming cry of alas! alas! loud screams, cursing, trembling, sneezing, the sight of a man in sorrow, one with a stick, a barber, a widow, pepper, and other pungent substances. a snake, cat, iguana (varanus), blood-sucker (lizard), or monkey passing across the road, vociferous beasts such as jackals, dogs, and kites, loud crying from the east, buffalo, donkey, or temple bull, black grains, salt, liquor, hide, grass, dirt, faggots, iron, flowers used for funeral ceremonies, a eunuch, ruffian, outcaste, vomit, excrement, stench, any horrible figure, bamboo, cotton, lead, cot, stool or other vehicle carried with legs upward, dishes, cups, etc., with mouth downwards, vessels filled with live coals, which are broken and not burning, broomstick, ashes, winnow, hatchet." in the category of good omens among the nayars of travancore, are placed the elephant, a pot full of water, sweetmeats, fruit, fish, and flesh, images of gods, kings, a cow with its calf, married women, tied bullocks, gold lamps, ghi, and milk. in the list of bad omens come a donkey, broom, buffalo, untied bullock, barber, widow, patient, cat, washerman. the worst of all omens is to allow a cat to cross one's path. an odd number of nayars, and an even number of brahmans, are good omens, the reverse being particularly bad. on the vinayakachaturthi day in the month of avani, no man is allowed to look at the rising moon, on penalty of incurring unmerited obloquy. by the pulayas of travancore, it is considered lucky to see another pulaya, a native christian, an izhuva with a vessel in the hand, a cow behind, or a boat containing sacks of rice. on the other hand, it is regarded as a very bad omen to be crossed by a cat, to see a fight between animals, a person with a bundle of clothes, or to meet people carrying steel instruments. it is a good omen for the day if, when he gets up in the morning, a man sees any of the following:--his wife's face, the lines on the palm of his right hand, his face in a mirror, the face of a rich man, the tail of a black cow, the face of a black monkey, or his rice fields. there is a legend that sita used to rise early, and present herself, bathed and well dressed, before her lord rama, so that he might gaze on her face, and be lucky during the day. this custom is carried out by all good housewives in hindu families. a fair skinned paraiyan, or a dark skinned brahman, should not, in accordance with a proverb, be seen the first thing in the morning. hindus are very particular about catching sight of some auspicious object on the morning of new year's day, as the effects of omens seen on that occasion are believed to last throughout the year. of the vishu festival, held in celebration of the new year in malabar, the following account is given by mr gopal panikkar. [6] "being the commencement of a new year, native superstition surrounds it with a peculiarly solemn importance. it is believed that a man's whole prosperity in life depends upon the nature, auspicious or otherwise, of the first things that he happens to fix his eyes upon on this particular morning. according to nair, and even general hindu mythology, there are certain objects which possess an inherent inauspicious character. for instance, ashes, firewood, oil, and a lot of similar objects, are inauspicious ones, which will render him who chances to notice them first fare badly in life for the whole year, and their obnoxious effects will be removed only on his seeing holy things, such as reigning princes, oxen, cows, gold, and such like, on the morning of the next new year. the effects of the sight of these various materials are said to apply even to the attainment of objects by a man starting on a special errand, who happens for the first time to look at them after starting. however, with this view, almost every family religiously takes care to prepare the most sightworthy objects on the new year morning. therefore, on the previous night, they prepare what is known as a kani. a small circular bell-metal vessel is taken, and some holy objects are arranged inside it. a grandha or old book made of palmyra leaves, a gold ornament, a new-washed cloth, some 'unprofitably gay' flowers of the konna tree (cassia fistula), a measure of rice, a so-called looking-glass made of bell-metal, and a few other things, are all tastefully arranged in the vessel, and placed in a prominent room inside the house. on either side of this vessel, two brass or bell-metal lamps, filled with cocoanut oil clear as diamond sparks, are kept burning, and a small plank of wood, or some other seat, is placed in front of it. at about five o'clock in the morning of the day, some one who has got up first wakes the inmates, both male and female, of the house, and takes them blindfolded, so that they may not gaze at anything else, to the seat near the kani. the members are seated, one after another, in the seat, and are then, and not till then, asked to open their eyes, and carefully look at the kani. then each is made to look at some venerable member of the house, or sometimes a stranger even. this over, the little playful urchins of the house fire small crackers which they have bought for the occasion. the kani is then taken round the place from house to house, for the benefit of the poor families, which cannot afford to prepare such a costly adornment." i gather further, in connection with the vishu festival, that it is the duty of every devout hindu to see the village deity the first of all things in the morning. for this purpose, many sleep within the temple precincts, and those who sleep in their own houses are escorted thither by those who have been the first to make their obeisance. many go to see the image with their eyes shut, and sometimes bound with a cloth. [7] if a person places the head towards the east when sleeping, he will obtain wealth and health; if towards the south, a lengthening of life; if towards the west, fame; if towards the north, sickness. the last position, therefore, should be avoided. [8] in the telugu country, when a child is roused from sleep by a thunderclap, the mother, pressing it to her breast, murmurs, "arjuna sahadeva." the invocation implies the idea that thunder is caused by the mahabharata heroes, arjuna and sahadeva. [9] to dream of a temple car in motion, foretells the death of a near relative. night, but not day dreams, are considered as omens for good or evil. among those which are auspicious, may be mentioned riding on a cow, bull, or elephant, entering a temple or palace, a golden horse, climbing a mountain or tree, drinking liquor, eating flesh, curds and rice, wearing white cloths, or jewelry set with precious stones, being dressed in white cloths, and embracing a woman, whose body is smeared with sandal paste. a person will be cured of sickness if he dreams of braahmans, kings, flowers, jewels, women, or a looking-glass. wealth is ensured by a dream that one is bitten in the shade by a snake, or stung by a scorpion. one who dreams that he has been bitten by a snake is considered to be proof against snake-bite; and if he dreams of a cobra, his wife or some near relative is believed to have conceived. hindu wives believe that to tell their husband's name, or pronounce it even in a dream, would bring him to an untimely end. if a person has an auspicious dream, he should get up and not go to sleep again. but, if the dream is of evil omen, he should pray that he may be spared from its ill effects, and may go to sleep again. the arrival of a guest is foreshadowed by the hissing noise of the oven, the slipping of a winnow during winnowing, or of a measure when measuring rice. if one dines with a friend or relation on monday, wednesday, friday, or saturday, it is well; if on a tuesday, ill-feeling will ensue; if on a thursday, endless enmity; if on a sunday, hatred. while eating, one should face east, west, south, or north, according as one wishes for long life, fame, to become vainglorious, or for justice or truth. evil is foreshadowed if a light goes out during meals, or while some auspicious thing, such, for example, as a marriage, is being discussed. a feast given to the jungle paliyans by some missionaries was marred at the outset by the unfortunate circumstance that betel and tobacco were placed by the side of the food, these articles being of evil omen as they are placed in the grave with the dead. chewing a single areca nut, along with betel leaf secures vigour, two nuts are inauspicious, three are excellent, and more bring indifferent luck. the basal portion of the betel leaf must be rejected, as it produces disease; the apical part, as it induces sin; and the midrib and veins, as they destroy the intellect. a leaf on which chunam (lime) has been kept, should be avoided, as it may shorten life. before the koyis shift their quarters, they consult the omens, to see whether the change will be auspicious or not. sometimes the hatching of a clutch of eggs provides the answer, or four grains of four kinds of seed, representing the prosperity of men, cattle, sheep, and land, are put on a heap of ashes under a man's bed. any movement among them during the night is a bad omen. [10] when a kondh starts on a shooting expedition, if he first meets an adult female, married or unmarried, he will return home, and ask a child to tell the females to keep out of the way. he will then make a fresh start, and, if he meets a female, will wave his hand to her as a sign that she must keep clear of him. the kondh believes that, if he sees a female, he will not come across animals in the jungle to shoot. if a woman is in her menses, her husband, brothers, and sons living under the same roof, will not go out shooting for the same reason. it is noted by mr f. fawcett [11] that it is considered unlucky by the koravas, when starting on a dacoity or housebreaking, "to see widows, pots of milk, dogs urinating, a man leading a bull, or a bull bellowing. on the other hand, it is downright lucky when a bull bellows at the scene of the criminal operation. to see a man goading a bull is a good omen when starting, and a bad one at the scene. the eighteenth day of the tamil month, avani, is the luckiest day of all for committing crimes. a successful criminal exploit on this day ensures good luck throughout the year. sundays, which are auspicious for weddings, are inauspicious for crimes. mondays, wednesdays, and saturdays are unlucky until noon for starting out from home. so, too, is the day after new moon." fridays are unsuitable for breaking into the houses of brahmans or komatis, as they may be engaged in worshipping ankalamma, to whom the day is sacred. some boyas in the bellary district enjoy inam (rent free) lands, in return for propitiating the village goddesses by a rite called bhuta bali, which is intended to secure the prosperity of the village. the boya priest gets himself shaved at about midnight, sacrifices a sheep or buffalo, mixes its blood with rice, and distributes the rice thus prepared in small balls throughout the village. when he starts on this business, all the villagers bolt their doors, as it is not considered auspicious to see him then. when a student starts for the examination hall, he will, if he sees a widow or a brahman, retrace his steps, and start again after the lapse of a few minutes. meeting two brahmans would indicate good luck, and he would proceed on his way full of hope. if, when a person is leaving his house, the head or feet strike accidentally against the threshold, he should not go out, as it forebodes some impending mischief. sometimes, when a person returns home from a distance, especially at night, he is kept standing at the door, and, after he has washed his hands and feet, an elderly female or servant of the house brings a shallow plate full of water mixed with lime juice and chunam (lime), with some chillies and pieces of charcoal floating on it. the plate is carried three times round the person, and the contents are then thrown into the street without being seen by the man. he then enters the house. if a person knocks at the door of a house in the night once, twice, or thrice, it will not be opened. if the knock is repeated a fourth time, the door will be opened without fear, for the evil spirit is said to knock only thrice. a tickling sensation in the sole of the right foot foretells that the person has to go on a journey. the omens are favourable if any of the following are met with by one who is starting on a journey, or special errand:- married woman. virgin. prostitute. two brahmans. playing of music. one carrying musical instruments. money. fruit or flowers. a light, or clear blazing fire. umbrella. cooked food. milk or curds. cow. deer. corpse. two fishes. recital of vedas. sound of drum or horn. spirituous liquor. bullock. mutton. precious stones. one bearing a silver armlet. sandalwood. rice. elephant. horse. pot full of water. married woman carrying a water-pot from a tank. pot of toddy. black monkey. dog. royal eagle. parrot. honey. hearing kind words. a gazula balija with his pile of bangles on his back. if, on similar occasions, a person comes across any of the following, the omens are unfavourable:- widow. lightning. fuel. smoky fire. hare. crow flying from right to left. snake. new pot. blind man. lame man. sick man. salt. tiger. pot of oil. leather. dog barking on a housetop. bundle of sticks. buttermilk. empty vessel. a quarrel. man with dishevelled hair. oilman. leper. mendicant. sometimes people leave their house, and sleep elsewhere on the night preceding an inauspicious day, on which a journey is to be made. unlucky days for starting on a journey are vara-sulai, or days on which siva's trident (sula) is kept on the ground. the direction in which it lies, varies according to the day of the week. for example, sunday before noon is a bad time to start towards the west, as the trident is turned that way. it is said to be unlucky to go westward on friday or sunday, eastward on monday or saturday, north on tuesday or wednesday, south on thursday. a journey begun on tuesday is liable to result in loss by thieves or fire at home. loss, too, is likely to follow a journey begun on saturday, and sickness a start on sunday. wednesday and friday are both propitious days, and a journey begun on either with a view to business will be lucrative. the worst days for travelling are tuesday, saturday, and sunday. [12] on more than one occasion, a subordinate in my office overstayed his leave on the ground that his guru (spiritual preceptor) told him that the day on which he should have returned was an unlucky one for a journey. if a traveller sees a hare on his way, he may be sure that he will not succeed in the object of his journey. if, however, the hare touches him, and he does not at once turn back and go home, he is certain to meet with a great misfortune. there is an authority for this superstition in the ramayana. after rama had recovered sita and returned to ayodha, he was informed that, whilst a washerman and his wife were quarrelling, the former had exclaimed that he was not such a fool as the king had been to take back his wife after she had been carried away by a stranger. rama thought this over, and resolved to send his wife into the forest. his brother, lutchmana, was to drive her there, and then to leave her alone. on their way they met a hare, and sita, who was ignorant of the purpose of the journey, begged lutchmana to return, as the omen was a bad one. [13] if a dog scratches its body, a traveller will fall ill; if it lies down and wags its tail, some disaster will follow. to one proceeding on a journey, a dog crossing the path from right to left is auspicious. but, if it gets on his person or his feet, shaking its ears, the journey will be unlucky. a person should postpone an errand on which he is starting, if he sees a cobra or rat-snake. in a recent judicial case, a witness gave evidence to the effect that he was starting on a journey, and when he had proceeded a short way, a snake crossed the road. this being an evil omen, he went back and put off his journey till the following day. on his way he passed through a village in which some men had been arrested for murder, and found that one of two men, whom he had promised to accompany and had gone on without him, had been murdered. sneezing once is a good sign; twice, a bad sign. when a child sneezes, those near it usually say "dirgayus" (long life), or "sathayus" (a hundred years). the rishi or sage markandeya, who was remarkable for his austerities and great age, is also known as dirgayus. adults who sneeze pronounce the name of some god, the common expression being "srimadrangam." when a badaga baby is born, it is a good omen if the father sneezes before the umbilical cord has been cut, and an evil one if he sneezes after its severance. in the teluga country it is believed that a child who sneezes on a winnowing fan, or on the door-frame, will meet with misfortune unless balls of boiled rice are thrown over it; and a man who sneezes during his meal, especially at night, will also be unlucky unless water is sprinkled over his face, and he is made to pronounce his own name, and that of his birthplace and his patron deity. [14] gaping is an indication that evil spirits have effected an entrance into the body. hence many brahmans, when they gape, snap their fingers as a preventive. [15] when a great man yawns, his sleep is promoted by all the company with him snapping their fingers with great vehemence, and making a singular noise. it was noted by alberuni [16] that hindus "spit out and blow their noses without any respect for the elder ones present, and crack their lice before them. they consider the crepitus ventris as a good omen, sneezing as a bad omen." in travancore, a courtier must cover the mouth with the right hand, lest his breath should pollute the king or other superior. also, at the temples, a low-caste man must wear a bandage over his nose and mouth, so that his breath may not pollute the idols. [17] a kudumi woman in travancore, at the menstrual period, should stand at a distance of seven feet, closing her mouth and nostrils with the palm of her hand, as her breath would have a contaminating effect. her shadow, too, should not fall on any one. a kumbara potter, when engaged in the manufacture of the pot or household deity for the kurubas, should cover his mouth with a bandage, so that his breath may not defile it. the koragas of south canara are said to be regarded with such intense loathing that, up to quite recent times, one section of them called ande or pot kurubas, continually wore a pot suspended from their necks, into which they were compelled to spit, being so utterly unclean as to be prohibited from even spitting on the highway. [18] in a note on the paraiyans (pariahs), sonnerat, writing in the eighteenth century, [19] says that, when drinking, they put the cup to their lips, and their fingers to their mouths, in such a way that they are defiled with the spittle. a brahman may take snuff, but he should not smoke a cheroot or cigar. when once the cheroot has touched his lips, it is defiled by the saliva, and, therefore, cannot be returned to his mouth. [20] at the festivals of the village deities in the telugu country, an unmarried madiga (telugu pariah) woman, called matangi [21] (the name of a favourite goddess) spits upon the people assembled, and touches them with her stick. her touch and saliva are believed to purge all uncleanliness of body and soul, and are said to be invited by men who would ordinarily scorn to approach her. at a festival called kathiru in honour of a village goddess in the cochin state, the pulayans (agrestic slaves) go in procession to the temple, and scatter packets of palm-leaves containing handfuls of paddy (unhusked rice) rolled up in straw among the crowds of spectators along the route. "the spectators, both young and old, scramble to obtain as many of the packets as possible, and carry them home. they are then hung in front of the houses, for it is believed that their presence will help to promote the prosperity of the family, until the festival comes round again next year. the greater the number of trophies obtained for a family by its members, the greater, it is believed, will be the prosperity of the family." [22] in a note on the kulwadis or chalavadis of the hassan district in mysore, captain j. s. f. mackenzie writes [23] as follows:- "every village has its holigiri--as the quarters inhabited by the holiars (formerly agrestic serfs) is called--outside the village boundary hedge. this, i thought, was because they are considered an impure race, whose touch carries defilement with it. such is the reason generally given by the brahman, who refuses to receive anything directly from the hands of a holiar, and yet the brahmans consider great luck will wait upon them if they can manage to pass through the holigiri without being molested. to this the holiars have a strong objection, and, should a brahman attempt to enter their quarters, they turn out in a body and slipper him, in former times it is said to death. members of the other castes may come as far as the door, but they must not enter the house, for that would bring the holiar bad luck. if, by chance, a person happens to get in, the owner takes care to tear the intruder's cloth, tie up some salt in one corner of it, and turn him out. this is supposed to neutralise all the good luck which might have accrued to the trespasser, and avert any evil which might have befallen the owner of the house." the telugu tottiyans, who have settled in the tamil country, are said by mr f. r. hemingway not to recognise the superiority of brahmans. they are supposed to possess unholy powers, especially the nalla (black) gollas, and are much dreaded by their neighbours. they do not allow any stranger to enter their villages with shoes on, or on horseback, or holding up an umbrella, lest their god should be offended. it is believed that, if any one breaks this rule, he will be visited with illness or some other punishment. i am informed by mr s. p. rice that, when smallpox breaks out in a hindu house, it is a popular belief that to allow strangers or unclean persons to go into the house, to observe festivals, and even to permit persons who have combed their hair, bathed in oil, or had a shave, to see the patient, would arouse the anger of the goddess, and bring certain death to the sick person. strangers, and young married women are not admitted to, and may not approach the house, as they may have had sexual intercourse on the previous day. it is believed that the sight or breath of muhammadans, just after they have said their prayers at a mosque, will do good to children suffering from various disorders. for this purpose, women carry or take their children, and post themselves at the entrance to a mosque at the time when worshippers leave it. most of them are hindus, but sometimes poor eurasians may be seen there. i once received a pathetic appeal from a eurasian woman in malabar, imploring me to lay my hands on the head of her sick child, so that its life might be spared. in teaching the grandha alphabet to children, they are made to repeat the letter "ca" twice quickly without pausing, as the word "ca" means "die." in malabar, the instruction of a tiyan child in the alphabet is said by mr f. fawcett to begin on the last day of the dasara festival in the fifth year of its life. a teacher, who has been selected with care, or a lucky person, holds the child's right hand, and makes it trace the letters of the malayalam alphabet in rice spread on a plate. the forefinger, which is the one used in offering water to the souls of the dead, and in other parts of the death ceremonies, must not be used for tracing the letters, but is placed above the middle finger, merely to steady it. for the same reason, a doctor, when making a pill, will not use the forefinger. to mention the number seven in telugu is unlucky, because the word (yedu) is the same as that for weeping. even a treasury officer, who is an enlightened university graduate, in counting money, will say six and one. the number seven is, for the same reason, considered unlucky by the koravas, and a house-breaking expedition should not consist of seven men. should this, however, be unavoidable, a fiction is indulged in of making the house-breaking implement the eighth member of the gang. [24] in tamil the word ten is considered inauspicious, because, on the tenth day after the death of her husband, a widow removes the emblems of married life. probably for this reason, the offspring of kallan polyandrous marriages style themselves the children of eight and two, not ten fathers. labha is a sanskrit word meaning profit or gain, and has its equivalent in all the vernacular languages. hindus, when counting, commence with this word instead of the word signifying one. in like manner, muhammadans use the word bismillah or burketh, apparently as an invocation like the medicinal rx (oh! jupiter, aid us). when the number a hundred has been counted, they again begin with the substitute for one, and this serves as a one for the person who is keeping the tally. oriya merchants say labho (gain) instead of eko (one), when counting out the seers of rice for the elephants' rations. the people of the oriya zemindaris often use, not the year of the hindu cycle or muhammadan era, but the year of the reigning raja of puri. the first year of the reign is called, not one, but labho. the counting then proceeds in the ordinary course, but, with the exception of the number ten, all numbers ending with seven or nothing are omitted. this is called the onko. thus, if a raja has reigned two and a half years, he would be said to be in the twenty-fifth onko, seven, seventeen and twenty being omitted. [25] for chewing betel, two other ingredients are necessary, viz., areca nuts and chunam (lime). for some reason, tamil vaishnavas object to mentioning the last by name, and call it moonavadu, or the third. at a brahman funeral, the sons and nephews of the deceased go round the corpse, and untie their kudumi (hair knot), leaving part thereof loose, tie up the rest into a small bunch, and slap their thighs. consequently, when children at play have their kudumi partially tied, and slap their thighs, they are invariably scolded owing to the association with funerals. among all hindu classes it is considered as an insult to the god to bathe or wash the feet on returning home from worship at a temple, and, by so doing, the punyam (good) would be lost. moreover, washing the feet at the entrance to a home is connected with funerals, inasmuch as, on the return from the burning-ground, a mourner may not enter the house until he has washed his feet. the badagas of the nilgiris hold an agricultural festival called devve, which should on no account be pronounced duvve, which means burning-ground. a bazaar shop-keeper who deals in colours will not sell white paint after the lamps have been lighted. in like manner, a cloth-dealer refuses to sell black cloth, and the dealer in hardware to sell nails, needles, etc., lest poverty should ensue. digging operations with a spade should be stopped before the lamps are lighted. a betel-vine cultivator objects to entering his garden or plucking a leaf after the lighting of the lamps; but, if some leaves are urgently required, he will, before plucking them, pour water from a pot at the foot of the tree on which the vine is growing. arrack (liquor) vendors consider it unlucky to set their measures upside down. some time ago, the excise commissioner informs me, the madras excise department had some aluminium measures made for measuring arrack in liquor shops. it was found that the arrack corroded the aluminium, and the measures soon leaked. the shop-keepers were told to turn their measures upside down, in order that they might drain. this they refused to do, as it would bring bad luck to their shops. new measures with round bottoms, which would not stand up, were evolved. but the shop-keepers began to use rings of indiarubber from soda-water bottles, to make them stand. an endeavour was then made to induce them to keep their measures inverted by hanging them on pegs, so that they would drain without being turned upside down. the case illustrates how important a knowledge of the superstitions of the people is in the administration of their affairs. even so trifling an innovation as the introduction of a new arrangement for maintaining tension in the warp during the process of weaving gave rise a few years ago to a strike among the hand-loom weavers at the madras school of arts. when a paidi (agriculturists and weavers in ganjam) is seriously ill, a male or female sorcerer (bejjo or bejjano) is consulted. a square divided into sixteen compartments is drawn on the floor with rice flour. in each compartment are placed a leaf-cup of butea frondosa, a quarter-anna piece, and some food. seven small bows and arrows are set up in front thereof in two lines. on one side of the square, a big cup filled with food is placed. a fowl is sacrificed, and its blood poured thrice round this cup. then, placing water in a vessel near the cup, the sorcerer or sorceress throws into it a grain of rice, giving out at the same time the name of some god or goddess. if the rice sinks, it is believed that the illness is caused by the anger of the deity, whose name has been mentioned. if the rice floats, the names of various deities are called out, until a grain sinks. when selecting a site for a new dwelling hut, the maliah savaras place on the proposed site as many grains of rice in pairs as there are married members in the family, and cover them over with a cocoanut shell. they are examined on the following day, and, if they are all there, the site is considered auspicious. among the kapu savaras, the grains of rice are folded up in leaflets of the bael tree (ægle marmelos), and placed in a split bamboo. it is recorded by gloyer [26] that "when a domb (vizagapatam hill tribe) house has to be built, the first thing is to select a favourable spot, to which few evil spirits (dumas) resort. at this spot they put, in several places, three grains of rice arranged in such a way that the two lower grains support the upper one. to protect the grains, they pile up stones round them, and the whole is lightly covered with earth. when, after some time, they find on inspection that the upper grain has fallen off, the spot is regarded as unlucky, and must not be used. if the position of the grains remains unchanged, the omen is regarded as auspicious. they drive in the first post, which must have a certain length, say of five, seven, or nine ells, the ell being measured from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow. the post is covered on the top with rice straw, leaves, and shrubs, so that birds may not foul it, which would be an evil omen." in madras, a story is current with reference to the statue of sir thomas munro, that he seized upon all the rice depôts, and starved the people by selling rice in egg-shells, at one shell for a rupee. to punish him, the government erected the statue in an open place without a canopy, so that the birds of the air might insult him by polluting his face. in the bellary district, the names munrol and munrolappa are common, and are given in hope that the boy may attain the same celebrity as the former governor of madras. (i once came across a telugu cultivator, who rejoiced in the name of curzon). one of sir thomas munro's good qualities was that, like rama and rob roy, his arms reached to his knees, or, in other words, he possessed the quality of an ajanubahu, which is the heritage of kings, or those who have blue blood in them. in a case of dispute between two koravas, [27] "the decision is sometimes arrived at by means of an ordeal. an equal quantity of rice is placed in two pots of equal weight, having the same quantity of water, and there is an equal quantity of fire-wood. the judges satisfy themselves most carefully as to quantity, weights, and so on. the water is boiled, and the man whose rice boils first is declared to be the winner of the dispute. the loser has to recoup the winner all his expenses. it sometimes happens that both pots boil at the same time; then a coin is to be picked out of a pot containing boiling oil." at one of the religious ceremonies of the koravas, offerings of boiled rice (pongal) are made to the deity, poleramma, by fasting women. the manner in which the boiling food bubbles over from the cooking-pot is eagerly watched, and accepted as an omen for good or evil. a festival called pongal is observed by hindus on the first day of the tamil month tai, and derives its name from the fact that rice boiled in milk is offered to propitiate the sun god. before the ceremony of walking through fire [28] (burning embers) at nidugala on the nilgiris, the omens are taken by boiling two pots of milk, side by side, on two hearths. if the milk overflows uniformly on all sides, the crops will be abundant for all the villages. but, if it flows over on one side only, there will be plentiful crops for villages on that side only. for boiling the milk, a light obtained by friction must be used. after the milk-boiling ceremonial, the pujari (priest), tying bells on his legs, approaches the fire-pit, carrying milk freshly drawn from a cow, which has calved for the first time, and flowers of rhododendron, leucas, or jasmine. after doing puja (worship), he throws the flowers on the embers, and they should remain unscorched for a few seconds. he then pours some of the milk over the embers, and no hissing sound should be produced. the omens being propitious, he walks over the glowing embers, followed by a udaya [29] and the crowd of celebrants, who, before going through the ordeal, count the hairs on their feet. if any are singed, it is a sign of approaching ill-fortune, or even death. it is recorded by the rev. j. cain [30] that, when the koyis of the godaavari district determine to appease the goddess of smallpox or cholera, they erect a pandal (booth) outside their village under a nim tree (melia azadirachta). they make the image of a woman with earth from a white-ant hill, tie a cloth or two round it, hang a few peacock's feathers round its neck, and place it under the pandal on a three-legged stool made from the wood of the silk-cotton tree (cochlospermum gossypium). they then bring forward a chicken, and try to persuade it to eat some of the grains which they have thrown before the image, requesting the goddess to inform them whether she will leave their village or not. if the chicken picks up some of the grains, they regard it as a most favourable omen; but, if not, their hearts are filled with dread of the continued anger of the goddess. at the bhudevi panduga, or festival of the earth goddess, according to mr f. r. hemingway, the koyis set up a stone beneath a terminalia tomentosa tree, which is thus dedicated to the goddess kodalamma. each worshipper brings a cock to the priest, who holds it over grains of rice, which have been sprinkled before the goddess. if the bird pecks at the rice, good luck is ensured for the coming year, whilst, if perchance the bird pecks three times, the offerer of that particular bird can scarcely contain himself for joy. if the bird declines to touch the grains, ill-luck is sure to visit the owner's house during the ensuing year. concerning a boundary oath in the mulkangiri taluk of vizagapatam, mr c. a. henderson writes to me as follows:- "the pujari (priest) levelled a piece of ground about a foot square, and smeared it with cow-dung. the boundary was marked with rice-flour and turmeric, and a small heap of rice and cow-dung was left in the middle. a sword was laid across the heap. the pujari touched the rice-flour line with the tips of his fingers, and then pressed his knuckles on the same place, thus leaving an exit on the south side. he then held a chicken over the central heap, and muttered some mantrams. the chicken pecked at the rice, and an egg was placed on the heap. the chicken then pecked at the rice again. the ceremony then waited for another party, who performed a similar ceremony. there was some amusement because their chickens would not eat. the chickens were decapitated, and their heads placed in the square. the eggs were then broken. it was raining, and there was a resulting puddle of cow-dung, chicken's blood, egg, and rice, of which the representatives of each party took a portion, and eat it, or pretended to do so, stating to whom the land belonged. there is said to be a belief that, if a man swears falsely, he will die." though not bearing on the subject of omens, some further boundary ceremonies may be placed under reference. at sattamangalam, in the south arcot district, the festival of the goddess mariamma is said to be crowned by the sacrifice at midnight of a goat, the entrails of which are hung round the neck of the toti (scavenger), who then goes, stark naked, save for this one adornment, round all the village boundaries. [31] it is recorded by bishop whitehead [32] that, in some parts of the tamil country, e.g., in the trichinopoly district, at the ceremony for the propitiation of the village boundary goddess, a priest carries a pot containing boiled rice and the blood of a lamb which has been sacrificed to the boundary stone, round which he runs three times. the third time he throws the pot over his shoulder on to another smaller stone, which stands at the foot of the boundary stone. the pot is dashed to pieces, and the rice and blood scatter over the two stones and all round them. the priest then goes away without looking back, followed by the crowd of villagers in dead silence. in the cuddapah district, when there is a boundary dispute in a village, an image of the goddess gangamma is placed in the street, and left there for two days. the head of a buffalo and several sheep are offered to her, and the blood is allowed to run into the gutter. the goddess is then worshipped, and she is implored to point out the correct boundary. [33] in mysore, if there is a dispute as to the village boundaries, the holeya [34] kuluvadi is believed to be the only person competent to take the oath as to how the boundary ought to run. the old custom for settling such disputes is thus described by captain j. s. f. mackenzie: [35] "the kuluvadi, carrying on his head a ball made of the village earth, in the centre of which is placed some earth, passes along the boundary. if he has kept the proper line, everything goes well, but, should he, by accident even, go beyond his own proper boundary, then the ball of earth, of its own accord, goes to pieces. the kuluvadi is said to die within fifteen days, and his house becomes a ruin. such is the popular belief." some years ago mr h. d. taylor was called on to settle a boundary dispute between two villages in jeypore under the following circumstances. as the result of a panchayat (council meeting), the men of one village had agreed to accept the boundary claimed by the other party if the head of their village walked round the boundary and eat earth at intervals, provided that no harm came to him within six months. the man accordingly perambulated the boundary eating earth, and a conditional order of possession was given. shortly afterwards the man's cattle died, one of his children died of smallpox, and finally he himself died within three months. the other party then claimed the land on the ground that the earth-goddess had proved him to have perjured himself. it was urged in defence that the man had been made to eat earth at such frequent intervals that he contracted dysentery, and died from the effects of earth-eating. [36] when the time for the annual festival of the tribal goddess of the kuruvikkarans (marathi-speaking beggars) draws nigh, the headman or an elder piles up vigna catiang seeds in five small heaps. he then decides in his mind whether there is an odd or even number of seeds in the majority of heaps. if, when the seeds are counted, the result agrees with his forecast, it is taken as a sign of the approval of the goddess, and arrangements for the festival are made. otherwise it is abandoned for the year. at the annual festival of chaudeswari, the tribal goddess of devanga weavers, the priest tries to balance a long sword on its point on the edge of the mouth of a pot. a lime fruit is placed in the region of the navel of the idol, who should throw it down spontaneously. a bundle of betel leaves is cut across with a knife, and the cut ends should unite. if the omens are favourable, a lamp made of rice-flour is lighted, and pongal (boiled rice) offered to it. it is recorded by canter visscher [37] that, in the building of a house in malabar, the carpenters open three or four cocoanuts, spilling the juice as little as possible, and put some tips of betel leaves into them. from the way these float on the liquid they foretell whether the house will be lucky or unlucky, whether it will stand for a long or short period, and whether another will ever be erected on its site. korava women, if their husbands are absent on a criminal expedition long enough to arouse apprehension of danger, pull a long piece out of a broom, and tie to one end of it several small pieces dipped in oil. if the stick floats in water, all is well; but, should it sink, two of the women start at once to find the men. [38] in the village of chakibunda in the cuddapah district, there is a pool of water at the foot of a hill. those who are desirous of getting children, wealth, etc., go there and pour oil into the water. the oil is said not to float as is usual in greasy bubbles, but to sink and never rise. they also offer betel leaves, on which turmeric and kunkumam have been placed. if these leaves sink, and after some time reappear without the turmeric and kunkumam, but with the marks of nails upon them, the person offering them will gain his wishes. the contents of the leaves, and the oil, are supposed to be consumed by some divine being at the bottom of the pool. [39] at madicheruvu, in the cuddapah district, there is a small waterfall in the midst of a jungle, which is visited annually by a large number of pilgrims. those who are anxious to know if their sins are forgiven stand under the fall. if they are acceptable the water falls on their heads, but, if they have some great guilt weighing on them, the water swerves on one side, and refuses to be polluted by contact with the sinner. [40] among the vadas (telugu fishermen) the mannaru is an important individual who not only performs worship, but is consulted on many points. if a man does not secure good catches of fish, he goes to the mannaru to ascertain the cause of his bad luck. the mannaru holds in his hand a string on which a stone is tied, and invokes various gods and goddesses by name. every time a name is mentioned, the stone either swings to and fro like a pendulum, or performs a circular movement. if the former occurs, it is a sign that the deity whose name has been pronounced is the cause of the misfortune, and must be propitiated in a suitable manner. the nomad bauris or bawariyas, who commit robberies and manufacture counterfeit coin, keep with them a small quantity of wheat and sandal seeds in a tin or brass case, which they call devakadana or god's grain, and a tuft of peacock's feathers. they are very superstitious, and do not embark on any enterprise without first ascertaining by omens whether it will be attended with success or not. this they do by taking at random a small quantity of grains out of the devakadana, and counting the number thereof, the omen being considered good or bad according as the number is odd or even. [41] a gang of donga dasaris, before starting on a thieving expedition, proceed to the jungle near their village in the early part of the night, worship their favourite goddesses, huligavva and ellamma, and sacrifice a sheep or fowl before them. they place one of their turbans on the head of the animal as soon as its head falls on the ground. if the turban turns to the right it is considered a good sign, the goddess having permitted them to proceed on the expedition; if to the left they return home. hanuman (the monkey god) is also consulted as to such expeditions. they go to a hanuman temple, and, after worshipping him, garland him with a wreath of flowers. the garland hangs on both sides of the neck. if any of the flowers on the right side drop down first, it is regarded as a permission granted by the god to start on a plundering expedition; and, conversely, an expedition is never undertaken if any flower happens to drop from the left side first. [42] the kallans are said by mr f. s. mullaly [43] to consult the deity before starting on depredations. two flowers, the one red and the other white, are placed before the idol, a symbol of their god kalla alagar. the white flower is the emblem of success. a child of tender years is told to pluck a petal of one of the two flowers, and the success of the undertaking rests upon the choice made by the child. the pulluvan astrologers of malabar sometimes calculate beforehand the result of a project in which they are engaged, by placing before the god two bouquets of flowers, one red, the other white, of which a child picks out one with its eyes closed. selection of the white bouquet predicts auspicious results, of the red the reverse. in the same way, when the kammalans (tamil artisans) appoint their anjivittu nattamaikkaran to preside over them, five men selected from each of the five divisions meet at the temple of the caste goddess, kamakshi amman. the names of the five men are written on five slips of paper, which, together with some blank slips, are thrown before the shrine of the goddess. a child, taken at random from the assembled crowd, is made to pick up the slips, and he whose name turns up first is proclaimed anjivittu nattamaikkaran. eclipses are regarded as precursors of evil, which must, if possible, be averted. concerning the origin thereof, according to tradition in malabar, mr gopal panikkar writes as follows [44]:- "tradition says that, when an eclipse takes place, rahu the huge serpent is devouring the sun or moon, as the case may be. an eclipse being thus the decease of one of those heavenly bodies, people must, of necessity, observe pollution for the period during which the eclipse lasts. when the monster spits out the body, the eclipse is over. food and drink taken during an eclipse possess poisonous properties, and people therefore abstain from eating and drinking until the eclipse is over. they bathe at the end of the eclipse, so as to get rid of the pollution. any one shutting himself up from exposure may be exempted from this obligation to take a bath." deaths from drowning are not unknown in madras at times of eclipse, when hindus bathe in the sea, and get washed away by the surf. it is said [45] that, before an eclipse, the people prepare their drums, etc., to frighten the giant, lest he should eat up the moon entirely. images of snakes are offered to the deity on days of eclipse by brahmans on whose star day the eclipse falls, to appease the wrath of the terrible rahu. it is noted by mr s. m. natesa sastri [46] that "the eclipse must take place on some asterism or other, and, if that asterism happens to be that in which any hindu was born, he has to perform some special ceremonies to absolve himself from impending evil. he makes a plate of gold or silver, or of palm leaf, according to his means, and ties it on his forehead with sanskrit verses inscribed on it. he sits with this plate for some time, performs certain ceremonies, bathes with the plate untied, and presents it to a brahman with some fee, ranging from four annas to several thousands of rupees. the belief that an eclipse is a calamity to the sun or moon is such a strong hindu belief, that no marriage takes place in the month in which an eclipse falls." i gather [47] that, "during an eclipse, many of the people retire into their houses, and remain behind closed doors until the evil hour has passed. the time is in all respects inauspicious, and no work begun or completed during this period can meet with success; indeed, so great is the dread, that no one would think of initiating any important work at this time. more especially is it fatal to women who are pregnant, for the evil will fall upon the unborn babe, and, in cases of serious malformation or congenital lameness, the cause is said to be that the mother looked on an eclipse. women, therefore, not only retire into the house, but, in order that they may be further protected from the evil, they burn horn shavings. the evils of an eclipse are not limited to human beings, but cattle and crops also need protection from the malignant spirits which are supposed to be abroad. in order that the cattle may be preserved, they are as far as possible taken indoors, and especially those which have young calves; and, to make assurance doubly sure, their horns are smeared with chunam (lime). the crops are protected by procuring ashes from the potter's field, which seem to be specially potent against evil spirits. with these ashes images are made, and placed on the four sides of the field. comets, too, are looked upon as omens of evil." when a person is about to occupy a new house, he takes particular care to see that the planet venus does not face him as he enters it. with this star before him, he sometimes postpones the occupation, or, if he is obliged to enter, he reluctantly does so through the back-door. on the day of the capture of seringaptam, which, being the last day of a lunar month, was inauspicious, the astrologer repeated the unfavourable omen to tipu sultan, who was slain in the course of the battle. it is recorded [48] that "to different bramins he gave a black buffalo, a milch buffalo, a male buffalo, a black she-goat, a jacket of coarse black cloth, a cap of the same material, ninety rupees, and an iron pot filled with oil; and, previous to the delivery of this last article, he held his head over the pot for the purpose of seeing the image of his face; a ceremony used in hindostan to avert misfortune." the time at which the address of welcome by the madras municipal corporation to sir arthur lawley on his taking over the governorship of madras was changed from 12-30 p.m. to 1 p.m. on a wednesday, as the time originally fixed fell within the period of rahukalam, which is an inauspicious hour on that day. it is considered by a hindu unlucky to get shaved for ceremonial purposes in the months of adi, purattasi, margali, and masi, and, in the remaining months, sunday, tuesday, and saturday should be avoided. further, the star under which a man was born has to be taken into consideration, and it may happen that an auspicious day for being shaved does not occur for some weeks. it is on this account that orthodox hindus are sometimes compelled to go about with unkempt chins. even for anointing the body, auspicious and inauspicious days are prescribed. thus, anointing on sunday causes loss of beauty, on monday brings increase of riches, and on thursday loss of intellect. if a person is obliged to anoint himself on sunday, he should put a bit of the root of oleander (nerium) in the oil, and heat it before applying it. this is supposed to avert the evil influences. similarly on tuesday dry earth, on thursday roots of cynodou dactylon, and on friday ashes must be used. it is considered auspicious if a girl attains puberty on a monday, wednesday, thursday, or friday, and the omens vary according to the month in which the first menstrual period occurs. thus the month of vaiyasi ensures prosperity, ani male issue, masi happiness, margali well-behaved children, punguni long life and many children. at the first menstrual ceremony of a tiyan girl in malabar, her aunt, or, if she is married, her husband's sister, pours gingelly (sesamum) oil over her head, on the top of which a gold fanam (coin) has been placed. the oil is poured from a little cup made from a leaf of the jak tree (artocarpus integrifolia), flows over the forehead, and is received with the fanam in a dish. it is a good omen if the coin falls with the obverse upwards. if a brahman woman loses her tali (marriage badge), it is regarded as a bad omen for her husband. as a deva-dasi (dancing-girl) can never become a widow, the beads in her tali are considered to bring good luck to those who wear them. and some people send the tali required for a marriage to a deva-dasi, who prepares the string for it, and attaches to it black beads from her own tali. a deva-dasi is also deputed to walk at the head of hindu marriage processions. married women do not like to do this, as they are not proof against evil omens, which the procession may come across, and it is believed that deva-dasis, to whom widowhood is unknown, possess the power of warding off the effects of unlucky omens. it may be remarked, en passant, that deva-dasis are not at the present day so much patronised at hindu marriages as in former days. much is due in this direction to the progress of enlightened ideas, which have of late been strongly put forward by hindu social reformers. general burton narrates [49] how a civilian of the old school built a house at bhavani, and established a corps de ballet, i.e., a set of nautch girls, whose accomplishments extended to singing god save the king, and this was kept up by their descendants, so that, when he visited the place in 1852, he was "greeted by the whole party, bedizened in all their finery, and squalling the national anthem." with this may be contrasted a circular from a modern european official, which states that "during my jamabandy (land revenue settlement) tour, people have sometimes been kind enough to arrange singing or dancing parties, and, as it would have been discourteous to decline to attend what had cost money to arrange, i have accepted the compliment in the spirit in which it was offered. i should, however, be glad if you would let it be generally known that i am entirely in accord with what is known as the anti-nautch movement in regard to such performances." it was unanimously decided, in 1905, by the executive committee of the prince and princess of wales' reception committee, that there should be no performance by nautch girls at the entertainment to their royal highnesses at madras. the marriage ceremonies of are dammaras (marathi-speaking acrobats) are supervised by an old basavi woman, and the marriage badge is tied round the bride's neck by a basavi (public woman dedicated to the deity). when a marriage is contemplated among the idaiyans (tamil shepherds) of coimbatore, the parents of the prospective bride and bridegroom go to the temple, and throw before the idol a red and white flower, each wrapped in a betel leaf. a small child is then told to pick up one of the leaves. if the one selected contains the white flower, it is considered auspicious, and the marriage will be contracted. the devanga weavers, before settling the marriage of a girl, consult some village goddess or the tribal goddess chaudeswari, and watch the omens. a lizard chirping on the right is good, and on the left bad. sometimes, red and white flowers wrapped in green leaves are thrown in front of the idol, and the omen is considered good or bad, according to the flower which a child picks up. among the hill uralis of coimbatore, a flower is placed on the top of a stone or figure representing the tribal goddess, and, after worship, it is addressed in the words: "oh! swamil (goddess), drop the flower to the right if the marriage is going to be propitious, and to the left if otherwise." should the flower remain on the image without falling either way, it is greeted as a very happy omen. when a marriage is in contemplation among the agamudaiyans (tamil cultivators), some close relations of the young man proceed to some distance northward, and wait for omens. if these are auspicious, they are satisfied. some, instead of so doing, go to a temple, and seek the omens either by placing flowers on the idol, and watching the directions in which they fall, or by picking up a flower from a large number strewn in front of the idol. if the flower picked up, and the one thought of, are of the same colour, it is regarded as a good omen. among the gudigaras (wood-carvers) of south canara, the parents of the couple go to a temple, and receive from the priest some flowers which have been used in worship. these are counted, and, if their number is even, the match is arranged. at a marriage among the malaialis of the kollaimalai hills, the garlands with which the bridal couple are adorned, are thrown into a well after the tali has been tied on the bride's neck. if they float together, it is an omen that the two will love each other. among the telugu janappans (gunny-bag makers), on the day fixed for the betrothal, those assembled wait silently listening for the chirping of a lizard, which is an auspicious sign. it is said that the match is broken off if the chirping is not heard. if the omen proves auspicious, a small bundle of nine to twelve kinds of pulses and grain is given by the bridegroom's father to the father of the bride. this is preserved, and examined several days after the marriage. if the pulses and grain are in good condition, it is a sign that the newly married couple will have a prosperous career. during the marriage ceremonies of the muhammadan daknis or deccanis, two big pots, filled with water, are placed near the milk-post. they are kept for forty days, and then examined. if the water remains sweet, and does not "teem with vermin," it is regarded as a good omen. the seed grains, too, which, as among many hindu castes, were sown at the time of the wedding, should by this time have developed into healthy seedlings. at a rona (oriya cultivator) wedding, the desari who officiates ties to the ends of the cloths of the bridal couple a new cloth, to which a quarter-anna piece is attached, betel leaves and areca nuts, and seven grains of rice. towards the close of the marriage rites on the third day, the rice is examined, to see if it is in a good state of preservation, and its condition is regarded as an omen for good or evil. on the occasion of a wedding among the badagas of the nilgiris, a procession goes before dawn on the marriage day to the forest, where two sticks of mimusops hexandra are collected, to do duty as the milk-posts. the early hour is selected, to avoid the chance of coming across inauspicious objects. at the close of the agamudaiyan marriage ceremonies, the twig of erythrina indica or odina wodier, of which the milk-post was made, is planted. if it takes root and grows, it is regarded as a favourable omen. at a palli (tamil cultivator) wedding two lamps, called kuda vilakku (pot light) and alankara vilakku (ornamental light), are placed by the side of the milk-post. the former consists of a lighted wick in an earthenware tray placed on a pot. it is considered an unlucky omen if it goes out before the conclusion of the ceremonial. prior to the betrothal ceremony of the kammas (telugu cultivators), a near relation of the future bridegroom proceeds with a party to the home of the future bride. on the way thither, they look for omens, such as the crossing of birds in an auspicious direction. immediately on the occurrence of a favourable omen, they burn camphor, and break a cocoanut, which must split in two with clean edges. one half is sent to the would-be bridegroom, and the other taken to the bride's house. when this is reached, she demands the sagunam (omen) cocoanut. if the first cocoanut does not split properly, others are broken till the desired result is obtained. in the telugu country, the services of a member of the boya caste are required if a brahman wishes to perform vontigadu, a ceremony by which he hopes to induce favourable auspices, under which to celebrate a marriage. the story has it that vontigadu was a destitute boya, who died of starvation. on the morning of the day on which the ceremony, for which favourable auspices are required, is performed, a boya is invited to the house. he is given a present of gingelly (sesamum) oil, wherewith to anoint himself. this done, he returns, carrying in his hand a dagger, on the point of which a lime has been stuck. he is directed to the cowshed, and there given a good meal. after finishing the meal, he steals from the shed, and dashes out of the house, uttering a piercing yell, and waving his dagger. he on no account looks behind him. the inmates of the house follow for some distance, throwing water wherever he has trodden. by this means, all possible evil omens for the coming ceremony are done away with. a curious mock marriage ceremony is celebrated among brahmans, when an individual marries a third wife. it is believed that a third marriage is very inauspicious, and that the bride will become a widow. to prevent this mishap, the man is made to marry the arka plant (calotropis gigantea), which grows luxuriantly in wastelands, and the real marriage thus becomes the fourth. the bridegroom, accompanied by a brahman priest and another brahman, repairs to a spot where this plant is growing. it is decorated with a cloth and a piece of string, and symbolised into the sun. all the ceremonies, such as making homam (sacred fire), tying the tali (marriage badge), etc., are performed as at a regular marriage, and the plant is cut down. on rathasapthami day, an orthodox hindu should bathe his head and shoulders with arka leaves in propitiation of surya (the sun). the leaves are also used during the worship of ancestors by some brahmans. among the tangalan paraiyans, if a young man dies before he is married, a ceremony called kannikazhital (removing bachelorhood) is performed. before the corpse is laid on the bier, a garland of arka flowers is placed round its neck, and balls of mud from a gutter are laid on the head, knees, and other parts of the body. in some places, a variant of the ceremony consists in the erection of a mimic marriage booth, which is covered with leaves of the arka plant, flowers of which are placed round the neck as a garland. adulterers were, in former times, seated on a donkey, with their face to the tail, and marched through the village. the public disgrace was enhanced by placing a garland of the despised arka leaves on their head. uppiliyan women convicted of immorality are said to be garlanded with arka flowers, and made to carry a basket of mud round the village. a konga vellala man, who has been found guilty of undue intimacy with a widow, is readmitted to the caste by being taken to the village common, where he is beaten with an arka stick, and by providing a black sheep for a feast. when a kuruvikkaran man has to submit to trial by ordeal, seven arka leaves are tied to his palms, and a piece of red-hot iron is placed thereon. his innocence is established, if he is able to carry it while he takes seven long strides. the juice of the arka plant is a favourite agent in the hands of suicides. at a brahman wedding the bridegroom takes a blade of the sacred dharba grass, passes it between the eyebrows of the bride and throws it away saying, "with this grass i remove the influence of any bad mark thou mayest possess, which is likely to cause widowhood." there is a tamil proverb relating to the selection of a wife, to the effect that curly hair gives food, thick hair brings milk, and very stiff hair destroys a family. as a preliminary to marriage among the kurubas (canarese shepherds), the bridegroom's father observes certain curls (suli) on the head of the proposed bride. some of these are believed to forebode prosperity, and others misery to the family into which the girl enters by marriage. they are, therefore, very cautious in selecting only such girls as possess curls of good fortune. one of the good curls is the bashingam on the forehead, and bad ones are the peyanakallu at the back of the head, and the edirsuli near the right temple. [50] by the pallis (tamil cultivators) a curl on the forehead is considered as an indication that the girl will become a widow, and one on the back of the head portends the death of the eldest brother of her husband. by the tamil maravans, a curl on the forehead resembling the head of a snake is regarded as an evil omen. a woman, pregnant for the first time, should not see a temple car adorned with figures of a lion, or look at it when it is being dragged along with the image of the god seated in it. if she does, the tradition is that she will give birth to a monster. in some places, before a woman is confined, the room in which her confinement is to take place is smeared with cow-dung, and, in the room at the outer gate, small wet cow-dung cakes are stuck on the wall, and covered with margosa (melia azadirachta) leaves and cotton seeds. these are supposed to have a great power in averting evil spirits, and preventing harm to the newly-born babe or the lying-in woman. [51] in the telugu country, it is the custom among some castes, e.g., the kapus and gamallas, to place twigs of balanites roxburghii or calotropis gigantea (arka) on the floor or in the roof of the lying-in chamber. sometimes a garland of old shoes is hung up on the door-post of the chamber. a fire is kindled, into which pieces of old leather, hair, nails, horns, hoofs, and bones of animals are thrown, in the belief that the smoke arising therefrom will protect the mother and child against evil spirits. among some classes, when a woman is pregnant, her female friends assemble, pile up before her door a quantity of rice-husk, and set fire to it. to one door-post they tie an old shoe, and to the other a bunch of tulsi (ocimum sanctum), in order to prevent the entry of any demon. a bitch is brought in, painted, and marked in the way that the women daily mark their own foreheads. incense is burnt, and an oblation placed before it. the woman then makes obeisance to it, and makes a meal of curry and rice, on which cakes are placed. if there is present any woman who has not been blessed with children, she seizes some of the cakes, in the hope that, by so doing, she may ere long have a child. [52] in some places, when a woman is in labour, her relations keep on measuring out rice into a measure close to the lying-in room, in the belief that delivery will be accelerated thereby. sometimes a gun is fired off in an adjacent room with the same object, and i have heard of a peon (orderly), whose wife was in labour, borrowing his master's gun, to expedite matters. some hindus in madras believe that it would be unlucky for a newly-married couple to visit the museum, as their offspring would be deformed as the result of the mother having gazed on the skeletons and stuffed animals. twins are sometimes objects of superstition, especially if they are of different sexes, and the male is born first. the occurrence of such an event is regarded as foreboding misfortune, which can only be warded off by marrying the twins to one another, and leaving them to their fate in the jungle. cases of this kind have, however, it is said, not been heard of within recent times. there is a proverb that a child born with the umbilical cord round the body will be a curse to the caste. if a child is born with the cord round its neck like a garland, it is believed to be inauspicious for its uncle, who is not allowed to see it for ten days, or even longer, and then a propitiatory ceremony has to be performed. by the koravas the birth of a child with the cord round its neck is believed to portend the death of the father or maternal uncle. this unpleasant effect is warded off by the father or the uncle killing a fowl, and wearing its entrails round his neck, and afterwards burying them along with the cord. in other castes it is believed that a child born with the cord round its neck will be a curse to its maternal uncle, unless a gold or silver string is placed on the body, and the uncle sees its image reflected in a vessel of oil. if the cord is entwined across the breast, and passes under the armpit, it is believed to be an unlucky omen for the father and paternal uncle. in such cases, some special ceremony, such as looking into a vessel of oil, is performed. i am informed by the rev. s. nicholson that, if a mala (telugu pariah) child is born with the cord round its neck, a cocoanut is immediately offered. if the child survives, a cock is offered to the gods on the day on which the mother takes her first bath. when the cord is cut, a coin is placed over the navel for luck. the dried cord is highly prized as a remedy for sterility. the placenta is placed by the malas in a pot, in which are nim (melia azadirachta) leaves, and the whole is buried in some convenient place, generally the backyard. if this was not done, dogs or other animals might carry off the placenta, and the child would be of a wandering disposition. the birth of a korava child on a new moon night is believed to augur a notorious thieving future for the infant. such children are commonly named venkatigadu after the god at tirupati. [53] the birth of a male child on the day in which the constellation rohini is visible portends evil to the maternal uncle; and a female born under the constellation moolam is supposed to carry misery with her to the house which she enters by marriage. domb children in vizagapatam are supposed to be born without souls, and to be subsequently chosen as an abode by the soul of an ancestor. the coming of the ancestor is signalised by the child dropping a chicken bone which has been thrust into its hand, and much rejoicing follows among the assembled relations. by some valaiyans (tamil cultivators), the naming of infants is performed at the aiyanar temple by any one who is under the influence of inspiration. failing such a one, several flowers, each with a name attached to it, are thrown in front of the idol. a boy, or the priest, picks up one of the flowers, and the infant receives the name which is connected with it. in connection with the birth ceremonies of the koyis of the godavari district, the rev. j. cain writes [54] that, on the seventh day, the near relatives and neighbours assemble together to name the child. having placed it on a cot, they put a leaf of the mowha tree (bassia) in its hand, and pronounce some name which they think suitable. if the child closes its hand over the leaf, it is regarded as a sign that it acquiesces, but, if the child rejects the leaf or cries, they take it as a sign that they must choose another name, and so throw away the leaf, and substitute another leaf and name, until the child shows its approbation. it is noted, [55] in connection with the death ceremonies of the kondhs, that, if a man has been killed by a tiger, purification is made by the sacrifice of a pig, the head of which is cut off with a tangi (axe) by a pano, and passed between the legs of the men in the village, who stand in a line astraddle. it is a bad omen to him, if the head touches any man's legs. according to another account, the head of the decapitated pig is placed in a stream, and, as it floats down, it has to pass between the legs of the villagers. if it touches the legs of any of them, it forebodes that he will be killed by a tiger. the sight of a cat, on getting out of bed, is extremely unlucky, and he who sees one will fail in all his undertakings during the day. "i faced the cat this morning," or "did you see a cat this morning?" are common sayings when one fails in anything. the paraiyans are said to be very particular about omens, and, if, when a paraiyan sets out to arrange a marriage with a certain girl, a cat or a valiyan (a bird) crosses his path, he will give up the girl. i have heard of a superstitious european police officer, who would not start in search of a criminal, because he came across a cat. house dogs should, if they are to bring good luck, possess more than eighteen visible claws. if a dog scratches the wall of a house, it will be broken into by thieves; and, if it makes a hole in the ground within a cattle-shed, the cattle will be stolen. a dog approaching a person with a bit of shoe-leather augurs success; with flesh, gain; with a meaty bone, good luck; with a dry bone, death. if a dog enters a house with wire or thread in its mouth, the master of the house must expect to be put in prison. a dog barking on the roof of a house during the dry weather portends an epidemic, and in the wet season a heavy fall of rain. there is a proverb "like a dying dog climbing the roof," which is said of a person who is approaching his ruin. the omen also signifies the death of several members of the family, so the dog's ears and tail are cut off, and rice is steeped in the blood. a goat which has climbed on to the roof is treated in like manner, dragged round the house, or slaughtered. at the conclusion of the first menstrual ceremony of a kappiliyan (canarese farmer) girl, some food is placed near the entrance to the house, which a dog is allowed to eat. while so doing, it receives a severe beating. the more noise it makes, the better is the omen for the girl having a large family. if the animal does not howl, it is supposed that the girl will bear no children. the sight of a jackal is very lucky to one proceeding on an errand. its cry to the east and north of a village foretells something good for the villagers, whereas the cry at midday means an impending calamity. if a jackal cries towards the south in answer to the call of another jackal, some one will be hung; and, if it cries towards the west, some one will be drowned. a bachelor who sees a jackal running may expect to be married shortly. if the offspring of a primipara dies, it is sometimes buried in a place where jackals can get at it. it is believed that, if a jackal does not make a sumptuous meal off the corpse, the woman will not be blessed with more children. the corpses of the koramas of mysore are buried in a shallow grave, and a pot of water is placed on the mound raised over it. should the spot be visited during the night by a pack of jackals, and the water drunk by them to slake their thirst after feasting on the dead body, the omen is accepted as a proof that the liberated spirit has fled to the realms of the dead, and will never trouble man, woman, child, or cattle. when a person rises in the morning, he should not face or see a cow's head, but should see its hinder parts. this is in consequence of a legend that a cow killed a brahman by goring him with its horns. in some temples, a cow is made to stand in front of the building with its tail towards it, so that any one entering may see its face. it is said that, if a cow voids urine at the time of purchase, it is considered a very good omen, but, if she passes dung, a bad omen. the hill kondhs will not cut the crops with a sickle having a serrated edge, such as is used by the oriyas, but use a straight-edged knife. the crops, after they have been cut, are threshed by hand, and not with the aid of cattle. the serrated sickle is not used, because it produces a sound like that of cattle grazing, which would be unpropitious. if cattle were used in threshing the crop, it is believed that the earth-god would feel insulted by the dung and urine of the animals. a timber merchant at calicut in malabar is said to have spent more than a thousand rupees in propitiating the spirit of a deceased brahman under the following circumstances. he had built a new house, and, on the morning after the kutti puja (house-warming) ceremony, his wife and children were coming to occupy it. just as they were entering the grounds, a cow ran against one of the children, and knocked it down. this augured evil, and, in a few days, the child was attacked by smallpox. one child after another caught the disease, and at last the man's wife also contracted it. they all recovered, but the wife was laid up with some uterine disorder. an astrologer was sent for, and said that the site on which the house was built was once the property of a brahman, whose spirit still haunted it, and must be appeased. expensive ceremonies were performed by brahmans for a fortnight. the house was sold to a brahman priest for a nominal price. a gold image of the deceased brahman was made, and, after the purification ceremonies had been carried out, taken to the sacred shrine at ramesvaram, where arrangements were made to have daily worship performed to it. the house, in its purified state, was sold back by the brahman priest. the merchant's wife travelled by train to madras, to undergo treatment at the maternity hospital. the astrologer predicted that the displeasure of the spirit would be exhibited on the way by the breaking of dishes and by furniture catching fire--a strange prediction, because the bed on which the woman was lying caught fire by a spark from the engine. after the spirit had been thus propitiated, there was peace in the house. it is noted [56] that, in the middle of the threshold of nearly all the gateways of the ruined fortifications round the bellary villages may be noticed a roughly carved cylindrical or conical stone, something like a lingam. this is the boddu-rayi, literally the navel-stone, and so the middle stone. it was planted there when the fort was first built, and is affectionately regarded as being the boundary of the village site. once a year, in may, just before the sowing season commences, a ceremony takes place in connection with it. reverence is first made to the bullocks of the village, and in the evening they are driven through the gateway past the boddu-rayi, with tom-toms, flutes, and other kinds of music. the barike (village servant) next does puja (worship) to the stone, and then a string of mango leaves is tied across the gateway above it. the villagers now form sides, one party trying to drive the bullocks through the gate, and the other trying to keep them out. the greatest uproar and confusion naturally follow, and, in the midst of the turmoil, some bullock or other eventually breaks through the guardians of the gate, and gains the village. if that first bullock is a red one, the red grains on the red soil will flourish in the coming season. if he is white, white crops, such as cotton and white cholam, will prosper. if he is red and white, both kinds will do well. various oriya castes worship the goddess lakshmi on thursdays, in the month of november, which are called lakshmi varam, or lakshmi's day. the goddess is represented by a basket filled with grain, whereon some place a hair-ball which has been vomited by a cow. the ball is called gaya panghula, and is usually one or two inches in diameter. the owner of a cow which has vomited such a ball, regards it as a propitious augury for the prosperity of his family. a feast is held on the day on which the ball is vomited, and, after the ball has been worshipped, it is carefully wrapped up, and kept in a box, in which it remains till it is required for further worship. some people believe that the ball continues to grow year by year, and regard this as a very good sign. bulls are said not to vomit the balls, and only very few cows do so. "throughout india," mr j. d. e. holmes writes, [57] "but more especially in the southern presidency, among the native population, the value of a horse or ox principally depends on the existence and situation of certain hair-marks on the body of the animal. these hair-marks are formed by the changes in the direction in which the hair grows at certain places, and, according to their shape, are called a crown, ridge, or feather mark. the relative position of these marks is supposed to indicate that the animal will bring good luck to the owner and his relatives. there is a saying that a man may face a rifle and escape, but he cannot avoid the luck, good or evil, foretold by hair-marks. so much are the people influenced by these omens that they seldom keep an animal with unlucky marks, and would not allow their mares to be covered by a stallion having unpropitious marks." it is recorded by bishop whitehead [58] that "we went to see the maharaja (of mysore) at his stables, and he showed us his fine stud of horses. among them was the state horse, which is only used for religious ceremonies, and is ridden only by the maharaja himself. it is pure white, without spot or blemish, and has the five lucky marks. this horse came from kathiawar, and is now about twenty years old. the maharaja is trying to get another, to replace it when it dies. but it is not easy to get one with the unusual points required." two deaths occurring in a family in quick succession, were once believed to be the result of keeping an unlucky horse in the stable. i have heard of a eurasian police officer, who attributed the theft of five hundred rupees, his official transfer to an unhealthy district, and other strokes of bad luck, to the purchase of a horse with unlucky curls. all went well after he had got rid of the animal. from a recent note on beliefs about the bull, [59] i gather that "manu enjoins a grihasta or householder to always travel with beasts which are well broken in, swift, endowed with lucky marks, and perfect in colour and form, without urging them much with the goad. marks are accounted lucky if they appear in certain forms, and at certain spots. one of these marks is usually known as sudi in telugu, and suli in tamil. a sudi is nothing but a whorl or circlet of hair, a properly formed sudi being perfectly round in form, and nearly resembling the sudivalu, the chakrayudha of vishnu, which is a short circular weapon commonly known as the discus of vishnu. every ox should have at least two of these circlets or twists of hair, one on the face, and one on the back, right about its centre. two curls may occur on the face, but they should not be one above the other, in which case they are known as kode mel kode, or umbrella above umbrella. the purchaser of such a bull, it is believed, will soon have some mishap in his house. some, however, hold that this curl is not really so bad as it is supposed to be. if the curls are side by side, they are accounted lucky. in that case they are known as damara suli, or double kettle-drum circlet, from the kettle-drums placed on either side of brahmani bulls in temple processions. it is sometimes known as the kalyana (marriage) suli, because such a kettle-drum is often used in marriage processions. a curl on the hump is held to be a very good one, bringing prosperity to the purchaser. it is known as the kirita suli, or the crown circlet. the dewlaps should have a curl on either side, or none. a curl on only one side is described as not lucky. on the back of the animal, a curl must be perfectly round. if it is elongated, and stretches on one side, it is known as the padai suli, or the bier circlet. kattiri suli, or the scissor circlet, is found usually in the region of the belly, and is an unlucky sign. on the body is sometimes found the puran suli, the circlet named after the centipede from its supposed resemblance to it. on the legs is often found the velangu suli, or chain circlet, from its being like a chain bound round the legs. both these are said to be bad marks, and bulls having them are invariably hard to sell. attempts at erasure of unlucky marks are frequently noticed, for the reason that an animal with a bad mark is scarcely, if ever, sold to advantage. one of the most common and most effective ways of erasing an unlucky mark is to brand it pretty deep, so that the hair disappears, and the curl is no more observable. animals so branded are regarded with considerable suspicion, and it is often difficult to secure purchasers for them." the following are some of the marks on horses and cattle recorded by mr holmes: [60]-(a) horses 1. deobund (having control over evil spirits), also termed devuman or devumani, said by muhammadans to represent the prophet's finger, and by hindus to represent a temple bell. this mark is a ridge, one to three inches long, situated between the throat and counter along the line of the trachea. it is the most lucky mark a horse can possess. it is compared to the sun, and, therefore, when it is present, none of the evil stars can shine, and all unlucky omens are overruled. 2. khorta-gad (peg-driver), or khila-gad, is a ridge of hair directed downwards on one or both hind-legs. it is said that no horse in the stable will be sold, so long as a horse with this mark is kept. 3. badi (fetter), a ridge of hair directed upwards on one or both forearms on the outer side, and said to indicate that the owner of the animal will be sent to jail. 4. thanni (teat). teat-like projections on the sheath of the male are considered unlucky. (b) cattle 5. bhashicam suli is a crown on the forehead above the line of the eyes, named after the chaplet worn by bride and bridegroom during the marriage ceremony. if the purchaser be a bachelor or widower, this mark indicates that he will marry soon. if the purchaser be a married man, he will either have the misfortune to lose his wife and marry again, or the good fortune to obtain two wives. 6. mukkanti suli. three crowns on the forehead, arranged in the form of a triangle, said to represent the three eyes of siva, of which the one on the forehead will, if opened, burn up all things within the range of vision. 7. padai suli. two ridges of hair on the back on either side of the middle line, indicating that the purchaser will soon need a coffin. 8. tattu suli. a crown situated on the back between the points of the hips, indicating that any business undertaken by the purchaser will fail. 9. a bullock with numerous spots over the body, like a deer, is considered very lucky. the following quaint omen is recorded by bishop whitehead. [61] at a certain village, when a pig is sacrificed to the village goddess angalamman, its neck is first cut slightly, and the blood allowed to flow on to some boiled rice placed on a plantain leaf, and then the rice soaked in its own blood is given to the pig to eat. if the pig eats it, the omen is good, if not, the omen is bad; but, in any case, the pig has its head cut off by the pujari (priest). if a brahmani kite (haliastur indus), when flying, is seen carrying something in its beak, the omen is considered very auspicious. the sight of this bird on a sunday morning is also auspicious, so, on this day, people may be seen throwing pieces of mutton or lumps of butter to it. [62] if an owl takes refuge in a house, the building is at once deserted, the doors are closed, and the house is not occupied for six months, when an expiatory sacrifice must be performed. brahmans are fed, and the house can only be re-entered after the proper hour has been fixed upon. this superstition only refers to a thatched house; a terraced house need not be vacated. [63] ill-luck will follow, should an owl sit on the housetop, or perch on the bough of a tree near the house. one screech forebodes death; two screeches forebode success in any approaching undertaking; three, the addition of a girl to the family by marriage; four, a disturbance; five, that the hearer will travel. six screeches foretell the coming of guests; seven, mental distress; eight, sudden death; and nine signify favourable results. a species of owl, called pullu, is a highly dreaded bird. it is supposed to cause all kinds of illness to children, resulting in emaciation. at the sound of the screeching, children are taken into a room, to avoid its furtive and injurious gaze. various propitiatory ceremonies are performed by specialists to secure its good-will. amulets are worn by children as a preventive against its evil influences. to warn off the unwelcome intruder, broken pots, painted with black and white dots, are set up on housetops. in the bellary district, the flat roofs of many houses may be seen decked with rags, fluttering from sticks, piles of broken pots, and so forth. these are to scare away owls, which, it is said, sometimes vomit up blood, and sometimes milk. if they sit on a house and bring up blood, it is bad for the inmates; if milk, good. but the risk of the vomit turning out to be blood is apparently more feared than the off chance of its proving to be milk is hoped for, and it is thought best to be on the safe side, and keep the owl at a distance. [64] the kondhs believe that, if an owl hoots over the roof of a house, or on a tree close thereto, a death will occur in the family at an early date. if the bird hoots close to a village, but outside it, the death of one of the villagers will follow. for this reason, it is pelted with stones, and driven off. the waist-belt of a koraga, whom i saw at udipi in south canara, was made of owl bones. should a crow come near the house, and caw in its usual rapid raucous tones, it means that calamity is impending. but, should the bird indulge in its peculiar prolonged guttural note, happiness will ensue. if a crow keeps on cawing incessantly at a house, it is believed to foretell the coming of a guest. the belief is so strong that some housewives prepare more food than is required for the family. there is also an insect called virunthoo poochee, or guest insect. if crows are seen fighting in front of a house, news of a death will shortly be heard. in some places, if a crow enters a house, it must be vacated for not less than three months, and, before it can be re-occupied, a purification ceremony must be performed, and a number of brahmans fed. among the poorer classes, who are unable to incur this expense, it is not uncommon to allow a house which has been thus polluted to fall into ruins. [65] in malabar, there is a belief that ill-luck will result if, on certain days, a crow soils one's person or clothes. the evil can only be removed by bathing with the clothes on, and propitiating brahmans. on other days, the omen is a lucky one. on sradh (memorial) days, pindams (balls of cooked rice) are offered to the crows. if they do not touch them, the ceremony is believed not to have been properly performed, and the wishes of the dead man are not satisfied. if the crows, after repeated trials, fail to eat the rice, the celebrant makes up his mind to satisfy these wishes, and the crows are then supposed to relish the balls. on one occasion, my brahman assistant was in camp with me on the palni hills, the higher altitudes of which are uninhabited by crows, and he had perforce to march down to the plains, in order to perform the annual ceremony in memory of his deceased father. on another occasion, a brahman who was staying on the palni hills telegraphed to the village of periakulam for two crows, which duly arrived confined in a cage. the sradh ceremony was performed, and the birds were then set at liberty. on the last day of the death ceremonies of the oddes (navvies), some rice is cooked, and placed on an arka (calotropis gigantea) leaf as an offering to the crows. the arka plant, which grows luxuriantly on waste lands, is, it may be noted, used by brahmans for the propitiation of rishis (sages) and pithrus (ancestors). [66] for seven days after the death of a paniyan of malabar, a little rice gruel is placed near the grave by the chemmi (priest), who claps his hands as a signal to the evil spirits in the vicinity, who, in the shape of a pair of crows, are supposed to partake of the food, which is hence called kaka conji, or crow's gruel. on the third day after the death of a bedar (canarese cultivator), a woman brings to the graveside some luxuries in the way of food, which is mixed up in a winnowing tray into three portions, and placed in front of three stones set over the head, abdomen, and legs of the deceased, for crows to partake of. on the sixth day after the death of a korava, the chief mourner kills a fowl, and mixes its blood with rice. this he places, with betel leaves and areca nuts, near the grave. if it is carried off by crows, everything is considered to have been settled satisfactorily. when a jungle urali has been excommunicated from his caste, he must kill a sheep or goat before the elders, and mark his forehead with its blood. he then gives a feast to the assembly, and puts part of the food on the roof of his house. if the crows eat it, he is received back into the caste. a native clerk some time ago took leave in anticipation of sanction, on receipt of news of a death in his family at a distant town. his excuse was that his elder brother had, on learning that his son had seen two crows in coitu, sent him a post-card stating that the son was dead. the boy turned out to be alive, but the card, it was explained, was sent owing to a superstitious belief that, if a person sees two crows engaged in sexual congress, he will die unless one of his relations sheds tears. to avert this catastrophe, false news as to the death are sent by post or telegraph, and subsequently corrected by a letter or telegram announcing that the individual is alive. a white (albino) crow, which made its appearance in the city of madras a few years ago, caused considerable interest among the residents of the locality, as it was regarded as a very good omen. among some classes in mysore, there is a belief that, if a death occurs in a house on tuesday or friday, another death will speedily follow unless a fowl is tied to one corner of the bier. the fowl is buried with the corpse. those castes which do not eat fowls replace it by the bolt of the door. [67] among the tamils, if a burial takes place on a saturday, a fowl must be buried or burnt, or another death will shortly occur in the family. there is a tamil proverb that a saturday corpse will not go alone. when a fowl is sacrificed to the deity by the jungle paliyans of the palni hills, the head ought to be severed at one blow, as this is a sign of the satisfaction of the god for the past, and of protection for the future. should the head still hang, this would be a bad omen, foreboding calamities for the ensuing year. [68] an interesting rite in connection with pregnancy ceremonies among the oddes (navvies) is the presentation of a fowl or two to the pregnant woman by her maternal uncle. the birds are tended with great care, and, if they lay eggs abundantly, it is a sign that the woman will be prolific. by some it is considered unlucky to keep pigeons about a dwelling-house, as they are believed, on account of their habit of standing on one leg, to lead to poverty. the temple or blue-rock pigeon is greatly venerated by natives, who consider themselves highly favoured if the birds build in their houses. should a death occur in a house where there are tame pigeons, all the birds will, it is said, at the time of the funeral, circle thrice round the loft, and leave the locality for ever. house sparrows are supposed to possess a similar characteristic, but, before quitting the house of mourning, they will pull every straw out of their nests. sparrows are credited with bringing good luck to the house in which they build their nests. for this purpose, when a house is under construction, holes are left in the walls or ceiling, or earthen pots are hung on the walls by means of nails, as an attractive site for nesting. one method of attracting sparrows to a house is to make a noise with rupees as in the act of counting out coins. there are experts who are able to interpret the significance of the chirping of lizards, which, inter alia, foretells the approach of a case of snake-bite, and whether the patient will die or not. the fall of a lizard on different parts of the body is often taken as an omen for good or evil, according as it alights on the right or left side, hand or foot, head or shoulders. a native of cochin foretold from the chirping of a lizard that a robbery would take place at a certain temple. in accordance with the prophecy, the temple jewels were looted, and the prophet was sent to prison under suspicion of being an accomplice of the thieves, but subsequently released. the hook-swinging ceremony is said [69] to be sometimes performed after the consent of the goddess has been obtained. if a lizard is heard chirping on the right, it is regarded as a sign of her consent. it is believed that the man who is swung suffers no pain if the cause is a good one, but excruciating agony if it is a bad one. if an "iguana" (varanus) enters a house, misfortune is certain to occur within a year, unless the house is shut up for six months. the appearance of a tortoise in a house, or in a field which is being ploughed, is inauspicious. in the cuddapah district, a cultivator applied for remission of rent, because one of his fields had been left waste owing to a tortoise making its appearance in it. if, under these circumstances, the field had been cultivated, the man, his wife, or his cattle, would have died. it was pointed out that, as the tortoise was one of vishnu's incarnations, it should have been considered as an honour that the animal visited the field; but the reply was that a tortoise would be honoured in the water, but not on the land. [70] the sight of two snakes coiled round each other in sexual congress is considered to portend some great evil. the presence of a rat-snake (zamenis mucosus) in a house at night is believed to bring good fortune to the inmates. its evil influence is in its tail, a blow from which will cause a limb to shrink in size and waste away. in a valley named rapuri kanama in the cuddapah district, there is a pond near a siva temple to gundheswara. those desirous of getting children, wealth, etc., should go there with a pure heart, bathe in the pond, and then worship at the temple. after this, they should take a wild pine-apple leaf, and place it on the border of the pond. if their wishes are to be granted, a crab rises from the water, and bites the leaf in two. if their wishes will not be granted, the crab rises, but leaves the leaf untouched. if, however, the person has not approached the pond with a pure heart, he will be set upon by a swarm of bees, which live in the vicinity, and will be driven off. [71] if the nest of a clay-building insect is found in a house, the birth of a child is foretold; if a mud nest, of a male child; if a nest made of jungle lac, of a girl. [72] ii animal superstitions 1. mammals there is a belief that the urine of a wild monkey (langur) called kondamuccha, which it discharges in a thick stream, possesses the power of curing rheumatic pains, if applied to the affected part with a mixture of garlic. some of the poorer classes in the villages of kurnool obtain a sale even for stones on which this monkey has urinated, and hill people suffering from chronic fever sometimes drink its blood. [73] i am informed by mr a. ff. martin, that he has seen a muduvar on the travancore hills much pulled down by fever seize an expiring black monkey (semnopithecus johni), and suck the blood from its jugular vein. childless muduvar couples are dieted to make them fruitful, the principal diet for the man being plenty of black monkey. the flesh of the black monkey (nilgiri langur) is sold in the nilgiri bazaars as a cure for whooping-cough. when savara (hill tribe in ganjam) children are seriously ill and emaciated, offerings are said by mr g. v. ramamurthi pantulu to be made to monkeys, not in the belief that the illness is caused by them, but because the sick child, in its wasted condition, has the attenuated figure of these animals. the offerings consist of rice and other articles of food, which are placed in baskets suspended from branches of trees in the jungle. some years ago, a drinking fountain was erected at the madras museum, in which the water issued from the mouth of a lion. it entirely failed in its object, as the native visitors would not use it, because the animal was represented in the act of vomiting. i am informed by mr c. hayavadana rao that the beparis, who are traders and carriers between the hills and plains in the vizagapatam agency tracts, regard themselves as immune from the attacks of tigers, if they take certain precautions. most of them have to pass through places infested with these beasts, and their favourite method of keeping them off is as follows. as soon as they encamp at a place, they level a square bit of ground, and light fires in it, round which they pass the night. it is their firm belief that the tiger will not enter the square, from fear lest it should become blind, and eventually be shot. mr hayavadana rao was once travelling towards malkangiri from jeypore, when he fell in with a party of beparis thus encamped. at that time the villages about malkangiri were being ravaged by a notorious man-eater. in connection with man-eating tigers, mr s. m. fraser narrates [74] that, in mysore, a man-eater was said to have attacked parties bearing corpses to the burning-ground. "the acquisition," he writes, "of such a curious taste may perhaps be explained by the following passage in a letter from the amildar. it is a custom among the villagers here not to burn or bury the dead bodies of pregnant females, but to expose them in the neighbouring jungles to be eaten by vultures and wild beasts. the body is tied to a tree, in a sitting posture, and a pot of water is put close by. not long ago some cowherd boys came across the dead body of a woman tied to a tree, and noticed the foot-prints of a tiger round it, but the body was untouched. the boys cut the rope binding the body, which fell to the ground, and the next day the corpse was found eaten away by the tiger." the village of hulikal, or tiger's stone, on the nilgiris is so called because in it a badaga once killed a notorious man-eater. the spot where the beast was buried is shown near the pillaiyar (ganesa) temple, and is marked by three stones. it is said that there was formerly a stone image of the slain tiger thereabouts. [75] when a tiger enters the dwelling of a savara (hill tribe in ganjam) and carries off an inmate, the village is said to be deserted, and sacrifices are offered to some spirits by the inhabitants. it is noted by mr f. fawcett [76] that the savaras have names for numerals up to twelve only. this is accounted for by a story that, long ago, some savaras were measuring grain in a field, and, when they had completed twelve measures, a tiger pounced on them, and devoured them. so, ever after, they have not dared to have a numeral above twelve for fear of a tiger repeating the performance. in the vizagapatam district, a ballad is sung by the dasaris (a mendicant caste) about the goddess yerakamma, who is reputed to have been the child of dasari parents, and to have had the possession of second sight foretold by a yerukala fortune-teller. she eventually married, and one day begged her husband not to go to his field, as she was sure he would be killed by a tiger if he did. he went notwithstanding, and was slain as she had foreseen. she killed herself by committing sati (suttee, or burning of the living widow) on the spot where her shrine still stands. the muduvars are said by mr martin to share with other jungle folk the belief that, if any animal is killed by a tiger or leopard so as to lie north and south, it will not be eaten by the beast of prey. nor will it be revisited, so that sitting over a "kill" which has fallen north and south, in the hope of getting a shot at the returning tiger or leopard, is a useless proceeding. the billava toddy-drawers believe that, if the spathe of the palm tree is beaten with the bone of a buffalo which has been killed by a tiger, the yield of toddy will, if the bone has not touched the ground, be greater than if an ordinary bone is used. i once received an application for half a pound of tiger's fat, presumably for medicinal purposes. the bones of tigers and leopards ground into powder, and mixed with their fat, gingelly (sesamum) oil, and a finely powdered blue stone, make an ointment for the cure of syphilitic sores. the bones of a leopard or hyæna, ground into powder and made into a paste with ox-gall and musk, are said to be a useful ointment for application to rheumatic joints. the addition of the fat of tigers or leopards makes the ointment more effective. i am told that when, on one occasion, a european shot a tiger, the natives were so keen on securing some of the fat, that the shikaris (hunters) came to him to decide as to the proper distribution among themselves and the camp servants. the leopard is looked upon as in some way sacred by the hill kondhs. they object to a dead leopard being carried through their villages, and oaths are taken on a leopard's skin. writing in 1873, dr francis day states [77] that "at cannanore (in malabar), the rajah's cat appears to be exercising a deleterious influence on one branch at least of the fishing, viz., that for sharks. it appears that, in olden times, one fish daily was taken from each boat as a perquisite for the rajah's cat, or the poocha meen (cat-fish) collection. the cats apparently have not augmented so much as the fishing boats, so this has been converted into a money payment of two pies a day on each successful boat." in connection with cats, there is a tradition that a jogi (telugu mendicant) bridegroom, before tying the bottu (marriage badge) on his bride's neck, had to tie it by means of a string dyed with turmeric round the neck of a female cat. people sometimes object to the catching of cats by jogis for food, as the detachment of a single hair from the body of a cat is considered a heinous offence. to overcome the objection, the jogi says that he wants the animal for a marriage ceremony. on one occasion, i saw a madiga (telugu pariah) carrying home a bag full of kittens, which he said he was going to eat. some time ago, some prisoners, who called themselves billaikavus (cat-eaters), were confined in the vizagapatam jail. i am informed that these people are mala paidis, who eat cat flesh. the gun with which a wolf has been shot falls under some evil influence, and it is said not to shoot straight afterwards. hence some shikaris (hunters) will not shoot at a wolf. the hyæna is believed to beat to death, or strangle with its tail, those whom it seizes. the head of a hyæna is sometimes buried in cattle-sheds, to prevent cattle disease. its incisor teeth are tied round the loins of a woman in labour, to lessen the pains. [78] there is a belief that, when a bear seizes a man, it tickles him to death. [79] bears are supposed, owing to the multilobulated external appearance of the kidneys, to gain an additional pair of these organs every year of their life. they are believed to collect ripe wood-apples (feronia elephantum) during the season, and store them in a secure place in the forest. after a large quantity has been collected, they remove the rind, and heap together all the pulp. they then bring honey and the petals of sweet-smelling flowers, put them on the heap of pulp, thresh them with their feet and sticks in their hands, and, when the whole has become a consistent mass, feast on it. the vedans (hunters) watch them when so engaged, drive them off, and rob them of their feast, which they carry off, and sell as karadi panchamritham, or bear delicacy made of five ingredients. the ordinary ingredients of panchamritham are slices of plantain (banana) fruits, jaggery (crude sugar) or sugar, cocoanut scrapings, ghi (clarified butter), honey, and cardamom seeds. it is believed that the flesh or blood of some animals, which have certain organs largely developed, will cure disease of corresponding organs in the human subject. thus, the flesh of the jackal, which is credited with the possession of very powerful lungs, is said to be a remedy for asthma. by the jungle paliyans of the palni hills, the following device is adopted to protect themselves from the attacks of wild animals, the leopard in particular. four jackals' tails are planted in four different spots, chosen so as to include the area in which they wish to be safe from the brute. even if a leopard entered the magic square, it could do the paliyan no harm, as its mouth is locked. [80] there is a belief that the urine of wild dogs (cyon dukhunensis) is extremely acrid, and that they sprinkle with it the bushes through which they drive their prey (deer and wild pigs), and then rush upon the latter, when blinded by the pungent fluid. according to another version, they jerk the urine into their victim's eyes with their tails. the koyis of the godavari district are said by the rev. j. cain [81] to hold in reverence the pandava brothers, arjuna and bhima, and claim descent from the latter by his marriage with a wild woman of the woods. the wild dogs or dhols are regarded as the dutas or messengers of the brothers, and they would on no account kill a dhol, even though it should attack their favourite calf. they even regard it as imprudent to interfere with these dutas, when they wish to feast upon their cattle. the long black beetles, which appear in large numbers at the beginning of the hot weather, are called by the koyis the pandava flock of goats. at a sale of cattle, the vendor sometimes takes a small quantity of straw in his hand, and, putting some cow-dung on it, presents it to the purchaser. [82] the five products of the cow, known as panchagavyam--milk, curds, butter, urine, and fæces--are taken by hindus to remove pollution from confinement, a voyage across the seas, and other causes. it is on record [83] that the tanjore nayakar, having betrayed madura and suffered for it, was told by his brahman advisers that he had better be born again. so a colossal cow was cast in bronze, and the nayakar shut up inside. the wife of his brahman guru (religious preceptor) received him in her arms, rocked him on her knees, and caressed him on her breast, and he tried to cry like a baby. it is recorded by frazer [84] that, when a hindu child's horoscope portends misfortune or crime, he is born again from a cow thus. being dressed in scarlet, and tied on a new sieve, he is passed between the hind-legs of a cow forward through the fore-legs, and again in the reverse direction, to simulate birth. the ordinary birth ceremonies are then gone through, and the father smells his son as a cow smells her calf. tradition runs to the effect that, at the time of the separation of ramesvaram island from the mainland, the cows became prisoners thereon. not being able, like the cows of cape cod, which are fed on herrings' heads, to adapt themselves to a fish diet, they became gradually converted into diminutive metamorphosed cows, which may still be seen grazing on the shore. the legend is based on the fancied resemblance of the horned coffer-fishes (ostracion cornutus), which are frequently caught by the fishermen, to cattle. portions of the skulls of cats and dogs, which are sometimes picked up on the beach, also bear a rude resemblance to the skull of a cow, the horns being represented by the zygoma. a story is told at cochin that the beautiful blue and white tiles from canton, which adorn the floor of the synagogue of the white jews, were originally intended for the durbar hall of a former raja of cochin. but a wily jew declared that bullock's blood must have been used in the preparation of the glaze, and offered to take them off the hands of the raja, who was only too glad to get rid of them. the afterbirths (placentæ) of cattle are tied to a tree which yields a milky juice, in the belief that the cow will thereby give a better yield of milk. there is a custom among the tellis (oriya oil-pressers) that, if a cow dies with a rope round its neck, or on the spot where it is tethered, the family is under pollution until purification has been effected by means of a pilgrimage, or by bathing in a sacred river. the holodia section of the tellis will not rear male calves, and do not castrate their bulls. male calves are disposed of by sale as speedily as possible. if the jungle paliyans of tinnevelly come across the carcase of a cow or buffalo near a stream, they will not go near it for a long time. they absolutely refuse to touch leather, and one of them declined to carry my camera box, because he detected that it had a leather strap. the bakudas of south canara will not carry a bedstead, unless the legs are first taken off, and it is said that this objection rests upon the supposed resemblances between the four-legged cot and the four-legged ox. in like manner, the koragas have a curious prejudice against carrying any four-legged animal, dead or alive. this extends to anything with four legs, such as a chair, table, etc., which they cannot be prevailed on to lift, unless one leg is removed. as they work as coolies, this is said sometimes to cause inconvenience. [85] among the sembaliguda gadabas of vizagapatam, there is a belief that a piece of wild buffalo horn, buried in the ground of the village, will avert or cure cattle disease. [86] the jungle kadirs believe that their gods occasionally reside in the body of a "bison" (bos gaurus), and have been known to worship a bull shot by a sportsman. the goddess gangadevi is worshipped by the kevutos (fishing caste) of ganjam at the dasara festival, and goats are sacrificed in her honour. in the neighbourhood of the chilka lake, the goats are not sacrificed, but set at liberty, and allowed to graze on the kalikadevi hill. there is a belief that animals thus dedicated to the goddess do not putrify when they die, but dry up. the tiyans (toddy-drawers) of malabar carry, tucked into the waist-cloth, a bone loaded with lead at both ends, which is used for tapping the flower-stalk of the palm tree to bring out the juice. a man once refused to sell one of these bones to mr f. fawcett at any price, as it was the femur of a sambar (cervus unicolor), which possessed such virtue that it would fetch juice out of any tree. deer's horn, ground into a fine paste, is said to be an excellent balm for pains and swellings. it is sometimes made into a powder, which is mixed with milk or honey, and produces a potion which is supposed to aid the growth of stunted women. [87] a yanadi shikari (hunter) has been known, when skinning a black buck (antelope) shot by a european, to cut out the testicles, and wrap them up in his loin-cloth, to be subsequently taken as an aphrodisiac. antelope horn, when powdered and burnt, is said to drive away mosquitoes, and keep scorpions away. a paste made with antelope horn is used as an external application for sore throat. antelope and chinkara (indian gazelle) horns, if kept in grain baskets, are said to prevent weevils from attacking the grain. the gadabas of vizagapatam will not touch a horse, as they are palanquin-bearers, and have the same objection to the rival animal that a cab-driver has to a motor-car. in south canara, none but the lowest pariah will rub a horse down. if a malai vellala of coimbatore touches one of these animals, he has to perform a religious ceremonial for the purpose of purification. the members of the elephant sept of the oriya haddis, when they see the foot-prints of an elephant, take some of the dust from the spot, and make a mark on the forehead with it. they also draw the figure of an elephant, and worship it, when they perform sradh and other ceremonies. wild elephants are said to be held in veneration by the jungle kadirs, whereas tame ones are believed to have lost the divine element. [88] when cholera breaks out in a kondh village, all males and females smear their bodies from head to foot with pig's fat liquefied by heat, and continue to do so until a few days after the disappearance of the dread disease. during this time they do not bathe, lest the smell of the fat should be washed away. some women rub the blood of the small garden-bat, which has well-developed ears, into the artificially dilated lobes of their ears, so as to strengthen them. the wings of bats are highly prized as a hairwash. they are crushed, and mixed with cocoanut oil, and other ingredients. the mixture is kept underground in a closed vessel for three months, and then used to prevent the hair from falling out or turning grey. [89] the paniyans of malabar are said to eat land-crabs for a similar purpose. the common striped or palm-squirrel (sciurus palmarum) was, according to a legend, employed by rama to assist the army of monkeys in the construction of the bridge to connect ramesvaram island with ceylon, whither ravana had carried off his wife sita. the squirrel helped the monkeys by rolling in the sand on the shore, so as to collect it in its hairy coat, and then depositing it between the piled up stones, so as to cement them together. seeing it fatigued by its labours, rama sympathetically stroked its back with the three middle fingers of his right hand, marks of which still persist in the squirrels at the present day. there is a further legend that, once upon a time, one of the gods, having compassion on the toddy-drawers because their life was a hard one, and because they were constantly exposed to danger, left at the foot of a palmyra tree some charmed water, the value of which was that it saved from injury any one falling from a height. a toddy-drawer, however, got drunk, and, forgetting to drink the elixir, went home. when he returned, he found that a squirrel had drunk it, and vowed vengeance on it. and that is why every toddy-drawer will always kill a squirrel, and also why the squirrel, from whatever height it may fall, comes to no harm. [90] in a note on the pariah caste in travancore, the rev. s. mateer narrates [91] a legend that the shanans (tamil toddy-drawers) are descended from adi, the daughter of a pariah woman at karuvur, who taught them to climb the palm tree, and prepared a medicine which would protect them from falling from the high trees. the squirrels also ate some of it, and enjoy a similar immunity. there is a tamil proverb that, if you desire to climb trees, you must be a shanan. the story was told by bishop caldwell of a shanan who was sitting upon a leaf-stalk at the top of a palmyra palm in a high wind, when the stalk gave way, and he came down to the ground quite safely, sitting on the leaf, which served the purpose of a natural parachute. woodpeckers are called shanara kurivi by bird-catchers, because they climb trees like shanans. there is a legend that, before the kaliyuga began, the pandavas lived on the nilgiris. a kind of edible truffle (mylitta lapidescens) is known as little man's bread on these hills. the badaga legendary name for it is pandva-unna-buthi, or dwarf bundle of food, [92] i.e., food of the dwarfs, who are supposed to have built the pandu kulis or kistvaens. being so small, they called in the black-naped hare (lepus nigricollis) to plough their fields. the black patches on their necks are the inherited mark of the yoke. the blood of the hare is administered to children suffering from cough. bramans use a porcupine quill for parting their wives' hair in a ceremony connected with the period of gestation known as simantam. it is said [93] that among the nambutiri brahmans, the quill should have three white marks on it. the quills of porcupines are sold by jogis (telugu mendicants) to goldsmiths, for use as brushes. there is a tradition among the fishing folk of ramesvaram island that a box of money was once found in the stomach of a dugong (halicore dugong), and an official is consequently invited to be present at the examination of the stomach contents, so that the possessors of the carcase may not be punished under the treasure trove act for concealing treasure. the fat of the dugong is believed to be efficacious in the treatment of dysentery, and is administered in the form of sweetmeats, or used instead of ghi (clarified butter) in the preparation of food. 2. birds the following story is current concerning the sacred vultures of tirukazhukunram. the ashtavasus, or eight gods who guard the eight points of the compass, did penance, and siva appeared in person before them. but, becoming angry with them, he cursed them, and turned them into vultures. when they asked for forgiveness, siva directed that they should remain at the temple of vedagiri iswara. one pair of these birds still survives, and come to the temple daily at noon for food. two balls of rice cooked with ghi (clarified butter) and sugar, which have been previously offered to the deity, are placed at a particular spot on the hill. the vultures, arriving simultaneously, appropriate a ball apiece. the temple priests say that, every day, one of the birds goes on a pilgrimage to benares, and the other to ramesvaram. it is also said that the pair will never come together, if sinners are present at the temple. when a person is ill, his family sometimes make a vow that they will ofter a few pounds of mutton to the braahmani kite (haliastur indus, garuda pakshi) on the patient's recovery. it is believed that, should the offering be acceptable, the sick person will speedily get better, and the bird will come to demand its meat, making its presence known by sitting on a tree near the house, and crying plaintively. the shadow of a braahmani kite falling on a cobra is said to stupefy the snake. the kondhs do not consider it a sin to kill this bird, which is held in veneration throughout southern india. a kondh will kill it for so slight an offence as carrying off his chickens. the crow is believed to possess only one eye, which moves from socket to socket as occasion demands. the belief is founded on the legend that an asura, disguised as a crow, while rama was sleeping with his head on sita's lap in the jungles of dandaka, pecked at her breasts, so that blood issued therefrom. on waking, rama, observing the blood, and learning the cause of it, clipped a bit of straw, and, after infusing it with the brahma astra (miraculous weapon), let it go against the crow asura, who appealed to rama for mercy. taking pity on it, rama told the asura to offer one of its eyes to the weapon, and saved it from death. since that time, crows are supposed to have only one eye. the kondhs will not kill crows, as this would be a sin amounting to the killing of a friend. according to their legend, soon after the creation of the world, there was a family consisting of an aged man and woman, and four children, who died one after the other in quick succession. their parents were too infirm to take the necessary steps for their cremation, so they threw the bodies away on the ground at some distance from their home. god appeared to them in their dreams one night, and promised that he would create the crow, so that it might devour the dead bodies. some koyis believe that hell is the abode of an iron crow, which feeds on all who go there. there is a legend in the kavarathi island of the laccadives, that a mappilla tangal (muhammadan priest) once cursed the crows for dropping their excrement on his person, and now there is not a crow on the island. it is believed that, if a young crow-pheasant is tied by an iron chain to a tree, the mother, as soon as she discovers the captive, will go and fetch a certain root, and by its aid break the chain, which, when it snaps, is converted into gold. in some kapu (telugu cultivator) houses, bundles of ears of rice may be seen hung up as food for sparrows, which are held in esteem. the hopping of sparrows is said to resemble the gait of a person confined in fetters, and there is a legend that the kapus were once in chains, and the sparrows set them at liberty, and took the bondage on themselves. native physicians prescribe the flesh and bones of cock sparrows for those who have lost their virility. the birds are cleaned, and put in a mortar, together with other medicinal ingredients. they are pounded together for several hours, so that the artificial heat produced by the operation converts the mixture into a pulpy mass, which is taken in small doses. the flesh of quails and partridges is also believed to possess remedial properties. a west coast housewife, when she buys a fowl, goes through a mystic ritual to prevent it from getting lost. she takes it thrice round the fireplace, saying to it: "roam over the country and the forest, and come home safe again." some years ago, a rumour spread through the koyi villages that an iron cock was abroad very early in the morning, and upon the first village in which it heard one or more cocks crow it would send a pestilence, and decimate the village. in one instance, at least, this led to the immediate extermination of all the cocks in the village. the indian roller (coracias indica), commonly called the blue jay, is known as pala-pitta or milk bird, because it is supposed that, when a cow gives little milk, the yield will be increased if a few of the feathers of this bird are chopped up, and given to it along with grass. the fat of the peacock, which moves gracefully and easily, is supposed to cure stiff joints. peacock's feathers are sold in the bazaar, and the burnt ashes are used as a cure for vomiting. the deposit of white magnesite in the "chalk hills" of the salem district is believed to consist of the bones of the mythical bird jatayu, which fought ravana, to rescue sita from his clutches. 3. reptiles and batrachians. it is recorded by canter visscher [94] that, "in the mountains and remote jungles of this country (malabar), there is a species of snake of the shape and thickness of the stem of a tree, which can swallow men and beasts entire. i have been told an amusing story about one of these snakes. it is said that at barcelore a chego (chogan) had climbed up a cocoanut tree to draw toddy or palm wine, and, as he was coming down, both his legs were seized by a snake which had stretched itself up alongside the tree with its mouth wide open, and was sucking him in gradually as he descended. now, the indian, according to the custom of his country, had stuck his teifermes (an instrument not unlike a pruning knife), into his girdle with the curve turned outwards; and, when he was more than half swallowed, the knife began to rip up the body of the snake so as to make an opening, by which the lucky man was most unexpectedly able to escape. though the snakes in this country are so noxious to the natives, yet the ancient veneration for them is still maintained. no one dares to injure them or to drive them away by violence, and so audacious do they become that they will sometimes creep between people's legs when they are eating, and attack their bowls of rice, in which case retreat is necessary until the monsters have satiated themselves, and taken their departure." another snake story, worthy of the baron münchausen, is recorded in taylor's "catalogue raisonné of oriental manuscripts." [95] "the coya (koyi) people eat snakes. about forty years since a brahman saw a person cooking snakes for food, and, expressing great astonishment, was told by the forester that these were mere worms; that, if he wished to see a serpent, one should be shown him; but that, as for themselves, secured by the potent charms taught them by ambikesvarer, they feared no serpents. as the brahman desired to see this large serpent, a child was sent with a bundle of straw and a winnowing fan, who went, accompanied by the brahman, into the depths of the forest, and, putting the straw on the mouth of a hole, commenced winnowing, when smoke of continually varying colours arose, followed by bright flame, in the midst of which a monstrous serpent having seven heads was seen. the brahman was speechless with terror at the sight, and, being conducted back by the child, was dismissed with presents of fruits." it is stated by mr gopal panikkar [96] that, "people believe in the existence inside the earth of a precious stone called manikkakkallu. these stones are supposed to have been made out of the gold, which has existed in many parts of the earth from time immemorial. certain serpents of divine nature have been blowing for ages on these treasures of gold, some of which dwindle into a small stone of resplendent beauty and brightness called manikkam. the moment their work is finished, the serpents are transformed into winged serpents, and fly up into the air with the stones in their mouths." according to another version of this legend, [97] "people in malabar believe that snakes guard treasure. but silver they will have none. even in the case of gold, the snakes are said to visit hidden treasure for twelve years occasionally, and, only when they find that the treasure is not removed in the meantime, do they begin to guard it. when once it has begun to watch, the snake is said to be very zealous over it. it is said to hiss at it day and night. this constant application is believed to diminish its proportions, and to make it assume a smaller appearance. in time, in the place of the pointed tail, the reptile is said to get wings, and the treasure, by the continuous hissing, to assume the form of a precious stone. when this is done, the snake is said to fly with its precious acquisition. so strong is this belief that, when a comet appeared some ten years ago, people firmly believed that it was the flight of the winged serpent with the precious stone." natives, when seeking for treasure, arm themselves with a staff made from one of the snake-wood trees, in the belief that the snakes which guard the treasure will retire before it. in malabar, it is believed that snakes wed mortal girls, and fall in love with women. when once they do so, they are said to be constantly pursuing them, and never to leave them, except for an occasional separation for food. the snake is said never to use its fangs against its chosen woman. so strong is the belief, that women in malabar would think twice before attempting to go by themselves into a bush. [98] there is a temple in ganjam, the idol in which is said to be protected from desecration at night by a cobra. when the doors are being shut, the snake glides in, and coils itself round the lingam. early in the morning, when the priest opens the door, it glides away, without attempting to harm any of the large number of spectators, who never fail to assemble. [99] the town of nagercoil in travancore derives its name from the temple dedicated to the snake-god (naga kovil), where many stone images of snakes are deposited. there is a belief that snake-bite is not fatal within a mile of the temple. the safety with which snake-charmers handle cobras is said to be due to the removal of a stone, which supplied their teeth with venom, from under the tongue or behind the hood. this stone is highly prized as a snake poison antidote. it is said to be not unlike a tamarind stone in size, shape, and appearance; and is known to be genuine if, when it is immersed in water, bubbles continue to rise from it, or if, when put into the mouth, it gives a leap, and fixes itself to the palate. when it is applied to the punctures made by the snake's poison fangs, it is said to stick fast and extract the poison, falling off of itself as soon as it is saturated. after the stone drops off, the poison which it has absorbed is removed by placing it in a vessel of milk which becomes darkened in colour. a specimen was submitted to faraday, who expressed his belief that it was a piece of charred bone, which had been filled with blood, and then charred again. [100] there is, in malabar, a class of people called mantravadis (dealers in magical spells), who are believed to possess an hereditary power of removing the effects of snake poison by repeating mantrams, and performing certain rites. if a house is visited by snakes, they can expel them by reciting such mantrams on three small pebbles, and throwing them on to the roof. in cases of snake-bite, they recite mantrams and wave a cock over the patient's body from the head towards the feet. sometimes a number of cocks have to be sacrificed before the charm works. the patient is then taken to a tank (pond) or well, and a number of pots of water are emptied over his head, while the mantravadi utters mantrams. there are said to be certain revengeful snakes, which, after they have bitten a person, coil themselves round the branches of a tree, and render the efforts of the mantravadi ineffective. in such a case, he, through the aid of mantrams, sends ants and other insects to harass the snake, which comes down from the tree, and sucks the poison from the punctures which it has made. in the early part of the last century, a certain tanjore pill had a reputation as a specific against the bite of mad dogs, and of the most poisonous snakes. [101] the following note on a reputed cure for snake poisoning, used by the oddes (navvies), was communicated to me by mr gustav haller. "a young boy, who belonged to a gang of oddes, was catching rats, and put his hand into a bamboo bush, when a cobra bit him, and clung to his finger when he was drawing his hand out of the bush. i saw the dead snake, which was undoubtedly a cobra. i was told that the boy was in a dying condition, when a man of the same gang said that he would cure him. he applied a brown pill to the wound, to which it stuck without being tied. the man dipped a root into the water, and rubbed it on the lad's arm from the shoulder downwards. the arm, which was benumbed, gradually became sensitive, and at last the fingers could move, and the pill dropped off. the moist root was rubbed on to the boy's tongue, and into the corner of the eyes, before commencing operations. the man said that a used pill is quite efficacious, but should be well washed to get rid of the poison. in the manufacture of the pills, five leaves of a creeper are dried, and ground to powder. the pill must be inserted for nine days between the bark and cambium of a margosa tree (melia azadirachta) during the new moon, when the sap ascends." the creeper referred to is tinospora cordifolia (gul bel), and the roots are apparently those of the same climbing shrub. there is a widespread belief that gul bel growing on a margosa tree is more efficacious as a medicine than that which is found on other kinds of trees. in cases of snake-bite, the dommara snake-charmers place over the seat of the bite a black stone, which is said to be composed of various drugs mixed together and burnt. it is said to drop off, as soon as it has absorbed all the poison. it is then put into milk or water to extract the poison, and the fluid is thrown away as being dangerous to life if swallowed. the mandulas (wandering medicine men) use as an antidote against snake-bite a peculiar wood, of which a piece is torn off, and eaten by the person bitten. [102] among the viramushtis (professional mendicants), there is a subdivision called naga mallika (rhinacanthus communis), the roots of which are believed to cure snake-bite. the jungle paliyans of the palni hills are said [103] to carry with them certain leaves, called naru valli ver, which they believe to be a very efficient antidote to snake-bite. as soon as one of them is bitten, he chews the leaves, and also applies them to the punctures. the kudumi medicine men of travancore claim to be able to cure snake-bite by the application of certain leaves ground into a paste, and by exercising their magical powers. the telugu tottiyans are noted for their power of curing snake-bites by means of mystical incantations, and the original inventor of this mode of treatment has been deified under the name of pambalamman. the jungle yanadis are fearless in catching cobras, which they draw out of their holes without any fear of their fangs. they claim to be under the protection of a charm, while so doing. a correspondent writes that a cobra was in his grounds, and his servant called in a yanadi to dislodge it. the man caught it alive, and, before killing it, carefully removed the poison-sac with a knife, and swallowed it as a protection against snake-bite. the nayadis of malabar, when engaged in catching rats in their holes, wear round the wrist a snake-shaped metal ring, to render them safe against snakes which may be concealed in the hole. a treatment for cobra-bite is to take a chicken, and make a deep incision into the beak at the basal end. the cut surface is applied to the puncture made by the snake's fangs, which are opened up with a knife. after a time the chicken dies, and, if the patient has not come round, more chicken must be applied until he is out of danger. the theory is that the poison is attracted by the blood of the chicken, and enters it. the following treatment for cobra bite is said [104] to be in vogue in some places:- "as soon as a person has been bitten, a snake-charmer is sent for, who allures the same or another cobra whose fangs have not been drawn to the vicinity of the victim, and causes it to bite him at as nearly as possible the same place as before. should this be fulfilled, the bitten man will as surely recover as the snake will die. it is believed that, if a person should come across two cobras together, they will give him no quarter. to avoid being pursued by them, he takes to his heels, after throwing behind some garment, on which the snakes expend their wrath. when they have completed the work of destruction, the pieces to which the cloth has been reduced, are gathered together, and preserved as a panacea for future ills." a fisherman, who is in doubt as to whether a water-snake which has bitten him is poisonous or not, sometimes has resort to a simple remedy. he dips his hands into the mud, and eats several handfuls thereof. [105] the fragrant inflorescence of pandanus fascicularis is believed to harbour a tiny snake, which is more deadly than the cobra. incautious smelling of the flowers may, it is said, lead to death. the earth-snake (typhlops braminus) is known as the ear-snake, because it is supposed to enter the ear of a sleeper, and cause certain death. the harmless tree-snake (dendrophis pictus) is more dreaded than the cobra. it is believed that, after biting a human being, it ascends the nearest palmyra palm, where it waits until it sees the smoke ascending from the funeral pyre of the victim. the only chance of saving the life of a person who has been bitten is to have a mock funeral, whereat a straw effigy is burnt. seeing the smoke, the deluded snake comes down from the tree, and the bitten person recovers. the green tree-snake (dryophis mycterizans) is said to have a habit of striking at the eyes of people, to prevent which a rag is tied round the head of the snake, when it is caught. another, and more curious belief is that a magical oil can be prepared from its dead body. a tender cocoanut is opened at one end, and the body of the snake is put into the cocoanut, which, after being closed, is buried in a miry place, and allowed to remain there until the body decays, and the water in the cocoanut becomes saturated with the products of decomposition. when this has taken place, the water is taken out, and used as oil for a lamp. when a person carries such a lamp lighted, his body will appear to be covered all over by running green tree-snakes, to the great dismay of all beholders. [106] for the following note on beliefs concerning the green tree-snake (dryophis), i am indebted to dr n. annandale. a recipe for making a good curry, used by women who are bad cooks, is to take a tree-snake, and draw it through the hands before beginning to make the curry. to cure a headache, kill a tree-snake, and ram cotton seed and castor-oil down its throat, until the whole body is full. then bury it, and allow the seeds to grow. take the seeds of the plants that spring up, and separate the cotton from the castor seeds. ram them down the throat of a second snake. repeat the process on a third snake, and make a wick from the cotton of the plant that grows out of its body, and oil from the castor plants. if you light the wick in a lamp filled with the oil, and take it outside at night, you will see the whole place alive with green tree-snakes. another way of performing the same experiment is to bore a hole in a ripe cocoanut, put in a live tree-snake, and stop the hole up. then place the cocoanut beneath a cow in a cowshed for forty days, so that it is exposed to the action of the cow's urine. a lamp fed with oil made from the cocoanut will enable you to see innumerable tree-snakes at night. the bite of the sand-snake (eryx johnii) is believed to cause leprosy and twisting of the hands and feet. an earth-snake, which lives at kodaikanal on the palni hills, is credited with giving leprosy to any one whose skin it licks. in the treatment of leprosy, a russell's viper (vipera russellii) is stuffed with rice, and put in an earthen pot, the mouth of which is sealed with clay. the pot is buried for forty days, and then exhumed. chickens are fed with the rice, and the patient is subsequently fed on the chickens. the fat of the rat-snake (zamenis mucosus) is used as an external application in the treatment of leprosy. an old woman, during an epidemic of cholera at bezwada, used to inject the patients hypodermically with an aqueous solution of cobra venom. mischievous children, and others, when they see two persons quarrelling, rub the nails of the fingers of one hand against those of the other, and repeat the words "mungoose and snake, bite, bite," in the hope that thereby the quarrel will be intensified, and grow more exciting from the spectator's point of view. when a friend was engaged in experiments on snake venom, some dommaras (jugglers) asked for permission to unbury the corpses of the snakes and mungooses for the purpose of food. if a snake becomes entangled in the net of a bestha fisherman in mysore when it is first used, the net is rejected, and burnt or otherwise disposed of. there is a widespread belief among children in malabar, that a lizard (calotes versicolor) sucks the blood of those whom it looks at. as soon, therefore, as they catch sight of this creature, they apply saliva to the navel, from which it is believed that the blood is extracted. a legend is recorded by dr annandale, [107] in accordance with which every good muhammadan should kill the blood-sucker (lizard), calotes gigas, at sight, because, when some fugitive muhammadans were hiding from their enemies in a well, one of these animals came and nodded its head in their direction till their enemies saw them. a similar legend about another lizard is described as existing in egypt. dr annandale further records that the hindus and muhammadans of ramnad in the ramnad district regard the chamæleon (chamæleon calcaratus) as being possessed by an evil spirit, and will not touch it, lest the spirit should enter their own bodies. i have been told that the bite of a chamæleon is more deadly than that of a cobra. there is a popular belief that the bite of the brahmini lizard (mabuia carinata), called aranai in tamil, is poisonous, and there is a saying that death is instantaneous if aranai bites. the same belief exists in ceylon, and mr arthur willey informs me that deaths attributed to the bite of this animal are recorded almost annually in the official vital statistics. i have never heard of a case of poisoning by the animal in question. there is a legend that, "when the cobra and the arana were created, poison was supplied to them, to be sucked from a leaf. the arana sucked it wholesale, leaving only the leaf smeared over with poison for the cobra to lap poison from; thereby implying that the cobra is far less venomous than the arana. thus people greatly exaggerate the venomous character of the arana." [108] it has already been noted (p. 73) that, when savara children are emaciated from illness, offerings are made to monkeys. blood-suckers are also said to be propitiated, because they have filamentous bodies. a blood-sucker is captured, small toy arrows are tied round its body, and a piece of cloth is tied round its head. some drops of liquor are then poured into its mouth, and it is set at liberty. the maratha rajas of sandur belong to a family called ghorpade, which name is said to have been earned by one of them scaling a precipitous fort by clinging to an "iguana" (varanus), which was crawling up it. the flesh of the "iguana" is supposed to be possessed of extraordinary invigorating powers, and a meal off this animal is certain to restore the powers of youth. its bite is considered very dangerous, and it is said that, when it has once closed its teeth on human flesh, it will not reopen them, and the only remedy is to cut out the piece it has bitten. [109] this animal and the crocodile are believed to proceed from the eggs laid by one animal. they are laid and hatched near water, and, of the animals which come out of them, some find their way into the water, while others remain on land. the former become crocodiles, and the latter "iguanas." the flesh of the crocodile is administered as a cure for whooping-cough. it is popularly believed that, if a toad falls on a pregnant woman, the child that is to be born will die soon after birth. the only remedy is to capture the offending toad, and fry it in some medicinal oil, which must be administered to the child in order to save it from death. [110] 4. fishes it is recorded [111] that "matsya gundam (fish pool) is a curious pool in the macheru (fish river) near the village of matam, close under the great yendrika hill. the pool is crowded with mahseer (barbus tor) of all sizes. these are wonderfully tame, the bigger ones feeding fearlessly from one's hand, and even allowing their backs to be stroked. they are protected by the madgole zamindars, who on several grounds venerate all fish. once, the story goes, a brinjari caught one, and turned it into curry, whereon the king of the fish solemnly cursed him, and he and all his pack-bullocks were turned into rocks, which may be seen there to the present day. at sivaratri, a festival occurs at the little thatched shrine near by, the priest at which is a bagata (telugu freshwater fisher), and part of the ritual consists in feeding the sacred fish. the madgole zamindars claim to be descended from the rulers of matsya desa. they are installed on a stone throne shaped like a fish, display a fish on their banners, and use a figure of a fish as a signature. some of their dependents wear ear-rings shaped like a fish." a tank at coondapoor contained a species of fish locally known as the flower-fish, which was especially reserved for the table of tipu sultan, being fat and full of blood. [112] the sacred fish at tirupparankunram near madura are said to have been sages in a bygone age, and it is believed to be very meritorious to look at them. they are said to appear on the surface of the water only if you call out "kasi visvanatha." but it is said that a handful of peas thrown into the pool is more effective. the ambalakkarans (tamil cultivators) admit that they are called valaiyans, but repudiate any connection with the caste of that name. they explain the appellation by a story that, when siva's ring was swallowed by a fish in the ganges, one of their ancestors invented the first net (valai) made in the world. some natives will not eat the murrel fish (ophiocephalus striatus), owing to its resemblance to a snake. some halepaiks (canarese toddy-drawers) avoid eating a fish called srinivasa, because they fancy that the streaks on the body bear a resemblance to the vaishnavite sectarian mark (namam). members of the vamma gotra of the janappans (telugu traders) abstain from eating the bombadai fish, because, when some of their ancestors went to fetch water in a marriage pot, they found a number of this fish in the water collected in the pot. when a new net is used for the first time by the besthas of mysore, the first fish which is caught is cut, and the net is smeared with its blood. one of the meshes of the net is burnt, after incense has been thrown into the fire. 5. invertebrates the sahavasis of mysore are described [113] as "immigrants, like the chitpavanas. sahavasi means co-tenant or associate, and the name is said to have been earned by the community in the following manner. in remote times, a certain brahman came upon hidden treasure, but, to his amazement, the contents appeared in his eyes to be all live scorpions. out of curiosity, he hung one of them outside his house. a little while after, a woman of inferior caste, who was passing by the house, noticed it to be gold, and, upon her questioning him about it, the brahman espoused her, and by her means was able to enjoy the treasure. he gave a feast in honour of his acquisition of wealth. he was subsequently outcasted for his mésalliance with the low caste female, while those who ate with him were put under a ban, and thus acquired the nickname." it is commonly said that the scorpion has great reverence for the name of ganesa, because it is supposed that when, on seeing a scorpion, one cries out "pilliyar annai" (in the name of ganesa), the scorpion will suddenly stop; the truth of the matter being that any loud noise arrests the movements of the animal. [114] at the temple of kolaramma at kolar in mysore, a pit under the entrance is full of scorpions, and the customary offerings are silver scorpions. the village goddess at nangavaram in the trichinopoly district is called sattandi amman, and her idol represents her in the act of weaving a garland of scorpions. it is generally supposed that no scorpion can live in this village, and that the sacred ashes from sattandi amman's shrine are a specific for scorpion stings. people sometimes carry some of the ashes about with them, in case they should be stung. [115] at royachoti in the cuddapah district, a festival is held on the occasion of the god going hunting. the idol virabudra is carried to a mantapam outside the town, and placed on the ground. beneath the floor of the mantapam there is a large number of scorpions. whilst the god is taking his rest, the attendants catch these scorpions, and hold them in their hands without being stung. as long as the god remains in the mantapam, the scorpions do not sting, but, directly he leaves it, they resume their poisonous propensities. [116] the peon (attendant) in the zoological laboratory of one of the madras colleges would put his hand with impunity into a jar of live scorpions, of which he believed that only a pregnant female would sting him with hurt. lieutenant-colonel d. d. cunningham records [117] the case of a certain yogi (religious mendicant), who was insusceptible to the stings of scorpions, "which would fix their stings so firmly into his fingers that, when he raised and shook his hand about, they remained anchored and dangling by their tails, whilst neither then nor afterwards did he show the slightest sign of pain or inconvenience. the immunity may possibly have been the result of innate idiosyncratic peculiarity in the constitution of the performer, or more probably represented the outcome of artificial exemption acquired at the expense of repeated inoculations with the virus, and corresponding development of its antitoxin." a sweeper man, who had a mole on his back in shape somewhat resembling a scorpion, believed himself to be immune against scorpion sting, and would confidently insert the poison spine of a live scorpion into his skin. in a letter to a medical officer, a native wrote, that, when a pregnant woman is stung by a scorpion, the child which is in the womb at the time of such stinging, when delivered, does not suffer from the sting of a scorpion, if ever it is stung during its lifetime. some families keep in their homes small pots called thelkodukku undi (scorpion sting vessels), and occasionally drop therein a copper coin, which is supposed to secure immunity against scorpion sting. the sakuna pakshi mendicants of vizagapatam have a remedy for scorpion sting in the root of a plant called thella visari (scorpion antidote), which they carry about with them on their rounds. the root should be collected on a new-moon day which falls on a sunday. on that day, the sakuna pakshi bathes, cuts off his loin-cloth, and goes stark-naked to a selected spot, where he gathers the roots. if a supply thereof is required, and the necessary combination of moon and day is not forthcoming, the roots should be collected on a sunday or wednesday. in cases of scorpion sting, dommara medicine-men rub up patent boluses with human milk or juice of the milk-hedge plant (euphorbia tirucalli), and apply them to the parts. among quaint remedies for scorpion sting may be noted, sitting with an iron crowbar in the mouth, and the application of chopped lizard over the puncture. the excrement of lizards fed on scorpions, and the undigested food in the stomach of a freshly killed goat, dried and reduced to powder, are also believed to be effective remedies. there is a belief that scorpions have the power of reviving, even after being completely crushed into pulp. we are, therefore, warned not to rest secure till the animal has actually been cremated. the whip-scorpion thelyphonus is believed to be venomous, some natives stating that it stings like a scorpion, others that it ejects a slimy fluid which burns, and produces blisters. the caudal flagellum of thelyphonus, of course, possesses no poison apparatus. when the umbilical cord of a kondh baby sloughs off, a spider is burnt in the fire, and its ashes are placed in a cocoanut shell, mixed with castor-oil, and applied by means of a fowl's feather to the navel. the eggs of red ants, boiled in margosa (melia azadirachta) oil, are said to be an invaluable remedy for children suffering from asthma. if a house is infested by mosquitoes, or the furniture and bedding by bugs, the names of a hundred villages or towns should be written on a piece of paper. care must be taken that all the names end in uru, kottai, palayam, etc. the paper is fastened to the ceiling or bed-post, and relief from the pests will be instantaneous. [118] the oriya haddis, on the evening of the tenth day after a death, proceed to some distance from the house, and place food and fruits on a cloth spread on the ground. they then call the dead man by his name, and eagerly wait till some insect settles on the cloth. as soon as this happens, the cloth is folded up, carried home, and shaken over the floor close to the spot where the household gods are kept, so that the insect falls on the sand spread on the floor. a light is then placed on the sanded floor, and covered with a new pot. after some time, the pot is removed, and the sand examined for any marks which may be left on it. a devil, in the disguise of a dung-beetle of large size, is believed to haunt the house wherein a baby has been newly born, and the impact of the insect against the infant will bring about its instant death. the following case was brought to my notice by the chemical examiner to government. in malabar, a young man, apparently in good health, walked home with two other men after a feast, chewing betel. arriving at his home, he retired to rest, and was found dead in the morning. blood was described as oozing out of his eyes. it was given out that the cause of death was an insect, which infests betel leaves, and is very poisonous. the belief in death from chewing or swallowing the veththilai or vettila poochi (betel insect) is a very general one, and is so strong that, when a person suffers from giddiness, after chewing betel, he is afraid that he has partaken of the poisonous insect. native gentlemen take particular care to examine every betel leaf, wipe it with a cloth, and smear chunam (lime) over it, before chewing. the poochi is called by gundert [119] vettila pampu or moorkhan (snake), or vettila thel (scorpion). it has been described [120] as "a poisonous creature, which lives adhering to the betel leaf. its presence cannot be easily detected, and many deaths occur among persons who are in the habit of carelessly chewing betel. the poison passes into the system through the moisture of the mouth, and death ensues within an hour and a half. it generally inhabits the female leaf, i.e., the leaf that opens at night. the following symptoms are seen when a person is affected with the poison:--exhaustion, delirium, copious perspiration, and change of colour of the skin. treatment:--administer internally the juice of the leaves of a tree called arippera. make the patient suck the milk of the breast of a woman, whose baby is more than eighty days old." a perichæte earthworm was sent to me from malabar as a specimen of vettila poochi, with a note to the effect that, when it is accidentally chewed, the chief symptom is drawing in of the tongue, and consequent death from suffocation. the antidote was said to be salt and water, and the leaves of the goa (guava) tree. from south canara, mr h. latham sent me a planarian worm, about two inches in length, which is believed to be the vettila poochi. his camp boy told him of a case in which death was said to have resulted from eating one of these animals cooked with some jak fruit. a few years ago, a scare arose in connection with an insect, which was said to have taken up its abode in imported german glass bangles, which compete with the indigenous industry of the gazula bangle-makers. the insect was reported to lie low in the bangle till it was purchased, when it would come out and nip the wearer, after warning her to get her affairs in order before succumbing. a specimen of a broken bangle, from which the insect was said to have burst forth, was sent to me. but the insect was not forthcoming. as a further example of the way in which the opponents of a new industry avail themselves of the credulity of the native, i may cite the recent official introduction of the chrome-tanning industry in madras. in connection therewith, a rumour spread more or less throughout the presidency that the wearing of chrome-tanned boots or sandals gave rise to leprosy, blood poisoning, and failure of the eyesight. iii the evil eye the objection which a high caste brahman has to being seen by a low caste man when he is eating his food is based on a belief allied to that of the evil eye. the brahmanical theory of vision, as propounded in the sacred writings, and understood by orthodox pandits, corresponds with the old corpuscular theory. the low caste man being in every respect inferior to the brahman, the matter or subtle substance proceeding from his eye, and mixing with the objects seen by him, must of necessity be inferior and bad. so food, which is seen by a low caste man, in virtue of the radii perniciosi which it has received, will contaminate the brahman. this, it has been pointed out, [121] is "a good illustration of the theory propounded by mr e. s. hartland at the york meeting of the british association (1906), that both magic and religion, in their earliest forms, are based on the conception of a transmissible personality, the mana of the melanesian races." a friend once rode accidentally into a weaver's feast, and threw his shadow on their food, and trouble arose in consequence. on one occasion, when i was in camp at coimbatore, the oddes (navvies) being afraid of my evil eye, refused to fire a new kiln of bricks for the new club chambers, until i had taken my departure. on another occasion, i caught hold of a ladle, to show my friend dr rivers what were the fragrant contents of a pot, in which an odde woman was cooking the evening meal. on returning from a walk, we heard a great noise proceeding from the odde men who had meanwhile returned from work, and found the woman seated apart on a rock, and sobbing. she had been excommunicated, not because i touched the ladle, but because she had afterwards touched the pot. after much arbitration, i paid up the necessary fine, and she was received back into her caste. the following passage occurred in an official document, which was sent to sir m. e. grant duff, when he was governor of madras. [122] the writer was mr andrew, c.s. "sir c. trevelyan visited walajapet many years ago. when there, he naturally asked to see the cloths, carpets, etc. (which are manufactured there). soon after (owing to the railway of course), trade began to diminish, and to this day, i hear that even the well-to-do traders think it was owing to the visit, as they believe that, if a great man takes particular notice of a person or place, ill-luck will follow. a month ago, i was walking near ranipet, and stopped for a minute to notice a good native house, and asked whose it was, etc. a few hours after, the house took fire (the owner, after his prayers upstairs, had left a light in his room), and the people in the town think that the fire was caused by my having noticed the house. so, when his excellency drove through walajapet last july, the bazaar people did not show their best cloths, fearing ill-luck would follow, but also because they thought he would introduce their trade in carpets, etc., into the central jail, vellore, and so ruin them." in villages, strangers are not allowed to be present, when the cows are milked. sudden failure of milk, or blood-stained milk, are attributed to the evil eye, to remove the influence of which the owner of the affected cow resorts to the magician. when the hill kondhs are threshing the crop, strangers may not look on the crop, or speak to them, lest their evil eye should be cast on them. if a stranger is seen approaching the threshing-floor, the kondhs keep him off by signalling with their hands, without speaking. in malabar, a mantram, which is said to be effective against the potency of the evil eye, runs as follows:--"salutation to thee, o god! even as the moon wanes in its brightness at the sight of the sun, even as the bird chakora (crow-pheasant) disappears at the sight of the moon, even as the great vasuki (king of serpents) vanishes at the sight of the chakora, even as the poison vanishes from his head, so may the potency of his evil eye vanish with thy aid." [123] in malabar, fear of the evil eye is very general. at the corner of the upper storey of almost every nayar house near a road or path is suspended some object, often a doll-like hideous creature, on which the eye of the passers-by may rest. [124] "a crop," mr logan writes, [125] "is being raised in a garden visible from the road. the vegetables will never reach maturity, unless a bogey of some sort is set up in their midst. a cow will stop giving milk, unless a conch (turbinella rapa) shell is tied conspicuously about her horns. [mappilla cart-drivers tie black ropes round the neck, or across the faces of their bullocks.] when a house or shop is being built, there surely is to be found exposed in some conspicuous position an image, sometimes of extreme indecency, a pot covered with cabalistic signs, a prickly branch of cactus, or what not, to catch the evil eye of passers-by, and divert their attention from the important work in hand." many of the carved wooden images recall forcibly to mind the horatian satire:--"olim truncus eram.... obscenoque ruber porrectus ab inguine palus." for the following note on the evil eye in malabar, i am indebted to mr s. appadorai iyer. "it is not the eye alone that commits the mischief, but also the mind and tongue. man is said to do good or evil through the mind, word and deed, i.e., manasa, vacha, and karmana. when a new house is being constructed, or a vegetable garden or rice-field are in a flourishing condition, the following precautions are taken to ward off the evil eye:- "(a) in buildings "1. a pot with black and white marks on it is suspended mouth downwards. "2. a wooden figure of a monkey, with pendulous testicles, is suspended. "3. the figure of a malayali woman, with protuberant breasts, is suspended. "(b) in gardens and fields "1. a straw figure, covered with black cloth daubed with black and white dots, is placed on a long pole. if the figure represents a male, it has pendent testicles, and, if a female, well developed breasts. sometimes, male and female figures are placed together in an embracing posture. "2. pots, as described above, are placed on bamboo poles. "3. a portion of the skull of a bull, with horns attached, is set up on a long pole. "the figures, pots, and skulls, are primarily intended to scare away crows, stray cattle, and other marauders, and secondly to ward off the evil eye. instances are quoted, in which handsome buildings have fallen down, and ripe fruits and grain crops have withered through the influence of the eye, which has also been held responsible for the bursting of a woman's breasts." in madras, human figures, made of broken bricks and mortar, are kept permanently in the front of the upstairs verandah. some years ago, sir george birdwood recorded the flogging, by order of the police magistrate of black town (now george town), madras, of a hindu boy for exhibiting an indecent figure in public view. what he had explicitly done was to set up, in accordance with universal custom, a phallic image before a house that was in course of erection by a hindu gentleman, who was first tried under the indictment, but was acquitted, he, the owner, not having been the person who had actually exhibited the image. [126] monstrous priapi, made in straw, with painted clay pots for heads, pots smeared with chunam (lime) and studded with black dots, or palmyra palm fruits coated with chunam, may often be seen set up in the fields, to guard the ripening crop. in a note on the tamil paraiyans, the rev a. c. clayton writes as follows: [127] "charms, in the form of metal cylinders, are worn to avoid the baneful influence of the evil eye. to prevent this from affecting the crops, paraiyans put up scarecrows in their fields. these are usually small broken earthen pots, whitewashed or covered with spots of whitewash, or even adorned with huge clay noses and ears, and made into grotesque faces. for the same reason, more elaborate figures, made of mud and twigs in human shape, are sometimes set up." the indecent figures carved on temple cars, are intended to avert the evil eye. during temple or marriage processions, two huge human figures, male and female, made of bamboo wicker-work, are carried in front for the same purpose. at the buffalo races in south canara, which take place when the first crop has been gathered, there is a procession, which is sometimes headed by two dolls represented in coitu borne on a man's head. at a race meeting near mangalore, one of the devil-dancers had the genitalia represented by a long piece of cloth and enormous testicles. sometimes, in case of illness, a figure is made of rice-flour paste, and copper coins are stuck on the head, hands, and abdomen thereof. it is waved in front of the sick person, taken to a place where three roads or paths meet, and left there. at other times, a hole is made in a gourd (benincasa cerifera or lagenaria vulgaris), which is filled with turmeric and chunam, and waved round the patient. it is then taken to a place where three roads meet, and broken. at a ceremony performed in travancore when epidemic disease prevails, an image of bhadrakali is drawn on the ground with powders of five colours, white, yellow, black, green, and red. at night, songs are sung in praise of that deity by a tiyattunni and his followers. a member of the troupe then plays the part of bhadrakali in the act of murdering the demon darika, and, in conclusion, waves a torch before the inmates of the house, to ward off the evil eye, which is the most important item in the whole ceremony. the torch is believed to be given by siva, who is worshipped before the light is waved. in cases of smallpox, a bunch of nim (melia azadirachta) is sometimes moved from the head to the feet of the sick person, with certain incantations, and then twisted and thrown away. the sudden illness of children is often attributed to the evil eye. in such cases, the following remedies are considered efficacious:-(1) a few sticks from a new unused broom are set fire to, waved several times round the child, and placed in a corner. with some of the ashes the mother makes a mark on the child's forehead. if the broom burns to ashes without making a noise, the women cry: "look at it. it burns without the slightest noise. the creature's eyes are really very bad." abuse is then heaped on the person whose eyes are supposed to have an evil influence. (2) some chillies, salt, human hair, nail-cuttings, and finely powered earth from the pit of the door-post are mixed together, waved three times in front of the child, and thrown onto the fire. woe betide the possessor of the evil eye, if no pungent, suffocating smell arises when it is burning. (3) a piece of burning camphor is waved in front of the child. (4) balls of cooked rice, painted red, black, and white (with curds), are waved before the child. loss of appetite in children is attributed by mothers to the visit of a supposed evil person to the house. on that person appearing again, the mother will take a little sand or dust from under the visitor's foot, whirl it round the head of the child, and throw it on the hearth. if the suspected person is not likely to turn up again, a handful of cotton-seed, chillies, and dust from the middle of the street, is whirled round the child's head, and thrown on the hearth. if the chillies produce a strong smell, the evil eye has been averted. if they do not do so, the suspect is roundly abused by the mother, and never again admitted to the house. matrons make the faces of children ugly by painting two or three black dots on the chin and cheeks, and painting the eyelids black with lamp-black paste. it is a good thing to frighten any one who expresses admiration of one's belongings. for example, if a friend praises your son's eyes, you should say to him, "look out! there is a snake at your feet." if he is frightened, the evil eye has been averted. it is said [128] that "you will cause mortal offence to a hindu lady, should you remark of her child 'what a nice baby you have,' or 'how baby has grown since i saw him last.' she makes it a rule to speak deprecatingly of her child, and represents it as the victim of non-existent ailments, so that your evil eye shall not affect it. but, should she become aware that, in spite of her precautions, you have defiled it with your admiration, she will lose no time in counteracting the effect of drishtidosham. one of the simplest methods adopted for this purpose is to take a small quantity of chillies and salt in the closed palm, and throw it into the fire, after waving it thrice round the head of the child, to the accompaniment of incantations. if no pungent odour is apparent, it is an indication that the dosham has been averted." at the sakalathi festival of the badagas of the nilgiris, a cake is made, on which are placed a little rice and butter. three wicks steeped in castor-oil are put in it, and lighted. the cake is then waved round the heads of all the children of the house, taken to a field, and thrown thereon with the words "sakalathi has come." at the suppidi ceremony, which every nattukottai chetti (tamil banker) youth has to perform before marriage, the young man goes to the temple. on his return home, and at the entrance of nattukottai houses which he passes, rice-lamps are waved before him. the custom of making a "wave offering" [129] at puberty and marriage ceremonies is very widespread. thus, when a tangalan paraiyan girl attains puberty, she is bathed on the ninth day, and ten small lamps of flour paste, called drishti mavu vilakku, are put on a sieve, and waved before her. then coloured water (arati or alam,) and burning camphor, are waved in front of her. at the puberty ceremonies of the tamil maravans, the girl comes out of seclusion on the sixteenth day, bathes, and returns to her house. at the threshold, her future husband's sister is standing, and averts the evil eye by waving betel leaves, plantains, cooked flour paste, a vessel filled with water, and an iron measure containing rice with a style stuck in it. at a palli (tamil cultivator) wedding, water coloured with turmeric and chunam (arati) is waved round the bride and bridegroom. later on, when the bride is about to enter the home of the bridegroom, coloured water and a cocoanut are waved in front of the newly married couple. at a marriage among the pallans (tamil cultivators), when the contracting couple sit on the dais, coloured water, or balls of coloured rice with lighted wicks, are waved round them. water is poured into their hands from a vessel, and sprinkled over their heads. the vessel is then waved before them. during a koliyan (tamil weaver) wedding coloured water, into which leaves of bauhinia variegata are thrown, are waved. at a marriage among the khatris (weavers), when the bridegroom arrives at the house of the bride, her mother comes out, and waves coloured water, and washes his eyes with water. at a tangalan paraiyan wedding, during a ceremony for removing the evil eye, a pipal (ficus religiosa) leaf is held over the foreheads of the bridal couple, with its tail downwards, and all the close relations pour milk over it, so that it trickles over their faces. during a marriage among the sembadavans (tamil fishermen), the bride and bridegroom go through a ceremony called sige kazhippu, with the object of warding off the evil eye, which consists in pouring a few drops of milk on their foreheads from a fig or betel leaf. at a kapu (telugu cultivator) wedding, the ganga idol, which is kept in the custody of a tsakala (washerman), is brought to the marriage house. at the entrance thereto, red-coloured food, coloured water, and incense, are waved before it. during a marriage among the balijas (telugu traders), the bridegroom is stopped at the entrance to the room in which the marriage pots are kept by a number of married women, and has to pay a small sum for the arati (coloured water), which is waved by the women. at a bilimagga (weaver) wedding in south canara, the bridegroom's father waves incense in front of a cot and brass vessel, and lights and arati water are waved before the bridegroom. at a royal marriage in travancore, in 1906, a bevy of nayar maidens, quaintly dressed, walked in front of the rani's palanquin. they were intended as drishti pariharam, to ward off the evil eye. sometimes, in malabar, when a person is believed to be under the influence of a devil or the evil eye, salt, chillies, tamarinds, oil, mustard, cocoanut, and a few pice (copper coins), are placed in a vessel, waved round the head of the affected individual, and given to a nayadi, [130] whose curse is asked for. there is this peculiarity about a nayadi's curse, that it always has the opposite effect. hence, when he is asked to curse one who has given him alms, he complies by invoking misery and evil upon him. the terms used by him for such invocations are attupo or mutinjupo (to perish), adimondupo (to be a slave), etc. [131] during one of my tours, a gang of yerukalas absolutely refused to sit on a chair, and i had perforce to measure their heads while they squatted on the ground. to get rid of my evil influence, they subsequently went through the ceremony of waving red-coloured water and sacrificing fowls. during a marriage among the madigas (telugu pariahs), a sheep or goat is sacrificed to the marriage pots. the sacrificer dips his hand in the blood of the animal, and impresses the blood on his palms on the wall near the door leading to the room in which the pots are kept. this is said to avert the evil eye. among the telugu malas, a few days before a wedding, two marks are made, one on each side of the door, with oil and charcoal, for the same purpose. at kadur, in the mysore province, i once saw impressions of the hand on the walls of brahman houses. impressions in red paint of a hand with outspread fingers may be seen on the walls of mosques and muhammadan buildings. [132] when cholera, or other epidemic disease, breaks out, muhammadans leave the imprint of the hand dipped in sandal paste on the door. when a tamil paraiyan dies, an impression of the dead man's palm is sometimes taken in cow-dung, and stuck on the wall. [133] the failure of a criminal expedition of the koravas is said by mr f. fawcett, [134] to be "generally attributed to the evil eye, or the evil tongue, whose bad effects are evinced in many ways. if the excursion has been for house-breaking, the house-breaking implement is often soldered at its sharp end with panchalokam (five metals), to counteract the effect of the evil eye. the evil tongue is a frequent cause of failure. it consists in talking evil of others, or harping on probable misfortunes. there are various ways of removing its unhappy effects. a mud figure of a man is made on the ground, and thorns are placed over the mouth. this is the man with the evil tongue. those who have suffered walk round it, crying out and beating their mouths; the greater the noise, the better the effect. cutting the neck of a fowl half through and allowing it to flutter about, or inserting a red hot splinter in its anus to madden it with pain, are considered to be effective, while, if a cock should crow after its neck has been cut, calamities are averted." iv snake worship very closely connected with the subject of vows and votive offerings is that of the worship of snakes, to which vows are made and offerings dedicated. in a note on serpent worship in malabar, [135] it is stated that "even to-day some corner of the garden of every respectable tarawad [136] is allotted for snakes. here a few trees are allowed to grow wild, and under them, on a masonry platform, one or more sculptured granite stones representing hooded serpents (cobras) are consecrated and set up. the whole area is held sacred, and a mud lamp is lighted there every evening with religious regularity. i have seen eggs, milk, and plantains offered in the evening, after the lamp has been lit, at these shrines, to invoke the serpent's aid on particular occasions. such is the veneration in which these shrines are held that cherumars (agrestic serfs) and other low caste aborigines, who are believed to pollute by their very approach, are absolutely interdicted from getting within the precincts. should, however, any such pollute the shrine, the resident snake or its emissary is said to apprise the owner of the defilement by creeping to the very threshold of his house, and remaining there until the karanavan, [137] or other managing member of the family promises to have it duly purified by a brahman." concerning snake worship in malabar, mr c. karunakara menon writes [138] as follows:-"the existence of snake groves is said to owe its origin to sri parasurama. [according to tradition, parasurama was an avatar of vishnu, who destroyed the kshatriya rajas, and retired to gokarnam in canara. he called on varuna, the god of water, to give him some land. varuna caused the sea to recede, and thus the land called kerala (including malabar) came into existence. brahmans were brought from northern india to colonise the new country, but they ran away from fear of the snakes, of which it was full. parasurama then brought in a further consignment of brahmans from the north, and divided the country into sixty-four brahmanical colonies.] parasurama advised that a part of every house should be set apart for snakes as household gods. the (snake) groves have the appearance of miniature reserved forests, as they are considered sacred, and there is a strong prejudice against cutting down trees therein. the groves contain a snake king and queen made of granite, and a tower-like structure, made of laterite, [139] for the sacred snakes. snakes were, in olden days, considered a part of the property. [transfer deeds made special mention of the family serpent as one of the articles sold along with the freehold.] "when a snake is seen inside, or in the neighbourhood of the house, great care is taken to catch it without giving it the least pain. usually a stick is placed gently on its head, and the mouth of an earthenware pot is shown to it. when it is in, the pot is loosely covered with a cocoanut shell, to allow of free breathing. it is then taken to a secluded spot, the pot is destroyed, and the snake set at liberty. it is considered to be polluted by being caught in this way, and holy water is sometimes poured over it. killing a snake is considered a grievous sin, and even to see a snake with its head bruised is believed to be a precursor of calamities. pious malayalis (natives of malabar), when they see a snake killed in this way, have it burnt with the full solemnities attendant on the cremation of a high-caste hindu. the carcase is covered with a piece of silk, and burnt in sandalwood. a brahman is hired to observe pollution for some days, and elaborate funeral oblations are offered to the dead snake." in travancore there was formerly a judicial ordeal by snake-bite. the accused thrust his hand into a mantle, in which a cobra was wrapped up. if it bit him, he was declared guilty, if not innocent. in connection with snake worship in malabar, mr upendra pai gives the following details. [140] among snakes none is more dreaded than the cobra (naia tripudians), which accordingly has gathered round it more fanciful superstitions than any other snake. this has led to cobra worship, which is often performed with a special object in view. in some parts of the country, every town or village has its images of cobras rudely carved on stone. these cobra stones, as they are termed, are placed either on little platforms of stone specially erected for them, or at the base of some tree, preferably a holy fig. [141] on the fifth day of the lunar month shravana, known as the nagarapanchami--that is, the fifth day of the nagas or serpents--these stones are first washed; then milk, curds, ghi (clarified butter), and cocoanut water, are poured over them. afterwards they are decorated with flowers, and offerings are made to them. the cobra stone is also worshipped at other times by those who have no male children, in order to obtain such. but to establish new images of cobras in suitable places is regarded as a surer method of achieving this object. for this certain preliminary ceremonies have to be gone through, and, when once the image has been established, it is the duty of the establisher to see that it is properly worshipped at least once a year, on the nagarapanchami day. the merit obtained is proportionate to the number of images thus worshipped, so that pious people, to obtain a great deal of merit, and at the same time to save themselves the expense of erecting many stone images, have several images drawn, each on a tiny bit of a thin plate of gold or silver. these images are handed over to some priest, to be kept along with other images, to which daily worship is rendered. in this way, great merit is supposed to be obtained. it is also believed that such worship will destroy all danger proceeding from snakes. the cobra being thus an object of worship, it is a deadly sin to kill or maim it. for the cobra is in the popular imagination a brahman, and there is no greater sin than that of killing a brahman. accordingly, if any one kills a cobra, he is sure to contract leprosy, which is the peculiar punishment of those who have either killed a cobra, or have led to the destruction of its eggs by digging in or ploughing up soil which it haunts, or setting on fire jungle or grass in the midst of which it is known to live and breed. in a note on snake worship, mr r. kulathu iyer writes as follows: [142]- "in travancore there is a place called mannarsala, which is well known for its serpent worship. it is the abode of the snake king and queen, and their followers. the grove and its premises cover about 16 acres. in the middle of this grove are two small temples dedicated to the snake king and queen. there are also thousands of snakes of granite, representing the various followers of the king and queen. just to the northern side of the temple there is a house, the abode of the nampiathy, [143] who performs pooja (worship) in the temple. in caste he is lower in grade than a brahmin. the temple has paddy (rice) fields and estates of its own, and also has a large income from various sources. there is an annual festival at this temple, known as ayilyam festival, which is celebrated in the months of kanny and thulam (september and october). a large number of people assemble for worship with offerings of gold, silver, salt, melons, etc. the sale proceeds of these offerings after a festival would amount to a pretty large sum. on the day previous to the ayilyam festival, the temple authorities spend something like three thousand rupees in feeding the brahmins. a grand feast is given to nearly three thousand brahmins at the house of the nampiathy. on the ayilyam day, all the serpent gods are taken in procession to the illam (house of the nampiathy) by the eldest female member of the house, and offerings of neerumpalum (a mixture of rice-flour, turmeric, ghi, water of tender cocoanuts, etc.), boiled rice, and other things, are made to the serpent gods. it is said that the neerumpalum mixture would be poured into a big vessel, and kept inside a room for three days, when the vessel would be found empty. it is supposed that the serpents drink the contents. as regards the origin of this celebrated grove, mr s. krishna iyer, in one of his contributions to the calcutta quarterly review, says that 'the land from avoor on the south to alleppy on the north was the site of the khandava forest celebrated in the mahabaratha; that, when arjuna set fire to it, the serpents fled in confusion and reached mannarasalay, and there prayed to the gods for protection; that thereupon the earth around was miraculously cooled down, and hence the name mun-l-ari-l-sala, the place where the earth was cooled. after the serpents found shelter from the khandava fire, an ancestress of the nambiathy had a vision calling upon her to dedicate the groves and some land to the naga raja (snake king), and build a temple therein. these commands were obeyed forth-with, and thenceforward the naga raja became their family deity.' in the 'travancore state manual,' mr nagam iyer, referring to mannarsala, says that 'a member of this mannarsala illam married a girl of the vettikod illam, where the serpents were held in great veneration. the girl's parents, being very poor, had nothing to give in the way of dowry, so they gave her one of the stone idols of the serpent, of which there were many in the house. the girl took care of this idol, and worshipped it regularly. soon she became pregnant, and gave birth to a male child and a snake. the snake child grew up, and gave rise to a numerous progeny. they were all removed to a spot where the present kavu (grove) is. in this kavu there are now four thousand stone idols representing snake gods.' such is the origin of this celebrated grove of central travancore." on the bank of the river separating cranganore from the rest of the native state of cochin is the residence of a certain brahman called the pampanmekkat (snake guardian) nambudri, who has been called the high priest of serpent worship. it is recorded [144] by mr karunakara menon that, "a respectable family at angadipuram (in malabar) sold their ancestral house to a supervisor in the local fund p. w. d. (public works department). he cut down the snake grove, and planted it up. some members of the vendor's family began to suffer from some cutaneous complaint. as usual the local astrologer was called in, and he attributed the ailment to the ire of the aggrieved family serpents. these men then went to the brahmin house of pampu mekat. this namboodri family is a special favourite of the snakes. when a new serpent grove has to be created, or if it is found necessary to remove a grove from one place to another, the ritual is entirely in the hands of these people. when a family suffers from the wrath of the serpents, they generally go to this namboodri house. the eldest woman of the house would hear the grievances of the party, and then, taking a vessel full of gingelly (sesamum) oil, and looking into it, would give out the directions to be observed in satisfying the serpents." concerning the pampanmekkat nambudri, mr gopal panikkar writes [145] that, "it is said that this nambudri household is full of cobras, which find their abode in every nook and corner of it. the inmates can scarcely move about without placing their feet upon one of these serpents. owing to the magic influence of the family, the serpents cannot and will not injure them. the serpents are said to be always at the beck and call of the members of this nambudri family, and render unquestioned obedience to their commands. they watch and protect the interests of the family in the most zealous spirit." it is said [146] that, "every year the nambudri receives many offerings in the shape of golden images of snakes, for propitiating the serpent god to ward off calamity, or to enlist its aid in the cure of a disease, or for the attainment of a particular object. it is well known that the nambudri has several hundreds of these images and other valuable offerings, the collection of centuries, amounting in value to over a lakh of rupees. this aroused the cupidity of a gang of dacoits (robbers), who resolved some years ago to ease the nambudri of a great portion of this treasure. on a certain night, armed with lathies (sticks), slings, torches, and other paraphernalia, the dacoits went to the illam, and, forcibly effecting an entrance, bound the senior nambudri's hands and feet, and threw him on his breast. this precaution taken, the keys of the treasure-room were demanded, the alternative being further personal injury. to save himself from further violence, the keys were surrendered. the dacoits secured all the gold images, leaving the silver ones severely alone, and departed. but, directly they went past the gate of the house, many snakes chased them, and, in the twinkling of an eye, each of the depredators had two snakes coiled round him, others investing the gang, and threatening, with uplifted hoods and hisses, to dart at them. the dacoits remained stunned and motionless. meantime, the authorities were communicated with, and the whole gang was taken into custody. it is said that the serpents did not budge an inch until after the arrival of the officers." other marvellous stories of the way in which the snakes carry out their trust are narrated. a section of ambalavasis or temple servants in malabar, called teyyambadis, the members of which dance and sing in bhagavati temples, perform a song called nagapattu (song in honour of snakes) in private houses, which is supposed to be effective in procuring offspring. [147] in many houses of the tiyans of malabar, offerings are made annually to a bygone personage named kunnath nayar, and to his friend and disciple, kunhi rayan, a mappilla (muhammadan). according to the legend, the nayar worshipped the kite until he obtained command and control over all the snakes in the land. there are mappilla devotees of kunnath nayar and kunhi rayan, who exhibit snakes in a box, and collect alms for a snake mosque near manarghat at the foot of the nilgiri hills. a class of snake-charmers in malabar, called kuravan, go about the country exhibiting snakes. it is considered to be a great act of piety to purchase these animals, and set them at liberty. the vagrant kakkalans of travancore, who are said to be identical with the kakka kuravans, are unrivalled at a dance called pampatam (snake dance). the pulluvans of malabar are astrologers, medicine-men, and priests and singers in snake groves. according to a legend [148] they are descended from a male and female servant, who were exiled by a brahman in connection with the rescuing by the female of a snake which escaped when the gandava forest was set on fire by agni, the god of fire. another legend records how a five-hooded snake fled from the burning forest, and was taken home by a woman, and placed in a room. when her husband entered the room, he found an ant-hill, from which the snake issued forth, and bit him. as the result of the bite, the man died, and his widow was left without means of support. the snake consoled her, and devised a plan, by which she could maintain herself. she was to go from house to house, and cry out, "give me alms, and be saved from snake-poisoning." the inmates would give alms, and the snakes, which might be troubling them, would cease to annoy. for this reason, the pulluvas, when they go with their pot-drum (pulluva kudam) to a house, are asked to play, and sing songs which are acceptable to the snake gods, in return for which they receive a present of money. a pulluvan and his wife preside at the ceremony called pamban tullal, which is carried out with the object of propitiating the snake gods. concerning this ceremony, mr l. k. anantha krishna iyer writes as follows [149]:- "a pandal (booth) supported by four poles driven into the ground is put up for the purpose, and the tops of the poles are connected with a network of strings, over which a silk or red cloth is spread to form a canopy. the pandal is well decorated, and the floor below it is slightly raised and smoothed. a hideous figure of the size of a big serpent is drawn in rice-flour, turmeric (curcuma longa), kuvva(curcuma angustifolia), powdered charcoal, and a green powder. these five powders are essential, for their colours are visible on the necks of serpents. some rice is scattered on the floor and on the sides, and ripe and green cocoanuts are placed on a small quantity of rice and paddy (unhusked rice) on each side. a puja for ganapathi (the elephant god) is performed, to see that the whole ceremony terminates well. a good deal of frankincense is burned, and a lamp is placed on a plate, to add to the purity, sanctity, and solemnity of the occasion. the members of the house go round the pandal as a token of reverence, and take their seats close by. it often happens that the members of several neighbouring families take part in the ceremony. the women, from whom devils have to be cast out, bathe and take their seats on the western side, each with a flower-pod of the areca palm. the pulluvan, with his wife or daughter, begins his shrill musical tunes (on serpents), vocal and instrumental alternately. as they sing, the young female members appear to be influenced by the modulation of the tunes and the smell of the perfumes. they gradually move their heads in a circle, which soon quickens, and the long locks of hair are soon let loose. these movements appear to keep time with the pulluvan's music. in their unconscious state, they beat upon the floor, and wipe off the figure drawn. as soon as this is done, they go to a serpent grove close by, where there may be a few stone images of serpents, before which they prostrate themselves. they now recover their consciousness, and take milk, water of the green cocoanut, and plantain fruits, and the ceremony is over." in connection with the pamban tullal, mr gopal panikkar writes [150] that "sometimes the gods appear in the bodies of all these females, and sometimes only in those of a select few, or none at all. the refusal of the gods to enter into such persons is symbolical of some want of cleanliness in them; which contingency is looked upon as a source of anxiety to the individual. it may also suggest the displeasure of these gods towards the family, in respect of which the ceremony is performed. in either case, such refusal on the part of the gods is an index of their ill-will or dissatisfaction. in cases where the gods refuse to appear in any one of those seated for the purpose, the ceremony is prolonged until the gods are so propitiated as to constrain them to manifest themselves. then, after the lapse of the number of days fixed for the ceremony, and, after the will of the serpent gods is duly expressed, the ceremonies close." sometimes, it is said, it may be considered necessary to rub away the figure as many as one hundred and one times, in which case the ceremony is prolonged over several weeks. each time that the snake design is destroyed, one or two men, with torches in their hands, perform a dance, keeping step to the pulluvan's music. the family may eventually erect a small platform or shrine in a corner of their grounds, and worship at it annually. the snake deity will not, it is believed, manifest himself if any of the persons or articles required for the ceremony are impure, e.g., if the pot-drum has been polluted by the touch of a menstruating female. the pulluvan, from whom a drum was purchased for the madras museum, was very reluctant to part with it, lest it should be touched by an impure woman. in addition to the pot-drum, the pulluvans play on a lute with snakes painted on the reptile skin, which is used in lieu of parchment. the skin, in a specimen which i acquired, is apparently that of the big lizard varanus bengalensis. the lute is played with a bow, to which a metal bell is attached. in the "madras census report," 1871, [151] surgeon-major cornish states that there is a place near vaisarpadi, close to madras, in which the worship of the living snakes draws crowds of votaries, who make holiday excursions to the temple, generally on sundays, in the hope of seeing the snakes, which are preserved in the temple grounds; and, he adds, probably as long as the desire of offspring is a leading characteristic of the indian people, so long will the worship of the serpent, or of snake-stones, be a popular cult. he describes further how, at rajahmundry in the telugu country, he came across an old ant-hill by the side of a public road, on which was placed a stone representing a cobra, and the ground all round was stuck over with pieces of wood carved very rudely in the shape of a snake. these were the offerings left by devotees at the abode taken up by an old snake, who would occasionally come out of his hole, and feast on the eggs and ghi (clarified butter) left for him by his adorers. around this place he saw many women who had come to pray at the shrine. if they chanced to see the cobra, the omen was interpreted favourably, and their prayers for progeny would be granted. >concerning snake worship in the tamil country, mr w. francis writes as follows [152]:- "a vow is taken by childless wives to install a serpent (nagapratishtai), if they are blessed with offspring. the ceremony consists in having a figure of a serpent cut in a stone slab, placing it in a well for six months, giving it life (pranapratishtai) by reciting mantrams and performing other ceremonies over it, and then setting it up under a pipal tree (ficus religiosa), which has been married to a margosa (melia azadirachta). worship, which consists mainly in going round the tree 108 times, is then performed to it for the next forty-five days. similar circumambulations will also bring good luck in a general way, if carried out subsequently." it is further recorded by mr f. r. hemingway [153] that, "brahmans and the higher vellalans think that children can be obtained by worshipping the cobra. vellalans and kallans perform the worship on a friday. among the vellalans, this is generally after the pongal festival. the vellalans make an old woman cry aloud in the backyard that a sacrifice will be made to the cobra next day, and that they pray it will accept the offering. at the time of sacrifice, cooked jaggery (crude sugar) and rice, burning ghi in the middle of rice-flour, and an egg, are offered to the cobra, and left in the backyard for its acceptance. the pallis annually worship the cobra by pouring milk on an ant-hill, and sacrificing a fowl near it. valaiyans, pallans, and paraiyans sacrifice a fowl in their own backyards." in the tamil country, children whose birth is attributed to a vow taken by childless mothers to offer a snake cut on a stone slab, sometimes have a name bearing reference to snakes given to them, i.e., seshachalam, [154] seshamma, nagappa, or nagamma. naga, nagasa, or nageswara, occurs as the name of a totemistic exogamous sept or gotra of various classes in ganjam and vizagapatam. in the odiya caste of farmers in ganjam, members of the nagabonso sept claim to be descendants of nagamuni, the serpent rishi. nagavadam (cobra's hood) is the name of a subdivision of the tamil pallis, who wear an ornament called nagavadam, representing a cobra, in the dilated lobes of the ears. ant (i.e., white-ant, termes) hills, which have been repeatedly referred to in this chapter, are frequently inhabited by cobras, and offerings of milk, fruit, and flowers are consequently made to them on certain ceremonial occasions. thus it is recorded, [155] by the rev. j. cain that when he was living in ellore fort in the godavari district, in september, 1873, "a large crowd of people, chiefly women and children, came in, and visited every white-ant hill, poured upon each their offerings of milk, flowers, and fruit, to the intense delight of all the crows in the neighbourhood. the day was called the nagula chaturdhi--chaturdhi, the fourth day of the eighth lunar month--and was said to be the day when vasuki, takshaka, and the rest of the thousand nagulu were born to kasyapa brahma by his wife kadruva. [156] the other chief occasions when these ant-hills are resorted to are when people are affected with earache or pains in the eye, and certain skin diseases. they visit the ant-hills, pour out milk, cold rice, fruit, etc., and carry away part of the earth, which they apply to the troublesome member, and, if they afterwards call in a brahman to repeat a mantra or two, they feel sure the complaint will soon vanish. many parents first cut their children's hair near one of these hillocks, and offer the first fruits of the hair to the serpents residing there." the colossal jain figure of gomatesvara, gummatta, or gomata raya, at sravana belgola in mysore, [157] is represented as surrounded by white-ant hills, from which snakes are emerging, and with a climbing plant twining itself round the legs and arms. on the occasion of the snake festival in the telugu country, the boya women worship the nagala swami (snake god) by fasting, and pouring milk into the holes of white-ant hills. by this a double object is fulfilled. the ant-hill is a favourite dwelling of the cobra, and was, moreover, the burial-place of valmiki, from whom the boyas claim to be descended. valmiki was the author of the ramayana, and is believed to have done penance for so long in one spot that a white-ant hill grew up round him. on the nagarapanchami day, lingayats worship the image of a snake made of earth from a snake's hole with offerings of milk, rice, cocoanuts, flowers, etc. during the month aswija, lingayat girls collect earth from ant-hills, and place it in a heap at the village temple. every evening they go there with wave-offerings, and worship the heap. at the dipavali festival, [158] the gamallas (telugu toddy-drawers) bathe in the early morning, and go in wet clothes to an ant-hill, before which they prostrate themselves, and pour a little water into one of the holes. round the hill they wind five turns of cotton thread, and return home. subsequently they come once more to the ant-hill with a lamp made of flour paste. carrying the light, they go three or five times round the hill, and throw split pulse (phaseolus mungo) into one of the holes. on the following morning they again go to the hill, pour milk into it, and snap the threads wound round it. the famous temple of subramanya in south canara is said to have been in charge of the subramanya stanikas (temple servants), till it was wrested from them by the shivalli brahmans. in former times, the privilege of sticking a golden ladle into a heap of food piled up in the temple on the shasti day is said to have belonged to the stanikas. they also brought earth from an ant-hill on the previous day. food from the heap, and some of the earth, are received as sacred articles by devotees who visit the sacred shrine. at the smasanakollai festival in honour of the goddess ankalamma at malayanur, some thousands of people congregate at the temple. in front of the stone idol is a large ant-hill, on which two copper idols are placed, and a brass vessel is placed at the base of the hill, to receive the various offerings. at a wedding among the nomad lambadis, the bride and bridegroom pour milk into an ant-hill, and offer cocoanuts, milk, etc., to the snake which lives therein. during the marriage ceremonies of the dandasis (village watchmen in ganjam), a fowl is sacrificed at an ant-hill. at a bedar (canarese cultivator) wedding, the earth from an ant-hill is spread near five water-pots, and on it are scattered some paddy (unhusked rice) and dhal (cajanus indicus) seeds. the spot is visited later on, and the seeds should have sprouted. v vows, votive and other offerings in addition to the observance of penances and fasting, hindus of all castes, high and low, make vows and offerings to the gods, with the object of securing their good-will or appeasing their anger. by the lower castes, offerings of animals--fowls, sheep, goats, or buffaloes--are made, and the gods whom they seek to propitiate are minor deities, e.g., ellamma or muneswara, to whom animal sacrifices are acceptable. [159] the higher castes usually perform vows to venkateswara of tirupati, subramanya of palni, viraraghava of tiruvallur, tirunarayana of melkote, and other celebrated gods. but they may, if afflicted with serious illness, at times, as at the leaf festival at periyapalayam (p. 148), seek the good offices of minor deities. "a shrine," mr f. fawcett writes, [160] "to which the malayalis (inhabitants of malabar), nayars included, resort is that of subramaniya at palni in the north-west of the madura district. not only are vows paid to this shrine, but men, letting their hair grow for a year after their father's death, proceed to have it cut there. the plate shows an ordinary palni pilgrim. the arrangement which he is carrying is called a kavadi (portable shrine). there are two kinds of kavadi, a milk kavadi containing milk, and a fish kavadi containing fish. the vow may be made in respect of either, each being appropriate to certain circumstances. [miniature silver kavadis, and miniature crowns, are sometimes offered by pilgrims to the god.] when the time comes near for the pilgrim to start for palni, he dresses in reddish-orange clothes, shoulders his kavadi, and starts out. together with a man ringing a bell, and perhaps one with a tom-tom, with ashes on his face, he assumes the rôle of a beggar. the well-to-do are inclined to reduce the beggar period to the minimum, but a beggar every votary must be, and as a beggar he goes to palni in all humbleness and humiliation, and there he fulfils his vow, leaves his kavadi and his hair, and a small sum of money. though the individuals about to be noticed were not nayars, their cases illustrate very well the religious idea of the nayar as expressed under certain circumstances. it was at guruvayur (in malabar) in november 1895. on a high raised platform under a peepul tree were a number of people under vows, bound for palni. a boy of fourteen had suffered as a child from epilepsy, and seven years ago his father vowed on his behalf that, if he was cured, he would make his pilgrimage to palni. he wore a string of beads round his neck, and a like string on his right arm. these were in some way connected with the vow. his head was bent, and he sat motionless under his kavadi, leaning on the bar, which, when he carried it, rested on his shoulder. he could not go to palni until it was revealed to him in a dream when he was to start. he had waited for his dream seven years, subsisting on roots (yams, etc.), and milk--no rice. now he had had the longed-for dream, and was about to start. another pilgrim was a man wearing an oval band of silver over the lower portion of the forehead, almost covering his eyes; his tongue protruding beyond the mouth, and kept in position by a silver skewer through it. the skewer was put in the day before, and was to be left in for forty days. he had been fasting for two years. he was much under the influence of the god, and whacking incessantly at a drum in delicious excitement. several of the pilgrims had a handkerchief tied over the mouth, they being under a vow of silence. [at kumbakonam in the tanjore district, 'there is a math in honour of a recently deceased saint named paradesi, who attained wide fame in the district some years ago. he never spoke, and was welcomed and feasted everywhere, and was the subject of many vows. people used to promise to break cocoanuts in his presence, or clothe him with fine garments, if they obtained their desire, and such vows were believed to be very efficacious.' [161] at the manjeshwar temple in south canara, there is a darsana, (man who gets inspired) called the dumb darsana, as he gives signs instead of speaking. bishop whitehead records [162] the case of a brahman, who had taken a vow of silence for twenty-one years, because people make so much mischief by talking. he conversed by means of signs and writing in the dust]. one poor man wore the regular instrument of silence, the mouth-lock [163]--a wide silver band over the mouth, and a skewer piercing both cheeks. he sat patiently in a tent-like affair. people fed him with milk, etc. the use of the mouth-lock is common with the nayars, when they assume the pilgrim's robes and set out for palni. pilgrims generally go in crowds under charge of a priestly guide, one who, having made a certain number of journeys to the shrine, wears a peculiar sash and other gear." in connection with kavadis, it may be noted that, at the time of the annual migration of the sacred herd of cattle belonging to the kappiliyans (canarese farmers in the madura district) to the hills, the driver is said to carry a pot of fresh-drawn milk within a kavadi. on the day on which the return journey to the kambam valley is commenced, the pot is opened, and the milk is said to be found in a hardened state. a slice thereof is cut off, and given to each person who accompanied the herd to the hills. it is believed that the milk would not remain in good condition, if the sacred herd had been in any way injuriously affected during its sojourn there. the usual vow performed at the shrine of dandayudhapani or subramanya near settikulam in the trichinopoly district is to carry milk, sugar, flour, etc., in a kavadi, and offer it to the god. [164] a case is recorded [165] from ceylon, in which a man who was about to proceed with a kavadi to a shrine was held by several men, while a blow with the palm of the hand caught him in the middle of the back, to numb the pain created by the forcing of sharp iron hooks into the fleshy part of the back. reference has been made (p. 137) to the offering of hair by devotees at the palni shrine. when people are prevented from going to a temple at the proper time, hair is sometimes removed from their children's head, sealed up in a vessel, and put into the receptacle for offerings when the visit to the temple is paid. in cases of dangerous sickness, the hair is sometimes cut off, and offered to a deity. "the sacrifice of locks," mr a. srinivasan writes, "is meant to propitiate deceased relations, and the deity which presides over life's little joys and sorrows. it is a similar intention that has dictated the ugly disfigurement of widows. we meet with the identical fact and purpose in the habit of telugu brahmans and non-brahmans in general, sacrificing their whole locks of hair to the goddess ganga of prayaga, to the god venkatesa of tirupati, and other local gods. the brahman ladies of the south have more recently managed to please ganga and other gods with just one or two locks of hair." sometimes, in performance of a vow, patnulkaran (madura weaver) boys are taken to the shrine at tirupati for the tonsure ceremony. [166] married couples desirous of offspring make a vow that, if a child be granted to them, they will perform the ceremony of the first shaving of its head at the temple of the god who fulfils their desire. [167] it is said [168] that alagarkovil in the madura district is such a favourite place for carrying out the first shaving of the heads of children, that the right to the locks presented to the shrine is annually sold by auction. writing in 1872, mr breeks remarked [169] that "about ootacamund, a few todas have latterly begun to imitate the religious practices of their native neighbours, and my particular friend kinniaven, after an absence of some days, returned with a shaven head from a visit to the temple of siva at nanjengudi" (in mysore). a toda who came to see me had his hair hanging down in long tails reaching below the shoulders. he had, he said, let it grow long because his wife, though married five years, had borne no child. a child had, however, recently been born, and he was going to sacrifice his locks as a thank-offering at the nanjengod temple. by the badagas of the nilgiris, the fire-walking ceremony is celebrated to propitiate the deity jeddayaswami, to whom vows are made. in token thereof, they grow one twist or plait of hair, which is finally cut off as an offering to jeddayaswami. by some gavaras (a cultivating caste) of vizagapatam, special reverence is paid to the deity jagganathaswami of orissa, whose shrine at puri is visited by some, while others take vows in the name of the god. on the day of the car festival at puri, local car festivals are held in gavara villages, and women carry out the performance of their vows. a woman, for example, who is under a vow, in order that she may be cured of illness or bear children, takes a big pot of water, and, placing it on her head, dances frantically before the god, through whose influence the water which rises out of the pot falls back into it, instead of being spilt. the class of vaishnavite mendicants called dasari claims descent from a wealthy sudra, [170] who, having no offspring, vowed that, if he was blessed with children, he would devote one to the service of the deity. he subsequently had many sons, one of whom he named dasan, and placed entirely at the service of the god. dasan forfeited all claim to his father's estate, and his descendants are therefore all beggars. [171] in a note on the dasaris of mysore, [172] it is stated that "they become dasas or servants dedicated to the god at tirupati by virtue of a peculiar vow, made either by themselves or their relatives at some moment of anxiety or danger, and live by begging in his name. among certain castes (e.g., banajiga, tigala, and vakkaliga), the custom of taking a vow to become a dasari prevails. in fulfilment of that vow, the person becomes a dasari, and his eldest son is bound to follow suit." it may be noted that, in the canarese country, a custom obtains among the bedars and some other castes, under which a family which has no male issue must dedicate one of its daughters as a basavi. [173] the girl is taken to the temple, and married to the god, a tali (marriage badge) and toe-rings being put on her. thenceforward she becomes a public woman, except that she should not consort with any one of lower caste than herself. it may be added that a basavi usually lives faithfully with one man, and she works for her family as hard as any other woman. married couples, to whom offspring is born after the performance of a vow, sometimes name it after the deity whose aid has been invoked, such as srinivasa at tirupati, lakshminarasimha at sholingur, or some other local god or goddess. at negapatam, some hindus make vows to the miran (muhammadan saint) of nagur, and name their child after him. the name thus given is not, however, used in every-day life, but abandoned like the ceremonial name given prior to the hindu upanayana ceremony. in the telugu country, the poorer classes of hindus sometimes promise that, if a son is born to them, they will call him after a muhammadan fakir, and, consequently, it is far from uncommon to find a hindu named fakirgadu or fakirappa, with a hindu termination to a muhammadan commencement. [174] it has been noted (p. 138) that some pilgrims to the shrine at palni have a skewer piercing both cheeks. it is recorded by bishop whitehead [175] that "devotees go to the shrine of durgamma at bellary with silver pins about six inches long thrust through their cheeks, and with a lighted lamp in a brass dish on their head. on arriving before the shrine, they place the lamp on the ground, and the pin is removed, and offered to the goddess." the bishop was told that the object of this ceremony is to enable the devotee to come to the shrine with a concentrated mind. a common form of vow made to mariamman at pappakkalpatti in the trichinopoly district is a promise to stick little iron skewers into the body. in performance of vows, the sedans and kaikolans (weaver castes) pierce some part of the body with a spear. the latter thrust a spear through the muscles of the abdomen in honour of their god saha-nayanar at ratnagiri. at the annual festival of the goddess gangamma at tirupati, a kaikolan devotee dances before the goddess, and, when he is worked up to the proper pitch of frenzy, a metal wire is passed through the middle of his tongue. it is believed that the operation causes no pain or bleeding, and the only remedy adopted is the chewing of margosa (melia azadirachta) leaves and some kunkumam (red powder) of the goddess. if, during a temple car procession, the car refuses to move, the viramushtis (lingayat mendicants), who are guardians of the idol, cut themselves with their swords until it is set in motion. there is a proverb that the siva brahman (temple priest) eats well, whereas the viramushti hurts himself with the sword, and suffers much. the viramushtis are said, in former days, to have performed a ceremony called pavadam. when an orthodox lingayat was insulted, he would swallow his lingam, and lie flat on the ground in front of the house of the offender, who had to collect some lingayats, and send for a viramushti. he had to arrive accompanied by a pregnant viramushti woman, priests of draupadi, pachaiamman, and pothuraja temples, some individuals from the nearest lingayat mutt, and others. arrived at the house, the pregnant woman would sit down in front of the person lying on the ground. with his sword the viramushti man then made cuts in his scalp and chest, and sprinkled the recumbent man with the blood. he would then rise, and the lingam would come out of his mouth. mondi mendicants, when engaged in begging, cut the skin of the thighs with a knife, lie down and beat their chest with a stone, vomit, roll in the dust or mud, and throw ordure into the houses of those who will not contribute alms. it was noted, in a recent report of the banganapalle state, that an inam (grant of rent-free land) was held on condition of the holder "ripping open his stomach" at a certain festival. a vow performed in honour of the village goddess at settikulam in the trichinopoly district is for the votaries, male and female, to fling themselves on heaps of thorns before her. this vow is generally fulfilled by those cured of disease. it is called mullu padagalam, or bed of thorns. [176] at the annual fire-walking festival at nuvagode in ganjam, the officiating priest sits on a seat of sharp thorns. it is noticed [177] by the missionary gloyer that, on special occasions, some dombs in vizagapatam fall into a frenzied state, in which they cut their flesh with sharp instruments, or pass long, thin iron bars through the tongue and cheeks, during which operation no blood must flow. for this purpose, the instruments are rubbed over with some blood-congealing material. they also affect sitting on a sacred swing, armed with long iron nails. mr g. f. paddison informs me that he once saw a villager in the vizagapatam district sitting outside the house, while groans proceeded from within. he explained that he was ill, and his wife was swinging on nails with their points upwards, to cure him. in the tanjore district, persons afflicted with disease promise that, if they are cured, they will brand their bodies, go round a temple a certain number of times by rolling over and over in the dust, and offer a pregnant goat by stabbing it through the womb. sometimes vows of self-mortification are taken in anticipation of relief. such are undertaking to go without salt in one's food, or to eat without using the hands, until a cure is effected. [178] at palni in the madura district, there is an annual feast at the mariamman temple, at which people, in performance of a vow, carry in their bare hands earthen pots with a bright fire blazing inside them. they are said to escape burns by the favour of the goddess, but it is whispered that immunity is sometimes rendered doubly sure by putting sand or rice-husk at the bottom of the pot. [179] some dasaris (religious mendicants) go through a performance called panda servai, which consists in beating themselves with a flaming torch all over the body. i am informed by mr paddison that some dombs are reputed to be able to pour blazing oil all over their bodies, without suffering any hurt; and one man is said to have had a miraculous power of hardening his skin, so that any one could have a free shot at him without hurting him. in the melur taluk of the madura district, it is stated that women who are anxious for offspring vow that, if they attain their wish, they will go and have a cocoanut broken on their head by a priest at the temple of sendurai. [180] at an annual festival in honour of the god servarayan on the shevaroy hills in the salem district, those malayalis who wish to take a vow to be faithful to their god have to receive fifteen lashes on the bare back with a stout leather thong, administered by the chief priest. the annual festival at the temple of karamadai in the coimbatore district is visited by about forty or fifty thousand pilgrims, belonging for the most part to the lower classes. in case of sickness or other calamity, they take a vow to perform one of the following:-(1) to pour water at the feet of the idol inside the temple. each devotee is provided with a goat-skin bag, or a new earthen pot. he goes to the tank, and, after bathing, fills the receptacle with water, carries it to the temple, and empties it before the idol. this is repeated a number of times according to the nature of the vow. if the vow is a life-long one, it has to be performed every year until death. (2) to give kavalam to dasaris (religious mendicants). kavalam consists of plantain fruits cut up into small slices, and mixed with sugar, jaggery (crude sugar), fried grain, or beaten rice. the dasaris are attached to the temple, and wear short drawers, with strings of small brass bells tied to their wrists and ankles. they appear to be possessed, and move wildly about to the beating of drums. as they go about, the devotees put some of the kavalam into their mouths. the dasaris eat a little, and spit out the remainder into the hands of the devotees, who eat it. this is believed to cure all disease, and to give children to those who partake of it. in addition to kavalam, some put betel leaves in the mouths of the dasaris, who, after chewing them, spit them into the mouths of the devotees. at night the dasaris carry torches made of rags, on which the devotees pour ghi (clarified butter). some people say that, many years ago, barren women used to take a vow to visit the temple at the time of the festival, and, after offering kavalam, have sexual intercourse with the dasaris. the temple authorities, however, profess ignorance of this practice. on the last day of the gangajatra festival at tirupati, a figure is made of clay and straw, and placed in the tope (grove), where crowds of all classes, including paraiyans, present food to it. buffaloes, goats, sheep, and fowls are sacrificed, and it is said that brahmans, though they will not be present, send animals to be slaughtered. at the conclusion of the festivities, the image is burnt during the feast, which last over ten days, the lower orders of the people paint themselves, and indulge in much boisterous merriment. those who have made a vow to ganga fast for some days before the festival begins. they wear a structure made of bamboo in the form of a car, which is decorated with paper of different colours, and supported by iron nails pressed into the belly and back. they go about with this structure on their heads. those who have been attacked by cholera, or other serious disease, make a vow to ganga, and perform this ceremonial. a festival, which is attended by huge crowds of hindus of all classes, takes place annually in the month of audi (july-august) at the village of periyapalayam, about sixteen miles from madras, where the goddess mariamma is worshipped under the name of periyapalayaththamman. according to the legend, as narrated by the rev. a. c. clayton, [181] "there was once a rishi (sage), who lived on the banks of the periyapalayam river with his wife bavani. every morning she used to bathe in the river, and bring back water for the use of the household. but she never took any vessel with her in which to bring the water home, for she was so chaste that she had acquired power to form a water-pot out of the dry river sand, and carry the water home in it. one day, while bathing, she saw the reflection of the face of the sky-god, indra, in the water, and could not help admiring it. when she returned to the bank of the river, and tried to form her water-pot out of sand as usual, she could not do so, for her admiration of indra had ruined her power, and she went home sadly to fetch a brass water-vessel. her husband saw her carrying this to the river, and at once suspected her of unchastity, and, calling his son, ordered him to strike off her head with a sword. it was in vain that the son tried to avoid matricide. he had to obey, but he was so agitated by his feelings that, when at last he struck at his mother, he cut off not only her head, but that of a leather-dresser's wife who was standing near. the two bodies lay side by side. the rishi was so pleased with his son's obedience that he promised him any favour that he should ask, but he was very angry when the son at once begged that his mother might be restored to life. being compelled to keep his word, he told the son that, if he put his mother's head on her trunk, she would again live. the son tried to do so, but in his haste took up the head of the leather-dresser's wife by mistake, and put it on bavani's body. leather-dressers are flesh-eaters, and so it comes about that, on days when her festival is celebrated, bavani--now a goddess--longs for meat, and thousands of sheep, goats, and fowls, must be slain at her shrine. this legend bears marks of brahmanic influence. curiously enough, the priest of this paraiya shrine is himself a brahman." the vows, which are performed at the festival at periyapalayam, are as follows:-(1) wearing a garment of margosa (melia azadirachta) leaves, or wearing an ordinary garment, and carrying a lighted lamp made of rice-flour on the head. (2) carrying a pot decorated with flowers and margosa leaves round the temple. (3) going round the temple, rolling on the ground. (4) throwing a live fowl on to the top of the temple. (5) throwing a cocoanut in front, prostrating on the ground in salutation, going forward several paces and again throwing the cocoanut, and repeating the procedure till three circuits of the temple have been made. (6) giving offerings to the idol parasurama, cradle with baby made of clay or wood, etc., to bring offspring to the childless, success in a lawsuit or business transaction, and other good luck. in addition, pongal (boiled rice) has to be offered, and by some a sheep or goat is sacrificed. if a vow has been made on behalf of a sick cow, the animal is bathed in the river, clad in margosa leaves, and led round the temple. the leaf-wearing vow is resorted to by the large majority of the devotees, and performed by men, women and children. those belonging to the more respectable classes go through it in the early morning, before the crowd has collected in its tens of thousands. the leafy garments are purchased from hawkers, who do a brisk trade in the sale thereof. the devotees have to pay a modest fee for admission to the temple precincts, and go round the shrine three or more times. concerning the periyapalayam festival, a recent writer observes that, "the distinctive feature is that the worshippers are clad in leaves. the devotees are bound to wear a garment made of fresh margosa twigs with their leaves. this garment is called vepansilai. it consists of a string three or four yards long, from which depend, at intervals of two to three inches apart, twigs measuring about two feet in length, and forming a fringe of foliage. this string being wound several times round the waist, the fringe of leaves forms a kilt or short petticoat. men are content to wear the kilt, but women also wear round their neck a similar garment, which forms a short cloak reaching to the waist. to impress on devotees the imperative obligation imposed on them to wear the leaf garment in worshipping the goddess, it is said that a young married woman, being without children, made a vow to the goddess that, on obtaining a son, she would go on a pilgrimage to periyapalayam, and worship her in accordance with the ancient rite. her prayer having been answered, she gave birth to a son, and went to periyapalayam to fulfil her vow. when, however, it was time to undress and put on the vepansilai, her modesty revolted. unobserved by her party, she secretly tied a cloth round her waist before putting on the vepansilai. so attired, she went to the temple to worship. on seeing her coming, the goddess detected her deceit, and, waxing wroth, set the woman's dress all ablaze, and burnt her so severely that she died." it is noted by bishop whitehead [182] that it was formerly the custom for women to come to the shrine of durgamma at bellary clad in twigs of the margosa tree. but this is now only done by children, the grown-up women putting the margosa twigs over a cloth wrapped round the loins. at a festival of the village goddess at kudligi in the bellary district, the procession is said by mr f. fawcett to be headed by a madiga (telugu pariah) naked save for a few margosa leaves. the wearing of these leaves on the occasion of festivals in honour of mariamma is a very general custom throughout southern india. garments made of leaves are still worn by the females of some tribes on the west coast, e.g., the thanda pulayans, vettuvans, and koragas. concerning the koragas, mr walhouse writes [183] that they "wear an apron of twigs and leaves over the buttocks. once this was the only covering allowed them, and a mark of their deep degradation. but now, when no longer compulsory, and of no use, as it is worn over the clothes, the women still retain it, believing its disuse would be unlucky." "kuvvakkam in the south arcot district is known for its festival to aravan (more correctly iravan) or kuttandar, which is one of the most popular feasts with sudras in the whole district. aravan was the son of arjuna, one of the five pandava brothers. local traditions says that, when the great war which is described in the mahabharata was about to begin, the kauravas, the opponents of the pandavas, to bring them success, sacrificed a white elephant. the pandavas were in despair of being able to find any such uncommon object with which to propitiate the gods, until arjuna suggested that they should offer up his son aravan. aravan agreed to yield his life for the good of the cause, and, when eventually the pandavas were victorious, he was deified for the self-abnegation which had thus brought his side success. since he died in his youth, before he had been married, it is held to please him if men, even though grown up and already wedded, come now and offer to espouse him, and men who are afflicted with serious diseases take a vow to marry him at his annual festival in the hope of thereby being cured. the festival occurs in may, and for eighteen nights the mahabharata is recited by a palli (tamil agriculturist), [184] large numbers of people, especially of that caste, assembling to hear it read. on the eighteenth night, a wooden image of kuttandar is taken to a tope (grove) and seated there. this is the signal for the sacrifice of an enormous number of fowls. every one who comes brings one or two, and the number killed runs literally into thousands. while this is going on, all the men who have taken vows to be married to the deity appear before his image dressed like women, make obeisance, offer to the priest (who is a palli by caste) a few annas, and give into his hands the talis (marriage badge worn by women) which they have brought with them. these the priest, as representing the god, ties round their necks. the god is brought back to his shrine that night, and, when in front of the building, he is hidden by a cloth held before him. this symbolises the sacrifice of aravan, and the men who have just been married to him set up loud lamentations at the death of their husband. similar vows are taken and ceremonies performed, it is said, at the shrines of kuttandar, two miles north-west of porto novo, and adivarahanattum (five miles north-west of chidambaram), and, in recent years, at tiruvarkkulam (one mile east of the latter place); other cases probably occur." [185] i am informed by mr r. f. stoney that, in the madura district, iron chains are hung on babul (acacia arabica) trees, and dedicated to the rustic deity karuppan. at melur mr stoney saw large masses of such chains, which are made by the village blacksmiths. they are very rough, and are furnished at one end with what is said to be a sickle, and also a spear-head. i gather further [186] that, in the melur taluk, the shrine of karuppan may usually be known by the hundreds of chains hung outside it, which have been presented to the god in performance of vows. the deity is said to be fond of bedecking himself with chains, and these offerings are usually suspended from a kind of horizontal bar made of two stone uprights supporting a slab of stone placed horizontally upon the top of them. the god is also fond of presents of clubs and swords. "sometimes," a recent writer states, "a big chain hangs suspended from a tree, and the village panchayats (tribunals) are held in the aiyanar (or sangali karuppan) temple. the accused is made to submit to an ordeal in proof of innocence. the ordeal consists in his swearing on the chain, which he is made to touch. he has such a dread of this procedure, that, as soon as he touches the chain, he comes out with the truth, failure to speak the truth being punished by some calamity, which he believes will overtake him within a week. these chains are also suspended to the trees near the temples of village goddesses, and used by village panchayats to swear the accused in any trial before them." it is narrated [187] by moor that he "passed a tree, on which were hanging several hundred bells. this was a superstitious sacrifice by the bandjanahs, [188] who, passing this tree, are in the habit of hanging a bell or bells upon it, which they take from the necks of their sick cattle, expecting to leave behind them the complaint also. our servants particularly cautioned us against touching these diabolical bells; but, as a few were taken for our own cattle, several accidents that happened were imputed to the anger of the deity to whom these offerings were made, who, they say, inflicts the same disorder on the unhappy bullock who carries a bell from this tree as he relieved the donor from." at diguvemetta in the kurnool district, i came across a number of bells, both large and small, tied to the branches of a tamarind tree, beneath which were an image of the deity malalamma, and a stone bull (nandi). suspended from a branch of the same tree was a thick rope, to which were attached heads, skulls, mandibles, thigh-bones, and feet of fowls, and the foot of a goat. mr fawcett once saw, at a savara village in ganjam, a gaily ornamented hut near a burning-ground. rude figures of birds and red rags were tied to five bamboos, which were sticking up in the air about eight feet above the hut, one at each corner, and one in the centre. a savara said that he built the hut for his dead brother, and had buried the bones in it. [189] it is noted by the rev. j. cain [190] that, in some places, the lambadis fasten rags torn from some old garment to a bush in honour of kampalamma (kampa, a thicket). on the side of a road from bastar are several large heaps of stones, which they have piled up in honour of the goddess guttalamma. every lambadi who passes the heaps is bound to place one stone on the heap, and make a salaam to it. it is further recorded by mr walhouse [191] that, when going from the coimbatore plains to the mysore frontier, he saw a thorn-bush rising out of a heap of stones piled round it, and bearing bits of rag tied to its branches by lambadis. in the telugu country, rags are offered to a god named pathalayya (mr rags). on the trunk-roads in the nellore district, rags may be seen hanging from the babul (acacia arabica) trees. these are offerings made to pathalayya by travellers, who tear off pieces of their clothing with a vague idea that the offering thereof will render their journey free from accidents, such as upsetting of their carts, or meeting with robbers. outside the temple of the village goddess at ojini in the bellary district, mr fawcett tells us, [192] "are hung numbers of miniature cradles and bangles presented by women who have borne children, or been cured of sickness through the intervention of the goddess. miniature cows are presented by persons whose cows have been cured of sickness, and doll-like figures for children. one swami (god) there is, known by a tree hung with iron chains, hooks--anything iron; another by rags, and so on. the ingenious dhobi (washerman), whose function is to provide torches on occasions, sometimes practises on the credulity of his countrymen by tying a few rags to a tree, which by and by is covered with rags, for the passers-by are not so stiff-necked as to ask for a sign other than a rag; and under cover of the darkness, the dhobi makes his torch of the offerings." on the road to the temple at tirumala (upper tirupati) in the north arcot district, the goddess gauthala gangamma has her abode in a margosa or avaram (cassia auriculata) tree, surrounded by a white-ant hill. passers-by tear off a piece of their clothing, and tie it to the branches, and place a small stone at the base of the ant-hill. occasionally cooked rice is offered, fowls are sacrificed, and their heads and legs tied to the tree. in the madura district, bits of rag are hung on the trees in which a deity named sattan is believed to reside. [193] it is noted by mr w. francis [194] that, "in some places in the south arcot district, for example, on the feeder road to the olakkur station in tindivanam taluk and near the eighth mile of the road from kallakurchi to vriddhachalam, are trees on which passers-by have hung bits of rag, until they are quite covered with them. the latter of the two cases had its origin only a few years back in the construction by some shepherd boys of a toy temple to ganesa formed of a few stones under the tree, to draw attention to which they hung up a rag or two. the tree is now quite covered with bits of cloth, and beneath it is a large pile of stones, which have been added one by one by the superstitious passers-by." it is recorded by the abbé dubois [195] that "at palni, in madura, there is a famous temple consecrated to the god velayuda, whose devotees bring offerings of a peculiar kind, namely large sandals, beautifully ornamented, and similar in shape to those worn by the hindus on their feet. the god is addicted to hunting, and these shoes are intended for his use when he traverses the jungles and deserts in pursuit of his favourite sport. such shabby gifts, one might think, would go very little way towards filling the coffers of the priests of velayuda. nothing of the sort: brahmins always know how to reap profit from anything. accordingly the new sandals are rubbed on the ground and rolled a little in the dust, and are then exposed to the eyes of the pilgrims who visit the temple. it is clear enough that the sandals must have been worn on the divine feet of velayuda; and they become the property of whosoever pays the highest price for such holy relics." mr walhouse informs us [196] that the champak and other trees round the ancient shrine of the trimurti at the foot of the anaimalai mountains are thickly hung with sandals and shoes, many of huge size, evidently made for the purpose, and suspended by pilgrims as votive offerings. the god of the temple at tirumala is said to appear annually to four persons in different directions, east, west, south and north, and informs them that he requires a shoe from each of them. they whitewash their houses, worship the god, and spread rice-flour thickly on the floor of a room, which is locked for the night. next morning the mark of a huge foot is found on the floor, and the shoe has to be made to fit this. when ready, it is taken in procession through the streets of the village, conveyed to tirumala, and presented to the temple. though the makers of the shoes have worked in ignorance of each others' work, the shoes brought from the north and south, and those from the east and west, are believed to match and make a pair. though the worship of these shoes is chiefly meant for paraiyans, who are prohibited from ascending the tirupati hill, as a matter of fact all, without distinction of caste, worship them. the shoes are placed in front of the image of the god near the foot of the hill, and are said to gradually wear away by the end of the year. "at belur in the mysore province," mr lewis rice writes, [197] "the god of the temple is under the necessity of making an occasional trip to the baba budan hills to visit the goddess. on these occasions he is said to make use of a large pair of slippers kept for the purpose in the temple. when they are worn out, it devolves upon the chucklers (leather-workers) of channagiri and bisvapatna, to whom the fact is revealed in a dream, to provide new ones." in order to present the slippers, they are allowed to enter the courtyard of the temple. on the way leading up to the temple at tirumala, small stones heaped up in the form of a hearth, and knots tied in the leaves of young date-palms may be seen. these are the work of virgins who accompany the parties of pilgrims. the knots are tied to ensure the tying of the marriage tali string on their necks, and the heaping up of the stones is done with a view to ensuring the birth of children to them. if the girls revisit the hill after marriage and the birth of offspring, they untie the knot on a leaf, and disarrange one of the hearths. men cause their name to be cut on rocks by the wayside, or on the stones with which the path leading to the temple is paved, in the belief that good luck will result if their name is trodden on by some pious man. at tirupati, a number of balijas are engaged in the red sanders (pterocarpus santalinus) wood-carving industry. figures of deities, mythological figures, miniature temple cars, and domestic utensils, are among the articles turned out by them. vessels made of red sanders wood carry no pollution, and can be used by women during the menstrual period, and taken back to the house without any purification ceremony. for the same reason, sanyasis (ascetics) use such vessels for performing worship. the carved figures are sold to pilgrims and others who visit tirupati, and are also taken for sale to conjeeveram, madura, and other places, at times when important temple festivals are celebrated. carved wooden figurines, male and female, represented in a state of nudity, are also manufactured at tirupati, and sold to hindus. those who are childless perform on them the ear-boring ceremony, in the belief that, as the result thereof, issue will be born to them. or, if there are grown-up boys or girls in a family, who remain unmarried, the parents celebrate the marriage ceremony between a pair of figurines, in the hope that the marriage of their children will speedily follow. they dress up the dolls in clothes and jewelry, and go through the ceremonial of a real marriage. some there are who have spent as much money on a doll's wedding as on a wedding in real life. the simplest form of offerings consists of fruits, such as plantains and cocoanuts. without an offering of fruit no orthodox hindu would think of entering a temple, or coming into the presence of a native of position. the procession of servants and retainers, each bringing a gift of a lime fruit, on new year's day is familiar to anglo-indians. by the rules of government, framed with a view to preventing bribery, the prohibition of the receipt of presents from native chiefs and others does not extend to the receipt of a few flowers or fruits, and articles of inappreciable value, although even such trifling presents should be discouraged. as a thanksgiving for recovery from illness, votive offerings frequently take the form of silver or gold representations of the part of the body affected, which are deposited in a vessel kept for the purpose at the temple. they are kept for sale in the vicinity of the temple, and must be offered by the person who has taken the vow, or on whose behalf it has been taken. when a person has been ill all over, a silver human figure, or a thin silver wire of the same length as himself, and representing him, is sometimes offered. of silver offerings from temples in the tamil country, the madras museum possesses an extensive collection, in which are included the face, hands, feet, buttocks, tongue, larynx, navel, nose, ears, eyes, breasts, genitalia, etc.; snakes offered to propitiate the anger of serpents, snakes coiled in coitu, sandals, flags, umbrellas, and cocoanuts strung on a pole. when litigation arises in malabar in connection with the title to a house and compound (grounds) in which it stands, a vow is sometimes made to offer a silver model representing the property, if a favourable decree is obtained. some time ago, a rich landlord offered at the temple a silver model representing the exact number of trees, house, well, etc., and costing several hundreds of rupees, when a suit was decided in his favour. in connection with the temple at guruvayur in malabar, mr fawcett writes as follows [198]:- "i visited the festival on one occasion, and purchase was made of a few offerings such as are made to the temple in satisfaction of vows--a very rude representation of an infant in silver, a hand, a leg, an ulcer, a pair of eyes, and, most curious of all, a silver string which represents a man, the giver. goldsmiths working in silver and gold are to be seen just outside the gate of the temple, ready to provide at a moment's notice the object that any person intends to offer, in case he is not already in possession of his votive offering." a nayar examined by mr fawcett was wearing a silver ring as a vow, which was to be given up at the next festival at kottiur in north malabar. another was wearing a silver bangle. he had a wound in his arm which was long in healing, so he made a vow to the god at tirupati (tirumala) that, if his arm was healed, he would give up the bangle at the temple. a few years ago, a shrine was erected at cochin for a picture of the virgin and child, which attained to great celebrity for its power of working miracles. "many stories," mr fawcett writes, [199] "of the power of the picture are current. a fisherman, who had lost his nets, vowed to give a little net, if they were found. the votive offerings, which are sometimes of copper or brass, take strange forms. there are fishes, prawns, rice, cocoanut trees, cows, etc. a little silver model of a bridge was given by a contractor, who vowed, when he found his foundations were shaky, to give it if his work should pass muster. the power of the picture is such that the votaries are not confined to the christian community. there are among them many hindus and mahomedans." in south canara, silver rats and pigs are offered to protect the crops from destruction by these animals. silver rice-grains are offered when children do not take their food properly, and silver sheaves of grain if the crop is abundant. at pyka, brass or clay figures of the tiger, leopard, elephant, wild boar, and bandicoot rat, are presented at the shrine of a female bhutha [200] named poomanikunhoomani, to protect the crops and cattle from the ravages of these animals. the figures must be solid, as the bhuthas would be very angry if they were hollow. a brass figure of sarabha, a mythological eight-legged animal, which is supposed to be the vehicle of the god virabhadra, is presented as an offering to some siva temples in south canara in cases where a person is attacked with a form of ulcer known as siva's ulcer. sometimes a silver lizard is offered at temples, to counteract the evils which would result from a lizard falling on some unlucky part of the body, such as the kudumi (hair knot) of a female. the lizard, associated with the name of siva, is regarded as sacred. it is never intentionally killed, and, if accidentally hurt or killed, an image of it in gold or silver is presented by high caste hindus to a siva temple. [201] in malabar, a brahman magician transfers the spirits of those who have died an unnatural death to images made of gold, silver, or wood, which are placed in a temple or special building erected for them. it is said by mr f. fawcett, "to be a sacred duty to a deceased tiyan in malabar, who was of importance, for example, the head of a family, to have a silver image of him made, and arrange for it being deposited in some temple, where it will receive its share of worship, and offerings of food and water. the temples at tirunelli in wynad and tirunavayi, which are among the oldest in malabar, were generally the resting-places of these images, but now some of the well-to-do deposit them much further afield, even at benares and ramesvaram. a silver image is presented to the local siva temple, where, for a consideration, worship is done every new moon day. on each of these days, mantrams are supposed to be repeated a thousand times. when the image has been the object of these mantrams sixteen thousand times, it is supposed to have become eligible for final deposit at tirunavayi or elsewhere." if a muhammadan suffers from severe pain in the hand or foot, a vow is sometimes taken to the effect that a silver hand or foot will be taken to the grave of some saint, and put into the treasury which is kept there to meet the expenses of the annual ceremonies of the saint. at vizagapatam [202] there is a celebrated muhammadan saint, who lies buried by the durga on the top of the hill overlooking the harbour. he is considered to be all potent over the elements of the bay of bengal, and many a silver dhoni (native boat) is presented at his shrine by hindu ship-owners after a successful voyage. a suit once arose between a komati boat-owner and his muhammadan captain during settlement of the accounts. the captain stated that, during a storm off the coast of arakan, he had vowed a purse of rupees to the saint, and had duly presented it on his return. this sum he charged to the owner of the vessel, whose sole contention was that the vow had never been discharged; the propriety of conciliating the saint in a hurricane he allowed. at timmancherla in the anantapur district there is a tomb of a holy muhammadan named masthan ali, in whose honour a religious ceremony is held annually in april, which is attended by both muhammadans and hindus. the latter make vows at the tomb, which has a special reputation for granting offspring to the childless. the headman of the village, who is a hindu, brings the first offerings in procession with much ceremony. [203] at the annual festival at the temple at nedamangad in travancore, which is attended by large numbers of the lower classes, the worshippers are said by the rev. s. mateer [204] to "bring with them wooden models of cows covered, in imitation of shaggy hair, with ears of rice. many of these images are brought, each in a separate procession from its own place. the headmen are finely dressed with cloths stained purple at the edge. the image is borne on a bamboo frame, accompanied by a drum," and carried round the temple. the gudigars (wood-carvers) at udipi in south canara make life-size wooden buffaloes and large human figures as votive offerings for the iswara temple at hiriadkap, where they are set up in a row. by the savaras of vizagapatam, rudely carved and grotesque wooden representations of human beings, monkeys, lizards, parrots, peacocks, guns, pickaxes, daggers, etc., are dedicated to the tribal deity. they would not sell them to the district officer who acquired them on my behalf, but parted with them on the understanding that they would be worshipped by the sirkar (government). in like manner, the fishermen of the ganjam coast objected to specimens of the gods which are placed in little shrines on the sea-shore being sent to me, till they were told that it was because the government had heard of their devotion to their gods that they wanted to have some of them in madras. the gods, which are made in clay and wood, include bengali babu riding on a black horse, who is believed to bless the fishermen, secure large hauls of fish for them, and protect them against danger when out fishing. it has been observed that this affinity between the ganjam fishermen and the bengali babu, resulting in the apotheosis of the latter, is certainly a striking example of the catholicity of hero-worship, and it would be interesting to know how long, and for what reasons the conception of protection has appealed to the followers of the piscatory industry. it was sir george campbell, the lieutenant-governor of bengal, who compelled his bengali officials, much against their inclination, to cultivate the art of equitation. i am informed by mr g. v. ramamurthi pantulu that the savaras attend the markets or fairs held in the plains, or at the foot of the ghats, to purchase salt and other articles. if a savara is taken ill at the market or on his return thence, he attributes the illness to a spirit of the market called biradi sonum. the bulls which carry the goods of the hindu merchants to the market are supposed to convey the spirit. in propitiating it, the savara makes an image of a bull in straw, and, taking it out of his village, leaves it on the footpath, after a pig has been sacrificed. owners of cattle take the animals when sick round the sacred hill at tirukazhukunram in performance of a vow, in the belief that their health will be thus restored. "a brahmini bull," mr a. srinivasan writes, "is dedicated to the god venkateswara of tirupati, for the benefit of the living in fulfilment of vows. the act of dedication and release is preceded by elaborate rituals of marriage, as among men and women. the bride, which should be a heifer that has not calved, is furnished by the father-in-law of the donor. the heifer is united in holy wedlock to the bullock, after formal chanting of mantrams, by the tying of the tali and toe-rings to the neck. in this sham marriage, the profuse ornamentation of the couple with saffron (turmeric) and red powder, the pouring of rice on their heads, and a procession through the streets with music, are conspicuous features." i am told that, if the devotee cannot afford a live animal, a mimic representative is made in rice. painted hollow images are made by special families of kusavans (potters) known as pujari (priest), who, for the privilege of making them, have to pay an annual fee to the headman, who spends it on a festival at the caste temple. when a married couple are anxious to have female offspring, they take a vow to offer figures of the seven virgins (saptha kannimar), who are represented all seated in a row. if a male or female recovers from cholera, smallpox, or other severe illness, a figure of the corresponding sex is offered. a childless woman makes a vow to offer up the figure of a baby, if she brings forth offspring. figures of animals--cattle, horses, sheep, etc.--are offered at the temple when they recover from sickness, or are recovered after they have been stolen. horses made of clay, painted red and other colours, are set up in the fields to drive away demons, or as a thank-offering for recovery from sickness, or any piece of good luck. the villagers erect these horses in honour of the popular deity ayanar, the guardian deity of the fields, who is a renowned huntsman, and is believed, when, with his wives purna and pushkala, he visits the village at night, to mount the horses, and ride down the demons. ayanar is said [205] to be the special deity of the kusavan caste. kusavans are generally the pujaris at his temples, and they make the earthenware, and brick and mortar horses and images, which are placed before these buildings. the pupils of the eyes of the various images are not painted in till they are taken to the temple, where offerings of fruit, etc., are first made. even the pupils of a series of images which were specially made for me were not painted at the potter's house, but in the verandah of the traveller's bungalow where i was staying. a very interesting account of the netra mangalya, or ceremony of painting the eyes of images, as performed by craftsmen in ceylon, has been published by mr a. k. coomaraswamy. [206] therein he writes that "by far the most important ceremony connected with the building and decoration of a vihara (temple), or with its renovation, was the actual netra mangalya or eye ceremonial. the ceremony had to be performed in the case of any image, whether set up in a vihara or not. even in the case of flat paintings it was necessary. d. s. muhandiram, when making for me a book of drawings of gods according to the rupavaliya, left the eyes to be subsequently inserted on an auspicious occasion, with some simpler form of the ceremony described." on this subject, knox writes as follows [207]:- "some, being devoutly disposed, will make the image of this god (buddha) at their own charge. for the making whereof they must bountifully reward the founder. before the eyes are made, it is not accounted a god, but a lump of ordinary metal, and thrown about the shop with no more regard than anything else. but, when the eyes are to be made, the artificer is to have a good gratification, besides the first agreed upon reward. the eyes being formed, it is thenceforward a god. and then, being brought with honour from the workman's shop, it is dedicated by solemnities and sacrifices, and carried with great state into the shrine or little house, which is before built and prepared for it." putting money into a receptacle (undi) as an offering to a particular deity is a very common custom. in the case of a popular god, such as the one at tirumala, an earthen pot is sometimes replaced by a copper money-box or iron safe. in south canara there was a well-to-do family, the members of which kept on depositing coins in the family undi, which were set apart for the tirumala god during a number of generations. not only in cases of sickness, but even when a member of the family went to a neighbouring village, and returned safely, a few coins were put into the undi. for some reason, the opening of the undi, and offering of its contents at tirumala, was postponed, and, when it was finally opened, it was found to contain a miscellaneous collection of coins, current and uncurrent. when a temple is far away, and those who wish to make offerings thereat cannot, owing to the expense of the journey or other reason, go there themselves, the offerings are taken by a substitute. if the god to whom the offering is made is srinivasa of tirumala, a small sum of money must be offered as compensation for not taking it in person. the god is sometimes called vaddi kasulu varu, in allusion to the money (kasu) or interest. in some large towns, in the months of july and august, parties of devotees may be seen wandering about the streets, and collecting offerings to the god, which will be presented to him in due course. if a kelasi (barber) in south canara is seriously ill, he sometimes undertakes a vow to beg from door to door, and convey the money thus collected to tirumala. in his house he keeps a small closed box with a slit in the lid, through which he drops a coin at every stroke of misfortune, and the contents are eventually sent to the holy shrine. [208] a few years ago, a native complained to the police that about seven hundred rupees had been stolen from some brass pots, which he kept in a separate room of his house. the money, he stated, was dedicated to the tirumula temple, and was kept in the pots buried in paddy (unhusked rice). he himself had put in about fifty rupees during the time that the pots had been in his charge, either as an annual contribution, or on occasions of sickness. his mother stated that it had been a custom in the family to put money into the vessel for several generations, and she had never seen the pots opened. it is whispered that kallan dacoits invoke the aid of their deity alagarswami, when they are setting out on marauding expeditions, and, if they are successful therein, put part of their ill-gotten gains into the offertory box, which is kept at his shrine. [209] in this connection, the rev. j. sharrock states that "there is an understanding that, if their own village gods help them in their thefts, they are to have a fair share of the spoil, and, on the principle of honour among thieves, the bargain is always kept. when strange deities are met with on their thieving expeditions, it is usual to make a vow that, if the adventure turns out well, part of the spoil shall next day be left at the shrine of the god, or be handed over to the pujari of that particular deity. they are afraid that, if this precaution be not taken, the god may make them blind, or cause them to be discovered, or may go so far as to knock them down, and leave them to bleed to death." the most popular of the muhammadan saints who are buried at porto novo, where a considerable number of marakkayars (muhammadans) are engaged as sailors, "is one malumiyar, who was apparently in his lifetime a notable sea-captain. his fame as a sailor has been magnified into the miraculous, and it is declared that he owned ten or a dozen ships, and used to appear in command of all of them simultaneously. he has now the reputation of being able to deliver from danger those who go down to the sea in ships, and sailors setting out on a voyage, or returning from one in safety, usually put an offering in the little box kept at his darga, and these sums are expended in keeping that building lighted and whitewashed. another curious darga in the town is that of araikasu nachiyar, or the one pie lady. offerings to her must on no account be worth more than one pie (1/192 of a rupee); tributes in excess of that value are of no effect. if sugar for so small an amount cannot be procured, the devotee spends the money on chunam (lime) for her tomb, and this is consequently covered with a superabundance of whitewash. stories are told of the way in which the valuable offerings of rich men have altogether failed to obtain her favour, and have had to be replaced by others of the regulation diminutive dimensions." [210] the chief god of the dombs of vizagapatam is said [211] to be represented by a pie piece placed in or over a new earthen pot smeared with rice and turmeric powder. it is said [212] that muhammadans, belonging to the lower classes, consult panchangam brahmans about the chances of success in their enterprises. some of these brahmans send half the fee so obtained to the muhammadan mosque at nagur near negapatam, and will even offer sugar and flowers at that shrine, though they endeavour to excuse the act by saying that the saint was originally a brahman. i once saw a muhammadan at tumkur in mysore, whither he had journeyed from hyderabad, who had a rupee tied round his arm in token of a vow that, if he returned safe from plague and other ills to his own country, he would give money in charity. when a muhammadan falls ill, a rupee and a quarter is sometimes done up in a red cloth, and tied round the arm, to be given to the poor on recovery. members of the poorer classes tie an anna and a quarter in like manner, after performing a fateha ceremony. should the sickness of a hindu be attributed to a god or goddess, a vow is made, in token whereof a copper or silver coin is wrapped up in a piece of cloth dipped in turmeric paste, and kept in the house, or tied to the neck or arm of the sick person. a cock may be waved round the head of the patient, and afterwards reared in the house, to be eventually offered up at the shrine of the deity. a bedar, whom i saw at hospet in the bellary district, had a quarter anna rolled up in cotton cloth, which he wore on the upper arm in performance of a vow. in an account of the cock festival at cranganore in malabar, whereat vast numbers of cocks are sacrificed, mr gopal panikkar records [213] that, "when a man is taken ill of any infectious disease, his relations generally pray to the goddess (at cranganore) for his recovery, solemnly covenanting to perform what goes by the name of a thulabharam (or thulupurushadanam) [214] ceremony. this consists in placing the patient in one of the scale-pans of a huge balance, and weighing him against gold, or, more generally, pepper (and sometimes other substances), deposited in the other scale-pan. then this weight of the substance is offered to the goddess. this has to be performed right in front of the goddess in the temple yard." at mulki in south canara there is a temple of venkateswara, which is maintained by konkani brahmans. a konkani brahman, who is attached to the temple, becomes inspired almost daily between 10 and 11 a.m., immediately after worship, and people consult him. some time ago, a rich merchant from gujarat consulted the inspired man as to what steps should be taken to enable his wife to be safely delivered. he was told to take a vow that he would present to the god of the temple, silver, sugar-candy, and date fruits, equal in weight to that of his wife. this he did, and his wife was delivered of a male child. the cost of the ceremonial is said to have been five thousand rupees. in the thulabharam ceremony as performed by the maharajas of travancore, [215] they are weighed against gold coins, called thulabhara kasu, specially struck for the occasion, which are divided among the priests who performed the ceremony, and brahmans. the following quaint custom, which is observed at the village of pullambadi in the trichinopoly district, is described by bishop whitehead. [216] "the goddess kulanthal amman has established for herself a useful reputation as a settler of debts. when a creditor cannot recover a debt, he writes down his claim on a scroll of palm-leaves, and offers the goddess a part of the debt, if it is paid. the palmyra scroll is hung up on an iron spear in the compound of the temple before the shrine. if the claim is just, and the debtor does not pay, it is believed that he will be afflicted with sickness and bad dreams. in his dreams he will be told to pay the debt at once, if he wishes to be freed from his misfortunes. if, however, the debtor disputes the claim, he draws up a counter-statement, and hangs it on the same spear. then the deity decides which claim is true, and afflicts with sickness and bad dreams the man whose claim is false. when a claim is acknowledged, the debtor brings the money, and gives it to the pujari, who places it before the image of kulanthal amman, and sends word to the creditor. the whole amount is then handed over to the creditor, who pays the sum vowed to the goddess into the temple coffers in april or may. so great is the reputation of the goddess, that hindus come from about ten miles round to seek her aid in recovering their debts. the goddess may sometimes make mistakes, but, at any rate, it is cheaper than an appeal to an ordinary court of law, and probably almost as effective as a means of securing justice. in former times, no written statements were presented; people simply came and represented their claims by word of mouth to the deity, promising to give her a share. the custom of presenting written claims sprang up about thirty years ago, doubtless through the influence of the civil courts. apparently more debts have been collected since this was done, and more money has been gathered into the treasury." it is noted by the rev. a. margöschis [217] that "the hindus observe a special day at the commencement of the palmyra season (in tinnevelly), when the jaggery season begins. bishop caldwell adopted the custom, and a solemn service in church was held, when one set of all the implements used in the occupation of palmyra-climbing was brought to the church, and presented at the altar. only the day was changed from that observed by the hindus. the perils of the palmyra-climber are great, and there are many fatal accidents by falling from trees forty to sixty feet high, so that a religious service of the kind was particularly acceptable and peculiarly appropriate to our people." the story is told by bishop caldwell of a shanar (toddy-drawer) who was sitting upon a leaf-stalk at the top of a palmyra palm in a high wind, when the stalk gave way, and he came down to the ground safely and quietly sitting on the leaf, which served the purpose of a natural parachute. the festival of ayudha puja (worship of tools or implements) is observed by all hindu castes during the last three days of the dasara or navarathri in the month of purattasi (september-october). it is a universal holiday for all hindu workmen. even the brahman takes part in this puja. his tools, however, being books, it is called saraswati puja, or worship to the goddess or god of learning, who is either saraswati or hayagriva. reading books and repetition of vedas must be done, and, for the purpose of worship, all the books in a house are piled up in a heap. non-brahmans clean the various implements used by them in their daily work, and worship them. the kammalans (artisans) clean their hammers, pincers, anvil, blowpipe, etc.; the chettis (merchants) clean their scales and weights, and the box into which they put their money. the racket-marker at the madras club decorates the entrance to the scoring-box in which his rackets are kept, with a festoon of mango leaves. the weaving and agricultural classes will be seen to be busy with their looms and agricultural implements. fishermen pile up their nets for worship. even the bandywala (cart-driver) paints red and white stripes on the wheels and axles. i have myself been profusely garlanded when present as a guest at the elaborate tool-worshipping ceremony at the madras school of arts, where puja was done to a bust of the late bishop gell set up on an improvised altar, with a cast of saraswati above, and various members of the hindu pantheon around. at the festival held by the koyis of the godavari district in propitiation of a goddess called pida, very frequently offerings promised long before are sacrificed, and eaten by the pujari. it is not at all uncommon for a koyi to promise to offer a seven-horned male (i.e. a cock) as a bribe to be let alone, a two-horned male (i.e. a goat) being set apart by more wealthy or more fervent suppliants. [218] when smallpox or other epidemic disease breaks out in a gadaba village in vizagapatam, a little go-cart on wheels is constructed. in this a clay image, or anything else holy, is placed, and it is taken to a distant spot, and left there. it is also the custom, when cholera or smallpox is epidemic in the same district, to make a little car, "on which are placed a grain of saffron-stained [219] rice for every soul in the village, and numerous offerings such as little swings, pots, knives, ploughs, and the like, and the blood of certain sacrificial victims, and this is then dragged with due ceremony to the boundary of the village. by this means the malignant essence of the deity who brings smallpox or cholera is transferred across the boundary. the neighbouring villagers naturally hasten to move the car on with similar ceremony, and it is thus dragged through a whole series of villages, and eventually left by the roadside in some lonely spot." [220] marching on one occasion, towards hampi in the bellary district, where an outbreak of cholera had recently occurred, i came across two wooden gods on wheels by the roadside, to whom had been offered baskets of fruit, vegetables, earthen pots, bead necklets, and bangles, which were piled up in front of them. it is recorded [221] by bishop whitehead that, when an epidemic breaks out in a certain village in the telugu country, "the headman of the village gets a new earthenware pot, besmears it with turmeric and kunkuma (red powder), and puts inside it some clay bracelets, necklaces, and earrings, three pieces of charcoal, three pieces of turmeric, three pieces of incense, a piece of dried cocoanut, a woman's cloth, and two annas worth of coppers--a strange collection of miscellaneous charms and offerings. the pot is then hung up on a tree near the image of the village deity, as a pledge that, if the epidemic disappears, the people will celebrate a festival." it is further recorded [222] by bishop whitehead that, during the festival of mariamma at kannanur in the trichinopoly district, "many people who have made vows bring sheep, goats, fowls, pigeons, parrots, cows, and calves, to the temple, and leave them in the compound alive. at the end of the festival, these animals are all sold to a contractor. two years ago, they fetched rs. 400--a good haul for the temple." between the madras museum and the government maternity hospital, a small municipal boundary stone has been set up by the side of the road. to this stone supernatural powers are attributed, and it is alleged that in a banyan tree in a private garden close by a muni lives, who presides over the welfare of the patients in the hospital, and must be propitiated if the pregnant woman is to get over her confinement without complications. women vow that they will, if all goes well, give a cocoanut, betel, or flowers when they leave. discharged patients can be seen daily, going to the stone and making offerings. on the day of their discharge, their friends bring camphor and other articles, and the whole family goes to the stone, where the camphor is burnt, a cocoanut broken, and perhaps some turmeric or flowers placed on it. the new-born child is placed on the bare ground in front of the stone, and the mother, kneeling down, bows before it. the foreheads of both mother and child are marked with the soots from the burning camphor. if her friends do not bring the requisite articles, the woman goes home, and returns with them to do puja to the stone, or it is celebrated at a temple or her house. the offerings are removed by those who present them, or by passers-by on the road. the kudubi cutch (catechu) makers of south canara, before the commencement of operations, select an areca catechu tree, and place a sword, an axe, and a cocoanut on the ground near it. they prostrate themselves before the tree, with hands uplifted, burn incense, and break cocoanuts. the success of the operations is believed to depend on the good-will of a deity named siddedevaru. before they commence work, the kudubis make a vow that, if they are successful, they will offer a fowl. "a palmyra tree in the jungle near ramnad with seven distinct trunks, each bearing a goodly head of fan-shaped leaves is," general burton writes, [223] "attributed to the action of a deity, and stones smeared with oil and vermilion, broken cocoanuts, and fowl's feathers lying about, testify that puja and sacrifice were performed here." on the rangasvami peak on the nilgiris are two rude walled enclosures sacred to the god ranga and his consort, within which are deposited various offerings, chiefly iron lamps and the notched sticks used as weighing-machines. the hereditary priest is an irula (jungle tribesman). [224] certain caves are regarded by the muduvars of the travancore hills as shrines, wherein spear-heads, tridents, and copper coins are placed, partly to mark them as holy places, and partly as offerings to bring good luck. prehistoric stone cells, found in the bed of a river, are believed to be the thunderbolts of vishnu, and are stacked as offerings by the malaialis of the shevaroy hills in their shrines dedicated to vigneswara the elephant god, who averts evil, or in little niches cut in rocks. of a remarkable form of demon worship in tinnevelly, bishop caldwell wrote that [225] "an european was till recently worshipped as a demon. from the rude verses which were sung in connection with his worship, it would appear that he was an english officer, who was mortally wounded at the taking of the travancore lines in 1809, and was buried about twenty-five miles from the scene of the battle in a sandy waste, where, a few years ago, his worship was established by the shanans of the neighbourhood. his worship consisted in the offering to his manes of spirituous liquors and cheroots." a similar form of worship, or propitiation of demons, is recorded [226] by bishop whitehead from malabar. he was told that "the spirits of the old portuguese soldiers and traders are still propitiated on the coast with offerings of toddy and cheroots. the spirits are called kappiri (probably kaffirs or foreigners). this superstition is dying out, but is said to be common among the fishermen of the french settlement of mai (mahé)." on one occasion, a man who had been presented with two annas as the fee for lending his body to me for measurement, offered it, with flowers and a cocoanut, at the shrine of the village goddess, and dedicated to her another coin of his own as a peace-offering, and to get rid of the pollution caused by my money. vi charms mantrams, or consecrated formulæ, are supposed to be very powerful, and by their aid even gods can be brought under control. they are, inter alia, believed to be efficacious in curing disease, in protecting children against devils, and women against miscarriage, in promoting development of the breasts, in bringing offspring to barren women, in warding off misfortune consequent on marriage with a girl who has an unlucky mark, in keeping wild pigs from the fields, and warding off cattle disease. for the last purpose, the magical formula is carved on a stone pillar, which is set up in the village. they are divided into four classes, viz., mantrasara, or the real essence of magic; yantrasara, or the science of cabalistic figures; prayogasara, or the method of using these for the attainment of any object; tantrasara, or the science of symbolical acts with or without words. mantrasara includes all mantrams, with their efficacy for good and evil, and the methods of learning and reciting them with the aid of a guru (spiritual preceptor). they are said to be effective only when the individual who resorts to them is pure in mind and body. this can be attained by the recitation of ajapagayithri (216,000 inhalations and exhalations in twenty-four hours). these have to be divided among the deities ganesa, brahma, vishnu, rudra, jivathma, paramathma, and the guru, in the proportion of 600, 6000, 6000, 6000, 1000, 1000, 1000. a man can only become learned in mantrams (mantravadi) by the regular performance of the recognised ceremonial, by proper recital of the mantrams, by burning the sacred fire, and by taking food. a lambadi has been seen repeating mantrams over his patients, and touching their heads at the same time with a book, which was a small edition of the telugu translation of st john's gospel. neither the physician nor the patient could read, and had no idea of the contents of the book. [227] it is noted by the abbé dubois, [228] that one of the principal reasons why so little confidence is placed in european doctors by hindus is that, when administering their remedies, they recite neither mantrams nor prayers. yantrasara includes all cabalistic figures, the method of drawing and using them, and the objects to be attained by them. they are usually drawn on thin plates of gold, silver, copper, or lead. the efficacy of the figures, when drawn on gold, will, it is said, last for a century, while those drawn on the less precious metals will only be effective for six months or a year. leaden plates are used when the yantrams are to be buried underground. the figures should possess the symbols of life, the eyes, tongue, eight cardinal points of the compass, and the five elements. prayogasara includes attraction or summoning by enchantment, driving out evil spirits, stupefaction, tempting or bringing a deity or evil spirits under control, and enticement for love, destruction, and the separation of friends. the following are examples of cases in which a european, who, having been trained by a guru, was well versed in the theory and practice of native magic, was called in to administer to natives, who were under the spell of devils. in the first case, a telugu girl, about seventeen years old, had been for some time possessed by her sister's husband, under whose influence she used to eat abnormal quantities of food, tear off her clothes, and use indecent language in a voice other than her own. when the european arrived in her room, the devil, speaking through the girl, threatened to kill her, or the european, or the individual who put it into her. under the spell of a suitable mantram, the devil departed, and its return was prevented by the wearing of a yantram. the other case was that of a boy, who was possessed by a devil. he was found, on the occasion of the visit of the european, lying down in the courtyard of his house, clad in an ample loin-cloth, and with a high temperature. suddenly, through some invisible agency, a corner of his loin-cloth caught fire, which was stamped out. it then caught fire in another place, and eventually was riddled with burnt holes. this was the way in which the devil manifested its influence, and sometimes the boy got burnt. a mantram was recited, with the result that the burning ceased, and the fever abated. an impromptu yantram was made out of vibhuti (sacred ashes), and tied round the boy's neck. a religious mendicant came along a short time afterwards, and treated the boy for some ordinary sickness not connected with the devil, but the medicine did him no good. finding the yantram round his neck, the mendicant asserted that it was the cause of his failure, and ordered its removal. this the boy's relations refused to permit. but the holy man ripped it off. whereon the boy instantly fell down comatose. in recording these two cases, i have reproduced my notes made on the occasion of an interview with the european. reference has been made (p. 180) to mantrams carved on stone pillars. the story of a stone slab at rayalcheruvu in the anantapur district, known as the yantram rayi or magic stone, is narrated by mr francis. [229] "the charm consists of eighty-one squares, nine each way, within a border of tridents. each square contains one or more telugu letters, but these will not combine into any intelligible words. at the bottom of the stone are cut a lingam and two pairs of foot-prints. some twelve years ago, it is said, the village suffered severely from cholera for three years in succession, and a telugu mason, a foreigner who was in the village at the time, cut this charm on the stone to stop the disease. it was set up with much ceremony. the mason went round the village at night without a stitch of clothing on him, and with the entrails of a sheep hanging round his neck. many cocoanuts were offered to the stone, and many sheep slain before it. the mason tossed a lamb in the air, caught it as it fell, tore its throat open with his teeth, and then bounded forward, and spat out the blood. more sheep and cocoanuts were offered, and then the slab was set up. the mason naturally demanded a substantial return for the benefit he had conferred on the inhabitants. when cholera now breaks out, the villagers subscribe together, and do puja (worship) to the stone in accordance with directions left by him." of similar stones in the south arcot district, mr francis writes as follows [230]:- "in several villages in the west of the district are magical slabs, which are supposed to cure cholera and cattle disease. on them, surrounded by a border of trisulas (the trident of siva) are cut a series of little squares, in each of which is some tamil letter. the villagers usually explain their existence by saying that, some forty years ago, an ascetic, whom they call the sangili (chain) sanyasi from his predilection for wearing red-hot chains round his neck, came there when cholera and cattle disease were rife, and (for a consideration) put up these slabs to ward off his ills. he left directions that, when either disease reappeared, 108 pots of water were to be poured over the slab, 108 bilva (ægle marmelos) leaves tied to it and so on, and that men and animals were then to walk through the water which had been poured over it." mr francis writes further [231] that "in many places, stone slabs may be seen set up in the outskirts of the villages, on what are said to be the old boundaries. these are thought to be able to ward off sickness, and other harm which threatens to enter the place, and are revered accordingly. some are quite blank, others have letters cut on them, while others again bear the rude outline of a deity, and are accordingly given such names as pidari or ellai amman (the goddess of the boundary). to these last, periodical worship is often performed, but, in the case of the others, the attentions of the villagers are confined to an annual ceremony, whereat cocoanuts are broken, camphor is burnt, and a light is placed on the stone." it was noted by lieutenant r. f. burton [232] that, in some hamlets, the kotas of the nilgiris have set up curiously carved stones, which they consider sacred, and attribute to them the power of curing diseases, if the member affected is rubbed against them. at cross-roads in bellary, odd geometric patterns may sometimes be noticed. these are put there at night by people suffering from disease, in the hope that the affliction will pass to the person who first treads on the charm. [233] as examples of yantrams, the following, selected from a very large repertoire, may be cited:-ganapathi yantram should be drawn on metal, and worship performed. it is then enclosed in a metal cylinder, and tied by a thread round the neck of females, or the waist or arm of men. it will cure disease, conquer an enemy, or entice any one. if the sacred fire is kept up while the formula is being repeated, and dry cocoanut, plantain fruits, money, ghi (clarified butter), and sweet bread put into it, the owner will be blessed with wealth and prosperity. bhadrakali yantram. the figure is drawn on the floor with flour or rice, turmeric, charcoal powder, and leaves of the castor-oil plant. if the deity is worshipped at night, it will lead to the acquisition of knowledge, strength, freedom from disease and impending calamities, wealth, and prosperity. if puja (worship) is celebrated by a mantravadi for twelve days with the face turned towards the south, it will produce the death of an enemy. sudarsana yantram, when drawn on a sheet of metal, and enclosed in a cylinder worn round the neck or on the arm, will relieve those who are ill or possessed by devils. if it is drawn on butter spread on a plantain leaf, puja performed, and the butter given to a barren woman, there will be no danger to herself or her future issue. suthakadosham yantram. children under one year of age are supposed to be affected, if they are seen by a woman on the fourth day of menstruation with wet clothes and empty stomach after bathing. she may not even see her own baby or husband till she has changed her clothes, and taken food. to avert the evil, a waist-band, made of the bark of the arka plant (calotropis gigantea), is worn. sarabha yantram will cure persons suffering from epilepsy or intermittent fever. subramaniya yantram, if regularly worshipped, will expel devils from those attacked by them, and from houses. hanuman yantram will protect those who are out on dark nights, and produce bodily strength and wisdom. if drawn on a sheet of gold, and puja is performed to it every saturday, it will bring prosperity, and help pregnant women during their confinement. pakshi yantram, if drawn on a sheet of lead, and kept in several places round a house, will keep snakes away. vatugabhairava yantram cures disease in those who are under eighteen years old, and drives out all kinds of evil spirits. if ashes are smeared on the face, and the mantram is uttered sixteen times, it will be very effective. varati yantram is very useful to any one who wishes to kill an enemy. he should sit in a retired spot at night, with his face turned towards the south, and repeat the mantram a thousand times for twenty days. prathingiri yantram is drawn on a sheet of lead, and buried at a spot over which a person, whose death is desired, will pass. it is then placed on the floor, on which the sacred fire is kindled. the mantram should be repeated eight hundred times for seven nights. chamundi and raktha chamundi yantrams are used for causing the death of enemies. the mantram should be written on a sheet of lead, and puja, with the sacrifice of toddy and mutton, performed. asvaruda yantram enables a person wearing it to cover long distances on horseback, and he can make the most refractory horse amenable by tying it round its neck. [234] an inhabitant of malabar presented mr fawcett with a yantram against the evil eye, which, if whispered over a piece of string, and tied round any part of the body affected, would work an instantaneous cure. a cheruman at calicut, who was wearing on his loin-string a copper cylinder containing a brass strip with mantrams, sold it to me for a rupee with the assurance that it would protect me from devils. to produce an ulcer, which will cause the death of an enemy in ninety days, a mantram is written on a piece of cadjan (palm leaf), enclosed in an egg with a small quantity of earth on which he has urinated, and buried in an ant-hill. a fowl is killed, and its blood and some toddy are poured over the egg. to cure fever, the formula is written with the finger in water contained in a basin, and the appropriate words are repeated while the water is being drunk. by some muhammadans, on festival days, the names of holy persons, together with their sayings, are written on mango or palmyra leaves in ink made of charred rice. when the ink is dry, the leaves are washed in water, which is drunk. this is supposed to cure people of many obstinate diseases. a european official was informed by a native magistrate in the vizagapatam district that, when he wanted to tear up some old abkari (liquor) licenses, a man implored him not to do so, as they had brought him life for a year, and were therefore worshipped. so the medicine was water, in which an old license had been dipped. it is recorded [235] by mr logan that "in 1877, a poor mappilla (muhammadan) woman residing in one of the laccadive islands was put upon her trial for witchcraft for importing into the island a betel leaf with a certain cabalistic and magical inscription on it; but it fortunately turned out for her that she had merely pounded it up, and rubbed it over her daughter's body to cure her of fits. ibn batuta (the arab traveller who visited south india in the fourteenth century) wrote of a malayali king who was converted to islam by the leaf of 'the tree of testimony,' a tree of which it was related to him that it does not generally drop its leaves, but at the season of autumn in every year one of them changes its colour, first to yellow, then to red, and that upon this is written 'there is no god but god: muhammad is the prophet of god,' and that this leaf alone falls. the falling of the leaf was an annual event, and the leaf itself was efficacious in curing diseases. nowadays the belief among the muhammadans still subsists, that the leaves of a certain tree growing on mount deli (in malabar) possess similar virtues." metal bowls, engraved both on the outside and inside with texts from the quran, are taken or sent by muhammadans to mecca, where they are placed at the head of the tomb of the prophet, and blessed. they are highly valued, and used in cases of sickness for the administration of medicine or nourishment. it is on record that, at the battle of seringapatam in 1799, an officer took from off the right arm of the dead body of tipu sultan a talisman, which contained sewed up in pieces of fine flowered silk a charm made of a brittle metallic substance of the colour of silver, and some manuscripts in magic arabic and persian characters. a notorious mappilla dacoit, who was shot by the police a few years ago, and whom his co-religionists tried to make a saint, was at the time of his death wearing five copper and silver charm cylinders round his waist. it is noted by mr logan [236] that "when affliction comes, the animal affected is served with grass, fruit, etc., on which charms have been whispered, or is bathed in charmed water, or has a talisman in the shape of a palm leaf inscribed with charms rolled up and tied round its neck." the tooth or claw of a tiger, worn on the neck or round the loins, is considered effective against evil influences. a tiger's whiskers are held to be a most potent poison when chopped up; so, when a tiger is killed, the whiskers are immediately singed off. [237] they are represented in stuffed heads by the delicate bristles of the porcupine. when a savara of ganjam is killed by a tiger, the kudang goes through a performance on the following sunday to prevent a similar fate overtaking others. two pigs are killed outside the village, and every man, woman, and child is made to walk over the ground whereon the pig's blood is spilled, and the kudang gives to each individual some kind of tiger medicine as a charm. [238] in malabar the tusks of a wild boar are, in cases of protracted labour, pressed over the abdomen of the woman from above downwards. the hair of the bear is enclosed in a casket or cylinder, and tied to the girdle round the loins of male children, and in strings round the neck of female children, as a remedy against fever, and to prevent involuntary discharge of urine during sleep. [239] one of the occupations of the kuruvikkarans (bird-catchers and beggars) is the manufacture and sale of spurious jackal horns, known as narikompu. to catch the jackals they make an enclosure of a net, inside which a man seats himself armed with a big stick. he then proceeds to execute a perfect imitation of the jackal's cry, on hearing which the jackals come running to see what is the matter, and are beaten down. sometimes the entire jackal's head is sold, skin and all. the process of manufacture of the horn is as follows. after the brain has been removed, the skin is stripped off a limited area of the skull, and the bone at the place of junction of the sagittal and lambdoid sutures above the occipital foramen is filed away, so that only a point, like a bony outgrowth, is left. the skin is then brought back, and pressed over the little horn which pierces it. the horn is also said to be made out of the molar tooth of a dog or jackal, introduced through a small hole in a piece of jackal's skin, round which a little blood or turmeric paste is smeared to make it look more natural. in most cases only the horn, with a small piece of skull and skin, is sold. sometimes, instead of the skin from the part where the horn is made, a piece of skin is taken from the snout, where the long black hairs are. the horn then appears surrounded by long black bushy hairs. the kuruvikkarans explain that, when they see a jackal with such long hairs on the top of its head, they know that it possesses a horn. a horn-vendor, whom i interviewed, assured me that the possessor of a horn is a small jackal, which comes out of its hiding-place on full-moon nights to drink the dew. according to another version, the horn is only possessed by the leader of a pack of jackals. a nomad dommara, whom i saw at coimbatore, carried a bag containing a miscellaneous assortment of rubbish used in his capacity as medicine-man and snake-charmer, which included a collection of spurious jackal horns. to prove the genuineness thereof, he showed me not only the horn, but also the feet with nails complete, as evidence that the horns were not made from the nails. being charged with manufacturing the horns, he swore, by placing his hand on the head of a child who accompanied him, that he was not deceiving me. the largest of the horns in his bag, he gravely assured me, was from a jackal which he dug out of its hole on the last new-moon night. the sinhalese and tamils regard the horn as a talisman, and believe that its fortunate possessor can command the realisation of every wish. those who have jewels to conceal rest in perfect security if, along with them, they can deposit a narikompu. [240] the ayah (nurse) of a friend who possessed such a talisman, remarked: "master going into any law-court, sure to win the case." two horns, which i possessed, were stolen from my study table, to bring luck to some tamil member of my establishment. the nasal bone of a jackal or fox, enclosed in a receptacle, is believed to ward off many evils. the nose of a hyæna is also held in great estimation as a charm. when a hyæna is killed, the end of the nose is cut off and dried, and is supposed to be a sovereign charm in cases of difficult labour, indigestion, and boils, if applied to the nostrils of the patient. [241] in malabar, silver finger-rings with a piece of bristle from the tail of an elephant set in them, are worn as a charm. in the vizagapatam district, a most efficacious charm, supposed to render a man invulnerable to every ill, consists of a small piece of black wool, given to every one who takes a black sheep for the priest of a temple on the bopelli ghat. another much valued charm in this district is called chemru mausa, which is described as being a small musk-rat only an inch and a half long, very scarce, and only found on rocky hills. it is worn in a gold or silver receptacle on the arm, and is supposed to render a man invulnerable against sword cuts and musket shots. in like manner, a mixture of gingelly (sesamum) oil, the red dye which women use, and other ingredients, put into a small piece of hollow bamboo, and worn on the arm, are believed to protect a man against being shot with a bow or musket. many of the kadir infants on the anaimalai hills have tied round the neck a charm, which takes the form of a dried tortoise foot; the tooth of a crocodile mimicking a phallus, and supposed to ward off attacks from a mythical water elephant which lives in the mountain streams, or wooden imitations of tiger's claws. the joints taken from the tail of the black scorpion are believed to ward off illness, if children wear them on their waist-thread. [242] of charms worn by the nambutiri brahmans in malabar, the following are recorded by mr f. fawcett [243]:-ring, in which an anavarahan coin is set. this is a very lucky ring. spurious imitations are often set in rings, but it is the genuine one which brings good luck. gold case fastened to a string round the waist, and containing a figure written on a silver plate. the man had worn it for three years, having put it on because he used to feel hot during the cold season, and attributed his condition to the influence of an evil spirit. two cylinders, one of gold, the other of silver. in each were some chakrams (travancore silver coins) and a gold leaf, on which a charm was inscribed. one of the charms was prepared by a mappilla, the other by a nambutiri. in connection with the wearing of charms by the nayars of malabar, mr fawcett writes [244] as follows:- "one individual wore two rings made of an amalgamation of gold and copper, called tambak on the ring-finger of the right hand for good luck. tambak rings are lucky rings. it is a good thing to wash the face with the hand, on which is a tambak ring. another wore two rings of the pattern called triloham on the ring-finger of each hand. each of these was made during an eclipse. an akattu charna nayar wore an amulet, to keep off the spirit of a brahman who died by drowning." as examples of charms worn by bedar men in the canarese country, the following may be cited:-string tied round right arm with metal box attached to it, to drive away devils. string round ankle for the same purpose. necklet of coral and ivory beads worn as a vow to the goddess huligamma. necklets of ivory beads, and a gold disc with the vishnupad (feet of vishnu) engraved on it, purchased from a religious mendicant to bring good luck. in an account of the mandulas (medicine-men) of the telugu country, bishop whitehead records [245] that a baby three days old had an anklet made of its mother's hair tied round the right ankle, to keep off the evil eye. the mother, too, had round her ankle a similar anklet, which she put on before her confinement. one of the men was also wearing an anklet of hair, as he had recently been bitten by a snake. a metal charm-cylinder is sometimes attached to the sacred thread, which is worn by devangas (a weaving caste), who claim to be devanga brahmans. i have seen the child of a kuruba (canarese agriculturist) priest wearing a necklet with a copper ornament engraved with cabalistic devices, a silver plate bearing a figure of hanuman (the monkey god), as all his other children had died, and a piece of pierced pottery from the burial-ground, to ward off whooping-cough. the rev. s. nicholson informs me that, if a mala (telugu pariah) child grinds its teeth in its sleep, a piece of a broken pot is brought from a graveyard, and, after being smoked with incense, tied round the child's neck with a piece of string rubbed with turmeric, or with a piece of gut. in the tamil country, the bark of a tree on which any one has hanged himself, a cord with twenty-one knots, and the earth from a child's grave, are hung round the neck, or tied to the waist-string as talismans. a kota woman at kotagiri on the nilgiris, was wearing a glass necklet, with a charm pendant from it, consisting of the root of some tree rolled up in a ball of cloth. she put it on when her baby was quite young, to protect it against devils. the baby had a similar charm on its neck. by some jungle chenchus pieces of stick strung on a thread, or seeds of givotia rottleriformis are worn, to ward off various forms of pain. small flat plates of copper, called takudu, are frequently worn by tamil paraiyan children. one side is divided into sixteen squares in which what look like the telugu numerals nine, ten, eleven and twelve, are engraved. on the other side a circle is drawn, which is divided into eight segments, in each of which a telugu letter is inscribed. this charm is supposed to protect the wearer from harm coming from any of the eight cardinal points of the indian compass. charms, in the form of metal cylinders, are worn for the same purpose by adults and children, and procured from some exorcist. [246] by some medaras of the telugu country, a figure of hanuman (the monkey god) is engraved on a thin plate of gold with cabalistic letters inscribed on it, and worn on the neck. on eclipse days, a piece of root of the arka plant (calotropis gigantea) is worn on the neck of females, and on the waist or arm of males. in a note regarding moon-shaped amulets against the evil eye described by professor tylor, [247] mr. walhouse mentions that crescents, made of thin plates of metal, sometimes gold, are worn by children on the west coast, suspended upon the breast with the point upwards. neck ornaments in the form of a crescent are commonly worn by muhammadan children. concerning the use of coins as charms, mr v. devasahayam writes as follows [248]:- "seeing a woman with several old coins strung on the tali (marriage badge) string round the neck, i offered to buy them of her for a good price, but got only a torrent of abuse, since she, in her ignorance and superstition, supposed that lutchmi, the goddess of fortune, would forsake her if she parted with the coins. in tranquebar there lives a head mason, who always carries in his betel-nut bag a copper coin bearing the inscription of koneri rayan, one of the later pandyans or early nayakars. the man would on no account part with this coin, for he believes that his success in business has improved since he came into possession of it, and that it will continue as long as he carries it with him. he says that he shall bequeath it to his family at his death, to hold in veneration almost amounting to worship. for dog bite, some natives tie an old copper coin with a bandage over the wound, and wear it till it has healed. others rub the coin against a copper vessel, using a few drops of the juice of the datura plant in order to form a paste, and apply the paste to the wound. whooping-cough is believed to be caused by the displeasure of bhairava, the dog-god, and the whooping is regarded as a sort of barking, under possession by the god. to appease his anger, an old coin is hammered into a flat round disc, a rude figure of a dog engraved on it, and suspended as a charm to the sick child's waist. in the treatment of skin disease, dyspepsia, and leprosy, old copper coins are ground to dust, heated till the dust is like ashes, and administered medicinally. soon after a sonaga woman is delivered of a child, she is made to swallow a small old copper coin together with some water. natives believe that, during delivery, the whole system is so irritated that strong counter-irritants must be administered to prevent tetanus." mercury cups, said to be made of an amalgam of mercury and tin, are stated to possess the property of allowing mercury, when poured in, to ooze through them, and pass out. milk preserved in such a cup for a few hours is said to turn into hard curd. milk kept over night in one of these cups, or an amulet made from the cup materials, are believed to exercise a most potent influence over the male fertilising element. such an amulet, applied to the neck of a chorister, is said to have increased his vocal powers three or four times. piles, and other bodily ailments, are believed to be cured by wearing rings, in the composition of which mercury is one of the ingredients. in a case which was tried before a magistrate in travancore, the accused, in order to win his case, had concealed in his under-cloth some yantrams, which had been prepared for him by a sorcerer. the plaintiff, having got scent of this, gave information, and the charms were handed over to the magistrate. it is recorded in the vigada thuthan that, when a woman who gets tired of her husband sues him for maintenance, she wears charm bundles (manthira kattu), so that his evidence may be confused and incoherent. such charms are said to be concealed in the hair of the head or in the headdress, and generally to consist of a lime fruit, which has been charmed by magical spells in a graveyard, after the sorcerer has performed certain ceremonies to guard him against devils catching him during the incantations. it is said that, in former times, if the chastity of a tamil paraiyan bride was suspected, she had to establish her virtue by picking some cakes out of boiling oil, and then husking some rice with her bare hand. her hair, nails, and clothes were examined, to see that she had no charm concealed about her. [249] a friend once dismissed a servant for cheating and lying. a short time afterwards, he found nailed to a teapoy a paper scroll containing a jasmine flower tied up with coloured threads. on the scroll were inscribed in tamil the mystic syllable, "om," and "nama siva r. u. masthan sahibu avergal padame thunai" (i seek for help at the feet of masthan sahib). masthan is a muhammad saint. the servant of a european police officer, who had been caught out in all sorts of malpractices, tried to win back the good-will of his master by means of a charm, for which he paid fifteen rupees, placed under his master's pillow. it is recorded by marco polo [250] that south indian pearl divers [251] call in the services of an abraiman (brahman?) to charm the sharks. "and their charm holds good for that day only; for at night they dissolve the charm, so that the fishes can work mischief at their will." the prospects of a pearl fishery, when success seems certain, may be abruptly ruined by accidents from sharks, of which the divers have a superstitious, but not altogether unreasonable, dread. before the fishery of 1889, at which i was present, the divers of kilakarai on the madura coast, as a preliminary to starting for the scene thereof, performed a ceremony, at which prayers were offered for protection against the attacks of sharks. "the only precaution," tennent writes, [252] "to which the ceylon diver devotedly resorts is the mystic ceremony of the shark-charmer, whose power is believed to be hereditary. nor is it supposed that the value of his incantations is at all dependent upon the religious faith professed by the operator, for the present head of the family happens to be a roman catholic. at the time of our visit, this mysterious functionary was ill, and unable to attend; but he sent an accredited substitute, who assured me that, although he was himself ignorant of the grand and mystic secret, the fact of his presence, as a representative of the higher authority, would be recognised and respected by the sharks." at the tuticorin fishery in 1890, a scare was produced by a diver being bitten by a shark, but subsided as soon as a "wise woman" was employed. her powers do not, however, seem to have been great, for more cases of shark-bite occurred, and the fishery had to be abandoned at a time when favourable breezes, clear water, plenty of boats, and oysters selling at a good price, indicated a successful financial result. vii human sacrifice "the best known case," mr frazer writes, [253] "of human sacrifices systematically offered to ensure good crops, is supplied by the khonds or kandhs, a dravidian race in bengal and madras. our knowledge of them is derived from the accounts written by british officers, who, forty or fifty years ago, were engaged in putting them down. the sacrifices were offered to the earth goddess, tari pennu or bera pennu, and were believed to ensure good crops, and immunity from all diseases and accidents. in particular, they were considered necessary in the cultivation of turmeric, the khonds arguing that the turmeric could not have a deep red colour without the shedding of blood. the victim, a meriah, was acceptable to the goddess only if he had been purchased, or had been born a victim, that is, the son of a victim father, or had been devoted as a child by his father or guardian." in 1837, mr russell, in a report on the districts entrusted to his control, wrote as follows [254]:- "the ceremonies attending the barbarous rite (kondh human sacrifice) vary in different parts of the country. in the maliahs of goomsur, the sacrifice is offered annually to thadha pennoo, under the effigy of a bird intended to represent a peacock, with the view of propitiating the deity to grant favourable seasons and crops. the ceremony is performed at the expense of, and in rotation, by certain mootahs (districts) composing a community, and connected together from local circumstances. besides these periodical sacrifices, others are made by single mootahs, and even by individuals, to avert any threatening calamity from sickness, murrain, or other causes. grown men are the most esteemed (as victims), because the most costly. children are purchased, and reared for years with the family of the person who ultimately devotes them to a cruel death, when circumstances are supposed to demand a sacrifice at his hands. they seem to be treated with kindness, and, if young, are kept under no constraint; but, when old enough to be sensible of the fate that awaits them, they are placed in fetters, and guarded. most of those who were rescued had been sold by their parents or nearest relations, a practice which, from all we could learn, is very common. persons of riper age are kidnapped by wretches who trade in human flesh. the victim must always be purchased. criminals, or prisoners captured in war, are not considered fitting subjects. the price is paid indifferently in brass utensils, cattle, or coin. the zanee (or priest), who may be of any caste, officiates at the sacrifice, but he performs the poojah (offering of flowers, incense, etc.) to the idol through the medium of the toomba, who must be a khond child under seven years of age. this child is fed and clothed at the public expense, eats with no other person, and is subjected to no act deemed impure. for a month prior to the sacrifice, there is much feasting and intoxication, and dancing round the meriah, who is adorned with garlands, etc., and, on the day before the performance of the barbarous rite, is stupefied with toddy, and made to sit, or, if necessary, is bound at the bottom of a post bearing the effigy above described. the assembled multitude then dance around to music, and, addressing the earth, say 'oh! god, we offer the sacrifice to you. give us good crops, seasons, and health.' after which they address the victim. 'we bought you with a price, and did not seize you. now we sacrifice you according to custom, and no sin rests with us.' on the following day, the victim being again intoxicated, and anointed with oil, each individual present touches the anointed part, and wipes the oil on his own head. all then proceed in procession around the village and its boundaries, preceded by music, bearing the victim and a pole, to the top of which is attached a tuft of peacock's feathers. on returning to the post, which is always placed near the village deity called zakaree pennoo, and represented by three stones, near which the brass effigy in the shape of the peacock is buried, they kill a pig in sacrifice, and, having allowed the blood to flow into a pit prepared for the purpose, the victim who, if it has been found possible, has been previously made senseless from intoxication, is seized and thrown in, and his face pressed down until he is suffocated in the bloody mire amid the noise of instruments. the zanee then cuts a piece of the flesh from the body, and buries it with ceremony near the effigy and village idol, as an offering to the earth. all the rest afterwards go through the same form, and carry the bloody prize to their villages, where the same rites are performed, part being interred near the village idol, and little bits on the boundaries. the head and face remain untouched, and the bones, when bare, are buried with them in the pit. after this horrid ceremony has been completed, a buffalo calf is brought in front of the post, and, his forefeet having been cut off, is left there till the following day. women, dressed in male attire, and armed as men, then drink, dance, and sing round the spot, the calf is killed and eaten, and the zanee is dismissed with a present of rice, and a hog or calf." in the same year, mr arbuthnot, collector of vizagapatam, reported as follows:- "of the hill tribe codooloo (kondh), there are said to be two distinct classes, the cotia codooloo and jathapoo codooloo. the former class is that which is in the habit of offering human sacrifices to the god called jenkery, with a view to secure good crops. this ceremony is generally performed on the sunday preceding or following the pongal feast. the victim is seldom carried by force, but procured by purchase, and there is a fixed price for each person, which consists of forty articles such as a bullock, a male buffalo, a cow, a goat, a piece of cloth, a silk cloth, a brass pot, a large plate, a bunch of plantains, etc. the man who is destined for the sacrifice is immediately carried before the god, and a small quantity of rice coloured with saffron (turmeric) is put upon his head. the influence of this is said to prevent his attempting to escape, even though set at liberty. it would appear, however, that, from the moment of his seizure till he is sacrificed, he is kept in a continued state of stupefaction or intoxication. he is allowed to wander about the village, to eat and drink anything he may take a fancy to, and even to have connection with any of the women whom he may meet. on the morning set apart for the sacrifice, he is carried before the idol in a state of intoxication. one of the villagers officiates as priest, who cuts a small hole in the stomach of the victim, and with the blood that flows from the wound the idol is besmeared. then the crowds from the neighbouring villages rush forward, and he is literally cut into pieces. each person who is so fortunate as to procure it carries away a morsel of the flesh, and presents it to the idol of his own village." concerning a method of kondh sacrifice, which is illustrated by the wooden post preserved in the madras museum, colonel campbell records [255] that "one of the most common ways of offering the sacrifice in chinna kimedi is to the effigy of an elephant (hatti mundo or elephant's head) rudely carved in wood, fixed on the top of a stout post, on which it is made to revolve. after the performance of the usual ceremonies, the intended victim is fastened to the proboscis of the elephant, and, amidst the shouts and yells of the excited multitude of khonds, is rapidly whirled round, when, at a given signal by the officiating zanee or priest, the crowd rush in, seize the meriah, and with their knives cut the flesh off the shrieking wretch so long as life remains. he is then cut down, the skeleton burnt, and the horrid orgies are over. in several villages i counted as many as fourteen effigies of elephants, which had been used in former sacrifices. these i caused to be overthrown by the baggage elephants attached to my camp in the presence of the assembled khonds, to show them that these venerated objects had no power against the living animal, and to remove all vestiges of their bloody superstition." it is noted by risley [256] that, while the crowd hacked the body of the victim, they chanted a ghastly hymn, an extract from which illustrates very clearly the theory of sympathetic magic underlying the ritual:- "as the tears stream from thine eyes, so may the rain pour down in august; as the mucus trickles from thy nostrils, so may it drizzle at intervals; as thy blood gushes forth, so may the vegetation sprout; as thy gore falls in drops, so may the grains of rice form." in another report, colonel campbell describes how the miserable victim is dragged along the fields, surrounded by a crowd of half intoxicated kondhs who, shouting and screaming, rush upon him, and with their knives cut the flesh piecemeal from the bones, avoiding the head and bowels, till the living skeleton, dying from loss of blood, is relieved from torture, when its remains are burnt, and the ashes mixed with the new grain to preserve it from insects. yet again, he describes a sacrifice which was peculiar to the kondhs of jeypore. "it is," he says, "always succeeded by the sacrifice of three human beings, two to the sun in the east and west of the village, and one in the centre, with the usual barbarities of the meriah. a stout wooden post about six feet long is firmly fixed in the ground, at the foot of it a narrow grave is dug, and to the top of the post the victim is firmly fastened by the long hair of his head. four assistants hold his outstretched arms and legs, the body being suspended horizontally over the grave, with the face toward the earth. the officiating junna or priest, standing on the right side, repeats the following invocation, at intervals hacking with his sacrificing knife the back part of the shrieking victim's neck. 'oh! mighty manicksoro, this is your festal day. to the khonds the offering is meriah, to the kings junna. on account of this sacrifice, you have given to kings kingdoms, guns, and swords. the sacrifice we now offer you must eat, and we pray that our battle-axes may be converted into swords, our bows and arrows into gunpowder and balls; and, if we have any quarrels with other tribes, give us the victory. preserve us from the tyranny of kings and their officers.' then, addressing the victim, 'that we may enjoy prosperity, we offer you as a sacrifice to our god manicksoro, who will immediately eat you, so be not grieved at our slaying you. your parents were aware, when we purchased you from them for sixty rupees, that we did so with intent to sacrifice you. there is, therefore, no sin on our heads, but on your parents. after you are dead, we shall perform your obsequies.' the victim is then decapitated, the body thrown into the grave, and the head left suspended from the post till devoured by wild beasts. the knife remains fastened to the post till the three sacrifices have been performed, when it is removed with much ceremony." the kondhs of bara mootah promised to relinquish the meriah rite on condition, inter alia, that they should be at liberty to sacrifice buffaloes, monkeys, goats, etc., to their deities, with all the solemnities observed on occasions of human sacrifice; and that they should further be at liberty, upon all occasions, to denounce to their gods the government, and some of its servants in particular, as the cause of their having relinquished the great rite. the last recorded meriah sacrifice in the ganjam maliahs occurred in 1852, and there are still kondhs alive, who were present at it. the veteran members of a party of kondhs, who were brought to madras for the purpose of performing their dances before the prince and princess of wales in 1906, became widely excited when they came across the relic of their barbarous custom at the museum. twenty-five descendants of persons who were rescued by government officers, returned themselves as meriah at the census, 1901. it is noted by mr w. francis that [257] "goats and buffaloes nowadays take the place of human meriah victims, but the belief in the superior efficacy of the latter dies hard, and every now and again revives. when the rampa rebellion of 1879-80 spread in this district, several cases of human sacrifice occurred in the disturbed tracts. in 1880, two persons were convicted of attempting a meriah sacrifice near ambadala in bissamkatak. in 1883, a man (a beggar and a stranger) was found at daybreak murdered in one of the temples in jeypore in circumstances which pointed to his having been slain as a meriah; and, as late as 1886, a formal enquiry showed that there were ample grounds for the suspicion that the kidnapping of victims still went on in bastar." even so recently as 1902, a european magistrate in ganjam received a petition, asking for permission to perform a human sacrifice, which was intended to give a rich colour to the turmeric crop. the flowers with which the sheep and goats which take the place of human beings are decorated are still known as meriah pushpa in jeypore. [258] in an account [259] of a substituted sacrifice, which was carried out by the kondhs in the ganjam maliahs in 1894, it is stated that, "the janni gave the buffalo a tap on the head with a small axe. an indescribable scene followed. the khonds in a body fell on the animal, and, in an amazingly short time, literally tore the living victim to shreds with their knives, leaving nothing but the head, bones, and stomach. death must mercifully have been almost instantaneous. every particle of flesh and skin had been stripped off during the few minutes they fought and struggled over the buffalo, eagerly grasping for every atom of flesh. as soon as a man had secured a piece thereof, he rushed away with the gory mass, as fast as he could, to his fields, to bury it therein according to ancient custom, before the sun had set. as some of them had to do good distances to effect this, it was imperative that they should run very fast. a curious scene now took place. as the men ran, all the women flung after them clods of earth, some of them taking very good effect. the sacred grove was cleared of people, save a few that guarded the remnants left of the buffalo, which were taken, and burnt with ceremony at the foot of the stake." the buffalo sacrifice is not unaccompanied by risk, as the animal, before dying, sometimes kills one or more of its tormentors. this was the case near balliguda in 1899, when a buffalo killed the sacrificer. in the previous year, the desire of a village to intercept the bearer of the flesh from a neighbouring village led to a fight, in which two men were killed. like the kondhs, the koyis of the godavari district believe in the efficacy of a sacrifice, to ensure good crops. in this connection, the rev. j. cain writes [260] that "the koyi goddess mamili or lele must be propitiated early in the year, or else the crops will undoubtedly fail; and she is said to be very partial to human victims. there is strong reason to think that two men were murdered this year (1876) near a village not far from dummagudem as offerings to this devata, and there is no reason to doubt that every year strangers are quietly put out of the way in the bastar country, to ensure the favour of the bloodthirsty goddess." mr cain writes further [261] that a langur monkey is now substituted for the human victim under the name of erukomma potu or male with small breasts, in the hope of persuading the goddess that she is receiving a human sacrifice. on the site of the old fort at ramagiri in the vizagapatam district, a victim was formerly sacrificed every third year. "the poor wretch was forced into a hole in the ground, three feet deep and eighteen inches square, at the bottom of which the goddess was supposed to dwell, his throat was cut, and the blood allowed to flow into the hole, and afterwards his head was struck off and placed on his lap, and the mutilated body covered with earth and a mound of stones until the time for the next sacrifice came round, when the bones were taken out and thrown away. at malkanagiri, periodical sacrifices occurred at the four gates of the fort, and the rani had a victim slain as a thank-offering for her recovery from an illness." [262] the nomad koravas are said to have formerly performed human sacrifices, one effect of which was to increase the fertility of the soil. the following account of such a sacrifice was given to mr c. hayavadana rao by an old inhabitant of the village of asur near walajabad in the chingleput district. a big gang of koravas settled at the meeting point of three villages of asur, melputtur, and avalur, on an elevated spot commanding the surrounding country. they had with them their pack-bullocks, each headman of the gang owning about two hundred head. the cow-dung which accumulated daily attracted a good many of the villagers, on one of whom the headman fixed as their intended victim. they made themselves intimate with him, plied him with drink and tobacco, and gave him the monopoly of the cow-dung. thus a week or ten days passed away, and the koravas then fixed a day for the sacrifice. they invited the victim to visit them at dusk, and witness a great festival in honour of their caste goddess. at the appointed hour, the man went to the settlement, and was induced to drink freely. meanwhile, a pit, large enough for a man to stand upright in, had been prepared. at about midnight, the victim was seized, and forced to stand in the pit, which was filled in up to his neck. this done, the women and children of the gang made off with their belongings. as soon as the last of them had quitted the settlement, the headmen brought a large quantity of fresh cow-dung, and placed a ball of it on the head of the victim. the ball served as a support for an earthen lamp, which was lighted. the man was by this time nearly dead, and the cattle were made to pass over his head. the headmen then made off, and, by daybreak, the whole gang had disappeared. the sacrificed man was found by the villagers, who have, since that time, scrupulously avoided the koravas. the victim is said to have turned into a munisvara, and for a long time troubled those who happened to go near the spot at noon or midnight. the koravas are said to have performed the sacrifice, so as to insure their cattle against death from disease. the ground, on which they encamped, and on which they offered the human sacrifice, is stated to have been barren prior thereto, and, as the result thereof, to have become very fertile. a similar form of human sacrifice was practised in former days by the nomad lambadis, concerning which the abbé dubois writes as follows [263]:- "when they wish to perform this horrible act, it is said, they secretly carry off the first person they meet. having conducted the victim to some lonely spot, they dig a hole, in which they bury him up to the neck. while he is still alive, they make a sort of lamp of dough made of flour, which they place on his head. this they fill with oil, and light four wicks in it. having done this, the men and women join hands, and, forming a circle, dance round their victim, singing and making a great noise, till he expires." it is recorded by the rev. j. cain [264] that the lambadis confessed that, in former days, it was the custom among them, before starting out on a journey, to procure a little child, and bury it in the ground up to the shoulders, and then drive their loaded bullocks over the unfortunate victim. in proportion to their thoroughly trampling the child to death, so their belief in a successful journey increased. i am informed by the rev. g. n. thomssen that, at the present day, the lambadis sacrifice a goat or chicken, in case of removal from one part of the jungle to another, when sickness has come. they hope to escape death by leaving one camping ground for another. half-way between the old and new grounds, the animal selected is buried alive, the head being allowed to be above ground. then all the cattle are driven over the buried creature, and the whole camp walk over the buried victim. in the course of an interview with colonel marshall on the subject of infanticide [265] among the todas of the nilgiri hills, an aged man of the tribe remarked that [266] "those tell lies who say that we laid the child down before the opening of the buffalo-pen, so that it might be run over and killed by the animals. we never did such things, and it is all nonsense that we drowned it in buffaloes' milk. boys were never killed--only girls; not those who were sickly and deformed--that would be a sin; but, when we had one girl, or in some families two girls, those that followed were killed. an old woman used to take the child immediately after it was born, and close its nostrils, ears, and mouth with a cloth. it would shortly droop its head and go to sleep. we then buried it in the ground." the old man's remark about the cattle-pen refers to the malagasy custom of placing a new-born child at the entrance to a cattle-pen, and then driving the cattle over it, to see whether they would trample on it or not. [267] it is recorded by bishop whitehead, [268] in a note on offerings and sacrifices in the telugu country, that "sometimes, when there is a cattle disease, a pig is buried up to its neck at the boundary of the village, a heap of boiled rice is deposited near the spot, and then all the cattle of the village are driven over the head of the unhappy pig.... when i was on tour in the kurnool district, an old man described to me the account he had received from his 'forefathers' of the ceremonies observed when founding a new village. an auspicious site is selected on an auspicious day, and then, in the centre of the site, is dug a large hole, in which are placed different kinds of grains, small pieces of the five metals, and a large stone called boddu-rayée (navel-stone), standing about three and a half feet above the ground, very like the ordinary boundary stones seen in the fields. then, at the entrance of the village, in the centre of the main street, where most of the cattle pass in and out on their way to and from the fields, they dig another hole, and bury a pig alive." it is suggested by bishop whitehead that the custom of thus burying a pig may be connected with the worship of an agricultural goddess, or a survival of a former custom of infanticide or human sacrifice, such as prevailed among the lambadis. it has been suggested that certain rites performed by the panan and malayan exorcists of malabar are survivals, or imitations of human sacrifice. thus, in the ucchaveli ceremony of the panans for driving out devils, there is a mock burial of the principal performer, who is placed in a pit. this is covered with planks, on the top of which a sacrifice (homam) is performed with a fire kindled with jak (artocarpus integrifolia) branches. [269] the disguise of ucchaveli is also assumed by the malayans for the propitiation of the demon, when a human sacrifice is considered necessary. the malayan who is to take the part puts on a cap made of strips of cocoanut leaf, and strips of the same leaves tied to a bent bamboo stick round his waist. his face and chest are daubed with yellow paint, and designs are drawn thereon in red or black. strings are tied tightly round the left arm near the elbow and wrist, and the swollen area is pierced with a knife. the blood spouts out, and the performer waves the arm, so that his face is covered with blood. in the ceremony for propitiating the demon nenaveli (bloody sacrifice), the malayan smears the upper part of the body and face with a paste made of rice-flour reddened with turmeric powder and chunam (lime), to indicate a sacrifice. before the paste dries, parched paddy (unhusked rice) grains, representing smallpox pustules, are sprinkled over it. strips of young cocoanut leaves, strung together so as to form a petticoat, are tied round the waist, a ball of sacred ashes (vibhuthi) is fixed on the tip of the nose, and two strips of palm leaf are placed in the mouth to represent fangs. if it is thought that a human sacrifice is necessary to propitiate the devil, the man representing nenaveli puts round his neck a kind of framework made of plantain leaf sheaths; and, after he has danced with it on, it is removed, and placed on the ground in front of him. a number of lighted wicks are stuck in the middle of the framework, which is sprinkled with the blood of a fowl, and then beaten and crushed. sometimes this is not regarded as sufficient, and the performer is made to lie in a pit, which is covered over by a plank, and a fire kindled. a malayan, who acted the part of nenaveli before me, danced and gesticulated wildly, while a small boy, concealed behind him, sang songs in praises of the demon, to the accompaniment of a drum. at the end of the performance, he feigned extreme exhaustion, and laid on the ground in a state of apparent collapse, while he was drenched with water brought in pots from a neighbouring well. a very similar rite has been recorded by mr lewis rice as being carried out by the coorgs, when a particular curse, which can only be removed by an extraordinary sacrifice, rests on a house, stable, or field. concerning this sacrifice, mr rice writes as follows [270]:- "the kaniya (religious mendicant) [271] sends for some of his fraternity, the panikas or bannus, and they set to work. a pit is dug in the middle room of the house or in the yard, or in the stable, or in the field, as the occasion may require. into this one of the magicians descends. he sits down in hindu fashion, muttering mantras. pieces of wood are laid across the pit, and covered with earth a foot or two deep. upon this platform a fire of jackwood is kindled, into which butter, sugar, different kinds of grain, etc., are thrown. this sacrifice continues all night, the panika sacrificer above, and his immured colleague below, repeating their incantations all the while. in the morning the pit is opened, and the man returns to the light of day. these sacrifices are called maranada bali, or death atonements. instead of a human being, a cock is sometimes shut up in the pit, and killed afterwards." evidence is produced by mr rice [272] that, in former days, human sacrifices were offered in coorg, to secure the favour of the grama devatas (village goddesses) mariamma, durga, and bhadra kali. "in kirinadu and koniucheri gramas," he writes, "once every three years, in december and june, a human sacrifice used to be brought to bhadra kali, and, during the offering by the panikas, the people exclaimed 'al amma' (a man, oh mother), but once a devotee shouted 'al all amma, adu' (not a man, oh mother, a goat), and since that time a he-goat without blemish has been sacrificed. similarly, in bellur, once a year, by turns from each house, a man was sacrificed by cutting off his head at the temple; but, when the turn came to a certain home, the devoted victim made his escape to the jungle. the villagers, after an unsuccessful search, returned to the temple, and said to the pujari (priest) 'kalak adu,' which has a double meaning, viz., kalake next year, adu he will give, or adu a goat, and thenceforth only scapegoats were offered." human sacrifice is considered efficacious in appeasing the earth spirit, and in warding off devils during the construction of a new railway or big bridge. to the influence of such evil spirits the death of several workmen by accident in a cutting on the railway, which was under construction at cannanore in malabar, was attributed. a legend is current at anantapur that, on one occasion, the embankment of the big tank breached. ganga, the goddess of water, entered the body of a woman, and explained through her that, if some one was thrown into the breach, she would cause no further damage. accordingly, one musalamma was thrown in, and buried within it. the spot is marked by several margosa (melia azadirachta) trees, and sheep, fowls, etc., are still occasionally offered to the girl who was thus sacrificed. when a tank bund (embankment) was under construction in mysore, there was a panic among the workmen, owing to a rumour that three virgins were going to be sacrificed. when a mantapam or shrine was consecrated, a human sacrifice was formerly considered necessary, but a cocoanut is now sometimes used as a substitute. at kalasapad in the cuddapah district, a missionary told bishop whitehead that, when a new ward was opened at the mission dispensary in 1906, none would enter it, because the people believed that the first to enter would be offered as a sacrifice. their fears were allayed by a religious service. during the building of a tower at the madras museum, just before the big granite blocks were placed in position, the coolies contented themselves with the sacrifice of a goat. on the completion of a new building, some castes on the west coast sacrifice a fowl or sheep, to drive away the devils, which are supposed to haunt it. in a field outside a village in south canara, mr walhouse noticed a large square marked in lines with whitewash on the ground, with magic symbols in the corners, and the outline of a human figure rudely drawn in the middle. flowers and boiled rice had been laid on leaves round the figure. he was informed that a house was to be built on the site marked out, and the figure was intended to represent the earth spirit supposed to be dwelling in the ground (or a human sacrifice?). without this ceremony being performed before the earth was dug up, it was believed that there would be no luck about the house. [273] belief in the efficacy of human sacrifice as a means of discovering hidden treasure is widespread. it is recorded by mr walhouse [274] that "one of the native notions respecting p­andu kuli, or kistvaens, is that men of old constructed them for the purpose of hiding treasure. hence it is that antiquarians find so many have been ransacked. it is also believed that spells were placed over them as a guard, the strongest being to bury a man alive in the cairn, and bid his ghost protect the deposit against any but the proprietor. the ghost would conceal the treasure from all strangers, or only be compelled to disclose it by a human sacrifice being offered." many beliefs exist with regard to the purpose for which the large prehistoric burial jars, such as are found in various parts of southern india, were manufactured. in travancore, some believe that they were made to contain the remains of virgins sacrificed by the rajas on the boundaries of their estates, to protect them. [275] according to another idea, the jars were made for the purpose of burying alive in them old women who refused to die. in a note on the velamas of the godavari district, mr f. r. hemingway writes that they admit that they always arrange for a mala (telugu pariah) couple to marry, before they have a marriage in their own houses, and that they provide the necessary funds for the mala marriage. they explain the custom by a story to the effect that a mala once allowed a velama to sacrifice him in order to obtain a hidden treasure, and they say that this custom is observed out of gratitude for the discovery of the treasure which resulted. the rev. j. cain gives a similar custom among the velamas of bhadrachalam in the godavari district, only in this case it is a palli (fisherman) who has to be married. some years ago, a native of the west coast, believing that treasure was hidden on his property, took council with an astrologer, who recommended the performance of a human sacrifice, which happily was averted. on one occasion, a little brahman girl is said to have been decoyed when on her way to school, and murdered in the god's room at a temple in vellore, in which treasure was supposed to be concealed. in 1901, a native of the bellary district was tried for the murder of his child, in the belief that hidden treasure would thereby be revealed to him. the man, whose story i heard from himself in the lock-up, had apparently implicit faith that the god would bring the child to life again. the case, as recorded in the judgment of the sessions judge, was as follows:- "the prisoner has made two long statements to the magistrate, in each of which he explains why he killed the child. from these statements it appears that he had been worshipping at the temple of kona irappa for six or seven years, and that, on one or more occasions, the god appeared to him, and said: 'i am much pleased with your worship. there is wealth under me. to whom else should it be given but you?' the god asked the prisoner to sacrifice sheep and buffaloes, and also said: 'give your son's head. you know that a head should be given to the god who confers a boon. i shall raise up your son, and give you the wealth which is under me.' at that time, the prisoner had only one son--the deceased boy was not then born. the prisoner said to the god: 'i have only one son. how can i give him?' the god replied: 'a son will be born. do not fear me. i shall revive the son, and give you wealth.' within one year, the deceased boy was born. this increased the prisoner's faith in the god, and it is apparent from his own statement that he has for some time past been contemplating human sacrifice. he was advised not to sacrifice the son, and for a time was satisfied with sacrificing a buffalo and goats, but, as a result, did not succeed in getting the wealth that he was anxious to secure. the prisoner says he dug up some portion of the temple, but the temple people did not let him dig further. the boy was killed on a sunday, because the prisoner says that the god informed him that the human sacrifice should be on the child's birthday, which was a sunday. the prisoner mentions in his statement how he took the child to the temple on the sunday morning, and cut him with a sword. having done so, he proceeded to worship, saying: 'i offered a head to the bestower of boons. give boons, resuscitate my son, and show me wealth.' while the prisoner was worshipping the god, and waiting for the god to revive his son, the reddi (headman) and the police came to the temple, and interrupted the worship. the prisoner believes that thereby the god was prevented from reviving the son.... the facts seem to be clear. the man's mind is sound in every respect but as regards this religious delusion. on that point, it is unsound." a bad feature of the case, which was reckoned against the prisoner, was that he deferred the sacrifice until a second son was born, so that, in any case, he was not left without male issue. it was laid down by manu that a man is perfect when he consists of three--himself, his wife, and his son. in the rig veda it is laid down that, when a father sees the face of a living son, he pays a debt in him, and gains immortality. in sanskrit works, putra, or son, is defined as one who delivers a parent from a hell called put, into which those who have no son fall. hence the anxiety of hindus to marry, and beget male offspring. a few years ago, in the mysore province, two men were charged with the kidnapping and murder of a female infant, and one was sentenced to transportation for life. the theory of the prosecution was that the child was killed, in order that it might be offered as a sacrifice with the object of securing hidden treasure, which was believed to be buried near the scene of the murder. a witness gave evidence to the effect that the second accused was the pujari (priest) of a gangamma temple. he used to tell people that there was hidden treasure, and that, if a human sacrifice were offered, the treasure might be acquired. he used to make puja, and tie yantrams (charms). he also made special pujas, and exorcised devils. another witness testified that her mother had buried some treasure during her lifetime, and she asked the pujari to discover it. he came to her house, made an earthen image, and did puja to it. he dug the ground in three places, but no treasure was found. in dealing with the evidence in the court of appeal, the judges stated that "it is well known that ignorant persons have various superstitions about the discovery of hidden treasure, and the facts that the second accused either shared such superstitious beliefs, or traded on the credulity of his neighbours by his pretensions of special occult power, and that a sanyasi (religious mendicant) had some four years ago given out that treasure might be discovered by means of a human sacrifice, cannot justify any inference that the second accused would have acted on the last suggestion, especially when the witnesses cannot even say that the second accused heard the sanyasi's suggestion." the temple was searched, and the following articles were found:--three roots of the banyan tree having suralay (coil), a suralay of the banyan tree, round which two roots were entwined, a piece of banyan root, and a wheel (alada chakra) made of banyan root. besides, there were a copper armlet, copper thyati (charm cylinder), nine copper plates, on which letters were engraved, a copper mokka mattoo (copper plate bearing figures of deities), a piece of thread coloured red, white and black, for tying yantrams, a tin case containing kappu (a black substance), a ball of human hair, and a pen-knife. there was also a dealwood box containing books and papers relating to bhuta vidya (black art). a man was accused in 1907, in the kurnool district, of stabbing a supposed wizard in the darkest hours of a new-moon night. in the course of his judgment, the judge stated that "what may be taken as the facts of the case are very curious. the accused and his elder brother saw an 'iguana' (lizard) run from the foot of a hill. this is supposed to be one of the signs of buried treasure. they killed the animal (and ate it eventually), and dug, and found, where it had slept, treasure in the shape of a pot full of old-time pagodas (gold coins). now a goddess (called here shatti, i.e., sakti) is supposed to guard such buried treasure, and the finder ought to sacrifice a cock to the goddess before receiving the treasure. the brother of the accused neglected to do so, and came to the deceased, who was supposed to be a warlock, though his wife represents him to be merely a worshipper of vira brahma, and a distributor of holy water (thirtham) and holy ashes to people possessed with devils. the deceased gave holy water to pedda pichivadu to avert ill-luck, but the man suddenly died from running a thorn into his foot, and his leg swelling in consequence. about the same time, the accused's younger brother got palsy in his head, and the deceased failed to cure him, though he made the attempt." at girigehalli in the anantapur district, there is a temple, concerning which the story goes that the stomach of the goddess was once opened by an avaricious individual, who expected to find treasure within it. the goddess appeared to him in a dream, and said that he should suffer like pain to that which he had inflicted upon her, and he shortly afterwards died of some internal complaint. [276] in the cuddapah district, many of the inhabitants are said [277] to believe that there is much treasure hidden from the troublous days of the eighteenth century, but they have a superstitious dread against looking for it, since the successful finder would be smitten by the guardian demon with a sudden and painful death. the panos (hill weavers) of ganjam are said, on more than one occasion, to have rifled the grave of a european, in the belief that buried treasure would be found. many years ago, a woman was supposed to be possessed with a devil, and an exorcist was consulted, who declared that a human sacrifice was necessary. a victim was selected, and made very drunk. his head was cut off, and the blood, mixed with rice, was offered to the idol. the body was then hacked so as to deceive the police, and thrown into a pond. [278] at a village near berhampur in ganjam, mr s. p. rice tells us, [279] a number of villagers went out together. by and bye, according to a preconcerted plan, one of the party suggested a drink. the intended victim was drugged, and taken along to the statue of the goddess, or shrine containing what did duty for the statue. he was then thrown down with his face on the ground in an attitude suggesting supplication, and, while he was still in a state of stupor, his head was chopped off with an axe. it is narrated by chevers [280] that, in 1840, a religious mendicant, on his way back from ramesvaram, located himself in a village near ramnad, and gave himself out to be gifted with the power of working miracles. one evening, the chucklers (leather-workers) of the village, observing crows and vultures hovering near a group of trees, and suspecting that there was carrion for them to feast upon, were tempted to visit the spot, where they found a corpse, mangled most fearfully, and with the left hand and right leg cut off. many nails were driven into the head, a garland was placed round the neck, and the forehead smeared with sandal paste. it was rumoured that a certain person was ailing, and that the holy man decreed that nothing short of a human sacrifice could save him, and that the victim should bear his name. the holy man disappeared, but was captured shortly afterwards. a copper-plate grant, acquired a few years ago at tirupati, and believed to be a forgery, records that a temple car was made for the goddess kalikadevi of conjeeveram by certain panchalans (members of the artisan classes). while it was being taken to the temple, a magician stopped it by means of incantations. the help of another magician was sought, and he cut off the head of his pregnant daughter, suspended it to the car, and performed certain rites. the car then moved, and the woman, whose head was cut off, was brought back to life. a somewhat similar legend is recorded in another copper-plate grant discovered in 1910 in the north arcot district, which is also believed to be a forgery. it is there stated that the five castes of artisans made a bell-metal car for the kamakshiamman temple at conjeeveram. members of these five castes, belonging to the left-hand faction, commenced to drag it, but seniyasingapuli, belonging to the right-hand faction, by means of magical powers, raised a thousand evil spirits against each wheel, and arrested its progress. a woman, named mangammal, offered to sacrifice her son, and the artisans accordingly purchased the boy, saying that they would give her a head equal to that of a new-born child. eventually, mangammal herself laid down before the car. her head was cut off, and hung at the top of the car. her abdomen was torn open, and the foetus removed therefrom, and dedicated to the evil spirit. the headless trunk was buried in the path of the wheels. viii magic and human life some of the cases here brought together serve as an illustration of the difficulty which frequently arises in arriving at a decision as to how far the taking of human life is justified as being carried out in accordance with a genuine superstitious belief, and when the act renders the perpetrator thereof liable to punishment under the indian penal code. five persons were charged a few years ago at the coimbatore sessions with the murder of a young woman. the theory put forward by the prosecution was that two of the accused practised sorcery, and were under the delusion that, if they could obtain the foetus from the uterus of a woman who was carrying her first child, they would be able to work some wonderful spells with it. with this object, they entered into a conspiracy with the three other accused to murder a young married woman, aged about seventeen, who was seven months advanced in pregnancy, and brutally murdered her, cutting open the uterus, removing the foetus contained therein, and stealing her jewels. the five accused persons (three men and two women) were all of different castes. two of the men had been jointly practising sorcery for some years. it was proved that, about two years before, they had performed an incantation near a river with some raw beef, doing puja (worship) near the water's edge in a state of nature. evidence was produced to prove that two of the accused decamped after the murder with a suspicious bundle, a few days before an eclipse of the moon, to tiruchengodu where there is a celebrated temple. it was suggested that the bundle contained the uterus, and was taken to tiruchengodu for the purpose of performing magical rites. when the quarters in which two of the accused lived were searched, three palm-leaf books were found containing mantrams regarding the pilli suniyam, a process of incantation by means of which sorcerers are supposed to be able to kill people. the record of the case states that "there can be little doubt that the first and fourth accused were taken into the conspiracy in order to decoy the deceased. the inducement offered to them was most probably immense wealth by the working of charms by the second and third accused with the aid of the foetus. the medical evidence showed that the dead woman was pregnant, and that, after her throat had been cut, the uterus was taken out." in 1829, several natives of malabar were charged with having proceeded, in company with a paraiyan magician, to the house of a pregnant woman, who was beaten and otherwise ill-treated, and with having taken the foetus out of her uterus, and introduced in lieu thereof the skin of a calf and an earthen pot. the prisoners confessed before the police, but were acquitted mainly on the ground that the earthen pot was of a size which rendered it impossible to credit its introduction during life. the paraiyas of malabar and cochin are celebrated for their magical powers, and the practice of odi. "there are," mr govinda nambiar writes, [281] "certain specialists among mantravadis (dealers in magical spells), who are known as odiyans. conviction is deep-rooted that they have the power of destroying whomever they please, and that, by means of a powerful bewitching matter called pilla thilum (oil extracted from the body of an infant), they are enabled to transform themselves into any shape or form, or even to vanish into air, as their fancy may suggest. when an odiyan is hired to cause the death of a man, he waits during the night at the gate of his intended victim's house, usually in the form of a bullock. if, however, the person is inside the house, the odiyan assumes the shape of a cat, enters the house, and induces him to come out. he is subsequently knocked down and strangled. the odiyan is also credited with the power, by means of certain medicines, of inducing sleeping persons to open the doors, and come out of their houses as somnambulists do. pregnant women are sometimes induced to come out of their houses in this way, and they are murdered, and the foetus extracted from them. murder of both sexes by odiyans was a crime of frequent occurrence before the british occupation of the country." in a case which was tried at the malabar sessions a few years ago, several witnesses for the prosecution deposed that a certain individual was killed by odi. one man gave the following account of the process. shoot the victim in the nape of the neck with a blunt arrow, and bring him down. proceed to beat him systematically all over the body with two sticks (resembling a policeman's truncheon, and called odivaddi), laying him on his back and applying the sticks to his chest, and up and down the sides, breaking all the ribs and other bones. then raise the person, and kick his sides. after this, force him to take an oath that he will never divulge the names of his torturer. all the witnesses agreed about the blunt arrow, and some bore testimony to the sticks. a detailed account of the odi cult, from which the following information was obtained, is given by mr anantha krishna iyer. [282] the disciple is taught how to procure pilla thilum (foetus oil) from the six or seven months foetus of a young woman in her first pregnancy. he (the paraiyan magician) sets out at midnight from his hut to the house of the woman he has selected, round which he walks several times, shaking a cocoanut containing gurasi (a compound of water, lime, and turmeric), and muttering some mantrams to invoke the aid of his deity. he also draws a yantram (cabalistic figure) on the earth, taking special care to observe the omens as he starts. should they be unfavourable, he puts it off for a more favourable opportunity. by the potency of his cult, the woman is made to come out. even if the door of the room in which she might sleep be under lock and key, she would knock her head against it until she found her way out. she thus comes out, and yields herself to the influence of the magician, who leads her to a retired spot either in the compound (grounds), or elsewhere in the neighbourhood, strips her naked, and tells her to lie flat. she does so, and a chora kindi (gourd, lagenaria) is placed close to the uterus. the foetus comes out in a moment. a few leaves of some plant are applied, and the uterus contracts. sometimes the womb is filled with rubbish, and the woman instantly dies. care is taken that the foetus does not touch the ground, lest the purpose be defeated, and the efficacy of the medicine completely lost. it is cut into pieces, dried, and afterwards exposed to the smoke above a fireplace. it is then placed in a vessel provided with a hole or two, below which there is another vessel. the two together are placed in a larger vessel filled with water, and heated over a bright fire. the heat must be so intense as to affect the foetus, from which a kind of liquid drops, and collects in the second vessel in an hour and a half. the magician then takes a human skull, and reduces it to a fine powder. this is mixed with a portion of the liquid. a mark is made on the forehead with this mixture, and the oil is rubbed on certain parts of the body, and he drinks some cow-dung water. he then thinks that he can assume the figure of any animal he likes, and successfully achieves the object in view, which is generally to murder or maim a person. a magic oil, called angola thilum, is extracted from the angola tree (alangium lamarckii), which bears a very large number of fruits. one of these is believed to be capable of descending and returning to its position on dark nights. its possession can be secured by demons, or by an expert watching at the foot of the tree. when it has been secured, the extraction of the oil involves the same operations as those for extracting the pilla thilum, and they must be carried out within seven hours. the odi cult is said to have been practised by the paraiyas some twenty years ago to a very large extent in the rural parts of the northern division of the cochin state, and in the taluks of palghat and valuvanad, and even now it has not quite died out. cases of extracting the foetus, and of putting persons to death by odi, are not now heard of owing to the fear of government officials, landlords, and others. of the odi cult as practised by the panan magicians of the cochin state, the following account is given by mr anantha krishna iyer. [283] "a panan, who is an adept in the black art, dresses in an unwashed cloth, and performs puja to his deity, after which he goes in search of a kotuveli plant (plumbago zeylanica). when he has found it, he goes round it three times every day, and continues to do so for ninety days, prostrating himself every day before it, and on the last night, which must be a new moon night, at midnight, he performs puja to the plant, burning camphor and frankincense, and, after going round it three times, prostrates himself before it. he then thrusts three small candles on it, and advances twenty paces in front of it. with his mouth closed, he plucks the root, and buries it in the ashes on the cremation ground, after which he pours the water of seven green cocoanuts on it. he then goes round it twenty-one times, uttering all the while certain mantrams. this being over, he plunges himself in water, and stands erect until it extends to his mouth. he takes a mouthful of water which he empties on the spot, and takes the plant with the root which he believes to possess peculiar virtues. when it is taken to the closed door of a house, it has the power to entice a pregnant woman, and cause her to come out, when the foetus is removed. it is all secretly done at midnight. the head, hands, and legs are cut off, and the trunk is taken to a dark-coloured rock, on which it is cut into nine pieces, which are burned until they are blackened. at this stage one piece boils, and it is placed in a new earthen pot, to which is added the water of nine green cocoanuts. the pot is removed to the burial ground, where the panan performs a puja in honour of his favourite deity. he fixes two poles deep in the earth, at a distance of thirty feet from each other. the two poles are connected by a strong wire, from which is suspended the pot to be heated and boiled. seven fireplaces are made beneath the wire, over the middle of which is the pot. the branches of bamboo, katalati (achyranthes aspera), conga (bauhinia variegata), cocoanut palm, jack tree (artocarpus integrifolia), and pavatta (pavetta indica), are used in forming a bright fire. the mixture in the pot soon boils and becomes oily, at which stage it is passed through a fine cloth. the oil is preserved, and a mark made with it on the forehead enables the possessor to realise anything which is thought of. the sorcerer must be in a state of vow for twenty-one days, and live on a diet of chama kanji (gruel). the deity whose aid is necessary is also propitiated by offerings." in 1908, the following case, relating to the birth of a monster, was tried before the sessions judge of south canara. a young gauda girl became pregnant by her brother-in-law. after three days' labour, the child was born. the accused, who was the mother of the girl, was the midwife. finding the delivery very difficult, she sent for a person to come and help her. the child was, as they thought, still-born. on its head was a red protuberance like a ball; round each of its forearms were two or three red bands; the eyes and ears were fixed very high in the head; and the eyes, nose, and mouth were abnormally large. the mother was carried out of the outhouse, lest the devil child should do her harm, or kill her. the accused summoned a muhammadan, who was in the yard. he came in, and she showed him the child, and asked him to call the neighbours, to decide what to do. the child, she said, was a devil child, and must be cut and killed, lest it should devour the mother. while they were looking at the child, it began to move and roll its eyes about, and turn on the ground. it is a belief of the villagers that such a devil child, when brought in contact with the air, rapidly grows, and causes great trouble, usually killing the mother, and sometimes killing all the inmates of the house. the accused told the muhammadan to cover the child with a vessel, which he did. then there was a sound from inside the vessel, either of the child moving, or making a sound with its mouth. the accused then put her hand under the vessel, dragged the child half-way out, and, while the muhammadan pressed the edge of the vessel on the abdomen of the child, took a knife, and cut the body in half. when the body was cut in two, there was no blood, but a mossy-green or black liquid oozed out. the accused got two areca leaves, and put one piece of the child on one, and one on the other, and told the muhammadan to get a spade, and bury them. so they went to the jungle close to the house, and the muhammadan dug two holes, one on one hillock, and one on another. in these holes, the two pieces of the child were buried. the object of this was to prevent the two pieces joining together again, in which case the united devil child would have come out of the grave, and gone to kill the mother. years ago, it was not unusual for people to come long distances for the purpose of engaging paniyans of the wynad (in malabar) to help them in carrying out some more than usually desperate robbery or murder. their mode of procedure, when engaged in an enterprise of this sort, is evidenced by two cases, which had in them a strong element of savagery. on both these occasions, the thatched homesteads were surrounded at dead of night by gangs of paniyans carrying large bundles of rice straw. after carefully piling up the straw on all sides of the building marked for destruction, torches were at a given signal applied, and those of the inmates who attempted to escape were knocked on the head with clubs, and thrust into the fiery furnace. in 1904, some paniyans were employed by a mappilla (muhammadan) to murder his mistress, who was pregnant, and threatened that she would noise abroad his responsibility for her condition. he brooded over the matter, and one day, meeting a paniyan, promised him ten rupees if he would kill the woman. the paniyan agreed to commit the crime, and went with his brothers to a place on a hill, where the mappilla and the woman were in the habit of gratifying their passions. thither the man and woman followed the paniyans, of whom one ran out, and struck the victim on the head with a chopper. she was then gagged with a cloth, carried some distance, and killed. in 1834, the inhabitants of several villages in malabar attacked a village of paraiyans on the alleged ground that deaths of people and cattle, and the protracted labour of a woman in childbed, had been caused by the practice of sorcery by the paraiyans. they were beaten inhumanely with their hands tied behind their backs, so that several died. the villagers were driven, bound, into a river, immersed under water so as nearly to produce suffocation, and their own children were forced to rub sand into their wounds. their settlement was then razed to the ground, and they were driven into banishment. the kadirs of the anaimalais are believers in witchcraft, and attribute diseases to the working thereof. they are expert exorcists, and trade in mantravadam or magic. it is recorded by mr logan [284] that "the family of famous trackers, whose services in the jungles were retained for h.r.h. the prince of wales's (afterwards king edward vii.) projected sporting tour in the anamalai mountains, dropped off most mysteriously one by one, stricken down by an unseen hand, and all of them expressing beforehand their conviction that they were under a certain individual's spell, and were doomed to certain death at an early date. they were probably poisoned, but how it was managed remains a mystery, although the family was under the protection of a european gentleman, who would at once have brought to light any ostensible foul play." the badagas of the nilgiris live in dread of the jungle kurumbas, who constantly come under reference in their folk-stories. the kurumba is the necromancer of the hills, and believed to be possessed of the power of outraging women, removing their livers, and so causing their death, while the wound heals by magic, so that no trace of the operation is left. the badaga's dread of the kurumba is said to be so great, that a simple threat of vengeance has proved fatal. the badaga or toda requires the services of the kurumba, when he fancies that any member of his family is possessed by a devil. the kurumba does his best to remove the malady by means of mantrams (magical formulæ). if he fails, and if any suspicion is aroused in the mind of the badaga or toda that he is allowing the devil to play his pranks instead of loosing his hold on the supposed victim, woe betide him. writing in 1832, harkness states [285] that "a very few years before, a burgher (badaga) had been hanged by the sentence of the provincial court for the murder of a kurumba. the act of the former was not without what was considered great provocation. disease had attacked the inhabitants of the hamlet, a murrain their cattle. the former had carried off a great part of the family of the murderer, and he himself had but narrowly escaped its effects. no one in the neighbourhood doubted that the kurumba in question had, by his necromancy, caused all this misfortune, and, after several fruitless attempts, a party of them succeeded in surrounding him in open day, and effecting their purpose." in 1835, no less than fifty-eight kurumbas were murdered, and a smaller number in 1875 and 1882. in 1891, the inmates of a single kurumba hut were said to have been murdered, and the hut burnt to ashes, because one of the family had been treating a sick badaga child, and failed to cure it. the district judge, however, disbelieved the evidence, and all who were charged were acquitted. again, in 1900, a whole family of kurumbas was murdered, of which the head, who had a reputation as a medicine man, was believed to have brought disease and death into a badaga village. the sympathies of the whole countryside were so strongly with the murderers that detection was made very difficult, and the persons charged were acquitted. [286] "it is," mr grigg writes, [287] "a curious fact that neither kota, irula, or badaga, will slay a kurumba, until a toda has struck the first blow, but, as soon as his sanctity has been violated by a blow, they hasten to complete the murderous work, which the sacred hand of the toda has begun." some years ago, a toda was found dead in a sitting posture on the top of a hill near a badaga village, in which a party of todas had gone to collect the tribute due to them. the body was cremated, and a report made to the police that the man had been murdered. on enquiry, it was ascertained that the dead man was supposed to have bewitched a little badaga girl, who died in consequence, and the presumption was that he had been murdered by the badagas out of spite. in 1906, two men were found guilty of killing a man by shooting him with a gun in south canara. it is recorded in the judgment that "the accused have a brother, who has been ill for a long time. they thought deceased, who was an astrologer and mantravadi, had bewitched him. they had spent fifty or sixty rupees on deceased for his treatment, but it did no good, and accused came to believe that deceased not only would not cure their brother himself, but would not allow other doctors to do so. also, a certain theft having occurred some months ago, deceased professed by his magic arts to have discovered that accused and others were the thieves. in consequence of these things, accused had expressed various threats against deceased. one witness, who is a mantravadi in a small way, was consulted by one of the accused to find some counter-treatment for deceased's bewitchment. accused said that deceased refused to cure their brother, and would not let others do so, unless they gave him certain gold coins called rama tanka, said to be in their possession. they desired this possession, so would not satisfy deceased. so their brother was dying by inches under deceased's malign influence. this witness professed to have discovered that accused's brother was being worried by one black devil and two malignant spirits of the dead. it is clear from the evidence that accused, who are ignorant men of a low type, really believed that deceased was by his magic wilfully and slowly killing their brother. they believed that the only way to save their brother's life was to kill the magician." during an epidemic of smallpox in the jeypore hill tracts, a man lost his wife and child. a local subscription had been organised for a sorcerer, on the understanding that he was to stay the course of the epidemic. the bereaved man charged him with being a fraud, and, in the course of a quarrel, split his skull open with a tangi (axe). in 1906, a komati woman died of cholera in a village in ganjam. her son sought the assistance of certain men of the "reddika" caste in obtaining wood for the pyre, carrying the corpse to the burning-ground, and cremating it. the son set fire to the pyre, and withdrew, leaving the reddikas on the spot. among them was one, who is said to have learnt sorcery from a bairagi (religious mendicant), and to have been generally feared and hated in the village. to him the spread of cholera by letting loose the goddess of the cremation-ground, called mashani chendi, was attributed. arrack (liquor) was passed round among those who were attending to the burning corpse, and they got more or less drunk. two of them killed the sorcerer by severe blows on the neck with wood-choppers. his corpse was then placed on the burning pyre of the komati woman, and cremated. the men who delivered the death blows were sentenced to transportation for life, as their intoxicated state and superstitious feeling were held to plead in mitigation of the punishment. in 1904 a case illustrating the prevailing belief in witchcraft occurred in the vizagapatam hill tracts. the youngest of three brothers died of fever, and, when the body was cremated, the fire failed to consume the upper portion. the brothers concluded that death must have been caused by the witchcraft of a certain kondh. they accordingly attacked him, and killed him. after death, the brothers cut the body in half and dragged the upper half of it to their own village, where they attempted to nail it up on the spot where their deceased brother's body failed to burn. they were arrested on the spot, with the fragment of the kondh's corpse. they were sentenced to death. [288] in the north arcot district, a few years ago, a reputed magician, while collecting the pieces of a burning corpse, to be used for the purposes of sorcery, was seized and murdered, and his body cast on the burning pyre. from the recovery of duplicate bones, it was proved that two bodies were burnt, and the murder was detected. two persons were sentenced to transportation for life. [289] ix magic and magicians it has been stated [290] that sorcerers usually unite together to form a society, which may attain great influence among backward races. in southern india there are certain castes which are summed up in the "madras census report," 1901, as "exorcists and devil-dancers," whose most important avocation is the practice of magic. such, for example, are the nalkes, paravas, and pompadas of south canara, who are called in whenever a bhutha (demon) is to be propitiated, and the panans and malayans of malabar, whose magical rites are described by me in detail elsewhere. [291] concerning sorcery on the west coast, the travancore census commissioner, 1901, writes as follows:- "the forms of sorcery familiar to the people of malabar are of three kinds:--(1) kaivisham, or poisoning food by incantations; (2) the employment of kuttichattan, a mysteriously-working mischievous imp; (3) setting up spirits to haunt men and their houses, and cause illness of all kinds. the most mischievous imp in malabar demonology is an annoying quip-loving little spirit, as black as night, and about the size of a well-nourished twelve-year-old boy. some people say that they have seen him vis-à-vis, having a forelock. there are nambutiris (brahmans) in malabar to whom these are so many missiles, which they may throw at anybody they choose. they are, like shakespeare's ariel, little active bodies, and most willing slaves of the master under whom they happen to be placed. their victims suffer from unbearable agony. their clothes take fire; their food turns to ordure; their beverages become urine; stones fall in showers on all sides of them, but curiously not on them; and their bed becomes a bed of thorns. with all this annoying mischief, kuttichattan or boy satan does no serious harm. he oppresses and harasses, but never injures. a celebrated brahman of changanacheri is said to own more than a hundred of these chattans. household articles and jewelry of value may be left in the premises of homes guarded by chattan, and no thief dares to lay his hand on them. the invisible sentry keeps diligent watch over his master's property, and has unchecked powers of movement in any medium. as remuneration for all these services, the chattan demands nothing but food, but that in a large measure. if starved, the chattans would not hesitate to remind the master of their power, but, if ordinarily cared for, they would be his most willing drudges. as a safeguard against the infinite power secured for the master by kuttichattan, it is laid down that malign acts committed through his instrumentality recoil on the prompter, who dies either childless or after frightful physical and mental agony. another method of oppressing humanity, believed to be in the power of sorcerers, is to make men and women possessed with spirits. here, too, women are more subject to their evil influence than men. delayed puberty, permanent sterility, and still-births, are not uncommon ills of a devil-possessed woman. sometimes the spirits sought to be exorcised refuse to leave the victim, unless the sorcerer promises them a habitation in his own compound (grounds), and arranges for daily offerings being given. this is agreed to as a matter of unavoidable necessity, and money and lands are conferred upon the mantravadi nambutiri to enable him to fulfil his promise." reference has been made (p. 238) to the falling of stones round those attacked by chattans. hysteria, epilepsy, and other disorders, are, in malabar, ascribed to possession by devils, who can also cause cattle disease, accidents, and misfortunes of any kind. throwing stones on houses, and setting fire to the thatch, are supposed to be their ordinary recreations. the mere mention of the name of a certain nambutiri family is said to be enough to drive them away. [292] a few years ago, an old brahman woman, in the bellary district, complained to the police that a sudra woman living in her neighbourhood, and formerly employed by her as sweeper, had been throwing stones into her house for some nights. the woman admitted that she had done so, because she was advised by a lingayat priest that the remedy for intermittent fever, from which she was suffering, was to throw stones at an old woman, and extract some blood from her body on a new or full-moon day. some demons are believed to have human mistresses and concubines, and it is narrated [293] that a chetti (merchant) in the tamil country purchased a malabar demon from a magician for ninety rupees. but hardly a day had passed before the undutiful spirit fell in love with its new owner's wife, and succeeded in its nefarious purpose. quite recently a woman, in order to win the affection of her husband, gave him a love-charm composed of datura in chutney. the dose proved fatal, and she was sentenced to two years' rigorous imprisonment. [294] a love-philtre, said to be composed of the charred remains of a mouse and spider, was once sent to the chemical examiner to government for analysis in a suspected case of poisoning. in connection with the dugong (halicore dugong), which is caught in the gulf of manaar, dr annandale writes as follows [295]:- "the presence of large glands in connection with the eye afford some justification for the malay's belief that the dugong weeps when captured. they regard the tears of the ikan dugong (dugong fish) as a powerful love-charm. muhammadan fishermen of the gulf of manaar appeared to be ignorant of this usage, but told me that a 'doctor' once went out with them to collect the tears of a dugong, should they capture one." native physicians in the tamil country are said to prepare an unguent, into the composition of which the eye of the slender loris (loris gracilis), the brain of the dead offspring of a primipara, and the catamenial blood of a young virgin, enter, as an effective preparation in necromancy. the eye of the loris is also used for making a preparation, which is believed to enable the possessor to kidnap and seduce women. the tail of a chamæleon, secured on a sunday, is also believed to be an excellent love-charm. a young married student at a college in madras attributed his illness to the administration by his wife of a love-philtre containing the brains of a baby which had been exhumed after burial. among the tamil paraiyans and some other classes, a first-born child, if it is a male, is buried near or even within the house, so that its corpse may not be carried away by a sorcerer, to be used in magical rites. [296] if a first-born child dies, a finger is sometimes cut off, lest a sorcerer should dig up the body, and extract an essence (karuvu) from the brain, wherewith to harm his enemies. [297] the rev. j. castets informs me that he once saw a man being initiated into the mysteries of the magician's art. the apparatus included the top of the skull of a first-born male child inscribed with tamil characters. a station-house police officer informed mr s. g. roberts that first-born children, dying in infancy, are buried near the house, lest their heads should be used in sorcery, a sort of ink or decoction (mai) being distilled from them. this ink is used for killing people at a distance, or for winning a woman's love, or the confidence of those from whom some favour is required. in the last two cases, the ink is smeared over the eyebrows. it is believed that, if an infant's head is used for this purpose, the mother will never have a living child. when mr roberts was at salem, he had to try a case of this practice, and the public prosecutor informed him that it is believed that, if a hole is made in the top of the head of the infant when it is buried, it cannot be effectively used in sorcery. in the trichinopoly district, the police brought to mr roberts' notice a sorcerer's outfit, which had been seized. there were the most frightful tamil curses invoking devils, written backwards in "looking-glass characters" on an olai (strip of palm leaf), and a looking-glass to read them by. spells written backwards are said to be very potent. there was also a small round tin, containing a black treacly paste with a sort of shine on it, which was said to have been obtained from the head of a dead child. there is a tamil proverb "kuzhi pillai, madi pillai," meaning grave child, lap child, in reference to a belief that, the quicker a first-born child is buried, the quicker is the next child conceived. the following form of sorcery in malabar is described by mr walhouse. [298] "let a sorcerer obtain the corpse of a maiden, and on a saturday night place it at the foot of a bhuta-haunted tree on an altar, and repeat a hundred times: om! hrim! hrom! o goddess of malayala who possessest us in a moment! come! come! the corpse will then be inspired by a demon, and rise up; and, if the demon be appeased with flesh and arrack (liquor), it will answer all questions put to it." a human bone from a burial-ground, over which powerful mantrams have been recited, if thrown into an enemy's house, will cause his ruin. ashes from the burial-ground on which an ass has been rolling on a saturday or sunday, if thrown into the house of an enemy, are said to produce severe illness, if the house is not vacated. from malabar, a correspondent writes as follows:- "i came across a funny thing in an embankment in a rice-field. the tender part of a young cocoanut branch had been cut into three strips, and the strips fastened one into the other in the form of a triangle. at the apex a reed was stuck, and along the base and sides small flowers, so that the thing looked like a ship in full sail. my inspector informed me, with many blushes, that it contained a devil, which the sorcerer of a neighbouring village had cut out of a young girl. mrs bishop, in her book on korea, mentions that the koreans do exactly the same thing, but, in korea, the devil's prison is laid by the wayside, and is carefully stepped over by every passer-by, whereas the one i saw was carefully avoided by my peons (orderlies) and others." in the godavari district, mr h. tyler came across the burning funeral pyre of a koyi girl, who had died of syphilis. across a neighbouring path leading to the koyi village was a basket fish-trap containing grass, and on each side thorny twigs, which were intended to catch the malign spirit of the dead girl, and prevent it from entering the village. the twigs and trap containing the spirit were to be burnt on the following day. by the dombs of vizagapatam, the souls of the dead are believed to roam about, so as to cause all possible harm to mankind, and also to protect them against the attacks of witches. a place is prepared for the duma in the door-hinge, or a fishing-net, wherein he lives, is placed over the door. the witches must count all the knots of the net, before they can enter the house. [299] at cross-roads in the bellary district, geometric patterns are sometimes made at night by people suffering from disease, in the belief that the affliction will pass to the person who first treads on the charm. [300] "at cross-roads in the south arcot district may be sometimes seen pieces of broken pot, saffron (turmeric), etc. these are traces of the following method of getting rid of an obstinate disease. a new pot is washed clean, and filled with a number of objects (the prescription differs in different localities), such as turmeric, coloured grains of rice, chillies, cotton-seed, and so forth, and sometimes a light made of a few threads dipped in a little dish of oil, and taken at dead of night to the cross-roads, and broken there. the disease will then disappear. in some places it is believed that it passes to the first person who sees the débris of the ceremony the next morning, and the performer has to be careful to carry it out unknown to his neighbours, or the consequences are unpleasant for him." [301] some valaiyans, paraiyans, and kallans, on the occasion of a death in the family, place a pot filled with dung or water, a broomstick, and a firebrand, at some place where three roads meet, or in front of the house, to prevent the ghost from returning. [302] when a paraiyan man dies, camphor is burnt, not at the house, but at the junction of three lanes. in the godavari district, a sorcerer known as the ejjugadu (male physician) is believed, out of spite or in return for payment, to kill another by invoking the gods. he goes to a green tree, and there spreads muggu or chunam (lime) powder, and places an effigy of the intended victim thereon. he also places a bow and arrow there, recites certain spells, and calls on the gods. the victim is said to die in a couple of days. but, if he understands that the ejjugadu has thus invoked the gods, he may inform another ejjugadu, who will carry out similar operations under another tree. his bow and arrow will go to those of the first ejjugadu, and the two bows and arrows will fight as long as the spell remains. the man will then be safe. writing concerning the nomad yerukalas, mr f. fawcett says [303] that "the warlock takes the possessed one by night to the outskirts of the village, and makes a figure on the ground with powdered rice, powders of various colours, and powdered charcoal. balls of the powders, half cocoanut shells, betel, four-anna pieces, and oil lamps, are placed on the hands, legs, and abdomen. a little heap of boiled rice is placed near the feet, and curds and vegetables are set on the top of it, with limes placed here and there. the subject of the incantation sits near the head, while the magician mutters mantrams. a he-goat is then sacrificed. its head is placed near the foot of the figure, and benzoin and camphor are waved. a little grain is scattered about the figure to appease the evil spirits. some arrack is poured into a cup, which is placed on the body of the figure, and the bottle which contained it is left on the head. the limes are cut in two, and two cocoanuts are broken. the patient then walks by the left side of the figure to its legs, takes one step to the right towards the head, and one step to the left towards the feet, and walks straight home without looking back." in malabar, mr govinda nambiar writes, [304] "when a village doctor attending a sick person finds that the malady is unknown to him, or will not yield to his remedies, he calls in the astrologer, and subsequently the exorcist, to expel the demon or demons which have possessed the sick man. if the devils will not yield to ordinary remedies administered by his disciples, the mantravadi himself comes, and a devil dance is appointed to be held on a certain day. thereat various figures of mystic device are traced on the ground, and in their midst a huge and frightful form representing the demon. sometimes an effigy is constructed out of cooked and coloured rice. the patient is seated near the head of the figure, and opposite sits the magician adorned with bundles of sticks tied over the joints of his body, tails, and skins of animals, etc. verses are chanted, and sometimes cocks are sacrificed, and the blood is sprinkled on the demon's effigy. amidst the beating of drums and blowing of pipes, the magician enters upon his diabolical dance, and, in the midst of his paroxysm, may even bite live cocks, and suck with ferocity the hot blood." when a malayan exorcist is engaged in propitiating a demon, a fowl is sometimes waved before him, and decapitated. he puts the neck in his mouth, and sucks the blood. by the tiyans of malabar a number of evil spirits are supposed to devote their attention to a pregnant woman, and to suck the blood of the child in utero, and of the mother. in the process of expelling them, the woman lies on the ground and kicks. a cock is thrust into her hand, and she bites it, and drinks its blood. it is noted by mr l. k. anantha krishna iyer that by the thanda pulayans of the west coast "a ceremony called urasikotukkuka is performed with the object of getting rid of a devil, with which a person is possessed. at a place far distant from the hut, a leaf, on which the blood of a fowl has been made to fall, is spread on the ground. on a smaller leaf, chunam and turmeric are placed. the person who first sets eyes on these becomes possessed by the devil, and sets free the individual who was previously under its influence. the thanda pulayans also practise maranakriyas, or sacrifices to demons, to bring about the death of an enemy. sometimes affliction is supposed to be brought about by the enmity of those who have got incantations written on a palm leaf, and buried in the ground near a house by the side of a well. a sorcerer is called in to counteract the evil charm, which he digs up and destroys." in a note on the paraiyas of travancore, [305] the rev. s. mateer writes that sudras and shanars [306] frequently employ the paraiya devil-dancers and sorcerers to search for and dig out magical charms buried in the earth by enemies, and counteract their enchantments. a form of sorcery in malabar called marana (destruction) is said by mr fawcett [307] to be carried out in the following manner:- "a figure representing the enemy to be destroyed is drawn on a small plate of metal (gold by preference), and to it some mystic diagrams are added. it is then addressed with a statement that bodily injury, or the death of the person, shall take place at a certain time. this little sheet is wrapped up in another metal sheet or leaf (of gold if possible), and buried in some place which the person to be injured or destroyed is in the habit of passing. should he pass over the place, it is supposed that the charm will take effect at the time named." one favourite tantra of the south indian sorcerer is said [308] to consist of "what is popularly known in tamil as pavai, that is to say, a doll made of some plastic substance, such as clay or wheat-flour. a crude representation of the intended victim is obtained by moulding a quantity of the material, and a nail or pin is driven into it at a spot corresponding to the limb or organ that is intended to be affected. [309] for instance, if there is to be paralysis of the right arm, the pin is stuck into the right arm of the image; if madness is to result, it is driven into the head, and so on, appropriate mantras being chanted over the image, which is buried at midnight in a neighbouring cremation ground. so long as the pavai is underground, the victim will grow from bad to worse, and may finally succumb, if steps are not taken in time. sometimes, instead of a doll being used, the corpse of a child recently buried is dug out of the ground, and re-interred after being similarly treated. the only remedy consists in another sorcerer being called in for the purpose of digging out the pavai. various are the methods he adopts for discovering the place where the doll is buried, one of them being very similar to what is known as crystal-gazing. a small quantity of a specially prepared thick black fluid is placed on the palm of a third person, and the magician professes to find out every circumstance connected with the case of his client's mental or physical condition by attentively looking at it. the place of the doll's burial is spotted with remarkable precision, the nail or pin extracted, and the patient is restored to his normal condition as by a miracle." the following form of sorcery resorted to in malabar in compassing the discomfiture of an enemy is recorded by mr walhouse. [310] "make an image of wax in the form of your enemy; take it in your right hand at night, and hold your chain of beads in your left hand. then burn the image with due rites, and it shall slay your enemy in a fortnight. or a figure representing an enemy, with his name and date of his birth inscribed on it, is carved out of strychnos nux-vomica wood. a mantram is recited, a fowl offered up, and the figure buried in glowing rice-husk embers. or, again, some earth from a spot where an enemy has urinated, saliva expectorated by him, and a small tuft of hair, are placed inside a tender cocoanut, and enclosed in a piece of strychnos nux-vomica. the cocoanut is pierced with twenty-one nails and buried, and a fowl sacrificed." a police inspector, when visiting a village a few years ago, was told by one of the villagers that a man was going to bury two wax dolls, in order to cause his death. the inspector accordingly went to the house of the suspected enemy, where he found the two dolls, and some books on witchcraft. the native servant of a friend in madras found buried in a corner of his master's garden the image of a human figure, which had been deposited there by an enemy who wished to injure him. the figure was made of flour, mixed with "walking foot earth," i.e., earth from the ground, which the servant had walked over. nails, fourteen in number, had been driven into the head, neck, and each shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee, and ankle. buried with the figure were fourteen eggs, limes, and balls of camphor, and a scrap of paper bearing the age of the servant, and the names of his father and mother. a muhammadan fortune-teller advised the servant to burn the image, so at midnight he made an offering of a sheep, camphor, betel nuts, and cocoanuts, and performed the cremation ceremony. in 1903, a life-size nude female human figure with feet everted and directed backwards, carved out of the soft wood of alstonia scholaris, was washed ashore at calicut in malabar. long nails had been driven in all over the head, body, and limbs, and a large square hole cut out above the navel. inscriptions in arabic characters were scrawled over it. by a coincidence, the corpse of a man was washed ashore close to the figure. possibly it represented the figure of a woman who was possessed by an evil spirit, which was attached to it by a nail between the legs before it was cast into the sea, and was made on the laccadive islands, [311] some of the residents on which are notorious necromancers. it has been suggested [312] that the figure may represent some notorious witch; that the nails were driven into it, and the mutilation made in order to injure her, and the spells added to destroy her magical powers; finally, that the image was cast into the sea as a means of getting rid of the sorceress. there is a tradition that the goddess bhagavati, who is worshipped at kodungallur in malabar, was rescued by a fisherman when she was shut up in a jar, and thrown into the sea by a great magician. the lingadars of the kistna district are said [313] to have made a specialty of bottling evil spirits, and casting the bottles away in some place where no one is likely to come across them, and liberate them. a few years ago, another wooden representation of a human being was washed ashore at calicut. the figure is 11 inches in height. the arms are bent on the chest, and the palms of the hands are placed together as in the act of saluting. a square cavity, closed by a wooden lid, has been cut out of the abdomen, and contains apparently tobacco, ganja (indian hemp), and hair. an iron bar has been driven from the back of the head through the body, and terminates in the abdominal cavity. a sharp cutting instrument has been driven into the chest and back in twelve places. a life-size female figure, rudely scratched on a plank of wood, with arabic inscriptions scrawled on it, and riddled with nails, was washed ashore on the beach at tellicherry in malabar. in the same district, a friend once picked up on the shore at cannanore a wooden figure about 6 inches high, riddled with nails. his wife's ayah implored him to get rid of it, as it would bring nothing but misfortune. he accordingly made a present of it to a recently married friend, whose subsequent career was characterised by a long series of strokes of bad luck, which his wife attributed entirely to the possession of the dreadful image. sometimes, in malabar, "a mantram is written on the stem of the kaitha plant, on which is also drawn a figure representing the person to be injured. a hole is bored to represent the navel. the mantram is repeated, and at each repetition a certain thorn (karamullu) is stuck into the limbs of the figure. the name of the person, and of the star under which he was born, are written on a piece of cadjan, which is stuck into the navel. the thorns are removed, and replaced twenty-one times. two magic circles are drawn below the nipples of the figure. the stem is then hung up in the smoke of the kitchen. a pot of toddy, and some other accessories, are procured, and with them the warlock performs certain rites. he then moves three steps backwards, and shouts aloud thrice, fixing in the thorns again, and thinking all the while of the particular mischief with which he will afflict the person to be injured. when all this has been done, the person whose figure has been drawn on the stem, and pricked with thorns, feels pain." [314] the following variant of the above rite has been described [315]:- "a block of lead is moulded into the effigy of a man about a span in length. the stomach is opened, and the name and star of the intended victim are inscribed along with a charm on a lead plate, and placed therein. the effigy is laid recumbent on a plantain leaf, on which a little water mixed with sandal has first been sprinkled, and the smoke of an extinguished wick is passed thrice over it. then nine little square pieces of plantain leaf (or leaves of strychnos nux-vomica) are placed round the effigy, and in each square some rice-flour, and chouflower petals. beside the effigy are shells holding toddy and arrack (liquor), a burning lamp, and several little wicks. one of the wicks is lighted, and the flame passed thrice over the collection. nine wicks are lighted, and put on the nine squares. the charm inscribed on the lead plate is at this stage repeated fervently in an undertone no less than twenty-one times. this preamble, or one closely resembling it, is generally the beginning of the mantravadi's programme. the rest of it is guided by the special circumstances of each case. let us suppose that the wizard, having a victim in view, wishes the latter to be afflicted with burning pains and insufferable heat all over his body. the following is the ceremony he would perform. thinking of the victim, he drives a thorn of canthium parviflorum into the effigy, and then, folding up the collection detailed above in the plantain leaf, he proceeds to a tank or pool, and immerses himself up to the neck. he places the bundle on the surface of the water--he tells you it will float despite the lead--and, calling for a cock, cuts off its head, permitting the blood and the head to fall on the bundle. he presses the bundle down into the water, and submerges himself at the same time. coming to the surface, he goes ashore, whistling thrice, and being very careful not to look behind him. within twenty-one days, the charm will take effect. in order to induce a boil or tumour to appear in a victim's foot, the mantravadi inscribes a certain charm on a sheet of lead, and stuffs the plate into a frog's mouth, repeats another charm, and blows into the batrachian's mouth, which is then stitched up, after which the creature is bound with twenty-one coils of string. the frog is next set down on a plantain leaf, the ritual already described with the squares, toddy, etc., is performed, the frog is wrapped up together with the various substances in the leaf, and buried at some spot where two or more roads meet, and which the victim is likely to pass. should he cross the fateful spot, he will suddenly become conscious of a feeling in his foot, as though a thorn had pricked him. from that moment dates the beginning of a week of intense agony. his foot swells, fever sets in, he has pains all over his body, and for seven days existence is intolerable. the cherukaladi is another form of odi mantram, and the manner in which it is performed is extremely interesting. the wizard takes three balls of rice, blackens one, reddens another, and passes through the third a young yetah fish (bagarius yarrellii), after having put down its throat seven green chillies, seven grains of raw rice, and as many of pepper. in the carapace of a crab some toddy, and in the valve of a particular kind of mussel, some arrack is placed. the sorcerer conveys all these things to a hill built by termites (white-ants). the crown of the hill is knocked off, and the substances are thrown in. walking round the mound thrice, the magician recites a charm, and comes away without looking over his shoulder. [316] within a very short time, similar effects are produced as those resulting from the previously described form of sorcery." a grandha (palm-leaf book), describing how an enemy may be struck down, gives the following details. the head of a fowl with dark-coloured flesh is cut off. the head is then split open, and a piece of cadjan (palm-leaf), on which are written the name of the person to be injured, and the name of the star under which he was born, is stuck in the split head, which is then sewn up and the tongue stitched to the beak. the head is then inserted into a certain fruit, which is tied up with a withe of a creeper, and deposited under the enemy's gateway. in malabar, a wooden figure is sometimes made, and a tuft of a woman's hair tied on its head. it is fixed to a tree, and nails are driven into the neck and breast, to inflict hurt on an enemy. sometimes a live frog or lizard is buried within a cocoanut shell, after nails have been stuck into its eyes and stomach. the deaths of the animal and the person are supposed to take place simultaneously. [317] when a tamil woman of the parivaram caste who commits adultery outside the caste is punished with excommunication, a mud image representing her is made, two thorns are poked into its eyes, and it is thrown away outside the village. [318] at bangalore in the mysore province, a monthly festival is held in honour of gurumurthi swami, at which women disturbed by the spirits of drowned persons become possessed. the sufferer is dragged by the hair of the head to a tree, to which a lock of the hair is nailed. she flings herself about in a frenzy, and throws herself on the ground, leaving the lock of hair torn out by the roots fastened to the tree by the nail. eventually the spirit goes up the tree, and the woman recovers. [319] in the madura district, women possessed by devils may be seen at the great temple at madura every navaratri, waiting for release. "there are many professional exorcists, who are often the pujaris (priests) at the shrine of the local goddess. at dead of night they question the evil spirit, and ask him who he is, why he has come there, and what he wants to induce him to go away. he answers through the mouth of the woman, who works herself up into a frenzy, and throws herself about wildly. if he will not answer, the woman is whipped with the rattan which the exorcist carries, or with a bunch of margosa (melia azadirachta) twigs. when he replies, his requests for offerings of certain kinds are complied with. when he is satisfied, and agrees to leave, a stone is placed on the woman's head, and she is let go, and dashes off into darkness. the place at which the stone drops to the ground is supposed to be the place where the evil spirit is content to remain, and, to keep him there, a lock of the woman's hair is nailed with an iron nail to the nearest tree." [320] sometimes a sorcerer makes an evil spirit take a vow that it will not trouble any one in the future, and, in return, offers to it the blood of fowls, a goat, etc. he then orders the spirit to climb a tree, and drives three large iron nails into the trunk thereof. as iron is disliked by evil spirits, the result is to confine the spirit in the tree, for it cannot descend beyond the nails. in the telugu country, when a person is supposed to be possessed by a devil, it is often the practice to take him to some special tree, which is believed to be a favourite residence of demons, and drive a nail into the trunk. if the devil has any proper feeling, he thereupon leaves the man or woman, and takes up his abode in the tree. this ceremony is performed with certain religious rites, and involves considerable expenditure. sometimes, devil drivers are called in, who "seat the woman in a fog of resin smoke, and work upon or beat her until she declares the supposed desires of the devil in the way of sacrifice; and, when these have been complied with, one of her hairs is put in a bottle, formally shown to the village goddess, and buried in the jungle, while iron nails are driven into the threshold of the woman's house to prevent the devil's return." [321] at the first menstrual ceremonies of a pulaya girl in the cochin state, she stands on the morning of the seventh day before some parayas, who play on their flute and drum, to cast out the demons, if any, from her body. if she is possessed by them, she leaps with frantic movements. in this case, the demon is transferred to a tree by driving a nail into the trunk, after offerings have been made. [322] when an odde (telugu navvy) girl reaches puberty, she is confined in a special hut, in which a piece of iron, and other things, are placed, to keep off evil spirits. in some castes, when a woman is in labour, an iron sickle is kept on the cot for a similar purpose. after delivery, she keeps iron in some form, e.g., a small crowbar, knife, or nails, in the room, and takes it about with her when she goes out. at a nayar funeral in malabar, the chief mourner holds in his hand, or tucks into his waist-cloth, a piece of iron, generally a long key. [323] at a marriage among the musu kammas in the telugu country, an iron ring is tied to the milk-post. for curing sprains, it is said to be a common practice to keep near the patient a sickle, an iron measure, or any article of iron which is at hand. a ceremony, called dwara pratishta, is performed by lingayats when the door-frame of a new house is set up, and an iron nail is driven into the frame, to prevent devils or evil spirits from entering the house. a former raja of vizianagram would not allow the employment of iron in the construction of buildings in his territory, because it would inevitably be followed by smallpox or other epidemic. [324] a few years ago, a native servant was charged with beating with a cane a woman who was suffering from malarial fever after her confinement, in order to drive out a devil, which was said to be the spirit of a woman who was drowned some time previously. the woman died three days after the beating, and various abrasions were found on the head and body. the sub-magistrate held that the hurt was part of the ceremony, to which the husband and mother of the woman, and the woman herself, gave their consent. but, as the hurt was needlessly severe, the servant was fined twenty-five rupees, or in default five weeks' rigorous imprisonment. the practice of extracting or knocking out some of the teeth of a magician is widespread throughout southern india. in connection therewith mr r. morris writes to me as follows:- "a sorcerer's spells depend for their efficacy upon the distinctness with which they are pronounced. the words uttered by a man, some or all of whose front teeth are damaged, are not so clear and distinct as those of a man whose teeth are intact. consequently, if a sorcerer's front teeth are smashed, he is ruined as a sorcerer. and, if the front teeth of his corpse are broken or extracted, his ghost is prevented from bewitching people. it is necessary to mutilate a corpse, in order to prevent the ghost doing what the live man unmutilated could have done. for example, when a man is murdered, he is hamstrung, to prevent the ghost from following in pursuit." in connection with sorcery among the oriyas, mr s. p. rice tells us [325] that a girl was suffering from mental disease, and believed to be possessed by a devil. she declared that she was bewitched by a certain man, who had to be cured of his power over her. accordingly, the friends and relatives of the girl went to this man's house, dragged him out into the road, laid him on his back, and sat on his chest. they then proceeded to extract two of his front teeth with a hammer and pincers. mr rice adds that it does not appear how the cure was to work--whether the operators thought that words of cursing or magic, coming through the orifice of the teeth, would be mumbled, and thus lose some of their incisive force, and therefore of their power for evil, or whether it was thought that the devil wanted room to fly out. attacks upon supposed sorcerers are said to be not uncommon in the jeypore agency. in one instance, a wizard's front teeth were pulled out by the local blacksmith, to render him unable to pronounce his spells with the distinctness requisite to real efficiency. [326] in the vizagapatam district, where a village was supposed to contain a witch, a dasari (religious mendicant) was called upon to examine his books, and name the person. he fixed on some wretched woman, whose front teeth were knocked out, and her mouth filled with filth. she was then beaten with a switch made from the castor-oil plant. a few years ago, a woman in the north arcot district was suffering from severe pain in the abdomen, and she and her husband were made to believe that she was possessed by a devil, which a bairagi (religious mendicant) offered to expel. his treatment went on for some days, and the final operations were conducted by the side of a pond. the bairagi repeated mantrams, while the woman was seated opposite him. suddenly she grew violently excited, and possessed by the deity muniswara. she pulled the bairagi backwards by his hair, and cried out, "break his teeth." she then opened his mouth by pulling up the upper lip, and her husband took a small stone, and broke some of the incisor teeth. the woman continued to cry out, "he is chanting mantrams; pour water into his mouth, and stop his breathing." a third party brought water, and the woman's husband poured it into the bairagi's mouth. a struggle ensued, and the woman called out, "i am losing my life; he is chanting; the mantram is in his throat; he is binding me by his spell; put a stick into his throat." the third party then brought the bairagi's curved stick (yogathandam), which the husband thrust into the bairagi's mouth, with the result that he died. the woman was sent to a lunatic asylum, and her husband, as there was no previous intention to cause death, and he was evidently under the influence of blind superstition, received only four and a half months' imprisonment. in a further case which occurred in the north arcot district, a man was believed to have great power over animals, of which he openly boasted, threatening to destroy all the cattle of one of his neighbours. this man and his friends believed that they could deprive the sorcerer of his power for evil by drawing all his teeth, which they proceeded to do with fatal results. in the kistna district, a mala weaver was suspected of practising sorcery by destroying men with devils, and bringing cholera and other diseases. he was met by certain villagers, and asked for tobacco. while he stopped to get the tobacco out, he was seized and thrown on the ground. his hands were tied behind his back, and his legs bound fast with his waist-cloth. one man sat on his legs, another on his waist, and a third held his head down by the kudumi (hair-knot). his mouth was forced open with a pair of large pincers, and a piece of stick was thrust between the teeth to prevent the mouth closing. one of the assistants got a stone as big as a man's fist, and with it struck the sorcerer's upper and lower teeth several times until they were loosened. then nine teeth were pulled out with the pincers. a quantity of milk-hedge (euphorbia) juice was poured on the bleeding gums, and the unfortunate man was left lying on his back, to free himself from his bonds as best he could. [327] in the tamil country, the vekkil tottiyans are supposed to be able to control certain evil spirits, and cause them to possess a man. it is believed, however, that they are deprived of their power as soon as they lose one of their teeth. the kondhs of ganjam believe that they can transform themselves into tigers or snakes, half the soul leaving the body and becoming changed into one of these animals, either to kill an enemy, or to satisfy hunger by having a good feed on cattle. during this period they are said to feel dull and listless, and, if a tiger is killed in the forest, they will die at the same time. mr fawcett informs me that the kondhs believe that the soul wanders during sleep. on one occasion, a dispute arose owing to a man discovering that another kondh, whose spirit used to wander about in the guise of a tiger, ate up his soul, and he fell ill. like the kondhs, some paniyans of malabar are believed to be gifted with the power of changing themselves into animals. there is a belief that, if they wish to secure a woman whom they lust after, one of the men gifted with the special power goes to the house at night with a hollow bamboo, and goes round it three times. the woman then comes out, and the man, changing himself into a bull or dog, works his wicked will. the woman is said to die in the course of a few days. for assuming the disguise of an animal, the following formulæ are said [328] to be effective:-1. take the head of a dog and burn it, and plant on it a vellakuthi plant. burn camphor and frankincense, and adore it. then pluck the root, mix it with the milk of a dog, and the bones of a cat. a mark made with the mixture on the forehead will enable a person to assume the form of any animal he thinks of. 2. worship with a lighted wick and incense before a stick of the malankara plant. then chant the sakti mantram one hundred and one times. watch carefully which way the stick inclines. proceed to the south of the stick, and pluck the whiskers of a live tiger. make with them a ball of the veerali silk, string it with silk, and enclose it within the ear. stand on the palms of the hand to attain the disguise of a tiger, and, with the stick in hand, think of a cat, white bull, or any other animal. then you will appear as such in the eyes of others. the name chedipe (prostitute) is applied to sorceresses in the godavari district. the chedipe is believed to ride on a tiger at night over the boundaries of seven villages, and return home at early morn. when she does not like a man, she goes to him bare-bodied at dead of night, the closed doors of the house in which he is sleeping opening before her. she sucks his blood by putting his toe in her mouth. he will then lie like a corpse. next morning he feels uneasy and intoxicated, as if he had taken ganja, and remains in this condition all day. if he does not take medicine from some one skilled in the treatment of such cases, it is said that he will die. if he is properly treated, he will recover in about ten days. if he makes no effort to get cured, the chedipe will molest him again, and, becoming gradually emaciated, he will die. when a chedipe enters a house, all those who are awake will become insensible, those who are seated falling down as if they had taken a soporific drug. sometimes she drags out the tongue of the intended victim, who will die at once. at other times, slight abrasions will be found on the skin of the victim, and, when the chedipe puts pieces of stick thereon, they burn as if burnt by fire. sometimes she will find him behind a bush, and, undressing there, will fall on any passer-by in the jungle, assuming the form of a tiger with one of the legs in human form. when thus disguised, she is called marulupuli (enchanting tiger). if the man is a brave fellow, and tries to kill the chedipe with any instrument he may have with him, she will run away; and, if any man belonging to her village detects her mischief, she will assume her real form, and say blandly that she is only digging roots. the above story was obtained by a native official when he visited a koyi village, where he was told that a man had been sentenced to several years' imprisonment for being one of a gang who had murdered a chedipe for being a sorceress. in the vizagapatam district, the people believe that a witch, when she wishes to revenge herself on any man, climbs at night to the top of his house, and, making a hole through the roof, drops a thread down till the end of it touches the body of the sleeping man. then she sucks at the other end, and draws up all the blood out of his body. witches are said to be able to remove all the bones out of a man's body, or to deposit a fish, ball of hair, or rags in his stomach. the town of jeypore was once said to be haunted by a ghost. it was described as a woman, who paraded the town at midnight in a state of nudity, and from her mouth proceeded flames of fire. she sucked the blood of any loose cattle she found about, and, in the same way, revenged herself on any man who had insulted her. [329] i am informed by mr g. f. paddison that, in cases of sickness among the savaras of vizagapatam, a buffalo is tied up near the door of the house. herbs and rice in small platters, and a little brass vessel containing toddy, balls of rice, flowers, and medicine, are brought with a bow and arrow. the arrow is thicker at the basal end than towards the tip. the narrow part goes, when shot, through a hole in front of the bow, which is too small to allow of the passage of the rest of the arrow. a beju (wise woman) pours some toddy over the herbs and rice, and daubs the patient over the forehead, breasts, stomach, and back. she croons out a long incantation to the goddess, stopping at intervals to call out "daru," to attract the attention of the goddess. she then takes the bow and arrow, and shoots twice into the air, and, standing behind the kneeling patient, shoots balls of medicine stuck on the tip of the arrow at her. the construction of the arrow is such that the balls are dislodged from its tip. the patient is thus shot at all over the body, which is bruised by the impact of the medicine balls. afterwards the beju shoots one or two balls at the buffalo, which is taken to a path forming the village boundary, and killed with a tangi (axe). the patient is then daubed with the blood of the buffalo, rice, and toddy, and a feast concludes the ceremonial. mr paddison once gave some medicine to the porojas of vizagapatam during an epidemic of cholera in a village. they took it eagerly, but, as he was going away, asked whether it would not be a quicker cure to put the witch in the next village, who had brought on the cholera, into jail. in the koraput taluk of vizagapatam, a wizard once had a reputation for possessing the power of transplanting trees, and it was believed that, if a man displeased him, his trees were moved in the night, and planted in some one else's grounds. it is recorded [330] by the rev. j. cain that the koyis of the godavari district "assert that the death of every one is caused by the machinations of a sorcerer, instigated thereto by an enemy of the deceased, or of the deceased's friends. so, in former years, inquiry was always made as to the person likely to have been at such enmity with the deceased as to wish for his death; and, having settled upon a suspicious individual, the friends of the deceased used to carry the corpse to the accused, and call upon him to clear himself by undergoing the ordeal of dipping his hands in boiling oil or water. [331] within the last two years, i have known of people running away from their village because of their having been accused of having procured by means of a wizard the death of some one with whom they were at enmity about a plot of land." according to another account, [332] "some male member of the family of the deceased throws coloured rice over the corpse as it lies on the bed, pronouncing as he does so the names of all the known sorcerers who live in the neighbourhood. it is even now solemnly asserted that, when the name of the wizard responsible for the death is pronounced, the bed gets up, and moves towards the house or village where he resides." the rev. j. cain [333] once saw a magician at work in the godavari district, "discovering the cause of the sickness which had laid prostrate a strong koyi man. he had in his hand a leaf from an old palmyra leaf book, and, as he walked round and round the patient, he pretended to be reading. then he took up a small stick, and drew a number of lines on the ground, after which he danced and sang round and round the sick man, who sat looking at him, evidently much impressed with his performance. suddenly he made a dart at the man, and, stooping down, bit him severely in two or three places in the back. then, rushing to the front, he produced a few grains, which he said he had found in the man's back, and which were evidently the cause of the sickness." in another case, a young koyi was employed to teach a few children in his village, but ere long he was attacked by a strange disease, which no medicine could cure. as a last resource, a magician was called in, who declared the illness to have been brought on by a demoness at the instigation of some enemy, who was envious of the money which the lad had received for teaching. the magician produced a little silver, which he declared to be a sure sign that the sickness was connected with the silver money he was receiving for teaching. a riot took place, in 1900, at the village of korravanivasala in the vizagapatam district, under the following strange circumstances. a konda dora (hill cultivator caste) named korra mallayya pretended that he was inspired, and gradually gathered round him a camp of four or five thousand people from various places. at first his proceedings were harmless enough, but at last he gave out that he was a reincarnation of one of the five pandava brothers, the heroes of the mahabharata, who are worshipped by the konda doras. [334] he further announced that his infant son was the god krishna; that he would drive out the english, and rule the country himself; and that, to effect this, he would arm his followers with bamboos, which would be turned by magic into guns, and would change the weapons of the authorities into water. bamboos were cut, and rudely fashioned to resemble guns, and, armed with these, the camp was drilled by the swami (god), as mallayya had come to be called. the assembly next sent word that they were going to loot pachipenta, and, when two constables came to see how matters stood, the fanatics fell upon them, and beat them to death. the local police endeavoured to recover the bodies, but, owing to the threatening attitude of the swami's followers, had to abandon the attempt. the district magistrate then went to the place in person, collected reserve police from various places, and rushed the camp to arrest the swami and the other leaders of the movement. the police were resisted by the mob, and obliged to fire. eleven of the rioters were killed, others wounded or arrested, and the rest dispersed. sixty of them were tried for rioting, and three, including the swami, for murdering the constables. of the latter, the swami died in jail, and the other two were hanged. the swami's son, the god krishna, also died, and all trouble ended. a kapu (telugu cultivator) in the cuddapah district once pretended to have received certain maxims direct from the supreme being, and forewarned his neighbours that he would fall into a trance, which actually occurred, and lasted for three days. on his recovery, he stated that his spirit had been during this time in heaven, learning the principles of the advaita religion from a company of angels. one of his peculiarities was that he went about naked, because, when once engaged in separating two bullocks which were fighting, his cloth tumbled down, after which he never put it on again. this eccentric person is said to have pulled a handful of maggots from the body of a dead dog, to have put them into his mouth, and to have spat them out again as grains of rice. a shrine was built over his grave. [335] a few years ago, a muhammadan fakir undertook to drive away the plague in bellary. incantations were performed over a black goat, which was sacrificed at a spot where several roads met. a considerable sum of money was collected, and the poor were fed. but the plague was not stayed. on one occasion, an old woman hearing that her only son was dangerously ill, sought the aid of a magician, who proceeded to utter mantrams, to counteract the evil influences which were at work. while this was being done, an accomplice of the magician turned up, and, declaring that he was a policeman, threatened to charge the two with sorcery if they did not pay him a certain sum of money. the woman paid up, but discovered later on that she had been hoaxed. two men were, some years ago, sentenced to rigorous imprisonment under the following circumstances. a lady, who was suffering from illness, asked a man who claimed to be a magician to cure her. he came with his confederate, and told the patient to place nine sovereigns on a clay image. this sum not being forthcoming, a few rupees and a piece of a gold necklace were accepted. these were deposited on the image, and it was placed in a tin box, which was locked up, one of the men retaining the key. on the following day the two men returned, and the rupees and piece of gold were placed on a fresh image. becoming inspired by the god, one of the men announced that the patient must give a gold bangle off her wrist, if she wished to be cured quickly. the bangle was given up, and placed on the image, which was then converted into a ball containing the various articles within it. the patient was then directed to look at various corners of the room, and repeat a formula. the image was placed in a box, and locked up as before, and the men retired, promising to return next day. this they failed to do, and the lady, becoming suspicious, broke open the box, in which the image was found, but the money and ornaments were missing. a case relating to the supposed guarding of treasure by an evil spirit came before the court in the coimbatore district in 1908. two valluvans (tamil astrologers) were staying in a village, where they were foretelling events. they went to the house of an old woman, and, while telling her fortune, announced that there was a devil in the house guarding treasure, and promised to drive it out, if twenty rupees were given to them. the woman borrowed the money, and presented it to them. in the evening the valluvans went into the kitchen, and shut the door. certain ceremonies are said to have been performed, at the conclusion of which the woman and her son entered the room, and, in the light of a flickering torch, were shown a pit, in which there was a copper pot, apparently full of gold sovereigns. one of the astrologers feigned a sudden attack from the devil, and fell down as if unconscious. the other pushed the people of the house outside the door, and again shut it. eventually the men came out, and announced that the devil was a ferocious one, and would not depart till a wick from an erode paradesi was lighted before it, for obtaining which a hundred rupees were required. if the devil was not thus propitiated, it would, they said, kill the people of the house sooner or later. the old woman borrowed the sum required, and her son and the two astrologers went to karur to take the train to erode, to meet the paradesi. at karur the two men took tickets for different places, and the son, becoming suspicious, informed the police, who arrested them. on them were found some circular pieces of card covered with gold tinsel. a few years ago, a zamindar (landowner) in the godavari district engaged a muhammadan to exorcise a devil which haunted his house. the latter, explaining that the devil was a female and fond of jewelry, induced the zamindar to leave a large quantity of jewels in a locked receptacle in a certain room, to which only the exorcist, and of course the devil, had access. the latter, it was supposed, would be gratified by the loan of the jewels, and would cease from troubling. the exorcist managed to open the receptacle and steal the jewels, and, such was the faith of his employer, that the offence was not suspected until a police inspector seized rs. 27,000 worth of jewels in vizagapatam on suspicion, and they were with difficulty traced to their source. in a note on wonder-working in india, the rev. j. sharrock narrates the following incident. "a sanyasi (ascetic) was ordered with contempt from the house of a rich zemindar. thereupon, the former threatened to curse his house by despatching a devil to take possession of it that very night. on one of the doors of the inner courtyard he made a number of magical passes, and then left the house in high dudgeon. as soon as it grew dark, the devil appeared on the door in flickering flames of phosphorus, and almost frightened the zemindar and the other inmates out of their five senses. wild with terror, they fled to the sanyasi, and begged and entreated him to come and exorcise the devil. of course he refused, and of course they pressed him with greater and greater presents till he was satisfied. then he came with kungkuma (a mixture of turmeric, alum, and lime-juice), and rubbed the fiery demon off with the usual recitation of mantras. during the rest of his stay, the sanyasi was treated with the most profound respect, while his sishyas (disciples) received the choicest food and fruits that could be obtained." the following cases are called from the annual reports of the chemical examiner to the government of madras, in further illustration of the practices of pseudo-magicians. (a) a wizard came to a village, in order to exorcise a devil which possessed a certain woman. he was treated like a prince, and was given the only room in the house, while the family turned out into the hall. he lived there for several days, and then commenced his ceremonies. he drew the figure of a lotus on the floor, made the woman sit down, and commenced to twist her hair with his wand. when she cried out, he sent her out of the room, saying she was unworthy to sit on the lotus figure, but promising nevertheless to exorcise the devil without her being present. he found a half-witted man in the village, drugged him with ganja, brought him to the house, and performed his ceremonies on this man, who, on becoming intoxicated with the drug, began to get boisterous. the wizard tied him up with a rope, because he had become possessed of the devil that had possessed the woman. the man was subsequently traced by his relatives, found in an unconscious state, and taken to hospital. the wizard got rigorous imprisonment. (b) some jewels were lost, and a mantrakara (dealer in magical spells) was called in to detect the thief. the magician erected a screen, behind which he lit a lamp, and did other things to impress the crowd with the importance of his mantrams. to the assembly he distributed betel-leaf patties containing a white powder, said to be holy ashes, and the effect of it on the suspected individuals, who formed part of the crowd, is said to have been instantaneous. so magical was the effect of this powder in detecting the thief, that the unfortunate man ultimately vomited blood. when the people remonstrated with the magician for the severity of his magic, he administered to the sufferer an antidote of solution of cow-dung and the juice of some leaf. the holy ashes were found to contain corrosive sublimate, and the magician got eighteen months' rigorous imprisonment. i may conclude with a reference to an interesting note on the jesuits of the madura mission in the middle of the seventeenth century by the rev. j. s. chandler, who writes as follows:- "dr nobili lodged in an incommodious hut, and celebrated mass in another hut. the older he got, the more he added to the austerity of his life. the pandarams [336] (non-brahman priests) made a new attempt against his life. one fine day they held a council as to the death he should die, and decided on magic. they summoned the most famous magician of the kingdom. every one knew of it. when the day came, the magician presented himself, followed by a crowd, all alert to witness the vengeance of their gods. he insolently arranged his machines, and then described circles in the air. dr nobili regarded him with a composed air. soon the ceremonies became more noisy. the features of the magician became decomposed, his eyes inflamed, his face contracted like that of one possessed; he ground his teeth, howled, and struck the ground with his feet, hands, and forehead. dr nobili asked what comedy he was pretending to play. then he recited magical sentences. dr nobili begged him to spare his throat. the magician said 'you have laughed, now die,' and threw a black powder into the air, at the same time looking at his victim, to see him fall at his feet, and then ... skedaddled from the jeers of the crowd. dr nobili addressed the crowd, and from that time they regarded him as more than human." mr chandler narrates further that [337] "a jogi (sorcerer and exorcist) lost in public opinion by pretending to perform a miracle in imitation of a previous jogi, by making a stone bull eat. a quantity of rice and other grains was served to the figure, but the vahanam (vehicle) of rudra was not hungry. the jogi made many grimaces, threatened, and even employed a rattan cane, but the bull remained motionless. not so the spectators, who overwhelmed the jogi with blows, and he was only saved by his friends, conducted to the frontier by soldiers, and forbidden ever again to enter the kingdom." x divination and fortune-telling it has been said [338] that "men not only attempt to act directly upon nature, but they usually exhibit a keen desire to be guided as to the best course to take when in doubt, difficulty, or danger, and to be forewarned of the future. the practice of divination is by no means confined to professional magicians, or even to soothsayers, but any one may employ the accessory means." of professional diviners in southern india, perhaps the best example is afforded by the kaniyans [339] or kanisans of malabar, whose caste name is said to be a malayalam corruption of the sanskrit ganika, meaning astrologer. duarte barbosa, [340] at the beginning of the sixteenth century, has a detailed reference to the kaniyans, of whom he writes that "they learn letters and astronomy, and some of them are great astrologers, and foretell many future things, and form judgements upon the births of men. kings and great persons send to call them, and come out of their palaces to gardens and pleasure-houses to see them, and ask them what they desire to know; and these people form judgement upon these things in a few days, and return to those that asked them, but they may not enter the palaces; nor may they approach the king's person on account of being low people. and the king is then alone with him. they are great diviners, and pay great attention to times and places of good and bad luck, which they cause to be observed by those kings and great men, and by the merchants also; and they take care to do their business at the time which these astrologers advise them, and they do the same in their voyages and marriages. and by these means these men gain a great deal." buchanan, [341] three centuries later, notes that the kaniyans "possess almanacks, by which they inform people as to the proper time for performing ceremonies or sowing their seeds, and the hours which are fortunate or unfortunate for any undertaking. when persons are sick or in trouble, the cunishun, by performing certain ceremonies in a magical square of 12 places, discovers what spirit is the cause of the evil, and also how it may be appeased." the kaniyans are practically the guiding spirits in all the social and domestic concerns in malabar, and even christians and muhammadans resort to them for advice. from the moment of the birth of an infant, which is noted by the kaniyan for the purpose of casting its horoscope, to the moment of death, the services of the village astrologer are constantly in requisition. he is consulted as to the cause of all calamities, and the cautious answers that he gives satisfy the people. "putro na putri," which may either mean no son but a daughter, or no daughter but a son, is referred to as the type of a kaniyan's answer, when questioned about the sex of an unborn child. "it would be difficult," mr logan writes, [342] "to describe a single important occasion in everyday life when the kanisan is not at hand, foretelling lucky days and hours, casting horoscopes, explaining the cause of calamities, prescribing remedies for untoward events, and physicians (not physic) for sick persons. seed cannot be sown, or trees planted, unless the kanisan has been consulted beforehand. he is even asked to consult his shastras to find lucky days and moments for setting out on a journey, commencing an enterprise, giving a loan, executing a deed, or shaving the head. for such important occasions as births, marriages, tonsure, investiture with the sacred thread, and beginning the a, b, c, the kanisan is, of course, indispensable. his work, in short, mixes him up with the gravest as well as the most trivial of the domestic events of the people, and his influence and position are correspondingly great. the astrologer's finding, as one will assert with all due reverence, is the oracle of god himself, with the justice of which every one ought to be satisfied, and the poorer classes follow his dictates unhesitatingly. the astrologer's most busy time is from january to july, the period of harvest and marriages, but in the other six months of the year he is far from leading an idle life. his most lucrative business lies in casting horoscopes, recording the events of a man's life from birth to death, pointing out dangerous periods of life, and prescribing rules and ceremonies to be observed by individuals for the purpose of propitiating the gods and planets, and so averting the calamities of dangerous times. he also shows favourable junctures for the commencement of undertakings, and the grantham or book, written on palm leaf, sets forth in considerable detail the person's disposition and mental qualities, as affected by the position of the planets in the zodiac at the moment of birth. all this is a work of labour, and of time. there are few members of respectable families who are not thus provided, and nobody grudges the five to twenty-five rupees usually paid for a horoscope, according to the position and reputation of the astrologer. two things are essential to the astrologer, namely, a bag of cowry shells (cypræa moneta), and an almanac. when any one comes to consult him, [343] he quietly sits down, facing the sun, on a plank seat or mat, murmuring some mantrams or sacred verses, opens his bag of cowries, and pours them on the floor. with his right hand he moves them slowly round and round, solemnly reciting meanwhile a stanza or two in praise of his guru or teacher, and of his deity, invoking their help. he then stops, and explains what he has been doing, at the same time taking a handful of cowries from the heap, and placing them on one side. in front is a diagram drawn with chalk (or soapstone) on the floor, and consisting of twelve compartments (rasis), one for each month in the year. before commencing operations with the diagram, he selects three or five of the cowries highest up in the heap, and places them in a line on the right-hand side. [in an account before me, three cowries and two glass bottle-stoppers are mentioned as being placed on this side]. these represent ganapati (the belly god, the remover of difficulties), the sun, the planet jupiter, sarasvati (the goddess of speech), and his own guru or preceptor. to all of these the astrologer gives due obeisance, touching his ears and the ground three times with both hands. the cowries are next arranged in the compartments of the diagram, and are moved about from compartment to compartment by the astrologer, who quotes meanwhile the authority on which he makes the moves. finally he explains the result, and ends with again worshipping the deified cowries, who were witnessing the operation as spectators." according to another account, [344] the kaniyan "pours his cowries on the ground, and, after rolling them in the palm of his right hand, while repeating mantrams, he selects the largest, and places them in a row outside the diagram at its right-hand top corner. they represent the first seven planets, and he does obeisance to them, touching his forehead and the ground three times with both hands. the relative position of the nine planets is then worked out, and illustrated with cowries in the diagram." the mulla kurumbas (jungle tribe) of malabar are said [345] to "have a gift of prophecy, some being initiated in the art known as kotiveykal, literally planting betel vine. the professor, when consulted about any future event, husks a small quantity of rice by hand, places it inside a scooped shell of a dried kuvvalam fruit (ægle marmelos), and asks one of his men to plant the betel vine. the man understands the meaning, takes out the rice, and spreads it on a plank. the professor invokes the puthadi deity, makes a calculation, and gives his reply, which is generally found correct." concerning a class of people called velichchapad, who are regarded as oracles in malabar, mr f. fawcett writes as follows [346]:- "far away in rural malabar, i witnessed the ceremony in which the velichchapad exhibited his quality. it was in the neighbourhood of a nayar house, to which thronged all the neighbours (nayar), men and women, boys and girls. the ceremony lasts about an hour. the nayar said it was the custom in his family to have it done once a year, but could give no account of how it originated; most probably in a vow, some ancestor having vowed that, if such or such benefit be received, he would for ever after have an annual performance of this ceremony in his house. it involved some expenditure, as the velichchapad had to be paid, and the neighbours had to be fed. somewhere about the middle of the little courtyard, the velichchapad placed a lamp (of the malabar pattern) having a lighted wick, a kalasam (brass vessel), some flowers, camphor, saffron (turmeric), and other paraphernalia. bhagavati was the deity invoked, and the business involved offering flowers, and waving a lighted wick round the kalasam. the velichchapad's movements became quicker, and, suddenly seizing his sword, he ran round the courtyard (against the sun, as sailors say), shouting wildly. he is under the influence of the deity who has been introduced into him, and gives oracular utterances to the deity's commands. what he said i know not, and no one else seemed to know, or care in the least, much interested though they were in the performance. as he ran, every now and then he cut his forehead with the sword, pressing it against the skin and sawing vertically up and down. the blood streamed all over his face. presently he became wilder, and whizzed round the lamp, bending forward towards the kalasam. evidently some deity, some spirit was present here, and spoke through the mouth of the velichchapad. this, i think, undoubtedly represents the belief of all who were present. when he had done whizzing round the kalasam, he soon became a normal being, and stood before my camera. the fee for the self-inflicted laceration is one rupee, some rice, etc. i saw the velichchapad about three days afterwards, going to perform elsewhere. the wound on his forehead had healed. the careful observer can always identify a velichchapad by the triangular patch over the forehead, where the hair will not grow, and where the skin is somewhat indurated." the kotas of the nilgiris worship magali, to whose influence outbreaks of cholera are attributed. when the dread disease breaks out among them, special sacrifices are performed with a view to propitiating the goddess, who is represented by an upright stone in a rude temple near kotagiri. an annual ceremony takes place there, at which some man becomes possessed, and announces to the people that magali has come. at the seed-sowing ceremony, a kota priest sometimes becomes inspired, and gives expression to oracular utterances. at a toda funeral, the men, congregating on the summit of a neighbouring hill, invoked the gods. four of them, seized, apparently in imitation of the kota devadi (priest), with divine frenzy, began to shiver and gesticulate wildly while running to and fro with closed eyes. they then began to talk in malayalam, and offer an explanation of an extraordinary phenomenon, which had appeared in the form of a gigantic figure, which disappeared as suddenly as it appeared. the possession by some todas of a smattering of malayalam is explained by the fact that, when grazing their buffaloes on the western slopes of the nilgiris, they come in contact with malayalam-speaking people from the neighbouring malabar country. for the following note on the sakuna pakshi (prophetic bird) mendicant caste, i am indebted to mr c. hayavadana rao. the name of the caste is due to the fact that the members thereof wear on their heads a plume composed of the feathers of the indian roller (coracias indica) or blue jay of europeans. this is one of the birds called sakuna pakshi, because they are supposed to possess the power of foretelling events, and on their movements many omens depend. concerning the roller, jerdon writes [347] that "it is sacred to siva, who assumed its form, and, at the feast of the dasserah at nagpore, one or more used to be liberated by the rajah, amidst the firing of cannon and musketry, at a grand parade attended by all the officers of the station. buchanan hamilton also states that, before the durga puja, the hindus of calcutta purchase one of these birds, and, at the time when they throw the image of durga into the river, set it at liberty. it is considered propitious to see it on this day, and those who cannot afford to buy one discharge their matchlocks to put it on the wing." a sakuna pakshi, before starting on a begging expedition, rises early, and has a cold meal. he then puts on the vaishnava namam mark on his forehead, slings on his left shoulder a deer-skin pouch for the reception of the rice and other grain which will be given to him as alms, and takes up his little drum (gilaka or damaraka) made of frog's skin. closely allied to the sakuna pakshis are the budubudikes or budubudukalas, a class of beggars and fortune-tellers, whose name is derived from the drum (budbuki) which they use when engaged in predicting future events. "a huge parti-coloured turban, surmounted by a bunch of feathers, a pair of ragged trousers, a loose long coat, which is very often out at elbows, and a capacious wallet, ordinarily constitute the budubudukala's dress. occasionally, if he can afford it, he indulges in the luxury of a tiger or cheetah (leopard) skin, which hangs down his back, and contributes to the dignity of his calling. add to this an odd assortment of clothes suspended on his left arm, and the picture is as grotesque as it can be. he is regarded as able to predict the future of human beings by the flight and notes of birds. his predictions are couched in the chant which he recites. the burden of the chant is always stereotyped, and purports to have been gleaned from the warble of the feathered songsters of the forest. it prognosticates peace, plenty and prosperity to the house, the birth of a son to the fair, lotus-eyed housewife, and worldly advancement to the master, whose virtues are as countless as the stars, and have the power to annihilate his enemies. it also holds out a tempting prospect of coming joy in an unknown shape from an unknown quarter, and concludes with an appeal for a cloth. if the appeal is successful, well and good. if not, the budubudukala has the patience and perseverance to repeat his visit the next day, and so on until, in sheer disgust, the householder parts with a cloth. the drum, which has been referred to as giving the budubudukala his name, is not devoid of interest. in appearance it is an instrument of diminutive size, and is shaped like an hour-glass, to the middle of which is attached a string with a knot at the end, which serves as the percutient. its origin is enveloped in a myth of which the budubudukala is very proud, for it tells of his divine descent, and invests his vocation with the halo of sanctity. according to the legend, the primitive budubudukala who first adorned the face of the earth was a belated product of the world's creation. when he was born or rather evolved, the rest of mankind was already in the field, struggling for existence. practically the whole scheme was complete, and, in the economy of the universe, the budubudukala found himself one too many. in this quandary, he appealed to his goddess mother amba bhavani, who took pity on him, and presented him with her husband the god parameswara's drum with the blessing 'my son, there is nothing else for you but this. take it and beg, and you will prosper.' among beggars, the budubudukala has constituted himself a superior mendicant, to whom the handful of rice usually doled out is not acceptable. his demand is for clothes of any description, good, bad or indifferent, new or old, torn or whole. for, in the plenitude of his wisdom, he has realised that a cloth is a marketable commodity, which, when exchanged for money, fetches more than the handful of rice. the budubudukala is continually on the tramp, and regulates his movements according to the seasons of the year. as a rule, he pays his visit to the rural parts after the harvest is gathered, for it is then that the villagers are at their best, and in a position to handsomely remunerate him for his pains. but, in whatever corner of the province he may be, as the dusserah [348] approaches, he turns his face towards vellore in north arcot, where the annual festival in honour of amba bhavani is celebrated." [349] the principal tribal deity of the kuruvikkaran beggars is kali or durga, and each sept possesses a small metal plate with a figure of the goddess engraved on it, which is usually kept in the custody of the headman. it is, however, sometimes pledged, and money-lenders give considerable sums on the security of the idol, as the kuruvikkarans would on no account fail to redeem it. at the annual festival of the goddess, while some cakes are being cooked in oil, a member of the tribe prays that the goddess will descend on him. taking some of the cakes out of the boiling oil, he rubs the oil on his head with his palm. he is then questioned by those assembled, to whom he gives oracular replies, after sucking the blood from the cut throat of a goat. the nomad koravas or yerukalas earn a livelihood partly by telling fortunes. the telugu name yerukala is said to mean fortune-teller, and, as the women go on their rounds through the streets, they call out "yeruko, amma, yeruku" i.e., prophecies, mother, prophecies. concerning the pachaikutti (tattooer) or gadde (soothsayer) section of these people, mr paupa rao naidu writes [350] that "the woman proceeds with a basket and a winnowing tray to a village, proclaiming their ostensible profession of tattooing and soothsaying, which they do for grain or money. when unfortunate village women, who always lose their children or often fall ill, see these gadde women moving about, they call them into their houses, make them sit, and, pouring some grain into their baskets, ask them about their past misery and future lot. these women, who are sufficiently trained to speak in suitable language, are clever enough to give out some yarns in equivocal terms, so that the anxious women, who hope for better futurity, understand them in the light uppermost in their own minds. the korava women will be duly rewarded, and doubly too, for they never fail to study the nature of the house, to see if it offers a fair field for booty for their men." [351] it is said that korava women invoke the village goddesses when they are telling fortunes. they use a winnowing fan and grains of rice in doing this, and prophecy good or evil according to the number of grains on the fan. [352] they carry a basket, winnow, stick, and a wicker tray in which cowry shells are embedded in a mixture of cow-dung and turmeric. the basket represents the goddess kolapuriamma, and the cowries poleramma. when telling fortunes, the woman places on the basket the winnow, rice, betel leaves and areca nuts, and the wicker tray. holding her client's hand over the winnow, and moving it about, she commences to chant, and name all sorts of deities. from time to time, she touches the hand of the person whose fortune is being told with the stick. the korava women are very clever at extracting information concerning the affairs of a client, before they proceed to tell her fortune. in a note on the initiation of yerukala girls into the profession of fortune-telling in vizagapatam, mr hayavadana rao writes that it is carried out on a sunday succeeding the first puberty ceremony. a caste feast, with plenty of strong drink, is held, but the girl herself fasts. the feast over, she is taken to a spot at a little distance from the settlement, called yerukonda. this is said to be the name of a place on the trunk road between vizianagram and chicacole, to which girls were taken in former days to be initiated. the girl is blindfolded with a cloth. boiled rice and green gram (grain) are mixed with the blood of a black fowl, black pig, and black goat, which are killed. of this mixture she must take at least three morsels, and, if she does not vomit, it is taken as a sign that she will become a good fortune-teller. vomiting would indicate that she would be a false prophetess. the irulas of the tamil country, like the yerukalas, are professional fortune-tellers. the yerukala will carry out the work connected with her profession anywhere, at any time, and any number of times in a day. the irula, on the contrary, remains at his home, and will only tell fortunes close to his hut, or near the hut where his gods are kept. in case of sickness, people of all classes come to consult the irula fortune-teller, whose occupation is known as kannimar varnithal. taking up his drum, he warms it over the fire, or exposes it to the heat of the sun. when it is sufficiently dry to vibrate to his satisfaction, kannimar is worshipped by breaking a cocoanut, and burning camphor and incense. closing his eyes, the irula beats the drum, and shakes his head about, while his wife, who stands near him, sprinkles turmeric water over him. after a few minutes, bells are tied to his right wrist. in about a quarter of an hour he begins to shiver, and breaks out in a profuse perspiration. this is a sure sign that he is inspired by the goddess. the shaking of his body becomes more violent, he breathes rapidly, and hisses like a snake. gradually he becomes calmer, and addresses those around him as if he were the goddess, saying: "oh! children, i have come down on my car, which is decorated with mango flowers, margosa, and jasmine. you need fear nothing so long as i exist, and you worship me. this country will be prosperous, and the people will continue to be happy. ere long my precious car, immersed in the tank (pond) on the hill, will be taken out, and after that the country will become more prosperous," and so on. questions are generally put to the inspired man, not directly, but through his wife. occasionally, even when no client has come to consult him, the irula will take up his drum towards dusk, and chant the praises of kannimar, sometimes for hours at a stretch, with a crowd of irulas collected round him. i gather, from a note by mr. t. ranga rao, that the jungle yanadis of the telugu country pose as prophets of human destinies, and pretend to hold intercourse with gods and goddesses, and to intercede between god and man. every village or circle has one or more soothsayers, who learn their art from experts under a rigid routine. the period of pupilage is a fortnight spent in retreat, on a dietary of milk and fruits. the god or goddess venkateswaralu, subbaroyadu, malakondroyadu, ankamma, or poleramma, appears like a shadow, and inspires the pupil, who, directly the period of probation has ceased, burns camphor and frankincense. he then sings in praise of the deity, takes a sea-bath with his master, gives a sumptuous feast, and becomes an independent soothsayer. the story runs that the ardent soothsayers of old wrought miracles by stirring boiling rice with his hand, which was proof against burn or hurt. his modern brother invokes the gods with burning charcoal in his folded hands, to the beat of a drum. people flock in large numbers to learn the truth. the soothsayer arranges the tribal deity chenchu devudu, and various local gods, in a god-house, which is always kept scrupulously clean, and where worship is regularly carried on. the auspicious days for soothsaying are friday, saturday, and sunday. the chief soothsayer is a male. the applicant presents him with areca nuts, fruit, flowers, and money. the soothsayer bathes, and sits in front of his house smeared with black, white, red, and other colours. his wife, or some other female, kindles a fire, and throws frankincense into it. he beats his drum and sings, while a woman within repeats the chant in a shrill voice. the songs are in praise of the deity, at whose and the soothsayer's feet the applicant prostrates himself, and invokes their aid. the soothsayer feels inspired, and addresses the suppliant thus:--"you have neglected me. you do not worship me. propitiate me adequately, or ruin is yours." the future is predicted in song, and the rural folk place great faith in the predictions. as an example of devil worship and divination, the practice thereof by the tamil valaiyans and kallans of orattanadu in the tanjore district is described as follows by mr f. r. hemingway. [353] "valaiyan houses generally have an odiyan (odina wodier) tree in the backyard, wherein the devils are believed to live, and, among the kallans, every street has a tree for their accommodation. they are propitiated at least once a year, the more virulent under the tree itself, and the rest in the house, generally on a friday or monday. kallans attach importance to friday in adi (july and august), the cattle pongal day in tai (january and february), and kartigai day in the month kartigai (november and december). a man, with his mouth covered with a cloth to indicate silence and purity, cooks rice in the backyard, and pours it out in front of the tree, mixed with milk and jaggery (crude sugar). cocoanuts and toddy are also placed there. these are offered to the devils, represented in the form of bricks or mud images placed at the foot of the tree, and camphor is set alight. a sheep is then brought and slaughtered, and the devils are supposed to spring one after another from the tree into one of the bystanders. this man then becomes filled with the divine afflatus, works himself up into a kind of frenzy, becomes the mouthpiece of the spirits, pronounces their satisfaction or the reverse at the offerings, and gives utterance to cryptic phrases, which are held to foretell good or evil fortune to those in answer to whom they are made. when all the devils in turn have spoken and vanished, the man recovers his senses. the devils are worshipped in the same way in the house, except that no blood is shed." the following example of the conviction of a thief by a diviner is recorded by mrs murray-aynsley. [354] "a friend's ayah had her blanket stolen. the native woman rejected the interference of the police, which her mistress proposed, but said she would send for one of her own diviners. he came, caused a fire to be lighted in an earthen vessel, then took a small basket-work grain-sifter used for winnowing rice. having repeated certain prayers or incantations, the diviner stuck a pair of scissors into the deepest part of this tray, and, having done this, required the two assistants he brought with him each to put a finger beneath the holes in the scissors, and then hold the sifter suspended over the fire. the servants of the house were then all required, each in turn, to take a small quantity of uncooked rice in their hands, and drop it into the flame, between the fork formed by the scissors, the diviner all the time repeating some formula. all went very smoothly till the woman-servant, whom my friend had all along suspected of the theft, performed this ceremony, on which the grain-sifter commenced turning round rapidly. the culprit was convicted, and confessed the theft." the following method of discovering theft by chewing rice is described by daniel johnson. [355] "a brahmin is sent for, who writes down all the names of the people in the house, who are suspected. next day he consecrates a piece of ground by covering it with cow-dung and water, over which he says a long prayer. the people then assemble on this spot in a line facing the brahmin, who has with him some dry rice, of which he delivers to each person the weight of a four-cornered rupee, or that quantity weighed with the sacred stone called salagram, which is deposited in a leaf of the pippal or banyan tree. at the time of delivering it, the brahmin puts his right hand on each person's head, and repeats a short prayer; and, when finished, he directs them all to chew the rice, which at a given time must be produced on the leaves masticated. the person or persons, whose rice is not thoroughly masticated, or exhibits any blood on it, is considered guilty. the faith they all have of the power of the brahmin, and a guilty conscience operating at the same time, suppresses the natural flow of saliva to the mouth, without which the hard particles of the rice bruise and cut the gums, causing them to bleed, which they themselves are sensible of, and in most instances confess the crime." xi some agricultural ceremonies for the following note [356] on agricultural ceremonies in malabar, i am indebted to mr c. karunakara menon, who writes as an eye-witness thereof. "vishu, the feast of the vernal equinox, is celebrated on the first of the malabar month medom, between the 10th and 14th of april. to the tamulians it is the new year's day, but to the people of malabar it marks the commencement of the new agricultural year. a malabar proverb says 'no hot weather after vishu.' the first thing seen on the morning of vishu day is considered as an omen for the whole year. every malayali takes care, therefore, to look at an auspicious object. arrangements are accordingly made to have a kani, which means a sight or spectacle (see p. 18). after the first sight, the elders make presents of money to the junior members of the family and the servants. after the distribution of money, the most important function on vishu morning is the laying of the spade-furrow, as a sign that cultivation operations have commenced. a spade decorated with konna (cassia fistula) flowers, is brought, and a portion of the yard on the north side smeared with cow-dung, and painted with powdered rice-water. an offering is made on the spot to ganapathi (the elephant god), and a member of the family, turning to the east, cuts the earth three times. a ceremony on a grander scale is called the chal, which literally means a furrow, for an account of which we must begin with the visit of the astrologer (kanisan) on vishu eve. every desam (hamlet) in malabar has its own astrologer, who visits families under his jurisdiction on festive occasions (see p. 275). accordingly, on the eve of the new agricultural year, every hindu home in the district is visited by the kanisans of the respective desams, who, for a modest present of rice, vegetables, and oils, make a forecast of the season's prospects, which is engrossed on a cadjan (palm leaf). this is called the vishu phalam, which is obtained by comparing the nativity with the equinox. special mention is made therein as to the probable rainfall from the position of the planets--highly prized information in a district where there are no irrigation works or large reservoirs for water. but the most important item in the forecast is the day and time at which the first ploughing is to take place. the chal is one of the most impressive and solemn of the malabar agricultural ceremonies, and, in its most orthodox form, is now prevalent only in the palghat taluk. at the auspicious hour shown in the forecast, the master of the house, the cultivation agent, and the cherumars, [357] assemble in the barn. a portion of the yard in front of the building is painted with rice-water, and a lighted bell-metal lamp is placed near at hand with some paddy (unhusked rice) and rice, and several cups made of the leaves of the kanniram (strychnos nux-vomica)--as many cups as there are varieties of seed in the barn. then, placing implicit faith in his gods and ancestors, the master of the house opens the barn-door, followed by a cheruman with a new painted basket containing the leaf cups. the master then takes a handful of seed from a seed-basket, and fills one of the cups, and the cultivating agent, head cheruman, and others who are interested in a good harvest, fill the cups till the seeds are exhausted. the basket, with the cups, is next taken to the decorated portion of the yard. a new ploughshare is fastened to a new plough, and a pair of cattle are brought onto the scene. plough, cattle, and basket, are all painted with rice-water. a procession proceeds to the fields, on reaching which the head cheruman lays down the basket, and makes a mound of earth with the spade. to this a little manure is added, and the master throws a handful of seed into it. the cattle are then yoked, and one turn is ploughed by the head cheruman. inside this at least seven furrows are made, and the plough is dropped to the right. an offering is made to ganapathi, and the master throws some seed into the furrow. next the head cheruman calls out, 'may the gods on high, and the deceased ancestors, bless the seed which has been thrown broadcast, and the cattle which are let loose, the mother and children of the house, the master and the slaves. may they also vouchsafe to us a good crop, good sunshine, and a good harvest.' a cocoanut is then cut on the ploughshare, and from the cut portions several deductions are made. if the hinder portion is larger than the front one, it augurs an excellent harvest. if the nut is cut into two equal portions, the harvest will be moderate. if the cut passes through the eyes of the nut, or if no water is left in the cut portions, certain misfortune is foreboded. the cut fragments are then taken with a little water inside them, and a leaf of the tulsi plant [358] (sacred basil, ocimum sanctum) dropped in. if the leaf turns to the right, a propitious harvest is assured, whereas, if it turns to the left, certain calamity will follow. this ceremonial concluded, there is much shouting, and the names of all the gods are called out in a confused prayer. the party then breaks up, and the unused seeds are divided among the workmen. the actual sowing of the seed takes place towards the middle of may. the local deity who is responsible for good crops is cherukunnath bhagavathi, who is also called annapurana, and is worshipped in the chirakkal taluk. before the seed is sown, a small quantity is set apart as an offering to the goddess annapurna iswari. by july the crops should be ready for harvesting, and the previous year's stock is running low. accordingly, several ceremonies are crowded into the month karkitakam (july-august). when the sun passes from the sign of gemini to cancer, i.e., on the last day of mithuna (june-july), a ceremony called the driving away of potti (evil spirit) is performed in the evening. the house is cleaned, and the rubbish collected in an old winnowing basket. a woman rubs oil on her head, and, taking the basket, goes three times round the house, while children run after her, calling out, 'potti, phoo' (run away, evil spirit). on the following morning the good spirit is invoked, and asked to bless every householder, and give a good harvest. before dawn a handful of veli, a wild yam (caladium nymphoeiflorum), and turmeric, together with ten herbs called dasapushpam (ten flowers), such as are worn in the head by nambutiri brahman ladies after the morning bath, are brought in. they are:- thiruthali (ipomoea sepiaria). nilappana (curculigo orchioides). karuka (cynodon dactylon). cherupoola (ærua lanata). muyalchevi (emelia sonchifolia). puvamkurunthala (vernonia cinerea). ulinna (cardiospermum halicacabum). mukutti (biophytum sensitivum). kannunni (eclipta alba). krishnakananthi (evolvulus alsinoides). "each of the above is believed to be the special favourite of some deity, e.g., nilappana of the god of riches, thiruthali of the wife of kama, the god of love, etc. they are stuck in the front eaves of every house with some cow-dung. then, before daybreak, sri bhagavathi is formally installed, and her symbolical presence is continued daily till the end of the month karkitakam. a plank, such as is used by malayalis when they sit at meals, is well washed, and smeared with ashes. on it are placed a mirror, a potful of ointment made of sandal, camphor, musk, and saffron (turmeric), a small round box containing red paint, a goblet full of water, and a grandham (sacred book made of cadjan), usually devi-mahathmyam, i.e., song in praise of bhagavathi. by its side the ten flowers are set. on the first day of karkitakam, in some places, an attempt is made to convert the malignant kali into a benificent deity. from calicut northward, this ceremonial is celebrated, for the most part by children, on a grand scale. from early morning they may be seen collecting ribs of plantain (banana) leaves, with which they make representations of a ladder, cattle-shed, plough, and yoke. representations of cattle are made from the leaves of the jak tree (artocarpus integrifolia). these are placed in an old winnowing basket. the materials for a feast are placed in a pot, and the toy agricultural articles and the pot are carried round each house three times, while the children call out 'kalia, kalia, monster, monster, receive our offering, and give us plenty of seed and wages, protect our cattle, and support our fences.' the various articles are then placed under a jak tree, on the eastern side of the house if possible. the next important ceremony is called the nira, or bringing in of the first-fruits. it is celebrated about the middle of karkitakam. the house is cleaned, and the doors and windows are cleansed with the rough leaves of a tree called parakam (ficus hispida), and decorated with white rice paint. the walls are whitewashed, and the yard is smeared with cow-dung. the ten flowers (dasapushpam) are brought to the gate of the house, together with leaves of the following:- athi (ficus glomerata). ithi (ficus infectoria). arayal (ficus religiosa). peral (ficus bengalensis). illi (tender leaves of bamboo). nelli (phyllanthus emblica). jak (artocarpus integrifolia). mango (mangifera indica). "on the morning of the ceremony, the priest of the local temple comes out therefrom, preceded by a man blowing a conch (turbinella rapa) shell. [359] this is a signal for the whole village, and every household sends out a male member, duly purified by a bath and copiously smeared with sacred ashes, to the fields, to gather some ears of paddy. sometimes the paddy is brought from the temple, instead of the field. it is not necessary to pluck the paddy from one's own fields. free permission is given to pluck it from any field in which it may be ripe. when the paddy is brought near the house, the above said leaves are taken out from the gate-house, where they had been kept over night, and the ears of paddy are laid thereon. the bearer is met at the gate by a woman of the house with a lighted lamp. the new paddy is then carried to the house in procession, those assembled crying out 'fill, fill; increase, increase; fill the house; fill the baskets; fill the stomachs of the children.' in a portion of the verandah, which is decorated with rice paint, a small plank, with a plantain leaf on it, is set. round this the man who bears the paddy goes three times, and, turning due east, places it on the leaf. on the right is set the lighted lamp. an offering of cocoanuts and sweets is made to ganapathi, and the leaves and ears of paddy are attached to various parts of the house, the agricultural implements, and even to trees. a sumptuous repast brings the ceremony to a close. at palghat, when the new paddy is carried in procession, the people say 'fill like the kottaram in kozhalmannam; fill like the expansive sands of the perar.' this kottaram is eight miles west of palghat. according to dr gundert, the word means a store-house, or place where temple affairs are managed. it is a ruined building with crumbling walls, lined inside with laterite, and outside with slabs of granite. it was the granary of the maruthur temple adjoining it, and, the story goes that the supply in this granary was inexhaustible. "the next ceremony of importance is called puthari (meal of new rice). in some places it takes place on nira day, but, as a rule, it is an independent festival, which takes place during the great national festival onam in august. when the new rice crop has been threshed, a day is fixed for the ceremony. those who have no land under cultivation simply add some grains of the new rice to their meal. an indispensable curry on this day is made of the leaves of cassia tora, peas, the fruit of puthari chundanga (swertia chirata), brinjals (solanum melongena), and green pumpkins. the first crop is now harvested. there are no special ceremonies connected with the cultivation of the second crop, except the one called chettotakam in the month of thulam (november), which is observed in the palghat taluk. it is an offering made to the gods, when the transplantation is completed; to wipe out the sin the labourers may have committed by unwittingly killing the insects and reptiles concealed in the earth. the god, whose protection is invoked on this occasion, is called muni. no barn is complete without its own muni, who is generally represented by a block of granite beneath a tree. he is the protector of cattle and field labourers, and arrack (liquor), toddy, and blood, form necessary ingredients for his worship. "in well-to-do families, a goat is sacrificed to him, but the poorer classes satisfy him with the blood of a fowl. the officiating priest is generally the cultivation agent, who is a nayar, or sometimes a cheruman. the goat or fowl is brought before the god, and a mixture of turmeric and chunam (lime) sprinkled over it. if the animal shakes, it is a sign that the god is satisfied. if it does not, the difficulty is got over by a very liberal interpretation of the smallest movement of the animal, and a further application of the mixture. the god who ensures sunshine and good weather is mullan. he is a rural deity, and is set up on the borders and ridges of the rice-fields. like muni, he is propitiated by the sacrifice of a fowl. the second crop is harvested in makaram (end of january), and a festival called ucharal is observed from the twenty-eighth to the thirtieth in honour of the menstruation of mother earth, which is believed to take place on those days, which are observed as days of abstinence from all work, except hunting. a complete holiday is given to the cherumans. the first day is called the closing of ucharal. towards evening some thorns, five or six broomsticks, and ashes, are taken to the room in which the grain is stored. the door is closed, and the thorns and sticks are placed against it, or fixed to it with cow-dung. the ashes are spread before it, and, during that and the following day, no one will open the door. on the second day, cessation from work is scrupulously observed. the house may not be cleaned, and the daily smearing of the floor with cow-dung is avoided. even gardens may not be watered. on the fourth day the ucharal is opened, and a basketful of dry leaves is taken to the fields, and burnt with a little manure. the ucharal days are the quarter days of malabar, and demands for surrender of property may be made only on the day following the festival, when all agricultural leases expire. by the burning of leaves and manure on his estate, the cultivator, it seems to me, proclaims that he remains in possession of the property. in support of this, we have the practice of a new lessee asking the lessor whether any other person has burnt dry leaves in the field. the ucharal festival is also held at cherupulcherri, and at kanayam near shoranur. large crowds assemble with representations of cattle in straw, which are taken in procession to the temple of bhagavathi with beating of drums and the shouting of the crowd." the fact that the cherumans, who are agrestic serfs, play a leading part in some of the festivals which have just been described, is significant. in an interesting note on the privileges of the servile classes, mr m. j. walhouse writes [360] that "it is well known that the servile castes in southern india once held far higher positions, and were indeed masters of the land on the arrival of the brahmanical race. many curious vestiges of their ancient power still survive in the shape of certain privileges, which are jealously cherished, and, their origin being forgotten, are much misunderstood. these privileges are remarkable instances of survivals from an extinct state of society--shadows of long-departed supremacy, bearing witness to a period when the present haughty high-caste races were suppliants before the ancestors of degraded classes, whose touch is now regarded as pollution. in the great festival of siva at trivalur in tanjore, the headman of the pareyans is mounted on the elephant with the god, and carries his chauri (yak-tail fly fan). in madras, at the annual festival of the goddess of the black town (now george town [361]), when a tali (marriage badge) is tied round the neck of the idol in the name of the entire community, a pareyan is chosen to represent the bridegroom. at melkote in mysore, the chief seat of the followers of ramanuja acharya, and at the brahman temple at belur, the holeyas or pareyans have the right of entering the temple on three days in the year, specially set apart for them." the privilege is said to have been conferred on the holeyas, in return for their helping ramanuja to recover the image of krishna, which was carried off to delhi by the muhammadans. paraiyans are allowed to take part in pulling the cars of the idols in the great festivals at conjeeveram, kumbakonam, and srivilliputtur. their touch is not reckoned to defile the ropes used, so that other hindus will pull with them. it was noted by mr f. h. ellis, who was collector of the madras district in 1812, that "a custom prevails among the slave castes in tondeimandalam, especially in the neighbourhood of madras, which may be considered as a periodical assertion of independence at the close of the tamil month auni, with which the revenue year ends, and the cultivation of the ensuing year ought to commence. the whole of the slaves strike work, collect in bodies outside of the villages, and so remain until their masters, by promising to continue their privileges, by solicitations, presents of betel, and other gentle means, induce them to return. the slaves on these occasions, however well treated they may have been, complain of various grievances, real and imaginary, and threaten a general desertion. this threat, however, they never carry into execution, but, after the usual time, everything having been conducted according to mamul (custom), return quietly to their labours." coming to more recent times, it is recorded by mr walhouse [362] that "at particular seasons there is a festival much resembling the classic saturnalia, in which, for the time, the relation of slaves and masters is inverted, and the former attack the latter with unstinted satire and abuse, and threaten to strike work unless confirmed in their privileges, and humbly solicit to return to labour." in villages in south canara there are certain rakshasas (demons), called kambla asura, who preside over the fields. to propitiate them, buffalo races, [363] which are an exciting form of sport, are held, usually in october and november, before the second or sugge crop is sown. it is believed that, if the races are omitted, there will be a failure of the crop. the koragas (field labourers) sit up through the night before the kambla day, performing a ceremony called panikkuluni, or sitting under the dew. they sing songs to the accompaniment of a band about their devil nicha, and offer toddy and a rice pudding boiled in a large earthen pot, which is broken so that the pudding remains as a solid mass. this pudding is called kandel adde, or pot pudding. on the morning of the races, the holeyas (agrestic serfs) scatter manure over the field, in which the races are to take place, and plough it. on the following day, the seedlings are planted. to propitiate various demons, the days following the races are devoted to cock-fighting, in which hundreds of birds may take part. important agricultural ceremonies are performed by the badagas of the nilgiris, who carry out most of the cultivation on these hills, at the time of sowing and harvesting the crop. the seed-sowing ceremony takes place in march, and, in some places, a kurumba (jungle tribesman) plays an important part in it. on an auspicious day--a tuesday before the crescent moon--a priest of the devve temple sets out several hours before dawn with five or seven kinds of grain in a basket and a sickle, accompanied by a kurumba, and leading a pair of bullocks with a plough. on reaching the field selected, the priest pours the grain into the cloth of the kurumba, and, yoking the animals to the plough, makes three furrows in the soil. the kurumba, stopping the bullocks, kneels on the ground between the furrows, facing east. removing his turban, he places it on the ground, and, closing his ears with his palms, bawls out "dho, dho" thrice. he then rises, and scatters the grain thrice on the soil. the priest and kurumba then return to the village, and the former deposits what remains of the grain in the store-room. a new pot, full of water, is placed in the milk-house, and the priest dips his right hand therein, saying "nerathubitta" (it is full). this ceremony is an important one, as, until it has been performed, sowing may not commence. it is a day of feasting, and, in addition to rice, dolichos lablab is cooked. another agricultural ceremony of the badagas is called devva habba or tenai (setaria italica), and is usually celebrated in june or july, always on a monday. it is apparently performed in honour of the gods mahalingaswami and hiriya udaya, to whom a group of villages will have temples dedicated. the festival is celebrated at one place, whither the badagas from other villages proceed, to take part in it. about midday, some badagas and the temple priest go from the temple of hiriya udaya to that of mahalingaswami. the procession is usually headed by a kurumba, who scatters fragments of tud (meliosma pungens) bark and wood as he goes on his way. the priest takes with him the materials necessary for performing worship, and, after worshipping mahalingaswami, the party return to the hiriya udaya temple, where milk and cooked rice are offered to the various gods within the temple precincts. on the following day, all assemble at the temple, and a kurumba brings a few sheaves of setaria italica, and ties them to a stone set up at the main entrance. after this, worship is done, and the people offer cocoanuts to the god. later on, all the women of the madhave sept, who have given birth to a first-born child, come, dressed up in holiday attire, with their babies, to the temple. on this day they wear a special nose ornament called elemukkuththi, which is only worn on one other occasion, at the funeral of a husband. the women worship hiriya udaya, and the priest gives them a small quantity of rice on minige (argyreia) leaves. after eating this, they wash their hands with water given to them by the priest, and leave the temple in a line. as soon as the devve festival is concluded, the reaping of the crop commences, and a measure or two of grain gathered on the first day is set apart for the mahalingaswami temple. by the kotas (artisans and cultivators) of the nilgiris, a seed-sowing ceremony is celebrated in the month of kumbam (february-march) on a tuesday or friday. for eight days the officiating priest abstains from meat, and lives on vegetable diet, and may not communicate directly with his wife for fear of pollution, a boy acting as spokesman. on the sunday before the ceremony, a number of cows are penned in a kraal, and milked by the priest. the milk is preserved, and, if the omens are favourable, is said not to turn sour. if it does, this is attributed to the priest being under pollution from some cause or other. on the day of the ceremony, the priest bathes in a stream, and proceeds, accompanied by a boy, to a field or the forest. after worshipping the gods, he makes a small seed-pan in the ground, and sows therein a small quantity of ragi (eleusine coracana). meanwhile, the kotas of the village go to the temple, and clean it. thither the priest and the boy proceed, and the deity is worshipped with offerings of cocoanuts; betel, flowers, etc. sometimes a terkaran (priest) becomes inspired, and gives expression to oracular utterances. from the temple all go to the house of the priest, who gives them a small quantity of milk and food. three months later, on an auspicious day, the reaping of the crop is commenced with a very similar ceremonial. writing in 1832, mr harkness states [364] that, during the seed-sowing ceremony, "offerings are made at the temples, and, on the day of the full-moon, after the whole have partaken of a feast, the blacksmith, and the gold and silversmith, constructing separately a forge and furnace within the temple, each makes something in the way of his vocation, the blacksmith a chopper or axe, the silversmith a ring or other kind of ornament." in connection with the ceremonial observances of the koyis of the godavari district, the rev. j. cain writes [365] that "at present the koyis around dummagudem have very few festivals, except one at the harvest of the zonna (sorghum vulgare). formerly they had one not only for every grain crop, but one when the ippa [366] (bassia) flowers were ready to be gathered, another when the pumpkins were ripe, at the first tapping of the palm-tree for toddy, etc. now, at the time the zonna crop is ripe and ready to be cut, they take a fowl into the field, kill it, and sprinkle its blood on any ordinary stone put up for the occasion, after which they are at liberty to partake of the new crop. in many villages they would refuse to eat with any koi who has neglected this ceremony, to which they give the name kottalu, which word is evidently derived from the telugu word kotta (new). rice-straw cords are hung on trees, to show that the feast has been observed. [in some places, mr hemingway tells me, the victim is a sheep, and the first-fruits are offered to the local gods and the ancestors.] another singular feast occurs soon after the cholam (zonna) crop has been harvested. early on the morning of that day, all the men of each village have to turn out into the forest to hunt, and woe betide the unlucky individual who does not bring home some game, be it only a bird or a mouse. all the women rush after him with cow-dung, mud, or dirt, and pelt him out of their village, and he does not appear again in that village till next morning. the hunter who has been most successful then parades the village with his game, and receives presents of paddy (rice) from every house. mr vanstavern, whilst boring for coal at beddanolu, was visited by all the koi women of the village, dressed up in their lord's clothes, and they told him that they had that morning driven their husbands to the forest, to bring home game of some kind or other." mr n. e. marjoribanks once witnessed a grossly indecent pantomime, held in connection with this festival, which is called bhudevi panduga, or festival of the earth goddess. the performers were women, of whom the drummers and sword-bearers were dressed up as men. in a note on this festival, mr f. r. hemingway writes that "when the samalu crop is ripe, the kois summon the pujari on a previously appointed day, and collect from every house in the village a fowl and a handful of grain. the pujari has to fast all that night, and bathe early the next morning. after bathing, he kills the fowls gathered the previous evening in the names of the favourite gods, and fastens an ear of samalu to each house, and then a feast follows. in the evening they cook some of the new grain, and kill fresh fowls, which have not to be curried but roasted, and the heart, liver, and lights of which are set apart as the especial food of their ancestral spirits, and eaten by every member of each household in their name. the bean feast is an important one, as, until it is held, no one is allowed to gather any beans. on the second day before the feast, the village pujari must eat only bread. the day before, he must fast for the whole twenty-four hours, and, on the day of the feast, he must eat only rice cooked in milk, with the bird offered in sacrifice. all the men of the village accompany the pujari to a neighbouring tree, which must be a terminalia tomentosa, and set up a stone, which they thus dedicate to the goddess kodalamma. every one is bound to bring for the pujari a good hen and a seer of rice, and for himself a cock and half a seer of rice. the pujari also demands from them two annas as his sacrificing fee." seed-drills used by agriculturists in the bellary district are ornamented with carved representations of the sacred bull nandi, the monkey-god hanuman, and the lingam, and decorated with margosa (melia azadirachta) leaves, to bring good luck. xii rain-making ceremonies among the kalyana singapu kondhs of vizagapatam, a rain-making ceremony called barmarakshasi is performed, which consists in making life-size mud images of women seated on the ground, holding grindstones between their knees, and offering sacrifices to them. [367] in times of drought, the koyis of the godavari district hold a festival to bhima, one of the pandava brothers from whom they claim descent, and, when rain falls, sacrifice a cow or a pig to him. it is said [368] to be considered very efficacious if the brahmans take in procession round the village an image of varuna (the god of rain) made of mud from the bed of a river or tank. another method is to pour a thousand pots of water over the lingam in the siva temple. malas (telugu pariahs) tie a live frog to a mortar, and put on the top thereof a mud figure representing the deity gontiyalamma. they then take these objects in procession, singing "mother frog, playing in water, pour rain by potsfull." the villagers of other castes then come and pour water over the malas. the rev. s. nicholson informs me that, to produce rain in the telugu country, two boys capture a frog, and put it into a basket with some nim (margosa, melia azadirachta) leaves. they tie the basket to the middle of a stick, which they support on their shoulders. in this manner, they make a circuit of the village, visiting every house, singing the praises of the god of rain. the greater the noise the captive animal makes, the better the omen, and the more gain for the boys, for at every house they receive something in recognition of their endeavours to bring rain upon the village fields. "in the bellary district when the rain fails, the kapu (telugu cultivator) females catch a frog, and tie it alive to a new winnowing fan made of bamboo. on this fan, leaving the frog visible, they spread a few margosa leaves, and go singing from door to door, 'lady frog must have her bath; oh! rain god, give at least a little water for her.' this means that the drought has reached such a stage that there is not even a drop of water for the frogs. when the kapu female sings this song, the woman of the house brings a little water in a vessel, pours it over the frog, which is left on the fan outside the door sill, and gives some alms. she is satisfied that such an action will bring down rain in torrents. on the first full-moon day in the month of bhadrapada (september), the agricultural population in the bellary district celebrate a festival called jokumara, to appease the rain-god. the barike women (said to belong to the gaurimakkalu section of the kabbera caste) go round the village in which they live, with a basket on their heads containing margosa leaves, flowers of various kinds, and sacred ashes. they beg for alms, especially from the cultivating classes, and, in return for the alms bestowed (usually grain or food), they give some of the leaves, flowers, and ashes. the cultivators take these to their fields, prepare cholam (sorghum) kanji or gruel, mix them with it, and sprinkle the kanji over their fields. after this the cultivator proceeds to the potter's kiln in the village, and fetches ashes from it, with which he makes the figure of a human being. this figure is placed in a field, and called jokumara or rain-god, and is supposed to have the power of bringing down the rain in due season. a second kind of jokumara worship is called muddam, or the outlining of rude representations of human figures with powdered charcoal. these are made in the early morning, before the bustle of the day commences, on the ground at cross-roads, and along thoroughfares. the barikes, who draw these figures, are paid a small remuneration in money or kind. the figures represent jokumara, who will bring down rain, when insulted by people treading on him. yet another kind of jokumara worship prevails in the bellary district. when rain fails, the kapu females model a small figure of a naked human being, which they place in a miniature palanquin, and go from door to door, singing indecent songs, and collecting alms. they continue this procession for three or four days, and then abandon the figure in a field adjacent to the village. the malas take possession of the abandoned jokumara, and, in their turn, go about singing indecent songs, and collecting alms for three or four days, and then throw the figure away in some jungle. this form of jokumara worship is also believed to bring down plenty of rain. in the bellary district, the agriculturists have a curious superstition about prophesying the state of the coming season. the village of mailar contains a siva temple, which is famous throughout the district for an annual festival held there in the month of february. this festival has now dwindled into more or less a cattle fair. but the fame of the temple continues as regards the karanika, which is a cryptic sentence uttered by the priest, containing a prophecy of the prospects of the agricultural season. the pujari (priest) of the temple is a kuruba (cultivating caste). the feast at the temple lasts for ten days. on the last day, the god siva is represented as returning victorious from the battlefield, after having slain the demon malla (mallasura) with a huge bow. he is met half-way from the field of battle by the goddess. the wooden bow is placed on end before the god. the kuruba priest climbs up it, as it is held by two assistants, and then gets on their shoulders. in this posture he stands rapt in silence for a few minutes, looking in several directions. he then begins to quake and quiver from head to foot. this is the sign of the spirit of the god siva possessing him. a solemn silence holds the assembly, for the time of the karanika has arrived. the shivering kuruba utters a cryptic sentence, such as 'thunder struck the sky.' this is at once copied down, and interpreted as a prophecy that there will be much rain in the year to come." [369] it is said that, in the year before the mutiny, the prophecy was "they have risen against the white-ants." the villagers at kanuparti in the guntur district of the telugu country objected, in 1906, to the removal of certain figures of the sacred bull nandi and lingams, which were scattered about the fields, on the ground that the rainfall would cease, if these sacred objects were taken away. to bring down rain, brahmans, and those non-brahmans who copy their ceremonial rites, have their varuna japam, or prayers to varuna, the rain-god. some of the lower classes, instead of addressing their prayers to varuna, try to induce a spirit or devata named kodumpavi (wicked one) to send her paramour sukra to the affected area. the belief seems to be that sukra goes away to his concubinage for about six months, and, if he does not then return, drought ensues. the ceremony consists in making a huge figure of kodumpavi in clay, which is placed on a cart, and dragged through the streets for seven to ten days. on the last day, the final death ceremonies of the figure are celebrated. it is disfigured, especially in those parts which are usually concealed. vettiyans (paraiyan grave-diggers), who have been shaved, accompany the figure, and perform the funeral ceremonies. this procedure is believed to put kodumpavi to shame, and to get her to induce sukra to return, and stay the drought. according to mr w. francis, [370] the figure, which is made of clay or straw, is dragged feet first through the village by the paraiyans, who accompany it, wailing as though they were at a funeral, and beating drums in funeral time. i am informed by mr f. r. hemingway that, when rain is wanted in the trichinopoly district, an effigy called koman (the king) is dragged round the streets, and its funeral performed with great attention to details. or an effigy of kodumpavi is treated with contumely. in some places, the women collect kanji (rice gruel) from door to door, and drink it, or throw it away on a tank bund (embankment), wailing the while as they do at funerals. people of the higher castes repeat prayers to varuna, and read portions of the virata parvam in the mahabharata, in the hope that the land will be as fertile as the country of the virats, where the pandavas lived. when the tanks and rivers threaten to breach their banks, men stand naked on the bund, and beat drums; and, if too much rain falls, naked men point firebrands at the sky. their nudity is supposed to shock the powers that bring the rain, and arrest their further progress. according to mr francis, [371] when too much rain falls, the way to stop it is to send the eldest son to stand in it stark naked, with a torch in his hand. a native of coimbatore wrote a few years ago that we have done all things possible to please the gods. we spent about two hundred rupees in performing varuna japam on a grand scale in a strictly orthodox fashion. for a few days there were cold winds, and some lightning. but, alas, the japam was over, and with that disappeared all signs of getting any showers in the near future. it is noted by haddon [372] that, in the torres straits, as elsewhere, the impossible is never attempted, and a rain charm would not be made when there was no expectation of rain coming, or during the wrong season. there is, in some parts of the country, a belief that, if lepers are buried when they die, rain will not visit the locality where their corpses have been deposited. so they disinter the bodies, and throw the remains thereof into the river, or burn them. some years ago, a man who was supposed to be a leper died, and was buried. his skeleton was disinterred, put into a basket, and hung to a tree with a garland of flowers round its neck. the superintendent of police, coming across it, ordered it to be disposed of. the following quaint superstitions relating to the origin of rain are recorded by mr gopal panikkar. [373] "in the regions above the earth, there are supposed to exist large monsters called kalameghathanmar, to whom is assigned the responsibility of supplying the earth with water. these monsters are under the direction and control of indra, [374] and are possessed of enormous physical strength. they have two huge horns projecting upwards from the sides of the crown of the head, large flashing eyes, and other remarkable features. all the summer they are engaged in drawing up water from the earth through their mouths, which they spit out to produce rain in the rainy season. a still ruder imagination ascribes rain to the periodical discharge of urine by these monsters. hence, in some quarters, there exists a peculiar aversion to the use of rain-water for human consumption." notes [1] "gazetteer of the nilgiris," 1908, i. 338. [2] bishop whitehead, madras museum bull., 1907, no. 3, v. 134. [3] madras museum bull., 1907, no. 3, v. 139-40. [4] malabar, 1887, i. 177-8. [5] used as a fly-flapper (chamara). [6] "malabar and its folk," madras, 2nd edition, 99-100. [7] n. sunkuni wariar, "ind. ant.," 1892, xxi. 96. [8] k. srikantaliar, "ind. ant.," 1892, xxi. 193. [9] m. n. venkataswami, "ind. ant.," 1905, xxxiv. 176. [10] "gazetteer of the godavari district," 1907, i. 66. [11] "note on the koravas," 1908. [12] m. j. walhouse, "ind. ant.," 1881, x. 366. [13] "manual of the cuddapah district," 1875, 293. [14] "gazetteer of the godavari district," 1907, i. 47. [15] m. j. walhouse, "ind. ant.," 1876, v. 21. [16] india, trübner, oriental series, 1888, i. 182. [17] rev. s. mateer, "native life in travancore," 1883, 330-52. [18] m. j. walhouse, journ. anthrop. inst., 1874, iv. 373. [19] voyage to the east indies, 1777 and 1781. [20] rev. j. a. sharrock, "south indian missions," 1910, 9. [21] see emma rosenbusch (mrs clough), "while sewing sandals, or tales of a telugu pariah tribe." [22] l. k. anantha krishna iyer, "the cochin tribes and castes," 1909, i. 114. [23] "ind. ant.," 1873, ii. 65. [24] f. fawcett, "note on the koravas," 1908. [25] s. p. rice, "occasional essays on native south indian life," 1901, 95-6. [26] jeypore, breklum, 1901. [27] f. fawcett, "note on the koravas," 1908. [28] fire-walking, see thurston, "ethnographic notes in southern india," 1907, 471-86. [29] udaya is one of the divisions of the badagas, which ranks as superior to the other divisions. [30] koyis, see cain, madras christian college magazine (old series), v. 352-9, and vi. 274-80; also "ind. ant.," v., 1876, and viii., 1879. [31] "gazetteer of the south arcot district," 1906, i. 98. [32] madras museum bull., 1907, no. 3, v. 166. [33] "manual of the cuddapah district," 1875, 291. [34] the holeyas were formerly agrestic serfs. [35] "ind. ant.," 1873, ii. 66. [36] earth-eating (geophagy), see my "ethnographic notes in southern india," 1907, 552-4. [37] letters from malabar, translation, madras, 1862. [38] f. fawcett, "note on the koravas," 1908. [39] "manual of the cuddapah district," 1875, 288. [40] ibid., 285. [41] m. paupa rao naidu, "the criminal tribes of india," madras, 1907, no. 3. [42] t. m. natesa sastri, calcutta review, 1905, cxxi. 501. [43] "notes on the criminal classes of the madras presidency," 1892, 90. [44] "malabar and its folk," madras, 2nd. ed., 58-9. [45] letters from madras, 1843. [46] "hindu feasts, fasts, and ceremonies," madras, 1903, 32-3. [47] madras weekly mail, 15th october, 1908. [48] rev. e. w. thompson, "the last siege of seringapatam," 1907. [49] "an indian olio," 98. [50] "manual of the north arcot district" 1895, i. 223-4. [51] s. m. natesa sastri, "ind. ant.," 1889, xviii. 287. [52] rev. j. cain, "ind. ant.," 1875, iv. 198. [53] f. fawcett, "note on the koravas," 1908. [54] "ind. ant.," 1876, v. 358. [55] "manual of the ganjam district," 1882, 71-2. [56] "gazetteer of the bellary district," 1904, i. 61. [57] madras agricult. bull., 1900, ii. no. 42. [58] madras dioc. mag., 1908. [59] madras weekly mail, 7th october 1909. [60] loc. cit. [61] madras museum bull., 1907, v., no. 3, 173. [62] many of the bird superstitions here recorded were published in an article in the madras mail. [63] "manual of the cuddapah district," 1875, 293. [64] "gazetteer of the bellary district," 1904, i. 61. [65] "manual of the cuddapah district," 1875, 293. [66] see thurston, "ethnographic notes in southern india," 1907, 44-7. [67] j. s. f. mackenzie, "ind. ant.," 1873, ii., 68. [68] rev. f. dahmen, "anthropos," 1908, iii. 28. [69] rev. m. phillips, "evolution of hinduism," 1903, 123. [70] "manual of the cuddapah district," 1875, 292. [71] "manual of the cuddapah district," 1875, 288. [72] "gazetteer of the tanjore district," 1906, i. 66. [73] "manual of the kurnool district," 1886, 114. [74] journ. bombay nat. hist. soc., 1902, xiv., no. 2, 388-91. [75] "gazetteer of the nilgiris," 1908, i. 328. [76] journ. anthrop. soc., bombay, i. 241-2. [77] "report on the sea fisheries of india and burma," 1873, lxxvi. [78] "manual of the kurnool district," 1886, 115. [79] m. j. walhouse, "ind. ant.," 1876, v. 23. [80] rev. f. dahmen, "anthropos," 1908, iii. 30. [81] "ind. ant.," 1876, v. 359. [82] h. j. stokes, "ind. ant.," 1874, iii. 90. [83] j. s. chandler, calcutta review, july, 1903, cxvii. 28. [84] "totemism," 1887, 33. [85] m. j. walhouse, journal anthrop. inst., 1874, iv. 376. [86] h. d. taylor, "madras census report," 1891. [87] madras mail, 26th january, 1906. [88] l. k. anantha krishna iyer, "cochin tribes and castes," 1909, i. 22. [89] madras mail, 26th january, 1906. [90] s. p. rice, "occasional essays on native south indian life," 1901, 211. [91] journ. roy. asiat. soc., 1884, xvi. 181. [92] report, govt. botanical gardens, nilgiris, 1903. [93] "gazetteer of malabar," 1908, i. 163. [94] letters from malabar, translation, madras, 1862. [95] 1862, iii. 464. [96] "malabar and its folk," madras, 2nd ed., 59. [97] c. karunakara menon, calcutta review, july, 1901. [98] c. karunakara menon, calcutta review, july, 1901. [99] madras mail, 22nd july, 1905. [100] vide, yule and burnell, "hobson-jobson," ed. 1903, 874-9. [101] asiatic journal, ii. 381. [102] bishop whitehead, madras diocesan magazine, july, 1906. [103] rev. f. dahmen, "anthropos," 1908, iii. 22. [104] madras mail, 26th january, 1906. [105] madras mail, 26th january, 1906. [106] m. upendra pai, madras christian coll. mag., 1895., xiii., no. 1, 29. [107] mem. asiat. soc., bengal, 1906, i., no. 10. [108] t. k. gopal panikkar, "madras and its folk," madras, 2nd ed., 65-6. [109] "manual of the cuddapah district," 1875, 293-4. [110] madras mail, 26th january, 1906. [111] "gazetteer of the vizagapatam district," 1907, i. 286. [112] "manual of the south canara district," 1895, ii. 242. [113] "mysore census report," 1891, part i. 235. [114] s. k. sundara charlu, indian review, 1905, vi., no. 6, 421. [115] "gazetteer of the trichinopoly district," 1907, i. 283. [116] "manual of the cuddapah district," 1875, 288. [117] "plagues and pleasures of life in bengal," 1907, 196-8. [118] madras mail, 26th january, 1906. [119] "malayalam dictionary," 1872, 983. [120] kerala chintamani. [121] nature, 18th october, 1906. [122] grant duff, "notes from an indian diary, 1881-1886." [123] l. k. anantha krishna iyer, "the cochin tribes and castes," 1909, i. 166. [124] f. fawcett, madras museum bull., 1901, iii., no 3, 309. [125] malabar, 1887, i. 175. [126] d'alviella, "the migration of symbols," 1894, introduction; and times (london), 3rd september, 1891. [127] madras museum bull., 1906, v., no. 2, 86-7. [128] madras mail, 26th january, 1906. [129] leviticus, viii. 29. [130] the nayadis are a polluting class, whose approach within 300 feet is said to contaminate a brahman. [131] l. k. anantha krishna iyer, "the cochin tribes and castes," 1909, i. 55-6. [132] m. j. walhouse, journ. anthrop. inst., 1890, xix. 56. [133] "gazetteer of the tanjore district," 1906, i. 89. [134] "note on the koravas," 1908. [135] madras standard, 2nd june, 1903. [136] a tarawad means a family, consisting of all the descendants in the female line of one common female ancestor. [137] the senior male in a tarawad or tarwad. [138] see calcutta review, july, 1901, cxiii. 21-5. [139] laterite is a reddish geological formation, found all over southern india. [140] madras christian coll. mag., 1895, xiii., no. 1, 24-5. [141] the pipal or aswatha (ficus religiosa). many villages have such a tree with a platform erected round it, on which are carved figures of the elephant god ganesa, and cobras. village panchayats (councils) are often held on this platform. [142] indian patriot, 13th january, 1908. [143] elayads, ilayatus, or nambiyatiris, are priests at most of the snake groves on the west coast. [144] calcutta review, july, 1901, cxiii. 21. [145] "malabar and its folk," madras, 2nd ed., 150. [146] madras standard, 2nd june, 1903. [147] "gazetteer of malabar," 1908, i. 112. [148] see "men and women of india," february, 1906. [149] "the cochin tribes and castes," 1909, i. 153-4. [150] "malabar and its folk," madras, 2nd ed., 147-8. [151] vol. i. 105. [152] "gazetteer of the south arcot district," 1906, i. 102. [153] "gazetteer of the tanjore district," 1906, i. 70. [154] sesha or adisesha is the serpent, on which vishnu is often represented as reclining. [155] "ind. ant.," 1876, v. 188. [156] see the skanda purana. [157] other colossal statues of gummatta are at karkal and venur or yenur in south canara. [158] the feast of lights (dipa, lights, avali, a row). [159] see bishop whitehead, "the village deities of southern india," madras museum bull., 1907, v. no. 3. [160] ibid., 1901, iii. no. 3, 270-1. [161] "gazetteer of the tanjore district," 1906, i. 219. [162] madras dioc. mag., november, 1910. [163] see fawcett, note on the mouth-lock vow, journ. anthrop. soc., bombay, i. 97-102. [164] "gazetteer of the trichinopoly district," 1907, i. 289. [165] scottish standard bearer, november 1907. [166] the patnulkarans claim to be saurashtra brahmans. [167] "gazetteer of the tanjore district," 1906, i. 71. [168] "gazetteer of the madura district," i. 86. [169] "primitive tribes of the nilagiris," 1873, 17. [170] sudra is the fourth traditional caste of manu. [171] "manual of the north arcot district," 1895, i. 242. [172] mysore census report, 1901, part i. 519. [173] basavi, see article "deva-dasi" in my "castes and tribes of southern india," 1909, ii. 125-53. [174] "manual of the cuddapah district", 1875, 283. [175] madras museum bull., 1907, v. no. 3, 149. [176] "gazetteer of the trichinopoly district," 1907, i. 289. [177] jeypore, breklum, 1901. [178] "gazetteer of the tanjore district," 1906, 1. 72. [179] "gazetteer of the madura district," 1906, i. 86-7. [180] ibid., 86. [181] madras museum bull., 1906, v., no. 2, 78-9. [182] madras museum bull., 1907, v., no. 3, 149. [183] "ind. ant.," 1881, x. 364. [184] the pallis claim to be descendants of the fire race (agnikula) of the kshatriyas, and that, as they and the pandava brothers were born of fire, they are related. [185] "gazetteer of the south arcot district," 1906, i. 375-6. [186] "gazetteer of the madura district," 1906, i. 85. [187] "narrative of little's detachment," 1794, 212-3. [188] lambadis or brinjaris, who formerly acted as carriers of supplies and baggage in times of war in the deccan. [189] journ. anthrop. soc., bombay, i. 253-4. [190] "ind. ant.," 1879, viii. 219. [191] ibid., 1880, ix. 150. [192] journ. anthrop. soc., bombay, ii. 272. [193] "gazetteer of the madura district," 1906, i. 86. [194] "gazetteer of the south arcot district," 1906, i. 102. [195] "hindu manners, customs, and ceremonies" translation by h. k. beauchamp, 1897, ii. 610. [196] "ind. ant.," 1880, ix. 152. [197] "mysore," 1897, ii. 350. [198] madras museum bull., 1901, iii., no. 3, 266. [199] the making of a shrine, calcutta review, 1899, cviii. 173-5. [200] bhutha, or demon worship, prevails in south canara, where the villages have their bhutha sthanam or demon shrine. [201] "cochin census report," 1901, part i. 25. [202] "gazetteer of the vizagapatam district," 1907, i. 329. [203] "gazetteer of the anantapur district," 1905, i. 164. [204] "native life in travancore," 1883. [205] "gazetteer of the madura district," 1906, i. 102. [206] "mediæval sinhalese art," 1908, 70-75. [207] philalethes, "history of ceylon," 1817, 163. [208] m. bapu rao, madras christian coll. mag., april 1894, xi. [209] "gazetteer of the madura district," 1906, i. 286. [210] "gazetteer of the south arcot district," 1906, i. 278. [211] f. fawcett, man, 1901, i., no. 29, p. 37. [212] "madras census report," 1901, part i. 134. [213] "malabar and its folk," madras, 2nd ed., 133. [214] thula (scales), purusha (man), danam (gift). [215] see shungoony menon, "history of travancore," 1878, 58-72. [216] madras diocesan record, october, 1905. [217] "christianity and caste," 1893. [218] rev. j. cain, madras christian coll. mag., 1887-8, v. 358. [219] in southern india, turmeric (curcuma) is commonly called saffron (crocus). [220] "gazetteer of the vizagapatam district," 1907, i. 75. [221] madras museum bull., 1907, v., no. 3, 134. [222] ibid., 171. [223] "an indian olio," 79-80. [224] "gazetteer of the nilgiris," 1908, i. 340. [225] "the tinnevelly shanars," 1849. [226] madras dioc. mag., march, 1903. [227] rev. j. cain, "ind. ant.," 1879, viii. 219. [228] "hindu manners, customs, and ceremonies,' translation by h. k. beauchamp, 1897, i. 143. [229] "gazetteer of the anantapur district," 1905, i. 198. [230] "gazetteer of the south arcot district," 1906, i. 93. [231] "gazetteer of the south arcot district," 1906, i. 92-3. [232] "goa and the blue mountains," 1851, 339. [233] "gazetteer of the bellary district," 1904, i. 60. [234] f. fawcett, madras museum bull., 1901, iii., no. 3, 307. [235] "malabar," 1887, i. 175. [236] "malabar," 1887, i. 175. [237] m. j. walhouse, "ind. ant.," 1876, v. 23. [238] f. fawcett, journ. anthrop. soc., bombay, i. 260. [239] "manual of the kurnool district," 1886, 116. [240] tennent, "ceylon," 1860, i. 145. [241] "manual of the cuddapah district," 1875, 292. [242] madras mail, 26th january, 1906. [243] madras museum bull., 1900, iii., no. 1, 41. [244] madras museum bull., 1901, iii., no. 3, 195-6. [245] madras dioc. mag., july, 1905. [246] rev. a. c. clayton, madras museum bull., 1906, v., no. 2, 86. [247] journ. anthrop. inst., 1890, xix., 56. [248] madras christian coll. mag., january, 1907, vi. no. 7. [249] rev. a. c. clayton, madras museum bull., 1906, v., no. 2, 66. [250] "the book of ser marco polo, the venetian," translation, 3rd ed., 1903, ii. 332. [251] the pearl fisheries are conducted from tuticorin in the tinnevelly district. [252] "ceylon," 1860, ii. 564-5. [253] "the golden bough," 1900, ii. 241 et seq. bibliography of human sacrifice among the kondhs, see thurston, "castes and tribes of southern india," 1909, iii. 412-5. [254] "selections from the records of the government of india," no. v., suppression of human sacrifice and infanticide, 1854. the subject of meriah sacrifice is also dealt with by f. e. penny, in her novel entitled "sacrifice," 1910. [255] "personal narrative of service among the wild tribes of khondistan," 1864. [256] "the people of india," 1908, 62. [257] "gazetteer of the vizagapatam district," 1907, i. 202. [258] "gazetteer of the vizagapatam district," 1907, i. 262-3. [259] madras weekly mail, 6th june, 1894. [260] "ind. ant.," 1876, v. 359. [261] madras christian coll. mag., 1887-88, v. 357. [262] "gazetteer of the vizagapatam district," 1907, i. 202. [263] "hindu manners, customs, and ceremonies," translation by h. k. beauchamp, 1897, i. 70-1. [264] "ind. ant.," 1879, viii. 219. [265] infanticide, see thurston, "ethnographic notes in southern india," 1907, 502-9. [266] marshall, "a phrenologist amongst the todas," 1873, 195. [267] ellis, "history of madagascar." [268] "the village deities of southern india," madras museum bull., 1907, v. 3, 137, 186. [269] "gazetteer of malabar," 1908, i. 132. [270] "mysore and coorg manual," 1878, iii. 265. [271] the kaniyans of the west coast are exorcisers. [272] "mysore and coorg manual," 1878, iii. 264-5. [273] "ind. ant.," 1881, x. 366. [274] ibid., 1876, v. 22. [275] "ind. ant.," 1878, vii. 177. [276] "gazetteer of the anantapur district," 1905, i. 179. [277] "manual of the cuddapah district," 1875, 284. [278] lieutenant-general f. f. burton, "an indian olio," 307. [279] "occasional essays on native south indian life," 1901, 72-3. [280] "manual of medical jurisprudence in india," 1870. [281] indian review, may, 1900. [282] "the cochin tribes and castes," madras, 1909, i. 77-81. [283] "the cochin tribes and castes," madras, i. 176-7. [284] "malabar," 1887, i. 174. [285] "description of a singular aboriginal race inhabiting the summit of the neilgherry hills," 1832, 83-4. [286] "madras police administration report," 1900. [287] "manual of the niligiri district," 1880, 212. [288] "madras police administration report," 1904. [289] ibid., 1905-6. [290] a. c. haddon, "magic and fetishism" (religions, ancient and modern), 1906, 51. [291] see the articles devoted to these castes in my "castes and tribes of southern india," 1909. [292] b. govinda nambiar, indian review, may, 1900. [293] m. j. walhouse, "ind. ant.," 1876, v. 22. [294] "report of the chemical examiner, madras," 1908, 5. [295] journ. and proc. asiat. soc., bengal, 1905, i. no. 9. [296] rev. a. c. clayton, madras museum bull., 1906, v., no. 2, 82. [297] cf. odi cult, 228-9. [298] "ind. ant.," 1876, v. 22. [299] gloyer, jeypore, breklum, 1901. [300] "gazetteer of the bellary district," 1904, i. 60. [301] "gazetteer of the south arcot district," 1906, i. 93. [302] "gazetteer of the tanjore district," 1906, i. 76. [303] journ. anthrop. soc., bombay, ii. 1890, 282-5. [304] indian review, may, 1900. [305] journ. royal asiat. soc., 1884, xvi. 185-6. [306] for a detailed account of demonolatry among the shanans, i would refer the reader to the rev. r. (afterwards bishop) caldwell's now scarce "tinnevelly shanans," 1849. [307] madras museum bull., 1900, iii., no. 1, 51. [308] madras mail, 18th november, 1905. [309] an example of so-called homoeopathic magic. see haddon, "magic and fetishism" (religions ancient and modern), 1906, 19-22. [310] "ind. ant.," 1876, v. 22. [311] laccadiveans come to the malabar coast in sailing-boats. [312] nature, 18th october, 1906. [313] madras mail, 18th november, 1905. [314] f. fawcett, madras museum bull., 1901, iii., no. 3, 317. [315] madras mail, 19th november, 1897. [316] in like manner, the chief mourner at the funeral among many castes, after breaking a water-pot at the graveside, retires without looking back. [317] f. fawcett, madras museum bull., 1900, iii., no. 1, 51. [318] "gazetteer of the madura district," 1906, i. 103. [319] f. fawcett, journ. anthrop. soc., bombay, i. 533-5. [320] "gazetteer of the madura district," 1906, i. 87. [321] "gazetteer of the vizagapatam district," 1907, i. 73. [322] l. k. anantha krishna iyer, "the cochin tribes and castes," 1909, i. 99. [323] f. fawcett, madras museum bull., 1901, iii., no. 3, 247. [324] m. j. walhouse, "ind. ant." 1881, x. 364. [325] "occasional essays on native south indian life," 1901, 70-1. [326] "gazetteer of the vizagapatam district," 1907, i. 205. [327] h. j. stokes, "ind. ant.," 1876, v. 355-6. [328] l. k. anantha krishna iyer, "the cochin tribes and castes," 1909, i. 167. [329] "gazetteer of the vizagapatam district," 1907, i. 73. [330] "ind. ant.," 1876, v. 358. [331] trial by ordeal, see my "ethnographic notes in southern india," 1907, 407-32. [332] "gazetteer of the godavari district," 1907, i. 64. [333] madras christ. coll. mag., 1887-8, v. 355. [334] at times of census, the konda doras have returned themselves as pandava kulam, or pandava caste. [335] "manual of the cuddapah district," 1875, 290-1. [336] some pandarams are managers of siva temples. [337] "a madura missionary, john eddy chandler: a sketch of his life," boston. [338] a. c. haddon, "magic and fetishism" (religions ancient and modern), 1906, 40. [339] for much of the note on kaniyans i am indebted to mr n. subramani iyer. [340] "description of the coasts of east africa and malabar," translation, hakluyt society, 1866, 139. [341] "journey through mysore canara, and malabar," 1807, ii. 528. [342] "malabar," 1887, i. 140-1. [343] the kaniyan, when wanted in his professional capacity, presents himself with triple ash marks of siva on his chest, arms, and forehead. [344] "gazetteer of malabar," 1908, i. 130. [345] c. gopalan nair, malabar series, "wynad, its people and traditions," 1911, 70-1. [346] madras museum bull., 1901, iii., no. 3, 273-4. [347] "birds of india," 1877, i. 216-7. [348] the dusserah or dasara is also known as sarasvati puja or ayudha puja (worship of weapons or tools). see p. 174. [349] madras weekly mail, 8th august, 1907. [350] "history of railway thieves," 1904. [351] the koravas are professional burglars. [352] "madras census report," 1901, part i. 164. [353] "gazetteer of the tanjore district," 1906, i. 69. [354] "our tour in southern india," 1883, 162-3. [355] "sketches of field sports followed by the natives of india," 1822. [356] the note was originally published in madras museum bull., 1906, v., no. 2, 98-105. [357] the cherumars are field labourers, who were formerly agrestic slaves, and, like other servile classes, possess special privileges on special occasions. [358] the tulsi plant is the most sacred plant of the hindus, by whom it is grown in pots, or in brick or earthen pillars (brindavanam) hollowed out at the top, in which earth is deposited. it is watered and worshipped daily. [359] the sacred conch or chank shell is used as a musical instrument in processions, and during religious services at hindu temples. [360] "ind. ant," 1873, iii. 191. [361] the name black town was changed to george town, to commemorate the visit of h.r.h. the prince of wales to madras in 1906. [362] journ. anthrop. inst., 1874, iv. 371. [363] buffalo races, see my "castes and tribes of southern india," 1909, i. 157-62. [364] "a singular aboriginal race of the nilagiris," 1832, 76. [365] "ind. ant." 1879, viii. 34. [366] liquor is distilled from ippa flowers. [367] "gazetteer of the vizagapatam district," 1907, i. 73. [368] "gazetteer of the godavari district," 1907, i. 47. [369] madras mail, 4th november, 1905. [370] "gazetteer of the south arcot district," 1906, i. 94. [371] ibid. [372] "magic and fetishism" (religions ancient and modern), 1906, 62. [373] "malabar and its folk," madras, 2nd ed., 63-4. [374] indra presides over the seasons and crops, and is therefore worshipped at times of sowing and reaping. a study in magic and religion _third edition_ part vii balder the beautiful vol. i balder the beautiful the fire-festivals of europe and the doctrine of the external soul j.g. frazer, d.c.l., ll.d., litt.d. fellow of trinity college, cambridge professor of social anthropology in the university of liverpool. in two volumes vol. i 1913 preface in this concluding part of _the golden bough_ i have discussed the problem which gives its title to the whole work. if i am right, the golden bough over which the king of the wood, diana's priest at aricia, kept watch and ward was no other than a branch of mistletoe growing on an oak within the sacred grove; and as the plucking of the bough was a necessary prelude to the slaughter of the priest, i have been led to institute a parallel between the king of the wood at nemi and the norse god balder, who was worshipped in a sacred grove beside the beautiful sogne fiord of norway and was said to have perished by a stroke of mistletoe, which alone of all things on earth or in heaven could wound him. on the theory here suggested both balder and the king of the wood personified in a sense the sacred oak of our aryan forefathers, and both had deposited their lives or souls for safety in the parasite which sometimes, though rarely, is found growing on an oak and by the very rarity of its appearance excites the wonder and stimulates the devotion of ignorant men. though i am now less than ever disposed to lay weight on the analogy between the italian priest and the norse god, i have allowed it to stand because it furnishes me with a pretext for discussing not only the general question of the external soul in popular superstition, but also the fire-festivals of europe, since fire played a part both in the myth of balder and in the ritual of the arician grove. thus balder the beautiful in my hands is little more than a stalking-horse to carry two heavy pack-loads of facts. and what is true of balder applies equally to the priest of nemi himself, the nominal hero of the long tragedy of human folly and suffering which has unrolled itself before the readers of these volumes, and on which the curtain is now about to fall. he, too, for all the quaint garb he wears and the gravity with which he stalks across the stage, is merely a puppet, and it is time to unmask him before laying him up in the box. to drop metaphor, while nominally investigating a particular problem of ancient mythology, i have really been discussing questions of more general interest which concern the gradual evolution of human thought from savagery to civilization. the enquiry is beset with difficulties of many kinds, for the record of man's mental development is even more imperfect than the record of his physical development, and it is harder to read, not only by reason of the incomparably more subtle and complex nature of the subject, but because the reader's eyes are apt to be dimmed by thick mists of passion and prejudice, which cloud in a far less degree the fields of comparative anatomy and geology. my contribution to the history of the human mind consists of little more than a rough and purely provisional classification of facts gathered almost entirely from printed sources. if there is one general conclusion which seems to emerge from the mass of particulars, i venture to think that it is the essential similarity in the working of the less developed human mind among all races, which corresponds to the essential similarity in their bodily frame revealed by comparative anatomy. but while this general mental similarity may, i believe, be taken as established, we must always be on our guard against tracing to it a multitude of particular resemblances which may be and often are due to simple diffusion, since nothing is more certain than that the various races of men have borrowed from each other many of their arts and crafts, their ideas, customs, and institutions. to sift out the elements of culture which a race has independently evolved and to distinguish them accurately from those which it has derived from other races is a task of extreme difficulty and delicacy, which promises to occupy students of man for a long time to come; indeed so complex are the facts and so imperfect in most cases is the historical record that it may be doubted whether in regard to many of the lower races we shall ever arrive at more than probable conjectures. since the last edition of _the golden bough_ was published some thirteen years ago, i have seen reason to change my views on several matters discussed in this concluding part of the work, and though i have called attention to these changes in the text, it may be well for the sake of clearness to recapitulate them here. in the first place, the arguments of dr. edward westermarck have satisfied me that the solar theory of the european fire-festivals, which i accepted from w. mannhardt, is very slightly, if at all, supported by the evidence and is probably erroneous. the true explanation of the festivals i now believe to be the one advocated by dr. westermarck himself, namely that they are purificatory in intention, the fire being designed not, as i formerly held, to reinforce the sun's light and heat by sympathetic magic, but merely to burn or repel the noxious things, whether conceived as material or spiritual, which threaten the life of man, of animals, and of plants. this aspect of the fire-festivals had not wholly escaped me in former editions; i pointed it out explicitly, but, biassed perhaps by the great authority of mannhardt, i treated it as secondary and subordinate instead of primary and dominant. out of deference to mannhardt, for whose work i entertain the highest respect, and because the evidence for the purificatory theory of the fires is perhaps not quite conclusive, i have in this edition repeated and even reinforced the arguments for the solar theory of the festivals, so that the reader may see for himself what can be said on both sides of the question and may draw his own conclusion; but for my part i cannot but think that the arguments for the purificatory theory far outweigh the arguments for the solar theory. dr. westermarck based his criticisms largely on his own observations of the mohammedan fire-festivals of morocco, which present a remarkable resemblance to those of christian europe, though there seems no reason to assume that herein africa has borrowed from europe or europe from africa. so far as europe is concerned, the evidence tends strongly to shew that the grand evil which the festivals aimed at combating was witchcraft, and that they were conceived to attain their end by actually burning the witches, whether visible or invisible, in the flames. if that was so, the wide prevalence and the immense popularity of the fire-festivals provides us with a measure for estimating the extent of the hold which the belief in witchcraft had on the european mind before the rise of christianity or rather of rationalism; for christianity, both catholic and protestant, accepted the old belief and enforced it in the old way by the faggot and the stake. it was not until human reason at last awoke after the long slumber of the middle ages that this dreadful obsession gradually passed away like a dark cloud from the intellectual horizon of europe. yet we should deceive ourselves if we imagined that the belief in witchcraft is even now dead in the mass of the people; on the contrary there is ample evidence to show that it only hibernates under the chilling influence of rationalism, and that it would start into active life if that influence were ever seriously relaxed. the truth seems to be that to this day the peasant remains a pagan and savage at heart; his civilization is merely a thin veneer which the hard knocks of life soon abrade, exposing the solid core of paganism and savagery below. the danger created by a bottomless layer of ignorance and superstition under the crust of civilized society is lessened, not only by the natural torpidity and inertia of the bucolic mind, but also by the progressive decrease of the rural as compared with the urban population in modern states; for i believe it will be found that the artisans who congregate in towns are far less retentive of primitive modes of thought than their rustic brethren. in every age cities have been the centres and as it were the lighthouses from which ideas radiate into the surrounding darkness, kindled by the friction of mind with mind in the crowded haunts of men; and it is natural that at these beacons of intellectual light all should partake in some measure of the general illumination. no doubt the mental ferment and unrest of great cities have their dark as well as their bright side; but among the evils to be apprehended from them the chances of a pagan revival need hardly be reckoned. another point on which i have changed my mind is the nature of the great aryan god whom the romans called jupiter and the greeks zeus. whereas i formerly argued that he was primarily a personification of the sacred oak and only in the second place a personification of the thundering sky, i now invert the order of his divine functions and believe that he was a sky-god before he came to be associated with the oak. in fact, i revert to the traditional view of jupiter, recant my heresy, and am gathered like a lost sheep into the fold of mythological orthodoxy. the good shepherd who has brought me back is my friend mr. w. warde fowler. he has removed the stone over which i stumbled in the wilderness by explaining in a simple and natural way how a god of the thundering sky might easily come to be afterwards associated with the oak. the explanation turns on the great frequency with which, as statistics prove, the oak is struck by lightning beyond any other tree of the wood in europe. to our rude forefathers, who dwelt in the gloomy depths of the primaeval forest, it might well seem that the riven and blackened oaks must indeed be favourites of the sky-god, who so often descended on them from the murky cloud in a flash of lightning and a crash of thunder. this change of view as to the great aryan god necessarily affects my interpretation of the king of the wood, the priest of diana at aricia, if i may take that discarded puppet out of the box again for a moment. on my theory the priest represented jupiter in the flesh, and accordingly, if jupiter was primarily a sky-god, his priest cannot have been a mere incarnation of the sacred oak, but must, like the deity whose commission he bore, have been invested in the imagination of his worshippers with the power of overcasting the heaven with clouds and eliciting storms of thunder and rain from the celestial vault. the attribution of weather-making powers to kings or priests is very common in primitive society, and is indeed one of the principal levers by which such personages raise themselves to a position of superiority above their fellows. there is therefore no improbability in the supposition that as a representative of jupiter the priest of diana enjoyed this reputation, though positive evidence of it appears to be lacking. lastly, in the present edition i have shewn some grounds for thinking that the golden bough itself, or in common parlance the mistletoe on the oak, was supposed to have dropped from the sky upon the tree in a flash of lightning and therefore to contain within itself the seed of celestial fire, a sort of smouldering thunderbolt. this view of the priest and of the bough which he guarded at the peril of his life has the advantage of accounting for the importance which the sanctuary at nemi acquired and the treasure which it amassed through the offerings of the faithful; for the shrine would seem to have been to ancient what loreto has been to modern italy, a place of pilgrimage, where princes and nobles as well as commoners poured wealth into the coffers of diana in her green recess among the alban hills, just as in modern times kings and queens vied with each other in enriching the black virgin who from her holy house on the hillside at loreto looks out on the blue adriatic and the purple apennines. such pious prodigality becomes more intelligible if the greatest of the gods was indeed believed to dwell in human shape with his wife among the woods of nemi. these are the principal points on which i have altered my opinion since the last edition of my book was published. the mere admission of such changes may suffice to indicate the doubt and uncertainty which attend enquiries of this nature. the whole fabric of ancient mythology is so foreign to our modern ways of thought, and the evidence concerning it is for the most part so fragmentary, obscure, and conflicting that in our attempts to piece together and interpret it we can hardly hope to reach conclusions that will completely satisfy either ourselves or others. in this as in other branches of study it is the fate of theories to be washed away like children's castles of sand by the rising tide of knowledge, and i am not so presumptuous as to expect or desire for mine an exemption from the common lot. i hold them all very lightly and have used them chiefly as convenient pegs on which to hang my collections of facts. for i believe that, while theories are transitory, a record of facts has a permanent value, and that as a chronicle of ancient customs and beliefs my book may retain its utility when my theories are as obsolete as the customs and beliefs themselves deserve to be. i cannot dismiss without some natural regret a task which has occupied and amused me at intervals for many years. but the regret is tempered by thankfulness and hope. i am thankful that i have been able to conclude at least one chapter of the work i projected a long time ago. i am hopeful that i may not now be taking a final leave of my indulgent readers, but that, as i am sensible of little abatement in my bodily strength and of none in my ardour for study, they will bear with me yet a while if i should attempt to entertain them with fresh subjects of laughter and tears drawn from the comedy and the tragedy of man's endless quest after happiness and truth. j.g. frazer. cambridge, 17_th october_ 1913. contents preface, pp. v-xii chapter i.--between heaven and earth, pp. 1-21 § 1. _not to touch the earth_, pp. 1-18.--the priest of aricia and the golden bough, 1 _sq._; sacred kings and priests forbidden to touch the ground with their feet, 2-4; certain persons on certain occasions forbidden to touch the ground with their feet, 4-6; sacred persons apparently thought to be charged with a mysterious virtue which will run to waste or explode by contact with the ground, 6 _sq._; things as well as persons charged with the mysterious virtue of holiness or taboo and therefore kept from contact with the ground, 7; festival of the wild mango, which is not allowed to touch the earth, 7-11; other sacred objects kept from contact with the ground, 11 _sq._; sacred food not allowed to touch the earth, 13 _sq._; magical implements and remedies thought to lose their virtue by contact with the ground, 14 _sq._; serpents' eggs or snake stones, 15 _sq._; medicinal plants, water, etc., not allowed to touch the earth, 17 _sq._ § 2. _not to see the sun_, pp. 18-21.--sacred persons not allowed to see the sun, 18-20; tabooed persons not allowed to see the sun, 20; certain persons forbidden to see fire, 20 _sq._; the story of prince sunless, 21. chapter ii.--the seclusion of girls at puberty, pp. 22-100 § 1. _seclusion of girls at puberty in africa_, pp. 22-32.--girls at puberty forbidden to touch the ground and see the sun, 22; seclusion of girls at puberty among the zulus and kindred tribes, 22; among the a-kamba of british east africa, 23; among the baganda of central africa, 23 _sq._; among the tribes of the tanganyika plateau, 24 _sq._; among the tribes of british central africa, 25 _sq._; abstinence from salt associated with a rule of chastity in many tribes, 26-28; seclusion of girls at puberty among the tribes about lake nyassa and on the zambesi, 28 _sq._; among the thonga of delagoa bay, 29 _sq._; among the caffre tribes of south africa, 30 _sq._; among the bavili of the lower congo, 31 _sq._ § 2. _seclusion of girls at puberty in new ireland, new guinea, and indonesia_, pp. 32-36.--seclusion of girls at puberty in new ireland, 32-34; in new guinea, borneo, ceram, and the caroline islands, 35 _sq._ § 3. _seclusion of girls at puberty in the torres straits islands and northern australia_, pp. 36-41.--seclusion of girls at puberty in mabuiag, torres straits, 36 _sq._; in northern australia, 37-39; in the islands of torres straits, 39-41. § 4. _seclusion of girls at puberty among the indians of north america_, pp. 41-55.--seclusion of girls at puberty among the indians of california, 41-43; among the indians of washington state, 43; among the nootka indians of vancouver island, 43 _sq._; among the haida indians of the queen charlotte islands, 44 _sq._; among the tlingit indians of alaska, 45 _sq._; among the tsetsaut and bella coola indians of british columbia, 46 _sq._; among the tinneh indians of british columbia, 47 _sq._; among the tinneh indians of alaska, 48 _sq._; among the thompson indians of british columbia, 49-52; among the lillooet indians of british columbia, 52 _sq._; among the shuswap indians of british columbia, 53 _sq._; among the delaware and cheyenne indians, 54 _sq._; among the esquimaux, 55 _sq._ § 5. _seclusion of girls at puberty among the indians of south america_, pp. 56-68.--seclusion of girls at puberty among the guaranis, chiriguanos, and lengua indians, 56 _sq._; among the yuracares of bolivia, 57 _sq._; among the indians of the gran chaco, 58 _sq._; among the indians of brazil, 59 _sq._; among the indians of guiana, 60 _sq._; beating the girls and stinging them with ants, 61; stinging young men with ants and wasps as an initiatory rite, 61-63; stinging men and women with ants to improve their character or health or to render them invulnerable, 63 _sq._; in such cases the beating or stinging was originally a purification, not a test of courage and endurance, 65 _sq._; this explanation confirmed by the beating of girls among the banivas of the orinoco to rid them of a demon, 66-68; symptoms of puberty in a girl regarded as wounds inflicted on her by a demon, 68. § 6. _seclusion of girls at puberty in india and cambodia_, pp. 68-70.--seclusion of girls at puberty among the hindoos, 68; in southern india, 68-70; in cambodia, 70. § 7. _seclusion of girls at puberty in folk-tales_, pp. 70-76.--danish story of the girl who might not see the sun, 70-72; tyrolese story of the girl who might not see the sun, 72; modern greek stories of the maid who might not see the sun, 72 _sq._; ancient greek story of danae and its parallel in a kirghiz legend, 73 _sq._; impregnation of women by the sun in legends, 74 _sq._; traces in marriage customs of the belief that women can be impregnated by the sun, 75; belief in the impregnation of women by the moon, 75 _sq._ § 8. _reasons for the seclusion of girls at puberty_, pp. 76-100.--the reason for the seclusion of girls at puberty is the dread of menstruous blood, 76; dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the aborigines of australia, 76-78; in torres straits islands, new guinea, galela, and sumatra, 78 _sq._; among the tribes of south africa, 79 _sq._; among the tribes of central and east africa, 80-82; among the tribes of west africa, 82; powerful influence ascribed to menstruous blood in arab legend, 82 _sq._; dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the jews and in syria, 83 _sq._; in india, 84 _sq._; in annam, 85; among the indians of central and south america, 85 _sq._; among the indians of north america, 87-94; among the creek, choctaw, omaha and cheyenne indians, 88 _sq._; among the indians of british columbia, 89 _sq._; among the chippeway indians, 90 _sq._; among the tinneh or déné indians, 91; among the carrier indians, 91-94; similar rules of seclusion enjoined on menstruous women in ancient hindoo, persian, and hebrew codes, 94-96; superstitions as to menstruous women in ancient and modern europe, 96 _sq._; the intention of secluding menstruous women is to neutralize the dangerous influences which are thought to emanate from them in that condition, 97; suspension between heaven and earth, 97; the same explanation applies to the similar rules of seclusion observed by divine kings and priests, 97-99; stories of immortality attained by suspension between heaven and earth, 99 _sq._ chapter iii.--the myth of balder, pp. 101-105 how balder, the good and beautiful god, was done to death by a stroke of mistletoe, 101 _sq._; story of balder in the older _edda_, 102 _sq._; story of balder as told by saxo grammaticus, 103; balder worshipped in norway, 104; legendary death of balder resembles the legendary death of isfendiyar in the epic of firdusi, 104 _sq._; the myth of balder perhaps acted as a magical ceremony; the two main incidents of the myth, namely the pulling of the mistletoe and the burning of the god, have perhaps their counterpart in popular ritual, 105. chapter iv.--the fire festivals of europe, pp. 106-327 § 1. _the lenten fires_, pp. 106-120.--european custom of kindling bonfires on certain days of the year, dancing round them, leaping over them, and burning effigies in the flames, 106; seasons of the year at which the bonfires are lit, 106 _sq._; bonfires on the first sunday in lent in the belgian ardennes, 107 _sq._; in the french department of the ardennes, 109 _sq._; in franche-comté, 110 _sq._; in auvergne, 111-113; french custom of carrying lighted torches (_brandons_) about the orchards and fields to fertilize them on the first sunday of lent, 113-115; bonfires on the first sunday of lent in germany and austria, 115 _sq._; "burning the witch," 116; burning discs thrown into the air, 116 _sq._; burning wheels rolled down hill, 117 _sq._; bonfires on the first sunday in lent in switzerland, 118 _sq._; burning discs thrown into the air, 119; connexion of these fires with the custom of "carrying out death," 119 _sq._ § 2. _the easter fires_, 120-146.--custom in catholic countries of kindling a holy new fire on easter saturday, marvellous properties ascribed to the embers of the fire, 121; effigy of judas burnt in the fire, 121; easter fires in bavaria and the abruzzi, 122; water as well as fire consecrated at easter in italy, bohemia, and germany, 122-124; new fire at easter in carinthia, 124; thomas kirchmeyer's account of the consecration of fire and water by the catholic church at easter, 124 _sq._; the new fire on easter saturday at florence, 126 _sq._; the new fire and the burning of judas on easter saturday in mexico and south america, 127 _sq._; the new fire on easter saturday in the church of the holy sepulchre at jerusalem, 128-130; the new fire and the burning of judas on easter saturday in greece, 130 _sq._; the new fire at candlemas in armenia, 131; the new fire and the burning of judas at easter are probably relics of paganism, 131 _sq._; new fire at the summer solstice among the incas of peru, 132; new fire among the indians of mexico and new mexico, the iroquois, and the esquimaux, 132-134; new fire in wadai, among the swahili, and in other parts of africa, 134-136; new fires among the todas and nagas of india, 136; new fire in china and japan, 137 _sq._; new fire in ancient greece and rome, 138; new fire at hallowe'en among the old celts of ireland, 139; new fire on the first of september among the russian peasants, 139; the rite of the new fire probably common to many peoples of the mediterranean area before the rise of christianity, 139 _sq._; the pagan character of the easter fire manifest from the superstitions associated with it, such as the belief that the fire fertilizes the fields and protects houses from conflagration and sickness, 140 _sq._; the easter fires in münsterland, oldenburg, the harz mountains, and the altmark, 141-143; easter fires and the burning of judas or the easter man in bavaria, 143 _sq._; easter fires and "thunder poles" in baden, 145; easter fires in holland and sweden, 145 _sq._; the burning of judas in bohemia, 146. § 3. _the beltane fires_, pp. 146-160.--the beltane fires on the first of may in the highlands of scotland, 146-154; john ramsay of ochtertyre, his description of the beltane fires and cakes and the beltane carline, 146-149; beltane fires and cakes in perthshire, 150-153; beltane fires in the north-east of scotland to burn the witches, 153 _sq._; beltane fires and cakes in the hebrides, 154; beltane fires and cakes in wales, 155-157; in the isle of man to burn the witches, 157; in nottinghamshire, 157; in ireland, 157-159; fires on the eve of may day in sweden, 159; in austria and saxony to burn the witches, 159 _sq._ § 4. _the midsummer fires_, pp. 160-219.--the great season for fire-festivals in europe is midsummer eve or midsummer day, which the church has dedicated to st. john the baptist, 160 _sq._; the bonfires, the torches, and the burning wheels of the festival, 161; thomas kirchmeyer's description of the midsummer festival, 162 _sq._; the midsummer fires in germany, 163-171; burning wheel rolled down hill at konz on the moselle, 163 _sq._; midsummer fires in bavaria, 164-166; in swabia, 166 _sq._; in baden, 167-169; in alsace, lorraine, the eifel, the harz district, and thuringia, 169; midsummer fires kindled by the friction of wood, 169 _sq._; driving away the witches and demons, 170; midsummer fires in silesia, scaring away the witches, 170 _sq._; midsummer fires in denmark and norway, keeping off the witches, 171; midsummer fires in sweden, 172; midsummer fires in switzerland and austria, 172 _sq._; in bohemia, 173-175; in moravia, austrian silesia, and the district of cracow, 175; among the slavs of russia, 176; in prussia and lithuania as a protection against witchcraft, thunder, hail, and cattle disease, 176 _sq._; in masuren the fire is kindled by the revolution of a wheel, 177; midsummer fires among the letts of russia, 177 _sq._; among the south slavs, 178; among the magyars, 178 _sq._; among the esthonians, 179 _sq._; among the finns and cheremiss of russia, 180 _sq._; in france, 181-194; bossuet on the midsummer festival, 182; the midsummer fires in brittany, 183-185; in normandy, the brotherhood of the green wolf at jumièges, 185 _sq._; midsummer fires in picardy, 187 _sq._; in beauce and perche, 188; the fires a protection against witchcraft, 188; the midsummer fires in the ardennes, the vosges, and the jura, 188 _sq._; in franche-comté, 189; in berry and other parts of central france, 189 _sq._; in poitou, 190 _sq._; in the departments of vienne and deux-sèvres and in the provinces of saintonge and aunis, 191 _sq._; in southern france, 192 _sq._; midsummer festival of fire and water in provence, 193 _sq._; midsummer fires in belgium, 194-196; in england, 196-200; stow's description of the midsummer fires in london, 196 _sq._; john aubrey on the midsummer fires, 197; midsummer fires in cumberland, northumberland, and yorkshire, 197 _sq._; in herefordshire, somersetshire, devonshire, and cornwall, 199 _sq._; in wales and the isle of man, 200 _sq._; in ireland, 201-205; holy wells resorted to on midsummer eve in ireland, 205 _sq._; midsummer fires in scotland, 206 _sq._; midsummer fires and divination in spain and the azores, 208 _sq._; midsummer fires in corsica and sardinia, 209; in the abruzzi, 209 _sq._; in sicily, 210; in malta, 210 _sq._; in greece and the greek islands, 211 _sq._; in macedonia and albania, 212; in south america, 212 _sq._; among the mohammedans of morocco and algeria, 213-216; the midsummer festival in north africa comprises rites of water as well as fire, 216; similar festival of fire and water at new year in north africa, 217 _sq._; the duplication of the festival probably due to a conflict between the solar calendar of the romans and the lunar calendar of the arabs, 218 _sg._; the midsummer festival in morocco apparently of berber origin, 219. § 5. _the autumn fires_, pp. 220-222.--festivals of fire in august, 220; "living fire" made by the friction of wood, 220; feast of the nativity of the virgin on the eighth of september at capri and naples, 220-222. § 6. _the halloween fires_, pp. 222-246.--while the midsummer festival implies observation of the solstices, the celts appear to have divided their year, without regard to the solstices, by the times when they drove their cattle to and from the summer pasture on the first of may and the last of october (hallowe'en), 222-224; the two great celtic festivals of beltane (may day) and hallowe'en (the last of october), 224; hallowe'en seems to have marked the beginning of the celtic year, 224 _sq._; it was a season of divination and a festival of the dead, 225 _sq._; fairies and hobgoblins let loose at hallowe'en, 226-228; divination in celtic countries at hallowe'en, 228 _sq._; hallowe'en bonfires in the highlands of scotland, 229-232; hallowe'en fires in buchan to burn the witches, 232 _sq._; processions with torches at hallowe'en in the braemar highlands, 233 _sq._; divination at hallowe'en in the highlands and lowlands of scotland, 234-239; hallowe'en fires in wales, omens drawn from stones cast into the fires, 239 _sq._; divination at hallowe'en in wales, 240 _sq._; divination at hallowe'en in ireland, 241-243; hallowe'en fires and divination in the isle of man, 243 _sq._; hallowe'en fires and divination in lancashire, 244 _sq._; marching with lighted candles to keep off the witches, 245; divination at hallowe'en in northumberland, 245; hallowe'en fires in france, 245 _sq._ § 7. _the midwinter fires_, pp. 246-269.--christmas the continuation of an old heathen festival of the sun, 246; the yule log the midwinter counterpart of the midsummer bonfire, 247; the yule log in germany, 247-249; in switzerland, 249; in belgium, 249; in france, 249-255; french superstitions as to the yule log, 250; the yule log at marseilles and in perigord, 250 _sq._; in berry, 251 _sq._; in normandy and brittany, 252 _sq._; in the ardennes, 253 _sq._; in the vosges, 254; in franche-comté, 254 _sq._; the yule log and yule candle in england, 255-258; the yule log in the north of england and yorkshire, 256 _sq._; in lincolnshire, warwickshire, shropshire, and herefordshire, 257 _sq._; in wales, 258; in servia, 258-262; among the servians of slavonia, 262 _sq._; among the servians of dalmatia, herzegovina, and montenegro, 263 _sq._; in albania, 264; belief that the yule log protects against fire and lightning, 264 _sq._; public fire-festivals at midwinter, 265-269; christmas bonfire at schweina in thuringia, 265 _sq._; christmas bonfires in normandy, 266; bonfires on st. thomas's day in the isle of man, 266; the "burning of the clavie" at burghead on the last day of december, 266-268; christmas procession with burning tar-barrels at lerwick, 268 _sq._ § 8. _the need-fire_, pp. 269-300.--need-fire kindled not at fixed periods but on occasions of distress and calamity, 269; the need-fire in the middle ages and down to the end of the sixteenth century, 270 _sq._; mode of kindling the need-fire by the friction of wood, 271 _sq_.; the need-fire in central germany, particularly about hildesheim, 272 _sq._; the need-fire in the mark, 273; in mecklenburg, 274 _sq._; in hanover, 275 _sq._; in the harz mountains, 276 _sq._; in brunswick, 277 _sq._; in silesia and bohemia, 278 _sq._; in switzerland, 279 _sq._; in sweden and norway, 280; among the slavonic peoples, 281-286; in russia and poland, 281 _sq._; in slavonia, 282; in servia, 282-284; in bulgaria, 284-286; in bosnia and herzegovina, 286; in england, 286-289; in yorkshire, 286-288; in northumberland, 288 _sq._; in scotland, 289-297; martin's account of it in the highlands, 289; the need-fire in mull, 289 _sq._; in caithness, 290-292; w. grant stewart's account of the need-fire, 292 _sq._; alexander carmichael's account, 293-295; the need-fire in aberdeenshire, 296; in perthshire, 296 _sq._; in ireland, 297; the use of need-fire a relic of the time when all fires were similarly kindled by the friction of wood, 297 _sq._; the belief that need-fire cannot kindle if any other fire remains alight in the neighbourhood, 298 _sq._; the need-fire among the iroquois of north america, 299 _sq._ § 9. _the sacrifice of an animal to stay a cattle-plague_, pp. 300-327.--the burnt sacrifice of a calf in england and wales, 300 _sq._; burnt sacrifices of animals in scotland, 301 _sq._; calf burnt in order to break a spell which has been cast on the herd, 302 _sq._; mode in which the burning of a bewitched animal is supposed to break the spell, 303-305; in burning the bewitched animal you burn the witch herself, 305; practice of burning cattle and sheep as sacrifices in the isle of man, 305-307; by burning a bewitched animal you compel the witch to appear, 307; magic sympathy between the witch and the bewitched animal, 308; similar sympathy between a were-wolf and his or her human shape, wounds inflicted on the animal are felt by the man or woman, 308; were-wolves in europe, 308-310; in china, 310 _sq._; among the toradjas of central celebes, 311-313 _sq._; in the egyptian sudan, 313 _sq._; the were-wolf story in petronius, 313 _sq._; witches like were-wolves can temporarily transform themselves into animals, and wounds inflicted on the transformed animals appear on the persons of the witches, 315 _sq._; instances of such transformations and wounds in scotland, england, ireland, france, and germany, 316-321; hence the reason for burning bewitched animals is either to burn the witch herself or at all events to compel her to appear, 321 _sq._; the like reason for burning bewitched things, 322 _sq._; similarly by burning alive a person whose likeness a witch has assumed you compel the witch to disclose herself, 323; woman burnt alive as a witch in ireland at the end of the nineteenth century, 323 _sq._; bewitched animals sometimes buried alive instead of being burned, 324-326; calves killed and buried to save the rest of the herd, 326 _sq_. chapter v.--the interpretation of the fire-festivals, pp. 328-346 § 1. _on the fire-festivals in general_ pp. 328-331.--general resemblance of the fire-festivals to each other, 328 _sq._; two explanations of the festivals suggested, one by w. mannhardt that they are sun-charms, the other by dr. e. westermarck that they are purificatory, 329 _sq._; the two explanations perhaps not mutually exclusive, 330 _sq._ § 2. _the solar theory of the fire-festivals_, pp. 331-341.--theory that the fire-festivals are charms to ensure a supply of sunshine, 331; coincidence of two of the festivals with the solstices, 331 _sq._; attempt of the bushmen to warm up the fire of sirius in midwinter by kindling sticks, 332 _sq._; the burning wheels and discs of the fire-festivals may be direct imitations of the sun, 334; the wheel which is sometimes used to kindle the fire by friction may also be an imitation of the sun, 334-336; the influence which the bonfires are supposed to exert on the weather and vegetation may be thought to be due to an increase of solar heat produced by the fires, 336-338; the effect which the bonfires are supposed to have in fertilizing cattle and women may also be attributed to an increase of solar heat produced by the fires, 338 _sq._; the carrying of lighted torches about the country at the festivals may be explained as an attempt to diffuse the sun's heat, 339-341. § 3. _the purificatory theory of the fire-festivals_, pp. 341-346.--theory that the fires at the festivals are purificatory, being intended to burn up all harmful things, 341; the purificatory or destructive effect of the fires is often alleged by the people who light them, and there is no reason to reject this explanation, 341 _sq._; the great evil against which the fire at the festivals appears to be directed is witchcraft, 342; among the evils for which the fire-festivals are deemed remedies the foremost is cattle-disease, and cattle-disease is often supposed to be an effect of witchcraft, 343 _sq._; again, the bonfires are thought to avert hail, thunder, lightning, and various maladies, all of which are attributed to the maleficent arts of witches, 344 _sq._; the burning wheels rolled down hill and the burning discs thrown into the air may be intended to burn the invisible witches, 345 _sq._; on this view the fertility supposed to follow the use of fire results indirectly from breaking the spells of witches, 346; on the whole the theory of the purificatory or destructive intention of the fire-festivals seems the more probable, 346. [transcriber's note: the brief descriptions often found enclosed in square brackets are "sidenotes", which appeared in the original book in the margins of the paragraph following the "sidenote." footnotes were originally at the bottoms of the printed pages.] chapter i between heaven and earth § 1. _not to touch the earth_ [the priest of aricia and the golden bough] we have travelled far since we turned our backs on nemi and set forth in quest of the secret of the golden bough. with the present volume we enter on the last stage of our long journey. the reader who has had the patience to follow the enquiry thus far may remember that at the outset two questions were proposed for answer: why had the priest of aricia to slay his predecessor? and why, before doing so, had he to pluck the golden bough?[1] of these two questions the first has now been answered. the priest of aricia, if i am right, was one of those sacred kings or human divinities on whose life the welfare of the community and even the course of nature in general are believed to be intimately dependent. it does not appear that the subjects or worshippers of such a spiritual potentate form to themselves any very clear notion of the exact relationship in which they stand to him; probably their ideas on the point are vague and fluctuating, and we should err if we attempted to define the relationship with logical precision. all that the people know, or rather imagine, is that somehow they themselves, their cattle, and their crops are mysteriously bound up with their divine king, so that according as he is well or ill the community is healthy or sickly, the flocks and herds thrive or languish with disease, and the fields yield an abundant or a scanty harvest. the worst evil which they can conceive of is the natural death of their ruler, whether he succumb to sickness or old age, for in the opinion of his followers such a death would entail the most disastrous consequences on themselves and their possessions; fatal epidemics would sweep away man and beast, the earth would refuse her increase, nay the very frame of nature itself might be dissolved. to guard against these catastrophes it is necessary to put the king to death while he is still in the full bloom of his divine manhood, in order that his sacred life, transmitted in unabated force to his successor, may renew its youth, and thus by successive transmissions through a perpetual line of vigorous incarnations may remain eternally fresh and young, a pledge and security that men and animals shall in like manner renew their youth by a perpetual succession of generations, and that seedtime and harvest, and summer and winter, and rain and sunshine shall never fail. that, if my conjecture is right, was why the priest of aricia, the king of the wood at nemi, had regularly to perish by the sword of his successor. [what was the golden bough?] but we have still to ask, what was the golden bough? and why had each candidate for the arician priesthood to pluck it before he could slay the priest? these questions i will now try to answer. [sacred kings and priests forbidden to touch the ground with their feet.] it will be well to begin by noticing two of those rules or taboos by which, as we have seen, the life of divine kings or priests is regulated. the first of the rules to which i desire to call the reader's attention is that the divine personage may not touch the ground with his foot. this rule was observed by the supreme pontiff of the zapotecs in mexico; he profaned his sanctity if he so much as touched the ground with his foot.[2] montezuma, emperor of mexico, never set foot on the ground; he was always carried on the shoulders of noblemen, and if he lighted anywhere they laid rich tapestry for him to walk upon.[3] for the mikado of japan to touch the ground with his foot was a shameful degradation; indeed, in the sixteenth century, it was enough to deprive him of his office. outside his palace he was carried on men's shoulders; within it he walked on exquisitely wrought mats.[4] the king and queen of tahiti might not touch the ground anywhere but within their hereditary domains; for the ground on which they trod became sacred. in travelling from place to place they were carried on the shoulders of sacred men. they were always accompanied by several pairs of these sanctified attendants; and when it became necessary to change their bearers, the king and queen vaulted on to the shoulders of their new bearers without letting their feet touch the ground.[5] it was an evil omen if the king of dosuma touched the ground, and he had to perform an expiatory ceremony.[6] within his palace the king of persia walked on carpets on which no one else might tread; outside of it he was never seen on foot but only in a chariot or on horseback.[7] in old days the king of siam never set foot upon the earth, but was carried on a throne of gold from place to place.[8] formerly neither the kings of uganda, nor their mothers, nor their queens might walk on foot outside of the spacious enclosures in which they lived. whenever they went forth they were carried on the shoulders of men of the buffalo clan, several of whom accompanied any of these royal personages on a journey and took it in turn to bear the burden. the king sat astride the bearer's neck with a leg over each shoulder and his feet tucked under the bearer's arms. when one of these royal carriers grew tired he shot the king on to the shoulders of a second man without allowing the royal feet to touch the ground. in this way they went at a great pace and travelled long distances in a day, when the king was on a journey. the bearers had a special hut in the king's enclosure in order to be at hand the moment they were wanted.[9] among the bakuba or rather bushongo, a nation in the southern region of the congo, down to a few years ago persons of the royal blood were forbidden to touch the ground; they must sit on a hide, a chair, or the back of a slave, who crouched on hands and feet; their feet rested on the feet of others. when they travelled they were carried on the backs of men; but the king journeyed in a litter supported on shafts.[10] among the ibo people about awka, in southern nigeria, the priest of the earth has to observe many taboos; for example, he may not see a corpse, and if he meets one on the road he must hide his eyes with his wristlet. he must abstain from many foods, such as eggs, birds of all sorts, mutton, dog, bush-buck, and so forth. he may neither wear nor touch a mask, and no masked man may enter his house. if a dog enters his house, it is killed and thrown out. as priest of the earth he may not sit on the bare ground, nor eat things that have fallen on the ground, nor may earth be thrown at him.[11] according to ancient brahmanic ritual a king at his inauguration trod on a tiger's skin and a golden plate; he was shod with shoes of boar's skin, and so long as he lived thereafter he might not stand on the earth with his bare feet.[12] [certain persons on certain occasions forbidden to touch the ground with their feet.] but besides persons who are permanently sacred or tabooed and are therefore permanently forbidden to touch the ground with their feet, there are others who enjoy the character of sanctity or taboo only on certain occasions, and to whom accordingly the prohibition in question only applies at the definite seasons during which they exhale the odour of sanctity. thus among the kayans or bahaus of central borneo, while the priestesses are engaged in the performance of certain rites they may not step on the ground, and boards are laid for them to tread on.[13] at a funeral ceremony observed by night among the michemis, a tibetan tribe near the northern frontier of assam, a priest fantastically bedecked with tiger's teeth, many-coloured plumes, bells, and shells, executed a wild dance for the purpose of exorcising the evil spirits; then all fires were extinguished and a new light was struck by a man suspended by his feet from a beam in the ceiling; "he did not touch the ground," we are told, "in order to indicate that the light came from heaven."[14] again, newly born infants are strongly tabooed; accordingly in loango they are not allowed to touch the earth.[15] among the iluvans of malabar the bridegroom on his wedding-day is bathed by seven young men and then carried or walks on planks from the bathing-place to the marriage booth; he may not touch the ground with his feet.[16] with the dyaks of landak and tajan, two districts of dutch borneo, it is a custom that for a certain time after marriage neither bride nor bridegroom may tread on the earth.[17] warriors, again, on the war-path are surrounded, so to say, by an atmosphere of taboo; hence some indians of north america might not sit on the bare ground the whole time they were out on a warlike expedition.[18] in laos the hunting of elephants gives rise to many taboos; one of them is that the chief hunter may not touch the earth with his foot. accordingly, when he alights from his elephant, the others spread a carpet of leaves for him to step upon.[19] german wiseacres recommended that when witches were led to the block or the stake, they should not be allowed to touch the bare earth, and a reason suggested for the rule was that if they touched the earth they might make themselves invisible and so escape. the sagacious author of _the striped-petticoat philosophy_ in the eighteenth century ridicules the idea as mere silly talk. he admits, indeed, that the women were conveyed to the place of execution in carts; but he denies that there is any deep significance in the cart, and he is prepared to maintain this view by a chemical analysis of the timber of which the cart was built. to clinch his argument he appeals to plain matter of fact and his own personal experience. not a single instance, he assures us with apparent satisfaction, can be produced of a witch who escaped the axe or the fire in this fashion. "i have myself," says he, "in my youth seen divers witches burned, some at arnstadt, some at ilmenau, some at schwenda, a noble village between arnstadt and ilmenau, and some of them were pardoned and beheaded before being burned. they were laid on the earth in the place of execution and beheaded like any other poor sinner; whereas if they could have escaped by touching the earth, not one of them would have failed to do so."[20] [sacred or tabooed persons apparently thought to be charged with a mysterious virtue like a fluid, which will run to waste or explode if it touches the ground.] apparently holiness, magical virtue, taboo, or whatever we may call that mysterious quality which is supposed to pervade sacred or tabooed persons, is conceived by the primitive philosopher as a physical substance or fluid, with which the sacred man is charged just as a leyden jar is charged with electricity; and exactly as the electricity in the jar can be discharged by contact with a good conductor, so the holiness or magical virtue in the man can be discharged and drained away by contact with the earth, which on this theory serves as an excellent conductor for the magical fluid. hence in order to preserve the charge from running to waste, the sacred or tabooed personage must be carefully prevented from touching the ground; in electrical language he must be insulated, if he is not to be emptied of the precious substance or fluid with which he, as a vial, is filled to the brim. and in many cases apparently the insulation of the tabooed person is recommended as a precaution not merely for his own sake but for the sake of others; for since the virtue of holiness or taboo is, so to say, a powerful explosive which the smallest touch may detonate, it is necessary in the interest of the general safety to keep it within narrow bounds, lest breaking out it should blast, blight, and destroy whatever it comes into contact with. [things as well as persons can be charged with the mysterious quality of holiness or taboo; and when so charged they must be kept from contact with the ground.] but things as well as persons are often charged with the mysterious quality of holiness or taboo; hence it frequently becomes necessary for similar reasons to guard them also from coming into contact with the ground, lest they should in like manner be drained of their valuable properties and be reduced to mere commonplace material objects, empty husks from which the good grain has been eliminated. thus, for example, the most sacred object of the arunta tribe in central australia is, or rather used to be, a pole about twenty feet high, which is completely smeared with human blood, crowned with an imitation of a human head, and set up on the ground where the final initiatory ceremonies of young men are performed. a young gum-tree is chosen to form the pole, and it must be cut down and transported in such a way that it does not touch the earth till it is erected in its place on the holy ground. apparently the pole represents some famous ancestor of the olden time.[21] [festival of the wild manog tree in british new guinea.] again, at a great dancing festival celebrated by the natives of bartle bay, in british new guinea, a wild mango tree plays a prominent part. the tree must be self-sown, that is, really wild and so young that it has never flowered. it is chosen in the jungle some five or six weeks before the festival, and a circle is cleared round its trunk. from that time the master of the ceremonies and some eight to twenty other men, who have aided him in choosing the tree and in clearing the jungle, become strictly holy or tabooed. they sleep by themselves in a house into which no one else may intrude: they may not wash or drink water, nor even allow it accidentally to touch their bodies: they are forbidden to eat boiled food and the fruit of mango trees: they may drink only the milk of a young coco-nut which has been baked, and they may eat certain fruits and vegetables, such as paw-paws (_carica papaya_) and sugar-cane, but only on condition that they have been baked. all refuse of their food is kept in baskets in their sleeping-house and may not be removed from it till the festival is over. at the time when the men begin to observe these rules of abstinence, some six to ten women, members of the same clan as the master of the ceremonies, enter on a like period of mortification, avoiding the company of the other sex, and refraining from water, all boiled food, and the fruit of the mango tree. these fasting men and women are the principal dancers at the festival. the dancing takes place on a special platform in a temporary village which has been erected for the purpose. when the platform is about to be set up, the fasting men rub the stepping posts and then suck their hands for the purpose of extracting the ghost of any dead man that might chance to be in the post and might be injured by the weight of the platform pressing down on him. having carefully extracted these poor souls, the men carry them away tenderly and set them free in the forest or the long grass. [the wild mango tree not allowed to touch the ground.] on the day before the festival one of the fasting men cuts down the chosen mango tree in the jungle with a stone adze, which is never afterwards put to any other use; an iron tool may not be used for the purpose, though iron tools are now common enough in the district. in cutting down the mango they place nets on the ground to catch any leaves or twigs that might fall from the tree as it is being felled and they surround the trunk with new mats to receive the chips which fly out under the adze of the woodman; for the chips may not drop on the earth. once the tree is down, it is carried to the centre of the temporary village, the greatest care being taken to prevent it from coming into contact with the ground. but when it is brought into the village, the houses are connected with the top of the mango by means of long vines decorated with the streamers. in the afternoon the fasting men and women begin to dance, the men bedizened with gay feathers, armlets, streamers, and anklets, the women flaunting in parti-coloured petticoats and sprigs of croton leaves, which wave from their waistbands as they dance. the dancing stops at sundown, and when the full moon rises over the shoulder of the eastern hill (for the date of the festival seems to be determined with reference to the time of the moon), two chiefs mount the gables of two houses on the eastern side of the square, and, their dusky figures standing sharply out against the moonlight, pray to the evil spirits to go away and not to hurt the people. next morning pigs are killed by being speared as slowly as possible in order that they may squeal loud and long; for the people believe that the mango trees hear the squealing, and are pleased at the sound, and bear plenty of fruit, whereas if they heard no squeals they would bear no fruit. however, the trees have to content themselves with the squeals; the flesh of the pigs is eaten by the people. this ends the festival. [final disposition of the wild mango tree.] next day the mango is taken down from the platform, wrapt in new mats, and carried by the fasting men to their sleeping house, where it is hung from the roof. but after an interval, it may be of many months, the tree is brought forth again. as to the reason for its reappearance in public opinions are divided; but some say that the tree itself orders the master of the ceremonies to bring it forth, appearing to him in his dreams and saying, "let me smell the smoking fat of pigs. so will your pigs be healthy and your crops will grow." be that as it may, out it comes, conducted by the fasting men in their dancing costume; and with it come in the solemn procession all the pots, spoons, cups and so forth used by the fasting men during their period of holiness or taboo, also all the refuse of their food which has been collected for months, and all the fallen leaves and chips of the mango in their bundles of mats. these holy relics are carried in front and the mango tree itself brings up the rear of the procession. while these sacred objects are being handed out of the house, the men who are present rush up, wipe off the hallowed dust which has accumulated on them, and smear it over their own bodies, no doubt in order to steep themselves in their blessed influence. thus the tree is carried as before to the centre of the temporary village, care being again taken not to let it touch the ground. then one of the fasting men takes from a basket a number of young green mangoes, cuts them in pieces, and places them with his own hands in the mouths of his fellows, the other fasting men, who chew the pieces small and turning round spit the morsels in the direction of the setting sun, in order that "the sun should carry the mango bits over the whole country and everyone should know." a portion of the mango tree is then broken off and in the evening it is burnt along with the bundles of leaves, chips, and refuse of food, which have been stored up. what remains of the tree is taken to the house of the master of the ceremonies and hung over the fire-place; it will be brought out again at intervals and burned bit by bit, till all is consumed, whereupon a new mango will be cut down and treated in like manner. the ashes of the holy fire on each occasion are gathered by the people and preserved in the house of the master of the ceremonies.[22] [the ceremony apparently intended to fertilize the mango trees.] the meaning of these ceremonies is not explained by the authorities who describe them; but we may conjecture that they are intended to fertilize the mango trees and cause them to bear a good crop of fruit. the central feature of the whole ritual is a wild mango tree, so young that it has never flowered: the men who cut it down, carry it into the village, and dance at the festival, are forbidden to eat mangoes: pigs are killed in order that their dying squeals may move the mango trees to bear fruit: at the end of the ceremonies pieces of young green mangoes are solemnly placed in the mouths of the fasting men and are by them spurted out towards the setting sun in order that the luminary may carry the fragments to every part of the country; and finally when after a longer or shorter interval the tree is wholly consumed, its place is supplied by another. all these circumstances are explained simply and naturally by the supposition that the young mango tree is taken as a representative of mangoes generally, that the dances are intended to quicken it, and that it is preserved, like a may-pole of old in england, as a sort of general fund of vegetable life, till the fund being exhausted by the destruction of the tree it is renewed by the importation of a fresh young tree from the forest. we can therefore understand why, as a storehouse of vital energy, the tree should be carefully kept from contact with the ground, lest the pent-up and concentrated energy should escape and dribbling away into the earth be dissipated to no purpose. [sacred objects of various sorts not allowed to touch the ground.] to take other instances of what we may call the conservation of energy in magic or religion by insulating sacred bodies from the ground, the natives of new britain have a secret society called the duk-duk, the members of which masquerade in petticoats of leaves and tall headdresses of wickerwork shaped like candle extinguishers, which descend to the shoulders of the wearers, completely concealing their faces. thus disguised they dance about to the awe and terror, real or assumed, of the women and uninitiated, who take, or pretend to take, them for spirits. when lads are being initiated into the secrets of this august society, the adepts cut down some very large and heavy bamboos, one for each lad, and the novices carry them, carefully wrapt up in leaves, to the sacred ground, where they arrive very tired and weary, for they may not let the bamboos touch the ground nor the sun shine on them. outside the fence of the enclosure every lad deposits his bamboo on a couple of forked sticks and covers it up with nut leaves.[23] among the carrier indians of north-western america, who burned their dead, the ashes of a chief used to be placed in a box and set on the top of a pole beside his hut: the box was never allowed to touch the ground.[24] in the omaha tribe of north american indians the sacred clam shell of the elk clan was wrapt up from sight in a mat, placed on a stand, and never suffered to come in contact with the earth.[25] the cherokees and kindred indian tribes of the united states used to have certain sacred boxes or arks, which they regularly took with them to war. such a holy ark consisted of a square wooden box, which contained "certain consecrated vessels made by beloved superannuated women, and of such various antiquated forms, as would have puzzled adam to have given significant names to each." the leader of a war party and his attendant bore the ark by turns, but they never set it on the ground nor would they themselves sit on the bare earth while they were carrying it against the enemy. where stones were plentiful they rested the ark on them; but where no stones were to be found, they deposited it on short logs. "the indian ark is deemed so sacred and dangerous to be touched, either by their own sanctified warriors, or the spoiling enemy, that they durst not touch it upon any account. it is not to be meddled with by any, except the war chieftain and his waiter, under the penalty of incurring great evil. nor would the most inveterate enemy touch it in the woods, for the very same reason." after their return home they used to hang the ark on the leader's red-painted war pole.[26] at sipi, near simla, in northern india, an annual fair is held, at which men purchase wives. a square box with a domed top figures prominently at the fair. it is fixed on two poles to be carried on men's shoulders, and long heavily-plaited petticoats hang from it nearly to the ground. three sides of the box are adorned with the head and shoulders of a female figure and the fourth side with a black yak's tail. four men bear the poles, each carrying an axe in his right hand. they dance round, with a swinging rhythmical step, to the music of drums and a pipe. the dance goes on for hours and is thought to avert ill-luck from the fair. it is said that the box is brought to simla from a place sixty miles off by relays of men, who may not stop nor set the box on the ground the whole way.[27] in scotland, when water was carried from sacred wells to sick people, the water-vessel might not touch the earth.[28] in some parts of aberdeenshire the last bunch of standing corn, which is commonly viewed as very sacred, being the last refuge of the corn-spirit retreating before the reapers, is not suffered to touch the ground; the master or "gueedman" sits down and receives each handful of corn as it is cut on his lap.[29] [sacred food not allowed to touch the earth.] again, sacred food may not under certain circumstances be brought into contact with the earth. some of the aborigines of victoria used to regard the fat of the emu as sacred, believing that it had once been the fat of the black man. in taking it from the bird or giving it to another they handled it reverently. any one who threw away the fat or flesh of the emu was held accursed. "the late mr. thomas observed on one occasion, at nerre-nerre-warreen, a remarkable exhibition of the effects of this superstition. an aboriginal child--one attending the school--having eaten some part of the flesh of an emu, threw away the skin. the skin fell to the ground, and this being observed by his parents, they showed by their gestures every token of horror. they looked upon their child as one utterly lost. his desecration of the bird was regarded as a sin for which there was no atonement."[30] the roumanians of transylvania believe that "every fresh-baked loaf of wheaten bread is sacred, and should a piece inadvertently fall to the ground, it is hastily picked up, carefully wiped and kissed, and if soiled, thrown into the fire--partly as an offering to the dead, and partly because it were a heavy sin to throw away or tread upon any particle of it."[31] at certain festivals in south-eastern borneo the food which is consumed in the common house may not touch the ground; hence, a little before the festivals take place, foot-bridges made of thin poles are constructed from the private dwellings to the common house.[32] when hall was living with the esquimaux and grew tired of eating walrus, one of the women brought the head and neck of a reindeer for him to eat. this venison had to be completely wrapt up before it was brought into the house, and once in the house it could only be placed on the platform which served as a bed. "to have placed it on the floor or on the platform behind the fire-lamp, among the walrus, musk-ox, and polar-bear meat which occupy a goodly portion of both of these places, would have horrified the whole town, as, according to the actual belief of the innuits, not another walrus could be secured this year, and there would ever be trouble in catching any more."[33] but in this case the real scruple appears to have been felt not so much at placing the venison on the ground as at bringing it into contact with walrus meat.[34] [magical implements and remedies thought to lose their virtue by contact with the ground.] sometimes magical implements and remedies are supposed to lose their virtue by contact with the ground, the volatile essence with which they are impregnated being no doubt drained off into the earth. thus in the boulia district of queensland the magical bone, which the native sorcerer points at his victim as a means of killing him, is never by any chance allowed to touch the earth.[35] the wives of rajahs in macassar, a district of southern celebes, pride themselves on their luxuriant tresses and are at great pains to oil and preserve them. should the hair begin to grow thin, the lady resorts to many devices to stay the ravages of time; among other things she applies to her locks a fat extracted from crocodiles and venomous snakes. the unguent is believed to be very efficacious, but during its application the woman's feet may not come into contact with the ground, or all the benefit of the nostrum would be lost.[36] some people in antiquity believed that a woman in hard labour would be delivered if a spear, which had been wrenched from a man's body without touching the ground, were thrown over the house where the sufferer lay. again, according to certain ancient writers, arrows which had been extracted from a body without coming into contact with the earth and laid under sleepers, acted as a love-charm.[37] among the peasantry of the north-east of scotland the prehistoric weapons called celts went by the name of "thunderbolts" and were coveted as the sure bringers of success, always provided that they were not allowed to fall to the ground.[38] [serpents eggs or snake stones.] in ancient gaul certain glass or paste beads attained great celebrity as amulets under the name of serpents' eggs; it was believed that serpents, coiling together in a wriggling, writhing mass, generated them from their slaver and shot them into the air from their hissing jaws. if a man was bold and dexterous enough to catch one of these eggs in his cloak before it touched the ground, he rode off on horseback with it at full speed, pursued by the whole pack of serpents, till he was saved by the interposition of a river, which the snakes could not pass. the proof of the egg being genuine was that if it were thrown into a stream it would float up against the current, even though it were hooped in gold. the druids held these beads in high esteem; according to them, the precious objects could only be obtained on a certain day of the moon, and the peculiar virtue that resided in them was to secure success in law suits and free access to kings. pliny knew of a gaulish knight who was executed by the emperor claudius for wearing one of these amulets.[39] under the name of snake stones (_glain neidr_) or adder stones the beads are still known in those parts of our own country where the celtic population has lingered, with its immemorial superstitions, down to the present or recent times; and the old story of the origin of the beads from the slaver of serpents was believed by the modern peasantry of cornwall, wales, and scotland as by the druids of ancient gaul. in cornwall the time when the serpents united to fashion the beads was commonly said to be at or about midsummer eve; in wales it was usually thought to be spring, especially the eve of may day, and even within recent years persons in the principality have affirmed that they witnessed the great vernal congress of the snakes and saw the magic stone in the midst of the froth. the welsh peasants believe the beads to possess medicinal virtues of many sorts and to be particularly efficacious for all maladies of the eyes. in wales and ireland the beads sometimes went by the name of the magician's or druid's glass (_gleini na droedh_ and _glaine nan druidhe_). specimens of them may be seen in museums; some have been found in british barrows. they are of glass of various colours, green, blue, pink, red, brown, and so forth, some plain and some ribbed. some are streaked with brilliant hues. the beads are perforated, and in the highlands of scotland the hole is explained by saying that when the bead has just been conflated by the serpents jointly, one of the reptiles sticks his tail through the still viscous glass. an englishman who visited scotland in 1699 found many of these beads in use throughout the country. they were hung from children's necks to protect them from whooping cough and other ailments. snake stones were, moreover, a charm to ensure prosperity in general and to repel evil spirits. when one of these priceless treasures was not on active service, the owner kept it in an iron box to guard it against fairies, who, as is well known, cannot abide iron.[40] [medicinal plants, water, are not allowed to touch the earth.] pliny mentions several medicinal plants, which, if they were to retain their healing virtue, ought not to be allowed to touch the earth.[41] the curious medical treatise of marcellus, a native of bordeaux in the fourth century of our era, abounds with prescriptions of this sort; and we can well believe the writer when he assures us that he borrowed many of his quaint remedies from the lips of common folk and peasants rather than from the books of the learned.[42] thus he tells us that certain white stones found in the stomachs of young swallows assuage the most persistent headache, always provided that their virtue be not impaired by contact with the ground.[43] another of his cures for the same malady is a wreath of fleabane placed on the head, but it must not touch the earth.[44] on the same condition a decoction of the root of elecampane in wine kills worms; a fern, found growing on a tree, relieves the stomach-ache; and the pastern-bone of a hare is an infallible remedy for colic, provided, first, it be found in the dung of a wolf, second, that it docs not touch the ground, and, third, that it is not touched by a woman.[45] another cure for colic is effected by certain hocus-pocus with a scrap of wool from the forehead of a first-born lamb, if only the lamb, instead of being allowed to fall to the ground, has been caught by hand as it dropped from its dam.[46] in andjra, a district of morocco, the people attribute many magical virtues to rain-water which has fallen on the twenty-seventh day of april, old style; accordingly they collect it and use it for a variety of purposes. mixed with tar and sprinkled on the door-posts it prevents snakes and scorpions from entering the house: sprinkled on heaps of threshed corn it protects them from the evil eye: mixed with an egg, henna, and seeds of cress it is an invaluable medicine for sick cows: poured over a plate, on which a passage of the koran has been written, it strengthens the memory of schoolboys who drink it; and if you mix it with cowdung and red earth and paint rings with the mixture round the trunks of your fig-trees at sunset on midsummer day, you may depend on it that the trees will bear an excellent crop and will not shed their fruit untimely on the ground. but in order to preserve these remarkable properties it is absolutely essential that the water should on no account be allowed to touch the ground; some say too that it should not be exposed to the sun nor breathed upon by anybody.[47] again, the moors ascribe great magical efficacy to what they call "the sultan of the oleander," which is a stalk of oleander with a cluster of four pairs of leaves springing from it. they think that the magical virtue is greatest if the stalk has been cut immediately before midsummer. but when the plant is brought into the house, the branches may not touch the ground, lest they should lose their marvellous qualities.[48] in the olden days, before a lithuanian or prussian farmer went forth to plough for the first time in spring, he called in a wizard to perform a certain ceremony for the good of the crops. the sage seized a mug of beer with his teeth, quaffed the liquor, and then tossed the mug over his head. this signified that the corn in that year should grow taller than a man. but the mug might not fall to the ground; it had to be caught by somebody stationed at the wizard's back, for if it fell to the ground the consequence naturally would be that the corn also would be laid low on the earth.[49] § 2. _not to see the sun_ [sacred persons not allowed to see the sun.] the second rule to be here noted is that the sun may not shine upon the divine person. this rule was observed both by the mikado and by the pontiff of the zapotecs. the latter "was looked upon as a god whom the earth was not worthy to hold, nor the sun to shine upon."[50] the japanese would not allow that the mikado should expose his sacred person to the open air, and the sun was not thought worthy to shine on his head.[51] the indians of granada, in south america, "kept those who were to be rulers or commanders, whether men or women, locked up for several years when they were children, some of them seven years, and this so close that they were not to see the sun, for if they should happen to see it they forfeited their lordship, eating certain sorts of food appointed; and those who were their keepers at certain times went into their retreat or prison and scourged them severely."[52] thus, for example, the heir to the throne of bogota, who was not the son but the sister's son of the king, had to undergo a rigorous training from his infancy: he lived in complete retirement in a temple, where he might not see the sun nor eat salt nor converse with a woman: he was surrounded by guards who observed his conduct and noted all his actions: if he broke a single one of the rules laid down for him, he was deemed infamous and forfeited all his rights to the throne.[53] so, too, the heir to the kingdom of sogamoso, before succeeding to the crown, had to fast for seven years in the temple, being shut up in the dark and not allowed to see the sun or light.[54] the prince who was to become inca of peru had to fast for a month without seeing light.[55] on the day when a brahman student of the veda took a bath, to signify that the time of his studentship was at an end, he entered a cow-shed before sunrise, hung over the door a skin with the hair inside, and sat there; on that day the sun should not shine upon him.[56] [tabooed persons not allowed to see the sun; certain persons forbidden to see fire.] again, women after childbirth and their offspring are more or less tabooed all the world over; hence in corea the rays of the sun are rigidly excluded from both mother and child for a period of twenty-one or a hundred days, according to their rank, after the birth has taken place.[57] among some of the tribes on the north-west coast of new guinea a woman may not leave the house for months after childbirth. when she does go out, she must cover her head with a hood or mat; for if the sun were to shine upon her, it is thought that one of her male relations would die.[58] again, mourners are everywhere taboo; accordingly in mourning the ainos of japan wear peculiar caps in order that the sun may not shine upon their heads.[59] during a solemn fast of three days the indians of costa rica eat no salt, speak as little as possible, light no fires, and stay strictly indoors, or if they go out during the day they carefully cover themselves from the light of the sun, believing that exposure to the sun's rays would turn them black.[60] on yule night it has been customary in parts of sweden from time immemorial to go on pilgrimage, whereby people learn many secret things and know what is to happen in the coming year. as a preparation for this pilgrimage, "some secrete themselves for three days previously in a dark cellar, so as to be shut out altogether from the light of heaven. others retire at an early hour of the preceding morning to some out-of-the-way place, such as a hay-loft, where they bury themselves in the hay, that they may neither see nor hear any living creature; and here they remain, in silence and fasting, until after sundown; whilst there are those who think it sufficient if they rigidly abstain from food on the day before commencing their wanderings. during this period of probation a man ought not to see fire, but should this have happened, he must strike a light with flint and steel, whereby the evil that would otherwise have ensued will be obviated."[61] during the sixteen days that a pima indian is undergoing purification for killing an apache he may not see a blazing fire.[62] [the story of prince sunless.] acarnanian peasants tell of a handsome prince called sunless, who would die if he saw the sun. so he lived in an underground palace on the site of the ancient oeniadae, but at night he came forth and crossed the river to visit a famous enchantress who dwelt in a castle on the further bank. she was loth to part with him every night long before the sun was up, and as he turned a deaf ear to all her entreaties to linger, she hit upon the device of cutting the throats of all the cocks in the neighbourhood. so the prince, whose ear had learned to expect the shrill clarion of the birds as the signal of the growing light, tarried too long, and hardly had he reached the ford when the sun rose over the aetolian mountains, and its fatal beams fell on him before he could regain his dark abode.[63] notes: [1] _the magic art and the evolution of kings_, i. 44. [2] h.h. bancroft, _native races of the pacific states_ (london, 1875-1876), ii. 142; brasseur de bourbourg, _histoire des nations civilisées du mexique et de l'amérique-centrale_ (paris, 1857-1859), iii. 29. [3] _manuscrit ramirez, histoire de l'origine des indiens_, publié par d. charnay (paris, 1903), p. 108; j. de acosta, _the natural and moral history of the indies_, bk. vii. chap. 22, vol. ii. p. 505 of e. grimston's translation, edited by (sir) clements r. markham (hakluyt society, london, 1880). [4] _memorials of the empire of japon in the xvi. and xvii. centuries_, edited by t. rundall (hakluyt society, london, 1850), pp. 14, 141; b. varenius, _descriptio regni japoniae et siam_ (cambridge, 1673), p. 11; caron, "account of japan," in john pinkerton's _voyages and travels_ (london, 1808-1814), vii. 613; kaempfer, "history of japan," in _id._ vii. 716. [5] w. ellis, _polynesian researches_, second edition (london, 1832-1836), iii. 102 _sq._; captain james wilson, _missionary voyage to the southern pacific ocean_ (london, 1799), p. 329. [6] a. bastian, _der mensch in der geschichte_ (leipsic, 1860), iii. 81. [7] athenaeus, xii. 8, p. 514 c. [8] _the voiages and travels of john struys_ (london, 1684), p. 30. [9] rev. j. roscoe, "further notes on the manners and customs of the baganda," _journal of the anthropological institute_, xxxii. (1902) pp. 62, 67; _id., the baganda_ (london, 1911), pp. 154 _sq._ compare l. decle, _three years in savage africa_ (london, 1898), p. 445 note: "before horses had been introduced into uganda the king and his mother never walked, but always went about perched astride the shoulders of a slave--a most ludicrous sight. in this way they often travelled hundreds of miles." the use both of horses and of chariots by royal personages may often have been intended to prevent their sacred feet from touching the ground. [10] e. torday et t.a. joyce, _les bushongo_ (brussels, 1910), p. 61. [11] northcote w. thomas, _anthropological report on the ibo-speaking peoples of nigeria_ (london, 1913), i. 57 _sq._ [12] _satapatha brâhmana_, translated by julius eggeling, part iii. (oxford, 1894) pp. 81, 91, 92, 102, 128 _sq. (sacred books of the east_, vol. xli.). [13] a.w. nieuwenhuis, _quer durch borneo_ (leyden, 1904-1907), i. 172. [14] letter of missionary krick, in _annales de la propagation de la foi_, xxvi. (1854) pp. 86-88. [15] pechuel-loesche, "indiscretes aus loango," _zeitschrift für ethnologie_, x. (1878) pp. 29 _sq._ [16] edgar thurston, _ethnographic notes in southern india_ (madras, 1906), p. 70. [17] m.c. schadee, "het familieleven en familierecht der dajaks van landak en tajan," _bijdragen tot de taal-land en volkenkunde van nederlandsch-indié_, lxiii. (1910) p. 433. [18] james adair, _history of the american indians_ (london, 1775), p. 382; _narrative of the captivity and adventures of john tanner_ (london, 1830), p. 123. as to the taboos to which warriors are subject see _taboo and the perils of the soul_, pp. 157 _sqq._ [19] etienne aymonier, _notes sur le laos_ (saigon, 1885), p. 26. [20] _die gestritgelte rockenphilosophie_*[5] (chemnitz, 1759), pp. 586 _sqq._ [21] baldwin spencer and f.j. gillen, _native tribes of central australia_ (london, 1899), pp. 364, 370 _sqq._, 629; _id., across australia_ (london, 1912), ii. 280, 285 _sq._ [22] c.g. seligmann, m.d., _the melanesians of british new guinea_ (cambridge, 1910), pp. 589-599. [23] george brown, d.d., _melanesians and polynesians_ (london, 1910), pp. 60 _sq._, 64. as to the duk-duk society, see below, vol. ii. pp. 246 _sq._ [24] john keast lord, _the naturalist in vancouver island and british columbia_ (london, 1866), ii. 237. [25] edwin james, _account of an expedition from pittsburgh to the rocky mountains_ (london, 1823), ii. 47; rev. j. owen dorsey, "omaha sociology," _third annual report of the bureau of ethnology_ (washington, 1884), p. 226. [26] james adair, _history of the american indians_ (london, 1775), pp. 161-163. [27] (sir) henry babington smith, in _folk-lore_, v. (1894) p. 340. [28] miss c.f. gordon cumming, _in the hebrides_ (london, 1883), p. 211. [29] w. gregor, "quelques coutumes du nord-est du comté d'aberdeen," _revue des traditions populaires_, iii. (1888) p. 485 b. compare _spirits of the corn and of the wild_, i. 158 _sq._ [30] r. brough smyth, _aborigines of victoria_ (melbourne and london, 1878), i. 450. [31] e. gerard, _the land beyond the forest_ (edinburgh and london, 1888), ii. 7. [32] f. grabowsky, "der distrikt dusson timor in südost-borneo und seine bewohner," _das ausland_, 1884, no. 24, p. 470. [33] _narrative of the second arctic expedition made by charles f. hall_, edited by prof. j.e. nourse (washington, 1879), pp. 110 _sq._ [34] see _taboo and perils of the soul_, pp. 207 _sqq._ [35] walter e. roth, _ethnological studies among the north-west-central queensland aborigines_ (brisbane and london, 1897), p. 156, § 265. the custom of killing a man by pointing a bone or stick at him, while the sorcerer utters appropriate curses, is common among the tribes of central australia; but amongst them there seems to be no objection to place the bone or stick on the ground; on the contrary, an arunta wizard inserts the bone or stick in the ground while he invokes death and destruction on his enemy. see baldwin spencer and f.j. gillen, _native tribes of central australia_ (london, 1899), pp. 534 _sqq.; id., northern tribes of central australia_ (london, 1904), pp. 455 _sqq._ [36] hugh low, _sarawak_ (london, 1848), pp. 145 _sq._ [37] pliny, _naturalis historia_ xxviii. 33 _sq._ [38] rev. walter gregor, _notes on the folk-lore of the north-east of scotland_ (london, 1881), p. 184. as to the superstitions attaching to stone arrowheads and axeheads (celts), commonly known as "thunderbolts," in the british islands, see w.w. skeat, "snakestones and stone thunderbolts," _folklore_, xxiii. (1912) pp. 60 _sqq._; and as to such superstitions in general, see chr. blinkenberg, _the thunderweapon in religion and folklore_ (cambridge, 1911). [39] pliny, _naturalis historia_, xxix. 52-54. [40] w. borlase, _antiquities, historical and monumental, of the county of cornwall_ (london, 1769), pp. 142 _sq._; j. brand, _popular antiquities of great britain_ (london, 1882-1883), i. 322; j.g. dalyell, _darker superstitions of scotland_ (edinburgh, 1834), pp. 140 _sq._; daniel wilson, _the archaeology and prehistoric annals of scotland_ (edinburgh, 1851), pp. 303 _sqq._; lieut.-col. forbes leslie, _the early races of scotland and their monuments_ (edinburgh, 1866), i. 75 _sqq._; j.g. campbell, _witchcraft and second sight in the highlands and islands of scotland_ (glasgow, 1902), pp. 84-88; marie trevelyan, _folk-lore and folk-stories of wales_ (london, 1909), pp. 170 _sq._; j.c. davies, _folk-lore of west and mid-wales_ (aberystwyth, 1911), p. 76. compare w.w. skeat, "snakestones and stone thunderbolts," _folk-lore,_ xxiii. (1912) pp. 45 _sqq._ the superstition is described as follows by edward lhwyd in a letter quoted by w. borlase (_op. cit._ p. 142): "in most parts of wales, and throughout all scotland, and in cornwall, we find it a common opinion of the vulgar, that about midsummer-eve (though in the time they do not all agree) it is usual for snakes to meet in companies; and that, by joining heads together, and hissing, a kind of bubble is formed, which the rest, by continual hissing, blow on till it passes quite through the body, and then it immediately hardens, and resembles a glass-ring, which whoever finds (as some old women and children are persuaded) shall prosper in all his undertakings. the rings thus generated, are called _gleineu nadroeth_; in english, snake-stones. they are small glass amulets, commonly about half as wide as our finger-rings, but much thicker, of a green colour usually, though sometimes blue, and waved with red and white." [41] pliny, _naturalis historia_ xxiv. 12 and 68, xxv. 171. [42] marcellus, _de medicamentis_, ed. g. helmreich (leipsic, 1889), preface, p. i.: "_nec solum veteres medicinae artis auctores latino dumtaxat sermone perscriptos ... lectione scrutatus sum, sed etiam ab agrestibus et plebeis remedia fortuita atque simplicia, quae experimentis probaverant didici_." as to marcellus and his work, see jacob grimm, "ueber marcellus burdigalensis," _abhandlungen der koniglichen akademie der wissenschaft zu berlin_, 1847, pp. 429-460; _id._, "ueber die marcellischen formeln," _ibid._. 1855, pp. 50-68. [43] marcellus, _de medicamentis_, i. 68. [44] marcellus, _op. cit._ i. 76. [45] marcellus, _op. cit._ xxviii. 28 and 71, xxix. 35. [46] marcellus, _op. cit._ xxix. 51. [47] edward westermarck, "midsummer customs in morocco," _folklore_, xvi. (1905) pp. 32 _sq._; _id., ceremonies and beliefs connected with agriculture, certain dates of the solar year, and the weather in morocco_ (helsingfors, 1913), pp. 75 _sq._ [48] e. westermarck, "midsummer customs in morocco," _folk-lore_, xvi. (1905) p. 35 _id., ceremonies and beliefs connected with agriculture, certain dates of the solar year, and the weather in morocco_ (helsingfors, 1913), pp. 88 _sq._ [49] matthäus prätorius, _deliciae prussicae_, herausgegeben von dr. w. pierson (berlin, 1871), p. 54. [50] h.h. bancroft, _native races of the pacific states_ (london, 1875-1876), ii. 142; brasseur de bourbourg, _histoire des nations civilisées du mexique et de l'amérique centrale_ (paris, 1857-1859), iii. 29. [51] kaempfer, "history of japan," in j. pinkerton's _voyages and travels_, vii. 717; caron, "account of japan," _ibid._ vii. 613; b. varenius, _descriptio regni japoniae et siam_ (cambridge, 1673), p. 11: _"radiis solis caput nunquam illustrabatur: in apertum acrem non procedebat."_ [52] a. de herrera, _general history of the vast continent and islands of america,_ trans, by capt. john stevens (london, 1725-1726), v. 88. [53] h. ternaux-compans, _essai sur l'ancien cundinamarca_ (paris, n.d.), p. 56; theodor waitz, _anthropologie der naturvölker_ iv. (leipsic, 1864) p. 359. [54] alonzo de zurita, "rapport sur les differentes classes de chefs de la nouvelle-espagne," p. 30, in h. ternaux-compans's _voyages, relations et mémoires originaux, pour servir à l'histoire de la découvertede l'amérique_ (paris, 1840); th. waitz, _l.c._; a. bastian, _die culturländer des alten amerika_ (berlin, 1878), ii. 204. [55] cieza de leon, _second part of the chronicle of peru_ (hakluyt society, london, 1883), p. 18. [56] _the grihya sûtras_, translated by h. oldenberg, part ii. (oxford, 1892) pp. 165, 275 (_sacred books of the east_, vol. xxx.). umbrellas appear to have been sometimes used in ritual for the purpose of preventing the sunlight from falling on sacred persons or things. see w. caland, _altindisches zauberritual_ (amsterdam, 1900), p. 110 note 12. at an athenian festival called scira the priestess of athena, the priest of poseidon, and the priest of the sun walked from the acropolis under the shade of a huge white umbrella which was borne over their heads by the eteobutads. see harpocration and suidas, _s.v._ [greek: skiron]; scholiast on aristophanes, _eccles._ 18. [57] mrs. bishop, _korea and her neighbours_ (london, 1898), ii. 248. [58] j.l. van hasselt, "eenige aanteekeningen aangaande de bewoners der n. westkust van nieuw guinea," _tijdschrift voor indische taal-landen volkenkunde_, xxxi. (1886) p. 587. [59] a. bastian, _die völker des östlichen asien_, v. (jena, 1869) p. 366. [60] w.m. gabb, "on the indian tribes and languages of costa rica," _proceedings of the american philosophical society held at philadelphia_, xiv. (philadelphia, 1876), p. 510. [61] l. lloyd, _peasant life in sweden_ (london, 1870), p. 194. [62] h.h. bancroft, _native races of the pacific states_, i. 553. see _taboo and the perils of the soul_, p. 182. [63] l. heuzey, _le mont olympe et l'acarnanie_ (paris, 1860), pp. 458 _sq._ chapter ii the seclusion of girls at puberty § 1. _seclusion of girls at puberty in africa_ [girls at puberty forbidden to touch the ground and to see the sun; seclusion of girls at puberty among the a-kamba; seclusion of girls at puberty among the baganda.] now it is remarkable that the foregoing two rules--not to touch the ground and not to see the sun--are observed either separately or conjointly by girls at puberty in many parts of the world. thus amongst the negroes of loango girls at puberty are confined in separate huts, and they may not touch the ground with any part of their bare body.[64] among the zulus and kindred tribes of south africa, when the first signs of puberty shew themselves "while a girl is walking, gathering wood, or working in the field, she runs to the river and hides herself among the reeds for the day, so as not to be seen by men. she covers her head carefully with her blanket that the sun may not shine on it and shrivel her up into a withered skeleton, as would result from exposure to the sun's beams. after dark she returns to her home and is secluded" in a hut for some time.[65] during her seclusion, which lasts for about a fortnight, neither she nor the girls who wait upon her may drink any milk, lest the cattle should die. and should she be overtaken by the first flow while she is in the fields, she must, after hiding in the bush, scrupulously avoid all pathways in returning home.[66] a reason for this avoidance is assigned by the a-kamba of british east africa, whose girls under similar circumstances observe the same rule. "a girl's first menstruation is a very critical period of her life according to a-kamba beliefs. if this condition appears when she is away from the village, say at work in the fields, she returns at once to her village, but is careful to walk through the grass and not on a path, for if she followed a path and a stranger accidentally trod on a spot of blood and then cohabited with a member of the opposite sex before the girl was better again, it is believed that she would never bear a child." she remains at home till the symptoms have ceased, and during this time she may be fed by none but her mother. when the flux is over, her father and mother are bound to cohabit with each other, else it is believed that the girl would be barren all her life.[67] similarly, among the baganda, when a girl menstruated for the first time she was secluded and not allowed to handle food; and at the end of her seclusion the kinsman with whom she was staying (for among the baganda young people did not reside with their parents) was obliged to jump over his wife, which with the baganda is regarded as equivalent to having intercourse with her. should the girl happen to be living near her parents at the moment when she attained to puberty, she was expected on her recovery to inform them of the fact, whereupon her father jumped over her mother. were this custom omitted, the baganda, like the a-kamba, thought that the girl would never have children or that they would die in infancy.[68] thus the pretence of sexual intercourse between the parents or other relatives of the girl was a magical ceremony to ensure her fertility. it is significant that among the baganda the first menstruation was often called a marriage, and the girl was spoken of as a bride.[69] these terms so applied point to a belief like that of the siamese, that a girl's first menstruation results from her defloration by one of a host of aerial spirits, and that the wound thus inflicted is repeated afterwards every month by the same ghostly agency.[70] for a like reason, probably, the baganda imagine that a woman who does not menstruate exerts a malign influence on gardens and makes them barren[71] if she works in them. for not being herself fertilized by a spirit, how can she fertilize the garden? [seclusion of girls at puberty among the tribes of the tanganyika plateau.] among the amambwe, winamwanga, alungu, and other tribes of the great plateau to the west of lake tanganyika, "when a young girl knows that she has attained puberty, she forthwith leaves her mother's hut, and hides herself in the long grass near the village, covering her face with a cloth and weeping bitterly. towards sunset one of the older women--who, as directress of the ceremonies, is called _nachimbusa_-follows her, places a cooking-pot by the cross-roads, and boils therein a concoction of various herbs, with which she anoints the neophyte. at nightfall the girl is carried on the old woman's back to her mother's hut. when the customary period of a few days has elapsed, she is allowed to cook again, after first whitewashing the floor of the hut. but, by the following month, the preparations for her initiation are complete. the novice must remain in her hut throughout the whole period of initiation, and is carefully guarded by the old women, who accompany her whenever she leaves her quarters, veiling her head with a native cloth. the ceremonies last for at least one month." during this period of seclusion, drumming and songs are kept up within the mother's hut by the village women, and no male, except, it is said, the father of twins, is allowed to enter. the directress of the rites and the older women instruct the young girl as to the elementary facts of life, the duties of marriage, and the rules of conduct, decorum, and hospitality to be observed by a married woman. amongst other things the damsel must submit to a series of tests such as leaping over fences, thrusting her head into a collar made of thorns, and so on. the lessons which she receives are illustrated by mud figures of animals and of the common objects of domestic life. moreover, the directress of studies embellishes the walls of the hut with rude pictures, each with its special significance and song, which must be understood and learned by the girl.[72] in the foregoing account the rule that a damsel at puberty may neither see the sun nor touch the ground seems implied by the statement that on the first discovery of her condition she hides in long grass and is carried home after sunset on the back of an old woman. [seclusion of girls at puberty among the tribes of british central africa.] among the nyanja-speaking tribes of central angoniland, in british central africa, when a young girl finds that she has become a woman, she stands silent by the pathway leading to the village, her face wrapt in her calico. an old woman, finding her there, takes her off to a stream to bathe; after that the girl is secluded for six days in the old woman's hut. she eats her porridge out of an old basket and her relish, in which no salt is put, from a potsherd. the basket is afterwards thrown away. on the seventh day the aged matrons gather together, go with the girl to a stream, and throw her into the water. in returning they sing songs, and the old woman, who directs the proceedings, carries the maiden on her back. then they spread a mat and fetch her husband and set the two down on the mat and shave his head. when it is dark, the old women escort the girl to her husband's hut. there the _ndiwo_ relish is cooking on the fire. during the night the woman rises and puts some salt in the pot. next morning, before dawn, while all is dark and the villagers have not yet opened their doors, the young married woman goes off and gives some of the relish to her mother and to the old woman who was mistress of the ceremony. this relish she sets down at the doors of their houses and goes away. and in the morning, when the sun has risen and all is light in the village, the two women open their doors, and there they find the relish with the salt in it; and they take of it and rub it on their feet and under their arm-pits; and if there are little children in the house, they eat of it. and if the young wife has a kinsman who is absent from the village, some of the relish is put on a splinter of bamboo and kept against his return, that when he comes he, too, may rub his feet with it. but if the woman finds that her husband is impotent, she does not rise betimes and go out in the dark to lay the relish at the doors of her mother and the old woman. and in the morning, when the sun is up and all the village is light, the old women open their doors, and see no relish there, and they know what has happened, and so they go wilily to work. for they persuade the husband to consult the diviner that he may discover how to cure his impotence; and while he is closeted with the wizard, they fetch another man, who finishes the ceremony with the young wife, in order that the relish may be given out and that people may rub their feet with it. but if it happens that when a girl comes to maturity she is not yet betrothed to any man, and therefore has no husband to go to, the matrons tell her that she must go to a lover instead. and this is the custom which they call _chigango_. so in the evening she takes her cooking pot and relish and hies away to the quarters of the young bachelors, and they very civilly sleep somewhere else that night. and in the morning the girl goes back to the _kuka_ hut.[73] [abstinence from salt associated with a rule of chastity in many tribes.] from the foregoing account it appears that among these tribes no sooner has a girl attained to womanhood than she is expected and indeed required to give proof of her newly acquired powers by cohabiting with a man, whether her husband or another. and the abstinence from salt during the girl's seclusion is all the more remarkable because as soon as the seclusion is over she has to use salt for a particular purpose, to which the people evidently attach very great importance, since in the event of her husband proving impotent she is even compelled, apparently, to commit adultery in order that the salted relish may be given out as usual. in this connexion it deserves to be noted that among the wagogo of german east africa women at their monthly periods may not sleep with their husbands and may not put salt in food.[74] a similar rule is observed by the nyanja-speaking tribes of central angoniland, with whose puberty customs we are here concerned. among them, we are told, "some superstition exists with regard to the use of salt. a woman during her monthly sickness must on no account put salt into any food she is cooking, lest she give her husband or children a disease called _tsempo_ (_chitsoko soko_) but calls a child to put it in, or, as the song goes, '_natira nichere ni bondo chifukwa n'kupanda mwana_' and pours in the salt by placing it on her knee, because there is no child handy. should a party of villagers have gone to make salt, all sexual intercourse is forbidden among the people of the village, until the people who have gone to make the salt (from grass) return. when they do come back, they must make their entry into the village at night, and no one must see them. then one of the elders of the village sleeps with his wife. she then cooks some relish, into which she puts some of the salt. this relish is handed round to the people who went to make the salt, who rub it on their feet and under their armpits."[75] hence it would seem that in the mind of these people abstinence from salt is somehow associated with the idea of chastity. the same association meets us in the customs of many peoples in various parts of the world. for example, ancient hindoo ritual prescribed that for three nights after a husband had brought his bride home, the two should sleep on the ground, remain chaste, and eat no salt.[76] among the baganda, when a man was making a net, he had to refrain from eating salt and meat and from living with his wife; these restrictions he observed until the net took its first catch of fish. similarly, so long as a fisherman's nets or traps were in the water, he must live apart from his wife, and neither he nor she nor their children might eat salt or meat.[77] evidence of the same sort could be multiplied,[78] but without going into it further we may say that for some reason which is not obvious to us primitive man connects salt with the intercourse of the sexes and therefore forbids the use of that condiment in a variety of circumstances in which he deems continence necessary or desirable. as there is nothing which the savage regards as a greater bar between the sexes than the state of menstruation, he naturally prohibits the use of salt to women and girls at their monthly periods. [seclusion of girls at puberty among the tribes about lake nyassa and on the zambesi.] with the awa-nkonde, a tribe at the northern end of lake nyassa, it is a rule that after her first menstruation a girl must be kept apart, with a few companions of her own sex, in a darkened house. the floor is covered with dry banana leaves, but no fire may be lit in the house, which is called "the house of the awasungu," that is, "of maidens who have no hearts."[79] when a girl reaches puberty, the wafiomi of eastern africa hold a festival at which they make a noise with a peculiar kind of rattle. after that the girl remains for a year in the large common hut (_tembe_), where she occupies a special compartment screened off from the men's quarters. she may not cut her hair or touch food, but is fed by other women. at night, however, she quits the hut and dances with young men.[80] among the barotse or marotse of the upper zambesi, "when a girl arrives at the age of puberty she is sent into the fields, where a hut is constructed far from the village. there, with two or three companions, she spends a month, returning home late and starting before dawn in order not to be seen by the men. the women of the village visit her, bringing food and honey, and singing and dancing to amuse her. at the end of a month her husband comes and fetches her. it is only after this ceremony that women have the right to smear themselves with ochre."[81] we may suspect that the chief reason why the girl during her seclusion may visit her home only by night is a fear, not so much lest she should be seen by men, as that she might be seen by the sun. among the wafiomi, as we have just learned, the young woman in similar circumstances is even free to dance with men, provided always that the dance is danced at night. the ceremonies among the barotse or marotse are somewhat more elaborate for a girl of the royal family. she is shut up for three months in a place which is kept secret from the public; only the women of her family know where it is. there she sits alone in the darkness of the hut, waited on by female slaves, who are strictly forbidden to speak and may communicate with her and with each other only by signs. during all this time, though she does nothing, she eats much, and when at last she comes forth, her appearance is quite changed, so fat has she grown. she is then led by night to the river and bathed in presence of all the women of the village. next day she flaunts before the public in her gayest attire, her head bedecked with ornaments and her face mottled with red paint. so everybody knows what has happened.[82] [seclusion of girls at puberty among the thonga on delagoa bay.] among the northern clans of the thonga tribe, in south-eastern africa, about delagoa bay, when a girl thinks that the time of her nubility is near, she chooses an adoptive mother, perhaps in a neighbouring village. when the symptoms appear, she flies away from her own village and repairs to that of her adopted mother "to weep near her." after that she is secluded with several other girls in the same condition for a month. they are shut up in a hut, and whenever they come outside they must wear a dirty greasy cloth over their faces as a veil. every morning they are led to a pool and plunged in the water up to their necks. initiated girls or women accompany them, singing obscene songs and driving away with sticks any man who meets them; for no man may see a girl during this time of seclusion. if he saw her, it is said that he would be struck blind. on their return from the river, the girls are again imprisoned in the hut, where they remain wet and shivering, for they may not go near the fire to warm themselves. during their seclusion they listen to lascivious songs sung by grown women and are instructed in sexual matters. at the end of the month the adoptive mother brings the girl home to her true mother and presents her with a pot of beer.[83] [seclusion of girls at puberty among the caffre tribes of south africa.] among the caffre tribes of south africa the period of a girl's seclusion at puberty varies with the rank of her father. if he is a rich man, it may last twelve days; if he is a chief, it may last twenty-four days.[84] and when it is over, the girl rubs herself over with red earth, and strews finely powdered red earth on the ground, before she leaves the hut where she has been shut up. finally, though she was forbidden to drink milk all the days of her separation, she washes out her mouth with milk, and is from that moment regarded as a full-grown woman.[85] afterwards, in the dusk of the evening, she carries away all the objects with which she came into contact in the hut during her seclusion and buries them secretly in a sequestered spot.[86] when the girl is a chief's daughter the ceremonies at her liberation from the hut are more elaborate than usual. she is led forth from the hut by a son of her father's councillor, who, wearing the wings of a blue crane, the badge of bravery, on his head, escorts her to the cattle kraal, where cows are slaughtered and dancing takes place. large skins full of milk are sent to the spot from neighbouring villages; and after the dances are over the girl drinks milk for the first time since the day she entered into retreat. but the first mouthful is drunk by the girl's aunt or other female relative who had charge of her during her seclusion; and a little of it is poured on the fire-place.[87] amongst the zulus, when the girl was a princess royal, the end of her time of separation was celebrated by a sort of saturnalia: law and order were for the time being in abeyance: every man, woman, and child might appropriate any article of property: the king abstained from interfering; and if during this reign of misrule he was robbed of anything he valued he could only recover it by paying a fine.[88] among the basutos, when girls at puberty are bathed as usual by the matrons in a river, they are hidden separately in the turns and bends of the stream, and told to cover their heads, as they will be visited by a large serpent. their limbs are then plastered with clay, little masks of straw are put on their faces, and thus arrayed they daily follow each other in procession, singing melancholy airs, to the fields, there to learn the labours of husbandry in which a great part of their adult life will be passed.[89] we may suppose, though we are not told, that the straw masks which they wear in these processions are intended to hide their faces from the gaze of men and the rays of the sun. [seclusion of girls at puberty in the lower congo.] among the tribes in the lower valley of the congo, such as the bavili, when a girl arrives at puberty, she has to pass two or three months in seclusion in a small hut built for the purpose. the hair of her head is shaved off, and every day the whole of her body is smeared with a red paint (_takulla_) made from a powdered wood mixed with water. some of her companions reside in the hut with her and prepare the paint for her use. a woman is appointed to take charge of the hut and to keep off intruders. at the end of her confinement she is taken to water by the women of her family and bathed; the paint is rubbed off her body, her arms and legs are loaded with brass rings, and she is led in solemn procession under an umbrella to her husband's house. if these ceremonies were not performed, the people believe that the girl would be barren or would give birth to monsters, that the rain would cease to fall, the earth to bear fruit, and the fishing to be successful.[90] such serious importance do these savages ascribe to the performance of rites which to us seem so childish. § 2. _seclusion of girls at puberty in new ireland, new guinea, and indonesia_ [seclusion of girls at puberty in new ireland.] in new ireland girls are confined for four or five years in small cages, being kept in the dark and not allowed to set foot on the ground. the custom has been thus described by an eye-witness. "i heard from a teacher about some strange custom connected with some of the young girls here, so i asked the chief to take me to the house where they were. the house was about twenty-five feet in length, and stood in a reed and bamboo enclosure, across the entrance to which a bundle of dried grass was suspended to show that it was strictly '_tabu_.' inside the house were three conical structures about seven or eight feet in height, and about ten or twelve feet in circumference at the bottom, and for about four feet from the ground, at which point they tapered off to a point at the top. these cages were made of the broad leaves of the pandanus-tree, sewn quite close together so that no light and little or no air could enter. on one side of each is an opening which is closed by a double door of plaited cocoa-nut tree and pandanus-tree leaves. about three feet from the ground there is a stage of bamboos which forms the floor. in each of these cages we were told there was a young woman confined, each of whom had to remain for at least four or five years, without ever being allowed to go outside the house. i could scarcely credit the story when i heard it; the whole thing seemed too horrible to be true. i spoke to the chief, and told him that i wished to see the inside of the cages, and also to see the girls that i might make them a present of a few beads. he told me that it was '_tabu_,' forbidden for any men but their own relations to look at them; but i suppose the promised beads acted as an inducement, and so he sent away for some old lady who had charge, and who alone is allowed to open the doors. while we were waiting we could hear the girls talking to the chief in a querulous way as if objecting to something or expressing their fears. the old woman came at length and certainly she did not seem a very pleasant jailor or guardian; nor did she seem to favour the request of the chief to allow us to see the girls, as she regarded us with anything but pleasant looks. however, she had to undo the door when the chief told her to do so, and then the girls peeped out at us, and, when told to do so, they held out their hands for the beads. i, however, purposely sat at some distance away and merely held out the beads to them, as i wished to draw them quite outside, that i might inspect the inside of the cages. this desire of mine gave rise to another difficulty, as these girls were not allowed to put their feet to the ground all the time they were confined in these places. however, they wished to get the beads, and so the old lady had to go outside and collect a lot of pieces of wood and bamboo, which she placed on the ground, and then going to one of the girls, she helped her down and held her hand as she stepped from one piece of wood to another until she came near enough to get the beads i held out to her. i then went to inspect the inside of the cage out of which she had come, but could scarcely put my head inside of it, the atmosphere was so hot and stifling. it was clean and contained nothing but a few short lengths of bamboo for holding water. there was only room for the girl to sit or lie down in a crouched position on the bamboo platform, and when the doors are shut it must be nearly or quite dark inside. the girls are never allowed to come out except once a day to bathe in a dish or wooden bowl placed close to each cage. they say that they perspire profusely. they are placed in these stifling cages when quite young, and must remain there until they are young women, when they are taken out and have each a great marriage feast provided for them. one of them was about fourteen or fifteen years old, and the chief told us that she had been there for five years, but would soon be taken out now. the other two were about eight and ten years old, and they have to stay there for several years longer."[91] a more recent observer has described the custom as it is observed on the western coast of new ireland. he says: "a _buck_ is the name of a little house, not larger than an ordinary hen-coop, in which a little girl is shut up, sometimes for weeks only, and at other times for months.... briefly stated, the custom is this. girls, on attaining puberty or betrothal, are enclosed in one of these little coops for a considerable time. they must remain there night and day. we saw two of these girls in two coops; the girls were not more than ten years old, still they were lying in a doubled-up position, as their little houses would not admit of them lying in any other way. these two coops were inside a large house; but the chief, in consideration of a present of a couple of tomahawks, ordered the ends to be torn out of the house to admit the light, so that we might photograph the _buck_. the occupant was allowed to put her face through an opening to be photographed, in consideration of another present."[92] as a consequence of their long enforced idleness in the shade the girls grow fat and their dusky complexion bleaches to a more pallid hue. both their corpulence and their pallor are regarded as beauties.[93] [seclusion of girls at puberty in new guinea, borneo, ceram and yap.] in kabadi, a district of british new guinea, "daughters of chiefs, when they are about twelve or thirteen years of age, are kept indoors for two or three years, never being allowed, under any pretence, to descend from the house, and the house is so shaded that the sun cannot shine on them."[94] among the yabim and bukaua, two neighbouring and kindred tribes on the coast of german new guinea, a girl at puberty is secluded for some five or six weeks in an inner part of the house; but she may not sit on the floor, lest her uncleanness should cleave to it, so a log of wood is placed for her to squat on. moreover, she may not touch the ground with her feet; hence if she is obliged to quit the house for a short time, she is muffled up in mats and walks on two halves of a coconut shell, which are fastened like sandals to her feet by creeping plants. during her seclusion she is in charge of her aunts or other female relatives. at the end of the time she bathes, her person is loaded with ornaments, her face is grotesquely painted with red stripes on a white ground, and thus adorned she is brought forth in public to be admired by everybody. she is now marriageable.[95] among the ot danoms of borneo girls at the age of eight or ten years are shut up in a little room or cell of the house, and cut off from all intercourse with the world for a long time. the cell, like the rest of the house, is raised on piles above the ground, and is lit by a single small window opening on a lonely place, so that the girl is in almost total darkness. she may not leave the room on any pretext whatever, not even for the most necessary purposes. none of her family may see her all the time she is shut up, but a single slave woman is appointed to wait on her. during her lonely confinement, which often lasts seven years, the girl occupies herself in weaving mats or with other handiwork. her bodily growth is stunted by the long want of exercise, and when, on attaining womanhood, she is brought out, her complexion is pale and wax-like. she is now shewn the sun, the earth, the water, the trees, and the flowers, as if she were newly born. then a great feast is made, a slave is killed, and the girl is smeared with his blood.[96] in ceram girls at puberty were formerly shut up by themselves in a hut which was kept dark.[97] in yap, one of the caroline islands, should a girl be overtaken by her first menstruation on the public road, she may not sit down on the earth, but must beg for a coco-nut shell to put under her. she is shut up for several days in a small hut at a distance from her parents' house, and afterwards she is bound to sleep for a hundred days in one of the special houses which are provided for the use of menstruous women.[98] § 3. _seclusion of girls at puberty in the torres straits islands and northern australia_ [seclusion of girls at puberty in mabuiag, torres straits.] in the island of mabuiag, torres straits, when the signs of puberty appear on a girl, a circle of bushes is made in a dark corner of the house. here, decked with shoulder-belts, armlets, leglets just below the knees, and anklets, wearing a chaplet on her head, and shell ornaments in her ears, on her chest, and on her back, she squats in the midst of the bushes, which are piled so high round about her that only her head is visible. in this state of seclusion she must remain for three months. all this time the sun may not shine upon her, but at night she is allowed to slip out of the hut, and the bushes that hedge her in are then changed. she may not feed herself or handle food, but is fed by one or two old women, her maternal aunts, who are especially appointed to look after her. one of these women cooks food for her at a special fire in the forest. the girl is forbidden to eat turtle or turtle eggs during the season when the turtles are breeding; but no vegetable food is refused her. no man, not even her own father, may come into the house while her seclusion lasts; for if her father saw her at this time he would certainly have bad luck in his fishing, and would probably smash his canoe the very next time he went out in it. at the end of the three months she is carried down to a fresh-water creek by her attendants, hanging on to their shoulders in such a way that her feet do not touch the ground, while the women of the tribe form a ring round her, and thus escort her to the beach. arrived at the shore, she is stripped of her ornaments, and the bearers stagger with her into the creek, where they immerse her, and all the other women join in splashing water over both the girl and her bearers. when they come out of the water one of the two attendants makes a heap of grass for her charge to squat upon. the other runs to the reef, catches a small crab, tears off its claws, and hastens back with them to the creek. here in the meantime a fire has been kindled, and the claws are roasted at it. the girl is then fed by her attendants with the roasted claws. after that she is freshly decorated, and the whole party marches back to the village in a single rank, the girl walking in the centre between her two old aunts, who hold her by the wrists. the husbands of her aunts now receive her and lead her into the house of one of them, where all partake of food, and the girl is allowed once more to feed herself in the usual manner. a dance follows, in which the girl takes a prominent part, dancing between the husbands of the two aunts who had charge of her in her retirement.[99] [seclusion of girls at puberty in northern australia.] among the yaraikanna tribe of cape york peninsula, in northern queensland, a girl at puberty is said to live by herself for a month or six weeks; no man may see her, though any woman may. she stays in a hut or shelter specially made for her, on the floor of which she lies supine. she may not see the sun, and towards sunset she must keep her eyes shut until the sun has gone down, otherwise it is thought that her nose will be diseased. during her seclusion she may eat nothing that lives in salt water, or a snake would kill her. an old woman waits upon her and supplies her with roots, yams, and water.[100] some tribes are wont to bury their girls at such seasons more or less deeply in the ground, perhaps in order to hide them from the light of the sun. thus the larrakeeyah tribe in the northern territory of south australia used to cover a girl up with dirt for three days at her first monthly period.[101] in similar circumstances the otati tribe, on the east coast of the cape york peninsula, make an excavation in the ground, where the girl squats. a bower is then built over the hole, and sand is thrown on the young woman till she is covered up to the hips. in this condition she remains for the first day, but comes out at night. so long as the period lasts, she stays in the bower during the day-time, but is not again covered with sand. afterwards her body is painted red and white from the head to the hips, and she returns to the camp, where she squats first on the right side, then on the left side, and then on the lap of her future husband, who has been previously selected for her.[102] among the natives of the pennefather river, in the cape york peninsula, queensland, when a girl menstruates for the first time, her mother takes her away from the camp to some secluded spot, where she digs a circular hole in the sandy soil under the shade of a tree. in this hole the girl squats with crossed legs and is covered with sand from the waist downwards. a digging-stick is planted firmly in the sand on each side of her, and the place is surrounded by a fence of bushes except in front, where her mother kindles a fire. here the girl stays all day, sitting with her arms crossed and the palms of her hands resting on the sand. she may not move her arms except to take food from her mother or to scratch herself; and in scratching herself she may not touch herself with her own hands, but must use for the purpose a splinter of wood, which, when it is not in use, is stuck in her hair. she may speak to nobody but her mother; indeed nobody else would think of coming near her. at evening she lays hold of the two digging-sticks and by their help frees herself from the superincumbent weight of sand and returns to the camp. next morning she is again buried in the sand under the shade of the tree and remains there again till evening. this she does daily for five days. on her return at evening on the fifth day her mother decorates her with a waist-band, a forehead-band, and a necklet of pearl-shell, ties green parrot feathers round her arms and wrists and across her chest, and smears her body, back and front, from the waist upwards with blotches of red, white, and yellow paint. she has in like manner to be buried in the sand at her second and third menstruations, but at the fourth she is allowed to remain in camp, only signifying her condition by wearing a basket of empty shells on her back.[103] among the kia blacks of the prosperine river, on the east coast of queensland, a girl at puberty has to sit or lie down in a shallow pit away from the camp; a rough hut of bushes is erected over her to protect her from the inclemency of the weather. there she stays for about a week, waited on by her mother and sister, the only persons to whom she may speak. she is allowed to drink water, but may not touch it with her hands; and she may scratch herself a little with a mussel-shell. this seclusion is repeated at her second and third monthly periods, but when the third is over she is brought to her husband bedecked with savage finery. eagle-hawk or cockatoo feathers are stuck in her hair: a shell hangs over her forehead: grass bugles encircle her neck and an apron of opossum skin her waist: strings are tied to her arms and wrists; and her whole body is mottled with patterns drawn in red, white, and yellow pigments and charcoal.[104] [seclusion of girls at puberty in the islands of torres straits.] among the uiyumkwi tribe in red island the girl lies at full length in a shallow trench dug in the foreshore, and sand is lightly thrown over her legs and body up to the breasts, which appear not to be covered. a rough shelter of boughs is then built over her, and thus she remains lying for a few hours. then she and her attendant go into the bush and look for food, which they cook at a fire close to the shelter. they sleep under the boughs, the girl remaining secluded from the camp but apparently not being again buried. at the end of the symptoms she stands over hot stones and water is poured over her, till, trickling from her body on the stones, it is converted into steam and envelops her in a cloud of vapour. then she is painted with red and white stripes and returns to the camp. if her future husband has already been chosen, she goes to him and they eat some food together, which the girl has previously brought from the bush.[105] in prince of wales island, torres strait, the treatment of the patient is similar, but lasts for about two months. during the day she lies covered up with sand in a shallow hole on the beach, over which a hut is built. at night she may get out of the hole, but she may not leave the hut. her paternal aunt looks after her, and both of them must abstain from eating turtle, dugong, and the heads of fish. were they to eat the heads of fish no more fish would be caught. during the time of the girl's seclusion, the aunt who waits upon her has the right to enter any house and take from it anything she likes without payment, provided she does so before the sun rises. when the time of her retirement has come to an end, the girl bathes in the sea while the morning star is rising, and after performing various other ceremonies is readmitted to society.[106] in saibai, another island of torres straits, at her first monthly sickness a girl lives secluded in the forest for about a fortnight, during which no man may see her; even the women who have spoken to her in the forest must wash in salt water before they speak to a man. two girls wait upon and feed the damsel, putting the food into her mouth, for she is not allowed to touch it with her own hands. nor may she eat dugong and turtle. at the end of a fortnight the girl and her attendants bathe in salt water while the tide is running out. afterwards they are clean, may again speak to men without ceremony, and move freely about the village. in yam and tutu a girl at puberty retires for a month to the forest, where no man nor even her own mother may look upon her. she is waited on by women who stand to her in a certain relationship (_mowai_), apparently her paternal aunts. she is blackened all over with charcoal and wears a long petticoat reaching below her knees. during her seclusion the married women of the village often assemble in the forest and dance, and the girl's aunts relieve the tedium of the proceedings by thrashing her from time to time as a useful preparation for matrimony. at the end of a month the whole party go into the sea, and the charcoal is washed off the girl. after that she is decorated, her body blackened again, her hair reddened with ochre, and in the evening she is brought back to her father's house, where she is received with weeping and lamentation because she has been so long away.[107] § 4. _seclusion of girls at puberty among the indians of north america_ [seclusion of girls at puberty among the indians of california] among the indians of california a girl at her first menstruation "was thought to be possessed of a particular degree of supernatural power, and this was not always regarded as entirely defiling or malevolent. often, however, there was a strong feeling of the power of evil inherent in her condition. not only was she secluded from her family and the community, but an attempt was made to seclude the world from her. one of the injunctions most strongly laid upon her was not to look about her. she kept her head bowed and was forbidden to see the world and the sun. some tribes covered her with a blanket. many of the customs in this connection resembled those of the north pacific coast most strongly, such as the prohibition to the girl to touch or scratch her head with her hand, a special implement being furnished her for the purpose. sometimes she could eat only when fed and in other cases fasted altogether. some form of public ceremony, often accompanied by a dance and sometimes by a form of ordeal for the girl, was practised nearly everywhere. such ceremonies were well developed in southern california, where a number of actions symbolical of the girl's maturity and subsequent life were performed."[108] thus among the maidu indians of california a girl at puberty remained shut up in a small separate hut. for five days she might not eat flesh or fish nor feed herself, but was fed by her mother or other old woman. she had a basket, plate, and cup for her own use, and a stick with which to scratch her head, for she might not scratch it with her fingers. at the end of five days she took a warm bath and, while she still remained in the hut and plied the scratching-stick on her head, was privileged to feed herself with her own hands. after five days more she bathed in the river, after which her parents gave a great feast in her honour. at the feast the girl was dressed in her best, and anybody might ask her parents for anything he pleased, and they had to give it, even if it was the hand of their daughter in marriage. during the period of her seclusion in the hut the girl was allowed to go by night to her parents' house and listen to songs sung by her friends and relations, who assembled for the purpose. among the songs were some that related to the different roots and seeds which in these tribes it is the business of women to gather for food. while the singers sang, she sat by herself in a corner of the house muffled up completely in mats and skins; no man or boy might come near her.[109] among the hupa, another indian tribe of california, when a girl had reached maturity her male relatives danced all night for nine successive nights, while the girl remained apart, eating no meat and blindfolded. but on the tenth night she entered the house and took part in the last dance.[110] among the wintun, another californian tribe, a girl at puberty was banished from the camp and lived alone in a distant booth, fasting rigidly from animal food; it was death to any person to touch or even approach her.[111] [seclusion of girls at puberty among the indians of washington state.] in the interior of washington state, about colville, "the customs of the indians, in relation to the treatment of females, are singular. on the first appearance of the menses, they are furnished with provisions, and sent into the woods, to remain concealed for two days; for they have a superstition, that if a man should be seen or met with during that time, death will be the consequence. at the end of the second day, the woman is permitted to return to the lodge, when she is placed in a hut just large enough for her to lie in at full length, in which she is compelled to remain for twenty days, cut off from all communication with her friends, and is obliged to hide her face at the appearance of a man. provisions are supplied her daily. after this, she is required to perform repeated ablutions, before she can resume her place in the family. at every return, the women go into seclusion for two or more days."[112] among the chinook indians who inhabited the coast of washington state, from shoalwater bay as far as grey's harbour, when a chief's daughter attained to puberty, she was hidden for five days from the view of the people; she might not look at them nor at the sky, nor might she pick berries. it was believed that if she were to look at the sky, the weather would be bad; that if she picked berries, it would rain; and that when she hung her towel of cedar-bark on a spruce-tree, the tree withered up at once. she went out of the house by a separate door and bathed in a creek far from the village. she fasted for some days, and for many days more she might not eat fresh food.[113] [seclusion of girls at puberty among the nootka indians of vancouver island.] amongst the aht or nootka indians of vancouver island, when girls reach puberty they are placed in a sort of gallery in the house "and are there surrounded completely with mats, so that neither the sun nor any fire can be seen. in this cage they remain for several days. water is given them, but no food. the longer a girl remains in this retirement the greater honour is it to the parents; but she is disgraced for life if it is known that she has seen fire or the sun during this initiatory ordeal."[114] pictures of the mythical thunder-bird are painted on the screens behind which she hides. during her seclusion she may neither move nor lie down, but must always sit in a squatting posture. she may not touch her hair with her hands, but is allowed to scratch her head with a comb or a piece of bone provided for the purpose. to scratch her body is also forbidden, as it is believed that every scratch would leave a scar. for eight months after reaching maturity she may not eat any fresh food, particularly salmon; moreover, she must eat by herself, and use a cup and dish of her own.[115] [seclusion of girls at puberty among the haida indians of the queen charlotte islands.] among the haida indians of the queen charlotte islands girls at puberty were secluded behind screens in the house for about twenty days. in some parts of the islands separate fires were provided for the girls, and they went out and in by a separate door at the back of the house. if a girl at such a time was obliged to go out by the front door, all the weapons, gambling-sticks, medicine, and other articles had to be removed from the house till her return, for otherwise it was thought that they would be unlucky; and if there was a good hunter in the house, he also had to go out at the same time on pain of losing his good luck if he remained. during several months or even half a year the girl was bound to wear a peculiar cloak or hood made of cedar-bark, nearly conical in shape and reaching down below the breast, but open before the face. after the twenty days were over the girl took a bath; none of the water might be spilled, it had all to be taken back to the woods, else the girl would not live long. on the west coast of the islands the damsel might eat nothing but black cod for four years; for the people believed that other kinds of fish would become scarce if she partook of them. at kloo the young woman at such times was forbidden to look at the sea, and for forty days she might not gaze at the fire; for a whole year she might not walk on the beach below high-water mark, because then the tide would come in, covering part of the food supply, and there would be bad weather. for five years she might not eat salmon, or the fish would be scarce; and when her family went to a salmon-creek, she landed from the canoe at the mouth of the creek and came to the smoke-house from behind; for were she to see a salmon leap, all the salmon might leave the creek. among the haidas of masset it was believed that if the girl looked at the sky, the weather would be bad, and that if she stepped over a salmon-creek, all the salmon would disappear.[116] [seclusion of girls at puberty among the tlingit indians of alaska.] amongst the tlingit (thlinkeet) or kolosh indians of alaska, when a girl shewed signs of womanhood she used to be confined to a little hut or cage, which was completely blocked up with the exception of a small air-hole. in this dark and filthy abode she had to remain a year, without fire, exercise, or associates. only her mother and a female slave might supply her with nourishment. her food was put in at the little window; she had to drink out of the wing-bone of a white-headed eagle. the time of her seclusion was afterwards reduced in some places to six or three months or even less. she had to wear a sort of hat with long flaps, that her gaze might not pollute the sky; for she was thought unfit for the sun to shine upon, and it was imagined that her look would destroy the luck of a hunter, fisher, or gambler, turn things to stone, and do other mischief. at the end of her confinement her old clothes were burnt, new ones were made, and a feast was given, at which a slit was cut in her under lip parallel to the mouth, and a piece of wood or shell was inserted to keep the aperture open.[117] [seclusion of girls at puberty among the tsetsaut and bella coola indians of british columbia.] in the tsetsaut tribe of british columbia a girl at puberty wears a large hat of skin which comes down over her face and screens it from the sun. it is believed that if she were to expose her face to the sun or to the sky, rain would fall. the hat protects her face also against the fire, which ought not to strike her skin; to shield her hands she wears mittens. in her mouth she carries the tooth of an animal to prevent her own teeth from becoming hollow. for a whole year she may not see blood unless her face is blackened; otherwise she would grow blind. for two years she wears the hat and lives in a hut by herself, although she is allowed to see other people. at the end of two years a man takes the hat from her head and throws it away.[118] in the bilqula or bella coola tribe of british columbia, when a girl attains puberty she must stay in the shed which serves as her bedroom, where she has a separate fireplace. she is not allowed to descend to the main part of the house, and may not sit by the fire of the family. for four days she is bound to remain motionless in a sitting posture. she fasts during the day, but is allowed a little food and drink very early in the morning. after the four days' seclusion she may leave her room, but only through a separate opening cut in the floor, for the houses are raised on piles. she may not yet come into the chief room. in leaving the house she wears a large hat which protects her face against the rays of the sun. it is believed that if the sun were to shine on her face her eyes would suffer. she may pick berries on the hills, but may not come near the river or sea for a whole year. were she to eat fresh salmon she would lose her senses, or her mouth would be changed into a long beak.[119] [seclusion of girls at puberty among the tinneh indians of british columbia.] among the tinneh indians about stuart lake, babine lake, and fraser lake in british columbia "girls verging on maturity, that is when their breasts begin to form, take swans' feathers mixed with human hair and plait bands, which they tie round their wrists and ankles to secure long life. at this time they are careful that the dishes out of which they eat, are used by no other person, and wholly devoted to their own use; during this period they eat nothing but dog fish, and starvation _only_ will drive them to eat either fresh fish or meat. when their first periodical sickness comes on, they are fed by their mothers or nearest female relation by _themselves_, and on no account will they touch their food with their own hands. they are at this time also careful not to touch their heads with their hands, and keep a small stick to scratch their heads with. they remain outside the lodge, all the time they are in this state, in a hut made for the purpose. during all this period they wear a skull-cap made of skin to fit very tight; this is never taken off until their first monthly sickness ceases; they also wear a strip of black paint about one inch wide across their eyes, and wear a fringe of shells, bones, etc., hanging down from their foreheads to below their eyes; and this is never taken off till the second monthly period arrives and ceases, when the nearest male relative makes a feast; after which she is considered a fully matured woman; but she has to refrain from eating anything fresh for one year after her first monthly sickness; she may however eat partridge, but it must be cooked in the crop of the bird to render it harmless. i would have thought it impossible to perform this feat had i not seen it done. the crop is blown out, and a small bent willow put round the mouth; it is then filled with water, and the meat being first minced up, put in also, then put on the fire and boiled till cooked. their reason for hanging fringes before their eyes, is to hinder any bad medicine man from harming them during this critical period: they are very careful not to drink whilst facing a medicine man, and do so only when their backs are turned to him. all these habits are left off when the girl is a recognised woman, with the exception of their going out of the lodge and remaining in a hut, every time their periodical sickness comes on. this is a rigidly observed law with both single and married women."[120] [seclusion of girls at puberty among the tinneh indians of alaska.] among the hareskin tinneh a girl at puberty was secluded for five days in a hut made specially for the purpose; she might only drink out of a tube made from a swan's bone, and for a month she might not break a hare's bones, nor taste blood, nor eat the heart or fat of animals, nor birds' eggs.[121] among the tinneh indians of the middle yukon valley, in alaska, the period of the girl's seclusion lasts exactly a lunar month; for the day of the moon on which the symptoms first occur is noted, and she is sequestered until the same day of the next moon. if the season is winter, a corner of the house is curtained off for her use by a blanket or a sheet of canvas; if it is summer, a small tent is erected for her near the common one. here she lives and sleeps. she wears a long robe and a large hood, which she must pull down over her eyes whenever she leaves the hut, and she must keep it down till she returns. she may not speak to a man nor see his face, much less touch his clothes or anything that belongs to him; for if she did so, though no harm would come to her, he would grow unmanly. she has her own dishes for eating out of and may use no other; at kaltag she must suck the water through a swan's bone without applying her lips to the cup. she may eat no fresh meat or fish except the flesh of the porcupine. she may not undress, but sleeps with all her clothes on, even her mittens. in her socks she wears, next to the skin, the horny soles cut from the feet of a porcupine, in order that for the rest of her life her shoes may never wear out. round her waist she wears a cord to which are tied the heads of femurs of a porcupine; because of all animals known to the tinneh the porcupine suffers least in parturition, it simply drops its young and continues to walk or skip about as if nothing had happened. hence it is easy to see that a girl who wears these portions of a porcupine about her waist, will be delivered just as easily as the animal. to make quite sure of this, if anybody happens to kill a porcupine big with young while the girl is undergoing her period of separation, the foetus is given to her, and she lets it slide down between her shirt and her body so as to fall on the ground like an infant.[122] here the imitation of childbirth is a piece of homoeopathic or imitative magic designed to facilitate the effect which it simulates.[123] [seclusion of girls at puberty among the thompson indians of british columbia.] among the thompson indians of british columbia, when a girl attained puberty, she was at once separated from all the people. a conical hut of fir branches and bark was erected at some little distance from the other houses, and in it the girl had to squat on her heels during the day. often a deep circular hole was dug in the hut and the girl squatted in the hole, with her head projecting above the surface of the ground. she might quit the hut for various purposes in the early morning, but had always to be back at sunrise. on the first appearance of the symptoms her face was painted red all over, and the paint was renewed every morning during her term of seclusion. a heavy blanket swathed her body from top to toe, and during the first four days she wore a conical cap made of small fir branches, which reached below the breast but left an opening for the face. in her hair was fastened an implement made of deer-bone with which she scratched herself. for the first four days she might neither wash nor eat, but a little water was given her in a birch-bark cup painted red, and she sucked up the liquid through a tube made out of the leg of a crane, a swan, or a goose, for her lips might not touch the surface of the water. after the four days she was allowed, during the rest of the period of isolation, to eat, to wash, to lie down, to comb her hair, and to drink of streams and springs. but in drinking at these sources she had still to use her tube, otherwise the spring would dry up. while her seclusion lasted she performed by night various ceremonies, which were supposed to exert a beneficial influence on her future life. for example, she ran as fast as she could, praying at the same time to the earth or nature that she might be fleet of foot and tireless of limb. she dug trenches, in order that in after life she might be able to dig well and to work hard. these and other ceremonies she repeated for four nights or mornings in succession, four times each morning, and each time she supplicated the dawn of the day. among the lower thompson indians she carried a staff for one night; and when the day was breaking she leaned the staff against the stump of a tree and prayed to the dawn that she might be blessed with a good husband, who was symbolized by the staff. she also wandered some nights to lonely parts of the mountains, where she would dance, imploring the spirits to pity and protect her during her future life; then, the dance and prayer over, she would lie down on the spot and fall asleep. again, she carried four stones in her bosom to a spring, where she spat upon the stones and threw them one after the other into the water, praying that all disease might leave her, as these stones did. also she ran four times in the early morning with two small stones in her bosom; and as she ran the stones slipped down between her bare body and her clothes and fell to the ground. at the same time she prayed to the dawn that when she should be with child, she might be delivered as easily as she was delivered of these stones. but whatever exercises she performed or prayers she offered on the lonely mountains during the hours of darkness or while the morning light was growing in the east, she must always be back in her little hut before the sun rose. there she often passed the tedious hours away picking the needles, one by one, from the cones on two large branches of fir, which hung from the roof of her hut on purpose to provide her with occupation. and as she picked she prayed to the fir-branch that she might never be lazy, but always quick and active at work. during her seclusion, too, she had to make miniatures of all the articles that indian women make, or used to make, such as baskets, mats, ropes, and thread. this she did in order that afterwards she might be able to make the real things properly. four large fir-branches also were placed in front of the hut, so that when she went out or in, she had to step over them. the branches were renewed every morning and the old ones thrown away into the water, while the girl prayed, "may i never bewitch any man, nor my fellow-women! may it never happen!" the first four times that she went out and in, she prayed to the fir-branches, saying, "if ever i step into trouble or difficulties or step unknowingly inside the magical spell of some person, may you help me, o fir-branches, with your power!" every day she painted her face afresh, and she wore strings of parts of deer-hoofs round her ankles and knees, and tied to her waistband on either side, which rattled when she walked or ran. even the shape of the hut in which she lived was adapted to her future rather than to her present needs and wishes. if she wished to be tall, the hut was tall; if she wished to be short, it was low, sometimes so low that there was not room in it for her to stand erect, and she would lay the palm of her hand on the top of her head and pray to the dawn that she might grow no taller. her seclusion lasted four months. the indians say that long ago it extended over a year, and that fourteen days elapsed before the girl was permitted to wash for the first time. the dress which she wore during her time of separation was afterwards taken to the top of a hill and burned, and the rest of her clothes were hung up on trees.[124] [seclusion of girls at puberty among the lillooet indians of british columbia.] among the lillooet indians of british columbia, neighbours of the thompsons, the customs observed by girls at puberty were similar. the damsels were secluded for a period of not less than one year nor more than four years, according to their own inclination and the wishes of their parents. among the upper lillooets the hut in which the girl lodged was made of bushy fir-trees set up like a conical tent, the inner branches being lopped off, while the outer branches were closely interwoven and padded to form a roof. every month or half-month the hut was shifted to another site or a new one erected. by day the girl sat in the hut; for the first month she squatted in a hole dug in the middle of it; and she passed the time making miniature baskets of birch-bark and other things, praying that she might be able to make the real things well in after years. at the dusk of the evening she left the hut and wandered about all night, but she returned before the sun rose. before she quitted the hut at nightfall to roam abroad, she painted her face red and put on a mask of fir-branches, and in her hand, as she walked, she carried a basket-rattle to frighten ghosts and guard herself from evil. among the lower lillooets, the girl's mask was often made of goat-skin, covering her head, neck, shoulders and breast, and leaving only a narrow opening from the brow to the chin. during the nocturnal hours she performed many ceremonies. thus she put two smooth stones in her bosom and ran, and as they fell down between her body and her clothes, she prayed, saying, "may i always have easy child-births!" now one of these stones represented her future child and the other represented the afterbirth. also she dug trenches, praying that in the years to come she might be strong and tireless in digging roots; she picked leaves and needles from the fir-trees, praying that her fingers might be nimble in picking berries; and she tore sheets of birch-bark into shreds, dropping the shreds as she walked and asking that her hands might never tire and that she might make neat and fine work of birch-bark. moreover, she ran and walked much that she might be light of foot. and every evening, when the shadows were falling, and every morning, when the day was breaking, she prayed to the dusk of the evening or to the dawn of day, saying, "o dawn of day!" or "o dusk," as it might be, "may i be able to dig roots fast and easily, and may i always find plenty!" all her prayers were addressed to the dusk of the evening or the dawn of day. she supplicated both, asking for long life, health, wealth, and happiness.[125] [seclusion of girls at puberty among the shuswap indians of british columbia.] among the shuswap indians of british columbia, who are neighbours of the thompsons and lillooets, "a girl on reaching maturity has to go through a great number of ceremonies. she must leave the village and live alone in a small hut on the mountains. she cooks her own food, and must not eat anything that bleeds. she is forbidden to touch her head, for which purpose she uses a comb with three points. neither is she allowed to scratch her body, except with a painted deer-bone. she wears the bone and the comb suspended from her belt. she drinks out of a painted cup of birch-bark, and neither more nor less than the quantity it holds. every night she walks about her hut, and plants willow twigs, which she has painted, and to the ends of which she has attached pieces of cloth, into the ground. it is believed that thus she will become rich in later life. in order to become strong she should climb trees and try to break off their points. she plays with _lehal_ sticks that her future husbands might have good luck when gambling."[126] during the day the girl stays in her hut and occupies herself in making miniature bags, mats, and baskets, in sewing and embroidery, in manufacturing thread, twine, and so forth; in short she makes a beginning of all kinds of woman's work, in order that she may be a good housewife in after life. by night she roams the mountains and practises running, climbing, carrying burdens, and digging trenches, so that she may be expert at digging roots. if she has wandered far and daylight overtakes her, she hides herself behind a veil of fir branches; for no one, except her instructor or nearest relatives, should see her face during her period of seclusion. she wore a large robe painted red on the breast and sides, and her hair was done up in a knot at each ear.[127] [seclusion of girls at puberty among the delaware and cheyenne indians.] ceremonies of the same general type were probably observed by girls at puberty among all the indian tribes of north america. but the record of them is far less full for the central and eastern tribes, perhaps because the settlers who first came into contact with the red man in these regions were too busy fighting him to find leisure, even if they had the desire, to study his manners and customs. however, among the delaware indians, a tribe in the extreme east of the continent, we read that "when a delaware girl has her first monthly period, she must withdraw into a hut at some distance from the village. her head is wrapped up for twelve days, so that she can see nobody, and she must submit to frequent vomits and fasting, and abstain from all labor. after this she is washed and new clothed, but confined to a solitary life for two months, at the close of which she is declared marriageable."[128] again, among the cheyennes, an indian tribe of the missouri valley, a girl at her first menstruation is painted red all over her body and secluded in a special little lodge for four days. however, she may remain in her father's lodge provided that there are no charms ("medicine"), no sacred bundle, and no shield in it, or that these and all other objects invested with a sacred character have been removed. for four days she may not eat boiled meat; the flesh of which she partakes must be roasted over coals. young men will not eat from the dish nor drink from the pot, which has been used by her; because they believe that were they to do so they would be wounded in the next fight. she may not handle nor even touch any weapon of war or any sacred object. if the camp moves, she may not ride a horse, but is mounted on a mare.[129] [seclusion of girls at puberty among the esquimaux.] among the esquimaux also, in the extreme north of the continent, who belong to an entirely different race from the indians, the attainment of puberty in the female sex is, or used to be, the occasion of similar observances. thus among the koniags, an esquimau people of alaska, a girl at puberty was placed in a small hut in which she had to remain on her hands and knees for six months; then the hut was enlarged a little so as to allow her to straighten her back, but in this posture she had to remain for six months more. all this time she was regarded as an unclean being with whom no one might hold intercourse. at the end of the year she was received back by her parents and a great feast held.[130] again, among the malemut, and southward from the lower yukon and adjacent districts, when a girl reaches the age of puberty she is considered unclean for forty days and must therefore live by herself in a corner of the house with her face to the wall, always keeping her hood over her head and her hair hanging dishevelled over her eyes. but if it is summer, she commonly lives in a rough shelter outside the house. she may not go out by day, and only once at night, when every one else is asleep. at the end of the period she bathes and is clothed in new garments, whereupon she may be taken in marriage. during her seclusion she is supposed to be enveloped in a peculiar atmosphere of such a sort that were a young man to come near enough for it to touch him, it would render him visible to every animal he might hunt, so that his luck as a hunter would be gone.[131] § 5. _seclusion of girls at puberty among the indians of south america_ [seclusion of girls at puberty among the guaranis, chiriguanos, and lengua indians of south america.] when symptoms of puberty appeared on a girl for the first time, the guaranis of southern brazil, on the borders of paraguay, used to sew her up in her hammock, leaving only a small opening in it to allow her to breathe. in this condition, wrapt up and shrouded like a corpse, she was kept for two or three days or so long as the symptoms lasted, and during this time she had to observe a most rigorous fast. after that she was entrusted to a matron, who cut the girl's hair and enjoined her to abstain most strictly from eating flesh of any kind until her hair should be grown long enough to hide her ears. meanwhile the diviners drew omens of her future character from the various birds or animals that flew past or crossed her path. if they saw a parrot, they would say she was a chatterbox; if an owl, she was lazy and useless for domestic labours, and so on.[132] in similar circumstances the chiriguanos of southeastern bolivia hoisted the girl in her hammock to the roof, where she stayed for a month: the second month the hammock was let half-way down from the roof; and in the third month old women, armed with sticks, entered the hut and ran about striking everything they met, saying they were hunting the snake that had wounded the girl.[133] the lengua indians of the paraguayan chaco under similar circumstances hang the girl in her hammock from the roof of the house, but they leave her there only three days and nights, during which they give her nothing to eat but a little paraguay tea or boiled maize. only her mother or grandmother has access to her; nobody else approaches or speaks to her. if she is obliged to leave the hammock for a little, her friends take great care to prevent her from touching the _boyrusu_, which is an imaginary serpent that would swallow her up. she must also be very careful not to set foot on the droppings of fowls or animals, else she would suffer from sores on the throat and breast. on the third day they let her down from the hammock, cut her hair, and make her sit in a corner of the room with her face turned to the wall. she may speak to nobody, and must abstain from flesh and fish. these rigorous observances she must practise for nearly a year. many girls die or are injured for life in consequence of the hardships they endure at this time. their only occupations during their seclusion are spinning and weaving.[134] [seclusion of girls at puberty among the yuracares of bolivia.] among the yuracares, an indian tribe of bolivia, at the eastern foot of the andes, when a girl perceives the signs of puberty, she informs her parents. the mother weeps and the father constructs a little hut of palm leaves near the house. in this cabin he shuts up his daughter so that she cannot see the light, and there she remains fasting rigorously for four days. meantime the mother, assisted by the women of the neighbourhood, has brewed a large quantity of the native intoxicant called _chicha_, and poured it into wooden troughs and palm leaves. on the morning of the fourth day, three hours before the dawn, the girl's father, having arrayed himself in his savage finery, summons all his neighbours with loud cries. the damsel is seated on a stone, and every guest in turn cuts off a lock of her hair, and running away hides it in the hollow trunk of a tree in the depths of the forest. when they have all done so and seated themselves again gravely in the circle, the girl offers to each of them a calabash full of very strong _chicha_. before the wassailing begins, the various fathers perform a curious operation on the arms of their sons, who are seated beside them. the operator takes a very sharp bone of an ape, rubs it with a pungent spice, and then pinching up the skin of his son's arm he pierces it with the bone through and through, as a surgeon might introduce a seton. this operation he repeats till the young man's arm is riddled with holes at regular intervals from the shoulder to the wrist. almost all who take part in the festival are covered with these wounds, which the indians call _culucute_. having thus prepared themselves to spend a happy day, they drink, play on flutes, sing and dance till evening. rain, thunder, and lightning, should they befall, have no effect in damping the general enjoyment or preventing its continuance till after the sun has set. the motive for perforating the arms of the young men is to make them skilful hunters; at each perforation the sufferer is cheered by the promise of another sort of game or fish which the surgical operation will infallibly procure for him. the same operation is performed on the arms and legs of the girls, in order that they may be brave and strong; even the dogs are operated on with the intention of making them run down the game better. for five or six months afterwards the damsel must cover her head with bark and refrain from speaking to men. the yuracares think that if they did not submit a young girl to this severe ordeal, her children would afterwards perish by accidents of various kinds, such as the sting of a serpent, the bite of a jaguar, the fall of a tree, the wound of an arrow, or what not.[135] [seclusion of girls at puberty among the indians of the gran chaco.] among the matacos or mataguayos, an indian tribe of the gran chaco, a girl at puberty has to remain in seclusion for some time. she lies covered up with branches or other things in a corner of the hut, seeing no one and speaking to no one, and during this time she may eat neither flesh nor fish. meantime a man beats a drum in front of the house.[136] similarly among the tobas, another indian tribe of the same region, when a chief's daughter has just attained to womanhood, she is shut up for two or three days in the house, all the men of the tribe scour the country to bring in game and fish for a feast, and a mataco indian is engaged to drum, sing, and dance in front of the house without cessation, day and night, till the festival is over. as the merrymaking lasts for two or three weeks, the exhaustion of the musician at the end of it may be readily conceived. meat and drink are supplied to him on the spot where he pays his laborious court to the muses. the proceedings wind up with a saturnalia and a drunken debauch.[137] among the yaguas, an indian tribe of the upper amazon, a girl at puberty is shut up for three months in a lonely hut in the forest, where her mother brings her food daily.[138] when a girl of the peguenches tribe perceives in herself the first signs of womanhood, she is secluded by her mother in a corner of the hut screened off with blankets, and is warned not to lift up her eyes on any man. next day, very early in the morning and again after sunset, she is taken out by two women and made to run till she is tired; in the interval she is again secluded in her corner. on the following day she lays three packets of wool beside the path near the house to signify that she is now a woman.[139] among the passes, mauhes, and other tribes of brazil the young woman in similar circumstances is hung in her hammock from the roof and has to fast there for a month or as long as she can hold out.[140] one of the early settlers in brazil, about the middle of the sixteenth century, has described the severe ordeal which damsels at puberty had to undergo among the indians on the south-east coast of that country, near what is now rio de janeiro. when a girl had reached this critical period of life, her hair was burned or shaved off close to the head. then she was placed on a flat stone and cut with the tooth of an animal from the shoulders all down the back, till she ran with blood. next the ashes of a wild gourd were rubbed into the wounds; the girl was bound hand and foot, and hung in a hammock, being enveloped in it so closely that no one could see her. here she had to stay for three days without eating or drinking. when the three days were over, she stepped out of the hammock upon the flat stone, for her feet might not touch the ground. if she had a call of nature, a female relation took the girl on her back and carried her out, taking with her a live coal to prevent evil influences from entering the girl's body. being replaced in her hammock, she was now allowed to get some flour, boiled roots, and water, but might not taste salt or flesh. thus she continued to the end of the first monthly period, at the expiry of which she was gashed on the breast and belly as well as all down the back. during the second month she still stayed in her hammock, but her rule of abstinence was less rigid, and she was allowed to spin. the third month she was blackened with a certain pigment and began to go about as usual.[141] [seclusion of girls at puberty among the indians of guiana; custom of beating the girls and of causing them to be stung by ants.] amongst the macusis of british guiana, when a girl shews the first signs of puberty, she is hung in a hammock at the highest point of the hut. for the first few days she may not leave the hammock by day, but at night she must come down, light a fire, and spend the night beside it, else she would break out in sores on her neck, throat, and other parts of her body. so long as the symptoms are at their height, she must fast rigorously. when they have abated, she may come down and take up her abode in a little compartment that is made for her in the darkest corner of the hut. in the morning she may cook her food, but it must be at a separate fire and in a vessel of her own. after about ten days the magician comes and undoes the spell by muttering charms and breathing on her and on the more valuable of the things with which she has come in contact. the pots and drinking-vessels which she used are broken and the fragments buried. after her first bath, the girl must submit to be beaten by her mother with thin rods without uttering a cry. at the end of the second period she is again beaten, but not afterwards. she is now "clean," and can mix again with people.[142] other indians of guiana, after keeping the girl in her hammock at the top of the hut for a month, expose her to certain large ants, whose bite is very painful.[143] sometimes, in addition to being stung with ants, the sufferer has to fast day and night so long as she remains slung up on high in her hammock, so that when she comes down she is reduced to a skeleton. the intention of stinging her with ants is said to be to make her strong to bear the burden of maternity.[144] amongst the uaupes of brazil a girl at puberty is secluded in the house for a month, and allowed only a small quantity of bread and water. then she is taken out into the midst of her relations and friends, each of whom gives her four or five blows with pieces of _sipo_ (an elastic climber), till she falls senseless or dead. if she recovers, the operation is repeated four times at intervals of six hours, and it is considered an offence to the parents not to strike hard. meantime, pots of meats and fish have been made ready; the _sipos_ are dipped into them and then given to the girl to lick, who is now considered a marriageable woman.[145] [custom in south america of causing young men to be stung with ants as an initiatory rite.] the custom of stinging the girl at such times with ants or beating her with rods is intended, we may be sure, not as a punishment or a test of endurance, but as a purification, the object being to drive away the malignant influences with which a girl in this condition is believed to be beset and enveloped. examples of purification, by beating, by incisions in the flesh, and by stinging with ants, have already come before us.[146] in some indian tribes of brazil and guiana young men do not rank as warriors and may not marry till they have passed through a terrible ordeal, which consists in being stung by swarms of venomous ants whose bite is like fire. thus among the mauhes on the tapajos river, a southern tributary of the amazon, boys of eight to ten years are obliged to thrust their arms into sleeves stuffed with great ferocious ants, which the indians call _tocandeira_ (_cryptocerus atratus_, f.). when the young victim shrieks with pain, an excited mob of men dances round him, shouting and encouraging him till he falls exhausted to the ground. he is then committed to the care of old women, who treat his fearfully swollen arms with fresh juice of the manioc; and on his recovery he has to shew his strength and skill in bending a bow. this cruel ordeal is commonly repeated again and again, till the lad has reached his fourteenth year and can bear the agony without betraying any sign of emotion. then he is a man and can marry. a lad's age is reckoned by the number of times he has passed through the ordeal.[147] an eye-witness has described how a young mauhe hero bore the torture with an endurance more than spartan, dancing and singing, with his arms cased in the terrible mittens, before every cabin of the great common house, till pallid, staggering, and with chattering teeth he triumphantly laid the gloves before the old chief and received the congratulations of the men and the caresses of the women; then breaking away from his friends and admirers he threw himself into the river and remained in its cool soothing water till nightfall.[148] similarly among the ticunas of the upper amazon, on the border of peru, the young man who would take his place among the warriors must plunge his arm into a sort of basket full of venomous ants and keep it there for several minutes without uttering a cry. he generally falls backwards and sometimes succumbs to the fever which ensues; hence as soon as the ordeal is over the women are prodigal of their attentions to him, and rub the swollen arm with a particular kind of herb.[149] ordeals of this sort appear to be in vogue among the indians of the rio negro as well as of the amazon.[150] among the rucuyennes, a tribe of indians in the north of brazil, on the borders of guiana, young men who are candidates for marriage must submit to be stung all over their persons not only with ants but with wasps, which are applied to their naked bodies in curious instruments of trellis-work shaped like fantastic quadrupeds or birds. the patient invariably falls down in a swoon and is carried like dead to his hammock, where he is tightly lashed with cords. as they come to themselves, they writhe in agony, so that their hammocks rock violently to and fro, causing the hut to shake as if it were about to collapse. this dreadful ordeal is called by the indians a _maraké_.[151] [custom of causing men and women to be stung with ants to improve their character and health or to render them invulnerable.] the same ordeal, under the same name, is also practised by the wayanas, an indian tribe of french guiana, but with them, we are told, it is no longer deemed an indispensable preliminary to marriage; "it is rather a sort of national medicine administered chiefly to the youth of both sexes." applied to men, the _maraké_, as it is called, "sharpens them, prevents them from being heavy and lazy, makes them active, brisk, industrious, imparts strength, and helps them to shoot well with the bow; without it the indians would always be slack and rather sickly, would always have a little fever, and would lie perpetually in their hammocks. as for the women, the _maraké_ keeps them from going to sleep, renders them active, alert, brisk, gives them strength and a liking for work, makes them good housekeepers, good workers at the stockade, good makers of _cachiri_. every one undergoes the _maraké_ at least twice in his life, sometimes thrice, and oftener if he likes. it may be had from the age of about eight years and upward, and no one thinks it odd that a man of forty should voluntarily submit to it."[152] similarly the indians of st. juan capistrano in california used to be branded on some part of their bodies, generally on the right arm, but sometimes on the leg also, not as a proof of manly fortitude, but because they believed that the custom "added greater strength to the nerves, and gave a better pulse for the management of the bow." afterwards "they were whipped with nettles, and covered with ants, that they might become robust, and the infliction was always performed in summer, during the months of july and august, when the nettle was in its most fiery state. they gathered small bunches, which they fastened together, and the poor deluded indian was chastised, by inflicting blows with them upon his naked limbs, until unable to walk; and then he was carried to the nest of the nearest and most furious species of ants, and laid down among them, while some of his friends, with sticks, kept annoying the insects to make them still more violent. what torments did they not undergo! what pain! what hellish inflictions! yet their faith gave them power to endure all without a murmur, and they remained as if dead. having undergone these dreadful ordeals, they were considered as invulnerable, and believed that the arrows of their enemies could no longer harm them."[153] among the alur, a tribe inhabiting the south-western region of the upper nile, to bury a man in an ant-hill and leave him there for a while is the regular treatment for insanity.[154] [in such cases the beating or stinging was originally a purification; at a later time it is interpreted as a test of courage and endurance.] in like manner it is probable that beating or scourging as a religious or ceremonial rite was originally a mode of purification. it was meant to wipe off and drive away a dangerous contagion, whether personified as demoniacal or not, which was supposed to be adhering physically, though invisibly, to the body of the sufferer.[155] the pain inflicted on the person beaten was no more the object of the beating than it is of a surgical operation with us; it was a necessary accident, that was all. in later times such customs were interpreted otherwise, and the pain, from being an accident, became the prime object of the ceremony, which was now regarded either as a test of endurance imposed upon persons at critical epochs of life, or as a mortification of the flesh well pleasing to the god. but asceticism, under any shape or form, is never primitive. the savage, it is true, in certain circumstances will voluntarily subject himself to pains and privations which appear to us wholly needless; but he never acts thus unless he believes that some solid temporal advantage is to be gained by so doing. pain for the sake of pain, whether as a moral discipline in this life or as a means of winning a glorious immortality hereafter, is not an object which he sets himself deliberately to pursue. [this explanation confirmed with reference to the beating of girls at puberty among the south american indians; treatment of a girl at puberty among the banivas of the orinoco; symptoms of puberty in a girl regarded as wounds inflicted by a demon.] if this view is correct, we can understand why so many indian tribes of south america compel the youth of both sexes to submit to these painful and sometimes fatal ordeals. they imagine that in this way they rid the young folk of certain evils inherent in youth, especially at the critical age of puberty; and when they picture to themselves the evils in a personal form as dangerous spirits or demons, the ceremony of their expulsion may in the strict sense be termed an exorcism. this certainly appears to be the interpretation which the banivas of the orinoco put upon the cruel scourgings which they inflict on girls at puberty. at her first menstruation a baniva girl must pass several days and nights in her hammock, almost motionless and getting nothing to eat and drink but water and a little manioc. while she lies there, the suitors for her hand apply to her father, and he who can afford to give most for her or can prove himself the best man, is promised the damsel in marriage. the fast over, some old men enter the hut, bandage the girl's eyes, cover her head with a bonnet of which the fringes fall on her shoulders, and then lead her forth and tie her to a post set up in an open place. the head of the post is carved in the shape of a grotesque face. none but the old men may witness what follows. were a woman caught peeping and prying, it would go ill with her; she would be marked out for the vengeance of the demon, who would make her expiate her crime at the very next moon by madness or death. every participant in the ceremony comes armed with a scourge of cords or of fish skins; some of them reinforce the virtue of the instrument by tying little sharp stones to the end of the thongs. then, to the dismal and deafening notes of shell-trumpets blown by two or three supernumeraries, the men circle round and round the post, every one applying his scourge as he passes to the girl's back, till it streams with blood. at last the musicians, winding tremendous blasts on their trumpets against the demon, advance and touch the post in which he is supposed to be incorporate. then the blows cease to descend; the girl is untied, often in a fainting state, and carried away to have her wounds washed and simples applied to them. the youngest of the executioners, or rather of the exorcists, hastens to inform her betrothed husband of the happy issue of the exorcism. "the spirit," he says, "had cast thy beloved into a sleep as deep almost as that of death. but we have rescued her from his attacks, and laid her down in such and such a place. go seek her." then going from house to house through the village he cries to the inmates, "come, let us burn the demon who would have taken possession of such and such a girl, our friend." the bridegroom at once carries his wounded and suffering bride to his own house; and all the people gather round the post for the pleasure of burning it and the demon together. a great pile of firewood has meanwhile been heaped up about it, and the women run round the pyre cursing in shrill voices the wicked spirit who has wrought all this evil. the men join in with hoarser cries and animate themselves for the business in hand by deep draughts of an intoxicant which has been provided for the occasion by the parents-in-law. soon the bridegroom, having committed the bride to the care of his mother, appears on the scene brandishing a lighted torch. he addresses the demon with bitter mockery and reproaches; informs him that the fair creature on whom he, the demon, had nefarious designs, is now his, the bridegroom's, blooming spouse; and shaking his torch at the grinning head on the post, he screams out, "this is how the victims of thy persecution take vengeance on thee!" with these words he puts a light to the pyre. at once the drums strike up, the trumpets blare, and men, women, and children begin to dance. in two long rows they dance, the men on one side, the women on the other, advancing till they almost touch and then retiring again. after that the two rows join hands, and forming a huge circle trip it round and round the blaze, till the post with its grotesque face is consumed in the flames and nothing of the pyre remains but a heap of red and glowing embers. "the evil spirit has been destroyed. thus delivered from her persecutor, the young wife will be free from sickness, will not die in childbed, and will bear many children to her husband."[156] from this account it appears that the banivas attribute the symptoms of puberty in girls to the wounds inflicted on them by an amorous devil, who, however, can be not only exorcised but burnt to ashes at the stake. § 6. _seclusion of girls at puberty in india and cambodia_ [seclusion of girls at puberty among the hindoos; seclusion of girls at puberty in southern india.] when a hindoo maiden reaches maturity she is kept in a dark room for four days, and is forbidden to see the sun. she is regarded as unclean; no one may touch her. her diet is restricted to boiled rice, milk, sugar, curd, and tamarind without salt. on the morning of the fifth day she goes to a neighbouring tank, accompanied by five women whose husbands are alive. smeared with turmeric water, they all bathe and return home, throwing away the mat and other things that were in the room.[157] the rarhi brahmans of bengal compel a girl at puberty to live alone, and do not allow her to see the face of any male. for three days she remains shut up in a dark room, and has to undergo certain penances. fish, flesh, and sweetmeats are forbidden her; she must live upon rice and ghee.[158] among the tiyans of malabar a girl is thought to be polluted for four days from the beginning of her first menstruation. during this time she must keep to the north side of the house, where she sleeps on a grass mat of a particular kind, in a room festooned with garlands of young coco-nut leaves. another girl keeps her company and sleeps with her, but she may not touch any other person, tree or plant. further, she may not see the sky, and woe betide her if she catches sight of a crow or a cat! her diet must be strictly vegetarian, without salt, tamarinds, or chillies. she is armed against evil spirits by a knife, which is placed on the mat or carried on her person.[159] among the kappiliyans of madura and tinnevelly a girl at her first monthly period remains under pollution for thirteen days, either in a corner of the house, which is screened off for her use by her maternal uncle, or in a temporary hut, which is erected by the same relative on the common land of the village. on the thirteenth day she bathes in a tank, and, on entering the house, steps over a pestle and a cake. near the entrance some food is placed and a dog is allowed to partake of it; but his enjoyment is marred by suffering, for while he eats he receives a sound thrashing, and the louder he howls the better, for the larger will be the family to which the young woman will give birth; should there be no howls, there will be no children. the temporary hut in which the girl passed the days of her seclusion is burnt down, and the pots which she used are smashed to shivers.[160] similarly among the parivarams of madura, when a girl attains to puberty she is kept for sixteen days in a hut, which is guarded at night by her relations; and when her sequestration is over the hut is burnt down and the pots she used are broken into very small pieces, because they think that if rain-water gathered in any of them, the girl would be childless.[161] the pulayars of travancore build a special hut in the jungle for the use of a girl at puberty; there she remains for seven days. no one else may enter the hut, not even her mother. women stand a little way off and lay down food for her. at the end of the time she is brought home, clad in a new or clean cloth, and friends are treated to betel-nut, toddy, and arack.[162] among the singhalese a girl at her first menstruation is confined to a room, where she may neither see nor be seen by any male. after being thus secluded for two weeks she is taken out, with her face covered, and is bathed by women at the back of the house. near the bathing-place are kept branches of any milk-bearing tree, usually of the _jak_-tree. in some cases, while the time of purification or uncleanness lasts, the maiden stays in a separate hut, which is afterwards burnt down.[163] [seclusion of girls at puberty in cambodia.] in cambodia a girl at puberty is put to bed under a mosquito curtain, where she should stay a hundred days. usually, however, four, five, ten, or twenty days are thought enough; and even this, in a hot climate and under the close meshes of the curtain, is sufficiently trying.[164] according to another account, a cambodian maiden at puberty is said to "enter into the shade." during her retirement, which, according to the rank and position of her family, may last any time from a few days to several years, she has to observe a number of rules, such as not to be seen by a strange man, not to eat flesh or fish, and so on. she goes nowhere, not even to the pagoda. but this state of seclusion is discontinued during eclipses; at such times she goes forth and pays her devotions to the monster who is supposed to cause eclipses by catching the heavenly bodies between his teeth.[165] this permission to break her rule of retirement and appear abroad during an eclipse seems to shew how literally the injunction is interpreted which forbids maidens entering on womanhood to look upon the sun. § 7. _seclusion of girls at puberty in folk-tales_ [traces of the seclusion of girls at puberty in folk-tales. danish story of the girl who might not see the sun.] a superstition so widely diffused as this might be expected to leave traces in legends and folk-tales. and it has done so. in a danish story we read of a princess who was fated to be carried off by a warlock if ever the sun shone on her before she had passed her thirtieth year; so the king her father kept her shut up in the palace, and had all the windows on the east, south, and west sides blocked up, lest a sunbeam should fall on his darling child, and he should thus lose her for ever. only at evening, when the sun was down, might she walk for a little in the beautiful garden of the castle. in time a prince came a-wooing, followed by a train of gorgeous knights and squires on horses all ablaze with gold and silver. the king said the prince might have his daughter to wife on condition that he would not carry her away to his home till she was thirty years old but would live with her in the castle, where the windows looked out only to the north. the prince agreed, so married they were. the bride was only fifteen, and fifteen more long weary years must pass before she might step out of the gloomy donjon, breathe the fresh air, and see the sun. but she and her gallant young bridegroom loved each other and they were happy. often they sat hand in hand at the window looking out to the north and talked of what they would do when they were free. still it was a little dull to look out always at the same window and to see nothing but the castle woods, and the distant hills, and the clouds drifting silently over them. well, one day it happened that all the people in the castle had gone away to a neighbouring castle to witness a tournament and other gaieties, and the two young folks were left as usual all alone at the window looking out to the north. they sat silent for a time gazing away to the hills. it was a grey sad day, the sky was overcast, and the weather seemed to draw to rain. at last the prince said, "there will be no sunshine to-day. what if we were to drive over and join the rest at the tournament?" his young wife gladly consented, for she longed to see more of the world than those eternal green woods and those eternal blue hills, which were all she ever saw from the window. so the horses were put into the coach, and it rattled up to the door, and in they got and away they drove. at first all went well. the clouds hung low over the woods, the wind sighed in the trees, a drearier day you could hardly imagine. so they joined the rest at the other castle and took their seats to watch the jousting in the lists. so intent were they in watching the gay spectacle of the prancing steeds, the fluttering pennons, and the glittering armour of the knights, that they failed to mark the change, the fatal change, in the weather. for the wind was rising and had begun to disperse the clouds, and suddenly the sun broke through, and the glory of it fell like an aureole on the young wife, and at once she vanished away. no sooner did her husband miss her from his side than he, too, mysteriously disappeared. the tournament broke up in confusion, the bereft father hastened home, and shut himself up in the dark castle from which the light of life had departed. the green woods and the blue hills could still be seen from the window that looked to the north, but the young faces that had gazed out of it so wistfully were gone, as it seemed, for ever.[166] [tyrolese story of the girl who might not see the sun.] a tyrolese story tells how it was the doom of a lovely maiden with golden hair to be transported into the belly of a whale if ever a sunbeam fell on her. hearing of the fame of her beauty the king of the country sent for her to be his bride, and her brother drove the fair damsel to the palace in a carefully closed coach, himself sitting on the box and handling the reins. on the way they overtook two hideous witches, who pretended they were weary and begged for a lift in the coach. at first the brother refused to take them in, but his tender-hearted sister entreated him to have compassion on the two poor footsore women; for you may easily imagine that she was not acquainted with their true character. so down he got rather surlily from the box, opened the coach door, and in the two witches stepped, laughing in their sleeves. but no sooner had the brother mounted the box and whipped up the horses, than one of the two wicked witches bored a hole in the closed coach. a sunbeam at once shot through the hole and fell on the fair damsel. so she vanished from the coach and was spirited away into the belly of a whale in the neighbouring sea. you can imagine the consternation of the king, when the coach door opened and instead of his blooming bride out bounced two hideous hags![167] [modern greek stories of the maid who might not see the sun.] in a modern greek folk-tale the fates predict that in her fifteenth year a princess must be careful not to let the sun shine on her, for if this were to happen she would be turned into a lizard.[168] in another modern greek tale the sun bestows a daughter upon a childless woman on condition of taking the child back to himself when she is twelve years old. so, when the child was twelve, the mother closed the doors and windows, and stopped up all the chinks and crannies, to prevent the sun from coming to fetch away her daughter. but she forgot to stop up the key-hole, and a sunbeam streamed through it and carried off the girl.[169] in a sicilian story a seer foretells that a king will have a daughter who, in her fourteenth year, will conceive a child by the sun. so, when the child was born, the king shut her up in a lonely tower which had no window, lest a sunbeam should fall on her. when she was nearly fourteen years old, it happened that her parents sent her a piece of roasted kid, in which she found a sharp bone. with this bone she scraped a hole in the wall, and a sunbeam shot through the hole and got her with child.[170] [the story of danae and its parallel in a kirghiz legend.] the old greek story of danae, who was confined by her father in a subterranean chamber or a brazen tower, but impregnated by zeus, who reached her in the shape of a shower of gold,[171] perhaps belongs to the same class of tales. it has its counterpart in the legend which the kirghiz of siberia tell of their ancestry. a certain khan had a fair daughter, whom he kept in a dark iron house, that no man might see her. an old woman tended her; and when the girl was grown to maidenhood she asked the old woman, "where do you go so often?" "my child," said the old dame, "there is a bright world. in that bright world your father and mother live, and all sorts of people live there. that is where i go." the maiden said, "good mother, i will tell nobody, but shew me that bright world." so the old woman took the girl out of the iron house. but when she saw the bright world, the girl tottered and fainted; and the eye of god fell upon her, and she conceived. her angry father put her in a golden chest and sent her floating away (fairy gold can float in fairyland) over the wide sea.[172] the shower of gold in the greek story, and the eye of god in the kirghiz legend, probably stand for sunlight and the sun. [impregnation of women by the sun in legends.] the idea that women may be impregnated by the sun is not uncommon in legends. thus, for example, among the indians of guacheta in colombia, it is said, a report once ran that the sun would impregnate one of their maidens, who should bear a child and yet remain a virgin. the chief had two daughters, and was very desirous that one of them should conceive in this miraculous manner. so every day he made them climb a hill to the east of his house in order to be touched by the first beams of the rising sun. his wishes were fulfilled, for one of the damsels conceived and after nine months gave birth to an emerald. so she wrapped it in cotton and placed it in her bosom, and in a few days it turned into a child, who received the name of garanchacha and was universally recognized as a son of the sun.[173] again, the samoans tell of a woman named mangamangai, who became pregnant by looking at the rising sun. her son grew up and was named "child of the sun." at his marriage he applied to his mother for a dowry, but she bade him apply to his father, the sun, and told him how to go to him. so one morning he took a long vine and made a noose in it; then climbing up a tree he threw the noose over the sun and caught him fast. thus arrested in his progress, the luminary asked him what he wanted, and being told by the young man that he wanted a present for his bride, the sun obligingly packed up a store of blessings in a basket, with which the youth descended to the earth.[174] [traces in marriage customs of the belief that women can be impregnated by the sun.] even in the marriage customs of various races we may perhaps detect traces of this belief that women can be impregnated by the sun. thus amongst the chaco indians of south america a newly married couple used to sleep the first night on a mare's or bullock's skin with their heads towards the west, "for the marriage is not considered ratified till the rising sun shines on their feet the succeeding morning."[175] at old hindoo marriages the first ceremony was the "impregnation-rite" (_garbh[=a]dh[=a]na_); during the previous day the bride was made to look towards the sun or to be in some way exposed to its rays.[176] amongst the turks of siberia it was formerly the custom on the morning after the marriage to lead the young couple out of the hut to greet the rising sun. the same custom is said to be still practised in iran and central asia under a belief that the beams of the rising sun are the surest means of impregnating the new bride.[177] [belief in the impregnation of women by the moon.] and as some people think that women may be gotten with child by the sun, so others imagine that they can conceive by the moon. according to the greenlanders the moon is a young man, and he "now and then comes down to give their wives a visit and caress them; for which reason no woman dare sleep lying upon her back, without she first spits upon her fingers and rubs her belly with it. for the same reason the young maids are afraid to stare long at the moon, imagining they may get a child by the bargain."[178] similarly breton peasants are reported to believe that women or girls who expose their persons to the moonlight may be impregnated by it and give birth to monsters.[179] § 8. _reasons for the seclusion of girls at puberty_ [the reason for the seclusion of women at puberty is the dread of menstruous blood.] the motive for the restraints so commonly imposed on girls at puberty is the deeply engrained dread which primitive man universally entertains of menstruous blood. he fears it at all times but especially on its first appearance; hence the restrictions under which women lie at their first menstruation are usually more stringent than those which they have to observe at any subsequent recurrence of the mysterious flow. some evidence of the fear and of the customs based on it has been cited in an earlier part of this work;[180] but as the terror, for it is nothing less, which the phenomenon periodically strikes into the mind of the savage has deeply influenced his life and institutions, it may be well to illustrate the subject with some further examples. [dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the aborigines of australia.] thus in the encounter bay tribe of south australia there is, or used to be, a "superstition which obliges a woman to separate herself from the camp at the time of her monthly illness, when, if a young man or boy should approach, she calls out, and he immediately makes a circuit to avoid her. if she is neglectful upon this point, she exposes herself to scolding, and sometimes to severe beating by her husband or nearest relation, because the boys are told from their infancy, that if they see the blood they will early become grey-headed, and their strength will fail prematurely."[181] and of the south australian aborigines in general we read that there is a "custom requiring all boys and uninitiated young men to sleep at some distance from the huts of the adults, and to remove altogether away in the morning as soon as daylight dawns, and the natives begin to move about. this is to prevent their seeing the women, some of whom may be menstruating; and if looked upon by the young males, it is supposed that dire results will follow."[182] and amongst these tribes women in their courses "are not allowed to eat fish of any kind, or to go near the water at all; it being one of their superstitions, that if a female, in that state, goes near the water, no success can be expected by the men in fishing."[183] similarly, among the natives of the murray river, menstruous women "were not allowed to go near water for fear of frightening the fish. they were also not allowed to eat them, for the same reason. a woman during such periods would never cross the river in a canoe, or even fetch water for the camp. it was sufficient for her to say _thama_, to ensure her husband getting the water himself."[184] the dieri of central australia believe that if women at these times were to eat fish or bathe in a river, the fish would all die and the water would dry up. in this tribe a mark made with red ochre round a woman's mouth indicates that she has her courses; no one would offer fish to such a woman.[185] the arunta of central australia forbid menstruous women to gather the _irriakura_ bulbs, which form a staple article of diet for both men and women. they believe that were a woman to break this rule, the supply of bulbs would fail.[186] among the aborigines of victoria the wife at her monthly periods had to sleep on the opposite side of the fire from her husband; she might partake of nobody's food, and nobody would partake of hers, for people thought that if they ate or drank anything that had been touched by a woman in her courses, it would make them weak or ill. unmarried girls and widows at such times had to paint their heads and the upper parts of their bodies red,[187] no doubt as a danger signal. [severe penalties inflicted for breaches of the custom of seclusion.] in some australian tribes the seclusion of menstruous women was even more rigid, and was enforced by severer penalties than a scolding or a beating. thus with regard to certain tribes of new south wales and southern queensland we are told that "during the monthly illness, the woman is not allowed to touch anything that men use, or even to walk on a path that any man frequents, on pain of death."[188] again, "there is a regulation relating to camps in the wakelbura tribe which forbids the women coming into the encampment by the same path as the men. any violation of this rule would in a large camp be punished with death. the reason for this is the dread with which they regard the menstrual period of women. during such a time, a woman is kept entirely away from the camp, half a mile at least. a woman in such a condition has boughs of some tree of her totem tied round her loins, and is constantly watched and guarded, for it is thought that should any male be so unfortunate as to see a woman in such a condition, he would die. if such a woman were to let herself be seen by a man, she would probably be put to death. when the woman has recovered, she is painted red and white, her head covered with feathers, and returns to the camp."[189] [dread and seclusion of menstruous women in the torres straits islands, new guinea, galela, and sumatra.] in muralug, one of the torres straits islands, a menstruous woman may not eat anything that lives in the sea, else the natives believe that the fisheries would fail. again, in mabuiag, another of these islands, women who have their courses on them may not eat turtle flesh nor turtle eggs, probably for a similar reason. and during the season when the turtles are pairing the restrictions laid on such a woman are much severer. she may not even enter a house in which there is turtle flesh, nor approach a fire on which the flesh is cooking; she may not go near the sea and she should not walk on the beach below high-water mark. nay, the infection extends to her husband, who may not himself harpoon or otherwise take an active part in catching turtle; however, he is permitted to form one of the crew on a turtling expedition, provided he takes the precaution of rubbing his armpits with certain leaves, to which no doubt a disinfectant virtue is ascribed.[190] among the kai of german new guinea women at their monthly sickness must live in little huts built for them in the forest; they may not enter the cultivated fields, for if they did go to them, and the pigs were to taste of the blood, it would inspire the animals with an irresistible desire to go likewise into the fields, where they would commit great depredations on the growing crops. hence the issue from women at these times is carefully buried to prevent the pigs from getting at it. and conversely, if the pigs often break into the fields, the blame is laid on the women who by the neglect of these elementary precautions have put temptation in the way of the swine.[191] in galela, to the west of new guinea, women at their monthly periods may not enter a tobacco-field, or the plants would be attacked by disease.[192] the minangkabauers of sumatra are persuaded that if a woman in her unclean state were to go near a rice-field, the crop would be spoiled.[193] [dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the tribes of south africa.] the bushmen of south africa think that, by a glance of a girl's eye at the time when she ought to be kept in strict retirement, men become fixed in whatever position they happen to occupy, with whatever they were holding in their hands, and are changed into trees that talk.[194] cattle-rearing tribes of south africa hold that their cattle would die if the milk were drunk by a menstruous woman;[195] and they fear the same disaster if a drop of her blood were to fall on the ground and the oxen were to pass over it. to prevent such a calamity women in general, not menstruous women only, are forbidden to enter the cattle enclosure; and more than that, they may not use the ordinary paths in entering the village or in passing from one hut to another. they are obliged to make circuitous tracks at the back of the huts in order to avoid the ground in the middle of the village where the cattle stand or lie down. these women's tracks may be seen at every caffre village.[196] [dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the tribes of central and east africa.] similarly among the bahima, a cattle-breeding tribe of ankole, in central africa, no menstruous woman may drink milk, lest by so doing she should injure the cows; and she may not lie on her husband's bed, no doubt lest she should injure him. indeed she is forbidden to lie on a bed at all and must sleep on the ground. her diet is restricted to vegetables and beer.[197] among the baganda, in like manner, no menstruous woman might drink milk or come into contact with any milk-vessel;[198] and she might not touch anything that belonged to her husband, nor sit on his mat, nor cook his food. if she touched anything of his at such a time it was deemed equivalent to wishing him dead or to actually working magic for his destruction.[199] were she to handle any article of his, he would surely fall ill; were she to handle his weapons, he would certainly be killed in the next battle. even a woman who did not menstruate was believed by the baganda to be a source of danger to her husband, indeed capable of killing him. hence, before he went to war, he used to wound her slightly with his spear so as to draw blood; this was thought to ensure his safe return.[200] apparently the notion was that if the wife did not lose blood in one way or another, her husband would be bled in war to make up for her deficiency; so by way of guarding against this undesirable event, he took care to relieve her of a little superfluous blood before he repaired to the field of honour. further, the baganda would not suffer a menstruous woman to visit a well; if she did so, they feared that the water would dry up, and that she herself would fall sick and die, unless she confessed her fault and the medicine-man made atonement for her.[201] among the akikuyu of british east africa, if a new hut is built in a village and the wife chances to menstruate in it on the day she lights the first fire there, the hut must be broken down and demolished the very next day. the woman may on no account sleep a second night in it; there is a curse (_thahu_) both on her and on it.[202] in the suk tribe of british east africa warriors may not eat anything that has been touched by menstruous women. if they did so, it is believed that they would lose their virility; "in the rain they will shiver and in the heat they will faint." suk men and women take their meals apart, because the men fear that one or more of the women may be menstruating.[203] the anyanja of british central africa, at the southern end of lake nyassa, think that a man who should sleep with a woman in her courses would fall sick and die, unless some remedy were applied in time. and with them it is a rule that at such times a woman should not put any salt into the food she is cooking, otherwise the people who partook of the food salted by her would suffer from a certain disease called _tsempo_; hence to obviate the danger she calls a child to put the salt into the dish.[204] [dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the tribes of west africa.] among the hos, a tribe of ewe negroes of togoland in west africa, so long as a wife has her monthly sickness she may not cook for her husband, nor lie on his bed, nor sit on his stool; an infraction of these rules would assuredly, it is believed, cause her husband to die. if her husband is a priest, or a magician, or a chief, she may not pass the days of her uncleanness in the house, but must go elsewhere till she is clean.[205] among the ewe negroes of this region each village has its huts where women who have their courses on them must spend their time secluded from intercourse with other people. sometimes these huts stand by themselves in public places; sometimes they are mere shelters built either at the back or front of the ordinary dwelling-houses. a woman is punishable if she does not pass the time of her monthly sickness in one of these huts or shelters provided for her use. thus, if she shews herself in her own house or even in the yard of the house, she may be fined a sheep, which is killed, its flesh divided among the people, and its blood poured on the image of the chief god as a sin-offering to expiate her offence. she is also forbidden to go to the place where the villagers draw water, and if she breaks the rule, she must give a goat to be killed; its flesh is distributed, and its blood, diluted with water and mixed with herbs, is sprinkled on the watering-place and on the paths leading to it. were any woman to disregard these salutary precautions, the chief fetish-man in the village would fall sick and die, which would be an irreparable loss to society.[206] [powerful influence ascribed to menstruous blood in arab legend.] the miraculous virtue ascribed to menstruous blood is well illustrated in a story told by the arab chronicler tabari. he relates how sapor, king of persia, besieged the strong city of atrae, in the desert of mesopotamia, for several years without being able to take it. but the king of the city, whose name was daizan, had a daughter, and when it was with her after the manner of women she went forth from the city and dwelt for a time in the suburb, for such was the custom of the place. now it fell out that, while she tarried there, sapor saw her and loved her, and she loved him; for he was a handsome man and she a lovely maid. and she said to him, "what will you give me if i shew you how you may destroy the walls of this city and slay my father?" and he said to her, "i will give you what you will, and i will exalt you above my other wives, and will set you nearer to me than them all." then she said to him, "take a greenish dove with a ring about its neck, and write something on its foot with the menstruous blood of a blue-eyed maid; then let the bird loose, and it will perch on the walls of the city, and they will fall down." for that, says the arab historian, was the talisman of the city, which could not be destroyed in any other way. and sapor did as she bade him, and the city fell down in a heap, and he stormed it and slew daizan on the spot.[207] [dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the jews and in syria.] according to the talmud, if a woman at the beginning of her period passes between two men, she thereby kills one of them; if she passes between them towards the end of her period, she only causes them to quarrel violently.[208] maimonides tells us that down to his time it was a common custom in the east to keep women at their periods in a separate house and to burn everything on which they had trodden; a man who spoke with such a woman or who was merely exposed to the same wind that blew over her, became thereby unclean.[209] peasants of the lebanon think that menstruous women are the cause of many misfortunes; their shadow causes flowers to wither and trees to perish, it even arrests the movements of serpents; if one of them mounts a horse, the animal might die or at least be disabled for a long time.[210] in syria to this day a woman who has her courses on her may neither salt nor pickle, for the people think that whatever she pickled or salted would not keep.[211] the toaripi of new guinea, doubtless for a similar reason, will not allow women at such times to cook.[212] [dread and seclusion of menstruous women in india.] the bhuiyars, a dravidian tribe of south mirzapur, are said to feel an intense dread of menstrual pollution. every house has two doors, one of which is used only by women in this condition. during her impurity the wife is fed by her husband apart from the rest of the family, and whenever she has to quit the house she is obliged to creep out on her hands and knees in order not to defile the thatch by her touch.[213] the kharwars, another aboriginal tribe of the same district, keep their women at such seasons in the outer verandah of the house for eight days, and will not let them enter the kitchen or the cowhouse; during this time the unclean woman may not cook nor even touch the cooking vessels. when the eight days are over, she bathes, washes her clothes, and returns to family life.[214] hindoo women seclude themselves at their monthly periods and observe a number of rules, such as not to drink milk, not to milk cows, not to touch fire, not to lie on a high bed, not to walk on common paths, not to cross the track of animals, not to walk by the side of flowering plants, and not to observe the heavenly bodies.[215] the motive for these restrictions is not mentioned, but probably it is a dread of the baleful influence which is supposed to emanate from women at these times. the parsees, who reverence fire, will not suffer menstruous women to see it or even to look on a lighted taper;[216] during their infirmity the women retire from their houses to little lodges in the country, whither victuals are brought to them daily; at the end of their seclusion they bathe and send a kid, a fowl, or a pigeon to the priest as an offering.[217] in annam a woman at her monthly periods is deemed a centre of impurity, and contact with her is avoided. she is subject to all sorts of restrictions which she must observe herself and which others must observe towards her. she may not touch any food which is to be preserved by salting, whether it be fish, flesh, or vegetables; for were she to touch it the food would putrefy. she may not enter any sacred place, she may not be present at any religious ceremony. the linen which she wears at such times must be washed by herself at sunrise, never at night. on reaching puberty girls may not touch flowers or the fruits of certain trees, for touched by them the flowers would fade and the fruits fall to the ground. "it is on account of their reputation for impurity that the women generally live isolated. in every house they have an apartment reserved for them, and they never eat at the same table as the men. for the same reason they are excluded from all religious ceremonies. they may only be present at family ceremonies, but without ever officiating in them."[218] [dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the indians of south and central america.] the guayquiries of the orinoco think that when a woman has her courses, everything upon which she steps will die, and that if a man treads on the place where she has passed, his legs will immediately swell up.[219] among the guaraunos of the same great river, women at their periods are regarded as unclean and kept apart in special huts, where all that they need is brought to them.[220] in like manner among the piapocos, an indian tribe on the guayabero, a tributary of the orinoco, a menstruous woman is secluded from her family every month for four or five days. she passes the time in a special hut, whither her husband brings her food; and at the end of the time she takes a bath and resumes her usual occupations.[221] so among the indians of the mosquito territory in central america, when a woman is in her courses, she must quit the village for seven or eight days. a small hut is built for her in the wood, and at night some of the village girls go and sleep with her to keep her company. or if the nights are dark and jaguars are known to be prowling in the neighbourhood, her husband will take his gun or bow and sleep in a hammock near her. she may neither handle nor cook food; all is prepared and carried to her. when the sickness is over, she bathes in the river, puts on clean clothes, and returns to her household duties.[222] among the bri-bri indians of costa rica a girl at her first menstruation retires to a hut built for the purpose in the forest, and there she must stay till she has been purified by a medicine-man, who breathes on her and places various objects, such as feathers, the beaks of birds, the teeth of beasts, and so forth, upon her body. a married woman at her periods remains in the house with her husband, but she is reckoned unclean (_bukuru_) and must avoid all intimate relations with him. she uses for plates only banana leaves, which, when she has done with them, she throws away in a sequestered spot; for should a cow find and eat them, the animal would waste away and perish. also she drinks only out of a special vessel, because any person who should afterwards drink out of the same vessel would infallibly pine away and die.[223] [dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the indians of north america.] among most tribes of north american indians the custom was that women in their courses retired from the camp or the village and lived during the time of their uncleanness in special huts or shelters which were appropriated to their use. there they dwelt apart, eating and sleeping by themselves, warming themselves at their own fires, and strictly abstaining from all communications with men, who shunned them just as if they were stricken with the plague. no article of furniture used in these menstrual huts might be used in any other, not even the flint and steel with which in the old days the fires were kindled. no one would borrow a light from a woman in her seclusion. if a white man in his ignorance asked to light his pipe at her fire, she would refuse to grant the request, telling him that it would make his nose bleed and his head ache, and that he would fall sick in consequence. if an indian's wooden pipe cracked, his friends would think that he had either lit it at one of these polluted fires or had held some converse with a woman during her retirement, which was esteemed a most disgraceful and wicked thing to do. decent men would not approach within a certain distance of a woman at such times, and if they had to convey anything to her they would stand some forty or fifty paces off and throw it to her. everything which was touched by her hands during this period was deemed ceremonially unclean. indeed her touch was thought to convey such pollution that if she chanced to lay a finger on a chief's lodge or his gun or anything else belonging to him, it would be instantly destroyed. if she crossed the path of a hunter or a warrior, his luck for that day at least would be gone. were she not thus secluded, it was supposed that the men would be attacked by diseases of various kinds, which would prove mortal. in some tribes a woman who infringed the rules of separation might have to answer with her life for any misfortunes that might happen to individuals or to the tribe in consequence, as it was supposed, of her criminal negligence. when she quitted her tent or hut to go into retirement, the fire in it was extinguished and the ashes thrown away outside of the village, and a new fire was kindled, as if the old one had been defiled by her presence. at the end of their seclusion the women bathed in running streams and returned to their usual occupations.[224] [dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the creek, choctaw, omaha, and cheyenne indians.] thus, to take examples, the creek and kindred indians of the united states compelled women at menstruation to live in separate huts at some distance from the village. there the women had to stay, at the risk of being surprised and cut off by enemies. it was thought "a most horrid and dangerous pollution" to go near the women at such times; and the danger extended to enemies who, if they slew the women, had to cleanse themselves from the pollution by means of certain sacred herbs and roots.[225] similarly, the choctaw women had to quit their huts during their monthly periods, and might not return till after they had been purified. while their uncleanness lasted they had to prepare their own food. the men believed that if they were to approach a menstruous woman, they would fall ill, and that some mishap would overtake them when they went to the wars.[226] when an omaha woman has her courses on her, she retires from the family to a little shelter of bark or grass, supported by sticks, where she kindles a fire and cooks her victuals alone. her seclusion lasts four days. during this time she may not approach or touch a horse, for the indians believe that such contamination would impoverish or weaken the animal.[227] among the potawatomis the women at their monthly periods "are not allowed to associate with the rest of the nation; they are completely laid aside, and are not permitted to touch any article of furniture or food which the men have occasion to use. if the indians be stationary at the time, the women are placed outside of the camp; if on a march, they are not allowed to follow the trail, but must take a different path and keep at a distance from the main body."[228] among the cheyennes menstruous women slept in special lodges; the men believed that if they slept with their wives at such times, they would probably be wounded in their next battle. a man who owned a shield had very particularly to be on his guard against women in their courses. he might not go into a lodge where one of them happened to be, nor even into a lodge where one of them had been, until a ceremony of purification had been performed. sweet grass and juniper were burnt in the tent, and the pegs were pulled up and the covering thrown back, as if the tent were about to be struck. after this pretence of decamping from the polluted spot the owner of the shield might enter the tent.[229] [dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the indians of british columbia.] the stseelis indians of british columbia imagined that if a menstruous woman were to step over a bundle of arrows, the arrows would thereby be rendered useless and might even cause the death of their owner; and similarly that if she passed in front of a hunter who carried a gun, the weapon would never shoot straight again. neither her husband nor her father would dream of going out to hunt while she was in this state; and even if he had wished to do so, the other hunters would not go with him. hence to keep them out of harm's way, the women, both married and unmarried, were secluded at these times for four days in shelters.[230] among the thompson indians of british columbia every woman had to isolate herself from the rest of the people during every recurring period of menstruation, and had to live some little way off in a small brush or bark lodge made for the purpose. at these times she was considered unclean, must use cooking and eating utensils of her own, and was supplied with food by some other woman. if she smoked out of a pipe other than her own, that pipe would ever afterwards be hot to smoke. if she crossed in front of a gun, that gun would thenceforth be useless for the war or the chase, unless indeed the owner promptly washed the weapon in "medecine" or struck the woman with it once on each principal part of her body. if a man ate or had any intercourse with a menstruous woman, nay if he merely wore clothes or mocassins made or patched by her, he would have bad luck in hunting and the bears would attack him fiercely. before being admitted again among the people, she had to change all her clothes and wash several times in clear water. the clothes worn during her isolation were hung on a tree, to be used next time, or to be washed. for one day after coming back among the people she did not cook food. were a man to eat food cooked by a woman at such times, he would have incapacitated himself for hunting and exposed himself to sickness or death.[231] [dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the chippeway indians.] among the chippeways and other indians of the hudson bay territory, menstruous women are excluded from the camp, and take up their abode in huts of branches. they wear long hoods, which effectually conceal the head and breast. they may not touch the household furniture nor any objects used by men; for their touch "is supposed to defile them, so that their subsequent use would be followed by certain mischief or misfortune," such as disease or death. they must drink out of a swan's bone. they may not walk on the common paths nor cross the tracks of animals. they "are never permitted to walk on the ice of rivers or lakes, or near the part where the men are hunting beaver, or where a fishing-net is set, for fear of averting their success. they are also prohibited at those times from partaking of the head of any animal, and even from walking in or crossing the track where the head of a deer, moose, beaver, and many other animals have lately been carried, either on a sledge or on the back. to be guilty of a violation of this custom is considered as of the greatest importance; because they firmly believe that it would be a means of preventing the hunter from having an equal success in his future excursions."[232] so the lapps forbid women at menstruation to walk on that part of the shore where the fishers are in the habit of setting out their fish;[233] and the esquimaux of bering strait believe that if hunters were to come near women in their courses they would catch no game.[234] [dread and seclusion of menstruous women among the tinneh or déné indians; customs and beliefs of the carrier indians in regard to menstruous women.] but the beliefs and superstitions of this sort that prevail among the western tribes of the great déné or tinneh stock, to which the chippeways belong, have been so well described by an experienced missionary, that i will give his description in his own words. prominent among the ceremonial rites of these indians, he says, "are the observances peculiar to the fair sex, and many of them are remarkably analogous to those practised by the hebrew women, so much so that, were it not savouring of profanity, the ordinances of the déné ritual code might be termed a new edition 'revised and considerably augmented' of the mosaic ceremonial law. among the carriers,[235] as soon as a girl has experienced the first flow of the menses which in the female constitution are a natural discharge, her father believed himself under the obligation of atoning for her supposedly sinful condition by a small impromptu distribution of clothes among the natives. this periodical state of women was considered as one of legal impurity fateful both to the man who happened to have any intercourse, however indirect, with her, and to the woman herself who failed in scrupulously observing all the rites prescribed by ancient usage for persons in her condition. [seclusion of carrier girls at puberty.] "upon entering into that stage of her life, the maiden was immediately sequestered from company, even that of her parents, and compelled to dwell in a small branch hut by herself away from beaten paths and the gaze of passers-by. as she was supposed to exercise malefic influence on any man who might inadvertently glance at her, she had to wear a sort of head-dress combining in itself the purposes of a veil, a bonnet, and a mantlet. it was made of tanned skin, its forepart was shaped like a long fringe completely hiding from view the face and breasts; then it formed on the head a close-fitting cap or bonnet, and finally fell in a broad band almost to the heels. this head-dress was made and publicly placed on her head by a paternal aunt, who received at once some present from the girl's father. when, three or four years later, the period of sequestration ceased, only this same aunt had the right to take off her niece's ceremonial head-dress. furthermore, the girl's fingers, wrists, and legs at the ankles and immediately below the knees, were encircled with ornamental rings and bracelets of sinew intended as a protection against the malign influences she was supposed to be possessed with.[236] to a belt girding her waist were suspended two bone implements called respectively _tsoenkuz_ (bone tube) and _tsiltsoet_ (head scratcher). the former was a hollowed swan bone to drink with, any other mode of drinking being unlawful to her. the latter was fork-like and was called into requisition whenever she wanted to scratch her head--immediate contact of the fingers with the head being reputed injurious to her health. while thus secluded, she was called _asta_, that is 'interred alive' in carrier, and she had to submit to a rigorous fast and abstinence. her only allowed food consisted of dried fish boiled in a small bark vessel which nobody else must touch, and she had to abstain especially from meat of any kind, as well as fresh fish. nor was this all she had to endure; even her contact, however remote, with these two articles of diet was so dreaded that she could not cross the public paths or trails, or the tracks of animals. whenever absolute necessity constrained her to go beyond such spots, she had to be packed or carried over them lest she should contaminate the game or meat which had passed that way, or had been brought over these paths; and also for the sake of self-preservation against tabooed, and consequently to her, deleterious food. in the same way she was never allowed to wade in streams or lakes, for fear of causing death to the fish. "it was also a prescription of the ancient ritual code for females during this primary condition to eat as little as possible, and to remain lying down, especially in course of each monthly flow, not only as a natural consequence of the prolonged fast and resulting weakness; but chiefly as an exhibition of a becoming penitential spirit which was believed to be rewarded by long life and continual good health in after years. [seclusion of carrier women at their monthly periods; reasons for the seclusion of menstruous women among the indians.] "these mortifications or seclusion did not last less than three or four years. useless to say that during all that time marriage could not be thought of, since the girl could not so much as be seen by men. when married, the same sequestration was practised relatively to husband and fellow-villagers--without the particular head-dress and rings spoken of--on the occasion of every recurring menstruation. sometimes it was protracted as long as ten days at a time, especially during the first years of cohabitation. even when she returned to her mate, she was not permitted to sleep with him on the first nor frequently on the second night, but would choose a distant corner of the lodge to spread her blanket, as if afraid to defile him with her dread uncleanness."[237] elsewhere the same writer tells us that most of the devices to which these indians used to resort for the sake of ensuring success in the chase "were based on their regard for continence and their excessive repugnance for, and dread of, menstruating women."[238] but the strict observances imposed on tinneh or déné women at such times were designed at the same time to protect the women themselves from the evil consequences of their dangerous condition. thus it was thought that women in their courses could not partake of the head, heart, or hind part of an animal that had been caught in a snare without exposing themselves to a premature death through a kind of rabies. they might not cut or carve salmon, because to do so would seriously endanger their health, and especially would enfeeble their arms for life. and they had to abstain from cutting up the grebes which are caught by the carriers in great numbers every spring, because otherwise the blood with which these fowls abound would occasion haemorrhage or an unnaturally prolonged flux in the transgressor.[239] similarly indian women of the thompson tribe abstained from venison and the flesh of other large game during menstruation, lest the animals should be displeased and the menstrual flow increased.[240] for a similar reason, probably, shuswap girls during their seclusion at puberty are forbidden to eat anything that bleeds.[241] the same principle may perhaps partly explain the rule, of which we have had some examples, that women at such times should refrain from fish and flesh, and restrict themselves to a vegetable diet. [similar rules of seclusion enjoined on menstruous women in ancient hindoo, persian, and hebrew codes.] the philosophic student of human nature will observe, or learn, without surprise that ideas thus deeply ingrained in the savage mind reappear at a more advanced stage of society in those elaborate codes which have been drawn up for the guidance of certain peoples by lawgivers who claim to have derived the rules they inculcate from the direct inspiration of the deity. however we may explain it, the resemblance which exists between the earliest official utterances of the deity and the ideas of savages is unquestionably close and remarkable; whether it be, as some suppose, that god communed face to face with man in those early days, or, as others maintain, that man mistook his wild and wandering thoughts for a revelation from heaven. be that as it may, certain it is that the natural uncleanness of woman at her monthly periods is a conception which has occurred, or been revealed, with singular unanimity to several ancient legislators. the hindoo lawgiver manu, who professed to have received his institutes from the creator brahman, informs us that the wisdom, the energy, the strength, the sight, and the vitality of a man who approaches a woman in her courses will utterly perish; whereas, if he avoids her, his wisdom, energy, strength, sight, and vitality will all increase.[242] the persian lawgiver zoroaster, who, if we can take his word for it, derived his code from the mouth of the supreme being ahura mazda, devoted special attention to the subject. according to him, the menstrous flow, at least in its abnormal manifestations, is a work of ahriman, or the devil. therefore, so long as it lasts, a woman "is unclean and possessed of the demon; she must be kept confined, apart from the faithful whom her touch would defile, and from the fire which her very look would injure; she is not allowed to eat as much as she wishes, as the strength she might acquire would accrue to the fiends. her food is not given her from hand to hand, but is passed to her from a distance, in a long leaden spoon."[243] the hebrew lawgiver moses, whose divine legation is as little open to question as that of manu and zoroaster, treats the subject at still greater length; but i must leave to the reader the task of comparing the inspired ordinances on this head with the merely human regulations of the carrier indians which they so closely resemble. [superstitions as to menstruous women in ancient and modern europe.] amongst the civilized nations of europe the superstitions which cluster round this mysterious aspect of woman's nature are not less extravagant than those which prevail among savages. in the oldest existing cyclopaedia--the _natural history_ of pliny--the list of dangers apprehended from menstruation is longer than any furnished by mere barbarians. according to pliny, the touch of a menstruous woman turned wine to vinegar, blighted crops, killed seedlings, blasted gardens, brought down the fruit from trees, dimmed mirrors, blunted razors, rusted iron and brass (especially at the waning of the moon), killed bees, or at least drove them from their hives, caused mares to miscarry, and so forth.[244] similarly, in various parts of europe, it is still believed that if a woman in her courses enters a brewery the beer will turn sour; if she touches beer, wine, vinegar, or milk, it will go bad; if she makes jam, it will not keep; if she mounts a mare, it will miscarry; if she touches buds, they will wither; if she climbs a cherry tree, it will die.[245] in brunswick people think that if a menstruous woman assists at the killing of a pig, the pork will putrefy.[246] in the greek island of calymnos a woman at such times may not go to the well to draw water, nor cross a running stream, nor enter the sea. her presence in a boat is said to raise storms.[247] [the intention of secluding menstruous women is to neutralize the dangerous influences which are thought to emanate from them in that condition; suspension between heaven and earth.] thus the object of secluding women at menstruation is to neutralize the dangerous influences which are supposed to emanate from them at such times. that the danger is believed to be especially great at the first menstruation appears from the unusual precautions taken to isolate girls at this crisis. two of these precautions have been illustrated above, namely, the rules that the girl may not touch the ground nor see the sun. the general effect of these rules is to keep her suspended, so to say, between heaven and earth. whether enveloped in her hammock and slung up to the roof, as in south america, or raised above the ground in a dark and narrow cage, as in new ireland, she may be considered to be out of the way of doing mischief, since, being shut off both from the earth and from the sun, she can poison neither of these great sources of life by her deadly contagion. in short, she is rendered harmless by being, in electrical language, insulated. but the precautions thus taken to isolate or insulate the girl are dictated by a regard for her own safety as well as for the safety of others. for it is thought that she herself would suffer if she were to neglect the prescribed regimen. thus zulu girls, as we have seen, believe that they would shrivel to skeletons if the sun were to shine on them at puberty, and in some brazilian tribes the young women think that a transgression of the rules would entail sores on the neck and throat. in short, the girl is viewed as charged with a powerful force which, if not kept within bounds, may prove destructive both to herself and to all with whom she comes in contact. to repress this force within the limits necessary for the safety of all concerned is the object of the taboos in question. [the same explanation applies to the similar rules of seclusion observed by divine kings and priests; suspension between heaven and earth.] the same explanation applies to the observance of the same rules by divine kings and priests. the uncleanness, as it is called, of girls at puberty and the sanctity of holy men do not, to the primitive mind, differ materially from each other. they are only different manifestations of the same mysterious energy which, like energy in general, is in itself neither good nor bad, but becomes beneficent or maleficent according to its application.[248] accordingly, if, like girls at puberty, divine personages may neither touch the ground nor see the sun, the reason is, on the one hand, a fear lest their divinity might, at contact with earth or heaven, discharge itself with fatal violence on either; and, on the other hand, an apprehension that the divine being, thus drained of his ethereal virtue, might thereby be incapacitated for the future performance of those magical functions, upon the proper discharge of which the safety of the people and even of the world is believed to hang. thus the rules in question fall under the head of the taboos which we examined in the second part of this work;[249] they are intended to preserve the life of the divine person and with it the life of his subjects and worshippers. nowhere, it is thought, can his precious yet dangerous life be at once so safe and so harmless as when it is neither in heaven nor in earth, but, as far as possible, suspended between the two.[250] [stories of immortality attained by suspension between heaven and earth.] in legends and folk-tales, which reflect the ideas of earlier ages, we find this suspension between heaven and earth attributed to beings who have been endowed with the coveted yet burdensome gift of immortality. the wizened remains of the deathless sibyl are said to have been preserved in a jar or urn which hung in a temple of apollo at cumae; and when a group of merry children, tired, perhaps, of playing in the sunny streets, sought the shade of the temple and amused themselves by gathering underneath the familiar jar and calling out, "sibyl, what do you wish?" a hollow voice, like an echo, used to answer from the urn, "i wish to die."[251] a story, taken down from the lips of a german peasant at thomsdorf, relates that once upon a time there was a girl in london who wished to live for ever, so they say: "_london, london is a fine town. a maiden prayed to live for ever._" and still she lives and hangs in a basket in a church, and every st. john's day, about the hour of noon, she eats a roll of bread.[252] another german story tells of a lady who resided at danzig and was so rich and so blest with all that life can give that she wished to live always. so when she came to her latter end, she did not really die but only looked like dead, and very soon they found her in a hollow of a pillar in the church, half standing and half sitting, motionless. she stirred never a limb, but they saw quite plainly that she was alive, and she sits there down to this blessed day. every new year's day the sacristan comes and puts a morsel of the holy bread in her mouth, and that is all she has to live on. long, long has she rued her fatal wish who set this transient life above the eternal joys of heaven.[253] a third german story tells of a noble damsel who cherished the same foolish wish for immortality. so they put her in a basket and hung her up in a church, and there she hangs and never dies, though many a year has come and gone since they put her there. but every year on a certain day they give her a roll, and she eats it and cries out, "for ever! for ever! for ever!" and when she has so cried she falls silent again till the same time next year, and so it will go on for ever and for ever.[254] a fourth story, taken down near oldenburg in holstein, tells of a jolly dame that ate and drank and lived right merrily and had all that heart could desire, and she wished to live always. for the first hundred years all went well, but after that she began to shrink and shrivel up, till at last she could neither walk nor stand nor eat nor drink. but die she could not. at first they fed her as if she were a little child, but when she grew smaller and smaller they put her in a glass bottle and hung her up in the church. and there she still hangs, in the church of st. mary, at lübeck. she is as small as a mouse, but once a year she stirs.[255] notes: [64] pechuel-loesche, "indiscretes aus loango," _zeitschrift für ethnologie_, x. (1878) p. 23. [65] rev. j. macdonald, "manners, customs, superstitions, and religions of south african tribes," _journal of the anthropological institute_, xx. (1891) p. 118. [66] dudley kidd, _the essential kafir_ (london, 1904), p. 209. the prohibition to drink milk under such circumstances is also mentioned, though without the reason for it, by l. alberti (_de kaffersaan de zuidkust van afrika_, amsterdam, 1810, p. 79), george thompson (_travels and adventures in southern africa_, london, 1827, ii. 354 _sq._), and mr. warner (in col. maclean's _compendium of kafir laws and customs_; cape town, 1866, p. 98). as to the reason for the prohibition, see below, p. 80. [67] c.w. hobley, _ethnology of a-kamba and other east african tribes_ (cambridge, 1910), p. 65. [68] rev. j. roscoe, _the baganda_ (london, 1911), p. 80. as to the interpretation which the baganda put on the act of jumping or stepping over a woman, see _id._, pp. 48, 357 note 1. apparently some of the lower congo people interpret the act similarly. see j.h. weeks, "notes on some customs of the lower congo people," _folk-lore_, xix. (1908) p. 431. among the baganda the separation of children from their parents took place after weaning; girls usually went to live either with an elder married brother or (if there was none such) with one of their father's brothers; boys in like manner went to live with one of their father's brothers. see j. roscoe, _op. cit._ p. 74. as to the prohibition to touch food with the hands, see _taboo and the perils of the soul_, pp. 138 _sqq._, 146 _sqq._, etc. [69] rev. j. roscoe, _the baganda_, p. 80. [70] de la loubere, _du royaume de siam_ (amsterdam, 1691), i. 203. in travancore it is believed that women at puberty and after childbirth are peculiarly liable to be attacked by demons. see s. mateer, _the land of charity_ (london, 1871), p. 208. [71] rev. j. roscoe, _the baganda_, p. 80. [72] c. gouldsbury and h. sheane, _the great plateau of northern nigeria_ (london, 1911), pp. 158-160. [73] r. sutherland rattray, _some folk-lore, stories and songs in chinyanja_ (london, 1907), pp. 102-105. [74] rev. h. cole, "notes on the wagogo of german east africa," _journal of the anthropological institute_, xxxii. (1902) pp. 309 _sq._ [75] r. sutherland rattray, _op. cit._ pp. 191 _sq._ [76] _the grihya sutras_, translated by h. oldenberg, part i. p. 357, part ii. p. 267 (_sacred books of the east_, vols. xxix., xxx.). [77] rev. j. roscoe, _the baganda_ (london, 1911), pp. 393 _sq._, compare pp. 396, 398. [78] see _totemism and exogamy_, iv. 224 _sqq._ [79] sir harry h. johnston, _british central africa_ (london, 1897), p. 411. [80] oscar baumann, _durch massailand zur nilquelle_ (berlin, 1894), p. 178. [81] lionel decle, _three years in savage africa_ (london, 1898), p. 78. compare e. jacottet, _études sur les langues du haut-zambèze_, troisième partie (paris, 1901), pp. 174 _sq._ (as to the a-louyi). [82] e. béguin, _les ma-rotsé_ (lausanne and fontaines, 1903), p. 113. [83] henri a. junod, _the life of a south african tribe_ (neuchatel, 1912-1913), i. 178 _sq._ [84] g. mccall theal, _kaffir folk-lore_ (london, 1886), p. 218. [85] l. alberti, _de kaffers aan de zuidkust van afrika_ (amsterdam, 1810), pp. 79 _sq._; h. lichtenstein, _reisen im südlichen africa_ (berlin, 1811-1812), i. 428. [86] gustav fritsch, _die eingeborenen süd-afrika's_ (breslau, 1872), p. 112. this statement applies especially to the ama-xosa. [87] g. mccall theal, _kaffir folk-lore_, p. 218. [88] rev. canon henry callaway, _nursery tales, traditions, and histories of the zulus_ (natal and london, 1868), p. 182, note 20. from one of the zulu texts which the author edits and translates (p. 189) we may infer that during the period of her seclusion a zulu girl may not light a fire. compare above, p. 28. [89] e. casalis, _the basutos_ (london, 1861), p. 268. [90] j. merolla, "voyage to congo," in j. pinkerton's _voyages and travels_ (london, 1808-1814), xvi. 238; father campana, "congo; mission catholique de landana," _les missions catholiques_, xxvii. (1895) p. 161; r.e. dennett, _at the back of the black man's mind_ (london, 1906), pp. 69 _sq._. according to merolla, it is thought that if girls did not go through these ceremonies, they would "never be fit for procreation." the other consequences supposed to flow from the omission of the rites are mentioned by father campana. from mr. dennett's account (_op. cit._ pp. 53, 67-71) we gather that drought and famine are thought to result from the intercourse of a man with a girl who has not yet passed through the "paint-house," as the hut is called where the young women live in seclusion. according to o. dapper, the women of loango paint themselves red on every recurrence of their monthly sickness; also they tie a cord tightly round their heads and take care neither to touch their husband's food nor to appear before him (_description de l'afrique_, amsterdam, 1686, p. 326). [91] the rev. g. brown, quoted by the rev. b. danks, "marriage customs of the new britain group," _journal of the anthropological institute_, xviii. (1889) pp. 284. _sq.; id., melanesians and polynesians_ (london, 1910), pp. 105-107. compare _id._, "notes on the duke of york group, new britain, and new ireland," _journal of the royal geographical society_, xlvii. (1877) pp. 142 _sq._; a. hahl, "das mittlere neumecklenburg," _globus_, xci. (1907) p. 313. wilfred powell's description of the new ireland custom is similar (_wanderings in a wild country_, london, 1883, p. 249). according to him, the girls wear wreaths of scented herbs round the waist and neck; an old woman or a little child occupies the lower floor of the cage; and the confinement lasts only a month. probably the long period mentioned by dr. brown is that prescribed for chiefs' daughters. poor people could not afford to keep their children so long idle. this distinction is sometimes expressly stated. see above, p. 30. among the goajiras of colombia rich people keep their daughters shut up in separate huts at puberty for periods varying from one to four years, but poor people cannot afford to do so for more than a fortnight or a month. see f.a. simons, "an exploration of the goajira peninsula," _proceedings of the royal geographical society_, n.s., vii. (1885) p. 791. in fiji, brides who were being tattooed were kept from the sun (thomas williams, _fiji and the fijians_, second edition, london, 1860, i. 170). this was perhaps a modification of the melanesian custom of secluding girls at puberty. the reason mentioned by mr. williams, "to improve her complexion," can hardly have been the original one. [92] rev. r.h. rickard, quoted by dr. george brown, _melanesians and polynesians_, pp. 107 _sq._. his observations were made in 1892. [93] r. parkinson, _dreissig jahre in der südsee_ (stuttgart, 1907), p. 272. the natives told mr. parkinson that the confinement of the girls lasts from twelve to twenty months. the length of it may have been reduced since dr. george brown described the custom in 1876. [94] j. chalmers and w. wyatt gill, _work and adventure in new guinea_ (london, 1885), p. 159. [95] h. zahn and s. lehner, in r. neuhauss's _deutsch new-guinea_ (berlin, 1911), iii. 298, 418-420. the customs of the two tribes seem to be in substantial agreement, and the accounts of them supplement each other. the description of the bukaua practice is the fuller. [96] c.a.l.m. schwaner, _borneo, beschrijving van het stroomgebied van den barito_ (amsterdam, 1853-1854), ii. 77 _sq._; w.f.a. zimmermann, _die inseln des indischen und stillen meeres_ (berlin, 1864-1865), ii. 632 _sq._; otto finsch, _neu guinea und seine bewohner_ (bremen, 1865), pp. 116 _sq._. [97] j.g.f. riedel, _de sluik--en kroesharige rassen tusschen selebes en papua_ (the hague, 1886), p. 138. [98] a. senfft, "ethnographische beiträge über die karolineninsel yap," _petermanns mitteilungen_, xlix. (1903) p. 53; _id._, "die rechtssitten der jap-eingeborenen," _globus_, xci. (1907) pp. 142 _sq._. [99] dr. c.g. seligmann, in _journal of the anthropological institute_, xxix. (1899) pp. 212 _sq.; id._, in _reports of the cambridge anthropological expedition to torres straits_, v. (cambridge, 1904) pp. 203 _sq._ [100] dr. c.g. seligmann, in _reports of the cambridge expedition to torres straits_, v. (cambridge, 1904) p. 205. [101] l. crauford, in _journal of the anthropological institute_, xxiv. (1895) p. 181. [102] dr. c.g. seligmann, _op. cit._ v. 206. [103] walter e. roth, _north queensland ethnography, bulletin no. 5, superstition, magic, and medicine_ (brisbane, 1903), pp. 24 _sq._ [104] walter e. roth, _op. cit._ p. 25. [105] dr. c.g. seligmann, in _reports of the cambridge anthropological expedition to torres straits_, v. (cambridge, 1904), p. 205. [106] from notes kindly sent me by dr. c.g. seligmann. the practice of burying a girl at puberty was observed also by some indian tribes of california, but apparently rather for the purpose of producing a sweat than for the sake of concealment. the treatment lasted only twenty-four hours, during which the patient was removed from the ground and washed three or four times, to be afterwards reimbedded. dancing was kept up the whole time by the women. see h. r. schoolcraft, _indian tribes of the united states_ (philadelphia, 1853-1856), v. 215. [107] dr. c.g. seligmann, in _reports of the cambridge anthropological expedition to torres straits_, v. 201 _sq._ [108] a.l. kroeber, "the religion of the indians of california," _university of california publications in american archaeology and ethnology_, vol. iv. no. 6 (september, 1907), p. 324. [109] roland b. dixon, "the northern maidu," _bulletin of the american museum of natural history_, vol. xvii. part iii. (may 1905) pp. 232 _sq._, compare pp. 233-238. [110] stephen powers, _tribes of california_ (washington, 1877), p. 85 (_contributions to north american ethnology_, vol. iii.). [111] stephen powers, _op. cit._ p. 235. [112] charles wilkes, _narrative of the united states exploring expedition_, new edition (new york, 1851), iv. 456. [113] franz boas, _chinook texts_ (washington, 1894), pp. 246 _sq._ the account, taken down from the lips of a chinook indian, is not perfectly clear; some of the restrictions were prolonged after the girl's second monthly period. [114] g.m. sproat, _scenes and studies of savage life_ (london, 1868), pp. 93 _sq._ [115] franz boas, in _sixth report on the north-western tribes of canada_, pp. 40-42 (separate reprint from the _report of the british association for the advancement of science_, leeds meeting, 1890). the rule not to lie down is observed also during their seclusion at puberty by tsimshian girls, who always sit propped up between boxes and mats; their heads are covered with small mats, and they may not look at men nor at fresh salmon and olachen. see franz boas, in _fifth report on the north-western tribes of canada_, p. 41 (separate reprint from the _report of the british association for the advancement of science_, newcastle-upon-tyne meeting, 1889); g.m. dawson, _report on the queen charlotte islands, 1878_ (montreal, 1880), pp. 130 b _sq._ some divine kings are not allowed to lie down. see _taboo and the perils of the soul_, p. 5. [116] george m. dawson, _report on the queen charlotte islands, 1878_ (montreal, 1880), p. 130 b; j.r. swanton, _contributions to the ethnology of the haida_ (leyden and new york, 1905), pp. 48-50 (_the jesup north pacific expedition, memoir of the american museum of natural history_, new york). speaking of the customs observed at kloo, where the girls had to abstain from salmon for five years, mr. swanton says (p. 49): "when five years had passed, the girl came out, and could do as she pleased." this seems to imply that the girl was secluded in the house for five years. we have seen (above, p. 32) that in new ireland the girls used sometimes to be secluded for the same period. [117] g.h. von langsdorff, _reise um die welt_ (frankfort, 1812), ii. 114 _sq._; h.j. holmberg, "ethnographische skizzen über die völker des russischen amerika," _acta societatis scientiarum fennicae_, iv. (helsingfors, 1856) pp. 319 _sq._; t. de pauly, _description ethnographique des peuples de la russie_ (st. petersburg, 1862), _peuples de l'amérique russe_, p. 13; a. erman, "ethnographische wahrnehmungen und erfahrungen an den küsten des berings-meeres," _zeitschrift für ethnologie_, ii. (1870) pp. 318 _sq._; h.h. bancroft, _native races of the pacific states_ (london, 1875-1876), i. 110 _sq._; rev. sheldon jackson, "alaska and its inhabitants," _the american antiquarian_, ii. (chicago, 1879-1880) pp. 111 _sq._; a. woldt, _captain jacobsen's reise an der nordwestkiiste americas, 1881-1883_ (leipsic, 1884), p. 393; aurel krause, _die tlinkit-indianer_ (jena, 1885), pp. 217 _sq._; w.m. grant, in _journal of american folk-lore_, i. (1888) p. 169; john r. swanton, "social conditions, beliefs, and linguistic relationship of the tlingit indians," _twenty-sixth annual report of the bureau of american ethnology_ (washington, 1908), p. 428. [118] franz boas, in _tenth report of the committee on the north-western tribes of canada_, p. 45 (separate reprint from the _report of the british association for the advancement of science_, ipswich meeting, 1895). [119] franz boas, in _fifth report of the committee on the north-western tribes of canada_, p. 42 (separate reprint from the _report of the british association for the advancement of science_, newcastle-upon-tyne meeting, 1889); _id._, in _seventh report_, etc., p. 12 (separate reprint from the _report of the british association for the advancement of science_, cardiff meeting, 1891). [120] "customs of the new caledonian women belonging to the nancaushy tine, or stuart's lake indians, natotin tine, or babine's and nantley tine, or fraser lake tribes," from information supplied by gavin hamilton, chief factor of the hudson's bay company's service, who has been for many years among these indians, both he and his wife speaking their languages fluently (communicated by dr. john rae), _journal of the anthropological institute_, vii. (1878) pp. 206 _sq._ [121] émile petitot, _traditions indiennes du canada nord-ouest_ (paris, 1886), pp. 257 _sq._ [122] fr. julius jetté, s.j., "on the superstitions of the ten'a indians," _anthropos_, vi. (1911) pp. 700-702. [123] compare _the magic art and the evolution of kings_, i. 70 _sqq._ [124] james teit, _the thompson indians of british columbia_, pp. 311-317 (_the jesup north pacific expedition, memoir of the american museum of natural history_, new york, april, 1900). as to the customs observed among these indians by the father of a girl at such times in order not to lose his luck in hunting, see _spirits of the corn and of the wild_, ii. 268. [125] james teit, _the lillooet indians_ (leyden and new york, 1906), pp. 263-265 (_the jesup north pacific expedition, memoir of the american museum of natural history_, new york). compare c. hill tout, "report on the ethnology of the stlatlumh of british columbia," _journal of the anthropological institute_, xxxv. (1905) p. 136. [126] franz boas, in _sixth report of the committee on the north-western tribes of canada_, pp. 89 _sq_. (separate reprint from the _report of the british association for the advancement of science_, leeds meeting, 1890). [127] james teit, _the shuswap_ (leyden and new york, 1909), pp. 587 _sq._ (_the jesup north pacific expedition, memoir of the american museum of natural history_, new york). [128] g.h. loskiel, _history of the mission of the united brethren among the indians of north america_ (london, 1794), part i. pp. 56 _sq_. [129] g.b. grinnell, "cheyenne woman customs," _american anthropologist_, new series, iv. (new york, 1902) pp. 13 _sq_. the cheyennes appear to have been at first settled on the mississippi, from which they were driven westward to the missouri. see _handbook of american indians north of mexico_, edited by f.w. hodge (washington, 1907-1910), i. 250 _sqq_. [130] h.j. holmberg, "ueber die völker des russischen amerika," _acta societatis scientiarum fennicae_, iv. (helsingfors, 1856) pp. 401 _sq._; ivan petroff, _report on the population, industries and resources of alaska_, p. 143. [131] e.w. nelson, "the eskimo about bering strait," _eighteenth annual report of the bureau of american ethnology_, part i. (washington, 1899) p. 291. [132] jose guevara, "historia del paraguay, rio de la plata, y tucuman," pp. 16 _sq._, in pedro de angelis, _coleccion de obras y documentos relativos a la historia antigua y moderna de las provincias del rio de la plata_, vol. ii. (buenos-ayres, 1836); j.f. lafitau, _moeurs des sauvages ameriquains_ (paris, 1724), i. 262 _sq._ [133] father ignace chomé, in _lettres édifiantes et curieuses_, nouvelle edition (paris, 1780-1783), viii. 333. as to the chiriguanos, see c.f. phil. von martius, _zur ethnographie amerika's, zumal brasiliens_ (leipsic, 1867), pp. 212 _sqq._; colonel g.e. church, _aborigines of south america_ (london, 1912), pp. 207-227. [134] a. thouar, _explorations dans l'amérique du sud_ (paris, 1891), pp. 48 _sq._; g. kurze, "sitten und gebräuche der lengua-indianer," _mitteilungen der geographischen gesellschaft zu jena_, xxiii. (1905) pp. 26 _sq._ the two accounts appear to be identical; but the former attributes the custom to the chiriguanos, the latter to the lenguas. as the latter account is based on the reports of the rev. w.b. grubb, a missionary who has been settled among the indians of the chaco for many years and is our principal authority on them, i assume that the ascription of the custom to the lenguas is correct. however, in the volume on the lengua indians, which has been edited from mr. grubb's papers (_an unknown people in an unknown land_, london, 1911), these details as to the seclusion of girls at puberty are not mentioned, though what seems to be the final ceremony is described (_op. cit._ pp. 177 _sq._). from the description we learn that boys dressed in ostrich feathers and wearing masks circle round the girl with shrill cries, but are repelled by the women. [135] alcide d'orbigny, _voyage dans l'amérique méridionale_ vol. iii. 1to partie (paris and strasburg, 1844), pp. 205 _sq_. [136] a. thouar, _explorations dans l'amérique du sud_ (paris, 1891) pp. 56 _sq._; father cardus, quoted in j. pelleschi's _los indios matacos_ (buenos ayres, 1897), pp. 47 _sq._ [137] a. thouar, _op. cit._ p. 63. [138] francis de castelnau, _expédition dans les parties centrales de l'amérique du sud_ (paris, 1850-1851), v. 25. [139] d. luis de la cruz, "descripcion de la naturaleza de los terrenos que se comprenden en los andes, poseidos por los peguenches y los demas espacios hasta el rio de chadileuba," p. 62, in pedro de angelis, _coleccion de obras y documentos relativos a la historia antigua y moderna de las provincias del rio de la plata_, vol. i. (buenos-ayres, 1836). apparently the peguenches are an indian tribe of chili. [140] j.b. von spix und c.f. ph. von martius, _reise in brasilien_ (munich, 1823-1831), iii. 1186, 1187, 1318. [141] andré thevet, _cosmographie universelle_ (paris, 1575), ii. 946 b [980] _sq._; _id., les singularites de la france antarctique, autrement nommée amerique_ (antwerp, 1558), p. 76; j.f. lafitau, _moeurs des sauvages ameriquains_ (paris, 1724), i. 290 _sqq_. [142] r. schomburgk, _reisen in britisch guiana_ (leipsic, 1847-1848), ii. 315 _sq._; c.f.ph. von martius, _zur ethnographie amerika's, zumal brasiliens_ (leipsic, 1867), p. 644. [143] labat, _voyage du chevalier des marchais en guinée, isles voisines, et à cayenne_, iv. 365 _sq._ (paris, 1730), pp. 17 _sq._ (amsterdam, 1731). [144] a. caulin, _historia coro-graphica natural y evangelica dela nueva andalucia_ (1779), p. 93. a similar custom, with the omission of the stinging, is reported of the tamanaks in the region of the orinoco. see f.s. gilij, _saggio di storia americana_, ii. (rome, 1781), p. 133. [145] a.r. wallace, _narrative of travels on the amazon and rio negro_, p. 496 (p. 345 of the minerva library edition, london, 1889). [146] _taboo and the perils of the soul_, pp. 105 _sqq._; _the scapegoat_> pp. 259 _sqq._ [147] j.b. von spix and c.f.ph. von martius, _reise in brasilien_ (munich, 1823-1831), iii. 1320. [148] w. lewis herndon, _exploration of the valley of the amazon_ (washington, 1854), pp. 319 _sq._ the scene was described to mr. herndon by a french engineer and architect, m. de lincourt, who witnessed it at manduassu, a village on the tapajos river. mr. herndon adds: "the _tocandeira_ ants not only bite, but are also armed with a sting like the wasp; but the pain felt from it is more violent. i think it equal to that occasioned by the sting of the black scorpion." he gives the name of the indians as mahues, but i assume that they are the same as the mauhes described by spix and martius. [149] francis de castelnau, _expédition dans les parties centrals de l'amérique du sud_ (paris, 1850-1851), v. 46. [150] l'abbé durand, "le rio negro du nord et son bassin," _bulletin de la société de géographie_ (paris), vi. série, iii. (1872) pp. 21 _sq._ the writer says that the candidate has to keep his arms plunged up to the shoulders in vessels full of ants, "as in a bath of vitriol," for hours. he gives the native name of the ant as _issauba_. [151] j. crevaux, _voyages dans l'amérique du sud_ (paris, 1883), pp. 245-250. [152] h. coudreau, _chez nos indiens: quatre années dans la guyane française_ (paris, 1895), p. 228. for details as to the different modes of administering the _maraké_ see _ibid._ pp. 228-235. [153] father geronimo boscana, "chinigchinich," in _life in california by an american_ [a. robinson] (new york, 1846), pp. 273 _sq._ [154] f. stuhlmann, _mit emin pascha ins herz von afrika_ (berlin, 1894), p. 506. [155] as a confirmation of this view it may be pointed out that beating or scourging is inflicted on inanimate objects expressly for the purpose indicated in the text. thus the indians of costa rica hold that there are two kinds of ceremonial uncleanness, _nya_ and _bu-ku-rú_. anything that has been connected with a death is _nya_. but _bu-ku-rú_ is much more virulent. it can not only make one sick but kill. "_bu-ku-rú_ emanates in a variety of ways; arms, utensils, even houses become affected by it after long disuse, and before they can be used again must be purified. in the case of portable objects left undisturbed for a long time, the custom is to beat them with a stick before touching them. i have seen a woman take a long walking-stick and beat a basket hanging from the roof of a house by a cord. on asking what that was for, i was told that the basket contained her treasures, that she would probably want to take something out the next day, and that she was driving off the _bu-ku-rú_. a house long unused must be swept, and then the person who is purifying it must take a stick and beat not only the movable objects, but the beds, posts, and in short every accessible part of the interior. the next day it is fit for occupation. a place not visited for a long time or reached for the first time is _bu-ku-rú_. on our return from the ascent of pico blanco, nearly all the party suffered from little calenturas, the result of extraordinary exposure to wet and cold and of want of food. the indians said that the peak was especially _bu-ku-rú_ since nobody had ever been on it before." one day mr. gabb took down some dusty blow-guns amid cries of _bu-ku-rú_ from the indians. some weeks afterwards a boy died, and the indians firmly believed that the _bu-ku-rú_ of the blow-guns had killed him. "from all the foregoing, it would seem that _bu-ku-rú_ is a sort of evil spirit that takes possession of the object, and resents being disturbed; but i have never been able to learn from the indians that they consider it so. they seem to think of it as a property the object acquires. but the worst _bu-ku-rú_ of all, is that of a young woman in her first pregnancy. she infects the whole neighbourhood. persons going from the house where she lives, carry the infection with them to a distance, and all the deaths or other serious misfortunes in the vicinity are laid to her charge. in the old times, when the savage laws and customs were in full force, it was not an uncommon thing for the husband of such a woman to pay damages for casualties thus caused by his unfortunate wife." see wm. m. gabb, "on the indian tribes and languages of costa rica," _proceedings of the american philosophical society held at philadelphia_, xiv. (philadelphia, 1876) pp. 504 _sq._ [156] j. chaffanjon, _l'orénoque et le caura_ (paris, 1889), pp. 213-215. [157] shib chunder bose, _the hindoos as they are_ (london and calcutta, 1881), p. 86. similarly, after a brahman boy has been invested with the sacred thread, he is for three days strictly forbidden to see the sun. he may not eat salt, and he is enjoined to sleep either on a carpet or a deer's skin, without a mattress or mosquito curtain (_ibid._ p. 186). in bali, boys who have had their teeth filed, as a preliminary to marriage, are kept shut up in a dark room for three days (r. van eck, "schetsen van het eiland bali," _tijdschrift voor nederlandsch indië_, n.s., ix. (1880) pp. 428 _sq._). [158] (sir) h.h. risley, _tribes and castes of bengal, ethnographic glossary_ (calcutta, 1891-1892), i. 152. [159] edgar thurston, _castes and tribes of southern india_ (madras, 1909), vii. 63 _sq._ [160] edgar thurston, _op. cit._ iii. 218. [161] edgar thurston, _op. cit._ vi. 157. [162] s. mateer, _native life in travancore_ (london, 1883), p. 45. [163] arthur a. perera, "glimpses of singhalese social life," _indian antiquary_ xxxi, (1902) p. 380. [164] j. moura, _le royaume du cambodge_ (paris, 1883), i. 377. [165] étienne aymonier, "notes sur les coutumes et croyances superstitieuses des cambodgiens," _cochinchine française: excursions et reconnaissances_, no. 16 (saigon, 1883), pp. 193 _sq._ compare _id., notice sur le cambodge_ (paris, 1875), p. 50 _id., notes sur le laos_ (saigon, 1885), p. 177. [166] svend grundtvig, _dänische volks-märchen_, übersetzt von a. strodtmann, zweite sammlung (leipsic, 1879), pp. 199 _sqq._ [167] christian schneller, _märchen und sagen aus wälschtirol_ (innsbruck, 1867), no. 22, pp. 51 _sqq._ [168] bernbard schmidt, _griechische märchen, sagen und volkslieder_ (leipsic, 1877), p. 98. [169] j.g. von hahn, _griechische und albanesische märchen_ (leipsic, 1864), no. 41, vol. i. pp. 245 _sqq._ [170] laura gonzenbach, _sicilianische märchen_ (leipsic, 1870), no. 28, vol. i. pp. 177 _sqq._ the incident of the bone occurs in other folk-tales. a prince or princess is shut up for safety in a tower and makes his or her escape by scraping a hole in the wall with a bone which has been accidentally conveyed into the tower; sometimes it is expressly said that care was taken to let the princess have no bones with her meat (j.g. von hahn, _op. cit._ no. 15; l. gonzenbach, _op. cit._ nos. 26, 27; _der pentamerone, aus dem neapolitanischen übertragen_ von felix liebrecht (breslau, 1846), no. 23, vol. i. pp. 294 _sqq._). from this we should infer that it is a rule with savages not to let women handle the bones of animals during their monthly seclusions. we have already seen the great respect with which the savage treats the bones of game (_spirits of the corn and of the wild_ ii. 238 _sqq._, 256 _sqq._); and women in their courses are specially forbidden to meddle with the hunter or fisher, as their contact or neighbourhood would spoil his sport (see below, pp. 77, 78 _sq._, 87, 89 _sqq._). in folk-tales the hero who uses the bone is sometimes a boy; but the incident might easily be transferred from a girl to a boy after its real meaning had been forgotten. amongst the tinneh indians a girl at puberty is forbidden to break the bones of hares (above, p. 48). on the other hand, she drinks out of a tube made of a swan's bone (above, pp. 48, 49), and the same instrument is used for the same purpose by girls of the carrier tribe of indians (see below, p. 92). we have seen that a tlingit (thlinkeet) girl in the same circumstances used to drink out of the wing-bone of a white-headed eagle (above, p. 45), and that among the nootka and shuswap tribes girls at puberty are provided with bones or combs with which to scratch themselves, because they may not use their fingers for this purpose (above, pp. 44, 53). [171] sophocles, _antigone_, 944 _sqq._; apollodorus, _bibliotheca_, ii. 4. i; horace, _odes_, iii. 16. i _sqq._; pausanias, ii. 23. 7. [172] w. radloff, _proben der volks-litteratur der türkischen stämme süd-siberiens,_ iii. (st. petersburg, 1870) pp. 82 _sq._ [173] h. ternaux-compans, _essai sur l'ancien cundinamarca_ (paris, n.d.), p. 18. [174] george turner, ll.d., _samoa, a hundred years ago and long before_ (london, 1884), p. 200. for other examples of such tales, see adolph bastian, _die voelker des oestlichen asien_, i. 416, vi. 25; _panjab notes and queries_, ii. p. 148, § 797 (june, 1885); a. pfizmaier, "nachrichten von den alten bewohnern des heutigen corea," _sitzungsberichte der philosoph. histor. classe der kaiser. akademie der wissenschaften_ (vienna), lvii. (1868) pp. 495 _sq._ [175] thomas j. hutchinson, "on the chaco and other indians of south america," _transactions of the ethnological society of london_, n.s. iii. (1865) p. 327. amongst the lengua indians of the paraguayan chaco the marriage feast is now apparently extinct. see w. barbrooke grubb, _an unknown people in an unknown land_ (london, 1911), p. 179. [176] monier williams, _religious thought and life in india_ (london, 1883), p. 354. [177] h. vambery, _das türkenvolk_ (leipsic, 1885), p. 112. [178] hans egede, _a description of greenland_ (london, 1818), p. 209. [179] _revue des traditions populaires_, xv. (1900) p. 471. [180] _taboo and the perils of the soul_, pp. 145 _sqq._ [181] h.e.a. meyer, "manners and customs of the aborigines of the encounter bay tribe, south australia," _the native tribes of south australia_ (adelaide, 1879), p. 186. [182] e.j. eyre, _journals of expeditions of discovery into central australia_ (london, 1845), ii. 304. [183] e.j. eyre, _op. cit._ ii. 295. [184] r. brough smyth, _the aborigines of victoria_ (melbourne and london, 1878), i. 236. [185] samuel gason, in _journal of the anthropological institute_, xxiv. (1895) p. 171. [186] baldwin spencer and f.j. gillen, _native tribes of central australia_ (london, 1899), p. 473; _idem, northern tribes of central australia_ (london, 1904), p. 615. [187] james dawson, _australian aborigines_ (melbourne, sydney, and adelaide, 1881), pp. ci. _sq._ [188] rev. william ridley, "report on australian languages and traditions," _journal of the anthropological institute_, ii. (1873) p. 268. compare _id., kamilaroi and other australian languages_ (sydney, 1875), p. 157. [189] a.w. howitt, _the native tribes of south-east australia_ (london, 1904.), pp. 776 _sq._, on the authority of mr. j.c. muirhead. the wakelbura are in central queensland. compare captain w.e. armit, quoted in _journal of the anthropological institute_, ix. (1880) pp. 459 _sq._ [190] _reports of the cambridge anthropological expedition to torres straits_, v. (cambridge, 1904) pp. 196, 207. [191] ch. keysser, "aus dem leben der kaileute," in r. neuhauss's _deutsch neu-guinea_ (berlin, 1911), iii. 91. [192] m.j. van baarda, "fabelen, verhalen en overleveringen der galelareezen," _bijdragen tot de taal-landen volkenkinde van nederlandsch-indië_, xlv. (1895) p. 489. [193] j.l. van der toorn, "het animisme bij den minangkabauer der padangsche bovenlanden," _bijdragen tot de taal-landen volkenkunde van nederlandsch-indië_, xxxix. (1890) p. 66. [194] w.h.i. bleek, _a brief account of bushman folk-lore_ (london, 1875), p. 14; compare _ibid._, p. 10. [195] rev. james macdonald, "manners, customs, superstitions and religions of south african tribes," _journal of the anthropological institute_, xx. (1891) p. 138; _id., light in africa_, second edition (london, 1890), p. 221. [196] dudley kidd, _the essential kafir_ (london, 1904), p. 238; mr. warren's notes, in col. maclean's _compendium of kafir laws and customs_ (cape town, 1866), p. 93; rev. j. macdonald, _light in africa_, p. 221; _id., religion and myth_ (london, 1893), p. 198. compare henri a. junod, "les conceptions physiologiques des bantou sud-africains et leurs tabous," _revue d'ethnographie et de sociologie_, i. (1910) p. 139. the danger of death to the cattle from the blood of women is mentioned only by mr. kidd. the part of the village which is frequented by the cattle, and which accordingly must be shunned by women, has a special name, _inkundhla_ (mr. warner's notes, _l.c._). [197] rev. j. roscoe, "the bahima, a cow tribe of enkole," _journal of the royal anthropological institute_, xxxvii. (1907) p. 106. [198] rev. j. roscoe, _the baganda_ (london, 1911), p. 419. [199] rev. j. roscoe, _the baganda_, p. 96. [200] rev. j. roscoe, "notes on the manners and customs of the baganda," _journal of the anthropological institute_, xxxi. (1901) p. 121; _id._, "further notes on the manners and customs of the baganda," _journal of the anthropological institute_, xxxii. (1902) p. 39; _id., the baganda_, p. 352. [201] rev. j. roscoe, _the baganda_, p. 459. [202] c.w. hobley, "further researches into kikuyu and kamba religious beliefs and customs," _journal of the royal anthropological institute_, xli. (1911) p. 409. [203] mervyn w.h. beech, _the suk, their language and folklore_ (oxford, 1911), p. 11. [204] h.s. stannus, "notes on some tribes of british central africa," _journal of the royal anthropological institute_, xl. (1910) p. 305; r. sutherland rattray, _some folk-lore stories and songs in chinyanja_ (london, 1907), p. 191. see above, p. 27. [205] jakob spieth, _die ewe-stämme_ (berlin, 1906), p. 192. [206] anton witte, "menstruation und pubertätsfeier der mädchen in kpandugebiet togo," _baessler-archiv_, i. (1911) p. 279. [207] th. nöldeke, _geschichte der perser und araber zur zeit der sassaniden, aus der arabischen chronik des tabari übersetzt_ (leyden, 1879), pp. 33-38. i have to thank my friend professor a.a. bevan for pointing out to me this passage. many ancient cities had talismans on the preservation of which their safety was believed to depend. the palladium of troy is the most familiar instance. see chr. a. lobeck, _aglaophamus_ (königsberg, 1829), pp. 278 _sqq._, and my note on pausanias, viii. 47. 5 (vol. iv. pp. 433 _sq._). [208] j. mergel, _die medezin der talmudisten_ (leipsic and berlin, 1885), pp. 15 _sq._ [209] maimonides, quoted by d. chwolsohn, _die ssabier und der ssabismus_ (st. petersburg, 1856), ii. 483. according to the editor (p. 735) by the east maimonides means india and eastern countries generally. [210] l'abbé béchara chémali, "naissance et premier âge au liban," _anthropos_, v. (1910) p. 735. [211] eijub abela, "beiträge zur kenntniss abergläubischer gebräuche in syrien," _zeitschrift des deutschen palaestina-vereins_, vii. (1884) p. 111. [212] j. chalmers, "toaripi," _journal of the anthropological institute_, xxvii. (1898) p. 328. [213] w. crooke, _tribes and castes of the north-western provinces and qudh_ (calcutta, 1896), ii. 87. [214] w. crooke, in _north indian notes and queries_, i. p. 67, § 467 (july, 1891). [215] l.k. anantha krishna iyer, _the cochin tribes and castes_, i. (madras, 1909) pp. 201-203. as to the seclusion of menstruous women among the hindoos, see also sonnerat, _voyage aux indes orientates et à la chine_ (paris, 1782), i. 31; j.a. dubois, _moeurs, institutions et cérémonies des peuples de l'inde_ (paris, 1825), i. 245 _sq._ nair women in malabar seclude themselves for three days at menstruation and prepare their food in separate pots and pans. see duarte barbosa, _description of the coasts of east africa and malabar in the beginning of the sixteenth century_ (hakluyt society, london, 1866), pp. 132 _sq._ [216] g. hoffman, _auszüge aus syrischen akten persisischer martyrer übersetzt_ (leipsic, 1880), p. 99. this passage was pointed out to me by my friend professor a.a. bevan. [217] j.b. tavernier, _voyages en turquie, en perse, et aux indes_ (the hague, 1718), i. 488. [218] paul giran, _magie et religion annamites_ (paris, 1912), pp. 107 _sq._, 112. [219] joseph gumilla, _histoire naturelle, civile, et géographique de l'orenoque_ (avignon, 1758), i. 249. [220] dr. louis plassard, "les guaraunos et le delta de l'orénoque," _bulletin de la société de géographie_ (paris), v. série, xv. (1868) p. 584. [221] j. crevaux, _voyages dans l'amérique du sud_ (paris, 1883), p. 526. as to the customs observed at menstruation by indian women in south america, see further a. d'orbigny, _l'homme americain_ (paris, 1839), i. 237. [222] chas. n. bell, "the mosquito territory," _journal of the royal geographical society_, xxxii. (1862) p. 254. [223] h. pittier de fabrega, "die sprache der bribri-indianer in costa rica," _sitztungsberichte der philosophischen-historischen classe der kaiserlichen akademie der wissenschaften_ (vienna), cxxxviii. (1898) pp. 19 _sq._ [224] gabriel sagard, _le grand voyage du pays des hurons_, nouvelle édition (paris, 1865), p. 54 (original edition, paris, 1632); j.f. lafitau, _moeurs des sauvages ameriquains_ (paris, 1724), i. 262; charlevoix, _histoire de la nouvelle france_ (paris, 1744), v. 423 _sq._; captain jonathan carver, _travels through the interior parts of north america_, third edition (london, 1781), pp. 236 _sq._; captains lewis and clark, _expedition to the sources of the missouri_, etc. (london, 1905), iii. 90 (original edition, 1814); rev. jedidiah morse, _report to the secretary of war of the united states on indian affairs_ (new haven, 1822), pp. 136 _sq._; _annales de l'association de la propagation de la foi_, iv, (paris and lyons, 1830) pp. 483, 494 _sq._; george catlin, _letters and notes on the manners, customs, and condition of the north american indians_, fourth edition (london, 1844), ii. 233; h.r. schoolcraft, _indian tribes of the united states_ (philadelphia, 1853-1856), v. 70; a.l. kroeber, "the religion of the indians of california," _university of california publication in american archaeology and ethnology_, vol. iv. no. 6 (berkeley, september, 1907), pp. 323 _sq._; frank g. speck, _ethnology of the yuchi indians_ (philadelphia, 1909), p. 96. among the hurons of canada women at their periods did not retire from the house or village, but they ate from small dishes apart from the rest of the family at these times (gabriel sagard, _l.c._). [225] james adair, _history of the american indians_ (london, 1775), pp. 123 _sq._ [226] bossu, _nouveaux voyages aux indes occidentales_ (paris, 1768), ii. 105. [227] edwin james, _account of an expedition from pittsburgh to the rocky mountains_ (london, 1823), i. 214. [228] william h. keating, _narrative of an expedition to the source of st. peter's river_ (london, 1825), i. 132. [229] g.b. grinnell, "cheyenne woman customs," _american anthropologist_, new series, iv. (new york, 1902) p. 14. [230] c. hill tout, "ethnological report on the stseelis and skaulits tribes of the halokmelem division of the salish of british columbia," _journal of the anthropological institute_, xxxiv. (1904) p. 320. [231] james teit, _the thompson indians of british columbia_, pp. 326 _sq._ (_the jesup north pacific expedition, memoir of the american museum of natural history_, new york, april, 1900). [232] samuel hearne, _journey from prince of wales's fort in hudson's bay to the northern ocean_ (london, 1795), pp. 314 _sq._; alex. mackenzie, _voyages through the continent of north america_ (london, 1801), p. cxxiii.; e. petitot, _monographic des déné-dindjié_ (paris, 1876), pp. 75 _sq._ [233] c. leemius, _de lapponibus finmarchiae eorumque lingua vita et religione pristina_ (copenhagen, 1767), p. 494. [234] e.w. nelson, "the eskimo about bering strait," _eighteenth annual report of the bureau of american ethnology_, part i. (washington, 1899) p. 440. [235] the carriers are a tribe of déné or tinneh indians who get their name from a custom observed among them by widows, who carry, or rather used to carry, the charred bones of their dead husbands about with them in bundles. [236] hence we may conjecture that the similar ornaments worn by mabuiag girls in similar circumstances are also amulets. see above, p. 36. among the aborigines of the upper yarra river in victoria, a girl at puberty used to have cords tied very tightly round several parts of her body. the cords were worn for several days, causing the whole body to swell very much and inflicting great pain. the girl might not remove them till she was clean. see r. brough smyth, _aborigines of victoria_ (melbourne and london, 1878), i. 65. perhaps the cords were intended to arrest the flow of blood. [237] rev. father a.g. morice, "the western dénés, their manners and customs," _proceedings of the canadian institute, toronto_, third series, vii. (1888-89) pp. 162-164. the writer has repeated the substance of this account in a later work, _au pays de l'ours noir: chez les sauvages de la colombia britannique_ (paris and lyons, 1897), pp. 72 _sq._ [238] a.g. morice, "notes, archaeological, industrial, and sociological, on the western dénés," _transactions of the canadian institute_, iv. (1892-93) pp. 106 _sq._ compare rev. father julius jetté, "on the superstitions of the ten'a indians," _anthropos_, vi. (1911) pp. 703 _sq._, who tells us that tinneh women at these times may not lift their own nets, may not step over other people's nets, and may not pass in a boat or canoe near a place where nets are being set. [239] a.g. morice, in _transactions of the canadian institute_, iv. (1892-93) pp. 107, 110. [240] james teit, _the thompson indians of british columbia_, p. 327 (_the jesup north pacific expedition, memoir of the american museum of natural history_, new york, april 1900). [241] see above, p. 53. [242] _laws of manu_, translated by g. buhler (oxford, 1886), ch. iv. 41 _sq._, p. 135 (_sacred books of the east_, vol. xxv.). [243] _the zend-avesta_, translated by j. darmesteter, i. (oxford, 1880) p. xcii. (_sacred books of the east_, vol. iv.). see _id._, pp. 9, 181-185, _fargard_, i. 18 and 19, xvi. 1-18. [244] pliny, _nat. hist._ vii. 64 _sq._, xxviii. 77 _sqq._ compare _geoponica_, xii. 20. 5 and 25. 2; columella, _de re rustica_, xi. 357 _sqq._ [245] august schleicher, _volkstümliches aus sonnenberg_ (weimar, 1858), p. 134; b. souché, _croyances, présages et traditions diverses_ (niort, 1880), p. 11; a. meyrac, _traditions, coutumes légendes et contes des ardennes_ (charleville, 1890), p. 171; v. fossel, _volksmedicin und medicinischer aberglaube in steiermark[2]_ (graz, 1886), p. 124. a correspondent, who withholds her name, writes to me that in a suffolk village, where she used to live some twenty or thirty years ago, "every one pickled their own beef, and it was held that if the pickling were performed by a woman during her menstrual period the meat would not keep. if the cook were incapacitated at the time when the pickling was due, another woman was sent for out of the village rather than risk what was considered a certainty." another correspondent informs me that in some of the dales in the north of yorkshire a similar belief prevailed down to recent years with regard to the salting of pork. another correspondent writes to me: "the prohibition that a menstruating woman must not touch meat that is intended for keeping appears to be common all over the country; at least i have met with it as a confirmed and active custom in widely separated parts of england.... it is in regard to the salting of meat for bacon that the prohibition is most usual, because that is the commonest process; but it exists in regard to any meat food that is required to be kept." [246] r. andree, _braunschweiger volkskunde_ (brunswick, 1896), p. 291. [247] w.r. paton, in _folk-lore_, i. (1890) p. 524. [248] the greeks and romans thought that a field was completely protected against insects if a menstruous woman walked round it with bare feet and streaming hair (pliny, _nat. hist._ xvii. 266, xxviii. 78; columella, _de re rustica_, x. 358 _sq._, xi. 3. 64; palladius, _de re rustica_, i. 35. 3; _geoponica_, xii. 8. 5 _sq._; aelian, _nat. anim._ vi. 36). a similar preventive is employed for the same purpose by north american indians and european peasants. see h.r. schoolcraft, _indian tribes of the united states_ (philadelphia, 1853-1856), v. 70; f.j. wiedemann, _aus dem inneren und aüssern leben der ehsten_ (st. petersburg, 1876), p. 484. compare j. haltrich, _zur volkskunde der siebenbürger sachsen_ (vienna, 1885), p. 280; adolph heinrich, _agrarische sitten und gebräuche unter den sachsen siebenbürgens_ (hermannstadt, 1880), p. 14; j. grimm, _deutsche mythologie_,*[4] iii. 468; g. lammert, _volksmedizin und medizinischer aberglaube aus bayern_ (würzburg, 1869), p. 147. among the western dénés it is believed that one or two transverse lines tattooed on the arms or legs of a young man by a pubescent girl are a specific against premature weakness of these limbs. see a.g. morice, "notes, archaeological, industrial, and sociological, on the western dénés," _transactions of the canadian institute_, iv. (1892-93) p. 182. the thompson indians of british columbia thought that the dawn of day could and would cure hernia if only an adolescent girl prayed to it to do so. just before daybreak the girl would put some charcoal in her mouth, chew it fine, and spit it out four times on the diseased place. then she prayed: "o day-dawn! thy child relies on me to obtain healing from thee, who art mystery. remove thou the swelling of thy child. pity thou him, day-dawn!" see james teit, _the thompson indians of british columbia_, pp. 345 _sq._ (_the jesup north pacific expedition, memoir of the american museum of natural history_, new york, april, 1900). to cure the painful and dangerous wound inflicted by a ray-fish, the indians of the gran chaco smoke the wounded limb and then cause a woman in her courses to sit astride of it. see g. pelleschi, _eight months on the gran chaco of the argentine republic_ (london, 1886), p. 106. an ancient hindoo method of securing prosperity was to swallow a portion of the menstruous fluid. see w. caland, _altindisches zauberritual_ (amsterdam, 1900), pp. 57 _sq._ to preserve a new cow from the evil eye scottish highlanders used to sprinkle menstruous blood on the animal; and at certain seasons of the year, especially at beltane (the first of may) and lammas (the first of august) it was their custom to sprinkle the same potent liquid on the doorposts and houses all round to guard them from harm. the fluid was applied by means of a wisp of straw, and the person who discharged this salutary office went round the house in the direction of the sun. see j.g. campbell, _superstitions of the highlands and islands of scotland_ (glasgow, 1900), p. 248. these are examples of the beneficent application of the menstruous energy. [249] _taboo and the perils of the soul_, pp. 1 _sqq._ [250] for a similar reason, perhaps, ancient hindoo ritual prescribed that when the hair of a child's head was shorn in the third year, the clippings should be buried in a cow-stable, or near an _udumbara_ tree, or in a clump of _darbha_ grass, with the words, "where pushan, brihaspati, savitri, soma, agni dwell, they have in many ways searched where they should deposit it, between heaven and earth, the waters and heaven." see _the grihya-sûtras_, translated by h. oldenberg, part ii. (oxford, 1892) p. 218 (_sacred books of the east_, vol. xxx.). [251] petronius, _sat._ 48; pausanias, x. 12: 8; justin martyr, _cohort ad graecos_, 37, p. 34 c (ed. 1742). according to another account, the remains of the sibyl were enclosed in an iron cage which hung from a pillar in an ancient temple of hercules at argyrus (ampelius, _liber memorialis_, viii. 16). [252] a. kuhn und w. schwartz, _nord-deutsche sagen, märchen und gebräuche_ (leipsic, 1848), p. 70, no. 72. i. this and the following german parallels to the story of the sibyl's wish were first indicated by dr. m.r. james (_classical review_, vi. (1892) p. 74). i have already given the stories at length in a note on pausanias, x. 12. 8 (vol. v. pp. 292 _sq._). [253] a. kuhn und w. schwartz, _op. cit._ pp. 70 _sq._, no. 72. 2. [254] a. kuhn und w. schwartz, _op. cit._ p. 71, no. 72. 3. [255] karl müllenhoff, _sagen, märchen und lieder der herzogthümer holstein und lauenburg_ (kiel, 1845), pp. 158 _sg._, no. 217. chapter iii the myth of balder [how balder, the good and beautiful god, was done to death by a stroke of the mistletoe.] a deity whose life might in a sense be said to be neither in heaven nor on earth but between the two, was the norse balder, the good and beautiful god, the son of the great god odin, and himself the wisest, mildest, best beloved of all the immortals. the story of his death, as it is told in the younger or prose _edda_, runs thus. once on a time balder dreamed heavy dreams which seemed to forebode his death. thereupon the gods held a council and resolved to make him secure against every danger. so the goddess frigg took an oath from fire and water, iron and all metals, stones and earth, from trees, sicknesses and poisons, and from all four-footed beasts, birds, and creeping things, that they would not hurt balder. when this was done balder was deemed invulnerable; so the gods amused themselves by setting him in their midst, while some shot at him, others hewed at him, and others threw stones at him. but whatever they did, nothing could hurt him; and at this they were all glad. only loki, the mischief-maker, was displeased, and he went in the guise of an old woman to frigg, who told him that the weapons of the gods could not wound balder, since she had made them all swear not to hurt him. then loki asked, "have all things sworn to spare balder?" she answered, "east of walhalla grows a plant called mistletoe; it seemed to me too young to swear." so loki went and pulled the mistletoe and took it to the assembly of the gods. there he found the blind god hother standing at the outside of the circle. loki asked him, "why do you not shoot at balder?" hother answered, "because i do not see where he stands; besides i have no weapon." then said loki, "do like the rest and shew balder honour, as they all do. i will shew you where he stands, and do you shoot at him with this twig." hother took the mistletoe and threw it at balder, as loki directed him. the mistletoe struck balder and pierced him through and through, and he fell down dead. and that was the greatest misfortune that ever befell gods and men. for a while the gods stood speechless, then they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly. they took balder's body and brought it to the sea-shore. there stood balder's ship; it was called ringhorn, and was the hugest of all ships. the gods wished to launch the ship and to burn balder's body on it, but the ship would not stir. so they sent for a giantess called hyrrockin. she came riding on a wolf and gave the ship such a push that fire flashed from the rollers and all the earth shook. then balder's body was taken and placed on the funeral pile upon his ship. when his wife nanna saw that, her heart burst for sorrow and she died. so she was laid on the funeral pile with her husband, and fire was put to it. balder's horse, too, with all its trappings, was burned on the pile.[256] [tale of balder in the older _edda_.] in the older or poetic _edda_ the tragic tale of balder is hinted at rather than told at length. among the visions which the norse sibyl sees and describes in the weird prophecy known as the _voluspa_ is one of the fatal mistletoe. "i behold," says she, "fate looming for balder, woden's son, the bloody victim. there stands the mistletoe slender and delicate, blooming high above the ground. out of this shoot, so slender to look on, there shall grow a harmful fateful shaft. hod shall shoot it, but frigga in fen-hall shall weep over the woe of wal-hall."[257] yet looking far into the future the sibyl sees a brighter vision of a new heaven and a new earth, where the fields unsown shall yield their increase and all sorrows shall be healed; then balder will come back to dwell in odin's mansions of bliss, in a hall brighter than the sun, shingled with gold, where the righteous shall live in joy for ever more.[258] [the story of balder as related by saxo grammaticus.] writing about the end of the twelfth century, the old danish historian saxo grammaticus tells the story of balder in a form which professes to be historical. according to him, balder and hother were rival suitors for the hand of nanna, daughter of gewar, king of norway. now balder was a demigod and common steel could not wound his sacred body. the two rivals encountered each other in a terrific battle, and though odin and thor and the rest of the gods fought for balder, yet was he defeated and fled away, and hother married the princess. nevertheless balder took heart of grace and again met hother in a stricken field. but he fared even worse than before; for hother dealt him a deadly wound with a magic sword, which he had received from miming, the satyr of the woods; and after lingering three days in pain balder died of his hurt and was buried with royal honours in a barrow.[259] [balder worshipped in norway.] whether he was a real or merely a mythical personage, balder was worshipped in norway. on one of the bays of the beautiful sogne fiord, which penetrates far into the depths of the solemn norwegian mountains, with their sombre pine-forests and their lofty cascades dissolving into spray before they reach the dark water of the fiord far below, balder had a great sanctuary. it was called balder's grove. a palisade enclosed the hallowed ground, and within it stood a spacious temple with the images of many gods, but none of them was worshipped with such devotion as balder. so great was the awe with which the heathen regarded the place that no man might harm another there, nor steal his cattle, nor defile himself with women. but women cared for the images of the gods in the temple; they warmed them at the fire, anointed them with oil, and dried them with cloths.[260] [the legendary death of balder resembles the legendary death of the persian hero isfendiyar in the epic of firdusi.] it might be rash to affirm that the romantic figure of balder was nothing but a creation of the mythical fancy, a radiant phantom conjured up as by a wizard's wand to glitter for a time against the gloomy background of the stern norwegian landscape. it may be so; yet it is also possible that the myth was founded on the tradition of a hero, popular and beloved in his lifetime, who long survived in the memory of the people, gathering more and more of the marvellous about him as he passed from generation to generation of story-tellers. at all events it is worth while to observe that a somewhat similar story is told of another national hero, who may well have been a real man. in his great poem, _the epic of kings_, which is founded on persian traditions, the poet firdusi tells us that in the combat between rustem and isfendiyar the arrows of the former did no harm to his adversary, "because zerdusht had charmed his body against all dangers, so that it was like unto brass." but simurgh, the bird of god, shewed rustem the way he should follow in order to vanquish his redoubtable foe. he rode after her, and they halted not till they came to the sea-shore. there she led him into a garden, where grew a tamarisk, tall and strong, and the roots thereof were in the ground, but the branches pierced even unto the sky. then the bird of god bade rustem break from the tree a branch that was long and slender, and fashion it into an arrow, and she said, "only through his eyes can isfendiyar be wounded. if, therefore, thou wouldst slay him, direct this arrow unto his forehead, and verily it shall not miss its aim." rustem did as he was bid; and when next he fought with isfendiyar, he shot the arrow at him, and it pierced his eye, and he died. great was the mourning for isfendiyar. for the space of one year men ceased not to lament for him, and for many years they shed bitter tears for that arrow, and they said, "the glory of iran hath been laid low."[261] [the myth of balder was perhaps acted as a magical ceremony. the two chief incidents of the myth, namely the pulling of the mistletoe and the death and burning of the god, have perhaps their counterparts in popular ritual.] whatever may be thought of an historical kernel underlying a mythical husk in the legend of balder, the details of the story suggest that it belongs to that class of myths which have been dramatized in ritual, or, to put it otherwise, which have been performed as magical ceremonies for the sake of producing those natural effects which they describe in figurative language. a myth is never so graphic and precise in its details as when it is, so to speak, the book of the words which are spoken and acted by the performers of the sacred rite. that the norse story of balder was a myth of this sort will become probable if we can prove that ceremonies resembling the incidents in the tale have been performed by norsemen and other european peoples. now the main incidents in the tale are two--first, the pulling of the mistletoe, and second, the death and burning of the god; and both of them may perhaps be found to have had their counterparts in yearly rites observed, whether separately or conjointly, by people in various parts of europe. these rites will be described and discussed in the following chapters. we shall begin with the annual festivals of fire and shall reserve the pulling of the mistletoe for consideration later on. notes: [256] _die edda_, übersetzt von k. simrock*[8] (stuttgart, 1882), pp. 286-288. compare pp. 8, 34, 264. balder's story is told in a professedly historical form by the old danish historian saxo grammaticus in his third book. see below, p. 103. in english the story is told at length by professor (sir) john rhys, _celtic heathendom_ (london and edinburgh, 1888), pp. 529 _sqq._ it is elaborately discussed by professor f. knuffmann in a learned monograph, _balder, mythus und sage_ (strasburg, 1902). [257] gudbrand vigfusson and f. york powell, _corpus poeticum boreale_, i. (oxford, 1883) p. 197. compare _edda rhythmica seu antiquior, vulgo saemundina dicta_, pars iii. (copenhagen, 1828) pp. 39 _sq._; _die edda_, übersetzt von k. simrock*[8] (stuttgart, 1882), p. 8; k. müllenhoff, _deutsche altertumskunde_, v. zweite abteilung (berlin, 1891), pp. 78 _sq._; fr. kauffmann, _balder, mythus und sage_, pp. 20 _sq._ in this passage the words translated "bloody victim" (_blaupom tivor_) and "fate looming" (_ørlog fólgen_) are somewhat uncertain and have been variously interpreted. the word _tivor_, usually understood to mean "god," seems to be found nowhere else. professor h.m. chadwick has kindly furnished me with the following literal translation of the passage: "i saw (or 'have seen') held in safe keeping the life of balder, the bloody god, othin's son. high above the fields (i.e. the surface of the earth) grew a mistletoe, slender and very beautiful. from a shaft (or 'stem') which appeared slender, came a dangerous sorrow-bringing missile (i.e. the shaft became a ... missile); hodr proceeded to shoot. soon was a brother of balder born. he, othin's son, proceeded to do battle when one day old. he did not wash his hands or comb his head before he brought balder's antagonist on to the pyre. but frigg in fen-salir (i.e. the fen-abode) lamented the trouble of val-holl." in translating the words _ørlog fólgen_ "held in safe keeping the life" professor chadwick follows professor f. kauffmann's rendering ("_das leben verwahrt_"); but he writes to me that he is not quite confident about it, as the word _ørlog_ usually means "fate" rather than "life." several sentences translated by professor chadwick ("soon was a brother of balder born ... he brought balder's antagonist on the pyre") are omitted by some editors and translators of the _edda_. [258] g. vigfusson and f. york powell, _corpus poeticum boreale_, i. 200 _sq._; _edda rhythmica seu antiquior, vulgo saemundina dicta_, pars iii. pp. 51-54; _die edda_, übersetzt von k. simrock,*[8] p. 10 _sq._; k. müllenhoff, _deutsche altertumskunde_, v. zweite abteilung, pp. 84 _sq._ [259] saxo grammaticus, _historia danica_, ed. p.e. müller (copenhagen, 1839-1858), _lib._ iii. vol. i. pp. 110 _sqq._; _the first nine books of the danish history of saxo grammaticus_, translated by oliver elton (london, 1894), pp. 83-93. [260] _fridthjofs saga, aus dem alt-isländischen_, von j.c. poestion, (vienna, 1879), pp. 3 _sq._, 14-17, 45-52. [261] _the epic of kings, stories retold from firdusi_, by helen zimmern (london, 1883), pp. 325-331. the parallel between balder and isfendiyar was pointed out in the "lexicon mythologicum" appended to the _edda rhythmifa seu antiquior, vulgo saemundina dicta_, pars iii. (copenhagen, 1828) p. 513 note, with a reference to _schah namech, verdeutscht von görres_, ii. 324, 327 _sq._ it is briefly mentioned by dr. p. wagler, _die eiche in alter und neuer zeit_, ii. teil (berlin, 1891), p. 40. chapter iv the fire-festivals of europe § 1. _the lenten fires_ [european custom of kindling bonfires on certain days of the year, dancing round them and leaping over them. effigies are sometimes burnt in the fires.] all over europe the peasants have been accustomed from time immemorial to kindle bonfires on certain days of the year, and to dance round or leap over them. customs of this kind can be traced back on historical evidence to the middle ages,[262] and their analogy to similar customs observed in antiquity goes with strong internal evidence to prove that their origin must be sought in a period long prior to the spread of christianity. indeed the earliest proof of their observance in northern europe is furnished by the attempts made by christian synods in the eighth century to put them down as heathenish rites.[263] not uncommonly effigies are burned in these fires, or a pretence is made of burning a living person in them; and there are grounds for believing that anciently human beings were actually burned on these occasions. a general survey of the customs in question will bring out the traces of human sacrifice, and will serve at the same time to throw light on their meaning.[264] [seasons of the year at which the bonfires are lit.] the seasons of the year when these bonfires are most commonly lit are spring and midsummer; but in some places they are kindled also at the end of autumn or during the course of the winter, particularly on hallow e'en (the thirty-first of october), christmas day, and the eve of twelfth day. we shall consider them in the order in which they occur in the calendar year. the earliest of them is the winter festival of the eve of twelfth day (the fifth of january); but as it has been already described in an earlier part of this work[265] we shall pass it over here and begin with the fire-festivals of spring, which usually fall on the first sunday of lent (_quadragesima_ or _invocavit_),[266] easter eve, and may day. [custom of kindling bonfires on the first sunday in lent in the belgian ardennes.] the custom of kindling bonfires on the first sunday in lent has prevailed in belgium, the north of france, and many parts of germany. thus in the belgian ardennes for a week or a fortnight before the "day of the great fire," as it is called, children go about from farm to farm collecting fuel. at grand halleux any one who refuses their request is pursued next day by the children, who try to blacken his face with the ashes of the extinct fire. when the day has come, they cut down bushes, especially juniper and broom, and in the evening great bonfires blaze on all the heights. it is a common saying that seven bonfires should be seen if the village is to be safe from conflagrations. if the meuse happens to be frozen hard at the time, bonfires are lit also on the ice. at grand halleux they set up a pole called _makral_ or "the witch," in the midst of the pile, and the fire is kindled by the man who was last married in the village. in the neighbourhood of morlanwelz a straw man is burnt in the fire. young people and children dance and sing round the bonfires, and leap over the embers to secure good crops or a happy marriage within the year, or as a means of guarding themselves against colic. in brabant on the same sunday, down to the beginning of the nineteenth century, women and men disguised in female attire used to go with burning torches to the fields, where they danced and sang comic songs for the purpose, as they alleged, of driving away "the wicked sower," who is mentioned in the gospel for the day. at maeseyck and in many villages of limburg, on the evening of the day children run through the streets carrying lighted torches; then they kindle little fires of straw in the fields and dance round them. at ensival old folks tell young folks that they will have as many easter eggs as they see bonfires on this day.[267] at pâturages, in the province of hainaut, down to about 1840 the custom was observed under the name of _escouvion_ or _scouvion_. every year on the first sunday of lent, which was called the day of the little scouvion, young folks and children used to run with lighted torches through the gardens and orchards. as they ran they cried at the pitch of their voices, "_bear apples, bear pears and cherries all black to scouvion!_" at these words the torch-bearer whirled his blazing brand and hurled it among the branches of the apple-trees, the pear-trees, and the cherry-trees. the next sunday was called the day of the great scouvion, and the same race with lighted torches among the trees of the orchards was repeated in the afternoon till darkness fell. the same custom was observed on the same two days at wasmes.[268] in the neighbourhood of liège, where the lenten fires were put down by the police about the middle of the nineteenth century, girls thought that by leaping over the fires without being smirched they made sure of a happy marriage. elsewhere in order to get a good husband it was necessary to see seven of the bonfires from one spot. in famenne, a district of namur, men and cattle who traversed the lenten fires were thought to be safe from sickness and witchcraft. anybody who saw seven such fires at once had nothing to fear from sorcerers. an old saying ran, that if you do not light "the great fire," god will light it for you; which seems to imply that the kindling of the bonfires was deemed a protection against conflagrations throughout the year.[269] [bonfires on the first sunday of lent in the french department of the ardennes.] in the french department of the ardennes the whole village used to dance and sing round the bonfires which were lighted on the first sunday in lent. here, too, it was the person last married, sometimes a man and sometimes a woman, who put the match to the fire. the custom is still kept up very commonly in the district. cats used to be burnt in the fire or roasted to death by being held over it; and while they were burning the shepherds drove their flocks through the smoke and flames as a sure means of guarding them against sickness and witchcraft. in some communes it was believed that the livelier the dance round the fire, the better would be the crops that year.[270] in the vosges mountains it is still customary to light great fires on the heights and around the villages on the first sunday in lent; and at rupt and elsewhere the right of kindling them belongs to the person who was last married. round the fires the people dance and sing merrily till the flames have died out. then the master of the fire, as they call the man who kindled it, invites all who contributed to the erection of the pile to follow him to the nearest tavern, where they partake of good cheer. at dommartin they say that, if you would have the hemp tall, it is absolutely necessary that the women should be tipsy on the evening of this day.[271] at épinal in the vosges, on the first sunday in lent, bonfires used to be kindled at various places both in the town and on the banks of the moselle. they consisted of pyramids of sticks and faggots, which had been collected some days earlier by young folks going from door to door. when the flames blazed up, the names of various couples, whether young or old, handsome or ugly, rich or poor, were called out, and the persons thus linked in mock marriage were forced, whether they liked it or not, to march arm in arm round the fire amid the laughter and jests of the crowd. the festivity lasted till the fire died out, and then the spectators dispersed through the streets, stopping under the windows of the houses and proclaiming the names of the _féchenots_ and _féchenottes_ or valentines whom the popular voice had assigned to each other. these couples had to exchange presents; the mock bridegroom gave his mock bride something for her toilet, while she in turn presented him with a cockade of coloured ribbon. next sunday, if the weather allowed it, all the couples, arrayed in their best attire and attended by their relations, repaired to the wood of saint antony, where they mounted a famous stone called the _danserosse_ or _danseresse_. here they found cakes and refreshments of all sorts, and danced to the music of a couple of fiddlers. the evening bell, ringing the angelus, gave the signal to depart. as soon as its solemn chime was heard, every one quitted the forest and returned home. the exchange of presents between the valentines went by the name of ransom or redemption (_rachat_), because it was supposed to redeem the couple from the flames of the bonfire. any pair who failed thus to ransom themselves were not suffered to share the merrymaking at the great stone in the forest; and a pretence was made of burning them in small fires kindled before their own doors.[272] [bonfires on the first sunday of lent in franche-comté.] in the french province of franche-comté, to the west of the jura mountains, the first sunday of lent is known as the sunday of the firebrands (_brandons_), on account of the fires which it is customary to kindle on that day. on the saturday or the sunday the village lads harness themselves to a cart and drag it about the streets, stopping at the doors of the houses where there are girls and begging for a faggot. when they have got enough, they cart the fuel to a spot at some little distance from the village, pile it up, and set it on fire. all the people of the parish come out to see the bonfire. in some villages, when the bells have rung the angelus, the signal for the observance is given by cries of, "to the fire! to the fire!" lads, lasses, and children dance round the blaze, and when the flames have died down they vie with each other in leaping over the red embers. he or she who does so without singeing his or her garments will be married within the year. young folk also carry lighted torches about the streets or the fields, and when they pass an orchard they cry out, "more fruit than leaves!" down to recent years at laviron, in the department of doubs, it was the young married couples of the year who had charge of the bonfires. in the midst of the bonfire a pole was planted with a wooden figure of a cock fastened to the top. then there were races, and the winner received the cock as a prize.[273] [bonfires on the first sunday of lent in auvergne; the granno invoked at these bonfires may be the old celtic god grannus, who was identified with apollo.] in auvergne fires are everywhere kindled on the evening of the first sunday in lent. every village, every hamlet, even every ward, every isolated farm has its bonfire or _figo_, as it is called, which blazes up as the shades of night are falling. the fires may be seen flaring on the heights and in the plains; the people dance and sing round about them and leap through the flames. then they proceed to the ceremony of the _grannas-mias_. a _granno-mio_[274] is a torch of straw fastened to the top of a pole. when the pyre is half consumed, the bystanders kindle the torches at the expiring flames and carry them into the neighbouring orchards, fields, and gardens, wherever there are fruit-trees. as they march they sing at the top of their voices, "_granno, mo mio, granno, mon pouère, granno, mo mouère!_" that is, "grannus my friend, grannus my father, grannus my mother." then they pass the burning torches under the branches of every tree, singing, "_brando, brandounci tsaque brantso, in plan panei!_" that is, "firebrand burn; every branch a basketful!" in some villages the people also run across the sown fields and shake the ashes of the torches on the ground; also they put some of the ashes in the fowls' nests, in order that the hens may lay plenty of eggs throughout the year. when all these ceremonies have been performed, everybody goes home and feasts; the special dishes of the evening are fritters and pancakes.[275] here the application of the fire to the fruit-trees, to the sown fields, and to the nests of the poultry is clearly a charm intended to ensure fertility; and the granno to whom the invocations are addressed, and who gives his name to the torches, may possibly be, as dr. pommerol suggests,[276] no other than the ancient celtic god grannus, whom the romans identified with apollo, and whose worship is attested by inscriptions found not only in france but in scotland and on the danube.[277] if the name grannus is derived, as the learned tell us, from a root meaning "to glow, burn, shine,"[278] the deity who bore the name and was identified with apollo may well have been a sun-god; and in that case the prayers addressed to him by the peasants of the auvergne, while they wave the blazing, crackling torches about the fruit-trees, would be eminently appropriate. for who could ripen the fruit so well as the sun-god? and what better process could be devised to draw the blossoms from the bare boughs than the application to them of that genial warmth which is ultimately derived from the solar beams? thus the fire-festival of the first sunday in lent, as it is observed in auvergne, may be interpreted very naturally and simply as a religious or rather perhaps magical ceremony designed to procure a due supply of the sun's heat for plants and animals. at the same time we should remember that the employment of fire in this and kindred ceremonies may have been designed originally, not so much to stimulate growth and reproduction, as to burn and destroy all agencies, whether in the shape of vermin, witches, or what not, which threatened or were supposed to threaten the growth of the crops and the multiplication of animals. it is often difficult to decide between these two different interpretations of the use of fire in agricultural rites. in any case the fire-festival of auvergne on the first sunday in lent may date from druidical times. [french custom of carrying lighted torches (_brandons_) about the orchards and fields to fertilize them on the first sunday of lent.] the custom of carrying lighted torches of straw (_brandons_) about the orchards and fields to fertilize them on the first sunday of lent seems to have been common in france, whether it was accompanied with the practice of kindling bonfires or not. thus in the province of picardy "on the first sunday of lent people carried torches through the fields, exorcising the field-mice, the darnel, and the smut. they imagined that they did much good to the gardens and caused the onions to grow large. children ran about the fields, torch in hand, to make the land more fertile. all that was done habitually in picardy, and the ceremony of the torches is not entirely forgotten, especially in the villages on both sides the somme as far as saint-valery."[279] "a very agreeable spectacle, said the curate of l'étoile, is to survey from the portal of the church, situated almost on the top of the mountain, the vast plains of vimeux all illuminated by these wandering fires. the same pastime is observed at poix, at conty, and in all the villages round about."[280] again, in the district of beauce a festival of torches (_brandons_ or _brandelons_) used to be held both on the first and on the second sunday in lent; the first was called "the great torches" and the second "the little torches." the torches were, as usual, bundles of straw wrapt round poles. in the evening the village lads carried the burning brands through the country, running about in disorder and singing, "_torches burn at these vines, at this wheat_; _torches burn for the maidens that shall wed_!" from time to time the bearers would stand still and smite the earth all together with the blazing straw of the torches, while they cried, "a sheaf of a peck and a half!" (_gearbe à boissiaux_). if two torchbearers happened to meet each other on their rounds, they performed the same ceremony and uttered the same words. when the straw was burnt out, the poles were collected and a great bonfire made of them. lads and lasses danced round the flames, and the lads leaped over them. afterwards it was customary to eat a special sort of hasty-pudding made of wheaten flour. these usages were still in vogue at the beginning of the nineteenth century, but they have now almost disappeared. the peasants believed that by carrying lighted torches through the fields they protected the crops from field-mice, darnel, and smut.[281] "at dijon, in burgundy, it is the custom upon the first sunday in lent to make large fires in the streets, whence it is called firebrand sunday. this practice originated in the processions formerly made on that day by the peasants with lighted torches of straw, to drive away, as they called it, the bad air from the earth."[282] in some parts of france, while the people scoured the country with burning brands on the first sunday in lent, they warned the fruit-trees that if they did not take heed and bear fruit they would surely be cut down and cast into the fire.[283] on the same day peasants in the department of loiret used to run about the sowed fields with burning torches in their hands, while they adjured the field-mice to quit the wheat on pain of having their whiskers burned.[284] in the department of ain the great fires of straw and faggots which are kindled in the fields at this time are or were supposed to destroy the nests of the caterpillars.[285] at verges, a lonely village surrounded by forests between the jura and the combe d'ain, the torches used at this season were kindled in a peculiar manner. the young people climbed to the top of a mountain, where they placed three nests of straw in three trees. these nests being then set on fire, torches made of dry lime-wood were lighted at them, and the merry troop descended the mountain to their flickering light, and went to every house in the village, demanding roasted peas and obliging all couples who had been married within the year to dance.[286] in berry, a district of central france, it appears that bonfires are not lighted on this day, but when the sun has set the whole population of the villages, armed with blazing torches of straw, disperse over the country and scour the fields, the vineyards, and the orchards. seen from afar, the multitude of moving lights, twinkling in the darkness, appear like will-o'-the-wisps chasing each other across the plains, along the hillsides, and down the valleys. while the men wave their flambeaus about the branches of the fruit-trees, the women and children tie bands of wheaten-straw round the tree-trunks. the effect of the ceremony is supposed to be to avert the various plagues from which the fruits of the earth are apt to suffer; and the bands of straw fastened round the stems of the trees are believed to render them fruitful.[287] in the peninsula of la manche the norman peasants used to spend almost the whole night of the first sunday in lent rushing about the country with lighted torches for the purpose, as they supposed, of driving away the moles and field-mice; fires were also kindled on some of the dolmens.[288] [bonfires on the first sunday in lent in germany and austria; burning the witch; burning discs thrown into the air; burning wheels rolled down hill; bonfires on the first sunday in lent in switzerland.] in germany, austria, and switzerland at the same season similar customs have prevailed. thus in the eifel mountains, rhenish prussia, on the first sunday in lent young people used to collect straw and brushwood from house to house. these they carried to an eminence and piled up round a tall, slim beech-tree, to which a piece of wood was fastened at right angles to form a cross. the structure was known as the "hut" or "castle." fire was set to it and the young people marched round the blazing "castle" bareheaded, each carrying a lighted torch and praying aloud. sometimes a straw-man was burned in the "hut." people observed the direction in which the smoke blew from the fire. if it blew towards the corn-fields, it was a sign that the harvest would be abundant. on the same day, in some parts of the eifel, a great wheel was made of straw and dragged by three horses to the top of a hill. thither the village boys marched at nightfall, set fire to the wheel, and sent it rolling down the slope. two lads followed it with levers to set it in motion again, in case it should anywhere meet with a check. at oberstattfeld the wheel had to be provided by the young man who was last married.[289] about echternach in luxemburg the same ceremony is called "burning the witch"; while it is going on, the older men ascend the heights and observe what wind is blowing, for that is the wind which will prevail the whole year.[290] at voralberg in the tyrol, on the first sunday in lent, a slender young fir-tree is surrounded with a pile of straw and firewood. to the top of the tree is fastened a human figure called the "witch," made of old clothes and stuffed with gunpowder. at night the whole is set on fire and boys and girls dance round it, swinging torches and singing rhymes in which the words "corn in the winnowing-basket, the plough in the earth" may be distinguished.[291] in swabia on the first sunday in lent a figure called the "witch" or the "old wife" or "winter's grandmother" is made up of clothes and fastened to a pole. this is stuck in the middle of a pile of wood, to which fire is applied. while the "witch" is burning, the young people throw blazing discs into the air. the discs are thin round pieces of wood, a few inches in diameter, with notched edges to imitate the rays of the sun or stars. they have a hole in the middle, by which they are attached to the end of a wand. before the disc is thrown it is set on fire, the wand is swung to and fro, and the impetus thus communicated to the disc is augmented by dashing the rod sharply against a sloping board. the burning disc is thus thrown off, and mounting high into the air, describes a long fiery curve before it reaches the ground. a single lad may fling up forty or fifty of these discs, one after the other. the object is to throw them as high as possible. the wand by which they are hurled must, at least in some parts of swabia, be of hazel. sometimes the lads also leap over the fire brandishing lighted torches of pine-wood. the charred embers of the burned "witch" and discs are taken home and planted in the flaxfields the same night, in the belief that they will keep vermin from the fields.[292] at wangen, near molsheim in baden, a like custom is observed on the first sunday in lent. the young people kindle a bonfire on the crest of the mountain above the village; and the burning discs which they hurl into the air are said to present in the darkness the aspect of a continual shower of falling stars. when the supply of discs is exhausted and the bonfire begins to burn low, the boys light torches and run with them at full speed down one or other of the three steep and winding paths that descend the mountain-side to the village. bumps, bruises, and scratches are often the result of their efforts to outstrip each other in the headlong race.[293] in the rhön mountains, situated on the borders of hesse and bavaria, the people used to march to the top of a hill or eminence on the first sunday in lent. children and lads carried torches, brooms daubed with tar, and poles swathed in straw. a wheel, wrapt in combustibles, was kindled and rolled down the hill; and the young people rushed about the fields with their burning torches and brooms, till at last they flung them in a heap, and standing round them, struck up a hymn or a popular song. the object of running about the fields with the blazing torches was to "drive away the wicked sower." or it was done in honour of the virgin, that she might preserve the fruits of the earth throughout the year and bless them.[294] in neighbouring villages of hesse, between the rhön and the vogel mountains, it is thought that wherever the burning wheels roll, the fields will be safe from hail and storm.[295] at konz on the moselle, on the thursday before the first sunday in lent, the two guilds of the butchers and the weavers used to repair to the marxberg and there set up an oak-tree with a wheel fastened to it. on the following sunday the people ascended the hill, cut down the oak, set fire to the wheel, and sent both oak and wheel rolling down the hillside, while a guard of butchers, mounted on horses, fired at the flaming wheel in its descent. if the wheel rolled down into the moselle, the butchers were rewarded with a waggon-load of wine by the archbishop of treves.[296] [burning discs thrown into the air.] in switzerland, also, it is or used to be customary to kindle bonfires on high places on the evening of the first sunday in lent, and the day is therefore popularly known as spark sunday. the custom prevailed, for example, throughout the canton of lucerne. boys went about from house to house begging for wood and straw, then piled the fuel on a conspicuous mountain or hill round about a pole, which bore a straw effigy called "the witch." at nightfall the pile was set on fire, and the young folks danced wildly round it, some of them cracking whips or ringing bells; and when the fire burned low enough, they leaped over it. this was called "burning the witch." in some parts of the canton also they used to wrap old wheels in straw and thorns, put a light to them, and send them rolling and blazing down hill. the same custom of rolling lighted wheels down hill is attested by old authorities for the cantons of aargau and bâle. the more bonfires could be seen sparkling and flaring in the darkness, the more fruitful was the year expected to be; and the higher the dancers leaped beside or over the fire, the higher, it was thought, would grow the flax. in the district of freiburg and at birseck in the district of bâle it was the last married man or woman who must kindle the bonfire. while the bonfires blazed up, it was customary in some parts of switzerland to propel burning discs of wood through the air by means of the same simple machinery which is used for the purpose in swabia. each lad tried to send his disc fizzing and flaring through the darkness as far as possible, and in discharging it he mentioned the name of the person to whose honour it was dedicated. but in prättigau the words uttered in launching the fiery discs referred to the abundance which was apparently expected to follow the performance of the ceremony. among them were, "grease in the pan, corn in the fan, and the plough in the earth!"[297] [connexion of these bonfires with the custom of "carrying out death;" effigies burnt on shrove tuesday.] it seems hardly possible to separate from these bonfires, kindled on the first sunday in lent, the fires in which, about the same season, the effigy called death is burned as part of the ceremony of "carrying out death." we have seen that at spachendorf, in austrian silesia, on the morning of rupert's day (shrove tuesday?), a straw-man, dressed in a fur coat and a fur cap, is laid in a hole outside the village and there burned, and that while it is blazing every one seeks to snatch a fragment of it, which he fastens to a branch of the highest tree in his garden or buries in his field, believing that this will make the crops to grow better. the ceremony is known as the "burying of death."[298] even when the straw-man is not designated as death, the meaning of the observance is probably the same; for the name death, as i have tried to shew, does not express the original intention of the ceremony. at cobern in the eifel mountains the lads make up a straw-man on shrove tuesday. the effigy is formally tried and accused of having perpetrated all the thefts that have been committed in the neighbourhood throughout the year. being condemned to death, the straw-man is led through the village, shot, and burned upon a pyre. they dance round the blazing pile, and the last bride must leap over it.[299] in oldenburg on the evening of shrove tuesday people used to make long bundles of straw, which they set on fire, and then ran about the fields waving them, shrieking, and singing wild songs. finally they burned a straw-man on the field.[300] in the district of düsseldorf the straw-man burned on shrove tuesday was made of an unthreshed sheaf of corn.[301] on the first monday after the spring equinox the urchins of zurich drag a straw-man on a little cart through the streets, while at the same time the girls carry about a may-tree. when vespers ring, the straw-man is burned.[302] in the district of aachen on ash wednesday a man used to be encased in peas-straw and taken to an appointed place. here he slipped quietly out of his straw casing, which was then burned, the children thinking that it was the man who was being burned.[303] in the val di ledro (tyrol) on the last day of the carnival a figure is made up of straw and brushwood and then burned. the figure is called the old woman, and the ceremony "burning the old woman."[304] § 2. _the easter fires_ [fire-festivals on easter eve. custom in catholic countries of kindling a holy new fire at the church on easter saturday; marvellous properties ascribed to the embers of the fire; the burning of judas.] another occasion on which these fire-festivals are held is easter eve, the saturday before easter sunday. on that day it has been customary in catholic countries to extinguish all the lights in the churches, and then to make a new fire, sometimes with flint and steel, sometimes with a burning-glass. at this fire is lit the great paschal or easter candle, which is then used to rekindle all the extinguished lights in the church. in many parts of germany a bonfire is also kindled, by means of the new fire, on some open space near the church. it is consecrated, and the people bring sticks of oak, walnut, and beech, which they char in the fire, and then take home with them. some of these charred sticks are thereupon burned at home in a newly-kindled fire, with a prayer that god will preserve the homestead from fire, lightning, and hail. thus every house receives "new fire." some of the sticks are kept throughout the year and laid on the hearth-fire during heavy thunder-storms to prevent the house from being struck by lightning, or they are inserted in the roof with the like intention. others are placed in the fields, gardens, and meadows, with a prayer that god will keep them from blight and hail. such fields and gardens are thought to thrive more than others; the corn and the plants that grow in them are not beaten down by hail, nor devoured by mice, vermin, and beetles; no witch harms them, and the ears of corn stand close and full. the charred sticks are also applied to the plough. the ashes of the easter bonfire, together with the ashes of the consecrated palm-branches, are mixed with the seed at sowing. a wooden figure called judas is sometimes burned in the consecrated bonfire, and even where this custom has been abolished the bonfire itself in some places goes by the name of "the burning of judas."[305] [easter fires in bavaria and the abruzzi.] in the hollertau, bavaria, the young men used to light their lanterns at the newly-kindled easter candle in the church and then race to the bonfire; he who reached it first set fire to the pile, and next day, easter sunday, was rewarded at the church-door by the housewives, who presented him with red eggs. great was the jubilation while the effigy of the traitor was being consumed in the flames. the ashes were carefully collected and thrown away at sunrise in running water.[306] in many parts of the abruzzi, also, pious people kindle their fires on easter saturday with a brand brought from the sacred new fire in the church. when the brand has thus served to bless the fire on the domestic hearth, it is extinguished, and the remainder is preserved, partly in a cranny of the outer wall of the house, partly on a tree to which it is tied. this is done for the purpose of guarding the homestead against injury by storms. at campo di giove the people say that if you can get a piece of one of the three holy candles which the priest lights from the new fire, you should allow a few drops of the wax to fall into the crown of your hat; for after that, if it should thunder and lighten, you have nothing to do but to clap the hat on your head, and no flash of lightning can possibly strike you.[307] [water as well as fire consecrated in the abruzzi on easter saturday; water consecrated in calabria on easter saturday; water and fire consecrated on easter saturday among the germans of bohemia; easter rites of fire and water at hildesheim.] further, it deserves to be noted that in the abruzzi water as well as fire is, as it were, renewed and consecrated on easter saturday. most people fetch holy water on that day from the churches, and every member of the family drinks a little of it, believing that it has power to protect him or her against witchcraft, fever, and stomach-aches of all sorts. and when the church bells ring again after their enforced silence, the water is sprinkled about the house, and especially under the beds, with the help of a palm-branch. some of this blessed water is also kept in the house for use in great emergencies, when there is no time to fetch a priest; thus it may be employed to baptize a newborn infant gasping for life or to sprinkle a sick man in the last agony; such a sprinkling is reckoned equal to priestly absolution.[308] in calabria the customs with regard to the new water, as it is called, on easter saturday are similar; it is poured into a new vessel, adorned with ribbons and flowers, is blessed by the priest, and is tasted by every one of the household, beginning with the parents. and when the air vibrates with the glad music of the church bells announcing the resurrection, the people sprinkle the holy water about the houses, bidding in a loud voice all evil things to go forth and all good things to come in. at the same time, to emphasize the exorcism, they knock on doors, window-shutters, chests, and other domestic articles of furniture. at cetraro people who suffer from diseases of the skin bathe in the sea at this propitious moment; at pietro in guarano they plunge into the river on the night of easter saturday before easter sunday dawns, and while they bathe they utter never a word. moreover, the calabrians keep the "new water" as a sacred thing. they believe that it serves as a protection against witchcraft if it is sprinkled on a fire or a lamp, when the wood crackles or the wick sputters; for they regard it as a bad omen when the fire talks, as they say.[309] among the germans of western bohemia, also, water as well as fire is consecrated by the priest in front of the church on easter saturday. people bring jugs full of water to the church and set them beside the holy fire; afterwards they use the water to sprinkle on the palm-branches which are stuck in the fields. charred sticks of the judas fire, as it is popularly called, are supposed to possess a magical and healing virtue; hence the people take them home with them, and even scuffle with each other for the still glowing embers in order to carry them, still glimmering, to their houses and so obtain "the light" or "the holy light."[310] at hildesheim, also, and the neighbouring villages of central germany rites both of fire and water are or were till lately observed at easter. thus on easter night many people fetch water from the innerste river and keep it carefully, believing it to be a remedy for many sorts of ailments both of man and beast. in the villages on the leine river servant men and maids used to go silently on easter night between the hours of eleven and twelve and silently draw water in buckets from the river; they mixed the water with the fodder and the drink of the cattle to make the animals thrive, and they imagined that to wash in it was good for human beings. many were also of opinion that at the same mystic hour the water turned to wine as far as the crowing of a cock could be heard, and in this belief they laid themselves flat on their stomachs and kept their tongues in the water till the miraculous change occurred, when they took a great gulp of the transformed water. at hildesheim, too, and the neighbouring villages fires used to blaze on all the heights on easter eve; and embers taken from the bonfires were dipped in the cattle troughs to benefit the beasts and were kept in the houses to avert lightning.[311] [new fire at easter in carinthia; consecration of fire and water by the catholic church at easter.] in the lesachthal, carinthia, all the fires in the houses used to be extinguished on easter saturday, and rekindled with a fresh fire brought from the churchyard, where the priest had lit it by the friction of flint and steel and had bestowed his blessing on it.[312] such customs were probably widespread. in a latin poem of the sixteenth century, written by a certain thomas kirchmeyer and translated into english by barnabe googe, we read:-"_on easter eve the fire all is quencht in every place, and fresh againe from out the flint is fetcht with solemne grace: the priest doth halow this against great daungers many one, a brande whereof doth every man with greedie mind take home, that when the fearefull storme appeares, or tempest black arise, by lighting this he safe may be from stroke of hurtful skies: a taper great, the paschall namde, with musicke then they blesse, and franckensence herein they pricke, for greater holynesse: this burneth night and day as signe of christ that conquerde hell, as if so be this foolish toye suffiseth this to tell. then doth the bishop or the priest, the water halow straight, that for their baptisme is reservde: for now no more of waight is that they usde the yeare before, nor can they any more, yong children christen with the same, as they have done before. with wondrous pompe and furniture, amid the church they go, with candles, crosses, banners, chrisme, and oyle appoynted tho: nine times about the font they marche, and on the saintes doe call, then still at length they stande, and straight the priest begins withall, and thrise the water doth he touche, and crosses thereon make, here bigge and barbrous wordes he speakes, to make the devill quake: and holsome waters conjureth, and foolishly doth dresse, supposing holyar that to make, which god before did blesse: and after this his candle than, he thrusteth in the floode, and thrise he breathes thereon with breath, that stinkes of former foode: and making here an ende, his chrisme he poureth thereupon, the people staring hereat stande, amazed every one; beleeving that great powre is given to this water here, by gaping of these learned men, and such like trifling gere. therefore in vessels brought they draw, and home they carie some, against the grieves that to themselves, or to their beastes may come. then clappers ceasse, and belles are set againe at libertée, and herewithall the hungrie times of fasting ended bée."_[313] it is said that formerly all the fires in rome were lighted afresh from the holy fire kindled in st. peter's on easter saturday.[314] [the new fire on easter saturday at florence.] in florence the ceremony of kindling the new fire on easter eve is peculiar. the holy flame is elicited from certain flints which are said to have been brought by a member of the pazzi family from the holy land. they are kept in the church of the holy apostles on the piazza del limbo, and on the morning of easter saturday the prior strikes fire from them and lights a candle from the new flame. the burning candle is then carried in solemn procession by the clergy and members of the municipality to the high altar in the cathedral. a vast crowd has meanwhile assembled in the cathedral and the neighbouring square to witness the ceremony; amongst the spectators are many peasants drawn from the surrounding country, for it is commonly believed that on the success or failure of the ceremony depends the fate of the crops for the year. outside the door of the cathedral stands a festal car drawn by two fine white oxen with gilded horns. the body of the car is loaded with a pyramid of squibs and crackers and is connected by a wire with a pillar set up in front of the high altar. the wire extends down the middle of the nave at a height of about six feet from the ground. beneath it a clear passage is left, the spectators being ranged on either side and crowding the vast interior from wall to wall. when all is ready, high mass is celebrated, and precisely at noon, when the first words of the _gloria_ are being chanted, the sacred fire is applied to the pillar, which like the car is wreathed with fireworks. a moment more and a fiery dove comes flying down the nave, with a hissing sound and a sputter of sparks, between the two hedges of eager spectators. if all goes well, the bird pursues its course along the wire and out at the door, and in another moment a prolonged series of fizzes, pops and bangs announces to the excited crowd in the cathedral that the fireworks on the car are going off. great is the joy accordingly, especially among the bumpkins, who are now sure of an abundant harvest. but if, as sometimes happens, the dove stops short in its career and fizzles out, revealing itself as a stuffed bird with a packet of squibs tied to its tail, great is the consternation, and deep the curses that issue from between the set teeth of the clodhoppers, who now give up the harvest for lost. formerly the unskilful mechanician who was responsible for the failure would have been clapped into gaol; but nowadays he is thought sufficiently punished by the storm of public indignation and the loss of his pay. the disaster is announced by placards posted about the streets in the evening; and next morning the newspapers are full of gloomy prognostications.[315] [the new fire and burning of judas on easter saturday in mexico.] some of these customs have been transported by the catholic church to the new world. thus in mexico the new fire is struck from a flint early in the morning of easter saturday, and a candle which has been lighted at the sacred flame is carried through the church by a deacon shouting "_lumen christi_." meantime the whole city, we are informed, has been converted into a vast place of execution. ropes stretch across the streets from house to house, and from every house dangles an effigy of judas, made of paper pulp. scores or hundreds of them may adorn a single street. they are of all shapes and sizes, grotesque in form and garbed in strange attire, stuffed with gunpowder, squibs and crackers, sometimes, too, with meat, bread, soap, candy, and clothing, for which the crowd will scramble and scuffle while the effigies are burning. there they hang grim, black, and sullen in the strong sunshine, greeted with a roar of execration by the pious mob. a peal of bells from the cathedral tower on the stroke of noon gives the signal for the execution. at the sound a frenzy seizes the crowd. they throw themselves furiously on the figures of the detested traitor, cut them down, hurl them with curses into the fire, and fight and struggle with each other in their efforts to tear the effigies to tatters and appropriate their contents. smoke, stink, sputter of crackers, oaths, curses, yells are now the order of the day. but the traitor does not perish unavenged. for the anatomy of his frame has been cunningly contrived so as in burning to discharge volleys of squibs into his assailants; and the wounds and burns with which their piety is rewarded form a feature of the morning's entertainment. the english jockey club in mexico used to improve on this popular pastime by suspending huge figures of judas, stuffed with copper coins, from ropes in front of their clubhouse. these were ignited at the proper moment and lowered within reach of the expectant rabble, and it was the privilege of members of the club, seated in the balcony, to watch the grimaces and to hear the shrieks of the victims, as they stamped and capered about with the hot coppers sticking to their hands, divided in their minds between an acute sense of pain and a thirst for filthy lucre.[316] [the burning of judas at easter in south america.] scenes of the same sort, though on a less ambitious scale, are witnessed among the catholics of south america on the same day. in brazil the mourning for the death of christ ceases at noon on easter saturday and gives place to an extravagant burst of joy at his resurrection. shots are fired everywhere, and effigies of judas are hung on trees or dragged about the streets, to be finally burned or otherwise destroyed.[317] in the indian villages scattered among the wild valleys of the peruvian andes figures of the traitor, made of pasteboard and stuffed with squibs and crackers, are hanged on gibbets before the door of the church on easter saturday. fire is set to them, and while they crackle and explode, the indians dance and shout for joy at the destruction of their hated enemy.[318] similarly at rio hacha, in colombia, judas is represented during holy week by life-sized effigies, and the people fire at them as if they were discharging a sacred duty.[319] [the new fire on easter saturday in the church of the holy sepulchre at jerusalem.] but usages of this sort are not confined to the latin church; they are common to the greek church also. every year on the saturday before easter sunday a new fire is miraculously kindled at the holy sepulchre in jerusalem. it descends from heaven and ignites the candles which the patriarch holds in his hands, while with closed eyes he wrestles in prayer all alone in the chapel of the angel. the worshippers meanwhile wait anxiously in the body of the church, and great are their transports of joy when at one of the windows of the chapel, which had been all dark a minute before, there suddenly appears the hand of an angel, or of the patriarch, holding a lighted taper. this is the sacred new fire; it is passed out to the expectant believers, and the desperate struggle which ensues among them to get a share of its blessed influence is only terminated by the intervention of the turkish soldiery, who restore peace and order by hustling the whole multitude impartially out of the church. in days gone by many lives were often lost in these holy scrimmages. for example, in the year 1834, the famous ibrahim pasha witnessed the frantic scene from one of the galleries, and, being moved with compassion at the sight, descended with a few guards into the arena in the chimerical hope of restoring peace and order among the contending christians. he contrived to force his way into the midst of the dense crowd, but there the heat and pressure were so great that he fainted away; a body of soldiers, seeing his danger, charged straight into the throng and carried him out of it in their arms, trampling under foot the dying and dead in their passage. nearly two hundred people were killed that day in the church. the fortunate survivors on these occasions who succeeded in obtaining a portion of the coveted fire applied it freely to their faces, their beards, and their garments. the theory was that the fire, being miraculous, could only bless and not burn them; but the practical results of the experiment were often disappointing, for while the blessings were more or less dubious, there could be no doubt whatever about the burns.[320] the history of the miracle has been carefully investigated by a jesuit father. the conclusions at which he arrives are that the miracle was a miracle indeed so long as the catholics had the management of it; but that since it fell into the hands of the heretics it has been nothing but a barefaced trick and imposture.[321] many people will be disposed to agree with the latter conclusion who might hesitate to accept the former. [the new fire and the burning of judas on easter saturday in greece.] at athens the new fire is kindled in the cathedral at midnight on holy saturday. a dense crowd with unlit candles in their hands fills the square in front of the cathedral; the king, the archbishop, and the highest dignitaries of the church, arrayed in their gorgeous robes, occupy a platform; and at the exact moment of the resurrection the bells ring out, and the whole square bursts as by magic into a blaze of light. theoretically all the candles are lit from the sacred new fire in the cathedral, but practically it may be suspected that the matches which bear the name of lucifer have some share in the sudden illumination.[322] effigies of judas used to be burned at athens on easter saturday, but the custom has been forbidden by the government. however, firing goes on more or less continuously all over the city both on easter saturday and easter sunday, and the cartridges used on this occasion are not always blank. the shots are aimed at judas, but sometimes they miss him and hit other people. outside of athens the practice of burning judas in effigy still survives in some places. for example, in cos a straw image of the traitor is made on easter day, and after being hung up and shot at it is burned.[323] a similar custom appears to prevail at thebes;[324] it used to be observed by the macedonian peasantry, and it is still kept up at therapia, a fashionable summer resort of constantinople.[325] [the new fire at candlemas in armenia.] in the armenian church the sacred new fire is kindled not at easter but at candlemas, that is, on the second of february, or on the eve of that festival. the materials of the bonfire are piled in an open space near a church, and they are generally ignited by young couples who have been married within the year. however, it is the bishop or his vicar who lights the candles with which fire is set to the pile. all young married pairs are expected to range themselves about the fire and to dance round it. young men leap over the flames, but girls and women content themselves with going round them, while they pray to be preserved from the itch and other skin-diseases. when the ceremony is over, the people eagerly pick up charred sticks or ashes of the fire and preserve them or scatter them on the four corners of the roof, in the cattle-stall, in the garden, and on the pastures; for these holy sticks and ashes protect men and cattle against disease, and fruit-trees against worms and caterpillars. omens, too, are drawn from the direction in which the wind blows the flames and the smoke: if it carries them eastward, there is hope of a good harvest; but if it inclines them westward, the people fear that the crops will fail.[326] [the new fire and the burning of judas at easter are probably relics of paganism.] in spite of the thin cloak of christianity thrown over these customs by representing the new fire as an emblem of christ and the figure burned in it as an effigy of judas, we can hardly doubt that both practices are of pagan origin. neither of them has the authority of christ or of his disciples; but both of them have abundant analogies in popular custom and superstition. some instances of the practice of annually extinguishing fires and relighting them from a new and sacred flame have already come before us;[327] but a few examples may here be cited for the sake of illustrating the wide diffusion of a custom which has found its way into the ritual both of the eastern and of the western church. [the new fire at the summer solstice among the incas of peru; the new fire among the indians of mexico and new mexico; the new fire among the esquimaux.] the incas of peru celebrated a festival called raymi, a word which their native historian garcilasso de la vega tells us was equivalent to our easter. it was held in honour of the sun at the solstice in june. for three days before the festival the people fasted, men did not sleep with their wives, and no fires were lighted in cuzco, the capital. the sacred new fire was obtained direct from the sun by concentrating his beams on a highly polished concave plate and reflecting them on a little cotton wool. with this holy fire the sheep and lambs offered to the sun were consumed, and the flesh of such as were to be eaten at the festival was roasted. portions of the new fire were also conveyed to the temple of the sun and to the convent of the sacred virgins, where they were kept burning all the year, and it was an ill omen if the holy flame went out.[328] at a festival held in the last month of the old mexican year all the fires both in the temples and in the houses were extinguished, and the priest kindled a new fire by rubbing two sticks against each other before the image of the fire-god.[329] the zuni indians of new mexico kindle a new fire by the friction of wood both at the winter and the summer solstice. at the winter solstice the chosen fire-maker collects a faggot of cedar-wood from every house in the village, and each person, as he hands the wood to the fire-maker, prays that the crops may be good in the coming year. for several days before the new fire is kindled, no ashes or sweepings may be removed from the houses and no artificial light may appear outside of them, not even a burning cigarette or the flash of firearms. the indians believe that no rain will fall on the fields of the man outside whose house a light has been seen at this season. the signal for kindling the new fire is given by the rising of the morning star. the flame is produced by twirling an upright stick between the hands on a horizontal stick laid on the floor of a sacred chamber, the sparks being caught by a tinder of cedar-dust. it is forbidden to blow up the smouldering tinder with the breath, for that would offend the gods. after the fire has thus been ceremonially kindled, the women and girls of all the families in the village clean out their houses. they carry the sweepings and ashes in baskets or bowls to the fields and leave them there. to the sweepings the woman says: "i now deposit you as sweepings, but in one year you will return to me as corn." and to the ashes she says: "i now deposit you as ashes, but in one year you will return to me as meal." at the summer solstice the sacred fire which has been procured by the friction of wood is used to kindle the grass and trees, that there may be a great cloud of smoke, while bull-roarers are swung and prayers offered that the rain-makers up aloft will water the earth.[330] from this account we see how intimately the kindling of a new fire at the two turning-points of the sun's course is associated in the minds of these indians with the fertility of the land, particularly with the growth of the corn. the rolling smoke is apparently an imitation of rain-clouds designed, on the principle of homoeopathic magic, to draw showers from the blue sky. once a year the iroquois priesthood supplied the people with a new fire. as a preparation for the annual rite the fires in all the huts were extinguished and the ashes scattered about. then the priest, wearing the insignia of his office, went from hut to hut relighting the fires by means of a flint.[331] among the esquimaux with whom c.f. hall resided, it was the custom that at a certain time, which answered to our new year's day, two men went about from house to house blowing out every light in the village. one of the men was dressed to represent a woman. afterwards the lights were rekindled from a fresh fire. an esquimau woman being asked what all this meant, replied, "new sun--new light."[332] among the esquimaux of iglulik, when the sun first rises above the horizon after the long night of the arctic winter, the children who have watched for his reappearance run into the houses and blow out the lamps. then they receive from their mothers presents of pieces of wick.[333] [the new fire in wadai, among the swahili, and in other parts of africa.] in the sudanese kingdom of wadai all the fires in the villages are put out and the ashes removed from the houses on the day which precedes the new year festival. at the beginning of the new year a new fire is lit by the friction of wood in the great straw hut where the village elders lounge away the sultry hours together; and every man takes thence a burning brand with which he rekindles the fire on his domestic hearth.[334] in the bahr-el-ghazal province of the egyptian sudan the people extinguish their old fires at the arab new year and bring in new fire. on the same occasion they beat the walls of their huts, the grass thatches, and the walls of their enclosures in order to drive away the devil or evil spirits. the beating of the walls and roofs is accompanied by the firing of guns, the shouting of men, and the shriller cries of the women.[335] thus these people combine an annual expulsion of demons with an annual lighting of a new fire. among the swahili of east africa the greatest festival is that of the new year, which falls in the second half of august. at a given moment all the fires are extinguished with water and afterwards relit by the friction of two dry pieces of wood. the ashes of the old fires are carried out and deposited at cross-roads. all the people get up very early in the morning and bathe in the sea or some other water, praying to be kept in good health and to live that they may bathe again next year. sham-fights form part of the amusements of the day; sometimes they pass into grim reality. indeed the day was formerly one of general license; every man did that which was good in his own eyes. no awkward questions were asked about any crimes committed on this occasion, so some people improved the shining hour by knocking a few poor devils on the head. shooting still goes on during the whole day, and at night the proceedings generally wind up with a great dance.[336] the king of benametapa, as the early portuguese traders called him, in east africa used to send commissioners annually to every town in his dominions; on the arrival of one of these officers the inhabitants of each town had to put out all their fires and to receive a new fire from him. failure to comply with this custom was treated as rebellion.[337] some tribes of british central africa carefully extinguish the fires on the hearths at the beginning of the hoeing season and at harvest; the fires are afterwards rekindled by friction, and the people indulge in dances of various kinds.[338] [the new fire among the todas of southern india and among the nagas of north-eastern india.] the todas of the neilgheny hills, in southern india, annually kindle a sacred new fire by the friction of wood in the month which begins with the october moon. the ceremony is performed by two holy dairymen at the foot of a high hill. when they have lighted the fire by rubbing two dry sticks together, and it begins to burn well, they stand a little way off and pray, saying, "may the young grass flower! may honey flourish! may fruit ripen!" the purpose of the ceremony is to make the grass and honey plentiful. in ancient times the todas lived largely on wild fruits, and then the rite of the new fire was very important. now that they subsist chiefly on the milk of their buffaloes, the ceremony has lost much of its old significance.[339] when the nagas of north-eastern india have felled the timber and cut down the scrub in those patches of jungle which they propose to cultivate, they put out all the fires in the village and light a new fire by rubbing two dry pieces of wood together. then having kindled torches at it they proceed with them to the jungle and ignite the felled timber and brushwood. the flesh of a cow or buffalo is also roasted on the new fire and furnishes a sacrificial meal.[340] near the small town of kahma in burma, between prome and thayetmyo, certain gases escape from a hollow in the ground and burn with a steady flame during the dry season of the year. the people regard the flame as the forge of a spectral smith who here carried on his business after death had removed him from his old smithy in the village. once a year all the household fires in kahma are extinguished and then lighted afresh from the ghostly flame.[341] [the new fire in china and japan.] in china every year, about the beginning of april, certain officials, called _sz'hüen_, used of old to go about the country armed with wooden clappers. their business was to summon the people and command them to put out every fire. this was the beginning of a season called _han-shih-tsieh_, or "eating cold food." for three days all household fires remained extinct as a preparation for the solemn renewal of the fire, which took place on the fifth or sixth day of april, being the hundred and fifth day after the winter solstice. the ceremony was performed with great pomp by the same officials, who procured the new fire from heaven by reflecting the sun's rays either from a metal mirror or from a crystal on dry moss. fire thus obtained is called by the chinese heavenly fire, and its use is enjoined in sacrifices; whereas fire elicited by the friction of wood is termed by them earthly fire, and its use is prescribed for cooking and other domestic purposes. when once the new fire had thus been drawn from the sun, all the people were free to rekindle their domestic hearths; and, as a chinese distich has it-"_at the festival of the cold food there are a thousand white stalks among the flowers; on the day tsing-ming, at sunrise, you may see the smoke of ten thousand houses_." according to a chinese philosopher, the reason for thus renewing fire periodically is that the vital principle grows weaker and weaker in old fire, whereas in new fire it is young and vigorous. this annual renewal of fire was a ceremony of very great antiquity in china, since it is known to have been observed in the time of the first dynasty, about two thousand years before christ. under the tcheou dynasty a change in the calendar led to shifting the fire-festival from spring to the summer solstice, but afterwards it was brought back to its original date. although the custom appears to have long fallen into disuse, the barbarous inhabitants of hainan, an island to the south of china, still call a year "a fire," as if in memory of the time when the years were reckoned by the annually recurring ceremony of rekindling the sacred fire.[342] "a japanese book written two centuries ago informs us that sticks resembling the wands used for offerings at the purification ceremony were part shaven and set up in bundles at the four corners of the gion shrine on the last day of the year. the priests, after prayers were recited, broke up the bundles and set fire to the sticks, which the people then carried home to light their household fires with for the new year. the object of this ceremony was to avert pestilence."[343] [the new fire in ancient greece and rome.] in classical antiquity the greek island of lemnos was devoted to the worship of the smith-god hephaestus, who was said to have fallen on it when zeus hurled him from heaven.[344] once a year every fire in the island was extinguished and remained extinct for nine days, during which sacrifices were offered to the dead and to the infernal powers. new fire was brought in a ship from the sacred isle of delos, and with it the fires in the houses and the workshops were relit. the people said that with the new fire they made a new beginning of life. if the ship that bore the sacred flame arrived too soon, it might not put in to shore, but had to cruise in the offing till the nine days were expired.[345] at rome the sacred fire in the temple of vesta was kindled anew every year on the first of march, which used to be the beginning of the roman year;[346] the task of lighting it was entrusted to the vestal virgins, and they performed it by drilling a hole in a board of lucky wood till the flame was elicited by friction. the new fire thus produced was carried into the temple of vesta by one of the virgins in a bronze sieve.[347] [the new fire at hallow e'en among the old celts of ireland; the new fire on september 1st among the russian peasants.] among the celts of ireland a new fire was annually kindled on hallowe'en or the eve of samhain, as they called it, the last day of october, from which the irish new year began; and all the hearths throughout the country are said to have been relighted from the fresh fire. the place where this holy flame was lit bore the name of tlachtga or tlactga; it has been identified with a rath or native fort on the hill of ward near athboy in the county of meath. "it was there," says the old irish historian, geoffrey keating, "that the festival of the fire of tlactga was ordered to be held, and it was thither that the druids of ireland were wont to repair and to assemble, in solemn meeting, on the eve of samhain, for the purpose of making a sacrifice to all the gods. it was in that fire at tlactga, that their sacrifice was burnt; and it was made obligatory, under pain of punishment, to extinguish all the fires of ireland, on that eve; and the men of ireland were allowed to kindle no other fire but that one; and for each of the other fires, which were all to be lighted from it, the king of munster was to receive a tax of a _sgreball_, that is, of three pence, because the land, upon which tlactga was built, belongs to the portion of meath which had been taken from munster."[348] in the villages near moscow at the present time the peasants put out all their fires on the eve of the first of september, and next morning at sunrise a wise man or a wise woman rekindles them with the help of muttered incantations and spells.[349] [thus the ceremony of the new fire in the eastern and western church is probably a relic of an old heathen rite.] instances of such practices might doubtless be multiplied, but the foregoing examples may suffice to render it probable that the ecclesiastical ceremony of lighting a sacred new fire on easter saturday had originally nothing to do with christianity, but is merely one case of a world-wide custom which the church has seen fit to incorporate in its ritual. it might be supposed that in the western church the custom was merely a survival of the old roman usage of renewing the fire on the first of march, were it not that the observance by the eastern church of the custom on the same day seems to point back to a still older period when the ceremony of lighting a new fire in spring, perhaps at the vernal equinox, was common to many peoples of the mediterranean area. we may conjecture that wherever such a ceremony has been observed, it originally marked the beginning of a new year, as it did in ancient rome and ireland, and as it still does in the sudanese kingdom of wadai and among the swahili of eastern africa. [the pagan character of the easter fire appears from the superstitions associated with it, such as the belief that the fire fertilizes the fields and protects houses from conflagration and sickness.] the essentially pagan character of the easter fire festival appears plainly both from the mode in which it is celebrated by the peasants and from the superstitious beliefs which they associate with it. all over northern and central germany, from altmark and anhalt on the east, through brunswick, hanover, oldenburg, the harz district, and hesse to westphalia the easter bonfires still blaze simultaneously on the hill-tops. as many as forty may sometimes be counted within sight at once. long before easter the young people have been busy collecting firewood; every farmer contributes, and tar-barrels, petroleum cases, and so forth go to swell the pile. neighbouring villages vie with each other as to which shall send up the greatest blaze. the fires are always kindled, year after year, on the same hill, which accordingly often takes the name of easter mountain. it is a fine spectacle to watch from some eminence the bonfires flaring up one after another on the neighbouring heights. as far as their light reaches, so far, in the belief of the peasants, the fields will be fruitful, and the houses on which they shine will be safe from conflagration or sickness. at volkmarsen and other places in hesse the people used to observe which way the wind blew the flames, and then they sowed flax seed in that direction, confident that it would grow well. brands taken from the bonfires preserve houses from being struck by lightning; and the ashes increase the fertility of the fields, protect them from mice, and mixed with the drinking-water of cattle make the animals thrive and ensure them against plague. as the flames die down, young and old leap over them, and cattle are sometimes driven through the smouldering embers. in some places tar-barrels or wheels wrapt in straw used to be set on fire, and then sent rolling down the hillside. in others the boys light torches and wisps of straw at the bonfires and rush about brandishing them in their hands. where the people are divided between protestantism and catholicism, as in hildesheim, it has been observed that among protestants the easter bonfires are generally left to the boys, while in catholic districts they are cared for by grown-up persons, and here the whole population will gather round the blazing pile and join in singing choral hymns, which echo far and wide in the stillness of night.[350] [the easter fires in münsterland, oldenburg, the harz mountains and the altmark.] in münsterland these easter fires are always kindled upon certain definite hills, which are hence known as easter or paschal mountains. the whole community assembles about the fire. fathers of families form an inner circle round it. an outer circle is composed of the young men and maidens, who, singing easter hymns, march round and round the fire in the direction of the sun, till the blaze dies down. then the girls jump over the fire in a line, one after the other, each supported by two young men who hold her hands and run beside her. when the fire has burned out, the whole assembly marches in solemn procession to the church, singing hymns. they go thrice round the church, and then break up. in the twilight boys with blazing bundles of straw run over the fields to make them fruitful.[351] at delmenhorst, in oldenburg, it used to be the custom to cut down two trees, plant them in the ground side by side, and pile twelve tar-barrels, one above the other, against each of the trees. brushwood was then heaped about the trees, and on the evening of easter saturday the boys, after rushing about with blazing beanpoles in their hands, set fire to the whole. at the end of the ceremony the urchins tried to blacken each other and the clothes of grown-up people.[352] in schaumburg the easter bonfires may be seen blazing on all the mountains around for miles. they are made with a tar-barrel fastened to a pine-tree, which is wrapt in straw. the people dance singing round them.[353] in the harz mountains the fire is commonly made by piling brushwood about a tree and setting it on fire. at osterode every one tries to snatch a brand from the bonfire and runs about with it; the better it burns, the more lucky it is. in grund there are torch-races.[354] in the altmark the easter bonfires are composed of tar-barrels, bee-hives, and so forth, piled round a pole. the young folk dance round the fire; and when it has died out, the old folk come and collect the ashes, which they preserve as a remedy for the ailments of bees. it is also believed that as far as the blaze of the bonfire is visible, the corn will grow well throughout the year, and no conflagration will break out.[355] at braunröde, in the harz mountains, it was the custom to burn squirrels in the easter bonfire.[356] in the altmark, bones were burned in it.[357] [the easter fires in bavaria; the burning of judas; burning the easter man.] further south the easter fires are, or used to be, lit in many districts of bavaria. thus on easter monday in some parts of middle franken the schoolboys collect all the old worn-out besoms they can lay hands on, and march with them in a long procession to a neighbouring height. when the first chime of the evening bell comes up from the dale they set fire to the brooms, and run along the ridges waving them, so that seen from below the hills appear to be crested with a twinkling and moving chain of fire.[358] in some parts of upper bavaria at easter burning arrows or discs of wood were shot from hill-tops high into the air, as in the swabian and swiss customs already described.[359] at oberau, instead of the discs, an old cart-wheel was sometimes wrapt in straw, ignited, and sent rolling and blazing down the mountain. the lads who hurled the discs received painted easter eggs from the girls.[360] near forchheim, in upper franken, a straw-man called the judas used to be burned in the churchyards on easter saturday. the whole village contributed wood to the pyre on which he perished, and the charred sticks were afterwards kept and planted in the fields on walpurgis day (the first of may) to preserve the wheat from blight and mildew.[361] about a hundred years ago or more the custom at althenneberg, in upper bavaria, used to be as follows. on the afternoon of easter saturday the lads collected wood, which they piled in a cornfield, while in the middle of the pile they set up a tall wooden cross all swathed in straw. after the evening service they lighted their lanterns at the consecrated candle in the church, and ran with them at full speed to the pyre, each striving to get there first. the first to arrive set fire to the heap. no woman or girl might come near the bonfire, but they were allowed to watch it from a distance. as the flames rose the men and lads rejoiced and made merry, shouting, "we are burning the judas!" two of them had to watch the glowing embers the whole night long, lest people should come and steal them. next morning at sunrise they carefully collected the ashes, and threw them into the running water of the röten brook. the man who had been the first to reach the pyre and to kindle it was rewarded on easter sunday by the women, who gave him coloured eggs at the church door. well-to-do women gave him two; poorer women gave him only one. the object of the whole ceremony was to keep off the hail. about a century ago the judas fire, as it was called, was put down by the police.[362] at giggenhausen and aufkirchen, two other villages of upper bavaria, a similar custom prevailed, yet with some interesting differences. here the ceremony, which took place between nine and ten at night on easter saturday, was called "burning the easter man." on a height about a mile from the village the young fellows set up a tall cross enveloped in straw, so that it looked like a man with his arms stretched out. this was the easter man. no lad under eighteen years of age might take part in the ceremony. one of the young men stationed himself beside the easter man, holding in his hand a consecrated taper which he had brought from the church and lighted. the rest stood at equal intervals in a great circle round the cross. at a given signal they raced thrice round the circle, and then at a second signal ran straight at the cross and at the lad with the lighted taper beside it; the one who reached the goal first had the right of setting fire to the easter man. great was the jubilation while he was burning. when he had been consumed in the flames, three lads were chosen from among the rest, and each of the three drew a circle on the ground with a stick thrice round the ashes. then they all left the spot. on easter monday the villagers gathered the ashes and strewed them on their fields; also they planted in the fields palm-branches which had been consecrated on palm sunday, and sticks which had been charred and hallowed on good friday, all for the purpose of protecting their fields against showers of hail. the custom of burning an easter man made of straw on easter saturday was observed also at abensberg, in lower bavaria.[363] in some parts of swabia the easter fires might not be kindled with iron or steel or flint, but only by the friction of wood.[364] [the easter fires in baden; "thunder poles."] in baden bonfires are still kindled in the churchyards on easter saturday, and ecclesiastical refuse of various sorts, such as candle-ends, old surplices, and the wool used by the priest in the application of extreme unction, is consumed in the flames. at zoznegg down to about 1850 the fire was lighted by the priest by means of a flint which had never been used before. people bring sticks, especially oaken sticks, char them in the fire, and then carry them home and keep them in the house as a preservative against lightning. at zoznegg these oaken sticks were sword-shaped, each about an ell and a half long, and they went by the name of "weather or thunder poles" (_wetterpfähle_). when a thunderstorm threatened to break out, one of the sticks was put into a small fire, in order that the hallowed smoke, ascending to the clouds, might ward off the lightning from the house and the hail from the fields and gardens. at schöllbronn the oaken sticks, which are thus charred in the easter bonfire and kept in the house as a protective against thunder and lightning, are three in number, perhaps with an allusion to the trinity; they are brought every easter to be consecrated afresh in the bonfire, till they are quite burnt away. in the lake district of baden it is also customary to burn one of these holy sticks in the fire when a heavy thunderstorm is raging.[365] hence it seems that the ancient association of the oak with the thunder[366] persists in the minds of german peasants to the present day. [easter fires in holland and sweden; the burning of judas in bohemia.] thus the custom of the easter fires appears to have prevailed all over central and western germany from north to south. we find it also in holland, where the fires were kindled on the highest eminences, and the people danced round them and leaped through the flames or over the glowing embers. here too, as so often in germany, the materials for the bonfire were collected by the young folk from door to door.[367] in many parts of sweden firearms are, as at athens, discharged in all directions on easter eve, and huge bonfires are lighted on hills and eminences. some people think that the intention is to keep off the troll and other evil spirits who are especially active at this season.[368] when the afternoon service on good friday is over, german children in bohemia drive judas out of the church by running about the sacred edifice and even the streets shaking rattles and clappers. next day, on easter saturday, the remains of the holy oil are burnt before the church door in a fire which must be kindled with flint and steel. this fire is called "the burning of judas," but in spite of its evil name a beneficent virtue is ascribed to it, for the people scuffle for the cinders, which they put in the roofs of their houses as a safeguard against fire and lightning.[369] § 3. _the beltane fires_ [the beltane fires on the first of may in the highlands of scotland; description of the beltane fires by john ramsay of ochtertyre in the eighteenth century.] in the central highlands of scotland bonfires, known as the beltane fires, were formerly kindled with great ceremony on the first of may, and the traces of human sacrifices at them were particularly clear and unequivocal. the custom of lighting the bonfires lasted in various places far into the eighteenth century, and the descriptions of the ceremony by writers of that period present such a curious and interesting picture of ancient heathendom surviving in our own country that i will reproduce them in the words of their authors. the fullest of the descriptions, so far as i know, is the one bequeathed to us by john ramsay, laird of ochtertyre, near crieff, the patron of burns and the friend of sir walter scott. from his voluminous manuscripts, written in the last quarter of the eighteenth century, a selection was published in the latter part of the nineteenth century. the following account of beltane is extracted from a chapter dealing with highland superstitions. ramsay says: "but the most considerable of the druidical festivals is that of beltane, or may-day, which was lately observed in some parts of the highlands with extraordinary ceremonies. of later years it is chiefly attended to by young people, persons advanced in years considering it as inconsistent with their gravity to give it any countenance. yet a number of circumstances relative to it may be collected from tradition, or the conversation of very old people, who witnessed this feast in their youth, when the ancient rites were better observed. [need-fire.] "this festival is called in gaelic _beal-tene_--i.e., the fire of bel.... like the other public worship of the druids, the beltane feast seems to have been performed on hills or eminences. they thought it degrading to him whose temple is the universe, to suppose that he would dwell in any house made with hands. their sacrifices were therefore offered in the open air, frequently upon the tops of hills, where they were presented with the grandest views of nature, and were nearest the seat of warmth and order. and, according to tradition, such was the manner of celebrating this festival in the highlands within the last hundred years. but since the decline of superstition, it has been celebrated by the people of each hamlet on some hill or rising ground around which their cattle were pasturing. thither the young folks repaired in the morning, and cut a trench, on the summit of which a seat of turf was formed for the company. and in the middle a pile of wood or other fuel was placed, which of old they kindled with _tein-eigin_-i.e., forced-fire or _need-fire_. although, for many years past, they have been contented with common fire, yet we shall now describe the process, because it will hereafter appear that recourse is still had to the _tein-eigin_ upon extraordinary emergencies. [need-fire kindled by the friction of oak wood.] "the night before, all the fires in the country were carefully extinguished, and next morning the materials for exciting this sacred fire were prepared. the most primitive method seems to be that which was used in the islands of skye, mull, and tiree. a well-seasoned plank of oak was procured, in the midst of which a hole was bored. a wimble of the same timber was then applied, the end of which they fitted to the hole. but in some parts of the mainland the machinery was different. they used a frame of green wood, of a square form, in the centre of which was an axle-tree. in some places three times three persons, in others three times nine, were required for turning round by turns the axle-tree or wimble. if any of them had been guilty of murder, adultery, theft, or other atrocious crime, it was imagined either that the fire would not kindle, or that it would be devoid of its usual virtue. so soon as any sparks were emitted by means of the violent friction, they applied a species of agaric which grows on old birch-trees, and is very combustible. this fire had the appearance of being immediately derived from heaven, and manifold were the virtues ascribed to it. they esteemed it a preservative against witchcraft, and a sovereign remedy against malignant diseases, both in the human species and in cattle; and by it the strongest poisons were supposed to have their nature changed. [the beltane cake and the beltane carline (_cailleach_).] "after kindling the bonfire with the _tein-eigin_ the company prepared their victuals. and as soon as they had finished their meal, they amused themselves a while in singing and dancing round the fire. towards the close of the entertainment, the person who officiated as master of the feast produced a large cake baked with eggs and scalloped round the edge, called _am bonnach beal-tine--i.e._ the beltane cake. it was divided into a number of pieces, and distributed in great form to the company. there was one particular piece which whoever got was called _cailleach beal-tine--i.e._, the beltane _carline_, a term of great reproach. upon his being known, part of the company laid hold of him and made a show of putting him into the fire; but the majority interposing, he was rescued. and in some places they laid him flat on the ground, making as if they would quarter him. afterwards, he was pelted with egg-shells, and retained the odious appellation during the whole year. and while the feast was fresh in people's memory, they affected to speak of the _cailleach beal-tine_ as dead. "this festival was longest observed in the interior highlands, for towards the west coast the traces of it are faintest. in glenorchy and lorne, a large cake is made on that day, which they consume in the house; and in mull it has a large hole in the middle, through which each of the cows in the fold is milked. in tiree it is of a triangular form. the more elderly people remember when this festival was celebrated without-doors with some solemnity in both these islands. there are at present no vestiges of it in skye or the long island, the inhabitants of which have substituted the _connach micheil_ or st. michael's cake. it is made at michaelmas with milk and oatmeal, and some eggs are sprinkled on its surface. part of it is sent to the neighbours. "it is probable that at the original beltane festival there were two fires kindled near one another. when any person is in a critical dilemma, pressed on each side by unsurmountable difficulties, the highlanders have a proverb, _the e' eada anda theine bealtuin_--i.e., he is between the two beltane fires. there are in several parts small round hills, which, it is like, owe their present names to such solemn uses. one of the highest and most central in icolmkil is called _cnoch-nan-ainneal_--i.e., the hill of the fires. there is another of the same name near the kirk of balquhidder; and at killin there is a round green eminence which seems to have been raised by art. it is called _tom-nan-ainneal_--i.e., the eminence of the fires. around it there are the remains of a circular wall about two feet high. on the top a stone stands upon end. according to the tradition of the inhabitants, it was a place of druidical worship; and it was afterwards pitched on as the most venerable spot for holding courts of justice for the country of breadalbane. the earth of this eminence is still thought to be possessed of some healing virtue, for when cattle are observed to be diseased some of it is sent for, which is rubbed on the part affected."[370] [local differences in the beltane cakes; evidence of two fires at beltane; beltane pies and cakes in the parish of callander.] in the parish of callander, a beautiful district of western perthshire, the beltane custom was still in vogue towards the end of the eighteenth century. it has been described as follows by the parish minister of the time: "upon the first day of may, which is called _beltan_, or _bal-tein_ day, all the boys in a township or hamlet, meet in the moors. they cut a table in the green sod, of a round figure, by casting a trench in the ground, of such circumference as to hold the whole company. they kindle a fire, and dress a repast of eggs and milk in the consistence of a custard. they knead a cake of oatmeal, which is toasted at the embers against a stone. after the custard is eaten up, they divide the cake into so many portions, as similar as possible to one another in size and shape, as there are persons in the company. they daub one of these portions all over with charcoal, until it be perfectly black. they put all the bits of the cake into a bonnet. every one, blindfold, draws out a portion. he who holds the bonnet, is entitled to the last bit. whoever draws the black bit, is the _devoted_ person who is to be sacrificed to _baal_[371] whose favour they mean to implore, in rendering the year productive of the sustenance of man and beast. there is little doubt of these inhuman sacrifices having been once offered in this country, as well as in the east, although they now pass from the act of sacrificing, and only compel the _devoted_ person to leap three times through the flames; with which the ceremonies of this festival are closed."[372] [pennant's description of the beltane fires and cakes in perthshire.] thomas pennant, who travelled in perthshire in the year 1769, tells us that "on the first of may, the herdsmen of every village hold their bel-tien, a rural sacrifice. they cut a square trench on the ground, leaving the turf in the middle; on that they make a fire of wood, on which they dress a large caudle of eggs, butter, oatmeal and milk; and bring besides the ingredients of the caudle, plenty of beer and whisky; for each of the company must contribute something. the rites begin with spilling some of the caudle on the ground, by way of libation: on that every one takes a cake of oatmeal, upon which are raised nine square knobs, each dedicated to some particular being, the supposed preserver of their flocks and herds, or to some particular animal, the real destroyer of them: each person then turns his face to the fire, breaks off a knob, and flinging it over his shoulders, says, 'this i give to thee, preserve thou my horses; this to thee, preserve thou my sheep; and so on,' after that, they use the-same ceremony to the noxious animals: 'this i give to thee, o fox! spare thou my lambs; this to thee, o hooded crow! this to thee, o eagle!' when the ceremony is over, they dine on the caudle; and after the feast is finished, what is left is hid by two persons deputed for that purpose; but on the next sunday they re-assemble, and finish the reliques of the first entertainment"[373] [beltane cakes and fires in the parishes of logierait and kirkmichael; omens drawn from the cakes.] another writer of the eighteenth century has described the beltane festival as it was held in the parish of logierait in perthshire. he says: "on the first of may, o.s., a festival called _beltan_ is annually held here. it is chiefly celebrated by the cow-herds, who assemble by scores in the fields, to dress a dinner for themselves, of boiled milk and eggs. these dishes they eat with a sort of cakes baked for the occasion, and having small lumps in the form of _nipples_, raised all over the surface."[374] in this last account no mention is made of bonfires, but they were probably lighted, for a contemporary writer informs us that in the parish of kirkmichael, which adjoins the parish of logierait on the east, the custom of lighting a fire in the fields and baking a consecrated cake on the first of may was not quite obsolete in his time.[375] we may conjecture that the cake with knobs was formerly used for the purpose of determining who should be the "beltane carline" or victim doomed to the flames. a trace of this custom survived, perhaps, in the custom of baking oatmeal cakes of a special kind and rolling them down hill about noon on the first of may; for it was thought that the person whose cake broke as it rolled would die or be unfortunate within the year. these cakes, or bannocks as we call them in scotland, were baked in the usual way, but they were washed over with a thin batter composed of whipped egg, milk or cream, and a little oatmeal. this custom appears to have prevailed at or near kingussie in inverness-shire. at achterneed, near strathpeffer in ross-shire, the beltane bannocks were called _tcharnican_ or hand-cakes, because they were kneaded entirely in the hand, and not on a board or table like common cakes; and after being baked they might not be placed anywhere but in the hands of the children who were to eat them.[376] [beltane fires in the north-east of scotland to burn the witches; the beltane cake.] in the north-east of scotland the beltane fires were still kindled in the latter half of the eighteenth century; the herdsmen of several farms used to gather dry wood, kindle it, and dance three times "southways" about the burning pile.[377] but in this region, according to a later authority, the beltane fires were lit not on the first but on the second of may, old style. they were called bone-fires. the people believed that on that evening and night the witches were abroad and busy casting spells on cattle and stealing cows' milk. to counteract their machinations, pieces of rowan-tree and woodbine, but especially of rowan-tree, were placed over the doors of the cow-houses, and fires were kindled by every farmer and cottar. old thatch, straw, furze, or broom was piled in a heap and set on fire a little after sunset. while some of the bystanders kept tossing the blazing mass, others hoisted portions of it on pitchforks or poles and ran hither and thither, holding them as high as they could. meantime the young people danced round the fire or ran through the smoke shouting, "fire! blaze and burn the witches; fire! fire! burn the witches." in some districts a large round cake of oat or barley meal was rolled through the ashes. when all the fuel was consumed, the people scattered the ashes far and wide, and till the night grew quite dark they continued to run through them, crying, "fire! burn the witches."[378] [beltane cakes and fires in the hebrides.] in the hebrides "the beltane bannock is smaller than that made at st. michael's, but is made in the same way; it is no longer made in uist, but father allan remembers seeing his grandmother make one about twenty-five years ago. there was also a cheese made, generally on the first of may, which was kept to the next beltane as a sort of charm against the bewitching of milk-produce. the beltane customs seem to have been the same as elsewhere. every fire was put out and a large one lit on the top of the hill, and the cattle driven round it sunwards (_dessil_), to keep off murrain all the year. each man would take home fire wherewith to kindle his own."[379] [beltane fires and cakes in wales.] in wales also the custom of lighting beltane fires at the beginning of may used to be observed, but the day on which they were kindled varied from the eve of may day to the third of may. the flame was sometimes elicited by the friction of two pieces of oak, as appears from the following description. "the fire was done in this way. nine men would turn their pockets inside out, and see that every piece of money and all metals were off their persons. then the men went into the nearest woods, and collected sticks of nine different kinds of trees. these were carried to the spot where the fire had to be built. there a circle was cut in the sod, and the sticks were set crosswise. all around the circle the people stood and watched the proceedings. one of the men would then take two bits of oak, and rub them together until a flame was kindled. this was applied to the sticks, and soon a large fire was made. sometimes two fires were set up side by side. these fires, whether one or two, were called _coelcerth_ or bonfire. round cakes of oatmeal and brown meal were split in four, and placed in a small flour-bag, and everybody present had to pick out a portion. the last bit in the bag fell to the lot of the bag-holder. each person who chanced to pick up a piece of brown-meal cake was compelled to leap three times over the flames, or to run thrice between the two fires, by which means the people thought they were sure of a plentiful harvest. shouts and screams of those who had to face the ordeal could be heard ever so far, and those who chanced to pick the oatmeal portions sang and danced and clapped their hands in approval, as the holders of the brown bits leaped three times over the flames, or ran three times between the two fires. as a rule, no danger attended these curious celebrations, but occasionally somebody's clothes caught fire, which was quickly put out. the greatest fire of the year was the eve of may, or may first, second, or third. the midsummer eve fire was more for the harvest. very often a fire was built on the eve of november. the high ground near the castle ditches at llantwit major, in the vale of glamorgan, was a familiar spot for the beltane on may third and on midsummer eve.... sometimes the beltane fire was lighted by the flames produced by stone instead of wood friction. charred logs and faggots used in the may beltane were carefully preserved, and from them the next fire was lighted. may fires were always started with old faggots of the previous year, and midsummer from those of the last summer. it was unlucky to build a midsummer fire from may faggots. people carried the ashes left after these fires to their homes, and a charred brand was not only effectual against pestilence, but magical in its use. a few of the ashes placed in a person's shoes protected the wearer from any great sorrow or woe."[380] [welsh belief that passage over or between the fires ensured good crops.] from the foregoing account we learn that bonfires were kindled in wales on midsummer eve and hallowe'en (the thirty-first of october), as well as at the beginning of may, but that the beltane fires in may were deemed the most important. to the midsummer eve and hallowe'en fires we shall return presently. the belief of the people that by leaping thrice over the bonfires or running thrice between them they ensured a plentiful harvest is worthy of note. the mode in which this result was supposed to be brought about is indicated by another writer on welsh folk-lore, according to whom it used to be held that "the bonfires lighted in may or midsummer protected the lands from sorcery, so that good crops would follow. the ashes were also considered valuable as charms."[381] hence it appears that the heat of the fires was thought to fertilize the fields, not directly by quickening the seeds in the ground, but indirectly by counteracting the baleful influence of witchcraft or perhaps by burning up the persons of the witches. [beltane fires in the isle of man to burn the witches; beltane fires in nottinghamshire.] "the druidical anniversary of beil or baal is still celebrated in the isle of man. on the first of may, 1837, the baal fires were, as usual on that day, so numerous as to give the island the appearance of a general conflagration."[382] by may day in manx folk-lore is meant may day old style, or _shenn laa boaldyn_, as it is called in manx. the day was one on which the power of elves and witches was particularly dreaded, and the people resorted to many precautions in order to protect themselves against these mischievous beings. hence at daybreak they set fire to the ling or gorse, for the purpose of burning out the witches, who are wont to lurk in the form of hares.[383] on the hemlock stone, a natural pillar of sandstone standing on stapleford hill in nottinghamshire, a fire used to be solemnly kindled every year on beltane eve. the custom seems to have survived down to the beginning of the nineteenth century; old people could remember and describe the ceremony long after it had fallen into desuetude.[384] [beltane fires in ireland.] the beltane fires appear to have been kindled also in ireland, for cormac, "or somebody in his name, says that _belltaine_, may-day, was so called from the 'lucky fire,' or the 'two fires,' which the druids of erin used to make on that day with great incantations; and cattle, he adds, used to be brought to those fires, or to be driven between them, as a safeguard against the diseases of the year."[385] again, a very ancient irish poem, enumerating the may day celebrations, mentions among them a bonfire on a hill (_tendal ar cnuc_); and another old authority says that these fires were kindled in the name of the idol-god bel.[386] from an old life of st. patrick we learn that on a day in spring the heathen of ireland were wont to extinguish all their fires until a new fire was kindled with solemn ceremony in the king's house at tara. in the year in which st. patrick landed in ireland it chanced that the night of the extinguished fires coincided with the eve of easter; and the saint, ignorant of this pagan superstition, resolved to celebrate his first easter in ireland after the true christian fashion by lighting the holy paschal fire on the hill of slane, which rises high above the left bank of the boyne, about twelve miles from the mouth of the river. so that night, looking from his palace at tara across the darkened landscape, the king of tara saw the solitary fire flaring on the top of the hill of slane, and in consternation he asked his wise men what that light meant. they warned him of the danger that it betokened for the ancient faith of erin.[387] in spite of the difference of date between easter and beltane, we may suspect that the new fire annually kindled with solemn ceremony about easter in the king of ireland's palace at tara was no other than the beltane fire. we have seen that in the highlands of scotland down to modern times it was customary to extinguish all fires in the neighbourhood before proceeding to kindle the sacred flame.[388] the irish historian geoffrey keating, who wrote in the first part of the seventeenth century, tells us that the men of ireland held a great fair every year in the month of may at uisnech (_ushnagh_) in the county of meath, "and at it they were wont to exchange their goods and their wares and their jewels. at it, they were, also, wont to make a sacrifice to the arch-god that they adored, whose name was bèl (_bayl_). it was, likewise, their usage to light two fires to bèl, in every district of ireland, at this season, and to drive a pair of each kind of cattle that the district contained, between those two fires, as a preservative to guard them against all the diseases of that year. it is from that fire, thus made in honour of bèl, that the day [the first of may] on which the noble feast of the apostles, philip and james, is held, has been called bèltaini, or bèaltaine (_bayltinnie_); for beltaini is the same as bèil-teinè, i.e. teiné bhèil (_tinnie vayl_) or bèl's fire."[389] the custom of driving cattle through or between fires on may day or the eve of may day persisted in ireland down to a time within living memory. thus sir john rhys was informed by a manxman that an irish cattle-dealer of his acquaintance used to drive his cattle through fire on may day so as to singe them a little, since he believed that it would preserve them from harm. when the manxman was asked where the dealer came from, he answered, "from the mountains over there," pointing to the mourne mountains then looming faintly in the mists on the western horizon.[390] [fires on the eve of may day in sweden; fires on the eve of may day in austria and saxony for the purpose of burning the witches.] the first of may is a great popular festival in the more midland and southern parts of sweden. on the eve of the festival, huge bonfires, which should be lighted by striking two flints together, blaze on all the hills and knolls. every large hamlet has its own fire, round which the young people dance in a ring. the old folk notice whether the flames incline to the north or to the south. in the former case, the spring will be cold and backward; in the latter, it will be mild and genial.[391] similarly, in bohemia, on the eve of may day, young people kindle fires on hills and eminences, at crossways, and in pastures, and dance round them. they leap over the glowing embers or even through the flames. the ceremony is called "burning the witches." in some places an effigy representing a witch used to be burnt in the bonfire.[392] we have to remember that the eve of may day is the notorious walpurgis night, when the witches are everywhere speeding unseen through the air on their hellish errands. on this witching night children in voigtland also light bonfires on the heights and leap over them. moreover, they wave burning brooms or toss them into the air. so far as the light of the bonfire reaches, so far will a blessing rest on the fields. the kindling of the fires on walpurgis night is called "driving away the witches."[393] the custom of kindling fires on the eve of may day (walpurgis night) for the purpose of burning the witches is, or used to be, widespread in the tyrol, moravia, saxony and silesia.[394] § 4. _the midsummer fires_ [the great season for fire-festivals in europe is the summer solstice, midsummer eve or midsummer day, which the church has dedicated to st. john the baptist; the bonfires, the torches, and the burning wheels of the festival.] but the season at which these fire-festivals have been mostly generally held all over europe is the summer solstice, that is midsummer eve (the twenty-third of june) or midsummer day (the twenty-fourth of june). a faint tinge of christianity has been given to them by naming midsummer day after st. john the baptist, but we cannot doubt that the celebration dates from a time long before the beginning of our era. the summer solstice, or midsummer day, is the great turning-point in the sun's career, when, after climbing higher and higher day by day in the sky, the luminary stops and thenceforth retraces his steps down the heavenly road. such a moment could not but be regarded with anxiety by primitive man so soon as he began to observe and ponder the courses of the great lights across the celestial vault; and having still to learn his own powerlessness in face of the vast cyclic changes of nature, he may have fancied that he could help the sun in his seeming decline--could prop his failing steps and rekindle the sinking flame of the red lamp in his feeble hand. in some such thoughts as these the midsummer festivals of our european peasantry may perhaps have taken their rise. whatever their origin, they have prevailed all over this quarter of the globe, from ireland on the west to russia on the east, and from norway and sweden on the north to spain and greece on the south.[395] according to a mediæval writer, the three great features of the midsummer celebration were the bonfires, the procession with torches round the fields, and the custom of rolling a wheel. he tells us that boys burned bones and filth of various kinds to make a foul smoke, and that the smoke drove away certain noxious dragons which at this time, excited by the summer heat, copulated in the air and poisoned the wells and rivers by dropping their seed into them; and he explains the custom of trundling a wheel to mean that the sun, having now reached the highest point in the ecliptic, begins thenceforward to descend.[396] [t. kirchmeyer's description of the midsummer festival.] a good general account of the midsummer customs, together with some of the reasons popularly alleged for observing them, is given by thomas kirchmeyer, a writer of the sixteenth century, in his poem _the popish kingdome_:-"_then doth the joyfull feast of john the baptist take his turne, when bonfiers great with loftie flame, in every towne doe burne; and yong men round about with maides, doe daunce in every streete, with garlands wrought of motherwort, or else with vervain sweete, and many other flowres faire, with violets in their handes, whereas they all do fondly thinke, that whosoever standes, and thorow the flowres beholds the flame, his eyes shall feele no paine. when thus till night they daunced have, they through the fire amaine with striving mindes doe runne, and all their hearbes they cast therin, and then with wordes devout and prayers, they solemnely begin, desiring god that all their illes may there consumed bee, whereby they thinke through all that yeare from agues to be free. some others get a rotten wheele, all worne and cast aside, which covered round about with strawe, and tow, they closely hide: and caryed to some mountaines top, being all with fire light, they hurle it downe with violence, when darke appeares the night: resembling much the sunne, that from the heavens downe should fal, a straunge and monstrous sight it seemes, and fearfull to them all; but they suppose their mischiefes all are likewise throwne to hell, and that from harmes and daungers now, in safetie here they dwell_."[397] from these general descriptions, which to some extent still hold good, or did so till lately, we see that the main features of the midsummer fire-festival resemble those which we have found to characterize the vernal festivals of fire. the similarity of the two sets of ceremonies will plainly appear from the following examples. [the midsummer fires in germany; the celebration at konz on the moselle: the rolling of a burning wheel down hill.] a writer of the first half of the sixteenth century informs us that in almost every village and town of germany public bonfires were kindled on the eve of st. john, and young and old, of both sexes, gathered about them and passed the time in dancing and singing. people on this occasion wore chaplets of mugwort and vervain, and they looked at the fire through bunches of larkspur which they held in their hands, believing that this would preserve their eyes in a healthy state throughout the year. as each departed, he threw the mugwort and vervain into the fire, saying, "may all my ill-luck depart and be burnt up with these."[398] at lower konz, a village prettily situated on a hillside overlooking the moselle, in the midst of a wood of walnut-trees and fruit-trees, the midsummer festival used to be celebrated as follows. a quantity of straw was collected on the top of the steep stromberg hill. every inhabitant, or at least every householder, had to contribute his share of straw to the pile; a recusant was looked at askance, and if in the course of the year he happened to break a leg or lose a child, there was not a gossip in the village but knew the reason why. at nightfall the whole male population, men and boys, mustered on the top of the hill; the women and girls were not allowed to join them, but had to take up their position at a certain spring half-way down the slope. on the summit stood a huge wheel completely encased in some of the straw which had been jointly contributed by the villagers; the rest of the straw was made into torches. from each side of the wheel the axle-tree projected about three feet, thus furnishing handles to the lads who were to guide it in its descent. the mayor of the neighbouring town of sierck, who always received a basket of cherries for his services, gave the signal; a lighted torch was applied to the wheel, and as it burst into flame, two young fellows, strong-limbed and swift of foot, seized the handles and began running with it down the slope. a great shout went up. every man and boy waved a blazing torch in the air, and took care to keep it alight so long as the wheel was trundling down the hill. some of them followed the fiery wheel, and watched with amusement the shifts to which its guides were put in steering it round the hollows and over the broken ground on the mountainside. the great object of the young men who guided the wheel was to plunge it blazing into the water of the moselle; but they rarely succeeded in their efforts, for the vineyards which cover the greater part of the declivity impeded their progress, and the wheel was often burned out before it reached the river. as it rolled past the women and girls at the spring, they raised cries of joy which were answered by the men on the top of the mountain; and the shouts were echoed by the inhabitants of neighbouring villages who watched the spectacle from their hills on the opposite bank of the moselle. if the fiery wheel was successfully conveyed to the bank of the river and extinguished in the water, the people looked for an abundant vintage that year, and the inhabitants of konz had the right to exact a waggon-load of white wine from the surrounding vineyards. on the other hand, they believed that, if they neglected to perform the ceremony, the cattle would be attacked by giddiness and convulsions and would dance in their stalls.[399] [the midsummer fires in bavaria; cattle driven through the fire; the new fire; omens of the harvest drawn from the fires; burning discs thrown into the air.] down at least to the middle of the nineteenth century the midsummer fires used to blaze all over upper bavaria. they were kindled especially on the mountains, but also far and wide in the lowlands, and we are told that in the darkness and stillness of night the moving groups, lit up by the flickering glow of the flames, presented an impressive spectacle. in some places the people shewed their sense of the sanctity of the fires by using for fuel the trees past which the gay procession had defiled, with fluttering banners, on corpus christi day. in others the children collected the firewood from door to door on the eve of the festival, singing their request for fuel at every house in doggerel verse. cattle were driven through the fire to cure the sick animals and to guard such as were sound against plague and harm of every kind throughout the year. many a householder on that day put out the fire on the domestic hearth and rekindled it by means of a brand taken from the midsummer bonfire. the people judged of the height to which the flax would grow in the year by the height to which the flames of the bonfire rose; and whoever leaped over the burning pile was sure not to suffer from backache in reaping the corn at harvest. but it was especially the practice for lovers to spring over the fire hand in hand, and the way in which each couple made the leap was the subject of many a jest and many a superstition. in one district the custom of kindling the bonfires was combined with that of lighting wooden discs and hurling them in the air after the manner which prevails at some of the spring festivals.[400] in many parts of bavaria it was believed that the flax would grow as high as the young people leaped over the fire.[401] in others the old folk used to plant three charred sticks from the bonfire in the fields, believing that this would make the flax grow tall.[402] elsewhere an extinguished brand was put in the roof of the house to protect it against fire. in the towns about würzburg the bonfires used to be kindled in the market-places, and the young people who jumped over them wore garlands of flowers, especially of mugwort and vervain, and carried sprigs of larkspur in their hands. they thought that such as looked at the fire holding a bit of larkspur before their face would be troubled by no malady of the eyes throughout the year.[403] further, it was customary at würzburg, in the sixteenth century, for the bishop's followers to throw burning discs of wood into the air from a mountain which overhangs the town. the discs were discharged by means of flexible rods, and in their flight through the darkness presented the appearance of fiery dragons.[404] [the midsummer fires in swabia; omens drawn from the leaps over the fires; burning wheels rolled down hill; burning the angel-man at rottenburg.] in the valley of the lech, which divides upper bavaria from swabia, the midsummer customs and beliefs are, or used to be, very similar. bonfires are kindled on the mountains on midsummer day; and besides the bonfire a tall beam, thickly wrapt in straw and surmounted by a cross-piece, is burned in many places. round this cross as it burns the lads dance with loud shouts; and when the flames have subsided, the young people leap over the fire in pairs, a young man and a young woman together. if they escape unsmirched, the man will not suffer from fever, and the girl will not become a mother within the year. further, it is believed that the flax will grow that year as high as they leap over the fire; and that if a charred billet be taken from the fire and stuck in a flax-field it will promote the growth of the flax.[405] similarly in swabia, lads and lasses, hand in hand, leap over the midsummer bonfire, praying that the hemp may grow three ells high, and they set fire to wheels of straw and send them rolling down the hill. among the places where burning wheels were thus bowled down hill at midsummer were the hohenstaufen mountains in wurtemberg and the frauenberg near gerhausen.[406] at deffingen, in swabia, as the people sprang over the midsummer bonfire they cried out, "flax, flax! may the flax this year grow seven ells high!"[407] at rottenburg in swabia, down to the year 1807 or 1808, the festival was marked by some special features. about mid-day troops of boys went about the town begging for firewood at the houses. in each troop there were three leaders, one of whom carried a dagger, a second a paper banner, and a third a white plate covered with a white cloth. these three entered each house and recited verses, in which they expressed an intention of roasting martin luther and sending him to the devil; and for this meritorious service they expected to be paid, the contributions being received in the cloth-covered plate. in the evening they counted up their money and proceeded to "behead the angel-man." for this ceremony an open space was chosen, sometimes in the middle of the town. here a stake was thrust into the ground and straw wrapt about it, so as to make a rude effigy of human form with arms, head, and face. every boy brought a handful of nosegays and fastened them to the straw-man, who was thus enveloped in flowers. fuel was heaped about the stake and set on fire. when the angel-man, as the straw-effigy was called, blazed up, all the boys of the neighbourhood, who had gathered expectantly around, fell upon him with their wooden swords and hewed him to pieces. as soon as he had vanished in smoke and flame, the lads leaped backward and forward over the glowing embers, and later in the evening they feasted on the proceeds of their collection.[408] here the angel-man burnt in the fire appears to be identified with martin luther, to whom, as we have seen, allusion was made during the house-to-house visitation. the identification was probably modern, for we may assume that the custom of burning an effigy in the midsummer bonfire is far older than the time of luther. [the midsummer fires in baden; omens drawn from leaps over the fires; burning discs thrown into the air; midsummer fires in alsace, lorraine, the eifel, the harz districts and thuringia; burning barrel swung round a pole.] in baden the children used to collect fuel from house to house for the midsummer bonfire on st. john's day; and lads and lasses leaped over the fire in couples. here, as elsewhere, a close connexion was traced between these bonfires and the harvest. in some places it was thought that those who leaped over the fires would not suffer from backache at reaping. sometimes, as the young folk sprang over the flames, they cried, "grow, that the hemp may be three ells high!" this notion that the hemp or the corn would grow as high as the flames blazed or as the people jumped over them, seems to have been widespread in baden. it was held that the parents of the young people who bounded highest over the fire would have the most abundant harvest; and on the other hand, if a man contributed nothing to the bonfire, it was imagined that there would be no blessing on his crops, and that his hemp in particular would never grow.[409] in the neighbourhood of bühl and achern the st. john's fires were kindled on the tops of hills; only the unmarried lads of the village brought the fuel, and only the unmarried young men and women sprang through the flames. but most of the villagers, old and young, gathered round the bonfires, leaving a clear space for the leapers to take their run. one of the bystanders would call out the names of a pair of sweethearts; on which the two would step out from the throng, take each other by the hand, and leap high and lightly through the swirling smoke and flames, while the spectators watched them critically and drew omens of their married life from the height to which each of them bounded. such an invitation to jump together over the bonfire was regarded as tantamount to a public betrothal.[410] near offenburg, in the black forest, on midsummer day the village boys used to collect faggots and straw on some steep and conspicuous height, and they spent some time in making circular wooden discs by slicing the trunk of a pine-tree across. when darkness had fallen, they kindled the bonfire, and then, as it blazed up, they lighted the discs at it, and, after swinging them to and fro at the end of a stout and supple hazel-wand, they hurled them one after the other, whizzing and flaming, into the air, where they described great arcs of fire, to fall at length, like shooting-stars, at the foot of the mountain.[411] in many parts of alsace and lorraine the midsummer fires still blaze annually or did so not very many years ago.[412] at speicher in the eifel, a district which lies on the middle rhine, to the west of coblentz, a bonfire used to be kindled in front of the village on st. john's day, and all the young people had to jump over it. those who failed to do so were not allowed to join the rest in begging for eggs from house to house. where no eggs were given, they drove a wedge into the keyhole of the door. on this day children in the eifel used also to gather flowers in the fields, weave them into garlands, and throw the garlands on the roofs or hang them on the doors of the houses. so long as the flowers remained there, they were supposed to guard the house from fire and lightning.[413] in the southern harz district and in thuringia the midsummer or st. john's fires used to be commonly lighted down to about the middle of the nineteenth century, and the custom has probably not died out. at edersleben, near sangerhausen, a high pole was planted in the ground and a tar-barrel was hung from it by a chain which reached to the ground. the barrel was then set on fire and swung round the pole amid shouts of joy.[414] [midsummer fires kindled by the friction of wood in germany and switzerland; driving away demons and witches.] according to one account, german tradition required that the midsummer fire should be lighted, not from a common hearth, but by the friction of two sorts of wood, namely oak and fir.[415] in some old farm-houses of the surenthal and winenthal, in switzerland, a couple of holes or a whole row of them may be seen facing each other in the door-posts of the barn or stable. sometimes the holes are smooth and round; sometimes they are deeply burnt and blackened. the explanation of them is this. about midsummer, but especially on midsummer day, two such holes are bored opposite each other, into which the extremities of a strong pole are fixed. the holes are then stuffed with tow steeped in resin and oil; a rope is looped round the pole, and two young men, who must be brothers or must have the same baptismal name, and must be of the same age, pull the ends of the rope backwards and forwards so as to make the pole revolve rapidly, till smoke and sparks issue from the two holes in the door-posts. the sparks are caught and blown up with tinder, and this is the new and pure fire, the appearance of which is greeted with cries of joy. heaps of combustible materials are now ignited with the new fire, and blazing bundles are placed on boards and sent floating down the brook. the boys light torches at the new fire and run to fumigate the pastures. this is believed to drive away all the demons and witches that molest the cattle. finally the torches are thrown in a heap on the meadow and allowed to burn out. on their way back the boys strew the ashes over the fields, which is supposed to make them fertile. if a farmer has taken possession of a new house, or if servants have changed masters, the boys fumigate the new abode and are rewarded by the farmer with a supper.[416] [midsummer fires in silesia; scaring away the witches.] in silesia, from the south-eastern part of the sudeten range and north-westward as far as lausitz, the mountains are ablaze with bonfires on midsummer eve; and from the valleys and the plains round about leobschütz, neustadt, zülz, oels, and other places answering fires twinkle through the deepening gloom. while they are smouldering and sending forth volumes of smoke across the fields, young men kindle broom-stumps, soaked in pitch, at the bonfires and then, brandishing the stumps, which emit showers of sparks, they chase one another or dance with the girls round the burning pile. shots, too, are fired, and shouts raised. the fire, the smoke, the shots, and the shouts are all intended to scare away the witches, who are let loose on this witching day, and who would certainly work harm to the crops and the cattle, if they were not deterred by these salutary measures. mere contact with the fire brings all sorts of blessings. hence when the bonfire is burning low, the lads leap over it, and the higher they bound, the better is the luck in store for them. he who surpasses his fellows is the hero of the day and is much admired by the village girls. it is also thought to be very good for the eyes to stare steadily at the bonfire without blinking; moreover he who does so will not drowse and fall asleep betimes in the long winter evenings. on midsummer eve the windows and doors of houses in silesia are crowned with flowers, especially with the blue cornflowers and the bright corn-cockles; in some villages long strings of garlands and nosegays are stretched across the streets. the people believe that on that night st. john comes down from heaven to bless the flowers and to keep all evil things from house and home.[417] [the midsummer fires in denmark and norway; keeping off the witches; the midsummer fires in sweden.] in denmark and norway also midsummer fires were kindled on st. john's eve on roads, open spaces, and hills. people in norway thought that the fires banished sickness from among the cattle.[418] even yet the fires are said to be lighted all over norway on the night of june the twenty-third, midsummer eve, old style. as many as fifty or sixty bonfires may often be counted burning on the hills round bergen. sometimes fuel is piled on rafts, ignited, and allowed to drift blazing across the fiords in the darkness of night. the fires are thought to be kindled in order to keep off the witches, who are said to be flying from all parts that night to the blocksberg, where the big witch lives.[419] in sweden the eve of st. john (st. hans) is the most joyous night of the whole year. throughout some parts of the country, especially in the provinces of bohus and scania and in districts bordering on norway, it is celebrated by the frequent discharge of firearms and by huge bonfires, formerly called balder's balefires (_balder's balar_), which are kindled at dusk on hills and eminences and throw a glare of light over the surrounding landscape. the people dance round the fires and leap over or through them. in parts of norrland on st. john's eve the bonfires are lit at the cross-roads. the fuel consists of nine different sorts of wood, and the spectators cast into the flames a kind of toad-stool (_bäran_) in order to counteract the power of the trolls and other evil spirits, who are believed to be abroad that night; for at that mystic season the mountains open and from their cavernous depths the uncanny crew pours forth to dance and disport themselves for a time. the peasants believe that should any of the trolls be in the vicinity they will shew themselves; and if an animal, for example a he or she goat, happens to be seen near the blazing, crackling pile, the peasants are firmly persuaded that it is no other than the evil one in person.[420] further, it deserves to be remarked that in sweden st. john's eve is a festival of water as well as of fire; for certain holy springs are then supposed to be endowed with wonderful medicinal virtues, and many sick people resort to them for the healing of their infirmities.[421] [the midsummer fires in switzerland and austria; effigies burnt in the fires; burning wheels rolled down hill.] in switzerland on midsummer eve fires are, or used to be, kindled on high places in the cantons of bern, neuchatel, valais, and geneva.[422] in austria the midsummer customs and superstitions resemble those of germany. thus in some parts of the tyrol bonfires are kindled and burning discs hurled into the air.[423] in the lower valley of the inn a taterdemalian effigy is carted about the village on midsummer day and then burned. he is called the _lotter_, which has been corrupted into luther. at ambras, one of the villages where martin luther is thus burned in effigy, they say that if you go through the village between eleven and twelve on st. john's night and wash yourself in three wells, you will see all who are to die in the following year.[424] at gratz on st. john's eve (the twenty-third of june) the common people used to make a puppet called the _tatermann_, which they dragged to the bleaching ground, and pelted with burning besoms till it took fire.[425] at reutte, in the tyrol, people believed that the flax would grow as high as they leaped over the midsummer bonfire, and they took pieces of charred wood from the fire and stuck them in their flax-fields the same night, leaving them there till the flax harvest had been got in.[426] in lower austria fires are lit in the fields, commonly in front of a cross, and the people dance and sing round them and throw flowers into the flames. before each handful of flowers is tossed into the fire, a set speech is made; then the dance is resumed and the dancers sing in chorus the last words of the speech. at evening bonfires are kindled on the heights, and the boys caper round them, brandishing lighted torches drenched in pitch. whoever jumps thrice across the fire will not suffer from fever within the year. cart-wheels are often smeared with pitch, ignited, and sent rolling and blazing down the hillsides.[427] [midsummer fires in bohemia; wreaths thrown across the fire; uses made of the singed wreaths; burning wheels rolled down hill; embers of the fire stuck in fields, gardens, and houses as a talisman against lightning and conflagration; use of mugwort; cattle protected against witchcraft.] all over bohemia bonfires still burn on midsummer eve. in the afternoon boys go about with handcarts from house to house collecting fuel, such as sticks, brushwood, old besoms, and so forth. they make their request at each house in rhyming verses, threatening with evil consequences the curmudgeons who refuse them a dole. sometimes the young men fell a tall straight fir in the woods and set it up on a height, where the girls deck it with nosegays, wreaths of leaves, and red ribbons. then brushwood is piled about it, and at nightfall the whole is set on fire. while the flames break out, the young men climb the tree and fetch down the wreaths which the girls had placed on it. after that, lads and lasses stand on opposite sides of the fire and look at one another through the wreaths to see whether they will be true to each other and marry within the year. also the girls throw the wreaths across the flames to the men, and woe to the awkward swain who fails to catch the wreath thrown him by his sweetheart. when the blaze has died down, each couple takes hands, and leaps thrice across the fire. he or she who does so will be free from ague throughout the year, and the flax will grow as high as the young folks leap. a girl who sees nine bonfires on midsummer eve will marry before the year is out. the singed wreaths are carried home and carefully preserved throughout the year. during thunderstorms a bit of the wreath is burned on the hearth with a prayer; some of it is given to kine that are sick or calving, and some of it serves to fumigate house and cattle-stall, that man and beast may keep hale and well. sometimes an old cartwheel is smeared with resin, ignited, and sent rolling down the hill. often the boys collect all the worn-out besoms they can get hold of, dip them in pitch, and having set them on fire wave them about or throw them high into the air. or they rush down the hillside in troops, brandishing the flaming brooms and shouting, only however to return to the bonfire on the summit when the brooms have burnt out. the stumps of the brooms and embers from the fire are preserved and stuck in cabbage gardens to protect the cabbages from caterpillars and gnats. some people insert charred sticks and ashes from the bonfire in their sown fields and meadows, in their gardens and the roofs of their houses, as a talisman against lightning and foul weather; or they fancy that the ashes placed in the roof will prevent any fire from breaking out in the house. in some districts they crown or gird themselves with mugwort while the midsummer fire is burning, for this is supposed to be a protection against ghosts, witches, and sickness; in particular, a wreath of mugwort is a sure preventive of sore eyes. sometimes the girls look at the bonfires through garlands of wild flowers, praying the fire to strengthen their eyes and eyelids. she who does this thrice will have no sore eyes all that year. in some parts of bohemia they used to drive the cows through the midsummer fire to guard them against witchcraft.[428] [the midsummer fires in moravia, austrian silesia, and the district of cracow; fire kindled by the friction of wood.] the germans of moravia in like manner still light bonfires on open grounds and high places on midsummer eve; and they kindle besoms in the flames and then stick the charred stumps in the cabbage-fields as a powerful protection against caterpillars. on the same mystic evening moravian girls gather flowers of nine sorts and lay them under their pillow when they go to sleep; then they dream every one of him who is to be her partner for life. for in moravia maidens in their beds as well as poets by haunted streams have their midsummer night's dreams.[429] in austrian silesia the custom also prevails of lighting great bonfires on hilltops on midsummer eve, and here too the boys swing blazing besoms or hurl them high in the air, while they shout and leap and dance wildly. next morning every door is decked with flowers and birchen saplings.[430] in the district of cracow, especially towards the carpathian mountains, great fires are kindled by the peasants in the fields or on the heights at nightfall on midsummer eve, which among them goes by the name of kupalo's night. the fire must be kindled by the friction of two sticks. the young people dance round or leap over it; and a band of sturdy fellows run a race with lighted torches, the winner being rewarded with a peacock's feather, which he keeps throughout the year as a distinction. cattle also are driven round the fire in the belief that this is a charm against pestilence and disease of every sort.[431] [the midsummer fires among the slavs of russia; cattle protected against witchcraft; the fires lighted by the friction of wood.] the name of kupalo's night, applied in this part of galicia to midsummer eve, reminds us that we have now passed from german to slavonic ground; even in bohemia the midsummer celebration is common to slavs and germans. we have already seen that in russia the summer solstice or eve of st. john is celebrated by young men and maidens, who jump over a bonfire in couples carrying a straw effigy of kupalo in their arms.[432] in some parts of russia an image of kupalo is burnt or thrown into a stream on st. john's night.[433] again, in some districts of russia the young folk wear garlands of flowers and girdles of holy herbs when they spring through the smoke or flames; and sometimes they drive the cattle also through the fire in order to protect the animals against wizards and witches, who are then ravenous after milk.[434] in little russia a stake is driven into the ground on st. john's night, wrapt in straw, and set on fire. as the flames rise the peasant women throw birchen boughs into them, saying, "may my flax be as tall as this bough!"[435] in ruthenia the bonfires are lighted by a flame procured by the friction of wood. while the elders of the party are engaged in thus "churning" the fire, the rest maintain a respectful silence; but when the flame bursts from the wood, they break forth into joyous songs. as soon as the bonfires are kindled, the young people take hands and leap in pairs through the smoke, if not through the flames; and after that the cattle in their turn are driven through the fire.[436] [the midsummer fires in prussia and lithuania thought to protect against witchcraft, thunder, hail, and cattle disease; the fire kindled by the friction of wood.] in many parts of prussia and lithuania great fires are kindled on midsummer eve. all the heights are ablaze with them, as far as the eye can see. the fires are supposed to be a protection against witchcraft, thunder, hail, and cattle disease, especially if next morning the cattle are driven over the places where the fires burned. above all, the bonfires ensure the farmer against the arts of witches, who try to steal the milk from his cows by charms and spells. that is why next morning you may see the young fellows who lit the bonfire going from house to house and receiving jugfuls of milk. and for the same reason they stick burs and mugwort on the gate or the hedge through which the cows go to pasture, because that is supposed to be a preservative against witchcraft.[437] in masuren, a district of eastern prussia inhabited by a branch of the polish family, it is the custom on the evening of midsummer day to put out all the fires in the village. then an oaken stake is driven into the ground and a wheel is fixed on it as on an axle. this wheel the villagers, working by relays, cause to revolve with great rapidity till fire is produced by friction. every one takes home a lighted brand from the new fire and with it rekindles the fire on the domestic hearth.[438] in the sixteenth century martin of urzedow, a polish priest, denounced the heathen practices of the women who on st. john's eve (midsummer eve) kindled fires by the friction of wood, danced, and sang songs in honour of the devil.[439] [the midsummer fires among the letts of russia; midsummer day in ancient rome.] among the letts who inhabit the baltic provinces of russia the most joyful festival of the year is held on midsummer day. the people drink and dance and sing and adorn themselves and their houses with flowers and branches. chopped boughs of fir are strewn about the rooms, and leaves are stuck in the roofs. in every farm-yard a birch tree is set up, and every person of the name of john who enters the farm that day must break off a twig from the tree and hang up on its branches in return a small present for the family. when the serene twilight of the summer night has veiled the landscape, bonfires gleam on all the hills, and wild shouts of "ligho! ligho!" echo from the woods and fields. in riga the day is a festival of flowers. from all the neighbourhood the peasants stream into the city laden with flowers and garlands. a market of flowers is held in an open square and on the chief bridge over the river; here wreaths of immortelles, which grow wild in the meadows and woods, are sold in great profusion and deck the houses of riga for long afterwards. roses, too, are now at the prime of their beauty, and masses of them adorn the flower-stalls. till far into the night gay crowds parade the streets to music or float on the river in gondolas decked with flowers.[440] so long ago in ancient rome barges crowned with flowers and crowded with revellers used to float down the tiber on midsummer day, the twenty-fourth of june,[441] and no doubt the strains of music were wafted as sweetly across the water to listeners on the banks as they still are to the throngs of merrymakers at riga. [the midsummer fires among the south slavs.] bonfires are commonly kindled by the south slavonian peasantry on midsummer eve, and lads and lasses dance and shout round them in the usual way. the very names of st. john's day (_ivanje_) and the st. john's fires (_kries_) are said to act like electric sparks on the hearts and minds of these swains, kindling a thousand wild, merry, and happy fancies and ideas in their rustic breasts. at kamenagora in croatia the herdsmen throw nine three-year old vines into the bonfire, and when these burst into flames the young men who are candidates for matrimony jump through the blaze. he who succeeds in leaping over the fire without singeing himself will be married within the year. at vidovec in croatia parties of two girls and one lad unite to kindle a midsummer bonfire and to leap through the flames; he or she who leaps furthest will soonest wed. afterwards lads and lasses dance in separate rings, but the ring of lads bumps up against the ring of girls and breaks it, and the girl who has to let go her neighbour's hand will forsake her true love hereafter.[442] in servia on midsummer eve herdsmen light torches of birch bark and march round the sheepfolds and cattle-stalls; then they climb the hills and there allow the torches to burn out.[443] [the midsummer fires among the magyars of hungary.] among the magyars in hungary the midsummer fire-festival is marked by the same features that meet us in so many parts of europe. on midsummer eve in many places it is customary to kindle bonfires on heights and to leap over them, and from the manner in which the young people leap the bystanders predict whether they will marry soon. at nograd-ludany the young men and women, each carrying a truss of straw, repair to a meadow, where they pile the straw in seven or twelve heaps and set it on fire. then they go round the fire singing, and hold a bunch of iron-wort in the smoke, while they say, "no boil on my body, no sprain in my foot!" this holding of the flowers over the flames is regarded, we are told, as equally important with the practice of walking through the fire barefoot and stamping it out. on this day also many hungarian swineherds make fire by rotating a wheel round a wooden axle wrapt in hemp, and through the fire thus made they drive their pigs to preserve them from sickness.[444] in villages on the danube, where the population is a cross between magyar and german, the young men and maidens go to the high banks of the river on midsummer eve; and while the girls post themselves low down the slope, the lads on the height above set fire to little wooden wheels and, after swinging them to and fro at the end of a wand, send them whirling through the air to fall into the danube. as he does so, each lad sings out the name of his sweetheart, and she listens well pleased down below.[445] [the midsummer fires among the esthonians; the midsummer fires in oesel.] the esthonians of russia, who, like the magyars, belong to the great turanian family of mankind, also celebrate the summer solstice in the usual way. on the eve of st. john all the people of a farm, a village, or an estate, walk solemnly in procession, the girls decked with flowers, the men with leaves and carrying bundles of straw under their arms. the lads carry lighted torches or flaming hoops steeped in tar at the top of long poles. thus they go singing to the cattle-sheds, the granaries, and so forth, and afterwards march thrice round the dwelling-house. finally, preceded by the shrill music of the bagpipes and shawms, they repair to a neighbouring hill, where the materials of a bonfire have been collected. tar-barrels filled with combustibles are hung on poles, or the trunk of a felled tree has been set up with a great mass of juniper piled about it in the form of a pyramid. when a light has been set to the pile, old and young gather about it and pass the time merrily with song and music till break of day. every one who comes brings fresh fuel for the fire, and they say, "now we all gather together, where st. john's fire burns. he who comes not to st. john's fire will have his barley full of thistles, and his oats full of weeds." three logs are thrown into the fire with special ceremony; in throwing the first they say, "gold of pleasure (a plant with yellow flowers) into the fire!" in throwing the second they say, "weeds to the unploughed land!" but in throwing the third they cry, "flax on my field!" the fire is said to keep the witches from the cattle.[446] according to others, it ensures that for the whole year the milk shall be "as pure as silver and as the stars in the sky, and the butter as yellow as the sun and the fire and the gold."[447] in the esthonian island of oesel, while they throw fuel into the midsummer fire, they call out, "weeds to the fire, flax to the field," or they fling three billets into the flames, saying, "flax grow long!" and they take charred sticks from the bonfire home with them and keep them to make the cattle thrive. in some parts of the island the bonfire is formed by piling brushwood and other combustibles round a tree, at the top of which a flag flies. whoever succeeds in knocking down the flag with a pole before it begins to burn will have good luck. formerly the festivities lasted till daybreak, and ended in scenes of debauchery which looked doubly hideous by the growing light of a summer morning.[448] [the midsummer fires among the finns and cheremiss of russia.] still farther north, among a people of the same turanian stock, we learn from an eye-witness that midsummer night used to witness a sort of witches' sabbath on the top of every hill in finland. the bonfire was made by setting up four tall birches in a square and piling the intermediate space with fuel. round the roaring flames the people sang and drank and gambolled in the usual way.[449] farther east, in the valley of the volga, the cheremiss celebrate about midsummer a festival which haxthausen regarded as identical with the midsummer ceremonies of the rest of europe. a sacred tree in the forest, generally a tall and solitary oak, marks the scene of the solemnity. all the males assemble there, but no woman may be present. a heathen priest lights seven fires in a row from north-west to south-east; cattle are sacrificed and their blood poured in the fires, each of which is dedicated to a separate deity. afterwards the holy tree is illumined by lighted candles placed on its branches; the people fall on their knees and with faces bowed to the earth pray that god would be pleased to bless them, their children, their cattle, and their bees, grant them success in trade, in travel, and in the chase, enable them to pay the czar's taxes, and so forth.[450] [the midsummer fires in france; bossuet on the midsummer festival.] when we pass from the east to the west of europe we still find the summer solstice celebrated with rites of the same general character. down to about the middle of the nineteenth century the custom of lighting bonfires at midsummer prevailed so commonly in france that there was hardly a town or a village, we are told, where they were not kindled.[451] though the pagan origin of the custom may be regarded as certain, the catholic church threw a christian cloak over it by boldly declaring that the bonfires were lit in token of the general rejoicing at the birth of the baptist, who opportunely came into the world at the solstice of summer, just as his greater successor did at the solstice of winter; so that the whole year might be said to revolve on the golden hinges of these two great birthdays.[452] writing in the seventeenth century bishop bossuet expressly affirms this edifying theory of the midsummer bonfires, and he tells his catechumens that the church herself participated in the illumination, since in several dioceses, including his own diocese of meaux, a number of parishes kindled what were called ecclesiastical fires for the purpose of banishing the superstitions practised at the purely mundane bonfires. these superstitions, he goes on to say, consisted in dancing round the fire, playing, feasting, singing ribald songs, throwing herbs across the fire, gathering herbs at noon or while fasting, carrying them on the person, preserving them throughout the year, keeping brands or cinders of the fire, and other similar practices.[453] however excellent the intentions of the ecclesiastical authorities may have been, they failed of effecting their purpose; for the superstitions as well as the bonfires survived in france far into the nineteenth century, if indeed they are extinct even now at the beginning of the twentieth. writing in the latter part of the nineteenth century mr. ch. cuissard tells us that he himself witnessed in touraine and poitou the superstitious practices which he describes as follows: "the most credulous examine the ways in which the flame burns and draw good or bad omens accordingly. others, after leaping through the flames crosswise, pass their little children through them thrice, fully persuaded that the little ones will then be able to walk at once. in some places the shepherds make their sheep tread the embers of the extinct fire in order to preserve them from the foot-rot. here you may see about midnight an old woman grubbing among the cinders of the pyre to find the hair of the holy virgin or saint john, which she deems an infallible specific against fever. there, another woman is busy plucking the roots of the herbs which have been burned on the surface of the ground; she intends to eat them, imagining that they are an infallible preservative against cancer. elsewhere a girl wears on her neck a flower which the touch of st. john's fire has turned for her into a talisman, and she is sure to marry within the year. shots are fired at the tree planted in the midst of the fire to drive away the demons who might purpose to send sicknesses about the country. seats are set round about the bonfire, in order that the souls of dead relations may come and enjoy themselves for a little with the living."[454] [the midsummer fires in brittany; uses made of the charred sticks and flowers.] in brittany, apparently, the custom of the midsummer bonfires is kept up to this day. thus in lower brittany every town and every village still lights its _tantad_ or bonfire on st. john's night. when the flames have died down, the whole assembly kneels round about the bonfire and an old man prays aloud. then they all rise and march thrice round the fire; at the third turn they stop and every one picks up a pebble and throws it on the burning pile. after that they disperse.[455] in finistère the bonfires of st. john's day are kindled by preference in an open space near a chapel of st. john; but if there is no such chapel, they are lighted in the square facing the parish church and in some districts at cross-roads. everybody brings fuel for the fire, it may be a faggot, a log, a branch, or an armful of gorse. when the vespers are over, the parish priest sets a light to the pile. all heads are bared, prayers recited, and hymns sung. then the dancing begins. the young folk skip round the blazing pile and leap over it, when the flames have died down. if anybody makes a false step and falls or rolls in the hot embers, he or she is greeted with hoots and retires abashed from the circle of dancers. brands are carried home from the bonfire to protect the houses against lightning, conflagrations, and certain maladies and spells. the precious talisman is carefully kept in a cupboard till st. john's day of the following year.[456] at quimper, and in the district of léon, chairs used to be placed round the midsummer bonfire, that the souls of the dead might sit on them and warm themselves at the blaze.[457] at brest on this day thousands of people used to assemble on the ramparts towards evening and brandish lighted torches, which they swung in circles or flung by hundreds into the air. the closing of the town gates put an end to the spectacle, and the lights might be seen dispersing in all directions like wandering will-o'-the-wisps.[458] in upper brittany the materials for the midsummer bonfires, which generally consist of bundles of furze and heath, are furnished by voluntary contributions, and piled on the tops of hills round poles, each of which is surmounted by a nosegay or a crown. this nosegay or crown is generally provided by a man named john or a woman named jean, and it is always a john or a jean who puts a light to the bonfire. while the fire is blazing the people dance and sing round it, and when the flames have subsided they leap over the glowing embers. charred sticks from the bonfire are thrown into wells to improve the water, and they are also taken home as a protection against thunder.[459] to make them thoroughly effective, however, against thunder and lightning you should keep them near your bed, between a bit of a twelfth night cake and a sprig of boxwood which has been blessed on palm sunday.[460] flowers from the nosegay or crown which overhung the fire are accounted charms against disease and pain, both bodily and spiritual; hence girls hang them at their breast by a thread of scarlet wool. in many parishes of brittany the priest used to go in procession with the crucifix and kindle the bonfire with his own hands; and farmers were wont to drive their flocks and herds through the fire in order to preserve them from sickness till midsummer of the following year. also it was believed that every girl who danced round nine of the bonfires would marry within the year.[461] [the midsummer fires in normandy; the fires as a protection against witchcraft; the brotherhood of the green wolf at jumièges; pretence of throwing the green wolf into the fire.] in normandy the midsummer fires have now almost disappeared, at least in the district known as the bocage, but they used to shine on every hill. they were commonly made by piling brushwood, broom, and ferns about a tall tree, which was decorated with a crown of moss and sometimes with flowers. while they burned, people danced and sang round them, and young folk leaped over the flames or the glowing ashes. in the valley of the orne the custom was to kindle the bonfire just at the moment when the sun was about to dip below the horizon; and the peasants drove their cattle through the fires to protect them against witchcraft, especially against the spells of witches and wizards who attempted to steal the milk and butter.[462] at jumièges in normandy, down to the first half of the nineteenth century, the midsummer festival was marked by certain singular features which bore the stamp of a very high antiquity. every year, on the twenty-third of june, the eve of st. john, the brotherhood of the green wolf chose a new chief or master, who had always to be taken from the hamlet of conihout. on being elected, the new head of the brotherhood assumed the title of the green wolf, and donned a peculiar costume consisting of a long green mantle and a very tall green hat of a conical shape and without a brim. thus arrayed he stalked solemnly at the head of the brothers, chanting the hymn of st. john, the crucifix and holy banner leading the way, to a place called chouquet. here the procession was met by the priest, precentors, and choir, who conducted the brotherhood to the parish church. after hearing mass the company adjourned to the house of the green wolf, where a simple repast, such as is required by the church on fast-days, was served up to them. then they danced before the door till it was time to light the bonfire. night being come, the fire was kindled to the sound of hand-bells by a young man and a young woman, both decked with flowers. as the flames rose, the _te deum_ was sung, and a villager thundered out a parody in the norman dialect of the hymn _ut queant laxis_. meantime the green wolf and his brothers, with their hoods down on their shoulders and holding each other by the hand, ran round the fire after the man who had been chosen to be the green wolf of the following year. though only the first and the last man of the chain had a hand free, their business was to surround and seize thrice the future green wolf, who in his efforts to escape belaboured the brothers with a long wand which he carried. when at last they succeeded in catching him they carried him to the burning pile and made as if they would throw him on it. this ceremony over, they returned to the house of the green wolf, where a supper, still of the most meagre fare, was set before them. up till midnight a sort of religious solemnity prevailed. no unbecoming word might fall from the lips of any of the company, and a censor, armed with a hand-bell, was appointed to mark and punish instantly any infraction of the rule. but at the stroke of twelve all this was changed. constraint gave way to license; pious hymns were replaced by bacchanalian ditties, and the shrill quavering notes of the village fiddle hardly rose above the roar of voices that went up from the merry brotherhood of the green wolf. next day, the twenty-fourth of june or midsummer day, was celebrated by the same personages with the same noisy gaiety. one of the ceremonies consisted in parading, to the sound of musketry, an enormous loaf of consecrated bread, which, rising in tiers, was surmounted by a pyramid of verdure adorned with ribbons. after that the holy handbells, deposited on the step of the altar, were entrusted as insignia of office to the man who was to be the green wolf next year.[463] [the midsummer fires in picardy.] in the canton of breteuil in picardy (department of oise) the priest used to kindle the midsummer bonfire, and the people marched thrice round it in procession. some of them took ashes of the fire home with them to protect the houses against lightning.[464] the custom is, or was down to recent years, similar at vorges, near laon. an enormous pyre, some fifty or sixty feet high, supported in the middle by a tall pole, is constructed every year on the twenty-third of june, the eve of st. john. it stands at one end of the village, and all the inhabitants contribute fuel to it: a cart goes round the village in the morning, by order of the mayor, collecting combustibles from house to house: no one would dream of refusing to comply with the customary obligation. in the evening, after a service in honour of st. john has been performed in the church, the clergy, the mayor, the municipal authorities, the rural police, and the fire-brigade march in procession to the bonfire, accompanied by the inhabitants and a crowd of idlers drawn by curiosity from the neighbouring villages. after addressing the throng in a sermon, to which they pay little heed, the parish priest sprinkles the pyre with holy water, and taking a lighted torch from the hand of an assistant sets fire to the pile. the enormous blaze, flaring up against the dark sky of the summer night, is seen for many miles around, particularly from the hill of laon. when it has died down into a huge heap of glowing embers and grey ashes, every one carries home a charred stick or some cinders; and the fire-brigade, playing their hose on what remains, extinguishes the smouldering fire. the people preserve the charred sticks and cinders throughout the year, believing that these relics of st john's bonfire have power to guard them from lightning and from contagious diseases.[465] at château-thierry, a town of the department of aisne, between paris and reims, the custom of lighting bonfires and dancing round them at the midsummer festival of st. john lasted down to about 1850; the fires were kindled especially when june had been rainy, and the people thought that the lighting of the bonfires would cause the rain to cease.[466] [the midsummer fires in beauce and perche; the fires as a protection against witchcraft.] in beauce and perche, two neighbouring districts of france to the south-west of paris, the midsummer bonfires have nearly or wholly disappeared, but formerly they were commonly kindled and went by the name of the "fires of st. john." the site of the bonfire was either the village square or beside the cross in the cemetery. here a great pile of faggots, brushwood, and grass was accumulated about a huge branch, which bore at the top a crown of fresh flowers. the priest blessed the bonfire and the people danced round it. when it blazed and crackled, the bystanders thrust their heads into the puffs of smoke, in the belief that it would preserve them from a multitude of ills; and when the fire was burnt out, they rushed upon the charred embers and ashes and carried them home, imagining that they had a secret virtue to guard their houses from being struck by lightning or consumed by fire. some of the perche farmers in the old days, not content with the public bonfire, used to light little private bonfires in their farmyards and make all their cattle pass through the smoke and flames for the purpose of protecting them against witchcraft or disease.[467] [the midsummer fires in the ardennes, the vosges, and the jura; the midsummer fires in franche-comté; the midsummer fires in berry and other parts of central france.] in the department of the ardennes every one was wont to contribute his faggot to the midsummer bonfire, and the clergy marched at the head of the procession to kindle it. failure to light the fires would, in the popular belief, have exposed the fields to the greatest danger. at revin the young folk, besides dancing round the fire to the strains of the village fiddler, threw garlands of flowers across the flames to each other.[468] in the vosges it is still customary to kindle bonfires upon the hill-tops on midsummer eve; the people believe that the fires help to preserve the fruits of the earth and ensure good crops.[469] in the jura mountains the midsummer bonfires went by the name of _bâ_ or _beau_. they were lit on the most conspicuous points of the landscape.[470] near st. jean, in the jura, it appears that at this season young people still repair to the cross-roads and heights, and there wave burning torches so as to present the appearance of fiery wheels in the darkness.[471] in franche-comté, the province of france which lies immediately to the west of the jura mountains, the fires of st. john still shone on the saint's day in several villages down to recent years. they were generally lit on high ground and the young folks of both sexes sang and danced round them, and sprang over the dying flames.[472] in bresse bonfires used to be kindled on midsummer eve (the twenty-third of june) and the people danced about them in a circle. devout persons, particularly old women, circumambulated the fires fourteen times, telling their beads and mumbling seven _paters_ and seven _aves_ in the hope that thereby they would feel no pains in their backs when they stooped over the sickle in the harvest field.[473] in berry, a district of central france, the midsummer fire was lit on the eve of st. john and went by the name of the _jônée, joannée_, or _jouannée_. every family according to its means contributed faggots, which were piled round a pole on the highest ground in the neighbourhood. in the hamlets the office of kindling the fire devolved on the oldest man, but in the towns it was the priest or the mayor who discharged the duty. here, as in brittany, people supposed that a girl who had danced round nine of the midsummer bonfires would marry within the year. to leap several times over the fire was regarded as a sort of purification which kept off sickness and brought good luck to the leaper. hence the nimble youth bounded through the smoke and flames, and when the fire had somewhat abated parents jumped across it with their children in their arms in order that the little ones might also partake of its beneficent influence. embers from the extinct bonfire were taken home, and after being dipped in holy water were kept as a talisman against all kinds of misfortune, but especially against lightning.[474] the same virtue was ascribed to the ashes and charred sticks of the midsummer bonfire in périgord, where everybody contributed his share of fuel to the pile and the whole was crowned with flowers, especially with roses and lilies.[475] on the borders of the departments of creuse and corrèze, in central france, the fires of st. john used to be lit on the eve of the saint's day (the twenty-third of june); the custom seems to have survived till towards the end of the nineteenth century. men, women, and children assembled round the fires, and the young people jumped over them. children were brought by their parents or elder brothers into contact with the flames in the belief that this would save them from fever. older people girded themselves with stalks of rye taken from a neighbouring field, because they fancied that by so doing they would not grow weary in reaping the corn at harvest.[476] [the midsummer fires in poitou.] bonfires were lit in almost all the hamlets of poitou on the eve of st. john. people marched round them thrice, carrying a branch of walnut in their hand. shepherdesses and children passed sprigs of mullein (_verbascum_) and nuts across the flames; the nuts were supposed to cure toothache, and the mullein to protect the cattle from sickness and sorcery. when the fire died down people took some of the ashes home with them, either to keep them in the house as a preservative against thunder or to scatter them on the fields for the purpose of destroying corn-cockles and darnel. stones were also placed round the fire, and it was believed that the first to lift one of these stones next morning would find under it the hair of st. john.[477] in poitou also it used to be customary on the eve of st. john to trundle a blazing wheel wrapt in straw over the fields to fertilize them.[478] this last custom is said to be now extinct,[479] but it is still usual, or was so down to recent years, in poitou to kindle fires on this day at cross-roads or on the heights. the oldest or youngest person present sets a light to the pile, which consists of broom, gorse, and heath. a bright and crackling blaze shoots up, but soon dies down, and over it the young folk leap. they also throw stones into it, picking the stone according to the size of the turnips that they wish to have that year. it is said that "the good virgin" comes and sits on the prettiest of the stones, and next morning they see there her beautiful golden tresses. at lussac, in poitou, the lighting of the midsummer bonfire is still an affair of some ceremony. a pyramid of faggots is piled round a tree or tall pole on the ground where the fair is held; the priest goes in procession to the spot and kindles the pile. when prayers have been said and the clergy have withdrawn, the people continue to march round the fire, telling their beads, but it is not till the flames have begun to die down that the youth jump over them. a brand from the midsummer bonfire is supposed to be a preservative against thunder.[480] [the midsummer fires in the departments of vienne and deux-sèvres and in the provinces of saintonge and aunis.] in the department of vienne the bonfire was kindled by the oldest man, and before the dance round the flames began it was the custom to pass across them a great bunch of mullein (_bouillon blanc_) and a branch of walnut, which next morning before sunrise were fastened over the door of the chief cattle-shed.[481] a similar custom prevailed in the neighbouring department of deux-sèvres; but here it was the priest who kindled the bonfire, and old men used to put embers of the fire in their wooden shoes as a preservative against many evils.[482] in some towns and villages of saintonge and aunis, provinces of western france now mostly comprised in the department of charente inférieure, the fires of st. john are still kindled on midsummer eve, but the custom is neither so common nor carried out with so much pomp and ceremony as formerly. great quantities of wood used to be piled on an open space round about a huge post or a tree stripped of its leaves and branches. every one took care to contribute a faggot to the pile, and the whole population marched to the spot in procession with the crucifix at their head and the priest bringing up the rear. the squire, or other person of high degree, put the torch to the pyre, and the priest blessed it. in the southern and eastern parts of saintonge children and cattle were passed through the smoke of the bonfires to preserve them from contagious diseases, and when the fire had gone out the people scuffled for the charred fragments of the great post, which they regarded as talismans against thunder. next morning, on midsummer day, every shepherdess in the neighbourhood was up very early, for the first to drive her sheep over the blackened cinders and ashes of the great bonfire was sure to have the best flock all that year. where the shepherds shrunk from driving their flocks through the smoke and flames of the bonfire they contented themselves with marking the hinder-quarters of the animals with a broom which had been blackened in the ashes.[483] [the midsummer fires in southern france; midsummer festival of fire and water in provence; bathing in the sea at midsummer; temporary midsummer kings at aix and marseilles.] in the mountainous part of comminges, a province of southern france, now comprised in the department of haute garonne, the midsummer fire is made by splitting open the trunk of a tall tree, stuffing the crevice with shavings, and igniting the whole. a garland of flowers is fastened to the top of the tree, and at the moment when the fire is lighted the man who was last married has to climb up a ladder and bring the flowers down. in the flat parts of the same district the materials of the midsummer bonfires consist of fuel piled in the usual way; but they must be put together by men who have been married since the last midsummer festival, and each of these benedicts is obliged to lay a wreath of flowers on the top of the pile.[484] at the entrance of the valley of aran young people set up on the banks of the garonne a tree covered with ribbons and garlands; at the end of a year the withered tree and faded flowers furnish excellent fuel. so on the eve of st. john the villagers assemble, and an old man or a child kindles the fire which is to consume tree and garlands together. while the blaze lasts the people sing and dance; and the burnt tree is then replaced by another which will suffer the same fate after the lapse of a year.[485] in some districts of the french pyrenees it is deemed necessary to leap nine times over the midsummer fire if you would be assured of prosperity.[486] a traveller in southern france at the beginning of the nineteenth century tells us that "the eve of st. john is also a day of joy for the provençals. they light great fires and the young folk leap over them. at aix they shower squibs and crackers on the passers-by, which has often had disagreeable consequences. at marseilles they drench each other with scented water, which is poured from the windows or squirted from little syringes; the roughest jest is to souse passers-by with clean water, which gives rise to loud bursts of laughter."[487] at draguignan, in the department of var, fires used to be lit in every street on the eve of st. john, and the people roasted pods of garlic at them; the pods were afterwards distributed to every family. another diversion of the evening was to pour cans of water from the houses on the heads of people in the streets.[488] in provence the midsummer fires are still popular. children go from door to door begging for fuel, and they are seldom sent empty away. formerly the priest, the mayor, and the aldermen used to walk in procession to the bonfire, and even deigned to light it; after which the assembly marched thrice round the burning pile, while the church bells pealed and rockets fizzed and sputtered in the air. dancing began later, and the bystanders threw water on each other. at ciotat, while the fire was blazing, the young people plunged into the sea and splashed each other vigorously. at vitrolles they bathed in a pond in order that they might not suffer from fever during the year, and at saintes-maries they watered the horses to protect them from the itch.[489] at aix a nominal king, chosen from among the youth for his skill in shooting at a popinjay, presided over the festival. he selected his own officers, and escorted by a brilliant train marched to the bonfire, kindled it, and was the first to dance round it. next day he distributed largesse to his followers. his reign lasted a year, during which he enjoyed certain privileges. he was allowed to attend the mass celebrated by the commander of the knights of st. john on st. john's day: the right of hunting was accorded to him; and soldiers might not be quartered in his house. at marseilles also on this day one of the guilds chose a king of the _badache_ or double axe; but it does not appear that he kindled the bonfire, which is said to have been lighted with great ceremony by the préfet and other authorities.[490] [the midsummer fires in belgium; bonfires on st. peter's day in brabant; the king and queen of the roses; effigies burnt in the midsummer fires.] in belgium the custom of kindling the midsummer bonfires has long disappeared from the great cities, but it is still kept up in rural districts and small towns of brabant, flanders, and limburg. people leap across the fires to protect themselves against fever, and in eastern flanders women perform similar leaps for the purpose of ensuring an easy delivery. at termonde young people go from door to door collecting fuel for the fires and reciting verses, in which they beg the inmates to give them "wood of st. john" and to keep some wood for st. peter's day (the twenty-ninth of june); for in belgium the eve of st. peter's day is celebrated by bonfires and dances exactly like those which commemorate st. john's eve. the ashes of the st. john's fires are deemed by belgian peasants an excellent remedy for consumption, if you take a spoonful or two of them, moistened with water, day by day. people also burn vervain in the fires, and they say that in the ashes of the plant you may find, if you look for it, the "fool's stone."[491] in many parts of brabant st. peter's bonfire used to be much larger than that of his rival st. john. when it had burned out, both sexes engaged in a game of ball, and the winner became the king of summer or of the ball and had the right to choose his queen. sometimes the winner was a woman, and it was then her privilege to select her royal mate. this pastime was well known at louvain and it continued to be practised at grammont and mespelaer down to the second half of the nineteenth century. at mespelaer, which is a village near termonde, a huge pile of eglantine, reeds, and straw was collected in a marshy meadow for the bonfire; and next evening after vespers the young folk who had lit it assembled at the "good life" tavern to play the game. the winner was crowned with a wreath of roses, and the rest danced and sang in a ring about him. at grammont, while the bonfire was lit and the dances round it took place on st. peter's eve, the festival of the "crown of roses" was deferred till the following sunday. the young folk arranged among themselves beforehand who should be king and queen of the roses: the rosy wreaths were hung on cords across the street: the dancers danced below them, and at a given moment the wreaths fell on the heads of the chosen king and queen, who had to entertain their fellows at a feast. according to some people the fires of st. peter, like those of st. john, were lighted in order to drive away dragons.[492] in french flanders down to 1789 a straw figure representing a man was always burned in the midsummer bonfire, and the figure of a woman was burned on st. peter's day.[493] in belgium people jump over the midsummer bonfires as a preventive of colic, and they keep the ashes at home to hinder fire from breaking out.[494] [the midsummer fires in england; stow's description of the midsummer fires in london; the midsummer fires at eton.] the custom of lighting bonfires at midsummer has been observed in many parts of our own country. "on the vigil of saint john the baptist, commonly called midsummer eve, it was usual in most country places, and also in towns and cities, for the inhabitants, both old and young, and of both sexes, to meet together, and make merry by the side of a large fire made in the middle of the street, or in some open and convenient place, over which the young men frequently leaped by way of frolic, and also exercised themselves with various sports and pastimes, more especially with running, wrestling, and dancing. these diversions they continued till midnight, and sometimes till cock-crowing."[495] in the streets of london the midsummer fires were lighted in the time of queen elizabeth down to the end of the sixteenth century, as we learn from stow's description, which runs thus: "in the months of june and july, on the vigils of festival days, and on the same festival days in the evenings after the sun setting, there were usually made bonfires in the streets, every man bestowing wood or labour towards them; the wealthier sort also, before their doors near to the said bonfires, would set out tables on the vigils furnished with sweet bread and good drink, and on the festival days with meats and drinks plentifully, whereunto they would invite their neighbours and passengers also to sit and be merry with them in great familiarity, praising god for his benefits bestowed on them. these were called bonfires as well of good amity amongst neighbours that being before at controversy, were there, by the labour of others, reconciled, and made of bitter enemies loving friends; and also for the virtue that a great fire hath to purge the infection of the air. on the vigil of st. john the baptist, and on st. peter and paul the apostles, every man's door being shadowed with green birch, long fennel, st john's wort, orpin, white lilies, and such like, garnished upon with garlands of beautiful flowers, had also lamps of glass, with oil burning in them all the night; some hung out branches of iron curiously wrought, containing hundreds of lamps alight at once, which made a goodly show, namely, in new fish street, thames street, etc."[496] in the sixteenth century the eton boys used to kindle a bonfire on the east side of the church both on st john's day and on st. peter's day.[497] writing in the second half of the seventeenth century, the antiquary john aubrey tells us that bonfires were still kindled in many places on st. john's night, but that the civil wars had thrown many of these old customs out of fashion. wars, he adds, extinguish superstition as well as religion and laws, and there is nothing like gunpowder for putting phantoms to flight.[498] [the midsummer fires in the north of england; the midsummer fires in northumberland.] in the north of england these fires used to be lit in the open streets. young and old gathered round them, and while the young leaped over the fires and engaged in games, their elders looked on and probably remembered with regret the days when they used to foot it as nimbly. sometimes the fires were kindled on the tops of high hills. the people also carried firebrands about the fields.[499] the custom of kindling bonfires on midsummer eve prevailed all over cumberland down to the second half of the eighteenth century.[500] in northumberland the custom seems to have lasted into the first quarter of the nineteenth century; the fires were lit in the villages and on the tops of high hills, and the people sported and danced round them.[501] moreover, the villagers used to run with burning brands round their fields and to snatch ashes from a neighbour's fire, saying as they did so, "we have the flower (or flour) of the wake."[502] at sandhill bonfires were kindled on the eve of st. peter as well as on midsummer eve; the custom is attested for the year 1575, when it was described as ancient.[503] we are told that "on midsummer's eve, reckoned according to the old style, it was formerly the custom of the inhabitants, young and old, not only of whalton, but of most of the adjacent villages, to collect a large cartload of whins and other combustible materials, which was dragged by them with great rejoicing (a fiddler being seated on the top of the cart) into the village and erected into a pile. the people from the surrounding country assembled towards evening, when it was set on fire; and whilst the young danced around it, the elders looked on smoking their pipes and drinking their beer, until it was consumed. there can be little doubt that this curious old custom dates from a very remote antiquity." in a law-suit, which was tried in 1878, the rector of whalton gave evidence of the constant use of the village green for the ceremony since 1843. "the bonfire," he said, "was lighted a little to the north-east of the well at whalton, and partly on the footpath, and people danced round it and jumped through it. that was never interrupted." the rev. g.r. hall, writing in 1879, says that "the fire festivals or bonfires of the summer solstice at the old midsummer until recently were commemorated on christenburg crags and elsewhere by leaping through and dancing round the fires, as those who have been present have told me."[504] down to the early part of the nineteenth century bonfires called beal-fires used to be lit on midsummer eve all over the wolds in the east riding of yorkshire.[505] [the midsummer fires in herefordshire, somersetshire, devonshire, and cornwall; the cornish fires on midsummer eve and st. peter's eve.] in herefordshire and somersetshire the peasants used to make fires in the fields on midsummer eve "to bless the apples."[506] in devonshire the custom of leaping over the midsummer fires was also observed.[507] "in cornwall, the festival fires, called bonfires, are kindled on the eves of st. john baptist and st. peter's day; and midsummer is thence, in the cornish tongue, called _goluan_, which signifies both light and rejoicing. at these fires the cornish attend with lighted torches, tarred and pitched at the end, and make their perambulations round their fires, going from village to village and carrying their torches before them; this is certainly the remains of druid superstition; for, _faces praeferre_, to carry lighted torches was reckoned a kind of gentilism, and as such particularly prohibited by the gallick councils."[508] at penzance and elsewhere in the county the people danced and sang about the bonfires on midsummer eve. on whiteborough, a large tumulus near launceston, a huge bonfire used to be kindled on midsummer eve; a tall summer pole with a large bush at the top was fixed in the centre of the bonfire.[509] the cornish fires at this season appear to have been commonly lit on high and conspicuous hills, such as tregonan, godolphin, carnwarth, and cam brea. when it grew dusk on midsummer eve, old men would hobble away to some height whence they counted the fires and drew a presage from their number.[510] "it is the immemorial usage in penzance, and the neighbouring towns and villages, to kindle bonfires and torches on midsummer-eve; and on midsummer-day to hold a fair on penzance quay, where the country folks assemble from the adjoining parishes in great numbers to make excursions on the water. st. peter's eve (the twenty-eighth of june) is distinguished by a similar display of bonfires and torches, although the 'quay-fair' on st. peter's-day (the twenty-ninth of june), has been discontinued upwards of forty years. on these eves a line of tar-barrels, relieved occasionally by large bonfires, is seen in the centre of each of the principal streets in penzance. on either side of this line young men and women pass up and down, swinging round their heads heavy torches made of large pieces of folded canvas steeped in tar, and nailed to the ends of sticks between three and four feet long; the flames of some of these almost equal those of the tar-barrels. rows of lighted candles, also, when the air is calm, are fixed outside the windows or along the sides of the streets. in st. just, and other mining parishes, the young miners, mimicking their fathers' employments, bore rows of holes in the rocks, load them with gunpowder, and explode them in rapid succession by trains of the same substance. as the holes are not deep enough to split the rocks, the same little batteries serve for many years. on these nights, mount's bay has a most animating appearance, although not equal to what was annually witnessed at the beginning of the present century, when the whole coast, from the land's end to the lizard, wherever a town or a village existed, was lighted up with these stationary or moving fires. in the early part of the evening, children may be seen wearing wreaths of flowers--a custom in all probability originating from the ancient use of these ornaments when they danced around the fires. at the close of the fireworks in penzance, a great number of persons of both sexes, chiefly from the neighbourhood of the quay, used always, until within the last few years, to join hand in hand, forming a long string, and run through the streets, playing 'thread the needle,' heedless of the fireworks showered upon them, and oftentimes leaping over the yet glowing embers. i have on these occasions seen boys following one another, jumping through flames higher than themselves."[511] [the midsummer fires in wales and the isle of man; burning wheel rolled down hill.] in wales the midsummer fires were kindled on st. john's eve and on st. john's day. three or nine different kinds of wood and charred faggots carefully preserved from the last midsummer were deemed necessary to build the bonfire, which was generally done on rising ground. various herbs were thrown into the blaze; and girls with bunches of three or nine different kinds of flowers would take the hands of boys, who wore flowers in their buttonholes and hats, and together the young couples would leap over the fires. on the same two midsummer days roses and wreaths of flowers were hung over the doors and windows. "describing a midsummer fire, an old inhabitant, born in 1809, remembered being taken to different hills in the vale of glamorgan to see festivities in which people from all parts of the district participated. she was at that time about fourteen, and old enough to retain a vivid recollection of the circumstances. people conveyed trusses of straw to the top of the hill, where men and youths waited for the contributions. women and girls were stationed at the bottom of the hill. then a large cart-wheel was thickly swathed with straw, and not an inch of wood was left in sight. a pole was inserted through the centre of the wheel, so that long ends extended about a yard on each side. if any straw remained, it was made up into torches at the top of tall sticks. at a given signal the wheel was lighted, and sent rolling downhill. if this fire-wheel went out before it reached the bottom of the hill, a very poor harvest was promised. if it kept lighted all the way down, and continued blazing for a long time, the harvest would be exceptionally abundant. loud cheers and shouts accompanied the progress of the wheel."[512] at darowen in wales small bonfires were kindled on midsummer eve.[513] on the same day people in the isle of man were wont to light fires to the windward of every field, so that the smoke might pass over the corn; and they folded their cattle and carried blazing furze or gorse round them several times.[514] [the midsummer fires in ireland; passage of people and cattle through the fires; cattle driven through the fire; ashes used to fertilize the fields; the white horse at the midsummer fire.] a writer of the last quarter of the seventeenth century tells us that in ireland, "on the eves of st. john baptist and st. peter, they always have in every town a bonfire, late in the evenings, and carry about bundles of reeds fast tied and fired; these being dry, will last long, and flame better than a torch, and be a pleasing divertive prospect to the distant beholder; a stranger would go near to imagine the whole country was on fire."[515] another writer says of the south of ireland: "on midsummer's eve, every eminence, near which is a habitation, blazes with bonfires; and round these they carry numerous torches, shouting and dancing, which affords a beautiful sight."[516] an author who described ireland in the first quarter of the eighteenth century says: "on the vigil of st. john the baptist's nativity, they make bonfires, and run along the streets and fields with wisps of straw blazing on long poles to purify the air, which they think infectious, by believing all the devils, spirits, ghosts, and hobgoblins fly abroad this night to hurt mankind."[517] another writer states that he witnessed the festival in ireland in 1782: "at the house where i was entertained, it was told me, that we should see, at midnight, the most singular sight in ireland, which was the lighting of fires in honour of the sun. accordingly, exactly at midnight, the fires began to appear; and taking the advantage of going up to the leads of the house, which had a widely extended view, i saw on a radius of thirty miles, all around, the fires burning on every eminence which the country afforded. i had a farther satisfaction in learning, from undoubted authority, that the people danced round the fires, and at the close went through these fires, and made their sons and daughters, together with their cattle, pass through the fire; and the whole was conducted with religious solemnity."[518] that the custom prevailed in full force as late as 1867 appears from a notice in a newspaper of that date, which runs thus: "the old pagan fire-worship still survives in ireland, though nominally in honour of st. john. on sunday night bonfires were observed throughout nearly every county in the province of leinster. in kilkenny, fires blazed on every hillside at intervals of about a mile. there were very many in the queen's county, also in kildare and wexford. the effect in the rich sunset appeared to travellers very grand. the people assemble, and dance round the fires, the children jump through the flames, and in former times live coals were carried into the corn-fields to prevent blight."[519] in county leitrim on st. john's eve, which is called bonfire day, fires are still lighted after dusk on the hills and along the sides of the roads.[520] all over kerry the same thing continues to be done, though not so commonly as of old. small fires were made across the road, and to drive through them brought luck for the year. cattle were also driven through the fires. on lettermore island, in south connemara, some of the ashes from the midsummer bonfire are thrown on the fields to fertilize them.[521] one writer informs us that in munster and connaught a bone must always be burned in the fire; for otherwise the people believe that the fire will bring no luck. he adds that in many places sterile beasts and human beings are passed through the fire, and that as a boy he himself jumped through the fire "for luck."[522] an eye-witness has described as follows a remarkable ceremony observed in ireland on midsummer eve: "when the fire burned for some hours, and got low, an indispensable part of the ceremony commenced. every one present of the peasantry passed through it, and several children were thrown across the sparkling embers; while a wooden frame, of some eight feet long, with a horse's head fixed to one end, and a large white sheet thrown over it concealing the wood and the man on whose head it was carried, made its appearance. this was greeted with loud shouts of 'the white horse!' and having been safely carried by the skill of its bearer several times through the fire with a bold leap, it pursued the people, who ran screaming and laughing in every direction. i asked what the horse was meant for, and was told that it represented 'all cattle.'"[523] [lady wilde's account of the midsummer fires in ireland.] lady wilde's account of the midsummer festival in ireland is picturesque and probably correct in substance, although she does not cite her authorities. as it contains some interesting features which are not noticed by the other writers on ireland whom i have consulted, i will quote the greater part of it in full. "in ancient times," she says, "the sacred fire was lighted with great ceremony on midsummer eve; and on that night all the people of the adjacent country kept fixed watch on the western promontory of howth, and the moment the first flash was seen from that spot the fact of ignition was announced with wild cries and cheers repeated from village to village, when all the local fires began to blaze, and ireland was circled by a cordon of flame rising up from every hill. then the dance and song began round every fire, and the wild hurrahs filled the air with the most frantic revelry. many of these ancient customs are still continued, and the fires are still lighted on st. john's eve on every hill in ireland. when the fire has burned down to a red glow the young men strip to the waist and leap over or through the flames; this is done backwards and forwards several times, and he who braves the greatest blaze is considered the victor over the powers of evil, and is greeted with tremendous applause. when the fire burns still lower, the young girls leap the flame, and those who leap clean over three times back and forward will be certain of a speedy marriage and good luck in after-life, with many children. the married women then walk through the lines of the burning embers; and when the fire is nearly burnt and trampled down, the yearling cattle are driven through the hot ashes, and their back is singed with a lighted hazel twig. these rods are kept safely afterwards, being considered of immense power to drive the cattle to and from the watering places. as the fire diminishes the shouting grows fainter, and the song and the dance commence; while professional story-tellers narrate tales of fairy-land, or of the good old times long ago, when the kings and princes of ireland dwelt amongst their own people, and there was food to eat and wine to drink for all comers to the feast at the king's house. when the crowd at length separate, every one carries home a brand from the fire, and great virtue is attached to the lighted _brone_ which is safely carried to the house without breaking or falling to the ground. many contests also arise amongst the young men; for whoever enters his house first with the sacred fire brings the good luck of the year with him."[524] [holy water resorted to on midsummer eve in ireland.] in ireland, as elsewhere, water was also apparently thought to acquire a certain mystical virtue at midsummer. "at stoole, near downpatrick, there is a ceremony commencing at twelve o'clock at night on midsummer eve. its sacred mount is consecrated to st. patrick; the plain contains three wells, to which the most extraordinary virtues are attributed. here and there are heaps of stones, around some of which appear great numbers of people, running with as much speed as possible; around others crowds of worshippers kneel with bare legs and feet as an indispensable part of the penance. the men, without coats, with handkerchiefs on their heads instead of hats, having gone seven times round each heap, kiss the ground, cross themselves, and proceed to the hill; here they ascend, on their bare knees, by a path so steep and rugged that it would be difficult to walk up. many hold their hands clasped at the back of their necks, and several carry large stones on their heads. having repeated this ceremony seven times, they go to what is called st. patrick's chair, which are two great flat stones fixed upright in the hill; here they cross and bless themselves as they step in between these stones, and, while repeating prayers, an old man, seated for the purpose, turns them round on their feet three times, for which he is paid; the devotee then goes to conclude his penance at a pile of stones, named the altar. while this busy scene is continued by the multitude, the wells and streams issuing from them are thronged by crowds of halt, maimed, and blind, pressing to wash away their infirmities with water consecrated by their patron saint, and so powerful is the impression of its efficacy on their minds, that many of those who go to be healed, and who are not totally blind, or altogether crippled, really believe for a time that they are by means of its miraculous virtues perfectly restored."[525] [the midsummer fires in scotland; fires on st. peter's day (the twenty-ninth of june).] in scotland the traces of midsummer fires are few. we are told by a writer of the eighteenth century that "the midsummer-even fire, a relict of druidism," was kindled in some parts of the county of perth.[526] another writer of the same period, describing what he calls the druidical festivals of the highlanders, says that "the least considerable of them is that of midsummer. in the highlands of perthshire there are some vestiges of it. the cowherd goes three times round the fold, according to the course of the sun, with a burning torch in his hand. they imagined this rite had a tendency to purify their herds and flocks, and to prevent diseases. at their return the landlady makes an entertainment for the cowherd and his associates."[527] in the northeast of scotland, down to the latter half of the eighteenth century, farmers used to go round their lands with burning torches about the middle of june.[528] on the hill of cairnshee, in the parish of durris, kincardineshire, the herdsmen of the country round about annually kindle a bonfire at sunset on midsummer day (the twenty-fourth of june); the men or lads collect the fuel and push each other through the smoke and flames. the custom is kept up through the benefaction of a certain alexander hogg, a native of the parish, who died about 1790 and left a small sum for the maintenance of a midsummer bonfire on the spot, because as a boy he had herded cattle on the hill. we may conjecture that in doing so he merely provided for the continuance of an old custom which he himself had observed in the same place in his youth.[529] at the village of tarbolton in ayrshire a bonfire has been annually kindled from time immemorial on the evening of the first monday after the eleventh of june. a noted cattle-market was formerly held at the fair on the following day. the bonfire is still lit at the gloaming by the lads and lasses of the village on a high mound or hillock just outside of the village. fuel for it is collected by the lads from door to door. the youth dance round the fire and leap over the fringes of it. the many cattle-drovers who used to assemble for the fair were wont to gather round the blazing pile, smoke their pipes, and listen to the young folk singing in chorus on the hillock. afterwards they wrapped themselves in their plaids and slept round the bonfire, which was intended to last all night.[530] thomas moresin of aberdeen, a writer of the sixteenth century, says that on st. peter's day, which is the twenty-ninth of june, the scotch ran about at night with lighted torches on mountains and high grounds, "as ceres did when she roamed the whole earth in search of proserpine";[531] and towards the end of the eighteenth century the parish minister of loudoun, a district of ayrshire whose "bonny woods and braes" have been sung by burns, wrote that "the custom still remains amongst the herds and young people to kindle fires in the high grounds in honour of beltan. _beltan_, which in gaelic signifies _baal_, or _bel's-fire_, was antiently the time of this solemnity. it is now kept on st. peter's day."[532] [the midsummer fires in spain and the azores; divination on midsummer eve in the azores; the midsummer fires in corsica and sardinia.] all over spain great bonfires called _lumes_ are still lit on midsummer eve. they are kept up all night, and the children leap over them in a certain rhythmical way which is said to resemble the ancient dances. on the coast, people at this season plunge into the sea; in the inland districts the villagers go and roll naked in the dew of the meadows, which is supposed to be a sovereign preservative against diseases of the skin. on this evening, too, girls who would pry into the future put a vessel of water on the sill outside their window; and when the clocks strike twelve, they break an egg in the water and see, or fancy they see, in the shapes assumed by the pulp, as it blends with the liquid, the likeness of future bridegrooms, castles, coffins, and so forth. but generally, as might perhaps have been anticipated, the obliging egg exhibits the features of a bridegroom.[533] in the azores, also, bonfires are lit on midsummer eve (st. john's eve), and boys jump over them for luck. on that night st. john himself is supposed to appear in person and bless all the seas and waters, driving out the devils and demons who had been disporting themselves in them ever since the second day of november; that is why in the interval between the second of november and the twenty-third of june nobody will bathe in the sea or in a hot spring. on midsummer eve, too, you can always see the devil, if you will go into a garden at midnight. he is invariably found standing near a mustard-plant. his reason for adopting this posture has not been ascertained; perhaps in the chilly air of the upper world he is attracted by the genial warmth of the mustard. various forms of divination are practised by people in the azores on midsummer eve. thus a new-laid egg is broken into a glass of water, and the shapes which it assumes foreshadow the fate of the person concerned. again, seven saucers are placed in a row, filled respectively with water, earth, ashes, keys, a thimble, money, and grass, which things signify travel, death, widowhood, housekeeping, spinsterhood, riches, and farming. a blindfolded person touches one or other of the saucers with a wand and so discovers his or her fate. again, three broad beans are taken; one is left in its skin, one is half peeled, and the third is peeled outright. the three denote respectively riches, competence, and poverty. they are hidden and searched for; and he who finds one of them knows accordingly whether he will be rich, moderately well-off, or poor. again, girls take slips of paper and write the names of young men twice over on them. these they fold up and crumple and place one set under their pillows and the other set in a saucer full of water. in the morning they draw one slip of paper from under their pillow, and see whether one in the water has opened out. if the names on the two slips are the same, it is the name of her future husband. young men do the same with girls' names. once more, if a girl rises at sunrise, goes out into the street, and asks the first passer-by his christian name, that will be her husband's name.[534] some of these modes of divination resemble those which are or used to be practised in scotland at hallowe'en.[535] in corsica on the eve of st. john the people set fire to the trunk of a tree or to a whole tree, and the young men and maidens dance round the blaze, which is called _fucaraia_.[536] we have seen that at ozieri, in sardinia, a great bonfire is kindled on st. john's eve, and that the young people dance round it.[537] [the midsummer fires in the abruzzi; bathing on midsummer eve in the abruzzi; the midsummer fires in sicily; the witches at midsummer.] passing to italy, we find that the midsummer fires are still lighted on st. john's eve in many parts of the abruzzi. they are commonest in the territory which was inhabited in antiquity by the vestini; they are rarer in the land of the ancient marsi, and they disappear entirely in the lower valley of the sangro. for the most part, the fires are fed with straw and dry grass, and are kindled in the fields near the villages or on high ground. as they blaze up, the people dance round or over them. in leaping across the flames the boys cry out, "st. john, preserve my thighs and legs!" formerly it used to be common to light the bonfires also in the towns in front of churches of st. john, and the remains of the sacred fire were carried home by the people; but this custom has mostly fallen into disuse. however, at celano the practice is still kept up of taking brands and ashes from the bonfires to the houses, although the fires are no longer kindled in front of the churches, but merely in the streets.[538] in the abruzzi water also is supposed to acquire certain marvellous and beneficent properties on st. john's night. hence many people bathe or at least wash their faces and hands in the sea or a river at that season, especially at the moment of sunrise. such a bath is said to be an excellent cure for diseases of the skin. at castiglione a casauria the people, after washing in the river or in springs, gird their waists and wreath their brows with sprigs of briony in order to keep them from aches and pains.[539] in various parts of sicily, also, fires are kindled on midsummer eve (st. john's eve), the twenty-third of june. on the madonie mountains, in the north of the island, the herdsmen kindle them at intervals, so that the crests of the mountains are seen ablaze in the darkness for many miles. about acireale, on the east coast of the island, the bonfires are lit by boys, who jump over them. at chiaromonte the witches that night acquire extraordinary powers; hence everybody then puts a broom outside of his house, because a broom is an excellent protective against witchcraft.[540] at orvieto the midsummer fires were specially excepted from the prohibition directed against bonfires in general.[541] [the midsummer fires in malta ] in malta also the people celebrate midsummer eve (st. john's eve) "by kindling great fires in the public streets, and giving their children dolls to carry in their arms on this day, in order to make good the prophecy respecting the baptist, _multi in nativitate ejus gaudebunt_. days and even weeks before this festival, groups of children are seen going out into the country fields to gather straw, twigs, and all sorts of other combustibles, which they store up for st. john's eve. on the night of the twenty-third of june, the day before the festival of the saint, great fires are kindled in the streets, squares, and market places of the towns and villages of the island, and as fire after fire blazes out of the darkness of that summer night, the effect is singularly striking. these fires are sometimes kept up for hours, being continually fed by the scores of bystanders, who take great delight in throwing amidst the flames some old rickety piece of furniture which they consider as lumber in their houses. lots of happy and reckless children, and very often men, are seen merrily leaping in succession over and through the crackling flames. at the time of the order of st. john of jerusalem, the grand master himself, soon after the _angelus_, used to leave his palace, accompanied by the grand prior, the bishop, and two bailiffs, to set fire to some pitch barrels which were placed for the occasion in the square facing the sacred hospital. great crowds used to assemble here in order to assist at this ceremony. the setting ablaze of the five casks, and later on of the eight casks, by the grand master, was a signal for the others to kindle their fires in the different parts of the town."[542] [the midsummer fires in greece; the midsummer fires in macedonia and albania.] in greece, the custom of kindling fires on st. john's eve and jumping over them is said to be still universal. one reason assigned for it is a wish to escape from the fleas.[543] according to another account, the women cry out, as they leap over the fire, "i leave my sins behind me."[544] in lesbos the fires on st. john's eve are usually lighted by threes, and the people spring thrice over them, each with a stone on his head, saying, "i jump the hare's fire, my head a stone!" on the morning of st. john's day those who dwell near the coast go to bathe in the sea. as they go they gird themselves with osiers, and when they are in the water they let the osiers float away, saying, "let my maladies go away!" then they look for what is called "the hairy stone," which possesses the remarkable property not only of keeping moths from clothes but even of multiplying the clothes in the chest where it is laid up, and the more hairs on the stone the more will the clothes multiply in the chest.[545] in calymnos the midsummer fire is supposed to ensure abundance in the coming year as well as deliverance from fleas. the people dance round the fires singing, with stones on their heads, and then jump over the blaze or the glowing embers. when the fire is burning low, they throw the stones into it; and when it is nearly out, they make crosses on their legs and then go straightway and bathe in the sea.[546] in cos the lads and lasses dance round the bonfires on st. john's eve. each of the lads binds a black stone on his head, signifying that he wishes to become as strong as the stone. also they make the sign of the cross on their feet and legs and jump over the fire.[547] on midsummer eve the greeks of macedonia light fires after supper in front of their gates. the garlands, now faded, which were hung over the doors on may day, are taken down and cast into the flames, after which the young folk leap over the blaze, fully persuaded that st. john's fire will not burn them.[548] in albania fires of dry herbage are, or used to be, lit everywhere on st. john's eve; young and old leap over them, for such a leap is thought to be good for the health.[549] [the midsummer fires in america.] from the old world the midsummer fires have been carried across the atlantic to america. in brazil people jump over the fires of st. john, and at this season they can take hot coals in their mouths without burning themselves.[550] in bolivia on the eve of st. john it is usual to see bonfires lighted on the hills and even in the streets of the capital la paz. as the city stands at the bottom of an immense ravine, and the indians of the neighbourhood take a pride in kindling bonfires on heights which might seem inaccessible, the scene is very striking when the darkness of night is suddenly and simultaneously lit up by hundreds of fires, which cast a glare on surrounding objects, producing an effect at once weird and picturesque.[551] [the midsummer fires among the mohammedans of morocco and algeria.] the custom of kindling bonfires on midsummer day or on midsummer eve is widely spread among the mohammedan peoples of north africa, particularly in morocco and algeria; it is common both to the berbers and to many of the arabs or arabic-speaking tribes. in these countries midsummer day (the twenty-fourth of june, old style) is called [arabic: _l'ansara_]. the fires are lit in the courtyards, at cross-roads, in the fields, and sometimes on the threshing-floors. plants which in burning give out a thick smoke and an aromatic smell are much sought after for fuel on these occasions; among the plants used for the purpose are giant-fennel, thyme, rue, chervil-seed, camomile, geranium, and penny-royal. people expose themselves, and especially their children, to the smoke, and drive it towards the orchards and the crops. also they leap across the fires; in some places everybody ought to repeat the leap seven times. moreover they take burning brands from the fires and carry them through the houses in order to fumigate them. they pass things through the fire, and bring the sick into contact with it, while they utter prayers for their recovery. the ashes of the bonfires are also reputed to possess beneficial properties; hence in some places people rub their hair or their bodies with them.[552] for example, the andjra mountaineers of morocco kindle large fires in open places of their villages on midsummer day. men, women, and children jump over the flames or the glowing embers, believing that by so doing they rid themselves of all misfortune which may be clinging to them; they imagine, also, that such leaps cure the sick and procure offspring for childless couples. moreover, they burn straw, together with some marjoram and alum, in the fold where the cattle, sheep, and goats are penned for the night; the smoke, in their opinion, will make the animals thrive. on midsummer day the arabs of the mnasara tribe make fires outside their tents, near their animals, on their fields, and in their gardens. large quantities of penny-royal are burned in these fires, and over some of them the people leap thrice to and fro. sometimes small fires are also kindled inside the tents. they say that the smoke confers blessings on everything with which it comes into contact. at salee, on the atlantic coast of morocco, persons who suffer from diseased eyes rub them with the ashes of the midsummer fire; and in casablanca and azemmur the people hold their faces over the fire, because the smoke is thought to be good for the eyes. the arab tribe ulad bu aziz, in the dukkala province of morocco, kindle midsummer bonfires, not for themselves and their cattle, but only for crops and fruit; nobody likes to reap his crops before midsummer day, because if he did they would lose the benefit of the blessed influence which flows from the smoke of the bonfires. again, the beni mgild, a berber tribe of morocco, light fires of straw on midsummer eve and leap thrice over them to and fro. they let some of the smoke pass underneath their clothes, and married women hold their breasts over the fire, in order that their children may be strong. moreover, they paint their eyes and lips with some black powder, in which ashes of the bonfire are mixed. and in order that their horses may also benefit by the fires, they dip the right forelegs of the animals in the smoke and flames or in the hot embers, and they rub ashes on the foreheads and between the nostrils of the horses. berbers of the rif province, in northern morocco, similarly make great use of fires at midsummer for the good of themselves, their cattle, and their fruit-trees. they jump over the bonfires in the belief that this will preserve them in good health, and they light fires under fruit-trees to keep the fruit from falling untimely. and they imagine that by rubbing a paste of the ashes on their hair they prevent the hair from falling off their heads.[553] [beneficial effect ascribed to the smoke of the fires; ill luck supposed to be burnt in the midsummer fires; the midsummer festival in north africa comprises rites concerned with water as well as with fire; the midsummer festival in north africa is probably older than mohammedanism.] in all these moroccan customs, we are told, the beneficial effect is attributed wholly to the smoke, which is supposed to be endued with a magical quality that removes misfortune from men, animals, fruit-trees, and crops. but in some parts of morocco people at midsummer kindle fires of a different sort, not for the sake of fumigation, but in order to burn up misfortune in the flames. thus on midsummer eve the berber tribe of the beni mgild burn three sheaves of unthreshed wheat or barley, "one for the children, one for the crops, and one for the animals." on the same occasion they burn the tent of a widow who has never given birth to a child; by so doing they think to rid the village of ill luck. it is said that at midsummer the zemmur burn a tent, which belongs to somebody who was killed in war during a feast; or if there is no such person in the village, the schoolmaster's tent is burned instead. among the arabic-speaking beni ahsen it is customary for those who live near the river sbu to make a little hut of straw at midsummer, set it on fire, and let it float down the river. similarly the inhabitants of salee burn a straw hut on the river which flows past their town.[554] further it deserves to be noticed that in northern africa, as in southern europe, the midsummer festival comprises rites concerned with water as well as with fire. for example, among the beni-snous the women light a fire in an oven, throw perfumes into it, and circumambulate a tank, which they also incense after a fashion. in many places on the coast, as in the province of oran and particularly in the north of morocco, everybody goes and bathes in the sea at midsummer; and in many towns of the interior, such as fez, mequinez, and especially merrakech, people throw water over each other on this day; and where water is scarce, earth is used instead, according to the mohammedan principle which permits ablutions to be performed with earth or sand when water cannot be spared for the purpose.[555] people of the andjra district in morocco not only bathe themselves in the sea or in rivers at midsummer, they also bathe their animals, their horses, mules, donkeys, cattle, sheep, and goats; for they think that on that day water possesses a blessed virtue (_baraka_), which removes sickness and misfortune. in aglu, again, men, women, and children bathe in the sea or springs or rivers at midsummer, alleging that by so doing they protect themselves against disease for the whole year. among the berbers of the rif district the custom of bathing on this day is commonly observed, and animals share the ablutions.[556] [some mohammedans of north africa kindle fires and observe water ceremonies at their movable new year; water ceremonies at new year in morocco; the rites of fire and water at midsummer and new year in morocco seem to be identical in character; the duplication of the festival is probably due to a conflict between the solar calendar of the romans and the lunar calendar of the arabs.] the celebration of a midsummer festival by mohammedan peoples is particularly remarkable, because the mohammedan calendar, being purely lunar and uncorrected by intercalation, necessarily takes no note of festivals which occupy fixed points in the solar year; all strictly mohammedan feasts, being pinned to the moon, slide gradually with that luminary through the whole period of the earth's revolution about the sun. this fact of itself seems to prove that among the mohammedan peoples of northern africa, as among the christian peoples of europe, the midsummer festival is quite independent of the religion which the people publicly profess, and is a relic of a far older paganism. there are, indeed, independent grounds for thinking that the arabs enjoyed the advantage of a comparatively well-regulated solar year before the prophet of god saddled them with the absurdity and inconvenience of a purely lunar calendar.[557] be that as it may, it is notable that some mohammedan people of north africa kindle fires and bathe in water at the movable new year of their lunar calendar instead of at the fixed midsummer of the solar year; while others again practise these observances at both seasons. new year's day, on which the rites are celebrated, is called _ashur_; it is the tenth day of moharram, the first month of the mohammedan calendar. on that day bonfires are kindled in tunis and also at merrakech and among some tribes of the neighbourhood.[558] at demnat, in the great atlas mountains, people kindle a large bonfire on new year's eve and leap to and fro over the flames, uttering words which imply that by these leaps they think to purify themselves from all kinds of evil. at aglu, in the province of sus, the fire is lighted at three different points by an unmarried girl, and when it has died down the young men leap over the glowing embers, saying, "we shook on you, o lady ashur, fleas, and lice, and the illnesses of the heart, as also those of the bones; we shall pass through you again next year and the following years with safety and health." both at aglu and glawi, in the great atlas, smaller fires are also kindled, over which the animals are driven. at demnat girls who wish to marry wash themselves in water which has been boiled over the new year fire; and in dukkala people use the ashes of that fire to rub sore eyes with. new year fires appear to be commonly kindled among the berbers who inhabit the western portion of the great atlas, and also among the arabic-speaking tribes of the plains; but dr. westermarck found no traces of such fires among the arabic-speaking mountaineers of northern morocco and the berbers of the rif province. further, it should be observed that water ceremonies like those which are practised at midsummer are very commonly observed in morocco at the new year, that is, on the tenth day of the first month. on the morning of that day (_ashur_) all water or, according to some people, only spring water is endowed with a magical virtue (_baraka_), especially before sunrise. hence at that time the people bathe and pour water over each other; in some places they also sprinkle their animals, tents, or rooms. in dukkala some of the new year water is preserved at home till new year's day (_ashur_) of next year; some of it is kept to be used as medicine, some of it is poured on the place where the corn is threshed, and some is used to water the money which is to be buried in the ground; for the people think that the earth-spirits will not be able to steal the buried treasures which have thus been sanctified with the holy water.[559] [the midsummer festival in morocco seems to be of berber origin.] thus the rites of fire and water which are observed in morocco at midsummer and new year appear to be identical in character and intention, and it seems certain that the duplication of the rites is due to a conflict between two calendars, namely the old julian calendar of the romans, which was based on the sun, and the newer mohammedan calendar of the arabs, which is based on the moon. for not only was the julian calendar in use throughout the whole of northern africa under the roman empire; to this day it is everywhere employed among mohammedans for the regulation of agriculture and all the affairs of daily life; its practical convenience has made it indispensable, and the lunar calendar of orthodox mohammedanism is scarcely used except for purposes of chronology. even the old latin names of the months are known and employed, in slightly disguised forms, throughout the whole moslem world; and little calendars of the julian year circulate in manuscript among mohammedans, permitting them to combine the practical advantages of pagan science with a nominal adherence to orthodox absurdity.[560] thus the heathen origin of the midsummer festival is too palpable to escape the attention of good mohammedans, who accordingly frown upon the midsummer bonfires as pagan superstitions, precisely as similar observances in europe have often been denounced by orthodox christianity. indeed, many religious people in morocco entirely disapprove of the whole of the midsummer ceremonies, maintaining that they are all bad; and a conscientious schoolmaster will even refuse his pupils a holiday at midsummer, though the boys sometimes offer him a bribe if he will sacrifice his scruples to his avarice.[561] as the midsummer customs appear to flourish among all the berbers of morocco but to be unknown among the pure arabs who have not been affected by berber influence, it seems reasonable to infer with dr. westermarck that the midsummer festival has belonged from time immemorial to the berber race, and that so far as it is now observed by the arabs of morocco, it has been learned by them from the berbers, the old indigenous inhabitants of the country. dr. westermarck may also be right in holding that, in spite of the close similarity which obtains between the midsummer festival of europe and the midsummer festival of north africa, the latter is not a copy of the former, but that both have been handed down independently from a time beyond the purview of history, when such ceremonies were common to the mediterranean race.[562] § 5. _the autumn fires_ [festivals of fire in august; russian feast of florus and laurus on august 18th; "living fire" made by the friction of wood.] in the months which elapse between midsummer and the setting in of winter the european festivals of fire appear to be few and unimportant. on the evening of the first day of august, which is the festival of the cross, bonfires are commonly lit in macedonia and boys jump over them, shouting, "dig up! bury!" but whom or what they wish to dig up or bury they do not know.[563] the russians hold the feast of two martyrs, florus and laurus, on the eighteenth day of august, old style. "on this day the russians lead their horses round the church of their village, beside which on the foregoing evening they dig a hole with two mouths. each horse has a bridle made of the bark of the linden-tree. the horses go through this hole one after the other, opposite to one of the mouths of which the priest stands with a sprinkler in his hand, with which he sprinkles them. as soon as the horses have passed by their bridles are taken off, and they are made to go between two fires that they kindle, called by the russians _givoy agon_, that is to say, living fires, of which i shall give an account. i shall before remark, that the russian peasantry throw the bridles of their horses into one of these fires to be consumed. this is the manner of their lighting these _givoy agon_, or living fires. some men hold the ends of a stick made of the plane-tree, very dry, and about a fathom long. this stick they hold firmly over one of birch, perfectly dry, and rub with violence and quickly against the former; the birch, which is somewhat softer than the plane, in a short time inflames, and serves them to light both the fires i have described."[564] [feast of the nativity of the virgin on the eighth of september at capri and naples.] the feast of the nativity of the virgin on the eighth day of september is celebrated at naples and capri with fireworks, bonfires, and assassinations. on this subject my friend professor a. e. housman, who witnessed the celebration in different years at both places, has kindly furnished me with the following particulars: "in 1906 i was in the island of capri on september the eighth, the feast of the nativity of the virgin. the anniversary was duly solemnised by fire-works at nine or ten in the evening, which i suppose were municipal; but just after sundown the boys outside the villages were making small fires of brushwood on waste bits of ground by the wayside. very pretty it looked, with the flames blowing about in the twilight; but what took my attention was the listlessness of the boys and their lack of interest in the proceeding. a single lad, the youngest, would be raking the fire together and keeping it alight, but the rest stood lounging about and looking in every other direction, with the air of discharging mechanically a traditional office from which all zest had evaporated." "the pious orgy at naples on september the eighth went through the following phases when i witnessed it in 1897. it began at eight in the evening with an illumination of the façade of santa maria piedigrotta and with the whole population walking about blowing penny trumpets. after four hours of this i went to bed at midnight, and was lulled to sleep by barrel-organs, which supersede the trumpets about that hour. at four in the morning i was waked by detonations as if the british fleet were bombarding the city, caused, i was afterwards told, by dynamite rockets. the only step possible beyond this is assassination, which accordingly takes place about peep of day: i forget now the number of the slain, but i think the average is eight or ten, and i know that in honour of my presence they murdered a few more than usual." [the feast of the nativity of the virgin may have replaced a pagan festival; the coincidence of the midsummer festival with the summer solstice implies that the founders of the festival regulated their calendar by observation of the sun.] it is no doubt possible that these illuminations and fireworks, like the assassinations, are merely the natural and spontaneous expressions of that overflowing joy with which the thought of the birth of the virgin must fill every pious heart; but when we remember how often the church has skilfully decanted the new wine of christianity into the old bottles of heathendom, we may be allowed to conjecture that the ecclesiastical authorities adroitly timed the nativity of the virgin so as to coincide with an old pagan festival of that day, in which fire, noise, and uproar, if not broken heads and bloodshed, were conspicuous features. the penny trumpets blown on this occasion recall the like melodious instruments which figure so largely in the celebration of befana (the eve of epiphany) at rome.[565] § 6. _the hallowe'en fires_ [on the other hand the celts divided their year, not by the solstices, but by the beginning of summer (the first of may) and the beginning of winter (the first of november).] from the foregoing survey we may infer that among the heathen forefathers of the european peoples the most popular and widespread fire-festival of the year was the great celebration of midsummer eve or midsummer day. the coincidence of the festival with the summer solstice can hardly be accidental. rather we must suppose that our pagan ancestors purposely timed the ceremony of fire on earth to coincide with the arrival of the sun at the highest point of his course in the sky. if that was so, it follows that the old founders of the midsummer rites had observed the solstices or turning-points of the sun's apparent path in the sky, and that they accordingly regulated their festal calendar to some extent by astronomical considerations. [the division seems to have been neither astronomical nor agricultural but pastoral, being determined by the times when cattle are driven to and from their summer pasture.] but while this may be regarded as fairly certain for what we may call the aborigines throughout a large part of the continent, it appears not to have been true of the celtic peoples who inhabited the land's end of europe, the islands and promontories that stretch out into the atlantic ocean on the north-west. the principal fire-festivals of the celts, which have survived, though in a restricted area and with diminished pomp, to modern times and even to our own day, were seemingly timed without any reference to the position of the sun in the heaven. they were two in number, and fell at an interval of six months, one being celebrated on the eve of may day and the other on allhallow even or hallowe'en, as it is now commonly called, that is, on the thirty-first of october, the day preceding all saints' or allhallows' day. these dates coincide with none of the four great hinges on which the solar year revolves, to wit, the solstices and the equinoxes. nor do they agree with the principal seasons of the agricultural year, the sowing in spring and the reaping in autumn. for when may day comes, the seed has long been committed to the earth; and when november opens, the harvest has long been reaped and garnered, the fields lie bare, the fruit-trees are stripped, and even the yellow leaves are fast fluttering to the ground. yet the first of may and the first of november mark turning-points of the year in europe; the one ushers in the genial heat and the rich vegetation of summer, the other heralds, if it does not share, the cold and barrenness of winter. now these particular points of the year, as has been well pointed out by a learned and ingenious writer,[566] while they are of comparatively little moment to the european husbandman, do deeply concern the european herdsman; for it is on the approach of summer that he drives his cattle out into the open to crop the fresh grass, and it is on the approach of winter that he leads them back to the safety and shelter of the stall. accordingly it seems not improbable that the celtic bisection of the year into two halves at the beginning of may and the beginning of november dates from a time when the celts were mainly a pastoral people, dependent for their subsistence on their herds, and when accordingly the great epochs of the year for them were the days on which the cattle went forth from the homestead in early summer and returned to it again in early winter.[567] even in central europe, remote from the region now occupied by the celts, a similar bisection of the year may be clearly traced in the great popularity, on the one hand, of may day and its eve (walpurgis night), and, on the other hand, of the feast of all souls at the beginning of november, which under a thin christian cloak conceals an ancient pagan festival of the dead.[568] hence we may conjecture that everywhere throughout europe the celestial division of the year according to the solstices was preceded by what we may call a terrestrial division of the year according to the beginning of summer and the beginning of winter. [the two great celtic festivals, beltane and hallowe'en.] be that as it may, the two great celtic festivals of may day and the first of november or, to be more accurate, the eves of these two days, closely resemble each other in the manner of their celebration and in the superstitions associated with them, and alike, by the antique character impressed upon both, betray a remote and purely pagan origin. the festival of may day or beltane, as the celts called it, which ushered in summer, has already been described;[569] it remains to give some account of the corresponding festival of hallowe'en, which announced the arrival of winter. [hallowe'en (the evening of october 31st) seems to have marked the beginning of the celtic year; the many forms of divination resorted to at hallowe'en are appropriate to the beginning of a new year; hallowe'en also a festival of the dead.] of the two feasts hallowe'en was perhaps of old the more important, since the celts would seem to have dated the beginning of the year from it rather than from beltane. in the isle of man, one of the fortresses in which the celtic language and lore longest held out against the siege of the saxon invaders, the first of november, old style, has been regarded as new year's day down to recent times. thus manx mummers used to go round on hallowe'en (old style), singing, in the manx language, a sort of hogmanay song which began "to-night is new year's night, _hog-unnaa_!"[570] one of sir john rhys's manx informants, an old man of sixty-seven, "had been a farm servant from the age of sixteen till he was twenty-six to the same man, near regaby, in the parish of andreas, and he remembers his master and a near neighbour of his discussing the term new year's day as applied to the first of november, and explaining to the younger men that it had always been so in old times. in fact, it seemed to him natural enough, as all tenure of land ends at that time, and as all servant men begin their service then."[571] in ancient ireland, as we saw, a new fire used to be kindled every year on hallowe'en or the eve of samhain, and from this sacred flame all the fires in ireland were rekindled.[572] such a custom points strongly to samhain or all saints' day (the first of november) as new year's day; since the annual kindling of a new fire takes place most naturally at the beginning of the year, in order that the blessed influence of the fresh fire may last throughout the whole period of twelve months. another confirmation of the view that the celts dated their year from the first of november is furnished by the manifold modes of divination which, as we shall see presently, were commonly resorted to by celtic peoples on hallowe'en for the purpose of ascertaining their destiny, especially their fortune in the coming year; for when could these devices for prying into the future be more reasonably put in practice than at the beginning of the year? as a season of omens and auguries hallowe'en seems to have far surpassed beltane in the imagination of the celts; from which we may with some probability infer that they reckoned their year from hallowe'en rather than beltane. another circumstance of great moment which points to the same conclusion is the association of the dead with hallowe'en. not only among the celts but throughout europe, hallowe'en, the night which marks the transition from autumn to winter, seems to have been of old the time of year when the souls of the departed were supposed to revisit their old homes in order to warm themselves by the fire and to comfort themselves with the good cheer provided for them in the kitchen or the parlour by their affectionate kinsfolk.[573] it was, perhaps, a natural thought that the approach of winter should drive the poor shivering hungry ghosts from the bare fields and the leafless woodlands to the shelter of the cottage with its familiar fireside.[574] did not the lowing kine then troop back from the summer pastures in the forests and on the hills to be fed and cared for in the stalls, while the bleak winds whistled among the swaying boughs and the snow drifts deepened in the hollows? and could the good-man and the good-wife deny to the spirits of their dead the welcome which they gave to the cows? [fairies and hobgoblins let loose at hallowe'en.] but it is not only the souls of the departed who are supposed to be hovering unseen on the day "when autumn to winter resigns the pale year." witches then speed on their errands of mischief, some sweeping through the air on besoms, others galloping along the roads on tabby-cats, which for that evening are turned into coal-black steeds.[575] the fairies, too, are all let loose, and hobgoblins of every sort roam freely about in south uist and eriskay there is a saying:-"_hallowe'en will come, will come, witchcraft [or divination] will be set agoing, fairies will be at full speed, running in every pass. avoid the road, children, children_."[576] [dancing with the fairies at hallowe'en.] in cardiganshire on november eve a bogie sits on every stile.[577] on that night in ireland all the fairy hills are thrown wide open and the fairies swarm forth; any man who is bold enough may then peep into the open green hills and see the treasures hidden in them. worse than that, the cave of cruachan in connaught, known as "the hell-gate of ireland," is unbarred on samhain eve or hallowe'en, and a host of horrible fiends and goblins used to rush forth, particularly a flock of copper-red birds, which blighted crops and killed animals by their poisonous breath.[578] the scotch highlanders have a special name _samhanach_ (derived from _samhain_, "all-hallows") for the dreadful bogies that go about that night stealing babies and committing other atrocities.[579] and though the fairies are a kindlier folk, it is dangerous to see even them at their revels on hallowe'en. a melancholy case of this sort is reported from the ferintosh district of the highlands, though others say that it happened at the slope of big stones in harris. two young men were coming home after nightfall on hallowe'en, each with a jar of whisky on his back, when they saw, as they thought, a house all lit up by the roadside, from which proceeded the sounds of music and dancing. in reality it was not a house at all but a fairy knoll, and it was the fairies who were jigging it about there so merrily. but one of the young men was deceived and stepping into the house joined in the dance, without even stopping to put down the jar of whisky. his companion was wiser; he had a shrewd suspicion that the place was not what it seemed, and on entering he took the precaution of sticking a needle in the door. that disarmed the power of the fairies, and he got away safely. well, that day twelve months he came back to the spot and what should he see but his poor friend still dancing away with the jar of whisky on his back? a weary man was he, as you may well believe, but he begged to be allowed to finish the reel which he was in the act of executing, and when they took him out into the open air, there was nothing of him left but skin and bones.[580] again, the wicked fairies are apt to carry off men's wives with them to fairyland; but the lost spouses can be recovered within a year and a day when the procession of the fairies is defiling past on hallowe'en, always provided that the mortals did not partake of elfin food while they were in elfinland.[581] [guleesh and the revels of the fairies at hallowe'en.] sometimes valuable information may be obtained from the fairies on hallowe'en. there was a young man named guleesh in the county of mayo. near his house was a _rath_ or old fort with a fine grass bank running round it. one hallowe'en, when the darkness was falling, guleesh went to the rath and stood on a gray old flag. the night was calm and still; there was not a breath of wind stirring, nor a sound to be heard except the hum of the insects flitting past, or the whistle of the plovers, or the hoarse scream of the wild geese as they winged their way far overhead. above the white fog the moon rose like a knob of fire in the east, and a thousand thousand stars were twinkling in the sky. there was a little frost in the air, the grass was white and crisp and crackled under foot. guleesh expected to see the fairies, but they did not come. hour after hour wore away, and he was just bethinking him of going home to bed, when his ear caught a sound far off coming towards him, and he knew what it was in a moment. the sound grew louder and louder; at first it was like the beating of waves on a stony shore, then it was like the roar of a waterfall, at last it was like a mighty rushing wind in the tops of the trees, then the storm burst upon the rath, and sure enough the fairies were in it. the rout went by so suddenly that guleesh lost his breath; but he came to himself and listened. the fairies were now gathered within the grassy bank of the rath, and a fine uproar they made. but guleesh listened with all his ears, and he heard one fairy saying to another that a magic herb grew by guleesh's own door, and that guleesh had nothing to do but pluck it and boil it and give it to his sweetheart, the daughter of the king of france, and she would be well, for just then she was lying very ill. guleesh took the hint, and everything went as the fairy had said. and he married the daughter of the king of france; and they had never a cark nor a care, a sickness nor a sorrow, a mishap nor a misfortune to the day of their death.[582] [divination resorted to in celtic countries at hallowe'en.] in all celtic countries hallowe'en seems to have been the great season of the year for prying into the future; all kinds of divination were put in practice that night. we read that dathi, a king of ireland in the fifth century, happening to be at the druids' hill (_cnoc-nan-druad_) in the county of sligo one hallowe'en, ordered his druid to forecast for him the future from that day till the next hallowe'en should come round. the druid passed the night on the top of the hill, and next morning made a prediction to the king which came true.[583] in wales hallowe'en was the weirdest of all the _teir nos ysbrydion_, or three spirit nights, when the wind, "blowing over the feet of the corpses," bore sighs to the houses of those who were to die within the year. people thought that if on that night they went out to a cross-road and listened to the wind, they would learn all the most important things that would befall them during the next twelve months.[584] in wales, too, not so long ago women used to congregate in the parish churches on the night of hallowe'en and read their fate from the flame of the candle which each of them held in her hand; also they heard the names or saw the coffins of the parishioners who would die within the year, and many were the sad scenes to which these gloomy visions gave rise.[585] and in the highlands of scotland anybody who pleased could hear proclaimed aloud the names of parishioners doomed to perish within the next twelve months, if he would only take a three-legged stool and go and sit on it at three cross-roads, while the church clock was striking twelve at midnight on hallowe'en. it was even in his power to save the destined victims from their doom by taking with him articles of wearing apparel and throwing them away, one by one, as each name was called out by the mysterious voice.[586] [hallowe'en bonfires in the highlands of scotland; john ramsay's account of the hallowe'en bonfires; divination from stones at the fire; hallowe'en fires in the parishes of callander and logierait.] but while a glamour of mystery and awe has always clung to hallowe'en in the minds of the celtic peasantry, the popular celebration of the festival has been, at least in modern times, by no means of a prevailingly gloomy cast; on the contrary it has been attended by picturesque features and merry pastimes, which rendered it the gayest night of all the year. amongst the things which in the highlands of scotland contributed to invest the festival with a romantic beauty were the bonfires which used to blaze at frequent intervals on the heights. "on the last day of autumn children gathered ferns, tar-barrels, the long thin stalks called _gàinisg_, and everything suitable for a bonfire. these were placed in a heap on some eminence near the house, and in the evening set fire to. the fires were called _samhnagan_. there was one for each house, and it was an object of ambition who should have the biggest. whole districts were brilliant with bonfires, and their glare across a highland loch, and from many eminences, formed an exceedingly picturesque scene."[587] like the beltane fires on the first of may, the hallowe'en bonfires seem to have been kindled most commonly in the perthshire highlands. travelling in the parish of moulin, near pitlochrie, in the year 1772, the englishman thomas pennant writes that "hallow eve is also kept sacred: as soon as it is dark, a person sets fire to a bush of broom fastened round a pole, and, attended with a crowd, runs about the village. he then flings it down, heaps great quantity of combustible matters on it, and makes a great bonfire. a whole tract is thus illuminated at the same time, and makes a fine appearance."[588] the custom has been described more fully by a scotchman of the eighteenth century, john ramsay of ochtertyre. on the evening of hallowe'en "the young people of every hamlet assembled upon some eminence near the houses. there they made a bonfire of ferns or other fuel, cut the same day, which from the feast was called _samh-nag_ or _savnag_, a fire of rest and pleasure. around it was placed a circle of stones, one for each person of the families to whom they belonged. and when it grew dark the bonfire was kindled, at which a loud shout was set up. then each person taking a torch of ferns or sticks in his hand, ran round the fire exulting; and sometimes they went into the adjacent fields, where, if there was another company, they visited the bonfire, taunting the others if inferior in any respect to themselves. after the fire was burned out they returned home, where a feast was prepared, and the remainder of the evening was spent in mirth and diversions of various kinds. next morning they repaired betimes to the bonfire, where the situation of the stones was examined with much attention. if any of them were misplaced, or if the print of a foot could be discerned near any particular stone, it was imagined that the person for whom it was set would not live out the year. of late years this is less attended to, but about the beginning of the present century it was regarded as a sure prediction. the hallowe'en fire is still kept up in some parts of the low country; but on the western coast and in the isles it is never kindled, though the night is spent in merriment and entertainments."[589] in the perthshire parish of callander, which includes the now famous pass of the trossachs opening out on the winding and wooded shores of the lovely loch katrine, the hallowe'en bonfires were still kindled down to near the end of the eighteenth century. when the fire had died down, the ashes were carefully collected in the form of a circle, and a stone was put in, near the circumference, for every person of the several families interested in the bonfire. next morning, if any of these stones was found to be displaced or injured, the people made sure that the person represented by it was _fey_ or devoted, and that he could not live twelve months from that day.[590] in the parish of logierait, which covers the beautiful valley of the tummel, one of the fairest regions of all scotland, the hallowe'en fire was somewhat different. faggots of heath, broom, and the dressings of flax were kindled and carried on poles by men, who ran with them round the villages, attended by a crowd. as soon as one faggot was burnt out, a fresh one was lighted and fastened to the pole. numbers of these blazing faggots were often carried about together, and when the night happened to be dark, they formed a splendid illumination.[591] [hallowe'en fires on loch tay; hallowe'en fires at balquhidder.] nor did the hallowe'en fires die out in perthshire with the end of the eighteenth century. journeying from dunkeld to aberfeldy on hallowe'en in the first half of the nineteenth century, sheriff barclay counted thirty fires blazing on the hill tops, and saw the figures of the people dancing like phantoms round the flames.[592] again, "in 1860, i was residing near the head of loch tay during the season of the hallowe'en feast. for several days before hallowe'en, boys and youths collected wood and conveyed it to the most prominent places on the hill sides in their neighbourhood. some of the heaps were as large as a corn-stack or hayrick. after dark on hallowe'en, these heaps were kindled, and for several hours both sides of loch tay were illuminated as far as the eye could see. i was told by old men that at the beginning of this century men as well as boys took part in getting up the bonfires, and that, when the fire was ablaze, all joined hands and danced round the fire, and made a great noise; but that, as these gatherings generally ended in drunkenness and rough and dangerous fun, the ministers set their faces against the observance, and were seconded in their efforts by the more intelligent and well-behaved in the community; and so the practice was discontinued by adults and relegated to school boys."[593] at balquhidder down to the latter part of the nineteenth century each household kindled its bonfire at hallowe'en, but the custom was chiefly observed by children. the fires were lighted on any high knoll near the house; there was no dancing round them.[594] [hallowe'en fires in buchan to burn the witches; processions with torches at hallowe'en in the braemar highlands.] hallowe'en fires were also lighted in some districts of the north-east of scotland, such as buchan. villagers and farmers alike must have their fire. in the villages the boys went from house to house and begged a peat from each householder, usually with the words, "ge's a peat t' burn the witches." in some villages the lads collected the peats in a cart, some of them drawing it along and the others receiving the peats and loading them on the cart. along with the peats they accumulated straw, furze, potato haulm, everything that would burn quickly, and when they had got enough they piled it all in a heap and set it on fire. then each of the youths, one after another, laid himself down on the ground as near to the fire as he could without being scorched, and thus lying allowed the smoke to roll over him. the others ran through the smoke and jumped over their prostrate comrade. when the heap was burned down, they scattered the ashes. each one took a share in this part of the ceremony, giving a kick first with the right foot and then with the left; and each vied with the other who should scatter the most. after that some of them still continued to run through the scattered ashes and to pelt each other with the half-burned peats. at each farm a spot as high as possible, not too near the steading, was chosen for the fire, and the proceedings were much the same as at the village bonfire. the lads of one farm, when their own fire was burned down and the ashes scattered, sometimes went to a neighbouring fire and helped to kick the ashes about.[595] referring to this part of scotland, a writer at the end of the eighteenth century observes that "the hallow-even fire, another relict of druidism, was kindled in buchan. various magic ceremonies were then celebrated to counteract the influence of witches and demons, and to prognosticate to the young their success or disappointment in the matrimonial lottery. these being devoutly finished, the hallow fire was kindled, and guarded by the male part of the family. societies were formed, either by pique or humour, to scatter certain fires, and the attack and defence were often conducted with art and with fury."[596] down to about the middle of the nineteenth century "the braemar highlanders made the circuit of their fields with lighted torches at hallowe'en to ensure their fertility in the coming year. at that date the custom was as follows: every member of the family (in those days households were larger than they are now) was provided with a bundle of fir 'can'les' with which to go the round. the father and mother stood at the hearth and lit the splints in the peat fire, which they passed to the children and servants, who trooped out one after the other, and proceeded to tread the bounds of their little property, going slowly round at equal distances apart, and invariably with the sun. to go 'withershins' seems to have been reserved for cursing and excommunication. when the fields had thus been circumambulated the remaining spills were thrown together in a heap and allowed to burn out."[597] [divination at hallow-e'en in the highlands and lowlands of scotland; the stolen kail; sowing hemp seed; the winnowing basket; the wet shirt; the thrown shoe.] in the highlands of scotland, as the evening of hallowe'en wore on, young people gathered in one of the houses and resorted to an almost endless variety of games, or rather forms of divination, for the purpose of ascertaining the future fate of each member of the company. were they to marry or remain single, was the marriage to take place that year or never, who was to be married first, what sort of husband or wife she or he was to get, the name, the trade, the colour of the hair, the amount of property of the future spouse--these were questions that were eagerly canvassed and the answers to them furnished never-failing entertainment.[598] nor were these modes of divination at hallowe'en confined to the highlands, where the bonfires were kindled; they were practised with equal faith and in practically the same forms in the lowlands, as we learn, for example, from burns's poem _hallowe'en_, which describes the auguries drawn from a variety of omens by the ayrshire peasantry. these lowlanders of saxon descent may well have inherited the rites from the celts who preceded them in the possession of the south country. a common practice at hallowe'en was to go out stealthily to a neighbour's kailyard and there, with shut eyes, to pull up the first kail stock that came to hand. it was necessary that the plants should be stolen without the knowledge or consent of their owner; otherwise they were quite useless for the purpose of divination. strictly speaking, too, the neighbour upon whose garden the raid was made should be unmarried, whether a bachelor or a spinster. the stolen kail was taken home and examined, and according to its height, shape, and features would be the height, shape, and features of the future husband or wife. the taste of the _custock_, that is, the heart of the stem, was an infallible indication of his or her temper; and a clod of earth adhering to the root signified, in proportion to its size, the amount of property which he or she would bring to the common stock. then the kail-stock or _runt_, as it was called in ayrshire, was placed over the lintel of the door; and the baptismal name of the young man or woman who first entered the door after the kail was in position would be the baptismal name of the husband or wife.[599] again, young women sowed hemp seed over nine ridges of ploughed land, saying, "i sow hemp seed, and he who is to be my husband, let him come and harrow it." on looking back over her left shoulder the girl would see the figure of her future mate behind her in the darkness. in the north-east of scotland lint seed was used instead of hemp seed and answered the purpose quite as well.[600] again, a mode of ascertaining your future husband or wife was this. take a clue of blue yarn and go to a lime-kiln. throw the clue into the kiln, but keep one end of the thread in your hand and wind it on to another clue. as you come near the end somebody or something will hold the other end tight in the kiln. then you call out, "who holds?" giving the thread at the same time a gentle pull. some one or something will thereupon pull the other end of the thread, and a voice will mention the name of your future husband or wife.[601] another way is this. go to the barn alone and secretly. be sure to open both doors and if possible take them off their hinges; for if the being who is about to appear should catch you in the barn and clap the doors to on you, he or she might do you a mischief. having done this, take the sieve or winnowing-basket, which in lowland scotch is called a _wecht_ or _waicht_, and go through the action of winnowing corn. repeat it thrice, and at the third time the apparition of your future husband or wife will pass through the barn, entering at the windy door and passing out at the other.[602] or this. go to a southward running stream, where the lands of three lairds meet, or to a ford where the dead and living have crossed. dip the left sleeve of your shirt in the water. then go home, take off the shirt, hang it up before a fire to dry, and go to bed, taking care that the bed stands so that you can see your shirt hanging before the fire. keep awake, and at midnight you will see the form of your future spouse come into the room and turn the other side of the sleeve to the fire to dry it.[603] a highland form of divination at hallowe'en is to take a shoe by the tip and throw it over the house, then observe the direction in which the toe points as it lies on the ground on the other side; for in that direction you are destined to go before long. if the shoe should fall sole uppermost, it is very unlucky for you.[604] [the white of eggs in water; the names on the chimney piece; the nuts in the fire; the milk and meal; the apples in the water; the three plates.] these ways of prying into the future are practised outside of the house; others are observed in the kitchen or the parlour before the cheerful blaze of the fire. thus the white of eggs, dropped in a glass of pure water, indicates by certain marks how many children a person will have. the impatience and clamour of the children, eager to ascertain the exact number of their future progeny, often induced the housewife to perform this ceremony for them by daylight; and the kindly mother, standing with her face to the window, dropping the white of an egg into a crystal glass of clean water, and surrounded by a group of children intently watching her proceedings, made up a pretty picture.[605] when the fun of the evening had fairly commenced, the names of eligible or likely matches were written on the chimney-piece, and the young man who wished to try his fortune was led up blindfolded to the list. whatever name he put his finger on would prove that of his future wife.[606] again, two nuts, representing a lad and a lass whose names were announced to the company, were put side by side in the fire. if they burned quietly together, the pair would be man and wife, and from the length of time they burned and the brightness of the flame the length and happiness of the married life of the two were augured. but if instead of burning together one of the nuts leaped away from the other, then there would be no marriage, and the blame would rest with the person whose nut had thus started away by itself.[607] again, a dish of milk and meal (in gaelic _fuarag_, in lowland scotch _crowdie_) or of beat potatoes was made and a ring was hidden in it. spoons were served out to the company, who supped the contents of the dish hastily with them, and the one who got the ring would be the first to be married.[608] again, apples and a silver sixpence were put in a tub of water; the apples naturally floated on the top and the sixpence sank to the bottom. whoever could lift an apple or the sixpence from the water with his mouth, without using his teeth, was counted very lucky and got the prize to himself.[609] again, three plates or basins were placed on the hearth. one was filled with clean water, another with dirty water, and the third was empty. the enquirer was blindfolded, knelt in front of the hearth, and groped about till he put his finger in one of them. if he lighted on the plate with the clean water, he would wed a maid; if on the plate with the dirty water, he would marry a widow; and if on the empty plate, he would remain a bachelor. for a girl the answer of the oracle was analogous; she would marry a bachelor, a widower, or nobody according to the plate into which she chanced to dip her finger. but to make sure, the operation had to be repeated thrice, the position of the plates being changed each time. if the enquirer put his or her finger into the same plate thrice or even twice, it was quite conclusive.[610] [the sliced apple; the white of egg in water; the salt cake or salt herring.] these forms of divination in the house were practised by the company in a body; but the following had to be performed by the person alone. you took an apple and stood with it in your hand in front of a looking-glass. then you sliced the apple, stuck each slice on the point of the knife, and held it over your left shoulder, while you looked into the glass and combed your hair. the spectre of your future husband would then appear in the mirror stretching forth his hand to take the slices of the apple over your shoulder. some say that the number of slices should be nine, that you should eat the first eight yourself, and only throw the ninth over your left shoulder for your husband; also that at each slice you should say, "in the name of the father and the son."[611] again, take an egg, prick it with a pin, and let the white drop into a wine-glass nearly full of water. take some of this in your mouth and go out for a walk. the first name you hear called out aloud will be that of your future husband or wife. an old woman told a lady that she had tried this mode of divination in her youth, that the name of archibald "came up as it were from the very ground," and that archibald sure enough was the name of her husband.[612] in south uist and eriskay, two of the outer hebrides, a salt cake called _bonnach salainn_ is eaten at hallowe'en to induce dreams that will reveal the future. it is baked of common meal with a great deal of salt. after eating it you may not drink water nor utter a word, not even to say your prayers. a salt herring, eaten bones and all in three bites, is equally efficacious, always provided that you drink no water and hold your tongue.[613] [hallowe'en fires in wales; omens drawn from stones thrown into the fire; divination by stones in the ashes.] in the northern part of wales it used to be customary for every family to make a great bonfire called _coel coeth_ on hallowe'en. the fire was kindled on the most conspicuous spot near the house; and when it had nearly gone out everyone threw into the ashes a white stone, which he had first marked. then having said their prayers round the fire, they went to bed. next morning, as soon as they were up, they came to search out the stones, and if any one of them was found to be missing, they had a notion that the person who threw it would die before he saw another hallowe'en.[614] a writer on wales at the beginning of the nineteenth century says that "the autumnal fire is still kindled in north wales, being on the eve of the first day of november, and is attended by many ceremonies; such as running through the fire and smoke, each casting a stone into the fire, and all running off at the conclusion to escape from the black short-tailed sow; then supping upon parsnips, nuts, and apples; catching up an apple suspended by a string with the mouth alone, and the same by an apple in a tub of water: each throwing a nut into the fire; and those that burn bright, betoken prosperity to the owners through the following year, but those that burn black and crackle, denote misfortune. on the following morning the stones are searched for in the fire, and if any be missing, they betide ill to those who threw them in."[615] according to sir john rhys, the habit of celebrating hallowe'en by lighting bonfires on the hills is perhaps not yet extinct in wales, and men still living can remember how the people who assisted at the bonfires would wait till the last spark was out and then would suddenly take to their heels, shouting at the top of their voices, "the cropped black sow seize the hindmost!" the saying, as sir john rhys justly remarks, implies that originally one of the company became a victim in dead earnest. down to the present time the saying is current in carnarvonshire, where allusions to the cutty black sow are still occasionally made to frighten children.[616] we can now understand why in lower brittany every person throws a pebble into the midsummer bonfire.[617] doubtless there, as in wales and the highlands of scotland,[618] omens of life and death have at one time or other been drawn from the position and state of the pebbles on the morning of all saints' day. the custom, thus found among three separate branches of the celtic stock, probably dates from a period before their dispersion, or at least from a time when alien races had not yet driven home the wedges of separation between them. [divination as to love and marriage at hallowe'en in wales.] in wales, as in scotland, hallowe'en was also the great season for forecasting the future in respect of love and marriage, and some of the forms of divination employed for this purpose resembled those which were in use among the scotch peasantry. two girls, for example, would make a little ladder of yarn, without breaking it from the ball, and having done so they would throw it out of the window. then one of the girls, holding the ball in her hand, would wind the yarn back, repeating a rhyme in welsh. this she did thrice, and as she wound the yarn she would see her future husband climbing up the little ladder. again, three bowls or basins were placed on a table. one of them contained clean water, one dirty water, and one was empty. the girls of the household, and sometimes the boys too, then eagerly tried their fortunes. they were blindfolded, led up to the table, and dipped their hands into a bowl. if they happened to dip into the clean water, they would marry maidens or bachelors; if into the dirty water, they would be widowers or widows; if into the empty bowl, they would live unmarried. again, if a girl, walking backwards, would place a knife among the leeks on hallowe'en, she would see her future husband come and pick up the knife and throw it into the middle of the garden.[619] [divination at hallowe'en in ireland.] in ireland the hallowe'en bonfires would seem to have died out, but the hallowe'en divination has survived. writing towards the end of the eighteenth century, general vallancey tells us that on hallowe'en or the vigil of saman, as he calls it, "the peasants in ireland assemble with sticks and clubs (the emblems of laceration) going from house to house, collecting money, bread-cake, butter, cheese, eggs, etc., etc., for the feast, repeating verses in honour of the solemnity, demanding preparations for the festival, in the name of st. columb kill, desiring them to lay aside the fatted calf, and to bring forth the black sheep. the good women are employed in making the griddle cake and candles; these last are sent from house to house in the vicinity, and are lighted up on the (saman) next day, before which they pray, or are supposed to pray, for the departed souls of the donor. every house abounds in the best viands they can afford: apples and nuts are devoured in abundance: the nut-shells are burnt, and from the ashes many strange things are foretold: cabbages are torn up by the root: hemp seed is sown by the maidens, and they believe, that if they look back, they will see the apparition of the man intended for their future spouse: they hang a smock before the fire, on the close of the feast, and sit up all night, concealed in a corner of the room, convinced that his apparition will come down the chimney and turn the smock: they throw a ball of yarn out of the window, and wind it on the reel within, convinced, that if they repeat the _pater noster_ backwards, and look at the ball of yarn without, they will then also see his _sith_ or apparition: they dip for apples in a tub of water, and endeavour to bring one up in the mouth: they suspend a cord with a cross-stick, with apples at one point, and candles lighted at the other, and endeavour to catch the apple, while it is in a circular motion, in the mouth. these, and many other superstitious ceremonies, the remains of druidism, are observed on this holiday, which will never be eradicated, while the name of _saman_ is permitted to remain."[620] [divination at hallow-e'en in queen's county; divination at hallow-e'en in county leitrim; divination at hallowe'en in county roscommon.] in queen's county, ireland, down to the latter part of the nineteenth century children practised various of these rites of divination on hallowe'en. girls went out into the garden blindfold and pulled up cabbages: if the cabbage was well grown, the girl would have a handsome husband, but if it had a crooked stalk, the future spouse would be a stingy old man. nuts, again, were placed in pairs on the bar of the fire, and from their behaviour omens were drawn of the fate in love and marriage of the couple whom they represented. lead, also, was melted and allowed to drop into a tub of cold water, and from the shapes which it assumed in the water predictions were made to the children of their future destiny. again, apples were bobbed for in a tub of water and brought up with the teeth; or a stick was hung from a hook with an apple at one end and a candle at the other, and the stick being made to revolve you made a bite at the apple and sometimes got a mouthful of candle instead.[621] in county leitrim, also, down to near the end of the nineteenth century various forms of divination were practised at hallowe'en. girls ascertained the character of their future husbands by the help of cabbages just as in queen's county. again, if a girl found a branch of a briar-thorn which had bent over and grown into the ground so as to form a loop, she would creep through the loop thrice late in the evening in the devil's name, then cut the briar and put it under her pillow, all without speaking a word. then she would lay her head on the pillow and dream of the man she was to marry. boys, also, would dream in like manner of love and marriage at hallowe'en, if only they would gather ten leaves of ivy without speaking, throw away one, and put the other nine under their pillow. again, divination was practised by means of a cake called _barm-breac_, in which a nut and a ring were baked. whoever got the ring would be married first; whoever got the nut would marry a widow or a widower; but if the nut were an empty shell, he or she would remain unwed. again, a girl would take a clue of worsted, go to a lime kiln in the gloaming, and throw the clew into the kiln in the devil's name, while she held fast the other end of the thread. then she would rewind the thread and ask, "who holds my clue?" and the name of her future husband would come up from the depth of the kiln. another way was to take a rake, go to a rick and walk round it nine times, saying, "i rake this rick in the devil's name." at the ninth time the wraith of your destined partner for life would come and take the rake out of your hand. once more, before the company separated for the night, they would rake the ashes smooth on the hearth, and search them next morning for tracks, from which they judged whether anybody should come to the house, or leave it, or die in it before another year was out.[622] in county roscommon, which borders on county leitrim, a cake is made in nearly every house on hallowe'en, and a ring, a coin, a sloe, and a chip of wood are put into it. whoever gets the coin will be rich; whoever gets the ring will be married first; whoever gets the chip of wood, which stands for a coffin, will die first; and whoever gets the sloe will live longest, because the fairies blight the sloes in the hedges on hallowe'en, so that the sloe in the cake will be the last of the year. again, on the same mystic evening girls take nine grains of oats in their mouths, and going out without speaking walk about till they hear a man's name pronounced; it will be the name of their future husband. in county roscommon, too, on hallowe'en there is the usual dipping in water for apples or sixpences, and the usual bites at a revolving apple and tallow candle.[623] [hallowe'en fires in the isle of man; divination at hallowe'en in the isle of man.] in the isle of man also, another celtic country, hallow-e'en was celebrated down to modern times by the kindling of fires, accompanied with all the usual ceremonies designed to prevent the baneful influence of fairies and witches. bands of young men perambulated the island by night, and at the door of every dwelling-house they struck up a manx rhyme, beginning "_noght oie howney hop-dy-naw_," that is to say, "this is hollantide eve." for hollantide is the manx way of expressing the old english _all hallowen tide_, that is, all saints' day, the first of november. but as the people reckon this festival according to the old style, hollantide in the isle of man is our twelfth of november. the native manx name for the day is _sauin_ or _laa houney_. potatoes, parsnips and fish, pounded up together and mixed with butter, formed the proper evening meal (_mrastyr_) on hallowe'en in the isle of man.[624] here, too, as in scotland forms of divination are practised by some people on this important evening. for example, the housewife fills a thimble full of salt for each member of the family and each guest; the contents of the thimblefuls are emptied out in as many neat little piles on a plate, and left there over night. next morning the piles are examined, and if any of them has fallen down, he or she whom it represents will die within the year. again, the women carefully sweep out the ashes from under the fireplace and flatten them down neatly on the open hearth. if they find next morning a footprint turned towards the door, it signifies a death in the family within the year; but if the footprint is turned in the opposite direction, it bodes a marriage. again, divination by eavesdropping is practised in the isle of man in much the same way as in scotland. you go out with your mouth full of water and your hands full of salt and listen at a neighbour's door, and the first name you hear will be the name of your husband. again, manx maids bandage their eyes and grope about the room till they dip their hands in vessels full of clean or dirty water, and so on; and from the thing they touch they draw corresponding omens. but some people in the isle of man observe these auguries, not on hallowe'en or hollantide eve, as they call it, which was the old manx new year's eve, but on the modern new year's eve, that is, on the thirty-first of december. the change no doubt marks a transition from the ancient to the modern mode of dating the beginning of the year.[625] [hallowe'en fires and divination in lancashire; candles lighted to keep off the witches; divination at hallowe'en in northumberland; hallowe'en fires in france.] in lancashire, also, some traces of the old celtic celebration of hallowe'en have been reported in modern times. it is said that "fires are still lighted in lancashire, on hallowe'en, under the name of beltains or teanlas; and even such cakes as the jews are said to have made in honour of the queen of heaven, are yet to be found at this season amongst the inhabitants of the banks of the ribble.... both the fires and the cakes, however, are now connected with superstitious notions respecting purgatory, etc."[626] on hallowe'en, too, the lancashire maiden "strews the ashes which are to take the form of one or more letters of her lover's name; she throws hemp-seed over her shoulder and timidly glances to see who follows her."[627] again, witches in lancashire used to gather on hallowe'en at the malkin tower, a ruined and desolate farm-house in the forest of pendle. they assembled for no good purpose; but you could keep the infernal rout at bay by carrying a lighted candle about the fells from eleven to twelve o'clock at night. the witches tried to blow out the candle, and if they succeeded, so much the worse for you; but if the flame burned steadily till the clocks had struck midnight, you were safe. some people performed the ceremony by deputy; and parties went about from house to house in the evening collecting candles, one for each inmate, and offering their services to _late_ or _leet_ the witches, as the phrase ran. this custom was practised at longridge fell in the early part of the nineteenth century.[628] in northumberland on hallowe'en omens of marriage were drawn from nuts thrown into the fire; and the sports of ducking for apples and biting at a revolving apple and lighted candle were also practised on that evening.[629] the equivalent of the hallowe'en bonfires is reported also from france. we are told that in the department of deux-sèvres, which forms part of the old province of poitou, young people used to assemble in the fields on all saints' day (the first of november) and kindle great fires of ferns, thorns, leaves, and stubble, at which they roasted chestnuts. they also danced round the fires and indulged in noisy pastimes.[630] § 7. _the midwinter fires_ [a midwinter festival of fire; christmas the continuation of an old heathen festival of the sun.] if the heathen of ancient europe celebrated, as we have good reason to believe, the season of midsummer with a great festival of fire, of which the traces have survived in many places down to our own time, it is natural to suppose that they should have observed with similar rites the corresponding season of midwinter; for midsummer and midwinter, or, in more technical language, the summer solstice and the winter solstice, are the two great turning-points in the sun's apparent course through the sky, and from the standpoint of primitive man nothing might seem more appropriate than to kindle fires on earth at the two moments when the fire and heat of the great luminary in heaven begin to wane or to wax. in this way the savage philosopher, to whose meditations on the nature of things we owe many ancient customs and ceremonies, might easily imagine that he helped the labouring sun to relight his dying lamp, or at all events to blow up the flame into a brighter blaze. certain it is that the winter solstice, which the ancients erroneously assigned to the twenty-fifth of december, was celebrated in antiquity as the birthday of the sun, and that festal lights or fires were kindled on this joyful occasion. our christmas festival is nothing but a continuation under a christian name of this old solar festivity; for the ecclesiastical authorities saw fit, about the end of the third or the beginning of the fourth century, arbitrarily to transfer the nativity of christ from the sixth of january to the twenty-fifth of december, for the purpose of diverting to their lord the worship which the heathen had hitherto paid on that day to the sun.[631] [the yule log is the midwinter counterpart of the midsummer bonfire.] in modern christendom the ancient fire-festival of the winter solstice appears to survive, or to have survived down to recent years, in the old custom of the yule log, clog, or block, as it was variously called in england.[632] the custom was widespread in europe, but seems to have flourished especially in england, france, and among the south slavs; at least the fullest accounts of the custom come from these quarters. that the yule log was only the winter counterpart of the midsummer bonfire, kindled within doors instead of in the open air on account of the cold and inclement weather of the season, was pointed out long ago by our english antiquary john brand;[633] and the view is supported by the many quaint superstitions attaching to the yule log, superstitions which have no apparent connexion with christianity but carry their heathen origin plainly stamped upon them. but while the two solstitial celebrations were both festivals of fire, the necessity or desirability of holding the winter celebration within doors lent it the character of a private or domestic festivity, which contrasts strongly with the publicity of the summer celebration, at which the people gathered on some open space or conspicuous height, kindled a huge bonfire in common, and danced and made merry round it together. [the yule log in germany; the yule log in switzerland.] among the germans the custom of the yule log is known to have been observed in the eleventh century; for in the year 1184 the parish priest of ahlen, in münsterland, spoke of "bringing a tree to kindle the festal fire at the lord's nativity."[634] down to about the middle of the nineteenth century the old rite was kept up in some parts of central germany, as we learn from an account of it given by a contemporary writer. after mentioning the custom of feeding the cattle and shaking the fruit-trees on christmas night, to make them bear fruit, he goes on as follows: "other customs pointing back to the far-off times of heathendom may still be met with among the old-fashioned peasants of the mountain regions. such is in the valleys of the sieg and lahn the practice of laying a new log as a foundation of the hearth. a heavy block of oak-wood, generally a stump grubbed up from the ground, is fitted either into the floor of the hearth, or into a niche made for the purpose in the wall under the hook on which the kettle hangs. when the fire on the hearth glows, this block of wood glows too, but it is so placed that it is hardly reduced to ashes within a year. when the new foundation is laid, the remains of the old block are carefully taken out, ground to powder, and strewed over the fields during the twelve nights. this, so people fancied, promotes the fruitfulness of the year's crops."[635] in some parts of the eifel mountains, to the west of coblentz, a log of wood called the _christbrand_ used to be placed on the hearth on christmas eve; and the charred remains of it on twelfth night were put in the corn-bin to keep the mice from devouring the corn.[636] at weidenhausen and girkshausen, in westphalia, the practice was to withdraw the yule log (_christbrand_) from the fire so soon as it was slightly charred; it was then kept carefully to be replaced on the fire whenever a thunder-storm broke, because the people believed that lightning would not strike a house in which the yule log was smouldering.[637] in some villages near berleburg in westphalia the old custom was to tie up the yule log in the last sheaf cut at harvest.[638] on christmas eve the peasantry of the oberland, in meiningen, a province of central germany, used to put a great block of wood called the _christklots_ on the fire before they went to bed; it should burn all night, and the charred remains were believed to guard the house for the whole year against the risk of fire, burglary, and other misfortunes.[639] the yule log seems to be known only in the french-speaking parts of switzerland, where it goes by the usual french name of _bûche de noël_. in the jura mountains of the canton of bern, while the log is burning on the hearth the people sing a blessing over it as follows:-"_may the log burn! may all good come in! may the women have children and the sheep lambs! white bread for every one and the vat full of wine_!" the embers of the yule log were kept carefully, for they were believed to be a protection against lightning.[640] [the yule log in belgium.] "the christmas fires, which were formerly lit everywhere in the low countries, have fallen into disuse. but in flanders a great log of wood, called the _kersavondblok_ and usually cut from the roots of a fir or a beech, is still put on the fire; all the lights in the house are extinguished, and the whole family gathers round the log to spend part of the night in singing, in telling stories, especially about ghosts, were-wolves, and so on, and also in drinking gin. at grammont and in the neighbourhood of that town, where the yule log is called _kersmismot_, it is customary to set fire to the remainder of the gin at the moment when the log is reduced to ashes. elsewhere a piece of the log is kept and put under the bed to protect the house against thunder and lightning. the charcoal of the log which burned during christmas night, if pounded up and mixed with water, is a cure for consumption. in the country of limburg the log burns several nights, and the pounded charcoal is kept as a preventive (so they say), of toothache."[641] [the yule log in france.] in several provinces of france, and particularly in provence, the custom of the yule log or _tréfoir_, as it was called in many places, was long observed. a french writer of the seventeenth century tells us that on christmas eve the log was prepared, and when the whole family had assembled in the kitchen or parlour of the house, they went and brought it in, walking in procession and singing provençal verses to the following effect:-"_let the log rejoice, to-morrow is the day of bread; let all good enter here; let the women bear children; let the she-goats bring forth kids; let the ewes drop lambs; let there be much wheat and flour, and the vat full of wine_." then the log was blessed by the smallest and youngest child of the house, who poured a glass of wine over it saying, _in nomine patris_, etc.; after which the log was set on the fire. the charcoal of the burnt wood was kept the whole year, and used as an ingredient in several remedies.[642] [french superstitions as to the yule log.] amongst the superstitions denounced by the same writer is "the belief that a log called the _trefoir_ or christmas brand, which you put on the fire for the first time on christmas eve and continue to put on the fire for a little while every day till twelfth night, can, if kept under the bed, protect the house for a whole year from fire and thunder; that it can prevent the inmates from having chilblains on their heels in winter; that it can cure the cattle of many maladies; that if a piece of it be steeped in the water which cows drink it helps them to calve; and lastly that if the ashes of the log be strewn on the fields it can save the wheat from mildew."[643] [the yule log at marseilles and in perigord; virtues ascribed to the charcoal and ashes of the burnt log; the yule log in berry.] in marseilles the yule log used to be a great block of oak, which went by the name of _calendeau_ or _calignau_; it was sprinkled with wine and oil, and the head of the house kindled it himself.[644] "the yule log plays a great part at the festival of the winter solstice in perigord. the countryman thinks that it is best made of plum-tree, cherry, or oak, and that the larger it is the better. if it burns well, it is a good omen, the blessing of heaven rests upon it. the charcoal and ashes, which are collected very carefully, are excellent for healing swollen glands; the part of the trunk which has not been burnt in the fire is used by ploughmen to make the wedge (_técoin ou cale_) for their plough, because they allege that it causes the seeds to thrive better; and the women keep pieces of it till twelfth night for the sake of their chickens. nevertheless if you sit down on the log, you become subject to boils, and to cure yourself of them you must pass nine times under a bramble branch which happens to be rooted in the ground at both ends. the charcoal heals sheep of a disease called the _goumon_; and the ashes, carefully wrapt up in white linen, preserve the whole household from accidents. some people think that they will have as many chickens as there are sparks that fly out of the brands of the log when they shake them; and others place the extinct brands under the bed to drive away vermin. in vienne, on christmas eve, when supper is over, the master of the house has a great log--the christmas brand--brought in, and then, surrounded by all the spectators gathered in profound silence, he sprinkles salt and water on the log. it is then put on the fire to burn during the three festivals; but they carefully preserve a piece to be kindled every time that it thunders."[645] in berry, a district of central france, the yule log was called the _cosse de nau_, the last word being an abbreviation of the usual french word for christmas (noël). it consisted of an enormous tree-trunk, so heavy that the united strength of several men was needed to carry it in and place it on the hearth, where it served to feed the fire during the three days of the christmas festivity. strictly speaking, it should be the trunk of an old oak-tree which had never been lopped and had been felled at midnight. it was placed on the hearth at the moment when the tinkle of the bell announced the elevation of the host at the midnight mass; and the head of the family, after sprinkling it with holy water, set it on fire. the remains of the log were preserved till the same day next year. they were kept under the bed of the master of the house; and whenever thunder was heard, one of the family would take a piece of the log and throw it on the fire, which was believed to guard the family against lightning. in the middle ages, we are told, several fiefs were granted on condition that the vassal should bring in person a yule log every year for the hearth of his liege lord.[646] [the yule log in normandy and brittany.] similar customs and beliefs survived till recent years in some of the remote country villages of the picturesque district known as the bocage of normandy. there it was the grandfather or other oldest man of the family who chose the yule log in good time and had it ready for christmas eve. then he placed it on the hearth at the moment when the church bell began to ring for the evening service. kneeling reverently at the hearth with the members of his family in a like attitude of devotion, the old man recited three _pater nosters_ and three _aves_, and invoked the blessing of heaven on the log and on the cottage. then at the sound of the bell which proclaimed the sacrament of the mass, or, if the church was too far off to allow the tinkle of the bell to be heard, at the moment when they judged that the priest was elevating the host before the high altar, the patriarch sprinkled the burning log with holy water, blessed it in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy ghost, and drew it out of the fire. the charred log was then carefully kept till the following christmas as a precious relic which would guard the house against the levin bolt, evil spirits, sorcerers, and every misfortune that might befall in the course of the year.[647] in the department of orne "the yule-log is called _trefouet_; holy water is poured on it; it should last the three days of the festival, and the remains of it are kept to be put on the fire when it thunders. this brand is a protection both against thunder and against sorcerers."[648] in upper brittany, also, the yule log is thought to be a safeguard against thunder and lightning. it is sprinkled with holy water on christmas morning and allowed to burn till evening. if a piece of it is thrown into the well, it will ensure a supply of good water.[649] [the yule log in the ardennes.] "in almost all the families of the ardennes," we are told, "at the present day they never fail to put the yule log on the fireplace, but formerly it was the object of a superstitious worship which is now obsolete. the charred remains of it, placed under the pillow or under the house, preserved the house from storms, and before it was burned the virgin used to come and sit on it, invisible, swaddling the infant jesus. at nouzon, twenty years ago, the traditional log was brought into the kitchen on christmas eve, and the grandmother, with a sprig of box in her hand, sprinkled the log with holy water as soon as the clock struck the first stroke of midnight. as she did so she chanted, '_when christmas comes, every one should rejoice, for it is a new covenant_.' "following the grandmother and joining in the song, the children and the rest of the family marched thrice round the log, which was as fine a log as could be got."[650] we can now, perhaps, understand why in perigord people who sat on the yule log suffered from boils,[651] and why in lorraine young folks used to be warned that if they sat on it they would have the scab.[652] the reason probably was that the virgin and child were supposed to be seated, invisible, upon the log and to resent the indignity of contact with mortal children. [the yule log in the vosges; the yule log in franche-comté and burgundy.] on christmas eve the mountaineers of rupt, in the vosges, also never fail to put on the hearth the largest log which the hearth can hold; they call it _la galeuche de noë_, that is, the yule log. next morning they rake the ashes for any charred fragments and keep them as valuable talismans to guard them against the stroke of lightning. at vagney and other places near it in the vosges it used to be customary on the same evening to grease the hinges and the latches of the doors, that no harsh grating sound should break the slumbers of the infant christ. in the vosges mountains, too, as indeed in many other places, cattle acquired the gift of speech on christmas eve and conversed with each other in the language of christians. their conversation was, indeed, most instructive; for the future, it seems, had no secret worth mentioning for them. yet few people cared to be caught eavesdropping at the byre; wise folk contented themselves with setting a good store of fodder in the manger, then shut the door, and left the animals to their ruminations. a farmer of vecoux once hid in a corner of the byre to overhear the edifying talk of the beasts. but it did him little good; for one ox said to another ox, "what shall we do to-morrow?" and the other replied, "we shall carry our master to the churchyard." sure enough the farmer died that very night and was buried next morning.[653] in franche-comté, the province of france to the west of the jura mountains, if the yule log is really to protect a house against thunder and lightning, it is essential that it should burn during the midnight mass, and that the flame should not go out before the divine service is concluded. otherwise the log is quite useless for the purpose.[654] in burgundy the log which is placed on the fire on christmas eve is called the _suche_. while it is burning, the father of the family, assisted by his wife and children, sings christmas carols; and when he has finished, he tells the smallest children to go into a corner of the room and pray god that the log may give them sweeties. the prayer is invariably answered.[655] [the yule log and the yule candle in england.] in england the customs and beliefs concerning the yule log, clog, or block, as it was variously called, used to be similar. on the night of christmas eve, says the antiquary john brand, "our ancestors were wont to light up candles of an uncommon size, called christmas candles, and lay a log of wood upon the fire, called a yule-clog or christmas-block, to illuminate the house, and, as it were, to turn night into day. this custom is, in some measure, still kept up in the north of england. in the buttery of st. john's college, oxford, an ancient candle-socket of stone still remains ornamented with the figure of the holy lamb. it was formerly used to burn the christmas candle in, on the high table at supper, during the twelve nights of that festival."[656] "a tall mould candle, called a yule candle, is lighted and set on the table; these candles are presented by the chandlers and grocers to their customers. the yule-log is bought of the carpenters' lads. it would be unlucky to light either of them before the time, or to stir the fire or candle during the supper; the candle must not be snuffed, neither must any one stir from the table till supper is ended. in these suppers it is considered unlucky to have an odd number at table. a fragment of the log is occasionally saved, and put under a bed, to remain till next christmas: it secures the house from fire; a small piece of it thrown into a fire occurring at the house of a neighbour, will quell the raging flame. a piece of the candle should likewise be kept to ensure good luck."[657] in the seventeenth century, as we learn from some verses of herrick, the english custom was to light the yule log with a fragment of its predecessor, which had been kept throughout the year for the purpose; where it was so kept, the fiend could do no mischief.[658] indeed the practice of preserving a piece of the yule-log of one year to light that of the next was observed by at least one family at cheadle in staffordshire down to the latter part of the nineteenth century.[659] [the yule-log in yorkshire; the yule log in lincolnshire; the yule log in warwickshire, shropshire, and herefordshire; the yule log in wales.] in the north of england farm-servants used to lay by a large knotty block of wood for the christmas fire, and so long as the block lasted they were entitled by custom to ale at their meals. the log was as large as the hearth could hold.[660] at belford, in northumberland, "the lord of the manor sends round to every house, on the afternoon of christmas eve, the yule logs--four or five large logs--to be burnt on christmas eve and day. this old custom has always, i am told, been kept up here."[661] the custom of burning the yule log at christmas used to be observed in wensleydale and other parts of yorkshire, and prudent housewives carefully preserved pieces of the log throughout the year. at whitby the portions so kept were stowed away under the bed till next christmas, when they were burnt with the new log; in the interval they were believed to protect the house from conflagration, and if one of them were thrown into the fire, it would quell a raging storm.[662] the practice and the belief were similar at filey on the coast of yorkshire, where besides the yule log a tall yule candle was lit on the same evening.[663] in the west riding, while the log blazed cheerfully, the people quaffed their ale and sang, "yule! yule! a pack of new cards and a christmas stool!"[664] at clee, in lincolnshire, "when christmas eve has come the yule cake is duly cut and the yule log lit, and i know of some even middle-class houses where the new log must always rest upon and be lighted by the old one, a small portion of which has been carefully stored away to preserve a continuity of light and heat."[665] at the village of wootton wawen in warwickshire, down to 1759 at least, the yule-block, as it was called, was drawn into the house by a horse on christmas eve "as a foundation for the fire on christmas day, and according to the superstition of those times for the twelve days following, as the said block was not to be entirely reduced to ashes till that time had passed by."[666] as late as 1830, or thereabout, the scene of lighting the hearth-fire on christmas eve, to continue burning throughout the christmas season, might have been witnessed in the secluded and beautiful hill-country of west shropshire, from chirbury and worthen to pulverbatch and pontesbury. the christmas brand or brund, as they called it, was a great trunk of seasoned oak, holly, yew, or crab-tree, drawn by horses to the farm-house door and thence rolled by means of rollers and levers to the back of the wide open hearth, where the fire was made up in front of it. the embers were raked up to it every night, and it was carefully tended, that it might not go out during the whole christmas season. all those days no light might be struck, given, or borrowed. such was the custom at worthen in the early part of the nineteenth century.[667] in herefordshire the christmas feast "lasted for twelve days, and no work was done. all houses were, and are now, decorated with sprigs of holly and ivy, which must not be brought in until christmas eve. a yule log, as large as the open hearth could accommodate, was brought into the kitchen of each farmhouse, and smaller ones were used in the cottages. w---p---said he had seen a tree drawn into the kitchen at kingstone grange years ago by two cart horses; when it had been consumed a small portion was carefully kept to be used for lighting next year's log. 'mother always kept it very carefully; she said it was lucky, and kept the house from fire and from lightning.' it seems to have been the general practice to light it on christmas eve."[668] "in many parts of wales it is still customary to keep part of the yule-log until the following christmas eve 'for luck.' it is then put into the fireplace and burnt, but before it is consumed the new log is put on, and thus 'the old fire and the new' burn together. in some families this is done from force of habit, and they cannot now tell why they do it; but in the past the observance of this custom was to keep witches away, and doubtless was a survival of fire-worship."[669] [the yule log in servia; the cutting of the oak tree to form the yule log.] but nowhere, apparently, in europe is the old heathen ritual of the yule log preserved to the present day more perfectly than in servia. at early dawn on christmas eve (_badnyi dan_) every peasant house sends two of its strongest young men to the nearest forest to cut down a young oak tree and bring it home. there, after offering up a short prayer or crossing themselves thrice, they throw a handful of wheat on the chosen oak and greet it with the words, "happy _badnyi_ day to you!" then they cut it down, taking care that it shall fall towards the east at the moment when the sun's orb appears over the rim of the eastern horizon. should the tree fall towards the west, it would be the worst possible omen for the house and its inmates in the ensuing year; and it is also an evil omen if the tree should be caught and stopped in its fall by another tree. it is important to keep and carry home the first chip from the fallen oak. the trunk is sawn into two or three logs, one of them rather longer than the others. a flat, unleavened cake of the purest wheaten flour is brought out of the house and broken on the larger of the logs by a woman. the logs are left for the present to stand outside, leaning on one of the walls of the house. each of them is called a yule log (_badnyak_). [prayers to colleda.] meanwhile the children and young people go from house to house singing special songs called _colleda_ because of an old pagan divinity colleda, who is invoked in every line. in one of them she is spoken of as "a beautiful little maid"; in another she is implored to make the cows yield milk abundantly. the day is spent in busy preparations. the women bake little cakes of a special sort in the shape of lambs, pigs, and chickens; the men make ready a pig for roasting, for in every servian house roast pig is the principal dish at christmas. a bundle of straw, tied with a rope, is brought into the courtyard and left to stand there near the yule logs. [the bringing in of the yule log.] at the moment when the sun is setting all the members of the family assemble in the central hall (the great family kitchen) of the principal house. the mother of the family (or the wife of the chief of the zadrooga)[670] gives a pair of woollen gloves to one of the young men, who goes out and presently returns carrying in his gloved hands the largest of the logs. the mother receives him at the threshold, throwing at him a handful of wheat, in which the first chip of the oak tree cut in the early morning for the yule log has been kept all day. entering the central hall with the yule log the young man greets all present with the words: "good evening, and may you have a happy christmas!" and they all answer in chorus, "may god and the happy and holy christmas help thee!" in some parts of servia the chief of the family, holding a glass of red wine in his hand, greets the yule log as if it were a living person, and drinks to its health. after that, another glass of red wine is poured on the log. then the oldest male member of the family, assisted by the young man who brought in the log, places it on the burning fire so that the thicker end of the log protrudes for about a foot from the hearth. in some places this end is smeared with honey. [the ceremony with the straw; the yule candle.] next the mother of the family brings in the bundle of straw which was left standing outside. all the young children arrange themselves behind her in a row. she then walks slowly round the hall and the adjoining rooms, throwing handfuls of straw on the floor and imitating the cackling of a hen, while all the children follow her peeping with their lips as if they were chickens cheeping and waddling after the mother bird. when the floor is well strewn with straw, the father or the eldest member of the family throws a few walnuts in every corner of the hall, pronouncing the words: "in the name of god the father, and the son, and the holy ghost, amen!" a large pot, or a small wooden box, filled with wheat is placed high in the east corner of the hall, and a tall candle of yellow wax is stuck in the middle of the wheat. then the father of the family reverently lights the candle and prays god to bless the family with health and happiness, the fields with a good harvest, the beehives with plenty of honey, the cattle and sheep with young, and the cows with abundant milk and rich cream. after that they all sit down to supper, squatting on the floor, for the use of chairs and tables is forbidden on this occasion. [the roast pig; the drawing of the water.] by four o'clock next morning (christmas day) the whole village is astir; indeed most people do not sleep at all that night. it is deemed most important to keep the yule log burning brightly all night long. very early, too, the pig is laid on the fire to roast, and at the same moment one of the family goes out into the yard and fires a pistol or gun; and when the roast pig is removed from the fire the shot is repeated. hence for several hours in the early morning of christmas day such a popping and banging of firearms goes on that a stranger might think a stubborn skirmish was in progress. just before the sun rises a girl goes and draws water at the village spring or at the brook. before she fills her vessels, she wishes the water a happy christmas and throws a handful of wheat into it. the first cupfuls of water she brings home are used to bake a special christmas cake (_chesnitsa_), of which all the members partake at dinner, and portions are kept for absent relatives. a small silver coin is baked in the cake, and he or she who gets it will be lucky during the year. [the christmas visiter (_polaznik_).] all the family gathered round the blazing yule log now anxiously expect the arrival of the special christmas visiter, who bears the title of _polaznik_. he is usually a young boy of a friendly family. no other person, not even the priest or the mayor of the village, would be allowed to set foot in the house before the arrival of this important personage. therefore he ought to come, and generally does come, very early in the morning. he carries a woollen glove full of wheat, and when the door is opened at his knock he throws handfuls of wheat on the family gathered round the hearth, greeting them with the words, "christ is born!" they all answer, "he is born indeed," and the hostess flings a handful of wheat over the christmas visiter, who moreover casts some of his wheat into the corners of the hall as well as upon the people. then he walks straight to the hearth, takes a shovel and strikes the burning log so that a cloud of sparks flies up the chimney, while he says, "may you have this year so many oxen, so many horses, so many sheep, so many pigs, so many beehives full of honey, so much good luck, prosperity, progress, and happiness!" having uttered these good wishes, he embraces and kisses his host. then he turns again to the hearth, and after crossing himself falls on his knees and kisses the projecting part of the yule log. on rising to his feet he places a coin on the log as his gift. meanwhile a low wooden chair has been brought in by a woman, and the visiter is led to it to take his seat. but just as he is about to do so, the chair is jerked away from under him by a male member of the family and he measures his length on the floor. by this fall he is supposed to fix into the ground all the good wishes which he has uttered that morning. the hostess thereupon wraps him in a thick blanket, and he sits quietly muffled in it for a few minutes; the thick blanket in which he is swathed is believed, on the principles of homoeopathic magic, to ensure that the cows will give thick cream next year. while he sits thus enriching the milk of the dairy, the lads who are to herd the sheep in the coming year go to the hearth and kneeling down before it kiss each other across the projecting end of the yule log. by this demonstration of affection they are thought to seal the love of the ewes for their lambs.[671] [the yule log among the servians of slavonia; the christmas visiter (_polazenik_).] the ritual of the yule log is observed in a similar form by the servians who inhabit the southern provinces of austria. thus in syrmia, a district of slavonia which borders on servia, the head of the house sends out one or two young men on christmas eve to cut the yule log in the nearest forest. on being brought in, the log is not mixed with the ordinary fuel but placed by itself, generally leaning against a fruit-tree till the evening shadows begin to fall. when a man carries it into the kitchen and lays it on the fire, the master of the house throws corn over him, and the two greet each other solemnly the one saying, "christ is born," and the other answering "he is born indeed." later in the evening the master of the house pours a glass of wine on the charred end of the log, whereupon one of the younger men takes the burnt piece of wood, carries it to the orchard, and sets it up against one of the fruit-trees. for this service he is rewarded by the master of the house with a piece of money. on christmas day, when the family is assembled at table, they expect the arrival of the special christmas visiter (called _polazenik_), the only person who is allowed to enter the house that day. when he comes, he goes to the hearth, stirs the fire with the poker and says, "christ is born. may the family enjoy all good luck and happiness in this year! may the cattle increase in number like the sparks i have struck!" as he says these words, the mistress of the house pours corn over him and leads him to the parlour, where he takes the place of honour beside the master of the house. he is treated with marked attention and respect. the family are at pains to entertain him; they sing their best songs for his amusement, and after midnight a numerous band of men and maidens escorts him by torchlight, with songs and jubilation, to his own house.[672] [the yule log among the servians of dalmatia, herzegovina, and montenegro; the yule log in albania.] among the servians of dalmatia, herzegovina, and montenegro it is customary on christmas eve (_badnyi dan_) to fetch a great yule log (_badnyak_), which serves as a symbol of family luck. it is generally cut from an evergreen oak, but sometimes from an olive-tree or a beech. at nightfall the master of the house himself brings in the log and lays it on the fire. then he and all present bare their heads, sprinkle the log with wine, and make a cross on it. after that the master of the house says, "welcome, o log! may god keep you from mishap!" so saying he strews peas, maize, raisins, and wheat on the log, praying for god's blessing on all members of the family living and dead, for heaven's blessing on their undertakings, and for domestic prosperity. in montenegro they meet the log with a loaf of bread and a jug of wine, drink to it, and pour wine on it, whereupon the whole family drinks out of the same beaker. in dalmatia and other places, for example in rizano, the yule logs are decked by young women with red silk, flowers, laurel leaves, ribbons, and even gold wire; and the lights near the doorposts are kindled when the log is brought into the house. among the morlaks, as soon as the master of the house crosses the threshold with the yule log, one of the family must sprinkle corn on him and say, "god bless you," to which he answers, "the same to you." a piece of the log is kept till new year's day to kindle a light with or it is carried out to the fields to protect them from hail. it is customary to invite before hand a christmas visitor (_polazaynik_) and to admit no one else into the house on that day. he comes early, carrying in his sleeves a quantity of corn which he throws into the house, saying, "christ is born." one of the household replies, "he is born indeed," and throws corn on the visiter. then the newcomer goes up to the hearth, pokes the fire and strikes the burning log with the poker so hard that sparks fly off in all directions. at each blow he says, "i wish the family as many cows, calves, sucking pigs, goats, and sheep, and as many strokes of good luck, as the sparks that now fly from the log." with these words he throws some small coins into the ashes.[673] in albania down to recent years it was a common custom to burn a yule log at christmas, and with it corn, maize, and beans; moreover, wine and _rakia_ were poured on the flames, and the ashes of the fire were scattered on the fields to make them fertile.[674] the huzuls, a slavonic people of the carpathians, kindle fire by the friction of wood on christmas eve (old style, the fifth of january) and keep it burning till twelfth night.[675] [belief that the yule log protects against fire and lightning.] it is remarkable how common the belief appears to have been that the remains of the yule-log, if kept throughout the year, had power to protect the house against fire and especially against lightning.[676] as the yule log was frequently of oak,[677] it seems possible that this belief may be a relic of the old aryan creed which associated the oak-tree with the god of thunder.[678] whether the curative and fertilizing virtues ascribed to the ashes of the yule log, which are supposed to heal cattle as well as men, to enable cows to calve, and to promote the fruitfulness of the earth,[679] may not be derived from the same ancient source, is a question which deserves to be considered. [public celebrations of the fire-festival at midwinter; the bonfire on christmas eve at schweina in thuringia.] thus far we have regarded only the private or domestic celebration of the fire-festival at midwinter. the public celebration of such rites at that season of the year appears to have been rare and exceptional in central and northern europe. however, some instances are on record. thus at schweina, in thuringia, down to the second half of the nineteenth century, the young people used to kindle a great bonfire on the antonius mountain every year on christmas eve. neither the civil nor the ecclesiastical authorities were able to suppress the celebration; nor could the cold, rain, and snow of the season damp or chill the enthusiasm of the celebrants. for some time before christmas the young men and boys were busy building a foundation for the bonfire on the top of the mountain, where the oldest church of the village used to stand. the foundation consisted of a pyramidal structure composed of stones, turf, and moss. when christmas eve came round, a strong pole, with bundles of brushwood tied to it, was erected on the pyramid. the young folk also provided themselves with poles to which old brooms or faggots of shavings were attached. these were to serve as torches. when the evening grew dark and the church bells rang to service, the troop of lads ascended the mountain; and soon from the top the glare of the bonfire lit up the darkness, and the sound of a hymn broke the stillness of night. in a circle round the great fire lesser fires were kindled; and last of all the lads ran about swinging their lighted torches, till these twinkling points of fire, moving down the mountain-side, went out one by one in the darkness. at midnight the bells rang out from the church tower, mingled with the blast of horns and the sound of singing. feasting and revelry were kept up throughout the night, and in the morning young and old went to early mass to be edified by hearing of the light eternal.[680] [bonfires on christmas eve in normandy.] in the bocage of normandy the peasants used to repair, often from a distance of miles, to the churches to hear the midnight mass on christmas eve. they marched in procession by torchlight, chanting christmas carols, and the fitful illumination of the woods, the hedges, and the fields as they moved through the darkness, presented a succession of picturesque scenes. mention is also made of bonfires kindled on the heights; the custom is said to have been observed at athis near condé down to recent years.[681] [bonfires on st. thomas's day in the isle of man; the "burning of the clavie" at burghead on the last day of december; the old rampart at burghead] in the isle of man, "on the twenty-first of december, a day dedicated to saint thomas, the people went to the mountains to catch deer and sheep for christmas, and in the evenings always kindled a large fire on the top of every _fingan_ or cliff. hence, at the time of casting peats, every one laid aside a large one, saying, '_faaid mooar moayney son oie'l fingan_'; that is, 'a large turf for fingan eve.'"[682] at burghead, an ancient village on the southern shore of the moray firth, about nine miles from the town of elgin, a festival of fire called "the burning of the clavie" has been celebrated from time immemorial on hogmanay, the last day of december. a tar-barrel is sawn in two, one half of it is set on the top of a stout pole, and filled with tar and other combustibles. the half-barrel is fastened to the pole by means of a long nail, which is made for the purpose and furnished gratuitously by the village blacksmith. the nail must be knocked in with a stone; the use of a hammer is forbidden. when the shades of evening have begun to fall, the clavie, as it is called, is set on fire by means of a burning peat, which is always fetched from the same house; it may not be kindled with a match. as soon as it is in a blaze, it is shouldered by a man, who proceeds to carry it at a run, flaring and dripping melted tar, round the old boundaries of the village; the modern part of the town is not included in the circuit. close at his heels follows a motley crowd, cheering and shouting. one bearer relieves another as each wearies of his burden. the first to shoulder the clavie, which is esteemed an honour, is usually a man who has been lately married. should the bearer stumble or fall, it is deemed a very ill omen for him and for the village. in bygone times it was thought necessary that one man should carry it all round the village; hence the strongest man was chosen for the purpose. moreover it was customary to carry the burning clavie round every fishing-boat and vessel in the harbour; but this part of the ceremony was afterwards discontinued. finally, the blazing tar-barrel is borne to a small hill called the doorie, which rises near the northern end of the promontory. here the pole is fixed into a socket in a pillar of freestone, and fresh fuel is heaped upon the flames, which flare up higher and brighter than ever. formerly the clavie was allowed to burn here the whole night, but now, after blazing for about half an hour, it is lifted from the socket and thrown down the western slope of the hill. then the crowd rushes upon it, demolishes it, and scrambles for the burning, smoking embers, which they carry home and carefully preserve as charms to protect them against witchcraft and misfortune.[683] the great antiquity of burghead, where this curious and no doubt ancient festival is still annually observed, appears from the remains of a very remarkable rampart which formerly encircled the place. it consists of a mound of earth faced on both sides with a solid wall of stone and strengthened internally by oak beams and planks, the whole being laid on a foundation of boulders. the style of the rampart agrees in general with caesar's description of the mode in which the gauls constructed their walls of earth, stone, and logs,[684] and it resembles the ruins of gallic fortifications which have been discovered in france, though it is said to surpass them in the strength and solidity of its structure. no similar walls appear to be known in britain. a great part of this interesting prehistoric fortress was barbarously destroyed in the early part of the nineteenth century, much of it being tumbled into the sea and many of the stones used to build the harbour piers.[685] [procession with burning tar-barrels on christmas eve (old style) at lerwick.] in lerwick, the capital of the shetland islands, "on christmas eve, the fourth of january,--for the old style is still observed--the children go _a guizing_, that is to say, they disguising themselves in the most fantastic and gaudy costumes, parade the streets, and infest the houses and shops, begging for the wherewithal to carry on their christmas amusements. one o'clock on yule morning having struck, the young men turn out in large numbers, dressed in the coarsest of garments, and, at the double-quick march, drag huge tar barrels through the town, shouting and cheering as they go, or blowing loud blasts with their 'louder horns.' the tar barrel simply consists of several--say from four to eight--tubs filled with tar and chips, placed on a platform of wood. it is dragged by means of a chain, to which scores of jubilant youths readily yoke themselves. they have recently been described by the worthy burgh officer of lerwick as 'fiery chariots, the effect of which is truly grand and terrific.' in a christmas morning the dark streets of lerwick are generally lighted up by the bright glare, and its atmosphere blackened by the dense smoke of six or eight tar barrels in succession. on the appearance of daybreak, at six a.m., the morning revellers put off their coarse garments--well begrimed by this time--and in their turn become guizards. they assume every imaginable form of costume--those of soldiers, sailors, highlanders, spanish chevaliers, etc. thus disguised, they either go in pairs, as man and wife, or in larger groups, and proceed to call on their friends, to wish them the compliments of the season. formerly, these adolescent guizards used to seat themselves in crates, and accompanied by fiddlers, were dragged through the town."[686] [persian festival of fire at the winter solstice.] the persians used to celebrate a festival of fire called _sada_ or _saza_ at the winter solstice. on the longest night of the year they kindled bonfires everywhere, and kings and princes tied dry grass to the feet of birds and animals, set fire to the grass, and then let the birds and beasts fly or run blazing through the air or over the fields and mountains, so that the whole air and earth appeared to be on fire.[687] § 8. _the need-fire_ [european festivals of fire in seasons of distress and calamity; the need-fire.] the fire-festivals hitherto described are all celebrated periodically at certain stated times of the year. but besides these regularly recurring celebrations the peasants in many parts of europe have been wont from time immemorial to resort to a ritual of fire at irregular intervals in seasons of distress and calamity, above all when their cattle were attacked by epidemic disease. no account of the popular european fire-festivals would be complete without some notice of these remarkable rites, which have all the greater claim on our attention because they may perhaps be regarded as the source and origin of all the other fire-festivals; certainly they must date from a very remote antiquity. the general name by which they are known among the teutonic peoples is need-fire.[688] [the needfire in the middle ages; the needfire at neustadt in 1598.] the history of the need-fire can be traced back to early middle ages; for in the reign of pippin, king of franks, the practice of kindling need-fires was denounced as a heathen superstition by a synod of prelates and nobles held under the presidency of boniface, archbishop of mainz.[689] not long afterwards the custom was again forbidden, along with many more relics of expiring paganism, in an "index of superstitions and heathenish observances," which has been usually referred to the year 743 a.d., though some scholars assign it a later date under the reign of charlemagne.[690] in germany the need-fires would seem to have been popular down to the second half of the nineteenth century. thus in the year 1598, when a fatal cattle-plague was raging at neustadt, near marburg, a wise man of the name of joh. köhler induced the authorities of the town to adopt the following remedy. a new waggon-wheel was taken and twirled round an axle, which had never been used before, until the friction elicited fire. with this fire a bonfire was next kindled between the gates of the town, and all the cattle were driven through the smoke and flames. moreover, every householder had to rekindle the fire on his hearth by means of a light taken from the bonfire. strange to say, this salutary measure had no effect whatever in staying the cattle-plague, and seven years later the sapient joh. köhler himself was burnt as a witch. the farmers, whose pigs and cows had derived no benefit from the need-fire, perhaps assisted as spectators at the burning, and, while they shook their heads, agreed among themselves that it served joh. köhler perfectly right.[691] according to a writer who published his book about nine years afterwards, some of the germans, especially in the wassgaw mountains, confidently believed that a cattle-plague could be stayed by driving the animals through a need-fire which had been kindled by the violent friction of a pole on a quantity of dry oak wood; but it was a necessary condition of success that all fires in the village should previously be extinguished with water, and any householder who failed to put out his fire was heavily fined.[692] [method kindling the need fire.] the method of kindling the need-fire is described as follows by a writer towards the end of the seventeenth century: "when an evil plague has broken out among the cattle, large and small, and the herds have thereby suffered great ravages, the peasants resolve to light a need-fire. on a day appointed there must be no single flame in any house nor on any hearth. from every house a quantity of straw and water and underwood must be brought forth; then a strong oaken pole is fixed firmly in the earth, a hole is bored in it, and a wooden winch, well smeared with pitch and tar, is inserted in the hole and turned round forcibly till great heat and then fire is generated. the fire so produced is caught in fuel and fed with straw, heath, and underwood till it bursts out into a regular need-fire, which must then be somewhat spread out between walls or fences, and the cattle and horses driven through it twice or thrice with sticks and whips. others set up two posts, each with a hole in it, and insert a winch, along with old greasy rags, in the holes. others use a thick rope, collect nine kinds of wood, and keep them in violent motion till fire leaps forth. perhaps there may be other ways of generating or kindling this fire, but they are all directed simply at the cure of the cattle. after passing twice or thrice through the fire the cattle are driven to their stalls or to pasture, and the heap of wood that had been collected is destroyed, but in some places every householder must take with him a brand, extinguish it in a washing-tub or trough, and put it in the manger where the cattle are fed, where it must lie for some time. the poles that were used to make the need-fire, together with the wood that was employed as a winch, are sometimes burned with the rest of the fuel, sometimes carefully preserved after the cattle have been thrice driven through the flames."[693] [the mode of kindling the need-fire about hildesheim.] sometimes the need-fire was known as the "wild fire," to distinguish it no doubt from the tame fire produced by more ordinary methods. the following is grimm's account of the mode of kindling it which prevailed in some parts of central germany, particularly about hildesheim, down apparently to the first half of the nineteenth century: "in many places of lower saxony, especially among the mountains, the custom prevails of preparing the so-called 'wild fire' for the purpose of preventing cattle-plague; and through it first the pigs, then the cows, and last of all the geese are driven. the proceedings on the occasion are as follows. the principal farmers and parishioners assemble, and notice is served to every inhabitant to extinguish entirely all fire in his house, so that not even a spark remains alight in the whole village. then young and old repair to a road in a hollow, usually towards evening, the women carrying linen, and the men wood and tow. two oaken poles are driven into the ground about a foot and a half from each other. each pole has in the side facing the other a socket into which a cross-piece as thick as a man's arm is fitted. the sockets are stuffed with linen, and the cross-piece is rammed in as tight as possible, while the poles are bound together at the top by ropes. a rope is wound about the round, smooth cross-piece, and the free ends of the rope at both sides are gripped by several persons, who pull the cross-piece to and fro with the utmost rapidity, till through the friction the linen in the sockets takes fire. the sparks of the linen are immediately caught in tow or oakum and waved about in a circle until they burst into a bright glow, when straw is applied to it, and the flaming straw used to kindle the brushwood which has been stacked in piles in the hollow way. when this wood has blazed up and the fire has nearly died out again, the people hasten to the herds, which have been waiting in the background, and drive them forcibly, one after the other, through the glow. as soon as all the beasts are through, the young folk rush wildly at the ashes and cinders, sprinkling and blackening each other with them; those who have been most sprinkled and blackened march in triumph behind the cattle into the village and do not wash themselves for a long time. if after long rubbing the linen should not catch fire, they guess that there is still fire somewhere in the village; then a strict search is made from house to house, any fire that may be found is put out, and the householder is punished or upbraided. the 'wild fire' must be made by prolonged friction; it may not be struck with flint and steel. some villages do not prepare it yearly as a preventive of cattle-plague, but only kindle it when the disease has actually broken out."[694] in the halberstadt district the ends of the rope which was used to make the cross-piece revolve in the sockets had to be pulled by two chaste young men.[695] [the mode of kindling the need-fire in the mark.] in the mark down to the first half of the nineteenth century the practice was similar. we read that "in many parts of the mark there still prevails on certain occasions the custom of kindling a need-fire, it happens particularly when a farmer has sick pigs. two posts of dry wood are planted in the earth amid solemn silence before the sun rises, and round these posts hempen ropes are pulled to and fro till the wood kindles; whereupon the fire is fed with dry leaves and twigs and the sick beasts are driven through it in some places the fire is produced by the friction of an old cart-wheel."[696] [the mode of kindling the need-fire in mecklenburg] in mecklenburg the need-fire used to be lighted by the friction of a rope wound about an oaken pole or by rubbing two boards against each other. having been thus elicited, the flame was fed with wood of seven kinds. the practice was forbidden by gustavus adolphus, duke of mecklenburg, in 1682; but the prohibition apparently had little effect, for down to the end of the eighteenth century the custom was so common that the inhabitants even of large towns made no scruple of resorting to it. for example, in the month of july 1792 sickness broke out among the cattle belonging to the town of sternberg; some of the beasts died suddenly, and so the people resolved to drive all the survivors through a need-fire. on the tenth day of july the magistrates issued a proclamation announcing that next morning before sunrise a need-fire would be kindled for the behoof of all the cattle of the town, and warning all the inhabitants against lighting fires in their kitchens that evening. so next morning very early, about two o'clock, nearly the whole population was astir, and having assembled outside one of the gates of the town they helped to drive the timid cattle, not without much ado, through three separate need-fires; after which they dispersed to their homes in the unalterable conviction that they had rescued the cattle from destruction. but to make assurance doubly sure they deemed it advisable to administer the rest of the ashes as a bolus to the animals. however, some people in mecklenburg used to strew the ashes of the need-fire on fields for the purpose of protecting the crops against vermin. as late as june 1868 a traveller in mecklenburg saw a couple of peasants sweating away at a rope, which they were pulling backwards and forwards so as to make a tarry roller revolve with great speed in the socket of an upright post. asked what they were about, they vouchsafed no reply; but an old woman who appeared on the scene from a neighbouring cottage was more communicative. in the fulness of her heart she confided to the stranger that her pigs were sick, that the two taciturn bumpkins were her sons, who were busy extracting a need-fire from the roller, and that, when they succeeded, the flame would be used to ignite a heap of rags and brushwood, through which the ailing swine would be driven. she further explained that the persons who kindle a need-fire should always be two brothers or at least bear the same christian name.[697] [the mode of kindling the need-fire in hanover.] in the summer of 1828 there was much sickness among the pigs and the cows of eddesse, a village near meinersen, in the south of hanover. when all ordinary measures to arrest the malady failed, the farmers met in solemn conclave on the village green and determined that next morning there should be a need-fire. thereupon the head man of the village sent word from house to house that on the following day nobody should kindle a fire before sunrise, and that everybody should stand by ready to drive out the cattle. the same afternoon all the necessary preparations were made for giving effect to the decision of the collective wisdom. a narrow street was enclosed with planks, and the village carpenter set to work at the machinery for kindling the fire. he took two posts of oak wood, bored a hole about three inches deep and broad in each, and set the two poles up facing each other at a distance of about two feet. then he fitted a roller of oak wood into the two holes of the posts, so that it formed a cross-piece between them. about two o'clock next morning every householder brought a bundle of straw and brushwood and laid it down across the street in a prescribed order. the sturdiest swains who could be found were chosen to make the need-fire. for this purpose a long hempen rope was wound twice round the oaken roller in the oaken posts: the pivots were well smeared with pitch and tar: a bundle of tow and other tinder was laid close at hand, and all was ready. the stalwart clodhoppers now seized the two ends of the rope and went to work with a will. puffs of smoke soon issued from the sockets, but to the consternation of the bystanders not a spark of fire could be elicited. some people openly declared their suspicion that some rascal had not put out the fire in his house, when suddenly the tinder burst into flame. the cloud passed away from all faces; the fire was applied to the heaps of fuel, and when the flames had somewhat died down, the herds were forcibly driven through the fire, first the pigs, next the cows, and last of all the horses. the herdsmen then drove the beasts to pasture, and persons whose faith in the efficacy of the need-fire was particularly robust carried home brands.[698] [the mode of kindling the need-fire in the harz mountains.] again, at a village near quedlinburg, in the harz mountains, it was resolved to put a herd of sick swine through the need-fire. hearing of this intention the superintendent of quedlinburg hurried to the spot and has described for us what he saw. the beadles went from house to house to see that there was no fire in any house; for it is well known that should there be common fire burning in a house the need-fire will not kindle. the men made their rounds very early in the morning to make quite sure that all lights were out. at two o'clock a night-light was still burning in the parsonage, and this was of course a hindrance to the need-fire. the peasants knocked at the window and earnestly entreated that the night-light might be extinguished. but the parson's wife refused to put the light out; it still glimmered at the window; and in the darkness outside the angry rustics vowed that the parson's pigs should get no benefit of the need-fire. however, as good luck would have it, just as the morning broke, the night-light went out of itself, and the hopes of the people revived. from every house bundles of straw, tow, faggots and so forth were now carried to feed the bonfire. the noise and the cheerful bustle were such that you might have thought they were all hurrying to witness a public execution. outside the village, between two garden walls, an oaken post had been driven into the ground and a hole bored through it. in the hole a wooden winch, smeared with tar, was inserted and made to revolve with such force and rapidity that fire and smoke in time issued from the socket. the collected fuel was then thrown upon the fire and soon a great blaze shot up. the pigs were now driven into the upper end of the street. as soon as they saw the fire, they turned tail, but the peasants drove them through with shrieks and shouts and lashes of whips. at the other end of the street there was another crowd waiting, who chased the swine back through the fire a second time. then the other crowd repeated the manoeuvre, and the herd of swine was driven for the third time through the smoke and flames. that was the end of the performance. many pigs were scorched so severely that they gave up the ghost. the bonfire was broken up, and every householder took home with him a brand, which he washed in the water-barrel and laid for some time, as a treasure of great price, in the manger from which the cattle were fed. but the parson's wife had reason bitterly to repent her folly in refusing to put out that night-light; for not one of her pigs was driven through the need-fire, so they died.[699] [the mode of kindling the need-fire in brunswick.] in brunswick, also, the need-fire is known to have been repeatedly kindled during the nineteenth century. after driving the pigs through the fire, which was kindled by the friction of wood, some people took brands home, dipped them in water, and then gave the water to the pigs to drink, no doubt for the purpose of inoculating them still more effectually with the precious virtue of the need-fire. in the villages of the drömling district everybody who bore a hand in kindling the "wild fire" must have the same christian name; otherwise they laboured in vain. the fire was produced by the friction of a rope round the beams of a door; and bread, corn, and old boots contributed their mites to swell the blaze through which the pigs as usual were driven. in one place, apparently not far from wolfenbüttel, the needfire is said to have been kindled, contrary to custom, by the smith striking a spark from the cold anvil.[700] at gandersheim down to about the beginning of the nineteenth century the need-fire was lit in the common way by causing a cross-bar to revolve rapidly on its axis between two upright posts. the rope which produced the revolution of the bar had to be new, but it was if possible woven from threads taken from a gallows-rope, with which people had been hanged. while the need-fire was being kindled in this fashion, every other fire in the town had to be put out; search was made through the houses, and any fire discovered to be burning was extinguished. if in spite of every precaution no flame could be elicited by the friction of the rope, the failure was set down to witchcraft; but if the efforts were successful, a bonfire was lit with the new fire, and when the flames had died down, the sick swine were driven thrice through the glowing embers.[701] on the lower rhine the need-fire is said to have been kindled by the friction of oak-wood on fir-wood, all fires in the village having been previously extinguished. the bonfires so kindled were composed of wood of nine different sorts; there were three such bonfires, and the cattle were driven round them with great gravity and devotion.[702] [the mode of kindling the need-fire in silesia and bohemia.] in silesia, also, need-fires were often employed for the purpose of curing a murrain or preventing its spread. while all other lights within the boundaries were extinguished, the new fire was produced by the friction of nine kinds of wood, and the flame so obtained was used to kindle heaps of brushwood or straw to which every inhabitant had contributed. through these fires the cattle, both sick and sound, were driven in the confident expectation that thereby the sick would be healed and the sound saved from sickness.[703] when plague breaks out among the herds at dobischwald, in austrian silesia, a splinter of wood is chipped from the threshold of every house, the cattle are driven to a cross-road, and there a tree, growing at the boundary, is felled by a pair of twin brothers. the wood of the tree and the splinters from the thresholds furnish the fuel of a bonfire, which is kindled by the rubbing of two pieces of wood together. when the bonfire is ablaze, the horns of the cattle are pared and the parings thrown into the flames, after which the animals are driven through the fire. this is believed to guard the herd against the plague.[704] the germans of western bohemia resort to similar measures for staying a murrain. you set up a post, bore a hole in it, and insert in the hole a stick, which you have first of all smeared with pitch and wrapt in inflammable stuffs. then you wind a rope round the stick and give the two ends of the rope to two persons who must either be brothers or have the same baptismal name. they haul the rope backwards and forwards so as to make the tarred stick revolve rapidly, till the rope first smokes and then emits sparks. the sparks are used to kindle a bonfire, through which the cattle are driven in the usual way. and as usual no other fire may burn in the village while the need-fire is being kindled; for otherwise the rope could not possibly be ignited.[705] in upper austria sick pigs are reported to have been driven through a need-fire about the beginning of the nineteenth century.[706] [the use the need-fire in switzerland.] the need-fire is still in use in some parts of switzerland, but it seems to have degenerated into a children's game and to be employed rather for the dispersal of a mist than for the prevention or cure of cattle-plague. in some cantons it goes by the name of "mist-healing," while in others it is called "butter-churning." on a misty or rainy day a number of children will shut themselves up in a stable or byre and proceed to make fire for the purpose of improving the weather. the way in which they make it is this. a boy places a board against his breast, takes a peg pointed at both ends, and, setting one end of the peg against the board on his breast, presses the other end firmly against a second board, the surface of which has been flaked into a nap. a string is tied round the peg, and two other boys pull it to and fro, till through the rapid motion of the point of the peg a hole is burnt in the flaked board, to which tow or dry moss is then applied as a tinder. in this way fire and smoke are elicited, and with their appearance the children fancy that the mist will vanish.[707] we may conjecture that this method of dispersing a mist, which is now left to children, was formerly practised in all seriousness by grown men in switzerland. it is thus that religious or magical rites dwindle away into the sports of children. in the canton of the grisons there is still in common use an imprecation, "mist, go away, or i'll heal you," which points to an old custom of burning up the fog with fire. a longer form of the curse lingers in the vallée des bagnes of the canton valais. it runs thus: "mist, mist, fly, fly, or st. martin will come with a sheaf of straw to burn your guts, a great log of wood to smash your brow, and an iron chain to drag you to hell."[708] [the mode of kindling the need-fire in sweden and norway; the need-fire as a protection against witchcraft.] in sweden the need-fire is called, from the mode of its production, either _vrid-eld_, "turned fire," or _gnid-eld_, "rubbed fire." down to near the end of the eighteenth century the need-fire was kindled, as in germany, by the violent rubbing of two pieces of wood against each other; sometimes nine different kinds of wood were used for the purpose. the smoke of the fire was deemed salutary; fruit-trees and nets were fumigated with it, in order that the trees might bear fruit and the nets catch fish. cattle were also driven through the smoke.[709] in sundal, a narrow norwegian valley, shut in on both sides by precipitous mountains, there lived down to the second half of the nineteenth century an old man who was very superstitious. he set salmon-traps in the river driva, which traverses the valley, and he caught many fish both in spring and autumn. when his fishing went wrong, he kindled _naueld_ ("need-fire") or _gnideild_ ("rubbed fire," "friction fire") to counteract the witchcraft, which he believed to be the cause of his bad luck. he set up two planks near each other, bored a hole in each, inserted a pointed rod in the holes, and twisted a long cord round the rod. then he pulled the cord so as to make the rod revolve rapidly. thus by reason of the friction he at last drew fire from the wood. that contented him, for "he believed that the witchery was thus rendered powerless, and that good luck in his fishing was now ensured."[710] [the need-fire among the slavonic peoples.] slavonic peoples hold the need-fire in high esteem. they call it "living fire," and attribute to it a healing virtue. the ascription of medicinal power to fire kindled by the friction of wood is said to be especially characteristic of the slavs who inhabit the carpathian mountains and the balkan peninsula. the mode in which they produce the need-fire differs somewhat in different places. thus in the schar mountains of servia the task is entrusted to a boy and girl between eleven and fourteen years of age. they are led into a perfectly dark room, and having stripped themselves naked kindle the fire by rubbing two rollers of lime wood against each other, till the friction produces sparks, which are caught in tinder. the serbs of western macedonia drive two oaken posts into the ground, bore a round hole in the upper end of each, insert a roller of lime wood in the holes, and set it revolving rapidly by means of a cord, which is looped round the roller and worked by a bow. elsewhere the roller is put in motion by two men, who hold each one end of the cord and pull it backwards and forwards forcibly between them. bulgarian shepherds sometimes kindle the need-fire by drawing a prism-shaped piece of lime wood to and fro across the flat surface of a tree-stump in the forest.[711] but in the neighbourhood of küstendil, in bulgaria, the need-fire is kindled by the friction of two pieces of oak wood and the cattle are driven through it.[712] [the need-fire in russia and poland; the need-fire in slavonia.] in many districts of russia, also, "living fire" is made by the friction of wood on st. john's day, and the herds are driven through it, and the people leap over it in the conviction that their health is thereby assured; when a cattle-plague is raging, the fire is produced by rubbing two pieces of oak wood against each other, and it is used to kindle the lamps before the holy pictures and the censers in the churches.[713] thus it appears that in russia the need-fire is kindled for the sake of the cattle periodically as well as on special emergencies. similarly in poland the peasants are said to kindle fires in the village streets on st. rochus's day and to drive the cattle thrice through them in order to protect the animals against the murrain. the fire is produced by rubbing a pole of poplar wood on a plank of poplar or fir wood and catching the sparks in tow. the embers are carried home to be used as remedies in sickness.[714] as practised in slavonia, the custom of the need-fire used to present some interesting features, which are best described in the words of an eyewitness:--"in the year 1833 i came for the first time as a young merchant to slavonia; it was to gaj that i went, in the pozega district. the time was autumn, and it chanced that a cattle-plague was raging in the neighbourhood, which inflicted much loss on the people. the peasants believed that the plague was a woman, an evil spirit (_kutga_), who was destroying the cattle; so they sought to banish her. i had then occasion to observe the proceedings in the villages of gaj, kukunjevac, brezina, and brekinjska. towards evening the whole population of the village was busy laying a ring of brushwood round the boundaries of the village. all fires were extinguished throughout the village. then pairs of men in several places took pieces of wood, which had been specially prepared for the purpose, and rubbed them together till they emitted sparks. the sparks were allowed to fall on tinder and fanned into a flame, with which the dry brushwood was kindled. thus the fire burned all round the village. the peasants persuaded themselves that thereupon _kuga_ must take her departure."[715] [the need-fire in servia.] this last account leaves no doubt as to the significance of the need-fire in the minds of slavonian peasantry. they regard it simply as a barrier interposed between their cattle and the evil spirit, which prowls, like a hungry wolf, round the fold and can, like a wolf, be kept at bay by fire. the same interpretation of the need-fire comes out, hardly less clearly, in the account which another writer gives of a ceremony witnessed by him at the village of setonje, at the foot of the homolje mountains in the great forest of servia. an epidemic was raging among the children, and the need-fire was resorted to as a means of staying the plague. it was produced by an old man and an old woman in the first of the ways described above; that is, they made it in the dark by rubbing two sticks of lime wood against each other. before the healing virtue of the fire was applied to the inhabitants of the village, two old women performed the following ceremony. both bore the name of stana, from the verb _stati_, "to remain standing"; for the ceremony could not be successfully performed by persons of any other name. one of them carried a copper kettle full of water, the other an old house-lock with the key. thus equipped they repaired to a spot outside of the village, and there the old dame with the kettle asked the old dame with the lock, "whither away?" and the other answered her, "i came to shut the village against ill-luck." with that she locked the lock and threw it with the key into the kettle of water. then they marched thrice round the village, repeating the ceremony of the lock and key at each round. meantime all the villagers, arrayed in their best clothes, were assembled in an open place. all the fires in the houses had been previously extinguished. two sturdy yokels now dug a tunnel through a mound beside an oak tree; the tunnel was just high enough to let a man creep through it on all fours. two fires, lit by the need-fire, were now laid, one at each end of the tunnel; and the old woman with the kettle took her stand at the entrance of the tunnel, while the one with the lock posted herself at the exit. facing the latter stood another woman with a great pot of milk before her, and on the other side was set a pot full of melted swine's fat. all was now ready. the villagers thereupon crawled through the tunnel on hands and knees, one behind the other. each, as he emerged from the tunnel, received a spoonful of milk from the woman and looked at his face reflected in the pot of melted swine's fat. then another woman made a cross with a piece of charcoal on his back. when all the inhabitants had thus crept through the tunnel and been doctored at the other end, each took some glowing embers home with him in a pot wherewith to rekindle the fire on the domestic hearth. lastly they put some of the charcoal in a vessel of water and drank the mixture in order to be thereby magically protected against the epidemic.[716] it would be superfluous to point out in detail how admirably these measures are calculated to arrest the ravages of disease; but for the sake of those, if there are any, to whom the medicinal effect of crawling through a hole on hands and knees is not at once apparent, i shall merely say that the procedure in question is one of the most powerful specifics which the wit of man has devised for maladies of all sorts. ample evidence of its application will be adduced in a later part of this work.[717] [the need-fire in bulgaria.] in bulgaria the herds suffer much from the raids of certain blood-sucking vampyres called _ustrels_. an _ustrel_ is the spirit of a christian child who was born on a saturday and died unfortunately before he could be baptized. on the ninth day after burial he grubs his way out of the grave and attacks the cattle at once, sucking their blood all night and returning at peep of dawn to the grave to rest from his labours. in ten days or so the copious draughts of blood which he has swallowed have so fortified his constitution that he can undertake longer journeys; so when he falls in with great herds of cattle or flocks of sheep he returns no more to the grave for rest and refreshment at night, but takes up his quarters during the day either between the horns of a sturdy calf or ram or between the hind legs of a milch-cow. beasts whose blood he has sucked die the same night. in any herd that he may fasten on he begins with the fattest animal and works his way down steadily through the leaner kine till not one single beast is left alive. the carcases of the victims swell up, and when the hide is stripped off you can always perceive the livid patch of flesh where the monster sucked the blood of the poor creature. in a single night he may, by working hard, kill five cows; but he seldom exceeds that number. he can change his shape and weight very easily; for example, when he is sitting by day between the horns of a ram, the animal scarcely feels his weight, but at night he will sometimes throw himself on an ox or a cow so heavily that the animal cannot stir, and lows so pitifully that it would make your heart bleed to hear. people who were born on a saturday can see these monsters, and they have described them accurately, so that there can be no doubt whatever about their existence. it is, therefore, a matter of great importance to the peasant to protect his flocks and herds against the ravages of such dangerous vampyres. the way in which he does so is this. on a saturday morning before sunrise the village drummer gives the signal to put out every fire in the village; even smoking is forbidden. next all the domestic animals, with the exception of fowls, geese, and ducks, are driven out into the open. in front of the flocks and herds march two men, whose names during the ceremony may not be mentioned in the village. they go into the wood, pick two dry branches, and having stript themselves of their clothes they rub the two branches together very hard till they catch fire; then with the fire so obtained they kindle two bonfires, one on each side of a cross-road which is known to be frequented by wolves. after that the herd is driven between the two fires. coals from the bonfires are then taken back to the village and used to rekindle the fires on the domestic hearths. for several days no one may go near the charred and blackened remains of the bonfires at the cross-road. the reason is that the vampyre is lying there, having dropped from his seat between the cow's horns when the animals were driven between the two fires. so if any one were to pass by the spot during these days, the monster would be sure to call him by name and to follow him to the village; whereas if he is left alone, a wolf will come at midnight and strangle him, and in a few days the herdsmen can see the ground soaked with his slimy blood. so that is the end of the vampyre.[718] in this bulgarian custom, as in the slavonian custom described above, the conception of the need-fire as a barrier set up between the cattle and a dangerous spirit is clearly worked out. the spirit rides the cow till he comes to the narrow pass between the two fires, but the heat there is too much for him; he drops in a faint from the saddle, or rather from the horns, and the now riderless animal escapes safe and sound beyond the smoke and flame, leaving her persecutor prostrate on the ground on the further side of the blessed barrier. [the need-fire in bosnia and herzegovina.] in bosnia and herzegovina there are some local differences in the mode of kindling the need-fire, or "living fire," as it is called. thus at jablanica both the uprights and the roller or cross-piece, which by its revolution kindles the fire, are made of cornel-tree wood; whereas at dolac, near sarajevo, the uprights and the cross-piece or roller are all made of lime wood. in gacko, contrary to the usual custom, the fire is made by striking a piece of iron on an anvil, till sparks are given out, which are caught in tinder. the "living fire" thus produced is employed for purposes of healing. in particular, if any one suffers from wounds or sores, ashes of the need-fire are sprinkled on the ailing part. in gacko it is also believed that if a pregnant woman witnesses a conflagration, her child will either be born with a red eruption on its skin or will contract the malady sooner or later afterwards. the only remedy consists in ashes of the need-fire, which are mixed with water and given to the child to drink.[719] [the need-fire in england; the need-fire in yorkshire.] in england the earliest notice of the need-fire seems to be contained in the chronicle of lanercost for the year 1268. the annalist tells with pious horror how, when an epidemic was raging in that year among the cattle, "certain beastly men, monks in garb but not in mind, taught the idiots of their country to make fire by the friction of wood and to set up an image of priapus, whereby they thought to succour the animals."[720] the use of the need-fire is particularly attested for the counties of yorkshire and northumberland. thus in yorkshire down to the middle of the eighteenth century "the favourite remedy of the country people, not only in the way of cure, but of prevention, was an odd one; it was to smoke the cattle almost to suffocation, by kindling straw, litter, and other combustible matter about them. the effects of this mode of cure are not stated, but the most singular part of it was that by which it was reported to have been discovered. an angel (says the legend), descended into yorkshire, and there set a large tree on fire; the strange appearance of which or else the savour of the smoke, incited the cattle around (some of which were infected) to draw near the miracle, when they all either received an immediate cure or an absolute prevention of the disorder. it is not affirmed that the angel staid to speak to anybody, but only that he left a _written_ direction for the neighbouring people to catch this supernatural fire, and to communicate it from one to another with all possible speed throughout the country; and in case it should be extinguished and utterly lost, that then new fire, of equal virtue, might be obtained, not by any common method, but by rubbing two pieces of wood together till they ignited. upon what foundation this story stood, is not exactly known, but it put the farmers actually into a hurry of communicating flame and smoke from one house to another with wonderful speed, making it run like wildfire over the country."[721] again, we read that "the father of the writer, who died in 1843, in his seventy-ninth year, had a perfect remembrance of a great number of persons, belonging to the upper and middle classes of his native parish of bowes, assembling on the banks of the river greta to work for need-fire. a disease among cattle, called the murrain, then prevailed to a very great extent through that district of yorkshire. the cattle were made to pass through the smoke raised by this miraculous fire, and their cure was looked upon as certain, and to neglect doing so was looked upon as wicked. this fire was produced by the violent and continued friction of two dry pieces of wood until such time as it was thereby obtained. 'to work as though one was working for need-fire' is a common proverb in the north of england."[722] at ingleton, a small town nestling picturesquely at the foot of the high hill of ingleborough in western yorkshire, "within the last thirty years or so it was a common practice to kindle the so-called 'need-fire' by rubbing two pieces of wood briskly together, and setting ablaze a large heap of sticks and brushwood, which were dispersed, and cattle then driven through the smoking brands. this was thought to act as a charm against the spread or developement of the various ailments to which cattle are liable, and the farmers seem to have had great faith in it."[723] writing about the middle of the nineteenth century, kemble tells us that the will-fire or need-fire had been used in devonshire for the purpose of staying a murrain within the memory of man.[724] [the need-fire in northumberland.] so in northumberland, down to the first half of the nineteenth century, "when a contagious disease enters among cattle, the fires are extinguished in the adjacent villages. two pieces of dried wood are then rubbed together until fire be produced; with this a quantity of straw is kindled, juniper is thrown into the flame, and the cattle are repeatedly driven through the smoke. part of the forced fire is sent to the neighbours, who again forward it to others, and, as great expedition is used, the fires may be seen blazing over a great extent of country in a very short space of time."[725] "it is strange," says the antiquary william henderson, writing about 1866, "to find the custom of lighting 'need-fires' on the occasion of epidemics among cattle still lingering among us, but so it is. the vicar of stamfordham writes thus respecting it: 'when the murrain broke out among the cattle about eighteen years ago, this fire was produced by rubbing two pieces of dry wood together, and was carried from place to place all through this district, as a charm against cattle taking the disease. bonfires were kindled with it, and the cattle driven into the smoke, where they were left for some time. many farmers hereabouts, i am informed, had the need-fire.'"[726] [martin's account of the need-fire in the highlands of scotland.] in the earliest systematic account of the western islands of scotland we read that "the inhabitants here did also make use of a fire called _tin-egin, i.e._ a forced fire, or fire of necessity, which they used as an antidote against the plague or murrain in cattle; and it was performed thus: all the fires in the parish were extinguished, and then eighty-one married men, being thought the necessary number for effecting this design, took two great planks of wood, and nine of them were employed by turns, who by their repeated efforts rubbed one of the planks against the other until the heat thereof produced fire; and from this forced fire each family is supplied with new fire, which is no sooner kindled than a pot full of water is quickly set on it, and afterwards sprinkled upon the people infected with the plague, or upon the cattle that have the murrain. and this they all say they find successful by experience: it was practised in the main land, opposite to the south of skie, within these thirty years."[727] [the need-fire in the island of mull; sacrifice of a heifer.] in the island of mull, one of the largest of the hebrides, the need-fire was kindled as late as 1767. "in consequence of a disease among the black cattle the people agreed to perform an incantation, though they esteemed it a wicked thing. they carried to the top of carnmoor a wheel and nine spindles of oakwood. they extinguished every fire in every house within sight of the hill; the wheel was then turned from east to west over the nine spindles long enough to produce fire by friction. if the fire were not produced before noon, the incantation lost its effect. they failed for several days running. they attributed this failure to the obstinacy of one householder, who would not let his fires be put out for what he considered so wrong a purpose. however, by bribing his servants they contrived to have them extinguished and on that morning raised their fire. they then sacrificed a heifer, cutting in pieces and burning, while yet alive, the diseased part. they then lighted their own hearths from the pile and ended by feasting on the remains. words of incantation were repeated by an old man from morven, who came over as master of the ceremonies, and who continued speaking all the time the fire was being raised. this man was living a beggar at bellochroy. asked to repeat the spell, he said, the sin of repeating it once had brought him to beggary, and that he dared not say those words again. the whole country believed him accursed."[728] from this account we see that in mull the kindling of the need-fire as a remedy for cattle disease was accompanied by the sacrifice of one of the diseased animals; and though the two customs are for the most part mentioned separately by our authorities, we may surmise that they were often, perhaps usually, practised together for the purpose of checking the ravages of sickness in the herds.[729] [the need-fire in caithness.] in the county of caithness, forming the extreme northeast corner of the mainland of scotland, the practice of the need-fire survived down at least to about 1788. we read that "in those days, when the stock of any considerable farmer was seized with the murrain, he would send for one of the charm-doctors to superintend the raising of a _need-fire_. it was done by friction, thus; upon any small island, where the stream of a river or burn ran on each side, a circular booth was erected, of stone and turf, as it could be had, in which a semicircular or highland couple of birch, or other hard wood, was set; and, in short, a roof closed on it. a straight pole was set up in the centre of this building, the upper end fixed by a wooden pin to the top of the couple, and the lower end in an oblong _trink_ in the earth or floor; and lastly, another pole was set across horizontally, having both ends tapered, one end of which was supported in a hole in the side of the perpendicular pole, and the other in a similar hole in the couple leg. the horizontal stick was called the auger, having four short arms or levers fixed in its centre, to work it by; the building having been thus finished, as many men as could be collected in the vicinity, (being divested of all kinds of metal in their clothes, etc.), would set to work with the said auger, two after two, constantly turning it round by the arms or levers, and others occasionally driving wedges of wood or stone behind the lower end of the upright pole, so as to press it the more on the end of the auger: by this constant friction and pressure, the ends of the auger would take fire, from which a fire would be instantly kindled, and thus the _needfire_ would be accomplished. the fire in the farmer's house, etc., was immediately quenched with water, a fire kindled from this needfire, both in the farm-houses and offices, and the cattle brought to feel the smoke of this new and sacred fire, which preserved them from the murrain."[730] [the need-fire in caithness.] the last recorded case of the need-fire in caithness happened in 1809 or 1810. at houstry, dunbeath, a crofter named david gunn had made for himself a kail-yard and in doing so had wilfully encroached on one of those prehistoric ruins called _brochs_, which the people of the neighbourhood believed to be a fairy habitation. soon afterwards a murrain broke out among the cattle of the district and carried off many beasts. so the wise men put their heads together and resolved to light a _teine-eigin_ or need-fire as the best way of stopping the plague. they cut a branch from a tree in a neighbouring wood, stripped it of bark, and carried it to a small island in the houstry burn. every fire in the district having been quenched, new fire was made by the friction of wood in the island, and from this sacred flame all the hearths of the houses were lit afresh. one of the sticks used in making the fire was preserved down to about the end of the nineteenth century; apparently the mode of operation was the one known as the fire-drill: a pointed stick was twirled in a hole made in another stick till fire was elicited by the friction.[731] [another account of the need-fire in the highlands.] another account of the use of need-fire in the highlands of scotland runs as follows: "when, by the neglect of the prescribed safeguards [against witchcraft], the seeds of iniquity have taken root, and a person's means are decaying in consequence, the only alternative, in this case, is to resort to that grand remedy, the _tein econuch_, or 'forlorn fire,' which seldom fails of being productive of the best effects. the cure for witchcraft, called _tein econuch_, is wrought in the following manner:--a consultation being held by the unhappy sufferer and his friends as to the most advisable measures of effecting a cure, if this process is adopted, notice is privately communicated to all those householders who reside within the nearest of two running streams, to extinguish their lights and fires on some appointed morning. on its being ascertained that this notice has been duly observed, a spinning-wheel, or some other convenient instrument, calculated to produce fire by friction, is set to work with the most furious earnestness by the unfortunate sufferer, and all who wish well to his cause. relieving each other by turns, they drive on with such persevering diligence, that at length the spindle of the wheel, ignited by excessive friction, emits 'forlorn fire' in abundance, which, by the application of tow, or some other combustible material, is widely extended over the whole neighbourhood. communicating the fire to the tow, the tow communicates it to a candle, the candle to a fir-torch, the torch to a cartful of peats, which the master of the ceremonies, with pious ejaculations for the success of the experiment, distributes to messengers, who will proceed with portions of it to the different houses within the said two running streams, to kindle the different fires. by the influence of this operation, the machinations and spells of witchcraft are rendered null and void."[732] [alexander carmichael's account of the need-fire in the highlands of scotland during the nineteenth century.] in various parts of the highlands of scotland the needfire was still kindled during the first half of the nineteenth century, as we learn from the following account:-"_tein-eigin_, neid-fire, need-fire, forced fire, fire produced by the friction of wood or iron against wood. "the fire of purification was kindled from the neid-fire, while the domestic fire on the hearth was re-kindled from the purification fire on the knoll. among other names, the purification fire was called _teine bheuil_, fire of beul, and _teine mor bheuil_, great fire of beul. the fire of beul was divided into two fires between which people and cattle rushed australly for purposes of purification. the ordeal was trying, as may be inferred from phrases still current. _is teodha so na teine teodha bheuil_, 'hotter is this than the hot fire of beul.' replying to his grandchild, an old man in lewis said ... 'mary! sonnie, it were worse for me to do that for thee than to go between the two great fires of beul.' "the neid-fire was resorted to in imminent or actual calamity upon the first day of the quarter, and to ensure success in great or important events. [the needfire in arran.] "the writer conversed with several persons who saw the neid-fire made, and who joined in the ceremony. as mentioned elsewhere, a woman in arran said that her father, and the other men of the townland, made the neid-fire on the knoll on _la buidhe bealltain_--yellow day of beltane. they fed the fire from _cuaile mor conaidh caoin_--great bundles of sacred faggots brought to the knoll on beltane eve. when the sacred fire became kindled, the people rushed home and brought their herds and drove them through and round the fire of purification, to sain them from the _bana bhuitseach mhor nic creafain mac creafain_--the great arch witch mac crauford, now crawford. that was in the second decade of this century. [the need-fire in north uist.] "john macphail, middlequarter, north uist, said that the last occasion on which the neid-fire was made in north uist was _bliadhna an t-sneachda bhuidhe_--the year of the yellow snow--1829 (?). the snow lay so deep and remained so long on the ground, that it became yellow. some suggest that the snow was originally yellow, as snow is occasionally red. this extraordinary continuance of snow caused much want and suffering throughout the isles. the people of north uist extinguished their own fires and generated a purification fire at sail dharaich, sollas. the fire was produced from an oak log by rapidly boring with an auger. this was accomplished by the exertions of _naoi naoinear ciad ginealach mac_--the nine nines of first-begotten sons. from the neid-fire produced on the knoll the people of the parish obtained fire for their dwellings. many cults and ceremonies were observed on the occasion, cults and ceremonies in which pagan and christian beliefs intermingled. _sail dharaich_, oak log, obtained its name from the log of oak for the neid-fire being there. a fragment of this log riddled with auger holes marks a grave in _cladh sgealoir_, the burying-ground of _sgealoir_, in the neighbourhood. [the need-fire in reay, sutherland.] "mr. alexander mackay, edinburgh, a native of reay, sutherland, says:--'my father was the skipper of a fishing crew. before beginning operations for the season, the crew of the boat met at night in our house to settle accounts for the past, and to plan operations for the new season. my mother and the rest of us were sent to bed. i lay in the kitchen, and was listening and watching, though they thought i was asleep. after the men had settled their past affairs and future plans, they put out the fire on the hearth, not a spark being allowed to live. they then rubbed two pieces of wood one against another so rapidly as to produce fire, the men joining in one after the other, and working with the utmost energy and never allowing the friction to relax. from this friction-fire they rekindled the fire on the hearth, from which all the men present carried away a kindling to their own homes. whether their success was due to their skill, their industry, their perseverance, or to the neid-fire, i do not know, but i know that they were much the most successful crew in the place. they met on saturday, and went to church on sunday like the good men and the good christians they were--a little of their pagan faith mingling with their christian belief. i have reason to believe that other crews in the place as well as my father's crew practised the neid-fire.' "a man at helmsdale, sutherland, saw the _tein-eigin_ made in his boyhood. "the neid-fire was made in north uist about the year 1829, in arran about 1820, in helmsdale about 1818, in reay about 1830."[733] [the beltane fire a precaution against witchcraft.] from the foregoing account we learn that in arran the annual beltane fire was regularly made by the friction of wood, and that it was used to protect men and cattle against a great witch. when we remember that beltane eve or the eve of may day (walpurgis night) is the great witching time of the year throughout europe, we may surmise that wherever bonfires have been ceremonially kindled on that day it has been done simply as a precaution against witchcraft; indeed this motive is expressly alleged not only in scotland, but in wales, the isle of man, and many parts of central europe.[734] it deserves, further, to be noticed that in north uist the wood used to kindle the need-fire was oak, and that the nine times nine men by whose exertions the flame was elicited were all first-born sons. apparently the first-born son of a family was thought to be endowed with more magical virtue than his younger brothers. similarly in the punjaub "the supernatural power ascribed to the first born is not due to his being unlucky, but the idea underlying the belief seems to be that being the first product of the parents, he inherits the spiritual powers (or magnetism) in a high degree. the success of such persons in stopping rain and hail and in stupefying snakes is proverbial. it is believed that a first child born with feet forward can cure backache by kicking the patient in the back, on a crossing."[735] [the need-fire in aberdeenshire.] in the north-east of aberdeenshire and the neighbourhood, when the cattle-disease known as the "quarter-ill" broke out, "the 'muckle wheel' was set in motion and turned till fire was produced. from this virgin flame fires were kindled in the byres. at the same time, if neighbours requested the favour, live coals were given them to kindle fires for the purification of their homesteads and turning off the disease. fumigating the byres with juniper was a method adopted to ward off disease. such a fire was called 'needfyre.' the kindling of it came under the censure of the presbytery at times."[736] [the need-fire in perthshire.] in perthshire the need-fire was kindled as a remedy for cattle-disease as late as 1826. "a wealthy old farmer, having lost several of his cattle by some disease very prevalent at present, and being able to account for it in no way so rationally as by witchcraft, had recourse to the following remedy, recommended to him by a weird sister in his neighbourhood, as an effectual protection from the attacks of the foul fiend. a few stones were piled together in the barnyard, and woodcoals having been laid thereon, the fuel was ignited by _will-fire_, that is fire obtained by friction; the neighbours having been called in to witness the solemnity, the cattle were made to pass through the flames, in the order of their dignity and age, commencing with the horses and ending with the swine. the ceremony having been duly and decorously gone through, a neighbouring farmer observed to the enlightened owner of the herd, that he, along with his family, ought to have followed the example of the cattle, and the sacrifice to baal would have been complete."[737] [the need-fire in ireland.] in county leitrim, ireland, in order to prevent fever from spreading, "all the fires on the townland, and the two adjoining (one on each side), would be put out. then the men of the three townlands would come to one house, and get two large blocks of wood. one would be set in the ground, and the other one, fitted with two handles, placed on the top of it. the men would then draw the upper block backwards and forwards over the lower until fire was produced by friction, and from this the fires would be lighted again. this would prevent the fever from spreading,"[738] [the use of the need-fire a relic of a time when all fires were kindled by the friction of wood.] thus it appears that in many parts of europe it has been customary to kindle fire by the friction of wood for the purpose of curing or preventing the spread of disease, particularly among cattle. the mode of striking a light by rubbing two dry sticks against each other is the one to which all over the world savages have most commonly resorted for the sake of providing themselves with fire;[739] and we can scarcely doubt that the practice of kindling the need-fire in this primitive fashion is merely a survival from the time when our savage forefathers lit all their fires in that way. nothing is so conservative of old customs as religious or magical ritual, which invests these relics of the past with an atmosphere of mysterious virtue and sanctity. to the educated mind it seems obvious that a fire which a man kindles with the sweat of his brow by laboriously rubbing one stick against each other can possess neither more nor less virtue than one which he has struck in a moment by the friction of a lucifer match; but to the ignorant and superstitious this truth is far from apparent, and accordingly they take infinite pains to do in a roundabout way what they might have done directly with the greatest ease, and what, even when it is done, is of no use whatever for the purpose in hand. a vast proportion of the labour which mankind has expended throughout the ages has been no better spent; it has been like the stone of sisyphus eternally rolled up hill only to revolve eternally down again, or like the water poured for ever by the danaids into broken pitchers which it could never fill. [the belief that the need-fire cannot kindle if any other fire remains alight in the neighbourhood.] the curious notion that the need-fire cannot kindle if any other fire remains alight in the neighbourhood seems to imply that fire is conceived as a unity which is broken up into fractions and consequently weakened in exact proportion to the number of places where it burns; hence in order to obtain it at full strength you must light it only at a single point, for then the flame will burst out with a concentrated energy derived from the tributary fires which burned on all the extinguished hearths of the country. so in a modern city if all the gas were turned off simultaneously at all the burners but one, the flame would no doubt blaze at that one burner with a fierceness such as no single burner could shew when all are burning at the same time. the analogy may help us to understand the process of reasoning which leads the peasantry to insist on the extinction of all common fires when the need-fire is about to be kindled. perhaps, too, it may partly explain that ceremonial extinction of all old fires on other occasions which is often required by custom as a preliminary to the lighting of a new and sacred fire.[740] we have seen that in the highlands of scotland all common fires were extinguished on the eve of may-day as a preparation for kindling the beltane bonfire by friction next morning;[741] and no doubt the reason for the extinction was the same as in the case of the need-fire. indeed we may assume with a fair degree of probability that the need-fire was the parent of the periodic fire-festivals; at first invoked only at irregular intervals to cure certain evils as they occurred, the powerful virtue of fire was afterwards employed at regular intervals to prevent the occurrence of the same evils as well as to remedy such as had actually arisen. [the needfire among the iroquois of north america.] the need-fire of europe has its parallel in a ceremony which used to be observed by the iroquois indians of north america. "formerly when an epidemic prevailed among the iroquois despite the efforts to stay it, it was customary for the principal shaman to order the fires in every cabin to be extinguished and the ashes and cinders to be carefully removed; for it was believed that the pestilence was sent as a punishment for neglecting to rekindle 'new fire,' or because of the manner in which the fire then in use had been kindled. so, after all the fires were out, two suitable logs of slippery elm (_ulmus fulva_) were provided for the new fire. one of the logs was from six to eight inches in diameter and from eight to ten feet long; the other was from ten to twelve inches in diameter and about ten feet long. about midway across the larger log a cuneiform notch or cut about six inches deep was made, and in the wedge-shaped notch punk was placed. the other log was drawn rapidly to and fro in the cut by four strong men chosen for the purpose until the punk was ignited by the friction thus produced. before and during the progress of the work of igniting the fire the shaman votively sprinkled _tcar-hu'-eñ-we_, 'real tobacco,' three several times into the cuneiform notch and offered earnest prayers to the fire-god, beseeching him 'to aid, to bless, and to redeem the people from their calamities.' the ignited punk was used to light a large bonfire, and then the head of every family was required to take home 'new fire' to rekindle a fire in his or her fire-place."[742] § 9. _the sacrifice of an animal to stay a cattle-plague_ [the burnt sacrifice of a calf in england and wales; burnt sacrifice a pig in scotland.] sometimes apparently in england as well as in scotland the kindling of a need-fire was accompanied by the sacrifice of a calf. thus in northamptonshire, at some time during the first half of the nineteenth century, "miss c---and her cousin walking saw a fire in a field and a crowd round it. they said, 'what is the matter?' 'killing a calf.' 'what for?' 'to stop the murrain.' they went away as quickly as possible. on speaking to the clergyman he made enquiries. the people did not like to talk of the affair, but it appeared that when there is a disease among the cows or the calves are born sickly, they sacrifice (i.e. kill and burn) one 'for good luck.'"[743] it is not here said that the fire was a need-fire, of which indeed the two horrified ladies had probably never heard; but the analogy of the parallel custom in mull[744] renders it probable that in northamptonshire also the fire was kindled by the friction of wood, and that the calf or some part of it was burnt in the fire. certainly the practice of burning a single animal alive in order to save all the others would seem to have been not uncommon in england down to the nineteenth century. thus a farmer in cornwall about the year 1800, having lost many cattle by disease, and tried many remedies in vain, consulted with some of his neighbours and laying their heads together "they recalled to their recollections a tale, which tradition had handed down from remote antiquity, that the calamity would not cease until he had actually burned alive the finest calf which he had upon his farm; but that, when this sacrifice was made, the murrain would afflict his cattle no more." accordingly, on a day appointed they met, lighted a large fire, placed the best calf in it, and standing round the blazing pile drove the animal with pitchforks back into the flames whenever it attempted to escape. thus the victim was burned alive to save the rest of the cattle.[745] "there can be no doubt but that a belief prevailed until a very recent period, amongst the small farmers in the districts remote from towns in cornwall, that a living sacrifice appeased the wrath of god. this sacrifice must be by fire; and i have heard it argued that the bible gave them warranty for this belief.... while correcting these sheets i am informed of two recent instances of this superstition. one of them was the sacrifice of a calf by a farmer near portreath, for the purpose of removing a disease which had long followed his horses and his cows. the other was the burning of a living lamb, to save, as the farmer said, 'his flocks from spells which had been cast on 'em.'"[746] in a recent account of the fire-festivals of wales we read that "i have also heard my grandfather and father say that in times gone by the people would throw a calf in the fire when there was any disease among the herds. the same would be done with a sheep if there was anything the matter with a flock. i can remember myself seeing cattle being driven between two fires to 'stop the disease spreading.' when in later times it was not considered humane to drive the cattle between the fires, the herdsmen were accustomed to force the animals over the wood ashes to protect them against various ailments."[747] writing about 1866, the antiquary w. henderson says that a live ox was burned near haltwhistle in northumberland "only twenty years ago" to stop a murrain.[748] "about the year 1850 disease broke out among the cattle of a small farm in the parish of resoliss, black isle, ross-shire. the farmer prevailed on his wife to undertake a journey to a wise woman of renown in banffshire to ask a charm against the effects of the 'ill eye.' the long journey of upwards of fifty miles was performed by the good wife, and the charm was got. one chief thing ordered was to burn to death a pig, and sprinkle the ashes over the byre and other farm buildings. this order was carried out, except that the pig was killed before it was burned. a more terrible sacrifice was made at times. one of the diseased animals was rubbed over with tar, driven forth, set on fire, and allowed to run till it fell down and died."[749] "living animals have been burnt alive in sacrifice within memory to avert the loss of other stock. the burial of three puppies 'brandise-wise' in a field is supposed to rid it of weeds. throughout the rural districts of devon witchcraft is an article of current faith, and the toad is thrown into the flames as an emissary of the evil one."[750] [the calf is burnt in order to break a spell which has been cast on the herd.] but why, we may ask, should the burning alive of a calf or a sheep be supposed to save the rest of the herd or the flock from the murrain? according to one writer, as we have seen, the burnt sacrifice was thought to appease the wrath of god.[751] the idea of appeasing the wrath of a ferocious deity by burning an animal alive is probably no more than a theological gloss put on an old heathen rite; it would hardly occur to the simple mind of an english bumpkin, who, though he may be stupid, is not naturally cruel and does not conceive of a divinity who takes delight in the contemplation of suffering. to his thinking god has little or nothing to do with the murrain, but witches, ill-wishers, and fairies have a great deal to do with it. the english farmer who burned one of his lambs alive said that he did it "to save his flocks from spells which had been cast on them"; and the scotch farmer who was bidden to burn a pig alive for a similar purpose, but who had the humanity to kill the animal first, believed that this was a remedy for the "evil eye" which had been cast upon his beasts. again, we read that "a farmer, who possessed broad acres, and who was in many respects a sensible man, was greatly annoyed to find that his cattle became diseased in the spring. nothing could satisfy him but that they were bewitched, and he was resolved to find out the person who had cast the evil eye on his oxen. according to an anciently-prescribed rule, the farmer took one of his bullocks and bled it to death, catching all the blood on bundles of straw. the bloody straw was then piled into a heap, and set on fire. burning with a vast quantity of smoke, the farmer expected to see the witch, either in reality or in shadow, amidst the smoke."[752] such reasons express the real beliefs of the peasants. "cattle, like human beings, were exposed to the influences of the evil eye, of forespeaking, and of the casting of evil. witches and warlocks did the work of evil among their neighbours' cattle if their anger had been aroused in any way. the fairies often wrought injury amongst cattle. every animal that died suddenly was killed by the dart of the fairies, or, in the language of the people, was 'shot-a-dead.' flint arrows and spear-heads went by the name of 'faery dairts....' when an animal died suddenly the canny woman of the district was sent for to search for the 'faery dairt,' and in due course she found one, to the great satisfaction of the owner of the dead animal."[753] [mode in which the burning of a bewitched animal is supposed to break the spell.] but how, we must still ask, can burning an animal alive break the spell that has been cast upon its fellows by a witch or a warlock? some light is thrown on the question by the following account of measures which rustic wiseacres in suffolk are said to have adopted as a remedy for witchcraft. "a woman i knew forty-three years had been employed by my predecessor to take care of his poultry. at the time i came to make her acquaintance she was a bedridden toothless crone, with chin and nose all but meeting. she did not discourage in her neighbours the idea that she knew more than people ought to know, and had more power than others had. many years before i knew her it happened one spring that the ducks, which were a part of her charge, failed to lay eggs.... she at once took it for granted that the ducks had been bewitched. this misbelief involved very shocking consequences, for it necessitated the idea that so diabolical an act could only be combated by diabolical cruelty. and the most diabolical act of cruelty she could imagine was that of baking alive in a hot oven one of the ducks. and that was what she did. the sequence of thought in her mind was that the spell that had been laid on the ducks was that of preternaturally wicked wilfulness; that this spell could only be broken through intensity of suffering, in this case death by burning; that the intensity of suffering would break the spell in the one roasted to death; and that the spell broken in one would be altogether broken, that is, in all the ducks.... shocking, however, as was this method of exorcising the ducks, there was nothing in it original. just about a hundred years before, everyone in the town and neighbourhood of ipswich had heard, and many had believed, that a witch had been burnt to death in her own house at ipswich by the process of burning alive one of the sheep she had bewitched. it was curious, but it was as convincing as curious, that the hands and feet of this witch were the only parts of her that had not been incinerated. this, however, was satisfactorily explained by the fact that the four feet of the sheep, by which it had been suspended over the fire, had not been destroyed in the flames that had consumed its body."[754] according to a slightly different account of the same tragic incident, the last of the "ipswitch witches," one grace pett, "laid her hand heavily on a farmer's sheep, who, in order to punish her, fastened one of the sheep in the ground and burnt it, except the feet, which were under the earth. the next morning grace pett was found burnt to a cinder, except her feet. her fate is recorded in the _philosophical transactions_ as a case of spontaneous combustion."[755] [in burning the bewitched animal you burn the witch herself.] this last anecdote is instructive, if perhaps not strictly authentic. it shows that in burning alive one of a bewitched flock or herd what you really do is to burn the witch, who is either actually incarnate in the animal or perhaps more probably stands in a relation of sympathy with it so close as almost to amount to identity. hence if you burn the creature to ashes, you utterly destroy the witch and thereby save the whole of the rest of the flock or herd from her abominable machinations; whereas if you only partially burn the animal, allowing some parts of it to escape the flames, the witch is only half-baked, and her power for mischief may be hardly, if at all, impaired by the grilling. we can now see that in such matters half-measures are useless. to kill the animal first and burn it afterwards is a weak compromise, dictated no doubt by a well-meant but utterly mistaken kindness; it is like shutting the stable-door when the steed is stolen, for obviously by leaving the animal's, and therefore the witch's, body nearly intact at the moment of death, it allows her soul to escape and return safe and sound to her own human body, which all the time is probably lying quietly at home in bed. and the same train of reasoning that justifies the burning alive of bewitched animals justifies and indeed requires the burning alive of the witches themselves; it is really the only way of destroying them, body and soul, and therefore of thoroughly extirpating the whole infernal crew. [practice of burning cattle and sheep as sacrifices in the isle of man.] in the isle of man the practice of burning cattle alive in order to stop a murrain seems to have persisted down to a time within living memory. on this subject i will quote the evidence collected by sir john rhys: "a respectable farmer from andreas told me that he was driving with his wife to the neighbouring parish of jurby some years ago, and that on the way they beheld the carcase of a cow or an ox burning in a field, with a woman engaged in stirring the fire. on reaching the village to which they were going, they found that the burning beast belonged to a farmer whom they knew. they were further told it was no wonder that the said farmer had one of his cattle burnt, as several of them had recently died. whether this was a case of sacrifice or not i cannot say. but let me give you another instance: a man whom i have already mentioned, saw at a farm nearer the centre of the island a live calf being burnt. the owner bears an english name, but his family has long been settled in man. the farmer's explanation to my informant was that the calf was burnt to secure luck for the rest of the herd, some of which were threatening to die. my informant thought there was absolutely nothing the matter with them, except that they had too little to eat. be that as it may, the one calf was sacrificed as a burnt-offering to secure luck for the rest of the cattle. let me here also quote mr. moore's note in his _manx surnames_, p. 184, on the place name _cabbal yn oural losht_, or the chapel of the burnt sacrifice. 'this name,' he says, 'records a circumstance which took place in the nineteenth century, but which, it is to be hoped, was never customary in the isle of man. a farmer, who had lost a number of his sheep and cattle by murrain, burned a calf as a propitiatory offering to the deity on this spot, where a chapel was afterwards built. hence the name.' particulars, i may say, of time, place, and person could be easily added to mr. moore's statement, excepting, perhaps as to the deity in question; on that point i have never been informed, but mr. moore is probably right in the use of the capital _d_, as the sacrificer is, according to all accounts, a highly devout christian. one more instance: an octogenarian woman, born in the parish of bride, and now living at kirk andreas, saw, when she was a 'lump of a girl' of ten or fifteen years of age, a live sheep being burnt in a field in the parish of andreas, on may-day, whereby she meant the first of may reckoned according to the old style. she asserts very decidedly that it was _son oural_, 'as a sacrifice,' as she put it, and 'for an object to the public': those were her words when she expressed herself in english. further, she made the statement that it was a custom to burn a sheep on old may-day for a sacrifice. i was fully alive to the interest of this evidence, and cross-examined her so far as her age allows of it, and i find that she adheres to her statement with all firmness."[756] [by burning a bewitched animal you compel the witch to appear.] but manxmen burn beasts when they are dead as well as when they are alive; and their reasons for burning the dead animals may help us to understand their reasons for burning the living animals. on this subject i will again quote sir john rhys: "when a beast dies on a farm, of course it dies, according to the old-fashioned view of things, as i understand it, from the influence of the evil eye or the interposition of a witch. so if you want to know to whom you are indebted for the loss of the beast, you have simply to burn its carcase in the open air and watch who comes first to the spot or who first passes by; that is the criminal to be charged with the death of the animal, and he cannot help coming there--such is the effect of the fire. a michael woman, who is now about thirty, related to me how she watched while the carcase of a bewitched colt was burning, how she saw the witch coming, and how she remembers her shrivelled face, with nose and chin in close proximity. according to another native of michael, a well-informed middle-aged man, the animal in question was oftenest a calf, and it was wont to be burnt whole, skin and all. the object, according to him, is invariably to bring the bewitcher on the spot, and he always comes; but i am not clear what happens to him when he appears. my informant added, however, that it was believed that, unless the bewitcher got possession of the heart of the burning beast, he lost all his power of bewitching."[757] [magic sympathy between the witch and the bewitched animal.] these statements shew that in the isle of man the sympathetic relation between the witch and his or her animal victim is believed to be so close that by burning the animal you compel the witch to appear. the original idea may have been that, by virtue of a magic sympathy which binds the two together, whatever harm you do to the animal is felt by the witch as if it were done to herself. that notion would fully explain why manx people used also to burn bewitched animals alive; in doing so they probably imagined that they were simultaneously burning the witch who had cast the spell on their cattle. [parallel belief in magic sympathy between the animal shape of a were-wolf and his or her ordinary human shape: by wounding the wolf you simultaneously wound the man or woman.] this explanation of the reason for burning a bewitched animal, dead or alive, is confirmed by the parallel belief concerning were-wolves. it is commonly supposed that certain men and women can transform themselves by magic art into wolves or other animals, but that any wound inflicted on such a transformed beast (a were-wolf or other were-animal) is simultaneously inflicted on the human body of the witch or warlock who had transformed herself or himself into the creature. this belief is widely diffused; it meets us in europe, asia, and africa. for example, olaus magnus tells us that in livonia, not many years before he wrote, a noble lady had a dispute with her slave on the subject of were-wolves, she doubting whether there were any such things, and he maintaining that there were. to convince her he retired to a room, from which he soon appeared in the form of a wolf. being chased by the dogs into the forest and brought to bay, the wolf defended himself fiercely, but lost an eye in the struggle. next day the slave returned to his mistress in human form but with only one eye.[758] again, it happened in the year 1588 that a gentleman in a village among the mountains of auvergne, looking out of the window one evening, saw a friend of his going out to hunt. he begged him to bring him back some of his bag, and his friend said that he would. well, he had not gone very far before he met a huge wolf. he fired and missed it, and the animal attacked him furiously, but he stood on his guard and with an adroit stroke of his hunting knife he cut off the right fore-paw of the brute, which thereupon fled away and he saw it no more. he returned to his friend, and drawing from his pouch the severed paw of the wolf he found to his horror that it was turned into a woman's hand with a golden ring on one of the fingers. his friend recognized the ring as that of his own wife and went to find her. she was sitting by the fire with her right arm under her apron. as she refused to draw it out, her husband confronted her with the hand and the ring on it. she at once confessed the truth, that it was she in the form of a were-wolf whom the hunter had wounded. her confession was confirmed by applying the severed hand to the stump of her arm, for the two fitted exactly. the angry husband delivered up his wicked wife to justice; she was tried and burnt as a witch.[759] it is said that a were-wolf, scouring the streets of padua, was caught, and when they cut off his four paws he at once turned into a man, but with both his hands and feet amputated.[760] again, in a farm of the french district of beauce, there was once a herdsman who never slept at home. these nocturnal absences naturally attracted attention and set people talking. at the same time, by a curious coincidence, a wolf used to prowl round the farm every night and to excite the dogs in the farmyard to fury by thrusting his snout derisively through the cat's hole in the great gate. the farmer had his suspicions and he determined to watch. one night, when the herdsman went out as usual, his master followed him quietly till he came to a hut, where with his own eyes he saw the man put on a broad belt and at once turn into a wolf, which scoured away over the fields. the farmer smiled a sickly sort of smile and went back to the farm. there he took a stout stick and sat down at the cat's hole to wait. he had not long to wait. the dogs barked like mad, a wolf's snout shewed through the hole, down came the stick, out gushed the blood, and a voice was heard to say without the gate, "a good job too. i had still three years to run." next day the herdsman appeared as usual, but he had a scar on his brow, and he never went out again at night.[761] [werewolves in china.] in china also the faith in similar transformation is reflected in the following tale. a certain man in sung-yang went into the mountains to gather fuel. night fell and he was pursued by two tigers, but scrambled up a tree out of their reach. then said the one tiger to the other tiger, "if we can find chu-tu-shi, we are sure to catch this man up the tree." so off went one of them to find chu-tu-shi, while the other kept watch at the foot of the tree. soon after that another tiger, leaner and longer than the other two, appeared on the scene and made a grab at the man's coat. but fortunately the moon was shining, the man saw the paw, and with a stroke of his axe cut off one of its claws. the tigers roared and fled, one after the other, so the man climbed down the tree and went home. when he told his tale in the village, suspicion naturally fell on the said chu-tu-shi; next day some men went to see him in his house. they were told that they could not see him; for he had been out the night before and had hurt his hand, and he was now ill in bed. so they put two and two together and reported him to the police. the police arrived, surrounded the house, and set fire to it; but chu-tu-shi rose from his bed, turned into a tiger, charged right through the police, and escaped, and to this day nobody ever knew where he went to.[762] [werewolves among the toradjas of central celebes.] the toradjas of central celebes stand in very great fear of werewolves, that is of men and women, who have the power of transforming their spirits into animals such as cats, crocodiles, wild pigs, apes, deer, and buffaloes, which roam about battening on human flesh, and especially on human livers, while the men and women in their own proper human form are sleeping quietly in their beds at home. among them a man is either born a were-wolf or becomes one by infection; for mere contact with a were-wolf, or even with anything that has been touched by his spittle, is quite enough to turn the most innocent person into a were-wolf; nay even to lean your head against anything against which a were-wolf has leaned his head suffices to do it. the penalty for being a were-wolf is death; but the sentence is never passed until the accused has had a fair trial and his guilt has been clearly demonstrated by an ordeal, which consists in dipping the middle finger into boiling resin. if the finger is not burnt, the man is no were-wolf; but if it is burnt, a werewolf he most assuredly is, so they take him away to a quiet spot and hack him to bits. in cutting him up the executioners are naturally very careful not to be bespattered with his blood, for if that were to happen they would of course be turned into were-wolves themselves. further, they place his severed head beside his hinder-quarters to prevent his soul from coming to life again and pursuing his depredations. so great is the horror of were-wolves among the toradjas, and so great is their fear of contracting the deadly taint by infection, that many persons have assured a missionary that they would not spare their own child if they knew him to be a were-wolf.[763] now these people, whose faith in were-wolves is not a mere dying or dead superstition but a living, dreadful conviction, tell stories of were-wolves which conform to the type which we are examining. they say that once upon a time a were-wolf came in human shape under the house of a neighbour, while his real body lay asleep as usual at home, and calling out softly to the man's wife made an assignation with her to meet him in the tobacco-field next day. but the husband was lying awake and he heard it all, but he said nothing to anybody. next day chanced to be a busy one in the village, for a roof had to be put on a new house and all the men were lending a hand with the work, and among them to be sure was the were-wolf himself, i mean to say his own human self; there he was up on the roof working away as hard as anybody. but the woman went out to the tobacco-field, and behind went unseen her husband, slinking through the underwood. when they were come to the field, he saw the were-wolf make up to his wife, so out he rushed and struck at him with a stick. quick as thought, the were-wolf turned himself into a leaf, but the man was as nimble, for he caught up the leaf, thrust it into the joint of bamboo, in which he kept his tobacco, and bunged it up tight. then he walked back with his wife to the village, carrying the bamboo with the werewolf in it. when they came to the village, the human body of the were-wolf was still on the roof, working away with the rest. the man put the bamboo in a fire. at that the human were-wolf looked down from the roof and said, "don't do that." the man drew the bamboo from the fire, but a moment afterwards he put it in the fire again, and again the human were-wolf on the roof looked down and cried, "don't do that." but this time the man kept the bamboo in the fire, and when it blazed up, down fell the human were-wolf from the roof as dead as a stone.[764] again, the following story went round among the toradjas not so very many years ago. the thing happened at soemara, on the gulf of tomori. it was evening and some men sat chatting with a certain hadji mohammad. when it had grown dark, one of the men went out of the house for something or other. a little while afterwards one of the company thought he saw a stag's antlers standing out sharp and clear against the bright evening sky. so hadji mohammad raised his gun and fired. a minute or two afterwards back comes the man who had gone out, and says he to hadji mohammad, "you shot at me and hit me. you must pay me a fine." they searched him but found no wound on him anywhere. then they knew that he was a were-wolf who had turned himself into a stag and had healed the bullet-wound by licking it. however, the bullet had found its billet, for two days afterwards he was a dead man.[765] [were-wolves in the egyptian sudan.] in sennar, a province of the egyptian sudan, the hammeg and fungi enjoy the reputation of being powerful magicians who can turn themselves into hyaenas and in that guise scour the country at night, howling and gorging themselves. but by day they are men again. it is very dangerous to shoot at such human hyaenas by night. on the jebel bela mountain a soldier once shot at a hyaena and hit it, but it dragged itself off, bleeding, in the darkness and escaped. next morning he followed up the trail of blood and it led him straight to the hut of a man who was everywhere known for a wizard. nothing of the hyaena was to be seen, but the man himself was laid up in the house with a fresh wound and died soon afterwards. and the soldier did not long survive him.[766] [the were-wolf story in petronius.] but the classical example of these stories is an old roman tale told by petronius. it is put in the mouth of one niceros. late at night he left the town to visit a friend of his, a widow, who lived at a farm five miles down the road. he was accompanied by a soldier, who lodged in the same house, a man of herculean build. when they set out it was near dawn, but the moon shone as bright as day. passing through the outskirts of the town, they came amongst the tombs, which lined the highroad for some distance. there the soldier made an excuse for retiring behind a monument, and niceros sat down to wait for him, humming a tune and counting the tombstones to pass the time. in a little he looked round for his companion, and saw a sight which froze him with horror. the soldier had stripped off his clothes to the last rag and laid them at the side of the highway. then he performed a certain ceremony over them, and immediately was changed into a wolf, and ran howling into the forest. when niceros had recovered himself a little, he went to pick up the clothes, but found that they were turned to stone. more dead than alive, he drew his sword, and, striking at every shadow cast by the tombstones on the moonlit road, he tottered to his friend's house. he entered it like a ghost, to the surprise of the widow, who wondered to see him abroad so late. "if you had only been here a little ago," said she, "you might have been of some use. for a wolf came tearing into the yard, scaring the cattle and bleeding them like a butcher. but he did not get off so easily, for the servant speared him in the neck." after hearing these words, niceros felt that he could not close an eye, so he hurried away home again. it was now broad daylight, but when he came to the place where the clothes had been turned to stone, he found only a pool of blood. he reached home, and there lay the soldier in bed like an ox in the shambles, and the doctor was bandaging his neck. "then i knew," said niceros, "that the man was a were-wolf, and never again could i break bread with him, no, not if you had killed me for it."[767] [witches like were-wolves can temporarily transform themselves into animals.] these stories may help us to understand the custom of burning a bewitched animal, which has been observed in our own country down to recent times, if indeed it is even now extinct. for a close parallel may be traced in some respects between witches and were-wolves. like were-wolves, witches are commonly supposed to be able to transform themselves temporarily into animals for the purpose of playing their mischievous pranks;[768] and like were-wolves they can in their animal disguise be compelled to unmask themselves to any one who succeeds in drawing their blood. in either case the animal-skin is conceived as a cloak thrown round the wicked enchanter; and if you can only pierce the skin, whether by the stab of a knife or the shot of a gun, you so rend the disguise that the man or woman inside of it stands revealed in his or her true colours. strictly speaking, the stab should be given on the brow or between the eyes in the case both of a witch and of a were-wolf;[769] and it is vain to shoot at a were-wolf unless you have had the bullet blessed in a chapel of st. hubert or happen to be carrying about you, without knowing it, a four-leaved clover; otherwise the bullet will merely rebound from the were-wolf like water from a duck's back.[770] however, in armenia they say that the were-wolf, who in that country is usually a woman, can be killed neither by shot nor by steel; the only way of delivering the unhappy woman from her bondage is to get hold of her wolf's skin and burn it; for that naturally prevents her from turning into a wolf again. but it is not easy to find the skin, for she is cunning enough to hide it by day.[771] so with witches, it is not only useless but even dangerous to shoot at one of them when she has turned herself into a hare; if you do, the gun may burst in your hand or the shot come back and kill you. the only way to make quite sure of hitting a witch-animal is to put a silver sixpence or a silver button in your gun.[772] for example, it happened one evening that a native of the island of tiree was going home with a new gun, when he saw a black sheep running towards him across the plain of reef. something about the creature excited his suspicion, so he put a silver sixpence in his gun and fired at it. instantly the black sheep became a woman with a drugget coat wrapt round her head. the man knew her quite well, for she was a witch who had often persecuted him before in the shape of a cat.[773] [wounds inflicted on an animal into which a witch has transformed herself are inflicted on the witch herself.] again, the wounds inflicted on a witch-hare or a witch-cat are to be seen on the witch herself, just as the wounds inflicted on a were-wolf are to be seen on the man himself when he has doffed the wolfs skin. to take a few instances out of a multitude, a young man in the island of lismore was out shooting. when he was near balnagown loch, he started a hare and fired at it. the animal gave an unearthly scream, and then for the first time it occurred to him that there were no real hares in lismore. he threw away his gun in terror and fled home; and next day he heard that a notorious witch was laid up with a broken leg. a man need be no conjuror to guess how she came by that broken leg.[774] again, at thurso certain witches used to turn themselves into cats and in that shape to torment an honest man. one night he lost patience, whipped out his broadsword, and put them to flight. as they were scurrying away he struck at them and cut off a leg of one of the cats. to his astonishment it was a woman's leg, and next morning he found one of the witches short of the corresponding limb.[775] glanvil tells a story of "an old woman in cambridge-shire, whose astral spirit, coming into a man's house (as he was sitting alone at the fire) in the shape of an huge cat, and setting her self before the fire, not far from him, he stole a stroke at the back of it with a fire-fork, and seemed to break the back of it, but it scambled from him, and vanisht he knew not how. but such an old woman, a reputed witch, was found dead in her bed that very night, with her back broken, as i have heard some years ago credibly reported."[776] in yorkshire during the latter half of the nineteenth century a parish clergyman was told a circumstantial story of an old witch named nanny, who was hunted in the form of a hare for several miles over the westerdale moors and kept well away from the dogs, till a black one joined the pack and succeeded in taking a bit out of one of the hare's legs. that was the end of the chase, and immediately afterwards the sportsmen found old nanny laid up in bed with a sore leg. on examining the wounded limb they discovered that the hurt was precisely in that part of it which in the hare had been bitten by the black dog and, what was still more significant, the wound had all the appearance of having been inflicted by a dog's teeth. so they put two and two together.[777] the same sort of thing is often reported in lincolnshire. "one night," said a servant from kirton lindsey, "my father and brother saw a cat in front of them. father knew it was a witch, and took a stone and hammered it. next day the witch had her face all tied up, and shortly afterwards died." again, a bardney bumpkin told how a witch in his neighbourhood could take all sorts of shapes. one night a man shot a hare, and when he went to the witch's house he found her plastering a wound just where he had shot the hare.[778] so in county leitrim, in ireland, they say that a hare pursued by dogs fled to a house near at hand, but just as it was bolting in at the door one of the dogs came up with it and nipped a piece out of its leg. the hunters entered the house and found no hare there but only an old woman, and her side was bleeding; so they knew what to think of her.[779] [wounded witches in the vosges.] again, in the vosges mountains a great big hare used to come out every evening to take the air at the foot of the mont des fourches. all the sportsmen of the neighbourhood tried their hands on that hare for a month, but not one of them could hit it. at last one marksman, more knowing than the rest, loaded his gun with some pellets of a consecrated wafer in addition to the usual pellets of lead. that did the trick. if puss was not killed outright, she was badly hurt, and limped away uttering shrieks and curses in a human voice. later it transpired that she was no other than the witch of a neighbouring village who had the power of putting on the shape of any animal she pleased.[780] again, a hunter of travexin, in the vosges, fired at a hare and almost shot away one of its hind legs. nevertheless the creature contrived to escape into a cottage through the open door. immediately a child's cries were heard to proceed from the cottage, and the hunter could distinguish these words, "daddy, daddy, come quick! poor mammy has her leg broken."[781] [wounded witches in swabia.] in swabia the witches are liable to accidents of the same sort when they go about their business in the form of animals. for example, there was a soldier who was betrothed to a young woman and used to visit her every evening when he was off duty. but one evening the girl told him that he must not come to the house on friday nights, because it was never convenient to her to see him then. this roused his suspicion, and the very next friday night he set out to go to his sweetheart's house. on the way a white cat ran up to him in the street and dogged his steps, and when the animal would not make off he drew his sword and slashed off one of its paws. on that the cat bolted. the soldier walked on, but when he came to his sweetheart's house he found her in bed, and when he asked her what was the matter, she gave a very confused reply. noticing stains of blood on the bed, he drew down the coverlet and saw that the girl was weltering in her gore, for one of her feet was lopped off. "so that's what's the matter with you, you witch!" said he, and turned on his heel and left her, and within three days she was dead.[782] again, a farmer in the neighbourhood of wiesensteig frequently found in his stable a horse over and above the four horses he actually owned. he did not know what to make of it and mentioned the matter to the smith. the smith said quietly, "the next time you see a fifth horse in the stable, just you send for me." well, it was not long before the strange horse was there again, and the farmer at once sent for the smith. he came bringing four horse-shoes with him, and said, "i'm sure the nag has no shoes; i'll shoe her for you." no sooner said than done. however, the smith overreached himself; for next day when his friend the farmer paid him a visit he found the smith's own wife prancing about with horse-shoes nailed on her hands and feet. but it was the last time she ever appeared in the shape of a horse.[783] [the miller's wife and the two grey cats.] once more, in silesia they tell of a miller's apprentice, a sturdy and industrious young fellow, who set out on his travels. one day he came to a mill, and the miller told him that he wanted an apprentice but did not care to engage one, because hitherto all his apprentices had run away in the night, and when he came down in the morning the mill was at a stand. however, he liked the looks of the young chap and took him into his pay. but what the new apprentice heard about the mill and his predecessors was not encouraging; so the first night when it was his duty to watch in the mill he took care to provide himself with an axe and a prayer-book, and while he kept one eye on the whirring, humming wheels he kept the other on the good book, which he read by the flickering light of a candle set on a table. so the hours at first passed quietly with nothing to disturb him but the monotonous drone and click of the machinery. but on the stroke of twelve, as he was still reading with the axe lying on the table within reach, the door opened and in came two grey cats mewing, an old one and a young one. they sat down opposite him, but it was easy to see that they did not like his wakefulness and the prayer-book and the axe. suddenly the old cat reached out a paw and made a grab at the axe, but the young chap was too quick for her and held it fast. then the young cat tried to do the same for the prayer-book, but the apprentice gripped it tight. thus balked, the two cats set up such a squalling that the young fellow could hardly say his prayers. just before one o'clock the younger cat sprang on the table and fetched a blow with her right paw at the candle to put it out. but the apprentice struck at her with his axe and sliced the paw off, whereupon the two cats vanished with a frightful screech. the apprentice wrapped the paw up in paper to shew it to his master. very glad the miller was next morning when he came down and found the mill going and the young chap at his post. the apprentice told him what had happened in the night and gave him the parcel containing the cat's paw. but when the miller opened it, what was the astonishment of the two to find in it no cat's paw but a woman's hand! at breakfast the miller's young wife did not as usual take her place at the table. she was ill in bed, and the doctor had to be called in to bind up her right arm, because in hewing wood, so they said, she had made a slip and cut off her own right hand. but the apprentice packed up his traps and turned his back on that mill before the sun had set.[784] [the analogy of were-wolves confirms the view that the reason for burning bewitched animals is either to burn the witch or to compel her to appear.] it would no doubt be easy to multiply instances, all equally well attested and authentic, of the transformation of witches into animals and of the damage which the women themselves have sustained through injuries inflicted on the animals.[785] but the foregoing evidence may suffice to establish the complete parallelism between witches and were-wolves in these respects. the analogy appears to confirm the view that the reason for burning a bewitched animal alive is a belief that the witch herself is in the animal, and that by burning it you either destroy the witch completely or at least unmask her and compel her to reassume her proper human shape, in which she is naturally far less potent for mischief than when she is careering about the country in the likeness of a cat, a hare, a horse, or what not. this principle is still indeed clearly recognized by people in oldenburg, though, as might be expected, they do not now carry out the principle to its logical conclusion by burning the bewitched animal or person alive; instead they resort to a feeble and, it must be added, perfectly futile subterfuge dictated by a mistaken humanity or a fear of the police. "when anything living is bewitched in a house, for example, children or animals, they burn or boil the nobler inwards of animals, especially the hearts, but also the lungs or the liver. if animals have died, they take the inwards of one of them or of an animal of the same kind slaughtered for the purpose; but if that is not possible they take the inwards of a cock, by preference a black one. the heart, lung, or liver is stuck all over with needles, or marked with a cross cut, or placed on the fire in a tightly closed vessel, strict silence being observed and doors and windows well shut. when the heart boils or is reduced to ashes, the witch must appear, for during the boiling she feels the burning pain. she either begs to be released or seeks to borrow something, for example, salt or a coal of fire, or she takes the lid off the pot, or tries to induce the person whose spell is on her to speak. they say, too, that a woman comes with a spinning-wheel. if it is a sheep that has died, you proceed in the same way with a tripe from its stomach and prick it with needles while it is on the boil. instead of boiling it, some people nail the heart to the highest rafter of the house, or lay it on the edge of the hearth, in order that it may dry up, no doubt because the same thing happens to the witch. we may conjecture that other sympathetic means of destruction are employed against witchcraft. the following is expressly reported: the heart of a calf that has died is stuck all over with needles, enclosed in a bag, and thrown into flowing water before sunset."[786] [there is the same reason for burning bewitched things; similarly by burning alive a person whose form a witch has assumed, you compel the witch to disclose herself.] and the same thing holds good also of inanimate objects on which a witch has cast her spell. in wales they say that "if a thing is bewitched, burn it, and immediately afterwards the witch will come to borrow something of you. if you give what she asks, she will go free; if you refuse it, she will burn, and a mark will be on her body the next day."[787] so, too, in oldenburg, "the burning of things that are bewitched or that have been received from witches is another way of breaking the spell. it is often said that the burning should take place at a cross-road, and in several places cross-roads are shewn where the burning used to be performed.... as a rule, while the things are burning, the guilty witches appear, though not always in their own shape. at the burning of bewitched butter they often appear as cockchafers and can be killed with impunity. victuals received from witches may be safely consumed if only you first burn a portion of them."[788] for example, a young man in oldenburg was wooing a girl, and she gave him two fine apples as a gift. not feeling any appetite at the time, he put the apples in his pocket, and when he came home he laid them by in a chest. two or three days afterwards he remembered the apples and went to the chest to fetch them. but when he would have put his hand on them, what was his horror to find in their stead two fat ugly toads in the chest. he hastened to a wise man and asked him what he should do with the toads. the man told him to boil the toads alive, but while he was doing so he must be sure on no account to lend anything out of the house. well, just as he had the toads in a pot on the fire and the water began to grow nicely warm, who should come to the door but the girl who had given him the apples, and she wished to borrow something; but he refused to give her anything, rated her as a witch, and drove her out of the house. a little afterwards in came the girl's mother and begged with tears in her eyes for something or other; but he turned her out also. the last word she said to him was that he should at least spare her daughter's life; but he paid no heed to her and let the toads boil till they fell to bits. next day word came that the girl was dead.[789] can any reasonable man doubt that the witch herself was boiled alive in the person of the toads? [the burning alive of a supposed witch in ireland in 1895.] moreover, just as a witch can assume the form of an animal, so she can assume the form of some other human being, and the likeness is sometimes so good that it is difficult to detect the fraud. however, by burning alive the person whose shape the witch has put on, you force the witch to disclose herself, just as by burning alive the bewitched animal you in like manner oblige the witch to appear. this principle may perhaps be unknown to science, falsely so called, but it is well understood in ireland and has been acted on within recent years. in march 1895 a peasant named michael cleary, residing at ballyvadlea, a remote and lonely district in the county of tipperary, burned his wife bridget cleary alive over a slow fire on the kitchen hearth in the presence of and with the active assistance of some neighbours, including the woman's own father and several of her cousins. they thought that she was not bridget cleary at all, but a witch, and that when they held her down on the fire she would vanish up the chimney; so they cried, while she was burning, "away she goes! away she goes!" even when she lay quite dead on the kitchen floor (for contrary to the general expectation she did not disappear up the chimney), her husband still believed that the woman lying there was a witch, and that his own dear wife had gone with the fairies to the old _rath_ or fort on the hill of kylenagranagh, where he would see her at night riding a grey horse and roped to the saddle, and that he would cut the ropes, and that she would stay with him ever afterwards. so he went with some friends to the fort night after night, taking a big table-knife with him to cut the ropes. but he never saw his wife again. he and the men who had held the woman on the fire were arrested and tried at clonmel for wilful murder in july 1895; they were all found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to various terms of penal servitude and imprisonment; the sentence passed on michael cleary was twenty years' penal servitude.[790] [sometimes bewitched animals are buried alive instead of being burned.] however, our british peasants, it must be confessed, have not always acted up to the strict logical theory which seems to call for death by fire as the proper treatment both of bewitched animals and of witches. sometimes, perhaps in moments of weakness, they have merely buried the bewitched animals alive instead of burning them. for example, in the year 1643, "many cattle having died, john brughe and neane nikclerith, also one of the initiated, conjoined their mutual skill for the safety of the herd. the surviving animals were drove past a tub of water containing two enchanted stones: and each was sprinkled from the liquid contents in its course. one, however, being unable to walk, 'was by force drawin out at the byre dure; and the said johnne with nikclerith smelling the nois thereof said it wald not leive, caused are hoill to be maid in maw greane, quhilk was put quick in the hole and maid all the rest of the cattell theireftir to go over that place: and in that devillische maner, be charmeing,' they were cured."[791] again, during the prevalence of a murrain about the year 1629, certain persons proposed to stay the plague with the help of a celebrated "cureing stane" of which the laird of lee was the fortunate owner. but from this they were dissuaded by one who "had sene bestiall curet be taking are quik seik ox, and making are deip pitt, and bureing him therin, and be calling the oxin and bestiall over that place." indeed issobell young, the mother of these persons, had herself endeavoured to check the progress of the distemper by taking "ane quik ox with ane catt, and ane grit quantitie of salt," and proceeding "to burie the ox and catt quik with the salt, in ane deip hoill in the grund, as ane sacrifice to the devill, that the rest of the guidis might be fred of the seiknes or diseases."[792] writing towards the end of the eighteenth century, john ramsay of ochtertyre tells us that "the violent death even of a brute is in some cases held to be of great avail. there is a disease called the _black spauld_, which sometimes rages like a pestilence among black cattle, the symptoms of which are a mortification in the legs and a corruption of the mass of blood. among the other engines of superstition that are directed against this fatal malady, the first cow seized with it is commonly buried alive, and the other cattle are forced to pass backwards and forwards over the pit. at other times the heart is taken out of the beast alive, and then the carcass is buried. it is remarkable that the leg affected is cut off, and hung up in some part of the house or byre, where it remains suspended, notwithstanding the seeming danger of infection. there is hardly a house in mull where these may not be seen. this practice seems to have taken its rise antecedent to christianity, as it reminds us of the pagan custom of hanging up offerings in their temples. in breadalbane, when a cow is observed to have symptoms of madness, there is recourse had to a peculiar process. they tie the legs of the mad creature, and throw her into a pit dug at the door of the fold. after covering the hole with earth, a large fire is kindled upon it; and the rest of the cattle are driven out, and forced to pass through the fire one by one."[793] in this latter custom we may suspect that the fire kindled on the grave of the buried cow was originally made by the friction of wood, in other words, that it was a need-fire. again, writing in the year 1862, sir arthur mitchell tells us that "for the cure of the murrain in cattle, one of the herd is still sacrificed for the good of the whole. this is done by burying it alive. i am assured that within the last ten years such a barbarism occurred in the county of moray."[794] [calves killed and buried to save the rest of the herd.] sometimes, however, the animal has not even been buried alive, it has been merely killed and then buried. in this emasculated form the sacrifice, we may say with confidence, is absolutely useless for the purpose of stopping a murrain. nevertheless, it has been tried. thus in lincolnshire, when the cattle plague was so prevalent in 1866, there was, i believe, not a single cowshed in marshland but had its wicken cross over the door; and other charms more powerful than this were in some cases resorted to. i never heard of the use of the needfire in the marsh, though it was, i believe, used on the wolds not many miles off. but i knew of at least one case in which a calf was killed and solemnly buried feet pointing upwards at the threshold of the cowshed. when our garthman told me of this, i pointed out to him that the charm had failed, for the disease had not spared that shed. but he promptly replied, "yis, but owd edwards were a soight too cliver; he were that mean he slew nobbutt a wankling cauf as were bound to deny anny road; if he had nobbutt tekken his best cauf it wud hev worked reight enuff; 'tain't in reason that owd skrat 'ud be hanselled wi' wankling draffle."[795] notes: [262] see jacob grimm, _deutsche mythologie_*[4] (berlin, 1875-1878), i. 502, 510, 516. [263] w. mannhardt, _der baumkultus der germanen und ihrer nachbarstämme_ (berlin, 1875), pp. 518 _sq._ [264] in the following survey of these fire-customs i follow chiefly w. mannhardt, _der baumkultus_, kap. vi. pp. 497 _sqq._ compare also j. grimm, _deutsche mythologie_,*[4] i. 500 _sqq._; walter e. kelly, _curiosities of indo-european tradition and folk-lore_ (london, 1863), pp. 46 _sqq._; f. vogt, "scheibentreiben und frühlingsfeuer," _zeitschrift des vereins für volkskunde_, iii. (1893) pp. 349-369; _ibid._ iv. (1894) pp. 195-197. [265] _the scapegoat_, pp. 316 _sqq._ [266] the first sunday in lent is known as _invocavit_ from the first word of the mass for the day (o. frh. von reinsberg-düringsfeld, _fest-kalender aus böhmen_, p. 67). [267] le baron de reinsberg-düringsfeld, _calendrier belge_ (brussels, 1861-1862), i. 141-143; e. monseur, _le folklore wallon_ (brussels, n.d.), pp. 124 _sq._ [268] émile hublard, _fêtes du temps jadis, les feux du carême_ (mons, 1899), pp. 25. for the loan of this work i am indebted to mrs. wherry of st. peter's terrace, cambridge. [269] é. hublard, _op. cit._ pp. 27 _sq._ [270] a. meyrac, _traditions, coutumes, légendes et contes des ardennes_ (charleville, 1890), p. 68. [271] l.f. sauvé, _le folk-lore des hautes-vosges_ (paris, 1889), p. 56. the popular name for the bonfires in the upper vosges (_hautes-vosges_) is _chavandes_. [272] e. cortet, _essai sur les fêtes religieuses_ (paris, 1867), pp. 101 _sq._ the local name for these bonfires is _bures_. [273] charles beauquier, _les mois en franche-comté_ (paris, 1900), pp. 33 _sq._ in bresse the custom was similar. see _la bresse louhannaise, bulletin mensuel, organe de la société d'agriculture et d'horticulture de l'arrondissement de louhans_, mars, 1906, pp. 111 _sq._; e. cortet, _op. cit._ p. 100. the usual name for the bonfires is _chevannes_ or _schvannes_; but in some places they are called _foulères, foualères, failles_, or _bourdifailles_ (ch. beauquier, _op. cit._ p. 34). but the sunday is called the sunday of the _brandons, bures, bordes_, or _boidès_, according to the place. the _brandons_ are the torches which are carried about the streets and the fields; the bonfires, as we have seen, bear another name. a curious custom, observed on the same sunday in franche-comté, requires that couples married within the year should distribute boiled peas to all the young folks of both sexes who demand them at the door. the lads and lasses go about from house to house, making the customary request; in some places they wear masks or are otherwise disguised. see ch. beauquier, _op. cit._ pp. 31-33. [274] curiously enough, while the singular is _granno-mio_, the plural is _grannas-mias_. [275] dr. pommerol, "la fête des brandons et le dieu gaulois grannus," _bulletins et mémoires de la société d'anthropologie de paris_, v. série, ii. (1901) pp. 427-429. [276] _op. cit._ pp. 428 _sq._ [277] h. dessau, _inscriptiones latinae selectae_, vol. ii. pars i. (berlin, 1902) pp. 216 _sq._, nos. 4646-4652. [278] (sir) john rhys, _celtic heathendom_ (london, 1888), pp. 22-25. [279] émile hublard, _fêtes du temps jadis, les feux du carême_ (mons, 1899), p. 38, quoting dom grenier, _histoire de la province de picardie_. [280] é. hublard, _op. cit._ p. 39, quoting dom grenier. [281] m. desgranges, "usages du canton de bonneval," _mémoires de la société royale des antiquaires de france_, i. (paris, 1817) pp. 236-238; felix chapiseau, _le folk-lore de la beauce et du perche_ (paris, 1902), i. 315 _sq._ [282] john brand, _popular antiquities of great britain_ (london, 1882-1883), i. 100. [283] e. cortet, _essai sur les fêtes religieuses_ (paris, 1867), pp. 99 _sq.; la bresse louhannaise_, mars, 1906, p. 111. [284] a. de nore, _coutumes, mythes et traditions des provinces de france_ (paris and lyons, 1846), pp. 283 _sq._ a similar, though not identical, custom prevailed at valenciennes (_ibid._ p. 338). [285] a. de nore, _op. cit._ p. 302. [286] désiré monnier, _traditions populaires comparées_ (paris, 1854), pp. 191 _sq._ [287] laisnel de la salle, _croyances et légendes du centre de la france_ (paris, 1875). i. 35 _sqq._ [288] jules lecoeur, _esquisses du rocage normand_ (condé-sur-noireau, 1887), ii. 131 _sq._ for more evidence of customs of this sort observed in various parts of france on the first sunday in lent, see madame clément, _histoire des fêtes civiles et religieuses_, etc., _du département du nord_*[2] (cambrai, 1836), pp. 351 _sqq._; émile hublard, _fêtes du temps jadis, les feux du carême_ (mons, 1899), pp. 33 _sqq._ [289] j.h. schmitz, _sitten und sagen, lieder, sprüchwörter und räthsel des eifler volkes_ (trèves, 1856-1858), i. 21-25; n. hocker, in _zeitschrift für deutsche mythologie und sittenkunde_, i. (1853) p. 90; w. mannhardt, _der baumkultus der germanen und ihrer nachbarstämme_ (berlin, 1875), p. 501. [290] n. hocker, _op. cit._ pp. 89 _sq._; w. mannhardt, _l.c._ [291] f.j. vonbun, _beiträge zur deutschen mythologie_ (chur, 1862), p. 20; w. mannhardt, _l.c._ [292] ernst meier, _deutsche sagen, sitten und gebräuche aus schwaben_ (stuttgart, 1852), pp. 380 _sqq._; anton birlinger, _volksthümliches aus schwaben_ (freiburg im breisgau, 1861-1862), ii. 56 _sqq._, 66 _sqq._; _bavaria, landes-und volkskunde des königreichs bayern_ (munich, 1860-1867), ii. 2, pp. 838 _sq._; f. panzer, _beitrag zur deutschen mythologie_ (munich, 1848-1855), i. 211, § 232; w. mannhardt, _l.c._ one of the popular german names for the first sunday in lent is white sunday, which is not to be confused with the first sunday after easter, which also goes by the name of white sunday (e. meier, _op. cit._ p. 380; a. birlinger, _op. cit._ ii. 56). [293] h. gaidoz, "le dieu gaulois du soleil et le symbolisme de la roue," _revue archéologique_, iii. série, iv. (1884) pp. 139 _sq._ [294] august witzschel, _sagen, sitten und gebräuche aus thüringen_ (vienna, 1878), p. 189; f. panzer, _beitrag zur deutschen mythologie_ (munich, 1848-1855), ii. 207; w. mannhardt, _der baumkultus,_ pp. 500 _sq._ [295] w. kolbe, _hessiche volks-sitten und gebräuche_*[2] (marburg, 1888), p. 36. [296] adalbert kuhn, _die herabkunft des feuers und des göttertranks_*[2] (gütersloh, 1886), p. 86, quoting hocker, _des mosellandes geschichten, sagen und legenden_ (trier, 1852), pp. 415 _sqq._ compare w. mannhardt, _der baumkultus_, p. 501; and below, pp. 163 _sq._ thus it appears that the ceremony of rolling the fiery wheel down hill was observed twice a year at konz, once on the first sunday in lent, and once at midsummer. [297] h. herzog, _schweizerische volksfeste, sitten und gebräuche_ (aarau, 1884), pp. 214-216; e. hoffmann-krayer, "fruchtbarkeitsriten im schweizerischen volksbrauch," _schweizerisches archiv für volkskunde_, xi. (1907) pp. 247-249; _id., feste und bräuche des schweizervolkes_ (zurich, 1913), pp. 135 _sq._ [298] theodor vernaleken, _mythen und bräuche des volkes in oesterreich_ (vienna, 1859), pp. 293 _sq._; w. mannhardt, _der baumkultus_, p. 498. see _the dying god_, p. 239. [299] j. h. schmitz, _sitten und sagen, lieder, sprüchwörter und räthsel des eifler volkes_ (treves, 1856-1858), i. 20; w. mannhardt, _der baumkultus_, p. 499. [300] l. strackerjan, _aberglaube und sagen aus dem herzogthum oldenburg_ (oldenburg, 1867), ii. 39, § 306; w. mannhardt, _der baumkultus_, p. 498. [301] w. mannhardt, _der baumkultus_, p. 499. [302] w. mannhardt, _op. cit._ pp. 498 _sq._ [303] w. mannhardt, _op. cit._ p. 499. [304] christian schneller, _märchen und sagen aus wälschtirol_ (innsbruck, 1867), pp. 234 _sq._; w. mannhardt, _op. cit._ pp. 499 _sq._ [305] john brand, _popular antiquities of great britain_ (london, 1882-1883), i. 157 _sq._; w. mannhardt, _der baumkultus_, pp. 502-505; karl freiherr von leoprechting, _aus dem lechrain_ (munich, 1855), pp. 172 _sq._; anton birlinger, _volksthümliches aus schwaben_ (freiburg im breisgau, 1861-1862), i. 472 _sq._; montanus, _die deutschen volksfeste, volksbräuche und deutscher volksglaube_ (iserlohn, n.d.), p. 26; f. panzer, _beitrag zur deutschen mythologie_ (munich, 1848-1855), ii. 241 _sq._; ernst meier, _deutsche sagen, sitten und gebräuche aus schwaben_ (stuttgart, 1852), pp. 139 _sq._; _bavaria, landesund volkskunde des königreichs bayern_ (munich, 1860-1867), i. 371; a. wuttke, _der deutsche volksaberglaube_*[2] (berlin, 1869), pp. 68 _sq._, § 81; ignaz v. zingerle, _sitten, bräuche und meinungen des tiroler volkes_*[2] (innsbruck, 1871), p. 149, §§ 1286-1289; w. kolbe, _hessische volks-sitten und gebräuche_*[2] (marburg, 1888), pp. 44 _sqq._; _county folk-lore, printed extracts, leicestershire and rutland_, collected by c.j. billson (london, 1895), pp. 75 _sq._; a. tiraboschi, "usi pasquali nel bergamasco," _archivio per lo studio delle tradizione popolari_, i. (1892) pp. 442 _sq._ the ecclesiastical custom of lighting the paschal or easter candle is very fully described by mr. h.j. feasey, _ancient english holy week ceremonial_ (london, 1897), pp. 179 _sqq._ these candles were sometimes of prodigious size; in the cathedrals of norwich and durham, for example, they reached almost to the roof, from which they had to be lighted. often they went by the name of the judas light or the judas candle; and sometimes small waxen figures of judas were hung on them. see h.j. feasey, _op. cit._ pp. 193, 213 _sqq._ as to the ritual of the new fire at st. peter's in rome, see r. chambers, _the book of days_ (london and edinburgh, 1886), i. 421; and as to the early history of the rite in the catholic church, see mgr. l. duchesne, _origines du culte chrétien_*[3] (paris, 1903), pp. 250-257.] [306] _bavaria, landes und volkskunde des königreichs bayern_ (munich, 1860-1867), i. 1002 _sq._ [307] gennaro finamore, _credenze, usi e costumi abruzzesi_ (palermo, 1890), pp. 122 _sq._ [308] g. finamore, _op. cit._ pp. 123 _sq._ [309] vincenzo dorsa, _la tradizione greco-latina negli usi e nelle credenze popolari della calabria citeriore_ (cosenza, 1884), pp. 48 _sq._ [310] alois john, _sitte, brauch und volksglaube im deutschen westböhmen_ (prague, 1905), pp. 62 _sq._ [311] k. seifart, _sagen, märchen, schwänke und gebräuche aits stadt und stift hildesheim_*[2] (hildesheim, 1889), pp. 177 _sq._, 179 _sq._ [312] m. lexer, "volksüberlieferungen aus dem lesachthal in karnten," _zeitschrift für deutsche mythologie und sittenkunde_, iii. (1855) p. 31. [313] _the popish kingdome or reigne of antichrist, written in latin verse by thomas naogeorgus and englyshed by barnabe googe_, 1570, edited by r.c. hope (london, 1880), p. 52, _recto._ the title of the original poem was _regnum papisticum_. the author, thomas kirchmeyer (naogeorgus, as he called himself), died in 1577. the book is a satire on the abuses and superstitions of the catholic church. only one perfect copy of googe's translation is known to exist: it is in the university library at cambridge. see mr. r.c. hope's introduction to his reprint of this rare work, pp. xv. _sq._ the words, "then clappers ceasse, and belles are set againe at libertée," refer to the custom in catholic countries of silencing the church bells for two days from noon on maundy thursday to noon on easter saturday and substituting for their music the harsh clatter of wooden rattles. see r. chambers, _the book of days_ (london and edinburgh, 1886), i, 412 _sq._ according to another account the church bells are silent from midnight on the wednesday preceding maundy thursday till matins on easter day. see w. smith and s. cheetham, _dictionary of christian antiquities_ (london, 1875-1880), ii. 1161, referring to _ordo roman_. i. _u.s._ [314] r. chambers, _the book of days_ (london and edinburgh, 1886), i. 421. [315] miss jessie l. weston, "the _scoppio del carro_ at florence," _folk-lore_, xvi. (1905) pp. 182-184; "lo scoppio del carro," _resurrezione, numero unico del sabato santo_ (florence, april, 1906), p. 1 (giving a picture of the car with its pyramid of fire-works). the latter paper was kindly sent to me from florence by my friend professor w.j. lewis. i have also received a letter on the subject from signor carlo placci, dated 4 (or 7) september, 1905, 1 via alfieri, firenze. [316] frederick starr, "holy week in mexico," _the journal of american folk-lore_, xii. (1899) pp. 164 _sq._; c. boyson taylor, "easter in many lands," _everybody's magazine_, new york, 1903, p. 293. i have to thank mr. s.s. cohen, of 1525 walnut street, philadelphia, for sending me a cutting from the latter magazine. [317] k. von den steinen, _unter den naturvölkern zentral-brasiliens_ (berlin, 1894), pp. 458 _sq._; e. montet, "religion et superstition dans l'amérique du sud," _revue de l'histoire des religions_, xxxii. (1895) p. 145. [318] j.j. von tschudi, _peru, reiseskizzen aus den jahren 1838-1842_ (st. gallen, 1846), ii. 189 _sq._ [319] h. candelier, _rio-hacha et les indiens goajires_ (paris, 1893), p. 85. [320] henry maundrell, "a journey from aleppo to jerusalem at easter, a.d. 1697," in bohn's _early travellers in palestine_ (london, 1848), pp. 462-465; mgr. auvergne, in _annales de la propagation de la foi_, x. (1837) pp. 23 _sq._; a.p. stanley, _sinai and palestine_, second edition (london, 1856), pp. 460-465; e. cortet, _essai sur les fêtes religieuses_ (paris, 1867), pp. 137-139; a.w. kinglake, _eothen_, chapter xvi. pp. 158-163 (temple classics edition); father n. abougit, s.j., "le feu du saint-sépulcre," _les missions catholiques_, viii. (1876) pp. 518 _sq._; rev. c.t. wilson, _peasant life in the holy land_ (london, 1906), pp. 45 _sq._; p. saint-yves, "le renouvellement du feu sacré," _revue des traditions populaires_, xxvii. (1912) pp. 449 _sqq._ the distribution of the new fire in the church of the holy sepulchre is the subject of a picture by holman hunt. from some printed notes on the picture, with which mrs. holman hunt was so kind as to furnish me, it appears that the new fire is carried by horsemen to bethlehem and jaffa, and that a russian ship conveys it from jaffa to odessa, whence it is distributed all over the country. [321] father x. abougit, s.j., "le feu du saint-sépulcre," _les missions catholiques_, viii. (1876) pp. 165-168. [322] i have described the ceremony as i witnessed it at athens, on april 13th, 1890. compare _folk-lore_, i. (1890) p. 275. having been honoured, like other strangers, with a place on the platform, i did not myself detect lucifer at work among the multitude below; i merely suspected his insidious presence. [323] w.h.d. rouse, "folk-lore from the southern sporades," _folk-lore_, x. (1899) p. 178. [324] mrs. a.e. gardner was so kind as to send me a photograph of a theban judas dangling from a gallows and partially enveloped in smoke. the photograph was taken at thebes during the easter celebration of 1891. [325] g.f. abbott, _macedonian folklore_ (cambridge, 1903) p. 37. [326] cirbied, "mémoire sur la gouvernment et sur la religion des anciens arméniens," _mémoires publiées par la société royale des antiquaires de france_, ii. (1820) pp. 285-287; manuk abeghian, _der armenische volksglaube_ (leipsic, 1899), pp. 72-74. the ceremony is said to be merely a continuation of an old heathen festival which was held at the beginning of spring in honour of the fire-god mihr. a bonfire was made in a public place, and lamps kindled at it were kept burning throughout the year in each of the fire-god's temples. [327] _the magic art and the evolution of kings_, i. 32, ii. 243; _spirits of the corn and of the wild_, ii. 65, 74, 75, 78, 136. [328] garcilasso de la vega, _royal commentaries of the yncas_ translated by (sir) clements r. markham (hakluyt society, london, 1869-1871), vol. ii. pp. 155-163. compare juan de velasco, "histoire du royaume de quito," in h. ternaux-compans's _voyages, relations et mémoires originaux pour servir à l'histoire de la découverte de l'amérique_, xviii. (paris, 1840) p. 140. [329] b. de sahagun, _histoire générale des choses de la nouvelle espagne_, traduite par d. jourdanet et r. simeon (paris, 1880), bk. ii. chapters 18 and 37, pp. 76, 161; brasseur de bourbourg, _histoire des nations civilisées du mexique et de l'amérique-centrale_ (paris, 1857-1859), iii. 136. [330] mrs. matilda coxe stevenson, "the zuñi indians," _twenty-third annual report of the bureau of american ethnology_ (washington, 1904), pp. 108-141, 148-162, especially pp. 108, 109, 114 _sq._, 120 _sq._, 130 _sq._, 132, 148 _sq._, 157 _sq._ i have already described these ceremonies in _totemism and exogamy_, iii. 237 _sq._ among the hopi (moqui) indians of walpi, another pueblo village of this region, new fire is ceremonially kindled by friction in november. see jesse walter fewkes, "the tusayan new fire ceremony," _proceedings of the boston society of natural history_, xxvi. 422-458; _id._, "the group of tusayan ceremonials called _katcinas," fifteenth annual report of the bureau of ethnology_ (washington, 1897), p. 263; _id._, "hopi _katcinas," twenty-first annual report of the bureau of american ethnology_ (washington, 1903), p. 24. [331] henry r. schoolcraft, _notes on the iroquois_ (albany, 1847), p. 137. schoolcraft did not know the date of the ceremony, but he conjectured that it fell at the end of the iroquois year, which was a lunar year of twelve or thirteen months. he says: "that the close of the lunar series should have been the period of putting out the fire, and the beginning of the next, the time of relumination, from new fire, is so consonant to analogy in the tropical tribes, as to be probable" (_op. cit._ p. 138). [332] c.f. hall, _life with the esquimaux_ (london, 1864), ii. 323. [333] franz boas, "the eskimo of baffin land and hudson bay," _bulletin of the american museum of natural, history_, xv. part i. (new york, 1901) p. 151. [334] g. nachtigal, _saharâ und sûdân_, iii. (leipsic, 1889) p. 251. [335] major c. percival, "tropical africa, on the border line of mohamedan civilization," _the geographical journal_, xlii. (1913) pp. 253 _sq._ [336] adrien germain, "note sur zanzibar et la côte orientale de l'afrique," _bulletin de la société de géographie_ (paris), v. série xvi. (1868) p. 557; _les missions catholiques_, iii. (1870) p. 270; charles new, _life, wanderings, and labours in eastern africa_ (london, 1873), p. 65; jerome becker, _la vie en afrique_ (paris and brussels, 1887), ii. 36; o. baumann, _usambara und seine nachbargebiele_ (berlin, 1891), pp. 55 _sq._; c. velten, _sitten und gebräucheaer suaheli_ (göttingen,1903), pp. 342-344. [337] duarte barbosa, _description of the coasts of east africa and malabar_ (hakluyt society, london, 1866), p. 8; _id._, in _records of south-eastern africa_, collected by g. mccall theal, vol. i. (1898) p. 96; damião de goes, "chronicle of the most fortunate king dom emanuel," in _records of south-eastern africa_, collected by g. mccall theal, vol. iii. (1899) pp. 130 _sq._ the name benametapa (more correctly _monomotapa_) appears to have been the regular title of the paramount chief, which the portuguese took to be the name of the country. the people over whom he ruled seem to have been the bantu tribe of the makalanga in the neighbourhood of sofala. see g. mccall theal, _records of south-eastern africa_, vii. (1901) pp. 481-484. it is to their custom of annually extinguishing and relighting the fire that montaigne refers in his essay (i. 22, vol. i. p. 140 of charpentier's edition), though he mentions no names. [338] sir h.h. johnson, _british central africa_ (london, 1897), pp. 426, 439. [339] w.h.r. rivers, _the todas_ (london, 1906), pp. 290-292. [340] lieut. r. stewart, "notes on northern cachar," _journal of the asiatic society of bengal_ xxiv. (1855) p. 612. [341] a. bastian, _die völker des östlichen asien_, ii. (leipsic, 1866) pp. 49 _sq._; shway yoe, _the burman_ (london, 1882), ii. 325 _sq._ [342] g. schlegel, _uranographie chinoise_ (the hague and leyden, 1875), pp. 139-143; c. puini, "il fuoco nella tradizione degli antichi cinesi," _giornale della società asiatica italiana_, i. (1887) pp. 20-23; j.j.m. de groot, _les fétes annuellement célébrées à émoui (amoy)_ (paris, 1886), i. 208 _sqq._ the notion that fire can be worn out with age meets us also in brahman ritual. see the _satapatha brahmana_, translated by julius eggeling, part i. (oxford, 1882) p. 230 (_sacred books of the east_, vol. xii.). [343] w.g. aston, _shinto, the way of the gods_ (london, 1905), pp. 258 _sq._, compare p. 193. the wands in question are sticks whittled near the top into a mass of adherent shavings; they go by the name of _kedzurikake_ ("part-shaved"), and resemble the sacred _inao_ of the aino. see w.g. aston, _op. cit._ p. 191; and as to the _inao_, see _spirits of the corn and of the wild_, ii. 185, with note 2. [344] ovid, _fasti_, iii. 82; homer, _iliad_, i. 590, _sqq._ [345] philostiatus, _heroica_, xx. 24. [346] ovid, _fasti_, iii. 143 _sq._; macrobius, _saturn_, i. 12. 6. [347] festus, ed. c.o. müller (leipsic, 1839), p. 106, _s.v._ "ignis." plutarch describes a method of rekindling the sacred fire by means of the sun's rays reflected from a hollow mirror (_numa_, 9); but he seems to be referring to a greek rather than to the roman custom. the rule of celibacy imposed on the vestals, whose duty it was to relight the sacred fire as well as to preserve it when it was once made, is perhaps explained by a superstition current among french peasants that if a girl can blow up a smouldering candle into a flame she is a virgin, but that if she fails to do so, she is not. see jules lecoeur, _esquisses du bocage normand_ (condé-sur-noireau, 1883-1887), ii. 27; b. souché, _croyances, présages et traditions diverses_ (niort, 1880), p. 12. at least it seems more likely that the rule sprang from a superstition of this sort than from a simple calculation of expediency, as i formerly suggested (_journal of philology_, xiv. (1885) p. 158). compare _the magic art and the evolution of kings>_ ii. 234 _sqq._ [348] geoffrey keating, d.d., _the history of ireland, translated from the original gaelic, and copiously annotated_, by john o'mahony (new york, 1857), p. 300, with the translator's note. compare (sir) john rhys, _celtic heathendom_ (london, 1888), pp. 514 _sq._ [349] w.r.s. ralston, _songs of the russian people_, second edition (london, 1872), pp. 254 _sq._ [350] a. kuhn und w. schwartz, _norddeutsche sagen, märchen und gebräuche_ (leipsic, 1848), p. 373; a. kuhn, _sagen, gebräuche und märchen aus westfalen_ (leipsic, 1859), ii. 134 _sqq.; id., märkische sagen und märchen_ (berlin, 1843), pp. 312 _sq._; j.d.h. temme, _die volkssagen der altmark_ (berlin, 1839), pp. 75 _sq._; k. lynker, _deutsche sagen und sitten in hessischen gauen_*[2] (cassel and göttingen, 1860), p. 240; h. pröhle, _harzbilder_ (leipsic, 1855), p. 63; r. andree, _braunschweiger volkskunde_ (brunswick, 1896), pp. 240-242; w. kolbe, _hessische volks-sitten und gebräuche_ (marburg, 1888), pp. 44-47; f.a. reimann, _deutsche volksfeste_ (weimar, 1839), p. 37; "sitten und gebräuche in duderstadt," _zeitschrift für deutsche mythologie und sitten-kunde_, ii. (1855) p. 107; k. seifart, _sagen, märchen, schwänke und gebräuche aus stadt und stift hildesheim_*[2] (hildesheim, 1889), pp. 177, 180; o. hartung, "zur volkskunde aus anhalt," _zeitschrift des vereins für volkskunde_, vii. (1897) p. 76. [351] l. strackerjan, _aberglaube und sagen aus dem herzogthum oldenburg_ (oldenburg, 1867), ii. p. 43 _sq._, §313; w. mannhardt, _der baumkultus der germanen und ihrer nachbarstämme_ (berlin, 1875), pp. 505 _sq._ [352] l. strackerjan, _op. cit._ ii. p. 43, §313. [353] j. grimm, _deutsche mythologie_,*[4] (berlin, 1875-1878), i. 512; w. mannhardt, _der baumkultus der germanen und ihrer nachbarstämme_, pp. 506 _sq._ [354] h. pröhle, _harzbilder_ (leipsic, 1855), p. 63; _id._, in _zeitschrift für deutsche mythologie und sittenkunde_, i. (1853) p. 79; a. kuhn und w. schwartz, _norddeutsche sagen, märchen und gebräuche_ (leipsic, 1848), p. 373; w. mannhardt, _der baumkultus_, p. 507. [355] a. kuhn, _märkische sagen und märchen_ (berlin, 1843), pp. 312 _sq._; w. mannhardt, _l.c._ [356] w. mannhardt, _der baumkultus_ p. 508. compare j.w. wolf, _beiträge zur deutschen mythologie_ (göttingen, 1852-1857), i. 74; j. grimm, _deutsche mythologie_,*[4] i. 512. the two latter writers only state that before the fires were kindled it was customary to hunt squirrels in the woods. [357] a. kuhn, _l.c._; w. mannhardt, _der baumkultus_, p. 508. [358] _bavaria, landesund volkskunde des königreichs bayern_ (munich, 1860-1867), iii. 956. [359] see above, pp. 116 _sq._, 119. [360] f. panzer, _beitrag zur deutschen mythologie_ (munich, 1848-1855), i. pp. 211 _sq._, § 233; w. mannhardt, _der baumkultus_, pp. 507 _sq._ [361] _bavaria, landesund volkskunde des königreichs bayern_, iii. 357. [362] f. panzer, _beitrag zur deutschen mythologie_ (munich, 1848-1855), i. pp. 212 _sq._, § 236. [363] f. panzer, _op. cit._ ii. pp. 78 _sq._, §§ 114, 115. the customs observed at these places and at althenneberg are described together by w. mannhardt, _der baumkultus_, p. 505. [364] a. birlinger, _volksthümliches aus schwaben_ (freiburg im breisgau, 1861-1862), ii. p. 82, § 106; w. mannhardt, _der baumkultus_, p. 508. [365] elard hugo meyer, _badisches volksleben_ (strasburg, 1900), pp. 97 _sq._ [366] _the magic art and the evolution of kings_, ii. 349 _sqq._ see further below, vol. ii. pp. 298 _sqq._ [367] j.w. wolf, _beiträge sur deutschen mythologie_, i. 75 _sq._; w. mannhardt, _der baumkultus_, p. 506. [368] l. lloyd, _peasant life in sweden_ (london, 1870), p. 228. [369] w. müller, _beiträge sur volkskunde der deutschen in mahren_ (vienna and olmütz, 1893), pp. 321, 397 _sq._ in wagstadt, a town of austrian silesia, a boy in a red waistcoat used to play the part of judas on the wednesday before good friday. he was chased from before the church door by the other school children, who pursued him through the streets with shouts and the noise of rattles and clappers till they reached a certain suburb, where they always caught and beat him because he had betrayed the redeemer. see anton peter, _volksthümliches aus österreichisch-schlesien_ (troppau, 1865-1867), ii. 282 _sq._; paul drechsler, _sitte, brauch und volksglaube in schlesien_ (leipsic, 1903-1906), i. 77 _sq._ [370] _scotland and scotsmen in the eighteenth century_, from the mss. of john ramsay, esq., of ochtertyre, edited by alexander allardyce (edinburgh and london, 1888), ii. 439-445. as to the _tein-eigin_ or need-fire, see below, pp. 269 _sqq_. the etymology of the word beltane is uncertain; the popular derivation of the first part from the phoenician baal is absurd. see, for example, john graham dalyell, _the darker superstitions of scotland_ (edinburgh, 1834), pp. 176 _sq._: "the recognition of the pagan divinity baal, or bel, the sun, is discovered through innumerable etymological sources. in the records of scottish history, down to the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries, multiplied prohibitions were issued from the fountains of ecclesiastical ordinances, against kindling _bailfires_, of which the origin cannot be mistaken. the festival of this divinity was commemorated in scotland until the latest date." modern scholars are not agreed as to the derivation of the name beltane. see rev. john gregorson campbell, _witchcraft and second sight in the highlands and islands of scotland_ (glasgow, 1902), pp. 268 _sq._; j.a. macculloch, _the religion of the ancient celts_ (edinburgh, 1911), p. 264. [371] "_bal-tein_ signifies the _fire of baal. baal_ or _ball_ is the only word in gaelic for _a globe_. this festival was probably in honour of the sun, whose return, in his apparent annual course, they celebrated, on account of his having such a visible influence, by his genial warmth, on the productions of the earth. that the caledonians paid a superstitious respect to the sun, as was the practice among many other nations, is evident, not only by the sacrifice at baltein, but upon many other occasions. when a highlander goes to bathe, or to drink waters out of a consecrated fountain, he must always approach by going round the place, _from east to west on the south side_, in imitation of the apparent diurnal motion of the sun. when the dead are laid in the earth, the grave is approached by going round in the same manner. the bride is conducted to her future spouse, in the presence of the minister, and the glass goes round a company, in the course of the sun. this is called, in gaelic, going round the right, or the _lucky way_. the opposite course is the wrong, or the _unlucky_ way. and if a person's meat or drink were to affect the wind-pipe, or come against his breath, they instantly cry out _deisheal_! which is an ejaculation praying that it may go by the right way" (rev. j. robertson, in sir john sinclair's _statistical account of scotland_, xi. 621 note). compare j.g. campbell, _superstitions of the highlands and islands of scotland_ (glasgow, 1900), pp. 229 _sq._: "_the right-hand turn_ (_deiseal_).-this was the most important of all the observances. the rule is '_deiseal_ (i.e. the right-hand turn) for everything,' and consists in doing all things with a motion corresponding to the course of the sun, or from left to right. this is the manner in which screw-nails are driven, and is common with many for no reason but its convenience. old men in the highlands were very particular about it. the coffin was taken _deiseal_ about the grave, when about to be lowered; boats were turned to sea according to it, and drams are given to the present day to a company. when putting a straw rope on a house or corn-stack, if the assistant went _tuaitheal_ (i.e. against the course of the sun), the old man was ready to come down and thrash him. on coming to a house the visitor should go round it _deiseal_ to secure luck in the object of his visit. after milking a cow the dairy-maid should strike it _deiseal_ with the shackle, saying 'out and home' (_mach 'us dachaigh_). this secures its safe return. the word is from _deas_, right-hand, and _iul_, direction, and of itself contains no allusion to the sun." compare m. martin, "description of the western islands of scotland," in j. pinkerton's _voyages and travels_, iii. 612 _sq._: "there was an ancient custom in the island of lewis, to make a fiery circle about the houses, corn, cattle, etc., belonging to each particular family: a man carried fire in his right hand, and went round, and it was called _dessil_, from the right hand, which in the ancient language is called _dess_.... there is another way of the _dessil_, or carrying fire round about women before they are churched, after child-bearing; and it is used likewise about children until they are christened; both which are performed in the morning and at night. this is only practised now by some of the ancient midwives: i enquired their reason for this custom, which i told them was altogether unlawful; this disobliged them mightily, insomuch that they would give me no satisfaction. but others, that were of a more agreeable temper, told me that fire-round was an effectual means to preserve both the mother and the infant from the power of evil spirits, who are ready at such times to do mischief, and sometimes carry away the infant; and when they get them once in their possession, return them poor meagre skeletons; and these infants are said to have voracious appetites, constantly craving for meat. in this case it was usual with those who believed that their children were thus taken away, to dig a grave in the fields upon quarter-day, and there to lay the fairy skeleton till next morning; at which time the parents went to the place, where they doubted not to find their own child instead of this skeleton. some of the poorer sort of people in these islands retain the custom of performing these rounds sun-ways about the persons of their benefactors three times, when they bless them, and wish good success to all their enterprizes. some are very careful when they set out to sea that the boat be first rowed about sun-ways; and if this be neglected, they are afraid their voyage may prove unfortunate." probably the superstition was based entirely on the supposed luckiness of the right hand, which accordingly, in making a circuit round an object, is kept towards the centre. as to a supposed worship of the sun among the scottish highlanders, compare j.g. campbell, _witchcraft and second sight in the highlands and islands of scotland_, p. 304: "both the sun (_a ghrian_) and moon (_a ghealach_) are feminine in gaelic, and the names are simply descriptive of their appearance. there is no trace of a sun-god or moon-goddess." as to the etymology of beltane, see above, p. 149 note. [372] rev. james robertson (parish minister of callander), in sir john sinclair's _statistical account of scotland_ (edinburgh, 1791-1799), xi. 620 _sq._ [373] pennant's "tour in scotland," in john pinkerton's _voyages and travels_ (london, 1808-1814), iii. 49. [374] rev. dr. thomas bisset, in sir john sinclair's _statistical account of scotland_, v. 84. [375] rev. allan stewart, in sir john sinclair's _statistical account of scotland_, xv. 517 note. [376] rev. walter gregor, "notes on beltane cakes," _folk-lore_, vi. (1895) pp. 2 _sq._ the beltane cakes with the nine knobs on them remind us of the cakes with twelve knobs which the athenians offered to cronus and other deities (see _the scapegoat_, p. 351). the king of the bean on twelfth night was chosen by means of a cake, which was broken in as many pieces as there were persons present, and the person who received the piece containing a bean or a coin became king. see j. boemus, _mores, leges et ritus omnium gentium_ (lyons, 1541), p. 222; john brand, _popular antiquities of great britain_ (london, 1882-1883), i. 22 _sq.; the scapegoat_, pp. 313 _sqq._ [377] shaw, in pennant's "tour in scotland," printed in j. pinkerton's _voyages and travels_, iii. 136. the part of scotland to which shaw's description applies is what he calls the province or country of murray, extending from the river spey on the east to the river beauly on the west, and south-west to loch lochy. [378] rev. walter gregor, _notes on the folk-lore of the north-east of scotland_ (london, 1881), p. 167. [379] a. goodrich-freer, "more folklore from the hebrides," _folk-lore_, xiii. (1902) p. 41. the st. michael's cake (_strùthan na h'eill micheil_), referred to in the text, is described as "the size of a quern" in circumference. "it is kneaded simply with water, and marked across like a scone, dividing it into four equal parts, and then placed in front of the fire resting on a quern. it is not polished with dry meal as is usual in making a cake, but when it is cooked a thin coating of eggs (four in number), mixed with buttermilk, is spread first on one side, then on the other, and it is put before the fire again. an earlier shape, still in use, which tradition associates with the female sex, is that of a triangle with the corners cut off. a _strùhthan_ or _strùhdhan_ (the word seems to be used for no other kind of cake) is made for each member of the household, including servants and herds. when harvest is late, an early patch of corn is mown on purpose for the _strùthan_" (a. goodrich-freer, _op. cit._ pp. 44. _sq._.) [380] marie trevelyan, _folk-lore and folk-stories of wales_ (london, 1909), pp. 22-24. [381] jonathan ceredig davies, _folklore of west and mid-wales_ (aberystwyth, 1911), p. 76. [382] joseph train, _an historical and statistical account of the isle of man_ (douglas, isle of man, 1845), i. 314 _sq._ [383] (sir) john rhys, _celtic folk-lore, welsh and manx_ (oxford, 1901), i. 309; _id._, "the coligny calendar," _proceedings of the british academy, 1909-1910_, pp. 261 _sq._ see further _the magic art and the evolution of kings_, ii. 53 _sq._ [384] professor frank granger, "early man," in _the victoria history of the county of nottingham_, edited by william page, i. (london, 1906) pp. 186 _sq._ [385] (sir) john rhys, _celtic folk-lore, welsh and manx_ (oxford, 1901), i. 310; _id._, "manx folk-lore and superstitions," _folk-lore_, ii. (1891) pp. 303 _sq._ [386] p.w. joyce, _a social history of ancient ireland_ (london, 1903), i. 290 _sq._, referring to kuno meyer, _hibernia minora_, p. 49 and _glossary_, 23. [387] j.b. bury, _the life of st. patrick_ (london, 1905), pp. 104 _sqq._ [388] above, p. 147. [389] geoffrey keating, d.d., _the history of ireland_, translated by john o'mahony (new york, 1857), pp. 300 _sq._ [390] (sir) john rhys, "manx folk-lore and superstition," _folk-lore_, ii. (1891) p. 303; _id., celtic folk-lore, welsh and manx_ (oxford, 1901), i. 309. compare p.w. joyce, _a social history of ancient ireland_ (london, 1903), i. 291: "the custom of driving cattle through fires against disease on the eve of the 1st of may, and on the eve of the 24th june (st. john's day), continued in ireland, as well as in the scottish highlands, to a period within living memory." in a footnote mr. joyce refers to carmichael, _carmina gadelica_, ii. 340, for scotland, and adds, "i saw it done in ireland." [391] l. lloyd, _peasant life in sweden_ (london, 1870), pp. 233 _sq._ [392] reinsberg-düringsfeld, _fest-kalender aus böhmen_ (prague, n.d.), pp. 211 _sq._; br. jelínek, "materialien zur vorgeschichte und volkskunde böhmens," _mittheilungen der anthropologischen gesellschaft in wien_, xxi. (1891) p. 13; alois john, _sitte, branch, und volksglaube im deutschen westböhmen_ (prague, 1905), p. 71. [393] j.a.e. köhler, _volksbrauch, aberglauben, sagen und andre alte ueberlieferungen im voigtlande_ (leipsic, 1867), p. 373. the superstitions relating to witches at this season are legion. for instance, in saxony and thuringia any one who labours under a physical blemish can easily rid himself of it by transferring it to the witches on walpurgis night. he has only to go out to a cross-road, make three crosses on the blemish, and say, "in the name of god the father, the son, and the holy ghost." thus the blemish, whatever it may be, is left behind him at the cross-road, and when the witches sweep by on their way to the brocken, they must take it with them, and it sticks to them henceforth. moreover, three crosses chalked up on the doors of houses and cattle-stalls on walpurgis night will effectually prevent any of the infernal crew from entering and doing harm to man or beast. see e. sommer, _sagen, märchen und gebräuche aus sachsen und thüringen_ (halle, 1846), pp. 148 _sq.; die gestriegelte rockenphilosophie_ (chemnitz, 1759), p. 116. [394] see _the scapegoat_, pp. 158 _sqq._ [395] as to the midsummer festival of europe in general see the evidence collected in the "specimen calendarii gentilis," appended to the _edda rhythmica seu antiquior, vulgo saemundina dicta_, pars iii. (copenhagen, 1828) pp. 1086-1097. [396] john mitchell kemble, _the saxons in england_, new edition (london, 1876), i. 361 _sq_., quoting "an ancient ms. written in england, and now in the harleian collection, no. 2345, fol. 50." the passage is quoted in part by j. brand, _popular antiquities of great britain_ (london, 1882-1883), i. 298 _sq._, by r.t. hampson, _medii aevi kalendarium_ (london, 1841), i. 300, and by w. mannhardt, _der baumkultus_, p. 509. the same explanations of the midsummer fires and of the custom of trundling a burning wheel on midsummer eve are given also by john beleth, a writer of the twelfth century. see his _rationale divinorum officiorum_ (appended to the _rationale divinorum officiorum_ of g. [w.] durandus, lyons, 1584), p. 556 _recto: "solent porro hoc tempore_ [the eve of st. john the baptist] _ex veteri consuetudine mortuorum animalium ossa comburi, quod hujusmodi habet originem. sunt enim animalia, quae dracones appellamus.... haec inquam animalia in aere volant, in aquis natant, in terra ambulant. sed quando in aere ad libidinem concitantur (quod fere fit) saepe ipsum sperma vel in puteos, vel in aquas fluviales ejicunt ex quo lethalis sequitur annus. adversus haec ergo hujusmodi inventum est remedium, ut videlicet rogus ex ossibus construeretur, et ita fumus hujusmodi animalia fugaret. et quia istud maxime hoc tempore fiebat, idem etiam modo ab omnibus observatur.... consuetum item est hac vigilia ardentes deferri faculas quod johannes fuerit ardens lucerna, et qui vias domini praeparaverit. sed quod etiam rota vertatur hinc esse putant quia in eum circulum tunc sol descenderit ultra quem progredi nequit, a quo cogitur paulatim descendere_." the substance of the passage is repeated in other words by g. durandus (wilh. durantis), a writer of the thirteenth century, in his _rationale divinorum officiorum_, lib. vii. cap. 14 (p. 442 _verso_, ed. lyons, 1584). compare j. grimm, _deutsche mythologie_,*[4] i. 516. with the notion that the air is poisoned at midsummer we may compare the popular belief that it is similarly infected at an eclipse. thus among the esquimaux on the lower yukon river in alaska "it is believed that a subtle essence or unclean influence descends to the earth during an eclipse, and if any of it is caught in utensils of any kind it will produce sickness. as a result, immediately on the commencement of an eclipse, every woman turns bottom side up all her pots, wooden buckets, and dishes" (e.w. nelson, "the eskimo about bering strait," _eighteenth annual report of the bureau of american ethnology_, part i. (washington, 1899) p. 431). similar notions and practices prevail among the peasantry of southern germany. thus the swabian peasants think that during an eclipse of the sun poison falls on the earth; hence at such a time they will not sow, mow, gather fruit or eat it, they bring the cattle into the stalls, and refrain from business of every kind. if the eclipse lasts long, the people get very anxious, set a burning candle on the mantel-shelf of the stove, and pray to be delivered from the danger. see anton birlinger, _volksthümliches aus schwaben_ (freiburg im breisgau, 1861-1862), i. 189. similarly bavarian peasants imagine that water is poisoned during a solar eclipse (f. panzer, _beitrag zur deutschen mythologie_, ii. 297); and thuringian bumpkins cover up the wells and bring the cattle home from pasture during an eclipse either of the sun or of the moon; an eclipse is particularly poisonous when it happens to fall on a wednesday. see august witzschel, _sagen, sitten und gebräuche aus thüringen_ (vienna, 1878), p. 287. as eclipses are commonly supposed by the ignorant to be caused by a monster attacking the sun or moon (e.b. tylor, _primitive culture_,*[2] london, 1873, i. 328 _sqq._), we may surmise, on the analogy of the explanation given of the midsummer fires, that the unclean influence which is thought to descend on the earth at such times is popularly attributed to seed discharged by the monster or possibly by the sun or moon then in conjunction with each other. [397] _the popish kingdome or reigne of antichrist, written in latin verse by thomas naogeorgus and englyshed by barnabe googe, 1570_, edited by r.c. hope (london, 1880), p. 54 _verso_. as to this work see above, p. 125 note 1. [398] j. boemus, _mores, leges et ritus omnium gentium_ (lyons, 1541), pp. 225 _sq._ [399] tessier, "sur la fête annuelle de la roue flamboyante de la saint-jean, à basse-kontz, arrondissement de thionville," _mémoires et dissertations publiés par la société royale des antiquaires de france_, v. (1823) pp. 379-393. tessier witnessed the ceremony, 23rd june 1822 (not 1823, as is sometimes stated). his account has been reproduced more or less fully by j. grimm (_deutsche mythologie_,*[4] i. 515 _sq._) w. mannhardt (_der baumkultus_, pp. 510 _sq._), and h. gaidoz ("le dieu gaulois du soleil et le symbolisme de la roue," _revue archéologique_, iii. série, iv. (1884) pp. 24 _sq._). [400] _bavaria, landesund volkskunde des königreichs bayern_ (munich, 1860-1867), i. 373 _sq_.; compare _id_., iii. 327 _sq_. as to the burning discs at the spring festivals, see above, pp. 116 _sq_., 119, 143. [401] _op. cit_. ii. 260 _sq_., iii. 936, 956, iv. 2. p. 360. [402] _op. cit_. ii. 260. [403] _op. cit._ iv. i. p. 242. we have seen (p. 163) that in the sixteenth century these customs and beliefs were common in germany. it is also a german superstition that a house which contains a brand from the midsummer bonfire will not be struck by lightning (j.w. wolf, _beiträge, zur deutschen mythologie_, i. p. 217, § 185). [404] j. boemus, _mores, leges et ritus omnium gentium_ (lyons, 1541), p. 226. [405] karl freiherr von leoprechting, _aus dem lechrain_ (munich, 1855), pp. 181 _sqq._; w. mannhardt, _der baumkultus_, p. 510. [406] a. birlinger, _volksthümliches aus schwaben_ (freiburg im breisgau, 1861-1862), ii. pp. 96 _sqq._, § 128, pp. 103 _sq._, § 129; _id., aus schwaben_ (wiesbaden, 1874), ii. 116-120; e. meier, _deutsche sagen, sitten und gebräuche aus schwaben_ (stuttgart, 1852), pp. 423 _sqq._; w. mannhardt, _der baumkultus_, p. 510. [407] f. panzer, _beitrag zur deutschen mythologie_ (munich, 1848-1855), i. pp. 215 _sq._, § 242; _id._, ii. 549. [408] a. birlinger, _volksthümliches aus schwaben_ (freiburg im breisgau, 1861-1862), ii. 99-101. [409] elard hugo mayer, _badisches volksleben_ (strasburg, 1900), pp. 103 _sq._, 225 _sq._ [410] w. von schulenberg, in _verhandlungen der berliner gesellschaft für anthropologie, ethnologie und urgeschichte, jahrgang 1897_, pp. 494 _sq._ (bound up with _zeitschrift für ethnologie_, xxix. 1897). [411] h. gaidoz, "le dieu gaulois du soleil et le symbolisme de la roue," _revue archéologique_, iii. série, iv. (1884) pp. 29 _sq._ [412] bruno stehle, "volksglauben, sitten und gebräuche in lothringen," _globus_, lix. (1891) pp. 378 _sq._; "die sommerwendfeier im st. amarinthale," _der urquell_, n.f., i. (1897) pp. 181 _sqq._ [413] j.h. schmitz, _sitten und sagen lieder, sprüchwörter und räthsel des eifler volkes_ (treves, 1856-1858), i. 40 _sq._ according to one writer, the garlands are composed of st. john's wort (montanus, _die deutschen volksfeste, volksbräuche und deutscher volksglaube_, iserlohn, n.d., p. 33). as to the use of st. john's wort at midsummer, see below, vol. ii. pp. 54 _sqq._ [414] a. kuhn und w. schwartz, _norddeutsche sagen, märchen und gebräuche_ (leipsic, 1848), p. 390. [415] montanus, _die deutschen volksfeste, volksbräuche und deutscher volksglaube_ (iserlohn, n.d.), pp. 33 _sq._ [416] c.l. rochholz, _deutscher glaube und brauch_ (berlin, 1867), ii. 144 _sqq._ [417] philo vom walde, _schlesien in sage und brauch_ (berlin, n.d.), p. 124; paul drechsler, _sitte, brauch, und volksglaube in schlesien_ (leipsic, 1903-1906), i. 136 _sq._ [418] j. grimm, _deutsche mythologie,_*[4] i. 517 _sq._ [419] from information supplied by mr. sigurd k. heiberg, engineer, of bergen, norway, who in his boyhood regularly collected fuel for the fires. i have to thank miss anderson, of barskimming, mauchline, ayrshire, for kindly procuring the information for me from mr. heiberg. the blocksberg, where german as well as norwegian witches gather for their great sabbaths on the eve of may day (walpurgis night) and midsummer eve, is commonly identified with the brocken, the highest peak of the harz mountains. but in mecklenburg, pomerania, and probably elsewhere, villages have their own local blocksberg, which is generally a hill or open place in the neighbourhood; a number of places in pomerania go by the name of the blocksberg. see j. grimm, _deutsche mythologie_*[4] ii. 878 _sq._; ulrich jahn, _hexenwesen und zauberei in pommern_ (breslau, 1886), pp. 4 _sq._; _id._, _volkssagen aus pommern und rügen_ (stettin, 1886), p. 329. [420] l. lloyd, _peasant life in sweden_ (london, 1870), pp. 259, 265. [421] l. lloyd, _op. cit._ pp. 261 _sq._ these springs are called "sacrificial fonts" (_offer källor_) and are "so named because in heathen times the limbs of the slaughtered victim, whether man or beast, were here washed prior to immolation" (l. lloyd, _op. cit._ p. 261). [422] e. hoffmann-krayer, _feste und bräuche des schweizervolkes_ (zurich, 1913), p. 164. [423] ignaz v. zingerle, _sitten, bräuche und meinungen des tiroler volkes_*[2] (innsbruck, 1871), ii. p. 159, § 1354. [424] i.v. zingerle, _op. cit._ p. 159, §§ 1353, 1355, 1356; w. mannhardt, _der baumkultus_, p. 513. [425] w. mannhardt, _l.c._ [426] f. panzer, _beitrag zur deutschen mythologie_ (munich, 1848-1855), i. p. 210, § 231. [427] theodor vernaleken, _mythen und bräuche des volkes in oesterreich_ (vienna, 1859), pp. 307 _sq._ [428] j. grimm, _deutsche mythologie_*[4] i. 519; theodor vernaleken, _mythen und bräuche des volkes in oesterreich_ (vienna, 1859), p. 308; joseph virgil grohmann, _aberglauben und gebräuche aus bohmen und mähren_ (prague and leipsic, 1864), p. 80, § 636; reinsberg-düringsfeld, _fest-kalender aus bohmen_ (prague, n.d.), pp. 306-311; br. jelfnek, "materialien zur vorgeschichte und volkskunde böhmens," _mittheilungen der anthropologischen gesellschaft in wien>_ xxi. (1891) p. 13; alois john, _sitte, brauch und volksglaube im deutschen westböhmen_ (prague, 1905) pp. 84-86. [429] willibald müller, _beiträge zur volkskunde der deutschen in mähren_ (vienna and olmutz, 1893), pp. 263-265. [430] anton peter, _volksthümliches aus österreichisch-schlesien_ (troppau, 1865-1867), ii. 287. [431] th. vernaleken, _mythen und bräuche des volkes in oesterreich_ (vienna, 1859), pp. 308 _sq._ [432] _the dying god_, p. 262. compare m. kowalewsky, in _folk-lore_, i. (1890) p. 467. [433] w.r.s. ralston, _songs of the russian people_, second edition (london, 1872), p. 240. [434] j. grimm, _deutsche mythologie_,*[4] i. 519; w.r.s. ralston, _songs of the russian people_ (london, 1872), pp. 240, 391. [435] w.r.s. ralston, _op. cit._ p. 240. [436] w.r.s. ralston, _l.c._ [437] w.j.a. von tettau und j.d.h. temme, _die volkssagen ostpreussens, litthauens und westpreussens_ (berlin, 1837), p. 277. [438] m. töppen, _aberglauben aus masuren_*[2] (danzig, 1867), p. 71. [439] f.s. krauss, "altslavische feuergewinnung," _globus_, lix. (1891) p. 318. [440] j.g. kohl, _die deutsch-russischen ostseeprovinzen_ (dresden and leipsic, 1841), i. 178-180, ii. 24 _sq._ ligho was an old heathen deity, whose joyous festival used to fall in spring. [441] ovid, _fasti_, vi. 775 _sqq._ [442] friederich s. krauss, _sitte und brauch der südslaven_ (vienna, 1885), pp. 176 _sq._ [443] j. grimm, _deutsche mythologie_,*[4] i. 519. [444] h. von wlislocki, _volksglaube und religiöser brauch der magyar_ (münster i. w., 1893), pp. 40-44. [445] a. von ipolyi, "beiträge zur deutschen mythologie aus ungarn," _zeitschrift für deutsche mythologie und sittenkunde_, i. (1853) pp. 270 _sq._ [446] j.g. kohl, _die deutsch-russischen ostseeprovinzen_, ii. 268 _sq._; f.j. wiedemann, _aus dem inneren und äusseren leben der ehsten_ (st. petersburg, 1876), p. 362. the word which i have translated "weeds" is in esthonian _kaste-heinad_, in german _thaugras_. apparently it is the name of a special kind of weed. [447] fr. kreutzwald und h. neus, _mythische und magische lieder der ehsten_ (st. petersburg, 1854), p. 62. [448] j.b. holzmayer, "osiliana," _verhandlungen der gelehrten estnischen gesellschaft zu dorpat_, vii. (1872) pp. 62 _sq._ wiedemann also observes that the sports in which young couples engage in the woods on this evening are not always decorous (_aus dem inneren und äusseren leben der ehsten_, p. 362). [449] j.g. kohl, _die deutsch-russischen ostseeprovinzen_, ii. 447 _sq._ [450] j.g. georgi, _beschreibung aller nationen des russischen reichs_ (st. petersburg, 1776), p. 36; august freiherr von haxthausen, _studien über die innere zustände das volksleben und insbesondere die ländlichen einrichtungen russlands_ (hanover, 1847), i. 446 _sqq._ [451] alfred de nore, _coutumes, mythes et traditions des provinces de france_ (paris and lyons, 1846), p. 19. [452] it is notable that st. john is the only saint whose birthday the church celebrates with honours like those which she accords to the nativity of christ. compare edmond doutté, _magie et religion dans l'afrique du nord_ (algiers, 1908), p. 571 note i. [453] bossuet, _oeuvres_ (versailles, 1815-1819), vi. 276 ("catéchisme du diocèse de meaux"). his description of the superstitions is, in his own words, as follows: "_danser à l'entour du feu, jouer, faire des festins, chanter des chansons deshonnètes, jeter des herbes par-dessus le feu, en cueillir avant midi ou à jeun, en porter sur soi, les conserver le long de l'année, garder des tisons ou des charbons du feu, et autres semblables._" this and other evidence of the custom of kindling midsummer bonfires in france is cited by ch. cuissard in his tract _les feux de la saint-jean_ (orleans, 1884). [454] ch. cuissard, _les feux de la saint-jean_ (orleans, 1884), pp. 40 _sq._ [455] a. le braz, _la légende de la mort en basse-bretagne_ (paris, 1893), p. 279. for an explanation of the custom of throwing a pebble into the fire, see below, p. 240. [456] m. quellien, quoted by alexandre bertrand, _la religion des gaulois_ (paris, 1897), pp. 116 _sq._ [457] collin de plancy, _dictionnaire infernal_ (paris, 1825-1826), iii. 40; j.w. wolf, _beiträge zur deutschen mythologie_ (göttingen, 1852-1857), i. p. 217, § 185; a. breuil, "du culte de st. jean baptiste," _mémoires de la société des antiquaires de picardie_, viii. (amiens, 1845) pp. 189 _sq._ [458] eugene cortet, _essai sur les fêtes religieuses_ (paris, 1867), p. 216; ch. cuissard, _les feux de la saint-jean_ (orleans, 1884), p. 24. [459] paul sébillot, _coutumes populaires de la haute-bretagne_ (paris, 1886), pp. 192-195. in upper brittany these bonfires are called _rieux_ or _raviers_. [460] a. de nore, _coutumes, mythes et traditions des provinces de france_ (paris and lyons, 1846), p. 219; e. cortet, _essai sur les fétes religieuses_, p. 216. [461] a. de nore, _coutumes, mythes et traditions des provinces de france_, pp. 219, 228, 231; e. cortet, _op. cit._ pp. 215 _sq._ [462] j. lecoeur, _esquisses du bocage normand_ (condé-sur-noireau, 1883-1887), ii. 219-224. [463] this description is quoted by madame clément (_histoire des fêtes civites et religieuses_, etc., _de la belgique méridionale_, avesnes, 1846, pp. 394-396); f. liebrecht (_des gervasius von tilbury otia imperialia_, hanover, 1856, pp. 209 _sq._); and w. mannhardt (_antike wald und feldkulte_, berlin, 1877, pp. 323 _sqq._) from the _magazin pittoresque_, paris, viii. (1840) pp. 287 _sqq._ a slightly condensed account is given, from the same source, by e. cortet (_essai sur les fêtes religieuses_, pp. 221 _sq._). [464] bazin, quoted by breuil, in _mémoires de la société d' antiquaires de picardie_, viii. (1845) p. 191 note. [465] correspondents quoted by a. bertrand, _la religion des gaulois_ (paris, 1897), pp. 118, 406. [466] correspondent quoted by a. bertrand, _op. cit._ p. 407. [467] felix chapiseau, _le folk-lore de la beauce et du perche_ (paris, 1902), i. 318-320. in perche the midsummer bonfires were called _marolles_. as to the custom formerly observed at bullou, near chateaudun, see a correspondent quoted by a. bertrand, _la religion des gaulois_ (paris, 1897), p. 117. [468] albert meyrac, _traditions, coutumes, légendes, et contes des ardennes_ (charleville, 1890), pp. 88 _sq._ [469] l.f. sauvé, _le folk-lore des hautes-vosges_ (paris, 1889), p. 186. [470] désiré monnier, _traditions populaires comparées_ (paris, 1854), pp. 207 _sqq._; e. cortet, _essai sur les fêtes religieuses_, pp. 217 _sq._ [471] bérenger-féraud, _réminiscences populaires de la provence_ (paris, 1885), p. 142. [472] charles beauquier, _les mois en franche-comté_ (paris, 1900), p. 89. the names of the bonfires vary with the place; among them are _failles, bourdifailles, bâs_ or _baux, feulères_ or _folières_, and _chavannes_. [473] _la bresse louhannaise_, juin, 1906, p. 207. [474] laisnel de la salle, _croyances et légendes du centre de la france_ (paris, 1875), i. 78 _sqq._ the writer adopts the absurd derivation of _jônée_ from janus. needless to say that our old friend baal, bel, or belus figures prominently in this and many other accounts of the european fire-festivals. [475] a. de nore, _coutumes, mythes et traditions des provinces de france_ (paris and lyons, 1846), p. 150. [476] correspondent, quoted by a. bertrand, _la religion des gaulois_ (paris, 1897), p. 408. [477] guerry, "sur les usages et traditions du poitou," _mémoires et dissertations publiés par la société royale des antiquaires de france_, viii. (1829) pp. 451 _sq._ [478] breuil, in _mémoires de la société des antiquaires de picardie_, viii. (1845) p. 206; e. cortet, _essai sur les fêtes religieuses_, p. 216; laisnel de la salle, _croyances et légendes du centre de la france_, i. 83; j. lecoeur, _esquisses du bocage normand_, ii. 225. [479] h. gaidoz, "le dieu gaulois du soleil et le symbolisme de la roue," _revue archéologique_, iii. série, iv. (1884) p. 26, note 3. [480] l. pineau, _le folk-lore du poitou_ (paris, 1892), pp. 499 _sq._ in périgord the ashes of the midsummer bonfire are searched for the hair of the virgin (e. cortet, _essai sur les fêtes religieuses_, p. 219). [481] a. de nore, _coutumes mythes et traditions des provinces de france_, pp. 149 _sq._; e. cortet, _op. cit._ pp. 218 _sq._ [482] dupin, "notice sur quelques fêtes et divertissemens populaires du département des deux-sèvres," _mémoires et dissertations publiés par la société royale des antiquaires de france_, iv. (1823) p. 110. [483] j.l.m. noguès, _les moeurs d'autrefois en saintonge et en aunis_ (saintes, 1891), pp. 72, 178 _sq._ [484] h. gaidoz, "le dieu soleil et le symbolisme de la roue," _revue archéologique_, iii. série, iv. (1884) p. 30. [485] ch. cuissard, _les feux de la saint-jean_ (orleans, 1884), pp. 22 _sq._ [486] a. de nore, _coutumes, mythes et traditions des provinces de france_ p. 127. [487] aubin-louis millin, _voyage dans les départemens du midi de la france_ (paris, 1807-1811), iii. 341 _sq._ [488] aubin-louis millin, _op. cit._ iii. 28. [489] a. de nore, _op. cit._ pp. 19 _sq._; bérenger-féraud, _reminiscences populaires de la provence_ (paris, 1885), pp. 135-141. as to the custom at toulon, see poncy, quoted by breuil, _mémoires de la société des antiquaires de picardie_, viii. (1845) p. 190 note. the custom of drenching people on this occasion with water used to prevail in toulon, as well as in marseilles and other towns in the south of france. the water was squirted from syringes, poured on the heads of passers-by from windows, and so on. see breuil, _op. cit._ pp. 237 _sq._ [490] a. de nore, _op. cit._ pp. 20 _sq._; e. cortet, _op. cit._ pp. 218, 219 _sq._ [491] le baron de reinsberg-düringsfeld, _calendrier belge_ (brussels, 1861-1862), i. 416 _sq._ 439. [492] le baron de reinsberg-düringsfeld, _op. cit._ i. 439-442. [493] madame clément, _histoire des fêtes civiles et religieuses_, etc., _du département du nord_ (cambrai, 1836), p. 364; j.w. wolf, _beiträge zur deutschen mythologie_ (göttingen, 1852-1857), ii. 392; w. mannhardt, _der baumkultus_. p. 513. [494] e. monseur, _folklore wallon_ (brussels, n.d.), p. 130, §§ 1783, 1786, 1787. [495] joseph strutt, _the sports and pastimes of the people of england_, new edition, by w. hone (london, 1834), p. 359. [496] john stow, _a survay of london_, edited by henry morley (london, n.d.), pp. 126 _sq._ stow's _survay_ was written in 1598. [497] john brand, _popular antiquities of great britain_ (london, 1882-1883), i. 338; t.f. thiselton dyer, _british popular customs_ (london, 1876), p. 331. both writers refer to _status scholae etonensis_ (a.d. 1560). [498] john aubrey, _remaines of gentilisme and judaisme_ (london, 1881), p. 26. [499] j. brand, _popular antiquities of great britain_ (london, 1882-1883), i. 300 _sq._, 318, compare pp. 305, 306, 308 _sq._; w. mannhardt, _der baumkultus_, p. 512. compare w. hutchinson, _view of northumberland_, vol. ii. (newcastle, 1778), appendix, p. (15), under the head "midsummer":--"it is usual to raise fires on the tops of high hills and in the villages, and sport and danse around them; this is of very remote antiquity, and the first cause lost in the distance of time." [500] dr. lyttelton, bishop of carlisle, quoted by william borlase, _antiquities, historical and monumental, of the county of cornwall_ (london, 1769), p. 135 note. [501] _county folk-lore_, vol. iv. _northumberland_, collected by m.c. balfour (london, 1904), p. 76, quoting e. mackenzie, _an historical, topographical, and descriptive view of the county of northumberland_, second edition (newcastle, 1825), i. 217. [502] _county folk-lore_, vol. iv. _northumberland_, collected by m.c. balfour, p. 75. [503] _county folk-lore_, vol. iv. _northumberland_, collected by m.c. balfour, p. 75. [504] _the denham tracts_, edited by j. hardy (london, 1892-1895), ii. 342 _sq._, quoting _archælogia aeliana_, n.s., vii. 73, and the _proceedings_ of the berwickshire naturalists' club, vi. 242 _sq._; _county folk-lore_, vol. iv. _northumberland_, collected by m.c. balfour (london, 1904), pp. 75 _sq._ whalton is a village of northumberland, not far from morpeth. [505] _county folk-lore_, vol. vi. _east riding of yorkshire_, collected and edited by mrs. gutch (london, 1912), p. 102. [506] john aubrey, _remaines of gentilisme and judaisme_ (london, 1881), p. 96, compare _id._, p. 26. [507] j. brand, _popular antiquities of great britain_ (london, 1882-1883), i. 311. [508] william borlase, ll.d., _antiquities, historical and monumental, of the county of cornwall_ (london, 1769), pp. 135 _sq._ the eve of st. peter is june 28th. bonfires have been lit elsewhere on the eve or the day of st. peter. see above, pp. 194 _sq._ 196 _sq._, and below, pp. 199 _sq._, 202, 207. [509] j. brand, _op. cit._ i. 318, 319; t.f. thiselton dyer, _british popular customs_ (london, 1876), p. 315. [510] william bottrell, _traditions and hearthside stories of west cornwall_ (penzance, 1870), pp. 8 _sq._, 55 _sq._; james napier, _folk-lore, or superstitious beliefs in the west of scotland_ (paisley, 1879), p. 173. [511] richard edmonds, _the land's end district_ (london, 1862), pp. 66 _sq._; robert hunt, _popular romances of the west of england_, third edition (london, 1881), pp. 207 _sq._ [512] marie trevelyan, _folk-lore and folk-stories of wales_ (london, 1909), pp. 27 _sq._ compare jonathan ceredig davies, _folk-lore of west and mid-wales_ (aberystwyth, 1911), p. 76. [513] j. brand, _popular antiquities of great britain_ (london, 1882-1883), i. 318. [514] joseph train, _account of the isle of man_ (douglas, isle of man, 1845), ii. 120. [515] sir henry piers, _description of the county of westmeath_, written in 1682, published by (general) charles vallancey, _collectanea de rebus hibernieis_, i. (dublin, 1786) pp. 123 _sq._ [516] j. brand, _popular antiquities of great britain_ (london, 1882-1883), i. 303, quoting the author of the _survey of the south of ireland_, p. 232. [517] j. brand, _op. cit._ i. 305, quoting the author of the _comical pilgrim's pilgrimage into ireland_ (1723), p. 92. [518] _the gentleman's magazine_, vol. lxv. (london, 1795) pp. 124 _sq._ the writer dates the festival on june 21st, which is probably a mistake. [519] t.f. thiselton dyer, _british popular customs_ (london, 1876), pp. 321 _sq._, quoting the _liverpool mercury_ of june 29th, 1867. [520] l.l. duncan, "further notes from county leitrim," _folk-lore_, v. (1894) p. 193. [521] a.c. haddon, "a batch of irish folk-lore," _folk-lore_, iv. (1893) pp. 351, 359. [522] g.h. kinahan, "notes on irish folk-lore," _folk-lore record_, iv. (1881) p. 97. [523] charlotte elizabeth, _personal recollections_, quoted by rev. alexander hislop, _the two babylons_ (edinburgh, 1853), p. 53. [524] lady wilde, _ancient legends, mystic charms, and superstitions of ireland_ (london, 1887), i. 214 _sq._ [525] t.f. thiselton dyer, _british popular customs_ (london, 1876), pp. 322 _sq._, quoting the _hibernian magazine_, july 1817. as to the worship of wells in ancient ireland, see p.w. joyce, _a social history of ancient ireland_ (london, 1903), i. 288 _sq._, 366 _sqq._ [526] rev. a. johnstone, describing the parish of monquhitter in perthshire, in sir john sinclair's _statistical account of scotland_ (edinburgh, 1791-1799), xxi. 145. mr. w. warde fowler writes that in scotland "before the bonfires were kindled on midsummer eve, the houses were decorated with foliage brought from the woods" (_roman festivals of the period of the republic_, london, 1899, pp. 80 _sq._). for his authority he refers to _chambers' journal_, july, 1842. [527] john ramsay, of ochtertyre, _scotland and scotsmen in the eighteenth century_, edited by a. allardyce (edinburgh, 1888), ii. 436. [528] rev. mr. shaw, minister of elgin, in pennant's "tour in scotland," printed in john pinkerton's _voyages and travels_ (london, 1808-1814), iii. 136. [529] a. macdonald, "midsummer bonfires," _folk-lore_, xv. (1904) pp. 105 _sq._ [530] from notes kindly furnished to me by the rev. j.c. higgins, parish minister of tarbolton. mr. higgins adds that he knows of no superstition connected with the fire, and no tradition of its origin. i visited the scene of the bonfire in 1898, but, as pausanias says (viii. 41. 6) in similar circumstances, "i did not happen to arrive at the season of the festival." indeed the snow was falling thick as i trudged to the village through the beautiful woods of "the castle o' montgomery" immortalized by burns. from a notice in _the scotsman_ of 26th june, 1906 (p. 8) it appears that the old custom was observed as usual that year. [531] thomas moresinus, _papatus seu depravatae religionis origo et incrementum_ (edinburgh, 1594), p. 56. [532] rev. dr. george lawrie, in sir john sinclair's _statistical account of scotland_, iii. (edinburgh, 1792) p. 105. [533] letter from dr. otero acevado of madrid, published in _le temps_, september 1898. an extract from the newspaper was sent me, but without mention of the day of the month when it appeared. the fires on st. john's eve in spain are mentioned also by j. brand, _popular antiquities of great britain_, i. 317. jacob grimm inferred the custom from a passage in a romance (_deutsche mythologie_,*[4] i. 518). the custom of washing or bathing on the morning of st. john's day is mentioned by the spanish historian diego duran, _historia de las indias de nueva españa_, edited by j.f. ramirez (mexico, 1867-1880), vol. ii. p. 293. to roll in the dew on the morning of st. john's day is a cure for diseases of the skin in normandy, périgord, and the abruzzi, as well as in spain. see j. lecoeur, _esquisses du bocage normand_, ii. 8; a. de nore, _coutumes, mythes et traditions des provinces de france_, p. 150; gennaro finamore, _credenze, usi e costumi abruzzesi_ (palermo, 1890), p. 157. [534] m. longworth dames and mrs. e. seemann, "folklore of the azores," _folk-lore_, xiv. (1903) pp. 142 _sq._; theophilo braga, _o povo portuguez nos seus costumes, crenças e tradiçoes_ (lisbon, 1885), ii. 304 _sq._, 307 _sq._ [535] see below, pp. 234 _sqq._ [536] angelo de gubernatis, _mythologie des plantes_ (paris, 1878-1882), i. 185 note 1. [537] _adonis, attis, osiris_, second edition, pp. 202 _sq._ [538] g. finamore, _credenze, usi e costumi abruzzesi_ (palermo, 1890), pp. 154 _sq._ [539] g. finamore, _credenze, usi e costumi abruzzesi_, pp. 158-160. we may compare the provençal and spanish customs of bathing and splashing water at midsummer. see above, pp. 193 _sq._, 208. [540] giuseppe pitrè, _spettacoli e feste popolari siciliane_ (palermo, 1881), pp. 246, 308 _sq._; _id., usi e costumi, credenze e pregiudizi del popolo siciliano_ (palermo, 1889), pp. 146 _sq._ [541] j. grimm, _deutsche mythologie_,*[4] i. 518. [542] v. busuttil, _holiday customs in malta, and sports, usages, ceremonies, omens, and superstitions of the maltese people_ (malta, 1894), pp. 56 _sqq._ the extract was kindly sent to me by mr. h.w. underwood (letter dated 14th november, 1902, birbeck bank chambers, southampton buildings, chancery lane, w.c.). see _folk-lore_, xiv. (1903) pp. 77 _sq._ [543] w. r. paton, in _folk-lore_, ii. (1891) p. 128. the custom was reported to me when i was in greece in 1890 (_folk-lore_, i. (1890) p. 520). [544] j. grimm, _deutsche mythologie_,*[4] i. 519. [545] g. georgeakis et l. pineau, _le folk-lore de lesbos_ (paris, 1894), pp. 308 _sq._ [546] w.r. paton, in _folk-lore_, vi. (1895) p. 94. from the stones cast into the fire omens may perhaps be drawn, as in scotland, wales, and probably brittany. see above, p. 183, and below, pp. 230 _sq._, 239, 240. [547] w.h.d. rouse, "folklore from the southern sporades," _folk-lore_, x. (1899) p. 179. [548] lucy m.j. garnett, _the women of turkey and their folk-lore, the christian women_ (london, 1890), p. 122; g.f. abbott, _macedonian folklore_ (cambridge, 1903), p. 57. [549] j.g. von hahn, _albanesische studien_ (jena, 1854), i. 156. [550] k. von den steinen, _unter den natur-völkern zentral-brasiliens_ (berlin, 1894), p. 561. [551] alcide d'orbigny, _voyage dans l'amérique méridionale_, ii. (paris and strasbourg, 1839-1843), p. 420; d. forbes, "on the aymara indians of bolivia and peru," _journal of the ethnological society of london_, ii. (1870) p. 235. [552] edmond doutté, _magie et religion dans l'afrique du nord_ (algiers, 1908), pp. 566 _sq_. for an older but briefer notice of the midsummer fires in north africa, see giuseppe ferraro, _superstizioni, usi e proverbi monferrini_ (palermo, 1886), pp. 34 _sq._: "also in algeria, among the mussalmans, and in morocco, as alvise da cadamosto reports in his _relazione dei viaggi d'africa_, which may be read in ramusio, people used to hold great festivities on st. john's night; they kindled everywhere huge fires of straw (the _palilia_ of the romans), in which they threw incense and perfumes the whole night long in order to invoke the divine blessing on the fruit-trees." see also budgett meakin, _the moors_ (london, 1902), p. 394: "the berber festivals are mainly those of islam, though a few traces of their predecessors are observable. of these the most noteworthy is midsummer or st. john's day, still celebrated in a special manner, and styled _el ansarah_. in the rîf it is celebrated by the lighting of bonfires only, but in other parts there is a special dish prepared of wheat, raisins, etc., resembling the frumenty consumed at the new year. it is worthy of remark that the old style gregorian calendar is maintained among them, with corruptions of latin names." [553] edward westermarck, "midsummer customs in morocco," _folklore_, xvi. (1905) pp. 28-30; _id., ceremonies and beliefs connected with agriculture, certain dates of the solar year, and the weather_ (helsingfors, 1913), pp. 79-83. [554] e. westermarck, "midsummer customs in morocco," _folk-lore_, xvi. (1905) pp. 30 _sq._; _id., ceremonies and beliefs connected with agriculture_, etc., pp. 83 _sq._ [555] edmond doutté, _magie et religion dans l'afrique du nord_ (algiers, 1908), pp. 567 _sq._ [556] e. westermarck, "midsummer customs in morocco," _folk-lore_, xvi. (1905) pp. 31 _sq._; _id., ceremonies and beliefs connected with agriculture_, etc., pp. 84-86. [557] see k. vollers, in dr. james hastings's _encyclopaedia of religion and ethics_ iii. (edinburgh, 1910) _s.v._ "calendar (muslim)," pp. 126 _sq._ however, l. ideler held that even before the time of mohammed the arab year was lunar and vague, and that intercalation was only employed in order to fix the pilgrimage month in autumn, which, on account of the milder weather and the abundance of food, is the best time for pilgrims to go to mecca. see l. ideler, _handbuch der mathematischen und techischen chronologie_ (berlin, 1825-1826), ii. 495 _sqq._ [558] e. doutté, _magie et religion dans l'afrique du nord_, pp. 496, 509, 532, 543, 569. it is somewhat remarkable that the tenth, not the first, day of the first month should be reckoned new year's day. [559] e. westermarck, "midsummer customs in morocco," _folk-lore_, xvi. (1905) pp. 40-42. [560] e. doutté, _magie et religion dans l'afrique du nord_ (algiers, 1908), pp. 541 _sq._ [561] e. westermarck, "midsummer customs in morocco," _folk-lore_, xvi. (1905) p. 42; _id., ceremonies and beliefs connected with agriculture, certain dates of the solar year, and the weather in morocco_ (helsingfors, 1913), p. 101. [562] e. westermarck, "midsummer customs in morocco," _folk-lore_, xvi. (1905), pp. 42 _sq._, 46 _sq.; id., ceremonies and beliefs connected with agriculture_, etc., _in morocco_, pp. 99 _sqq._ [563] g. f. abbott, _macedonian folklore_ (cambridge, 1903), pp. 60 _sq._ [564] "narrative of the adventures of four russian sailors, who were cast in a storm upon the uncultivated island of east spitzbergen," translated from the german of p.l. le roy, in john pinkerton's _voyages and travels_ (london, 1808-1814), i. 603. this passage is quoted from the original by (sir) edward b. tylor, _researches into the early history of mankind_, third edition (london, 1878), pp. 259 _sq._ [565] see _the scapegoat_, pp. 166 _sq._ [566] e.k. chambers, _the mediaeval stage_ (oxford, 1903), i. 110 _sqq._ [567] in eastern europe to this day the great season for driving out the cattle to pasture for the first time in spring is st. george's day, the twenty-third of april, which is not far removed from may day. see _the magic art and the evolution of kings_, ii. 324 _sqq._ as to the bisection of the celtic year, see the old authority quoted by p.w. joyce, _the social history of ancient ireland_ (london, 1903), ii. 390: "the whole year was [originally] divided into two parts--summer from 1st may to 1st november, and winter from 1st november to 1st may." on this subject compare (sir) john rhys, _celtic heathendom_ (london and edinburgh, 1888), pp. 460, 514 _sqq.; id., celtic folk-lore, welsh and manx_ (oxford, 1901), i. 315 _sqq._; j.a. macculloch, in dr. james hastings's _encyclopaedia of religion and ethics_, iii. (edinburgh, 1910) p. 80. [568] see below, p. 225. [569] above, pp. 146 _sqq._; _the magic art and the evolution of kings_, ii. 59 _sqq._ [570] (sir) john rhys, _celtic folk-lore, manx and welsh_ (oxford, 1901), i. 316, 317 _sq._; j.a. macculloch, in dr. james hastings's _encyclopaedia of religion and ethics_, iii. (edinburgh, 1910) _s.v._ "calendar," p. 80, referring to kelly, _english and manx dictionary_ (douglas, 1866), _s.v._ "blein." hogmanay is the popular scotch name for the last day of the year. see dr. j. jamieson, _etymological dictionary of the scottish language_, new edition (paisley, 1879-1882), ii. 602 _sq._ [571] (sir) john rhys, _celtic folk-lore, welsh and manx_, i. 316 _sq._ [572] above, p. 139. [573] see _adonis, attis, osiris_, second edition, pp. 309-318. as i have there pointed out, the catholic church succeeded in altering the date of the festival by one day, but not in changing the character of the festival. all souls' day is now the second instead of the first of november. but we can hardly doubt that the saints, who have taken possession of the first of november, wrested it from the souls of the dead, the original proprietors. after all, the saints are only one particular class of the souls of the dead; so that the change which the church effected, no doubt for the purpose of disguising the heathen character of the festival, is less great than appears at first sight. [574] in wales "it was firmly believed in former times that on all hallows' eve the spirit of a departed person was to be seen at midnight on every cross-road and on every stile" (marie trevelyan, _folk-lore and folk-stories of wales_, london, 1909, p. 254). [575] e. j. guthrie, _old scottish customs_ (london and glasgow, 1885), p. 68. [576] a. goodrich-freer, "more folklore from the hebrides," _folk-lore_, xiii. (1902) p. 53. [577] (sir) jolin rhys, _celtic heathendom_ (london and edinburgh, 1888), p. 516. [578] p.w. joyce, _a social history of ancient ireland_ (london, 1903), i. 264 _sq._, ii. 556. [579] (sir) john rhys, _celtic heathendom_, p. 516. [580] rev. john gregorson campbell, _superstitions of the highlands and islands of scotland_ (glasgow, 1900), pp. 61 _sq._ [581] ch. rogers, _social life in scotland_ (edinburgh, 1884-1886), iii. 258-260. [582] douglas hyde, _beside the fire, a collection of irish gaelic folk stories_ (london, 1890), pp. 104, 105, 121-128. [583] p.w. joyce, _social history of ancient ireland_, i. 229. [584] marie trevelyan, _folk-lore and folk-stories of wales_ (london, 1909), p. 254. [585] (sir) john rhys, _celtic heathendom_, pp. 514 _sq._ in order to see the apparitions all you had to do was to run thrice round the parish church and then peep through the key-hole of the door. see marie trevelyan, _op. cit._ p. 254; j. c. davies, _folk-lore of west and mid-wales_ (aberystwyth, 1911), p. 77. [586] miss e. j. guthrie, _old scottish customs_ (london and glasgow, 1885), p. 75. [587] rev. john gregorson campbell, _witchcraft and second sight in the highlands and islands of scotland_ (glasgow, 1902), p. 282. [588] thomas pennant, "tour in scotland, and voyage to the hebrides in 1772," in john pinkerton's _voyages and travels_, iii. (london, 1809) pp. 383 _sq._ in quoting the passage i have corrected what seem to be two misprints. [589] john ramsay, of ochtertyre, _scotland and scotsmen in the eighteenth century_, edited by alexander allardyce (edinburgh and london, 1888), ii. 437 _sq._ this account was written in the eighteenth century. [590] rev. james robertson, parish minister of callander, in sir john sinclair's _statistical account of scotland_, xi. (edinburgh, 1794), pp. 621 _sq._ [591] rev. dr. thomas bisset, in sir john sinclair's _statistical account of scotland_ v. (edinburgh, 1793) pp. 84 _sq._ [592] miss e. j. guthrie, _old scottish customs_ (london and glasgow, 1885), p. 67. [593] james napier, _folk lore, or superstitious beliefs in the west of scotland within this century_ (paisley, 1879), p. 179. [594] j. g. frazer, "folk-lore at balquhidder," _the folk-lore journal_, vi. (1888) p. 270. [595] rev. walter gregor, _notes on the folk-lore of the north-east of scotland_ (london, 1881), pp. 167 _sq._ [596] rev. a. johnstone, as to the parish of monquhitter, in sir john sinclair's _statistical account of scotland_, xxi. (edinburgh, 1799) pp. 145 _sq._ [597] a. macdonald, "some former customs of the royal parish of crathie, scotland," _folk-lore_, xviii. (1907) p. 85. the writer adds: "in this way the 'faulds' were purged of evil spirits." but it does not appear whether this expresses the belief of the people or only the interpretation of the writer. [598] rev. john gregorson campbell, _witchcraft and second sight in the highlands and islands of scotland_ (glasgow, 1902), pp. 282 _sq._ [599] robert burns, _hallowe'en_, with the poet's note; rev. walter gregor, _op. cit._ p. 84; miss e.j. guthrie, _op. cit._ p. 69; rev. j.g. campbell, _op. cit._ p. 287. [600] r. burns, _l.c._; rev. walter gregor, _l.c._; miss e.j. guthrie, _op. cit._ pp. 70 _sq._; rev. j.g. campbell, _op. cit._ p. 286. [601] r. burns, _l.c._.; rev. w. gregor, _l.c._; miss e.j. guthrie, _op. cit._ p. 73; rev. j.g. campbell, _op. cit._ p. 285; a. goodrich-freer, "more folklore from the hebrides," _folk-lore_, xiii. (1902) pp. 54 _sq._ [602] r. burns, _l.c._; rev. w. gregor, _op. cit._ p. 85; miss e.j. guthrie, _op. cit._ p. 71; rev. j.g. campbell, _op. cit._ p. 285. according to the last of these writers, the winnowing had to be done in the devil's name. [603] r. burns, _l.c._; rev. w. gregor, _l.c._; miss e.j. guthrie, _op. cit._ p. 72; rev. j.g. campbell, _op. cit._ p. 286; a. goodrich-freer, "more folklore from the hebrides," _folklore_, xiii. (1902) p. 54. [604] rev. j.g. campbell, _op. cit._ p. 283. [605] rev. j.g. campbell, _op. cit._ pp. 283 _sq._; a. goodrich-freer, _l.c._ [606] rev. j.g. campbell, _op. cit._ p. 284. [607] r. burns, _l.c._; rev. w. gregor, _op. cit._ p. 85; miss e.j. guthrie, _op. cit._ p. 70; rev. j.g. campbell, _op. cit._ p. 284. where nuts were not to be had, peas were substituted. [608] rev. j.g. campbell, _op. cit._ p. 284. [609] rev. j.g. campbell, _l.c._ according to my recollection of hallowe'en customs observed in my boyhood at helensburgh, in dumbartonshire, another way was to stir the floating apples and then drop a fork on them as they bobbed about in the water. success consisted in pinning one of the apples with the fork. [610] r. burns, _l.c._; rev. w. gregor, _op. cit_. pp. 85 _sq_.; miss e.j. guthrie, _op. cit_. pp. 72 _sq_.; rev. j.g. campbell, _op. cit_. p. 287. [611] r. burns, _l.c._; rev. w. gregor, _op. cit_. p. 85; miss e.j. guthrie, _op. cit_. pp. 69 _sq_.; rev. j.g. campbell, _op. cit_. p. 285. it is the last of these writers who gives what may be called the trinitarian form of the divination. [612] miss e.j. guthrie, _old scottish customs_ (london and glasgow, 1885), pp. 74 _sq_. [613] a. goodrich-freer, "more folklore from the hebrides," _folk-lore_, xiii. (1902) p. 55. [614] pennant's manuscript, quoted by j. brand, _popular antiquities of great britain_ (london, 1882-1883), i. 389 _sq_. [615] sir richard colt hoare, _the itinerary of archbishop baldwin through wales a.d. mclxxxviii. by giraldus de barri_ (london, 1806), ii. 315; j. brand, _popular antiquities_, i. 390. the passage quoted in the text occurs in one of hoare's notes on the itinerary. the dipping for apples, burning of nuts, and so forth, are mentioned also by marie trevelyan, _folk-lore and folk-stories of wales_ (london, 1909), pp. 253, 255. [616] (sir) john rhys, _celtic heathendom_ (london and edinburgh, 1888), pp. 515 _sq._ as to the hallowe'en bonfires in wales compare j.c. davies, _folk-lore of west and mid-wales_ (aberystwyth, 1911), p. 77. [617] see above, p. 183. [618] see above, p. 231. [619] marie trevelyan, _folk-lore and folk-stories of wales_ (london, 1909), pp. 254 _sq._ [620] (general) charles vallancey, _collectanea de rebus hibernicis_, iii. (dublin, 1786), pp. 459-461. [621] miss a. watson, quoted by a.c. haddon, "a batch of irish folk-lore," _folk-lore_, iv. (1893) pp. 361 _sq._ [622] leland l. duncan, "further notes from county leitrim," _folk-lore_, v. (1894) pp. 195-197. [623] h.j. byrne, "all hallows eve and other festivals in connaught," _folk-lore_, xviii. (1907) pp. 437 _sq._ [624] joseph train, _historical and statistical account of the isle of man_ (douglas, isle of man, 1845), ii. 123; (sir) john rhys, _celtic folk-lore, welsh and manx_ (oxford, 1901), i. 315 _sqq._ [625] (sir) john rhys, _celtic folk-lore, welsh and manx_ (oxford, 1901), i. 318-321. [626] john harland and t.t. wilkinson, _lancashire folk-lore_ (manchester and london, 1882), pp. 3 _sq_. [627] j. harland and t.t. wilkinson, _op. cit_. p. 140. [628] annie milner, in william hone's _year book_ (london, preface dated january, 1832), coll. 1276-1279 (letter dated june, 1831); r.t. hampson, _medii aevi kalendarium_ (london, 1841), i. 365; t.f. thiselton dyer, _british popular customs_ (london, 1876), p. 395. [629] _county folk-lore_ vol. iv. _northumberland_, collected by m.c. balfour (london, 1904), p. 78. compare w. henderson, _notes on the folk-lore of the northern counties of england_ (london, 1879), pp. 96 _sq_. [630] baron dupin, in _mémoires publiées par la société royale des antiquaires de france_, iv. (1823) p. 108. [631] the evidence for the solar origin of christmas is given in _adonis, attis, osiris_, second edition, pp. 254-256. [632] for the various names (yu-batch, yu-block, yule-log, etc.) see francis grose, _provincial glossary_, new edition (london, 1811), p. 141; joseph wright, _the english dialect dictionary_ (london, 1898-1905), vi. 593, _s.v._ "yule." [633] "i am pretty confident that the yule block will be found, in its first use, to have been only a counterpart of the midsummer fires, made within doors because of the cold weather at this winter solstice, as those in the hot season, at the summer one, are kindled in the open air." (john brand, _popular antiquities of great britain_, london, 1882-1883, i. 471). his opinion is approved by w. mannhardt _(der baumkultus der germanen und ihrer nachbarstämme_, p. 236). [634] "_et arborem in nativitate domini ad festivum ignem suum adducendam esse dicebat_" (quoted by jacob grimm, _deutsche mythologie_, i. 522). [635] montanus, _die deutschen volksfeste, volksbrauche und deutscher volksglaube_ (iserlohn, n.d.), p. 12. the sieg and lahn are two rivers of central germany, between siegen and marburg. [636] j.h. schmitz, _sitten und sagen, lieder, sprüchwörter und räthsel des eifler volkes_ (treves, 1856-1858), i. 4. [637] adalbert kuhn, _sagen, gebräuche und märchen aus westfalen_ (leipsic, 1859), ii. § 319, pp. 103 _sq_. [638] a. kuhn, _op. cit._ ii. § 523, p. 187. [639] august witzschel, _sagen, sitten und gebräuche aus thüringen_ (vienna, 1878), p. 172. [640] k. hoffmann-krayer, _feste und bräuche des schweizervolkes_ (zurich, 1913), pp. 108 _sq._ [641] le baron de reinsberg-düringsfeld, _calendrier belge_ (brussels, 1861-1862), ii. 326 _sq._ compare j.w. wolf, _beiträgezur deutschen mythologie_ (göttingen, 1852-1858), i. 117. [642] j.b. thiers, _traité des superstitions_*[5] (paris, 1741), i. 302 _sq._; eugène cortet, _essai sur les fêtes religieuses_ (paris, 1867), pp. _266 sq._ [643] j.b. thiers, _traité des superstitions_ (paris, 1679), p. 323. [644] aubin-louis millin, _voyage dans les départemens du midi de la france_ (paris, 1807-1811), iii. 336 _sq._ the fire so kindled was called _caco fuech_. [645] alfred de nore, _coutumes, mythes et traditions des provinces de france_ (paris and lyons, 1846), pp. 151 _sq._ the three festivals during which the yule log is expected to burn are probably christmas day (december 25th), st. stephen's day (december 26th), and st. john the evangelist's day (december 27th). compare j.l.m. noguès, _les moeurs d'autrefois en saintonge et en aunis_ (saintes, 1891), pp. 45-47. according to the latter writer, in saintonge it was the mistress of the house who blessed the yule log, sprinkling salt and holy water on it; in poitou it was the eldest male who officiated. the log was called the _cosse de nô_. [646] laisnel de salle, _croyances et légendes du centres de la france_ (paris, 1875), i. 1-3. [647] jules lecoeur, _esquisses du bocage normand_ (condé-sur-noireau, 1883-1887), ii. 291. the author speaks of the custom as still practised in out-of-the-way villages at the time when he wrote. the usage of preserving the remains of the yule-log (called _tréfouet_) in normandy is mentioned also by m'elle amélie bosquet, _la normandie romanesque et merveilleuse_ (paris and rouen, 1845), p. 294. [648] a. de nore, _coutumes, mythes, et traditions des provinces de france_ (paris and lyons, 1846), p. 256. [649] paul sébillot, _coutumes populaires de la haute-bretagne_ (paris, 1886), pp. 217 _sq._ [650] albert meyrac, _traditions, coutumes, légendes et contes des ardennes_ (charleville, 1890), pp. 96 _sq._ [651] see above, p. 251. [652] lerouze, in _mémoires de l'academie celtique_, iii. (1809) p. 441, quoted by j. brand, _popular antiquities of great britain_ (london, 1882-1883), i. 469 note. [653] l.f. sauvé, _le folk-lore des hautes-vosges_ (paris, 1889), pp. 370 _sq._ [654] charles beauquier, _les mois en franche-comté_ (paris, 1900), p. 183. [655] a. de nore, _coutumes, mythes, et traditions des provinces de france_ (paris and lyons, 1846), pp. 302 _sq._ [656] john brand, _popular antiquities of great britain_ (london, 1882-1883), i. 467. [657] j. brand, _op. cit._ i. 455; _the denham tracts_, edited by dr. james hardy (london, 1892-1895), ii. 25 _sq._ [658] herrick, _hesperides_, "ceremonies for christmasse": "_come, bring with a noise, my merrie merrie boyes, the christmas log to the firing_;... _with the last yeeres brand light the neiv block_" and, again, in his verses, "ceremonies for candlemasse day": "_kindle the christmas brand, and then till sunne-set let it burne; which quencht, then lay it up agen, till christmas next returne. part must be kept, wherewith to teend the christmas log next yeare; and where 'tis safely kept, the fiend can do no mischiefe there_" see _the works of robert herrick_ (edinburgh, 1823), vol. ii. pp. 91, 124. from these latter verses it seems that the yule log was replaced on the fire on candlemas (the second of february). [659] miss c. s. burne and miss g. f. jackson, _shropshire folk-lore_ (london, 1883), p. 398 note 2. see also below, pp. 257, 258, as to the lincolnshire, herefordshire, and welsh practice. [660] francis grose, _provincial glossary_, second edition (london, 1811), pp. 141 _sq._; t.f. thiselton dyer, _british popular customs_ (london, 1876), p. 466. [661] _county folk-lore_, vol. iv. _northumberland_, collected by m.c. balfour and edited by northcote w. thomas (london, 1904), p. 79. [662] _county folk-lore,_ vol. ii. _north riding of yorkshire, york and the ainsty,_ collected and edited by mrs. gutch (london, 1901), pp. 273, 274, 275 _sq_. [663] _county folk-lore_, vol. vi. _east riding of yorkshire_, collected and edited by mrs. gutch (london, 1912), pp. 23, 118, compare p. 114. [664] john aubrey, _remaines of gentilisme and judaisme_ (london, 1881), p. 5. [665] _county folk-lore_, vol. v. _lincolnshire_, collected by mrs. gutch and mabel peacock (london, 1908), p. 219. elsewhere in lincolnshire the yule-log seems to have been called the yule-clog (_op. cit_. pp. 215, 216). [666] mrs. samuel chandler (sarah whateley), quoted in _the folk-lore journal_, i. (1883) pp. 351 _sq_. [667] miss c.s. burne and miss g.f. jackson, _shropshire folk-lore_ (london, 1883), pp. 397 _sq_. one of the informants of these writers says (_op. cit._ p. 399): "in 1845 i was at the vessons farmhouse, near the eastbridge coppice (at the northern end of the stiperstones). the floor was of flags, an unusual thing in this part. observing a sort of roadway through the kitchen, and the flags much broken, i enquired what caused it, and was told it was from the horses' hoofs drawing in the 'christmas brund.'" [668] mrs. ella mary leather, _the folklore of herefordshire_ (hereford and london, 1912), p. 109. compare miss c.s. burne, "herefordshire notes," _the folk-lore journal_, iv. (1886) p. 167. [669] marie trevelyan, _folk-lore and folk-stories of wales_ (london, 1909), p. 28. [670] "in earlier ages, and even so late as towards the middle of the nineteenth century, the servian village organisation and the servian agriculture had yet another distinguishing feature. the dangers from wild beasts in old time, the want of security for life and property during the turkish rule, or rather misrule, the natural difficulties of the agriculture, more especially the lack in agricultural labourers, induced the servian peasants not to leave the parental house but to remain together on the family's property. in the same yard, within the same fence, one could see around the ancestral house a number of wooden huts which contained one or two rooms, and were used as sleeping places for the sons, nephews and grandsons and their wives. men and women of three generations could be often seen living in that way together, and working together the land which was considered as common property of the whole family. this expanded family, remaining with all its branches together, and, so to say, under the same roof, working together, dividing the fruits of their joint labours together, this family and an agricultural association in one, was called _zadrooga_ (the association). this combination of family and agricultural association has morally, economically, socially, and politically rendered very important services to the servians. the headman or chief (called _stareshina_) of such family association is generally the oldest male member of the family. he is the administrator of the common property and director of work. he is the executive chairman of the association. generally he does not give any order without having consulted all the grown-up male members of the _zadroega_" (chedo mijatovich, _servia and the servians_, london, 1908, pp. 237 _sq._). as to the house-communities of the south slavs see further og. m. utiesenovic, _die hauskommunionen der südslaven_ (vienna, 1859); f. demelic, _le droit coutumier des slaves méridionaux_ (paris, 1876), pp. 23 _sqq._; f.s. krauss, _sitte und brauch der südslaven_ (vienna, 1885), pp. 64 _sqq._ since servia, freed from turkish oppression, has become a well-regulated european state, with laws borrowed from the codes of france and germany, the old house-communities have been rapidly disappearing (chedo mijatovich, _op. cit._ p. 240). [671] chedo mijatovich, _servia and the servians_ (london, 1908), pp. 98-105. [672] baron rajacsich, _das leben, die sitten und gebräuche der im kaiserthume oesterreich lebenden südslaven_ (vienna, 1873), pp. 122-128. [673] baron rajacsich, _das leben, die sitten und gebrauche der im kaiserthume oesterreich lebenden südslaven_ (vienna, 1873), pp. 129-131. the yule log (_badnyak_) is also known in bulgaria, where the women place it on the hearth on christmas eve. see a. strausz, _die bulgaren_ (leipsic, 1898), p. 361. [674] m. edith durham, _high albania_ (london, 1909), p. 129. [675] r.f. kaindl, _die huzulen_ (vienna, 1894) p. 71. [676] see above, pp. 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 258. similarly at candlemas people lighted candles in the churches, then took them home and kept them, and thought that by lighting them at any time they could keep off thunder, storm, and tempest. see barnabe googe, _the popish kingdom_ (reprinted london, 1880), p. 48 _verso_. [677] see above, pp. 248, 250, 251, 257, 258, 263. [678] see _the magic art and the evolution of kings_, ii. 356 _sqq._ [679] see above, pp. 248, 249, 250, 251, 264. [680] august witzschel, _sagen, sitten und gebräuche aus thüringen_ (vienna, 1878), pp. 171 _sq._ [681] jules lecoeur, _esquisses du bocage normand_ (condé-sur-noireau, 1883-1887), ii. 289 _sq._ [682] joseph train, _historical and statistical account of the isle of man_ (douglas, isle of man, 1845), ii. 124, referring to cregeen's _manx dictionary_, p. 67. [683] r. chambers, _the book of days_ (london and edinburgh, 1886), ii. 789-791, quoting _the banffshire journal_; miss c.f. gordon cumming, _in the hebrides_ (london, 1883), p. 226; miss e.j. guthrie, _old scottish customs_ (london and glasgow, 1885), pp. 223-225; ch. rogers, _social life in scotland_ (edinburgh, 1884-1886), iii. 244 _sq_.; _the folk-lore journal_, vii. (1889) pp. 11-14, 46. miss gordon gumming and miss guthrie say that the burning of the clavie took place upon yule night; but this seems to be a mistake. [684] caesar, _de bello gallico_, vii. 23. [685] hugh w. young, f.s.a. scot., _notes on the ramparts of burghead as revealed by recent excavations_ (edinburgh, 1892), pp. 3 _sqq_.; _notes on further excavations at burghead_ (edinburgh, 1893), pp. 7 _sqq_. these papers are reprinted from the _proceedings of the society of antiquaries of scotland_, vols. xxv., xxvii. mr. young concludes as follows: "it is proved that the fort at burghead was raised by a people skilled in engineering, who used axes and chisels of iron; who shot balista stones over 20 lbs. in weight; and whose daily food was the _bos longifrons_. a people who made paved roads, and sunk artesian wells, and used roman beads and pins. the riddle of burghead should not now be very difficult to read." (_notes on further excavations at burghead_, pp. 14 _sq_.). for a loan of mr. young's pamphlets i am indebted to the kindness of sheriff-substitute david. [686] robert cowie, m.a., m.d., _shetland, descriptive and historical_ (aberdeen, 1871), pp. 127 _sq._; _county folk-lore_, vol. iii. _orkney and shetland islands_, collected by g.f. black and edited by northcote w. thomas (london, 1903), pp. 203 _sq._ a similar celebration, known as up-helly-a, takes place at lerwick on the 29th of january, twenty-four days after old christmas. see _the scapegoat_, pp. 167-169. perhaps the popular festival of up-helly-a has absorbed some of the features of the christmas eve celebration. [687] thomas hyde, _historia religionis veterum persarum_ (oxford, 1700), pp. 255-257. [688] on the need-fire see jacob grimm, _deutsche mythologie_*[4] i. 501 _sqq._; j.w. wolf, _beiträge zur deutschen mythologie_ (göttingen and leipsic, 1852-1857), i. 116 _sq._, ii. 378 _sqq._; adalbert kuhn, _die herabkunjt des feuers und des göttertranks_*[2] (gütersloh, 1886), pp. 41 _sqq._; walter k. kelly, _curiosities of indo-european tradition and folk-lore_ (london, 1863), pp. 48 _sqq._; w. mannhardt, _der baumkultus der germanen und ihrer nachbarstämme_ (berlin, 1875), pp. 518 _sqq._; charles elton, _origins of english history_ (london, 1882), pp. 293 _sqq._; ulrich jahn, _die deutschen opfergebräuche bei ackerbau und viehzucht_ (breslau, 1884), pp. 26 _sqq._ grimm would derive the name _need-_fire (german, _niedfyr, nodfyr, nodfeur, nothfeur_) from _need_ (german, _noth_), "necessity," so that the phrase need-fire would mean "a forced fire." this is the sense attached to it in lindenbrog's glossary on the capitularies, quoted by grimm, _op. cit._ i. p. 502: "_eum ergo ignem_ nodfeur _et_ nodfyr, _quasi necessarium ignem vocant_" c.l. rochholz would connect _need_ with a verb _nieten_ "to churn," so that need-fire would mean "churned fire." see c.l. rochholz, _deutscher glaube und brauch_ (berlin, 1867), ii. 149 _sq._ this interpretion is confirmed by the name _ankenmilch bohren_, which is given to the need-fire in some parts of switzerland. see e. hoffmann-krayer, "fruchtbarkeitsriten im schweizerischen volksbrauch," _schweizerisches archiv für volkskünde_, xi. (1907) p. 245. [689] "_illos sacrilegos ignes, quos_ niedfyr _vocant_," quoted by j. grimm, _deutsche mythologie_,*[4] i. 502; r. andree, _braunschweiger volkskunde_ (brunswick, 1896), p. 312. [690] _indiculus superstitionum et paganiarum_, no. xv., "_de igne fricato de ligno i.e._ nodfyr." a convenient edition of the _indiculus_ has been published with a commentary by h.a. saupe (leipsic, 1891). as to the date of the work, see the editor's introduction, pp. 4 _sq_. [691] karl lynker, _deutsche sagen und sitten in hessischen gauen_,*[2] (cassel and göttingen, 1860), pp. 252 _sq._, quoting a letter of the mayor (_schultheiss_) of neustadt to the mayor of marburg dated 12th december 1605. [692] bartholomäus carrichter, _der teutschen speisskammer_ (strasburg, 1614), fol. pag. 17 and 18, quoted by c.l. rochholz, _deutscher glaube und brauch_ (berlin, 1867), ii. 148 _sq._ [693] joh. reiskius, _untersuchung des notfeuers_ (frankfort and leipsic, 1696), p. 51, quoted by j. grimm, _deutsche mythologie_,*[4] i. 502 _sq._; r. andree, _braunschweiger volkskunde_ (brunswick, 1896), p. 313. [694] j. grimm, _deutsche mythologie_, *[4] i. 503 _sq._ [695] j. grimm, _op. cit._ i. 504. [696] adalbert kuhn, _märkische sagen und märchen_ (berlin, 1843), p. 369. [697] karl bartsch, _sagen, märchen und gebräuche aus mecklenburg_ (vienna, 1879-1880), ii. 149-151. [698] carl und theodor colshorn, _märchen und sagen_ (hanover, 1854), pp. 234-236, from the description of an eye-witness. [699] heinrich pröhle, _harzbilder, sitten und gebräuche aus dem harz-gebirge_ (leipsic, 1855), pp. 74 _sq._ the date of this need-fire is not given; probably it was about the middle of the nineteenth century. [700] r. andree, _braunschweiger volkskunde_ (brunswick, 1896), pp. 313 _sq._ [701] r. andree, _op. cit._ pp. 314 _sq._ [702] montanus, _die deutschen volks-feste, volksbräuche und deutscher volksglaube_ (iserlohn, n.d.), p. 127. [703] paul drechsler, _sitte, brauch und volksglaube in schlesien_ (leipsic, 1903-1906), ii. 204. [704] anton peter, _volksthümliches aus österreichisch-schlesien_ (troppau, 1865-1867), ii. 250. [705] alois john, _sitte, brauch und volksglaube im deutschen westböhmen_ (prague, 1905), p. 209. [706] c.l. rochholz, _deutscher glaube und brauch_ (berlin, 1867), ii. 149. [707] e. hoffmann-krayer, "fruchtbarkeitsriten im schweizerischen volksbrauch," _schweizerisches archiv fur volkskunde_, xi. (1907) pp. 244-246. [708] e. hoffmann-krayer, _op. cit._ p. 246. [709] j. grimm, _deutsche mythologie_,*[4] i. 505. [710] "old-time survivals in remote norwegian dales," _folk-lore_, xx. (1909) pp. 314, 322 _sq._ this record of norwegian folk-lore is translated from a little work _sundalen og öksendalens beskrivelse_ written by pastor chr. glükstad and published at christiania "about twenty years ago." [711] prof. vi. titelbach, "das heilige feuer bei den balkanslaven," _inter-nationales archiv für ethnographie_, xiii. (1900) pp. 2 _sq._ we have seen (above, p. 220) that in russia the need-fire is, or used to be, annually kindled on the eighteenth of august. as to the need-fire in bulgaria see also below, pp. 284 _sq._ [712] f.s. krauss, "altslavische feuergewinnung," _globus_, lix. (1891) p. 318, quoting p. ljiebenov, _baba ega_ (trnovo, 1887), p. 44. [713] f.s. krauss, _op. cit._ p. 319, quoting _wisla_, vol. iv. pp. 1, 244 _sqq._ [714] f.s. krauss, _op. cit._ p. 318, quoting oskar kolberg, in _mazowsze_, vol. iv. p. 138. [715] f.s. krauss, "slavische feuerbohrer," _globus_, lix. (1891) p. 140. the evidence quoted by dr. krauss is that of his father, who often told of his experience to his son. [716] prof. vl. titelbach, "das heilige feuer bei den balkanslaven," _internationales archiv fur ethnographie_, xiii. (1900) p. 3. [717] see below, vol. ii. pp. 168 _sqq._ [718] adolf strausz, _die bulgaren_ (leipsic, 1898), pp. 194-199. [719] _wissenschaftliche mittheilungen aus bosnien und der hercegovina_, redigirt von moriz hoernes, iii. (vienna, 1895) pp. 574 _sq._ [720] "_pro fidei divinae integritate servanda recolat lector quod, cum hoc anno in laodonia pestis grassaretur in pecudes armenti, quam vocant usitate lungessouth, quidam bestiales, habitu claustrales non animo, docebant idiotas patriae ignem confrictione de lignis educere et simulachrum priapi statuere, et per haec bestiis succurrere_" quoted by j.m. kemble, _the saxons in england_ (london, 1849), i. 358 _sq._; a. kuhn, _die herabkunft des feuers und des göttertranks_*[2] (gütersloh, 1886), p. 43; ulrich jahn, _die deutschen opfergebräuche bei ackerbau und viehzucht_ (breslau, 1884) p. 31. [721] w.g.m. jones barker, _the three days of wensleydale_ (london, 1854), pp. 90 _sq._; _county folk-lore_, vol. ii., _north riding of yorkshire, york and the ainsty_, collected and edited by mrs. gutch (london, 1901), p. 181. [722] _the denham tracts, a collection of folklore by michael aislabie denham_, edited by dr. james hardy (london, 1892-1895), ii. 50. [723] harry speight, _tramps and drives in the craven highlands_ (london, 1895), p. 162. compare, _id., the craven and north-west yorkshire highlands_ (london, 1892), pp. 206 _sq._ [724] j.m. kemble, _the saxons in england_ (london, 1849), i. 361 note. [725] e. mackenzie, _an historical, topographical and descriptive view of the county of northumberland_, second edition (newcastle, 1825), i. 218, quoted in _county folk-lore_, vol. iv. _northumberland_, collected by m.c. balfour (london, 1904), p. 45. compare j.t. brockett, _glossary of north country words_, p. 147, quoted by mrs. m.c. balfour, _l.c.: "need-fire_ ... an ignition produced by the friction of two pieces of dried wood. the vulgar opinion is, that an angel strikes a tree, and that the fire is thereby obtained. need-fire, i am told, is still employed in the case of cattle infected with the murrain. they were formerly driven through the smoke of a fire made of straw, etc." the first edition of brockett's _glossary_ was published in 1825. [726] w. henderson, _notes on the folklore of the northern counties of england and the borders_ (london, 1879), pp. 167 _sq._ compare _county folklore_, vol. iv. _northumberland_, collected by m.c. balfour (london, 1904), p. 45. stamfordham is in northumberland. the vicar's testimony seems to have referred to the first half of the nineteenth century. [727] m. martin, "description of the western islands of scotland," in j. pinkerton's _general collection of voyages and travels_, iii. (london, 1809), p. 611. the second edition of martin's book, which pinkerton reprints, was published at london in 1716. for john ramsay's account of the need-fire, see above, pp. 147 _sq._ [728] j. grimm, _deutsche mythologie_,*[4] i. 506, referring to miss austin as his authority. [729] as to the custom of sacrificing one of a plague-stricken herd or flock for the purpose of saving the rest, see below, pp. 300 _sqq._ [730] john jamieson, _etymological dictionary of the scottish language_, new edition, revised by j. longmuir and d. donaldson, iii. (paisley, 1880) pp. 349 _sq._, referring to "agr. surv. caithn., pp. 200, 201." [731] r.c. maclagan, "sacred fire," _folk-lore_, ix. (1898) pp. 280 _sq._ as to the fire-drill see _the magic art and the evolution of kings_, ii. 207 _sqq._ [732] w. grant stewart, _the popular superstitions and festive amusements of the highlanders of scotland_ (edinburgh, 1823), pp. 214-216; walter k. kelly, _curiosities of indo-european tradition and folk-lore_ (london, 1863), pp. 53 _sq._ [733] alexander carmichael, _carmina gadelica_ (edinburgh, 1900), ii. 340 _sq._ [734] see above, pp. 154, 156, 157, 159 _sq._ [735] _census of india, 1911_, vol. xiv. _punjab_, part i. _report_, by pandit harikishan kaul (lahore, 1912), p. 302. so in the north-east of scotland "those who were born with their feet first possessed great power to heal all kinds of sprains, lumbago, and rheumatism, either by rubbing the affected part, or by trampling on it. the chief virtue lay in the feet. those who came into the world in this fashion often exercised their power to their own profit." see rev. walter gregor, _notes on the folk-lore of the north-east of scotland_ (london, 1881), pp. 45 _sq._ [736] rev. walter gregor, _notes on the folk-lore of the north-east of scotland_ (london, 1881), p. 186. the fumigation of the byres with juniper is a charm against witchcraft. see j.g. campbell, _witchcraft and second sight in the highlands and islands of scotland_ (glasgow, 1902), p. ii. the "quarter-ill" is a disease of cattle, which affects the animals only in one limb or quarter. "a very gross superstition is observed by some people in angus, as an antidote against this ill. a piece is cut out of the thigh of one of the cattle that has died of it. this they hang up within the chimney, in order to preserve the rest of the cattle from being infected. it is believed that as long as it hangs there, it will prevent the disease from approaching the place. it is therefore carefully preserved; and in case of the family removing, transported to the new farm, as one of their valuable effects. it is handed down from one generation to another" (j. jamieson, _etymological dictionary of the scottish language_, revised by j. longmuir and d. donaldson, iii. 575, _s.v._ "quarter-ill"). see further rev. w. gregor, _op. cit._ pp. 186 _sq._: "the forelegs of one of the animals that had died were cut off a little above the knee, and hung over the fire-place in the kitchen. it was thought sufficient by some if they were placed over the door of the byre, in the 'crap o' the wa'.' sometimes the heart and part of the liver and lungs were cut out, and hung over the fireplace instead of the fore-feet. boiling them was at times substituted for hanging them over the hearth." compare w. henderson, _notes on the folk-lore of the northern counties of england and the borders_ (london, 1879), p. 167: "a curious aid to the rearing of cattle came lately to the knowledge of mr. george walker, a gentleman of the city of durham. during an excursion of a few miles into the country, he observed a sort of rigging attached to the chimney of a farmhouse well known to him, and asked what it meant. the good wife told him that they had experienced great difficulty that year in rearing their calves; the poor little creatures all died off, so they had taken the leg and thigh of one of the dead calves, and hung it in a chimney by a rope, since which they had not lost another calf." in the light of facts cited below (pp. 315 _sqq._) we may conjecture that the intention of cutting off the legs or cutting out the heart, liver, and lungs of the animals and hanging them up or boiling them, is by means of homoeopathic magic to inflict corresponding injuries on the witch who cast the fatal spell on the cattle. [737] _the mirror_, 24th june, 1826, quoted by j. m. kemble, _the saxons in england_ (london, 1849), i. 360 note 2. [738] leland l. duncan, "fairy beliefs and other folklore notes from county leitrim," _folk-lore_, vii. (1896) pp. 181 _sq._ [739] (sir) edward b. tylor, _researches into the early history of mankind_, third edition (london, 1878), pp. 237 _sqq._; _the magic art and the evolution of kings_, ii. 207 _sqq._ [740] for some examples of such extinctions, see _the magic art and the evolution of kings_, ii. 261 _sqq._, 267 _sq._; _spirits of the corn and of the wild_, i. 311, ii. 73 _sq._; and above, pp. 124 _sq._, 132-139. the reasons for extinguishing fires ceremonially appear to vary with the occasion. sometimes the motive seems to be a fear of burning or at least singeing a ghost, who is hovering invisible in the air; sometimes it is apparently an idea that a fire is old and tired with burning so long, and that it must be relieved of the fatiguing duty by a young and vigorous flame. [741] above, pp. 147, 154. the same custom appears to have been observed in ireland. see above, p. 158. [742] j.n.b. hewitt, "new fire among the iroquois," _the american anthropologist_, ii. (1889) p. 319. [743] j. grimm, _deutsche mythologie_,*[4] i. 507. [744] see above, p. 290. [745] william hone, _every-day book_ (london, preface dated 1827), i. coll. 853 _sq._ (june 24th), quoting hitchin's _history of cornwall_. [746] hunt, _romances and drolls of the west of england_, 1st series, p. 237, quoted by w. henderson, _notes on the folk-lore of the northern counties of england and the borders_ (london, 1879), p. 149. compare j.g. dalyell, _the darker superstitions of scotland_ (edinburgh, 1834), p. 184: "here also maybe found a solution of that recent expedient so ignorantly practised in the neighbouring kingdom, where one having lost many of his herd by witchcraft, as he concluded, burnt a living calf to break the spell and preserve the remainder." [747] marie trevelyan, _folk-lore and folk-stories of wales_ (london, 1909), p. 23. [748] w. henderson, _op. cit._ pp. 148 _sq._ [749] rev. walter gregor, _notes on the folk-lore of the north-east of scotland_ (london, 1881), p. 186. [750] r. n. worth, _history of devonshire_, second edition (london, 1886), p. 339. the diabolical nature of the toad probably explains why people in herefordshire think that if you wear a toad's heart concealed about your person you can steal to your heart's content without being found out. a suspected thief was overheard boasting, "they never catches _me_: and they never ooll neither. i allus wears a toad's heart round my neck, _i_ does." see mrs. ella m. leather, in _folk-lore_, xxiv. (1913) p. 238. [751] above, p. 301. [752] robert hunt, _popular romances of the west of england_, third edition (london, 1881), p. 320. the writer does not say where this took place; probably it was in cornwall or devonshire. [753] rev. walter gregor, _notes on the folk-lore of the north-east of scotland_ (london, 1881), p. 184. [754] _county folk-lore, printed extracts, no. 2, suffolk_, collected and edited by the lady eveline camilla gurdon (london, 1893), pp. 190 _sq._, quoting _some materials for the history of wherstead_ by f. barham zincke (ipswich, 1887), p. 168. [755] _county folk-lore, printed extracts, no. 2, suffolk_, p. 191, referring to murray's _handbook for essex, suffolk_, etc., p. 109. [756] (sir) john rhys, "manx folklore and superstitions," _folk-lore_, ii. (1891) pp. 300-302; repeated in his _celtic folk-lore, welsh and manx_ (oxford, 1901), i. 306 _sq._ sir john rhys does not doubt that the old woman saw, as she said, a live sheep being burnt on old may-day; but he doubts whether it was done as a sacrifice. he adds: "i have failed to find anybody else in andreas or bride, or indeed in the whole island, who will now confess to having ever heard of the sheep sacrifice on old may-day." however, the evidence i have adduced of a custom of burnt sacrifice among english rustics tends to confirm the old woman's statement, that the burning of the live sheep which she witnessed was not an act of wanton cruelty but a sacrifice per formed for the public good. [757] (sir) john rhys, "manx folklore and superstitions," _folk-lore_, ii. (1891) pp. 299 _sq.; id., celtic folklore, welsh and manx_ (oxford, 1901), i. 304 _sq._ we have seen that by burning the blood of a bewitched bullock a farmer expected to compel the witch to appear. see above, p. 303. [758] olaus magnus, _historia de gentium septentrionalium conditionibus_, lib xviii. cap. 47, p. 713 (ed. bâle, 1567). [759] collin de plancy, _dictionnaire infernal_ (paris, 1825-1826), iii. 473 _sq._, referring to boguet. [760] collin de plancy, _op. cit._ iii. 473. [761] felix chapiseau, _le folk-lore de la beauce et du perche_ (paris, 1902), i. 239 _sq._ the same story is told in upper brittany. see paul sébillot, _traditions et superstitions de la haute-bretagne_ (paris, 1882), i. 292. it is a common belief that a man who has once been transformed into a werewolf must remain a were-wolf for seven years unless blood is drawn from him in his animal shape, upon which he at once recovers his human form and is delivered from the bondage and misery of being a were-wolf. see f. chapiseau, _op. cit._ i. 218-220; amélie bosquet, _la normandie romanesque et merveilleuse_ (paris and rouen, 1845), p. 233. on the belief in were-wolves in general; see w. hertz, _der werwolf_ (stuttgart, 1862); j. grimm, _deutsche mythologie_*[4] i. 915 _sqq._; (sir) edward b. tylor, _primitive culture_[2] (london, 1873), i. 308 _sqq._; r. andree, _ethnographische parallelen und vergleiche_ (stuttgart, 1878), pp. 62-80. in north germany it is believed that a man can turn himself into a wolf by girding himself with a strap made out of a wolf's hide. some say that the strap must have nine, others say twelve, holes and a buckle; and that according to the number of the hole through which the man inserts the tongue of the buckle will be the length of time of his transformation. for example, if he puts the tongue of the buckle through the first hole, he will be a wolf for one hour; if he puts it through the second, he will be a wolf for two days; and so on, up to the last hole, which entails a transformation for a full year. but by putting off the girdle the man can resume his human form. the time when were-wolves are most about is the period of the twelve nights between christmas and epiphany; hence cautious german farmers will not remove the dung from the cattle stalls at that season for fear of attracting the were-wolves to the cattle. see adalbert kuhn, _märkische sagen und märchen_ (berlin, 1843), p. 375; ulrich jahn, _volkssagen aus pommern und rügen_ (stettin, 1886), pp. 384, 386, nos. 491, 495. down to the time of elizabeth it was reported that in the county of tipperary certain men were annually turned into wolves. see w. camden, _britain_, translated into english by philemon holland (london, 1610), "ireland," p. 83. [762] j.j.m. de groot, _the religious system of china_, v. (leyden, 1907) p. 548. [763] a. c. kruijt, "de weerwolf bij de toradja's van midden-celebes," _tijdschrift voor indische taallanden volkenkunde,_ xli. (1899) pp. 548-551, 557-560. [764] a.c. kruijt, _op. cit._ pp. 552 _sq._ [765] a.c. kruijt, _op. cit._ pp. 553. for more evidence of the belief in were-wolves, or rather in were-animals of various sorts, particularly were-tigers, in the east indies, see j.j. m. de groot, "de weertijger in onze koloniën en op het oostaziatische vasteland," _bijdragen tot de taallanden volkenkunde van nederlandsch-indië_, xlix. (1898) pp. 549-585; g.p. rouffaer, "matjan gadoengan," _bijdragen tot de taallanden volkenkunde van nederlandsch-indië_ 1. (1899) pp. 67-75; j. knebel, "de weertijger op midden-java, den javaan naverteld," _tijdschrift voor indische taallanden volkenkunde_, xli. (1899) pp. 568-587; l.m.f. plate, "bijdrage tot de kennis van de lykanthropie bij de sasaksche bevolking in oost-lombok," _tijdschrift voor indische taallanden volkenkunde_, liv. (1912) pp. 458-469; g.a. wilken, "het animisme bij de volken van den indischen archipel," _verspreide geschriften_ (the hague, 1912), iii. 25-30. [766] ernst marno, _reisen im gebiete des blauen und weissen nil_ (vienna, 1874), pp. 239 _sq._ [767] petronius, _sat._ 61 _sq._ (pp. 40 _sq._, ed. fr. buecheler,*[3] berlin, 1882). the latin word for a were-wolf (_versipellis_) is expressive: it means literally "skin-shifter," and is equally appropriate whatever the particular animal may be into which the wizard transforms himself. it is to be regretted that we have no such general term in english. the bright moonlight which figures in some of these were-wolf stories is perhaps not a mere embellishment of the tale but has its own significance; for in some places it is believed that the transformation of were-wolves into their bestial shape takes place particularly at full moon. see a. de nore, _coutumes, mythes et traditions des provinces de france_ (paris and lyons, 1846), pp. 99, 157; j.l.m. noguès, _les moeurs d'autrefois en saintonge et en aunis_ (saintes, 1891), p. 141. [768] j.g. campbell, _witchcraft and second sight in the highlands and islands of scotland_ (glasgow, 1902), p. 6: "in carrying out their unhallowed cantrips, witches assumed various shapes. they became gulls, cormorants, ravens, rats, mice, black sheep, swelling waves, whales, and very frequently cats and hares." to this list of animals into which witches can turn themselves may be added horses, dogs, wolves, foxes, pigs, owls, magpies, wild geese, ducks, serpents, toads, lizards, flies, wasps, and butterflies. see a. wuttke, _der deutsche volksaberglaube_*[2] (berlin, 1869), p. 150 § 217; l. strackerjan, _aberglaube und sagen aus dem herzogthum oldenburg_ (oldenburg, 1867), i. 327 § 220; ulrich jahn, _hexenwesen und zauberei in pommern_ (breslau, 1886), p. 7. in his _topography of ireland_ (chap. 19), a work completed in 1187 a.d., giraldus cambrensis records that "it has also been a frequent complaint, from old times as well as in the present, that certain hags in wales, as well as in ireland and scotland, changed themselves into the shape of hares, that, sucking teats under this counterfeit form, they might stealthily rob other people's milk." see _the historical works of giraldus cambrensis_, revised and edited by thomas wright (london, 1887), p. 83. [769] _the folk-lore journal_, iv. (1886) p. 266; collin de plancy, _dictionnaire infernal_ (paris, 1825-1826), iii. 475; j.l.m. noguès, _les moeurs d'autrefois en saintonge et en aunis_ (saintes, 1891), p. 141. in scotland the cut was known as "scoring above the breath." it consisted of two incisions made crosswise on the witch's forehead, and was "confided in all throughout scotland as the most powerful counter-charm." see sir walter scott, _letters on demonology and witchcraft_ (london, 1884), p. 272; j.g. dalyell, _the darker superstitions of scotland_ (edinburgh, 1834), pp. 531 _sq._; m.m. banks, "scoring a witch above the breath," _folk-lore_, xxiii. (1912) p. 490. [770] j.l.m. noguès, _l.c._; l.f. sauvé, _le folk-lore des hautes-vosges_ (paris, 1889), p. 187. [771] m. abeghian, _der armenische volksglaube_ (leipsic, 1899), p. 117. the wolf-skin is supposed to fall down from heaven and to return to heaven after seven years, if the were-wolf has not been delivered from her unhappy state in the meantime by the burning of the skin. [772] j.g. campbell, _witchcraft and second sight in the highlands and islands of scotland_ (glasgow, 1902), p. 8; compare a. wuttke, _der deutsche volksaberglaube_*[2] (berlin, 1869), p. 150 § 217. some think that the sixpence should be crooked. see rev. w. gregor, _notes on the folk-lore of the north-east of scotland_ (london, 1881), pp. 71 _sq._, 128; _county folk-lore_, vol. v. _lincolnshire_, collected by mrs. gutch and mabel peacock (london, 1908), p. 75. [773] j.g. campbell, _op. cit._ p. 30. [774] j.g. campbell, _op. cit._ p. 33. [775] (sir) edward b. tylor, _primitive culture_*[2] (london, 1873), i. 314. [776] joseph glanvil, _saducismus triumphatus or full and plain evidence concerning witches and apparitions_ (london, 1681), part ii. p. 205. [777] rev. j.c. atkinson, _forty years in a moorland parish_ (london, 1891), pp. 82-84. [778] _county folk-lore_, vol. v. _lincolnshire_, collected by mrs. gutch and mabel peacock (london, 1908), pp. 79, 80. [779] leland l. duncan, "folk-lore gleanings from county leitrim," _folklore_, iv. (1893) pp. 183 _sq._ [780] l.f. sauvé, _le folk-lore des hautes-vosges_ (paris, 1889), p. 176. [781] l.f. sauvé, _op. cit._ pp. 176 _sq._ [782] ernst meier, _deutsche sagen, sitten und gebräuche aus schwaben_ (stuttgart, 1852), pp. 184 _sq._, no. 203. [783] e. meier, _op. cit._ pp. 191 _sq._, no. 215. a similar story of the shoeing of a woman in the shape of a horse is reported from silesia. see r. kühnau, _schlesische sagen_ (berlin, 1910-1913), iii. pp. 27 _sq._, no. 1380. [784] r. kühnau, _schlesische sagen_ (berlin, 1910-1913), iii. pp. 23 _sq._, no. 1375. compare _id._, iii. pp. 28 _sq._, no. 1381. [785] see for example l. strackerjan, _aberglaube und sagen aus dem herzogthum oldenburg_ (oldenburg, 1867), i. pp. 328, 329, 334, 339; w. von schulenburg, _wendische volkssagen und gebräuche aus dem spreewald_ (leipsic, 1880), pp. 164, 165 _sq._; h. pröhle, _harzsagen_ (leipsic, 1859), i. 100 _sq._ the belief in such things is said to be universal among the ignorant and superstitious in germany. see a. wuttke, _der deutsche volksaberglaube_*[2] (berlin, 1869), p. 150, § 217. in wales, also, "the possibility of injuring or marking the witch in her assumed shape so deeply that the bruise remained a mark on her in her natural form was a common belief" (j. ceredig davies, _folk-lore of west and mid-wales_, aberystwyth, 1911, p. 243). for welsh stories of this sort, see j. ceredig davies, _l.c._; rev. elias owen, _welsh folk-lore_ (oswestry and wrexham, n.d., preface dated 1896), pp. 228 _sq._; m. trevelyan, _folk-lore and folk-stories of wales_ (london, 1909), p. 214. [786] l. strackerjan, _aberglaube und sagen aus dem herzogthum oldenburg_ (oldenburg, 1867), i. p. 361, § 239. [787] marie trevelyan, _folk-lore and folk-stories of wales_ (london, 1909), p. 210. [788] l. strackerjan, _aberglaube und sagen aus dem herzogthum oldenburg_ (oldenburg, 1867), i. p. 358, § 238. [789] l. strackerjan, _op. cit._ i. p. 360, § 238e. [790] "the 'witch-burning' at clonmell," _folk-lore_, vi. (1895) pp. 373-384. the account there printed is based on the reports of the judicial proceedings before the magistrates and the judge, which were published in _the irish times_ for march 26th, 27th, and 28th, april 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 8th, and july 6th, 1895. [791] john graham dalyell, _the darker superstitions of scotland_ (edinburgh, 1834), p. 185. in this passage "quick" is used in the old sense of "living," as in the phrase "the quick and the dead." _nois_ is "nose," _hoill_ is "hole," _quhilk (whilk)_ is "which," and _be_ is "by." [792] j.g. dalyell, _op. cit._ p. 186. _bestiall_=animals; _seik_=sick; _calling_=driving; _guidis_=cattle. [793] john ramsay, of ochtertyre, _scotland and scotsmen in the eighteenth century_, edited by alexander allardyce (edinburgh and london, 1888), ii. 446 _sq._ as to the custom of cutting off the leg of a diseased animal and hanging it up in the house, see above, p. 296, note 1. [794] (sir) arthur mitchell, a.m., m.d., _on various superstitions in the north-west highlands and islands of scotland_ (edinburgh, 1862), p. 12 (reprinted from the _proceedings of the society of antiquaries of scotland_, vol. iv.). [795] _county folk-lore_, vol. v. _lincolnshire_, collected by mrs. gutch and mabel peacock (london, 1908), p. 75, quoting rev. r.m. heanley, "the vikings: traces of their folklore in marshland," a paper read before the viking club, london, and printed in its _saga-book_, vol. iii. part i. jan. 1902. the wicken-tree is the mountain-ash or rowan free, which is a very efficient, or at all events a very popular protective against witchcraft. see _county folk-lore_, vol. v. _lincolnshire_, pp. 26 _sq._, 98 _sq._; mabel peacock, "the folklore of lincolnshire," _folk-lore_, xii. (1901) p. 175; j.g. campbell, _witchcraft and second sight in the highlands and islands of scotland_ (glasgow, 1902), pp. 11 _sq._; rev. walter gregor, _notes on the folk-lore of the north-east of scotland_ (london, 1881), p. 188. see further _the scapegoat_, pp. 266 _sq_. chapter v the interpretation of the fire-festivals § 1. _on the fire-festivals in general_ [general resemblance of the european fire-festivals to each other.] the foregoing survey of the popular fire-festivals of europe suggests some general observations. in the first place we can hardly help being struck by the resemblance which the ceremonies bear to each other, at whatever time of the year and in whatever part of europe they are celebrated. the custom of kindling great bonfires, leaping over them, and driving cattle through or round them would seem to have been practically universal throughout europe, and the same may be said of the processions or races with blazing torches round fields, orchards, pastures, or cattle-stalls. less widespread are the customs of hurling lighted discs into the air[796] and trundling a burning wheel down hill;[797] for to judge by the evidence which i have collected these modes of distributing the beneficial influence of the fire have been confined in the main to central europe. the ceremonial of the yule log is distinguished from that of the other fire-festivals by the privacy and domesticity which characterize it; but, as we have already seen, this distinction may well be due simply to the rough weather of midwinter, which is apt not only to render a public assembly in the open air disagreeable, but also at any moment to defeat the object of the assembly by extinguishing the all-important fire under a downpour of rain or a fall of snow. apart from these local or seasonal differences, the general resemblance between the fire-festivals at all times of the year and in all places is tolerably close. and as the ceremonies themselves resemble each other, so do the benefits which the people expect to reap from them. whether applied in the form of bonfires blazing at fixed points, or of torches carried about from place to place, or of embers and ashes taken from the smouldering heap of fuel, the fire is believed to promote the growth of the crops and the welfare of man and beast, either positively by stimulating them, or negatively by averting the dangers and calamities which threaten them from such causes as thunder and lightning, conflagration, blight, mildew, vermin, sterility, disease, and not least of all witchcraft. [two explanations suggested of the fire-festivals. according to w. mannhardt, they are charms to secure a supply of sunshine; according to dr. e. westermarck they are purificatory, being intended to burn and destroy all harmful influences.] but we naturally ask, how did it come about that benefits so great and manifold were supposed to be attained by means so simple? in what way did people imagine that they could procure so many goods or avoid so many ills by the application of fire and smoke, of embers and ashes? in short, what theory underlay and prompted the practice of these customs? for that the institution of the festivals was the outcome of a definite train of reasoning may be taken for granted; the view that primitive man acted first and invented his reasons to suit his actions afterwards, is not borne out by what we know of his nearest living representatives, the savage and the peasant. two different explanations of the fire-festivals have been given by modern enquirers. on the one hand it has been held that they are sun-charms or magical ceremonies intended, on the principle of imitative magic, to ensure a needful supply of sunshine for men, animals, and plants by kindling fires which mimic on earth the great source of light and heat in the sky. this was the view of wilhelm mannhardt.[798] it may be called the solar theory. on the other hand it has been maintained that the ceremonial fires have no necessary reference to the sun but are simply purificatory in intention, being designed to burn up and destroy all harmful influences, whether these are conceived in a personal form as witches, demons, and monsters, or in an impersonal form as a sort of pervading taint or corruption of the air. this is the view of dr. edward westermarck[799] and apparently of professor eugen mogk.[800] it may be called the purificatory theory. obviously the two theories postulate two very different conceptions of the fire which plays the principal part in the rites. on the one view, the fire, like sunshine in our latitude, is a genial creative power which fosters the growth of plants and the development of all that makes for health and happiness; on the other view, the fire is a fierce destructive power which blasts and consumes all the noxious elements, whether spiritual or material, that menace the life of men, of animals, and of plants. according to the one theory the fire is a stimulant, according to the other it is a disinfectant; on the one view its virtue is positive, on the other it is negative. [the two explanations are perhaps not mutually exclusive.] yet the two explanations, different as they are in the character which they attribute to the fire, are perhaps not wholly irreconcilable. if we assume that the fires kindled at these festivals were primarily intended to imitate the sun's light and heat, may we not regard the purificatory and disinfecting qualities, which popular opinion certainly appears to have ascribed to them, as attributes derived directly from the purificatory and disinfecting qualities of sunshine? in this way we might conclude that, while the imitation of sunshine in these ceremonies was primary and original, the purification attributed to them was secondary and derivative. such a conclusion, occupying an intermediate position between the two opposing theories and recognizing an element of truth in both of them, was adopted by me in earlier editions of this work;[801] but in the meantime dr. westermarck has argued powerfully in favour of the purificatory theory alone, and i am bound to say that his arguments carry great weight, and that on a fuller review of the facts the balance of evidence seems to me to incline decidedly in his favour. however, the case is not so clear as to justify us in dismissing the solar theory without discussion, and accordingly i propose to adduce the considerations which tell for it before proceeding to notice those which tell against it. a theory which had the support of so learned and sagacious an investigator as w. mannhardt is entitled to a respectful hearing. § 2. _the solar theory of the fire-festivals_ [theory that the fire-festivals are charms to ensure a supply of sunshine.] in an earlier part of this work we saw that savages resort to charms for making sunshine,[802] and it would be no wonder if primitive man in europe did the same. indeed, when we consider the cold and cloudy climate of europe during a great part of the year, we shall find it natural that sun-charms should have played a much more prominent part among the superstitious practices of european peoples than among those of savages who live nearer the equator and who consequently are apt to get in the course of nature more sunshine than they want. this view of the festivals may be supported by various arguments drawn partly from their dates, partly from the nature of the rites, and partly from the influence which they are believed to exert upon the weather and on vegetation. [coincidence of two of the festivals with the solstices.] first, in regard to the dates of the festivals it can be no mere accident that two of the most important and widely spread of the festivals are timed to coincide more or less exactly with the summer and winter solstices, that is, with the two turning-points in the sun's apparent course in the sky when he reaches respectively his highest and his lowest elevation at noon. indeed with respect to the midwinter celebration of christmas we are not left to conjecture; we know from the express testimony of the ancients that it was instituted by the church to supersede an old heathen festival of the birth of the sun,[803] which was apparently conceived to be born again on the shortest day of the year, after which his light and heat were seen to grow till they attained their full maturity at midsummer. therefore it is no very far fetched conjecture to suppose that the yule log, which figures so prominently in the popular celebration of christmas, was originally designed to help the labouring sun of midwinter to rekindle his seemingly expiring light. [attempt of the bushmen to warm up the fire of sirius in midwinter by kindling sticks.] the idea that by lighting a log on earth you can rekindle a fire in heaven or fan it into a brighter blaze, naturally seems to us absurd; but to the savage mind it wears a different aspect, and the institution of the great fire-festivals which we are considering probably dates from a time when europe was still sunk in savagery or at most in barbarism. now it can be shewn that in order to increase the celestial source of heat at midwinter savages resort to a practice analogous to that of our yule log, if the kindling of the yule log was originally a magical rite intended to rekindle the sun. in the southern hemisphere, where the order of the seasons is the reverse of ours, the rising of sirius or the dog star in july marks the season of the greatest cold instead of, as with us, the greatest heat; and just as the civilized ancients ascribed the torrid heat of midsummer to that brilliant star,[804] so the modern savage of south africa attributes to it the piercing cold of midwinter and seeks to mitigate its rigour by warming up the chilly star with the genial heat of the sun. how he does so may be best described in his own words as follows:--[805] "the bushmen perceive canopus, they say to a child: 'give me yonder piece of wood, that i may put the end of it in the fire, that i may point it burning towards grandmother, for grandmother carries bushman rice; grandmother shall make a little warmth for us; for she coldly comes out; the sun[806] shall warm grandmother's eye for us.' sirius comes out; the people call out to one another: 'sirius comes yonder;' they say to one another: 'ye must burn a stick for us towards sirius.' they say to one another: 'who was it who saw sirius?' one man says to the other: 'our brother saw sirius,' the other man says to him: 'i saw sirius.' the other man says to him: 'i wish thee to burn a stick for us towards sirius; that the sun may shining come out for us; that sirius may not coldly come out' the other man (the one who saw sirius) says to his son: 'bring me the small piece of wood yonder, that i may put the end of it in the fire, that i may burn it towards grandmother; that grandmother may ascend the sky, like the other one, canopus.' the child brings him the piece of wood, he (the father) holds the end of it in the fire. he points it burning towards sirius; he says that sirius shall twinkle like canopus. he sings; he sings about canopus, he sings about sirius; he points to them with fire,[807] that they may twinkle like each other. he throws fire at them. he covers himself up entirely (including his head) in his kaross and lies down. he arises, he sits down; while he does not again lie down; because he feels that he has worked, putting sirius into the sun's warmth; so that sirius may warmly come out. the women go out early to seek for bushman rice; they walk, sunning their shoulder blades."[808] what the bushmen thus do to temper the cold of midwinter in the southern hemisphere by blowing up the celestial fires may have been done by our rude forefathers at the corresponding season in the northern hemisphere. [the burning wheels and discs of the fire-festivals may be direct imitations of the sun.] not only the date of some of the festivals but the manner of their celebration suggests a conscious imitation of the sun. the custom of rolling a burning wheel down a hill, which is often observed at these ceremonies, might well pass for an imitation of the sun's course in the sky, and the imitation would be especially appropriate on midsummer day when the sun's annual declension begins. indeed the custom has been thus interpreted by some of those who have recorded it.[809] not less graphic, it may be said, is the mimicry of his apparent revolution by swinging a burning tar-barrel round a pole.[810] again, the common practice of throwing fiery discs, sometimes expressly said to be shaped like suns, into the air at the festivals may well be a piece of imitative magic. in these, as in so many cases, the magic force may be supposed to take effect through mimicry or sympathy: by imitating the desired result you actually produce it: by counterfeiting the sun's progress through the heavens you really help the luminary to pursue his celestial journey with punctuality and despatch. the name "fire of heaven," by which the midsummer fire is sometimes popularly known,[811] clearly implies a consciousness of a connexion between the earthly and the heavenly flame. [the wheel sometimes used to kindle the fire by friction may also be an imitation of the sun.] again, the manner in which the fire appears to have been originally kindled on these occasions has been alleged in support of the view that it was intended to be a mock-sun. as some scholars have perceived, it is highly probable that at the periodic festivals in former times fire was universally obtained by the friction of two pieces of wood.[812] we have seen that it is still so procured in some places both at the easter and the midsummer festivals, and that it is expressly said to have been formerly so procured at the beltane celebration both in scotland and wales.[813] but what makes it nearly certain that this was once the invariable mode of kindling the fire at these periodic festivals is the analogy of the need-fire, which has almost always been produced by the friction of wood, and sometimes by the revolution of a wheel. it is a plausible conjecture that the wheel employed for this purpose represents the sun,[814] and if the fires at the regularly recurring celebrations were formerly produced in the same way, it might be regarded as a confirmation of the view that they were originally sun-charms. in point of fact there is, as kuhn has indicated,[815] some evidence to shew that the midsummer fire was originally thus produced. we have seen that many hungarian swineherds make fire on midsummer eve by rotating a wheel round a wooden axle wrapt in hemp, and that they drive their pigs through the fire thus made.[816] at obermedlingen, in swabia, the "fire of heaven," as it was called, was made on st. vitus's day (the fifteenth of june) by igniting a cartwheel, which, smeared with pitch and plaited with straw, was fastened on a pole twelve feet high, the top of the pole being inserted in the nave of the wheel. this fire was made on the summit of a mountain, and as the flame ascended, the people uttered a set form of words, with eyes and arms directed heavenward.[817] here the fixing of a wheel on a pole and igniting it suggests that originally the fire was produced, as in the case of the need-fire, by the revolution of a wheel. the day on which the ceremony takes place (the fifteenth of june) is near midsummer; and we have seen that in masuren fire is, or used to be, actually made on midsummer day by turning a wheel rapidly about an oaken pole,[818] though it is not said that the new fire so obtained is used to light a bonfire. however, we must bear in mind that in all such cases the use of a wheel may be merely a mechanical device to facilitate the operation of fire-making by increasing the friction; it need not have any symbolical significance. [the influence which the fires are supposed to exert on the weather and vegetation may be thought to be due to an increase of solar heat produced by the fires.] further, the influence which these fires, whether periodic or occasional, are supposed to exert on the weather and vegetation may be cited in support of the view that they are sun-charms, since the effects ascribed to them resemble those of sunshine. thus, the french belief that in a rainy june the lighting of the midsummer bonfires will cause the rain to cease[819] appears to assume that they can disperse the dark clouds and make the sun to break out in radiant glory, drying the wet earth and dripping trees. similarly the use of the need-fire by swiss children on foggy days for the purpose of clearing away the mist[820] may very naturally be interpreted as a sun-charm. again, we have seen that in the vosges mountains the people believe that the midsummer fires help to preserve the fruits of the earth and ensure good crops.[821] in sweden the warmth or cold of the coming season is inferred from the direction in which the flames of the may day bonfire are blown; if they blow to the south, it will be warm, if to the north, cold.[822] no doubt at present the direction of the flames is regarded merely as an augury of the weather, not as a mode of influencing it. but we may be pretty sure that this is one of the cases in which magic has dwindled into divination. so in the eifel mountains, when the smoke blows towards the corn-fields, this is an omen that the harvest will be abundant.[823] but the older view may have been not merely that the smoke and flames prognosticated, but that they actually produced an abundant harvest, the heat of the flames acting like sunshine on the corn. perhaps it was with this view that people in the isle of man lit fires to windward of their fields in order that the smoke might blow over them.[824] so in south africa, about the month of april, the matabeles light huge fires to the windward of their gardens, "their idea being that the smoke, by passing over the crops, will assist the ripening of them."[825] among the zulus also "medicine is burned on a fire placed to windward of the garden, the fumigation which the plants in consequence receive being held to improve the crop."[826] again, the idea of our european peasants that the corn will grow well as far as the blaze of the bonfire is visible,[827] may be interpreted as a remnant of the belief in the quickening and fertilizing power of the bonfires. the same belief, it may be argued, reappears in the notion that embers taken from the bonfires and inserted in the fields will promote the growth of the crops,[828] and it may be thought to underlie the customs of sowing flax-seed in the direction in which the flames blow,[829] of mixing the ashes of the bonfire with the seed-corn at sowing,[830] of scattering the ashes by themselves over the field to fertilize it,[831] and of incorporating a piece of the yule log in the plough to make the seeds thrive.[832] the opinion that the flax or hemp will grow as high as the flames rise or the people leap over them[833] belongs clearly to the same class of ideas. again, at konz, on the banks of the moselle, if the blazing wheel which was trundled down the hillside reached the river without being extinguished, this was hailed as a proof that the vintage would be abundant. so firmly was this belief held that the successful performance of the ceremony entitled the villagers to levy a tax upon the owners of the neighbouring vineyards.[834] here the unextinguished wheel might be taken to represent an unclouded sun, which in turn would portend an abundant vintage. so the waggon-load of white wine which the villagers received from the vineyards round about might pass for a payment for the sunshine which they had procured for the grapes. similarly we saw that in the vale of glamorgan a blazing wheel used to be trundled down hill on midsummer day, and that if the fire were extinguished before the wheel reached the foot of the hill, the people expected a bad harvest; whereas if the wheel kept alight all the way down and continued to blaze for a long time, the farmers looked forward to heavy crops that summer.[835] here, again, it is natural to suppose that the rustic mind traced a direct connexion between the fire of the wheel and the fire of the sun, on which the crops are dependent. [the effect which the bonfires are supposed to have in fertilizing cattle and women may also be attributed to an increase of solar heat produced by the fires.] but in popular belief the quickening and fertilizing influence of the bonfires is not limited to the vegetable world; it extends also to animals. this plainly appears from the irish custom of driving barren cattle through the midsummer fires,[836] from the french belief that the yule-log steeped in water helps cows to calve,[837] from the french and servian notion that there will be as many chickens, calves, lambs, and kids as there are sparks struck out of the yule log,[838] from the french custom of putting the ashes of the bonfires in the fowls' nests to make the hens lay eggs,[839] and from the german practice of mixing the ashes of the bonfires with the drink of cattle in order to make the animals thrive.[840] further, there are clear indications that even human fecundity is supposed to be promoted by the genial heat of the fires. in morocco the people think that childless couples can obtain offspring by leaping over the midsummer bonfire.[841] it is an irish belief that a girl who jumps thrice over the midsummer bonfire will soon marry and become the mother of many children;[842] in flanders women leap over the midsummer fires to ensure an easy delivery;[843] and in various parts of france they think that if a girl dances round nine fires she will be sure to marry within the year.[844] on the other hand, in lechrain people say that if a young man and woman, leaping over the midsummer fire together, escape unsmirched, the young woman will not become a mother within twelve months:[845] the flames have not touched and fertilized her. in parts of switzerland and france the lighting of the yule log is accompanied by a prayer that the women may bear children, the she-goats bring forth kids, and the ewes drop lambs.[846] the rule observed in some places that the bonfires should be kindled by the person who was last married[847] seems to belong to the same class of ideas, whether it be that such a person is supposed to receive from, or to impart to, the fire a generative and fertilizing influence. the common practice of lovers leaping over the fires hand in hand may very well have originated in a notion that thereby their marriage would be blessed with offspring; and the like motive would explain the custom which obliges couples married within the year to dance to the light of torches.[848] and the scenes of profligacy which appear to have marked the midsummer celebration among the esthonians,[849] as they once marked the celebration of may day among ourselves, may have sprung, not from the mere license of holiday-makers, but from a crude notion that such orgies were justified, if not required, by some mysterious bond which linked the life of man to the courses of the heavens at this turning-point of the year. [the custom of carrying lighted torches about the country at the festival may be explained as an attempt to diffuse the sun's heat.] at the festivals which we are considering the custom of kindling bonfires is commonly associated with a custom of carrying lighted torches about the fields, the orchards, the pastures, the flocks and the herds; and we can hardly doubt that the two customs are only two different ways of attaining the same object, namely, the benefits which are believed to flow from the fire, whether it be stationary or portable. accordingly if we accept the solar theory of the bonfires, we seem bound to apply it also to the torches; we must suppose that the practice of marching or running with blazing torches about the country is simply a means of diffusing far and wide the genial influence of the sunshine, of which these flickering flames are a feeble imitation. in favour of this view it may be said that sometimes the torches are carried about the fields for the express purpose of fertilizing them,[850] and for the same purpose live coals from the bonfires are sometimes placed in the fields "to prevent blight."[851] on the eve of twelfth day in normandy men, women, and children run wildly through the fields and orchards with lighted torches, which they wave about the branches and dash against the trunks of the fruit-trees for the sake of burning the moss and driving away the moles and field mice. "they believe that the ceremony fulfils the double object of exorcizing the vermin whose multiplication would be a real calamity, and of imparting fecundity to the trees, the fields, and even the cattle"; and they imagine that the more the ceremony is prolonged, the greater will be the crop of fruit next autumn.[852] in bohemia they say that the corn will grow as high as they fling the blazing besoms into the air.[853] nor are such notions confined to europe. in corea, a few days before the new year festival, the eunuchs of the palace swing burning torches, chanting invocations the while, and this is supposed to ensure bountiful crops for the next season.[854] the custom of trundling a burning wheel over the fields, which used to be observed in poitou for the express purpose of fertilizing them,[855] may be thought to embody the same idea in a still more graphic form; since in this way the mock-sun itself, not merely its light and heat represented by torches, is made actually to pass over the ground which is to receive its quickening and kindly influence. once more, the custom of carrying lighted brands round cattle[856] is plainly equivalent to driving the animals through the bonfire; and if the bonfire is a sun-charm, the torches must be so also. § 3. _the purificatory theory of the fire-festivals_ [theory that the fires at the festivals are purificatory, being intended to burn up all harmful things.] thus far we have considered what may be said for the theory that at the european fire-festivals the fire is kindled as a charm to ensure an abundant supply of sunshine for man and beast, for corn and fruits. it remains to consider what may be said against this theory and in favour of the view that in these rites fire is employed not as a creative but as a cleansing agent, which purifies men, animals, and plants by burning up and consuming the noxious elements, whether material or spiritual, which menace all living things with disease and death. [the purificatory or destructive effect of the fires is often alleged by the people who light them; the great evil against which the fire at the festivals is directed appears to be witchcraft.] first, then, it is to be observed that the people who practise the fire-customs appear never to allege the solar theory in explanation of them, while on the contrary they do frequently and emphatically put forward the purificatory theory. this is a strong argument in favour of the purificatory and against the solar theory; for the popular explanation of a popular custom is never to be rejected except for grave cause. and in the present case there seems to be no adequate reason for rejecting it. the conception of fire as a destructive agent, which can be turned to account for the consumption of evil things, is so simple and obvious that it could hardly escape the minds even of the rude peasantry with whom these festivals originated. on the other hand the conception of fire as an emanation of the sun, or at all events as linked to it by a bond of physical sympathy, is far less simple and obvious; and though the use of fire as a charm to produce sunshine appears to be undeniable,[857] nevertheless in attempting to explain popular customs we should never have recourse to a more recondite idea when a simpler one lies to hand and is supported by the explicit testimony of the people themselves. now in the case of the fire-festivals the destructive aspect of fire is one upon which the people dwell again and again; and it is highly significant that the great evil against which the fire is directed appears to be witchcraft. again and again we are told that the fires are intended to burn or repel the witches;[858] and the intention is sometimes graphically expressed by burning an effigy of a witch in the fire.[859] hence, when we remember the great hold which the dread of witchcraft has had on the popular european mind in all ages, we may suspect that the primary intention of all these fire-festivals was simply to destroy or at all events get rid of the witches, who were regarded as the causes of nearly all the misfortunes and calamities that befall men, their cattle, and their crops.[860] [amongst the evils for which the fire-festivals are deemed remedies the foremost is cattle-disease, and cattle-disease is often supposed to be an effect of witchcraft.] this suspicion is confirmed when we examine the evils for which the bonfires and torches were supposed to provide a remedy. foremost, perhaps, among these evils we may reckon the diseases of cattle; and of all the ills that witches are believed to work there is probably none which is so constantly insisted on as the harm they do to the herds, particularly by stealing the milk from the cows.[861] now it is significant that the need-fire, which may perhaps be regarded as the parent of the periodic fire-festivals, is kindled above all as a remedy for a murrain or other disease of cattle; and the circumstance suggests, what on general grounds seems probable, that the custom of kindling the need-fire goes back to a time when the ancestors of the european peoples subsisted chiefly on the products of their herds, and when agriculture as yet played a subordinate part in their lives. witches and wolves are the two great foes still dreaded by the herdsman in many parts of europe;[862] and we need not wonder that he should resort to fire as a powerful means of banning them both. among slavonic peoples it appears that the foes whom the need-fire is designed to combat are not so much living witches as vampyres and other evil spirits,[863] and the ceremony, as we saw, aims rather at repelling these baleful beings than at actually consuming them in the flames. but for our present purpose these distinctions are immaterial. the important thing to observe is that among the slavs the need-fire, which is probably the original of all the ceremonial fires now under consideration, is not a sun-charm, but clearly and unmistakably nothing but a means of protecting man and beast against the attacks of maleficent creatures, whom the peasant thinks to burn or scare by the heat of the fire, just as he might burn or scare wild animals. [again, the bonfires are thought to avert hail, thunder, lightning, and other maladies, all of which are attributed to the maleficent arts of witches.] again, the bonfires are often supposed to protect the fields against hail[864] and the homestead against thunder and lightning.[865] but both hail and thunderstorms are frequently thought to be caused by witches;[866] hence the fire which bans the witches necessarily serves at the same time as a talisman against hail, thunder, and lightning. further, brands taken from the bonfires are commonly kept in the houses to guard them against conflagration;[867] and though this may perhaps be done on the principle of homoeopathic magic, one fire being thought to act as a preventive of another, it is also possible that the intention may be to keep witch-incendiaries at bay. again, people leap over the bonfires as a preventive of colic,[868] and look at the flames steadily in order to preserve their eyes in good health;[869] and both colic and sore eyes are in germany, and probably elsewhere, set down to the machinations of witches.[870] once more, to leap over the midsummer fires or to circumambulate them is thought to prevent a person from feeling pains in his back at reaping;[871] and in germany such pains are called "witch-shots" and ascribed to witchcraft.[872] [the burning wheels rolled down hills and the burning discs and brooms thrown into the air may be intended to burn the invisible witches.] but if the bonfires and torches of the fire-festivals are to be regarded primarily as weapons directed against witches and wizards, it becomes probable that the same explanation applies not only to the flaming discs which are hurled into the air, but also to the burning wheels which are rolled down hill on these occasions; discs and wheels, we may suppose, are alike intended to burn the witches who hover invisible in the air or haunt unseen the fields, the orchards, and the vineyards on the hillside.[873] certainly witches are constantly thought to ride through the air on broomsticks or other equally convenient vehicles; and if they do so, how can you get at them so effectually as by hurling lighted missiles, whether discs, torches, or besoms, after them as they flit past overhead in the gloom? the south slavonian peasant believes that witches ride in the dark hail-clouds; so he shoots at the clouds to bring down the hags, while he curses them, saying, "curse, curse herodias, thy mother is a heathen, damned of god and fettered through the redeemer's blood." also he brings out a pot of glowing charcoal on which he has thrown holy oil, laurel leaves, and wormwood to make a smoke. the fumes are supposed to ascend to the clouds and stupefy the witches, so that they tumble down to earth. and in order that they may not fall soft, but may hurt themselves very much, the yokel hastily brings out a chair and tilts it bottom up so that the witch in falling may break her legs on the legs of the chair. worse than that, he cruelly lays scythes, bill-hooks and other formidable weapons edge upwards so as to cut and mangle the poor wretches when they drop plump upon them from the clouds.[874] [on this view the fertility supposed to follow the use of fire results indirectly from breaking the spells of witches.] on this view the fertility supposed to follow the application of fire in the form of bonfires, torches, discs, rolling wheels, and so forth, is not conceived as resulting directly from an increase of solar heat which the fire has magically generated; it is merely an indirect result obtained by freeing the reproductive powers of plants and animals from the fatal obstruction of witchcraft. and what is true of the reproduction of plants and animals may hold good also of the fertility of the human sexes. we have seen that the bonfires are supposed to promote marriage and to procure offspring for childless couples. this happy effect need not flow directly from any quickening or fertilizing energy in the fire; it may follow indirectly from the power of the fire to remove those obstacles which the spells of witches and wizards notoriously present to the union of man and wife.[875] [on the whole the theory of the purificatory or destructive intention of the fire-festivals seems the more probable.] on the whole, then, the theory of the purificatory virtue of the ceremonial fires appears more probable and more in accordance with the evidence than the opposing theory of their connexion with the sun. but europe is not the only part of the world where ceremonies of this sort have been performed; elsewhere the passage through the flames or smoke or over the glowing embers of a bonfire, which is the central feature of most of the rites, has been employed as a cure or a preventive of various ills. we have seen that the midsummer ritual of fire in morocco is practically identical with that of our european peasantry; and customs more or less similar have been observed by many races in various parts of the world. a consideration of some of them may help us to decide between the conflicting claims of the two rival theories, which explain the ceremonies as sun-charms or purifications respectively. notes: [796] above, pp. 116 _sq._, 119, 143, 165, 166, 168 _sq._, 172. [797] above, pp. 116, 117 _sq._, 119, 141, 143, 161, 162 _sq._, 163 _sq._, 173, 191, 201. [798] w. mannhardt, _der baumkultus der germanen und ihrer nachbarstämme_ (berlin, 1875), pp. 521 _sqq._ [799] e. westermarck, "midsummer customs in morocco," _folk-lore_, xvi. (1905) pp. 44 _sqq.; id., the origin and development of the moral ideas_ (london, 1906-1908), i. 56; _id., ceremonies and beliefs connected with agriculture, certain dates of the solar year, and the weather in morocco_ (helsingfors, 1913), pp. 93-102. [800] e. mogk, "sitten und gebräuche im kreislauf des jahres," in r. wuttke's _sächsische volkskunde_*[2] (dresden, 1901), pp. 310 _sq._ [801] _the golden bough_, second edition (london, 1900), iii. 312: "the custom of leaping over the fire and driving cattle through it may be intended, on the one hand, to secure for man and beast a share of the vital energy of the sun, and, on the other hand, to purge them of all evil influences; for to the primitive mind fire is the most powerful of all purificatory agents"; and again, _id._ iii. 314: "it is quite possible that in these customs the idea of the quickening power of fire may be combined with the conception of it as a purgative agent for the expulsion or destruction of evil beings, such as witches and the vermin that destroy the fruits of the earth. certainly the fires are often interpreted in the latter way by the persons who light them; and this purgative use of the element comes out very prominently, as we have seen, in the general expulsion of demons from towns and villages. but in the present class of cases this aspect of fire may be secondary, if indeed it is more than a later misinterpretation of the custom." [802] _the magic art and the evolution of kings_, i. 311 _sqq_. [803] see _adonis, attis, osiris_, second edition, pp. 254 _sqq_. [804] manilius, _astronom_. v. 206 _sqq._: "_cum vero in vastos surget nemeaeus hiatus, exoriturque canis, latratque canicula flammas et rabit igne suo geminatque incendia solis, qua subdente facem terris radiosque movente_" etc. pliny, _naturalis historic_ xviii. 269 _sq_.: "_exoritur dein post triduum fere ubique confessum inter omnes sidus ingens quod canis ortum vocamus, sole partem primam leonis ingresso. hoc fit post solstitium xxiii. die. sentiunt id maria et terrae, multae vero et ferae, ut suis locis diximus. neque est minor ei veneratio quam descriptis in deos stellis accendique solem et magnam aestus obtinet causam_." [805] _specimens of bushman folklore_ collected by the late w.h.i. bleek, ph.d., and l.c. lloyd (london, 1911), pp. 339, 341. in quoting the passage i have omitted the brackets which the editors print for the purpose of indicating the words which are implied, but not expressed, in the original bushman text. [806] "the sun is a little warm, when this star appears in winter" (editors of _specimens of bushman folklore_). [807] "with the stick that he had held in the fire, moving it up and down quickly" (editors). [808] "they take one arm out of the kaross, thereby exposing one shoulder blade to the sun" (editors). [809] see above, pp. 161, 162 _sq._ on the wheel as an emblem of the sun, see j. grimm, _deutsche mythologie_,*[4] ii. 585; a. kuhn, _die herabkunft des feuers und des göttertranks_*[2] (gütersloh, 1886), pp. 45 _sqq._; h. gaidoz, "le dieu gaulois du soleil et le symbolisme de la roue," _revue archéologique_, iii. série, iv. (1884) pp. 14 _sqq._; william simpson, _the buddhist praying wheel_ (london, 1896), pp. 87 _sqq._ it is a popular armenian idea that "the body of the sun has the shape of the wheel of a water-mill; it revolves and moves forward. as drops of water sputter from the mill-wheel, so sunbeams shoot out from the spokes of the sun-wheel" (m. abeghian, _der armenische volksglaube_, leipsic, 1899, p. 41). in the old mexican picture-books the usual representation of the sun is "a wheel, often brilliant with many colours, the rays of which are so many bloodstained tongues, by means of which the sun receives his nourishment" (e.j. payne, _history of the new world called america_, oxford, 1892, i. 521). [810] above, p. 169. [811] ernst meier, _deutsche sagen, sitten und gebräuche aus schwaben_ (stuttgart, 1852), p. 225; f. panzer, _beitrag zur deutschen mythologie_ (munich, 1848-1855), ii. 240; anton birlinger, _volksthümliches aus schwaben_ (freiburg im breisgau, 1861-1862), ii. 57, 97; w. mannhardt, _baumkultus_, p. 510. [812] compare j. grimm, _deutsche mythologie_,*[4] i. 521; j.w. wolf, _beiträge zur deutschen mythologie_ (gottingen und leipsic, 1852-1857), ii. 389; adalbert kuhn, _die herabkunft des feuers und des göttertranks_*[2] (gütersloh, 1886), pp. 41 _sq._, 47; w. mannhardt, _baumkultus_, p. 521. lindenbrog in his glossary on the capitularies (quoted by j. grimm, _deutsche mythologie_,*[4] i. 502) expressly says: "the rustics in many parts of germany, particularly on the festival of st. john the baptist, wrench a stake from a fence, wind a rope round it, and pull it to and fro till it catches fire. this fire they carefully feed with straw and dry sticks and scatter the ashes over the vegetable gardens, foolishly and superstitiously imagining that in this way the caterpillar can be kept off. they call such a fire _nodfeur_ or _nodfyr_, that is to say need-fire." [813] above, pp. 144 _sq._, 147 _sq._, 155, 169 _sq._, 175, 177, 179. [814] j. grimm, _deutsche mythologie_,*[4] i. 509; j.w. wolf, _beiträge zur deutschen mythologie_, i. 117; a. kuhn, _die herabkunft des feuers_,*[2] pp. 47 _sq._; w. mannhardt, _baumkultus_, p. 521; w.e. kelly, _curiosities of indo-european tradition and folk-lore_ (london, 1863), p. 49. [815] a. kuhn, _die herabkunft des feuers und des göttertranks_*[2] (gütersloh, 1886), p. 47. [816] above, p. 179. [817] f. panzer, _beitrag zur deutschen mythologie_ (munich, 1848-1855), ii. 240, § 443. [818] above, p. 177. [819] above, pp. 187 _sq._ [820] above, pp. 279 _sq._ [821] above, p. 188. [822] above, p. 159. [823] above, p. 116. [824] above, p. 201. [825] l. decle, _three years in savage africa_ (london, 1898), pp. 160 _sq._ [826] rev. j. shooter, _the kafirs of natal and the zulu country_ (london, 1857), p. 18. [827] above, pp. 140, 142. [828] above, pp. 119, 165, 166, 173, 203. [829] above, p. 140. [830] above, p. 121. [831] above, pp. 141, 170, 190, 203, 248, 250, 264. [832] above, p. 251. [833] above, pp. 119, 165, 166, 168, 173, 174. [834] above, pp. 118, 163 _sq._ [835] above, p. 201. [836] above, p. 203. [837] above, p. 250. [838] above, pp. 251, 262, 263, 264. [839] above, p. 112. [840] above, p. 141. [841] above, p. 214. [842] above, p. 204. [843] above, p. 194. [844] above, p. 185, 189; compare p. 174. [845] above, p. 166. [846] above, pp. 249, 250. [847] above, pp. 107, 109, 111, 119; compare pp. 116, 192, 193. [848] above, p. 115. [849] above, p. 180. [850] above, pp. 113, 142, 170, 233. the torches of demeter, which figure so largely in her myth and on her monuments, are perhaps to be explained by this custom. see _spirits of the corn and of the wild_, i. 57. w. mannhardt thought (_baumkultus_, p. 536) that the torches in the modern european customs are imitations of lightning. at some of their ceremonies the indians of north-west america imitate lightning by means of pitch-wood torches which are flashed through the roof of the house. see j.g. swan, quoted by franz boas, "the social organization and the secret societies of the kwakiutl indians," _report of the united states national museum for 1895_ (washington, 1897), p. 639. [851] above, p. 203. [852] amélie bosquet, _la normandie romanesque et merveilleuse_ (paris and rouen, 1845), pp. 295 _sq._; jules lecoeur, _esquisses du bocage normand_ (condé-sur-noireau, 1883-1887), ii. 126-129. see _the scapegoat_, pp. 316 _sq._ [853] br. jelínek, "materialen zur vorgeschichte mid volkskunde böhmens," _mittheilungen der anthropolog. gesellschaft in wien_ xxi. (1891) p. 13 note. [854] mrs. bishop, _korea and her neighbours_ (london, 1898), ii. 56 _sq._ [855] above, pp. 190 _sq._ [856] above, pp. 178, 205, 206. [857] see _the magic art and the evolution of kings_, i. 311 _sqq._ [858] above, pp. 108, 109, 116, 118 _sq._, 121, 148, 154, 156, 157, 159, 160, 170, 171, 174, 175, 176, 180, 183, 185, 188, 232 _sq._, 245, 252, 253, 280, 292, 293, 295, 297. for more evidence of the use of fire to burn or expel witches on certain days of the year, see _the scapegoat_ pp. 158 _sqq._ less often the fires are thought to burn or repel evil spirits and vampyres. see above, pp. 146, 170, 172, 202, 252, 282, 285. sometimes the purpose of the fires is to drive away dragons (above, pp. 161, 195). [859] above, pp. 107, 116, 118 _sq._, 159. [860] "in short, of all the ills incident to the life of man, none are so formidable as witchcraft, before the combined influence of which, to use the language of an honest man who had himself severely suffered from its effects, the great laird of grant himself could not stand them if they should fairly yoke upon him" (w. grant stewart, _the popular superstitions and festive amusements of the highlanders of scotland_, edinburgh, 1823, pp. 202 _sq._). "every misfortune and calamity that took place in the parish, such as ill-health, the death of friends, the loss of stock, and the failure of crops; yea to such a length did they carry their superstition, that even the inclemency of the seasons, were attributed to the influence of certain old women who were supposed to be in league, and had dealings with the devil. these the common people thought had the power and too often the inclination to injure their property, and torment their persons" (_county folklore_, vol. v. _lincolnshire_, collected by mrs. gutch and mabel peacock, london, 1908, p. 76). "the county of salop is no exception to the rule of superstition. the late vicar of a parish on the clee hills, startled to find that his parishioners still believed in witchcraft, once proposed to preach a sermon against it, but he was dissuaded from doing so by the parish schoolmaster, who assured him that the belief was so deeply rooted in the people's minds that he would be more likely to alienate them from the church than to weaken their faith in witchcraft" (miss c.f. burne and miss g.f. jackson, _shropshire folk-lore_, london, 1883, p. 145). "wherever a man or any living creature falls sick, or a misfortune of any kind happens, without any natural cause being discoverable or rather lying on the surface, there in all probability witchcraft is at work. the sudden stiffness in the small of the back, which few people can account for at the time, is therefore called a 'witch-shot' and is really ascribed to witchcraft" (l. strackerjan, _aberglaube und sagen aus dem herzogthum oldenburg_, oldenburg, 1867, i. p. 298, § 209). what sir walter scott said less than a hundred years ago is probably still true: "the remains of the superstition sometimes occur; there can be no doubt that the vulgar are still addicted to the custom of scoring above the breath (as it is termed), and other counter-spells, evincing that the belief in witchcraft is only asleep, and might in remote corners be again awakened to deeds of blood" (_letters on demonology and witchcraft_, london, 1884, p. 272). compare l. strackerjan, _op. cit._ i. p. 340, § 221: "the great power, the malicious wickedness of the witches, cause them to be feared and hated by everybody. the hatred goes so far that still at the present day you may hear it said right out that it is a pity burning has gone out of fashion, for the evil crew deserve nothing else. perhaps the hatred might find vent yet more openly, if the fear were not so great." [861] for some evidence, see _the magic art and the evolution of kings_; ii. 52-55, 330 _sqq._ it is a popular belief, universally diffused in germany, that cattle-plagues are caused by witches (a. wuttke, _der deutsche volksaberglaube_,*[2] berlin, 1869, p. 149 § 216). the scotch highlanders thought that a witch could destroy the whole of a farmer's live stock by hiding a small bag, stuffed with charms, in a cleft of the stable or byre (w. grant stewart, _the popular superstitions and festive amusements of the highlanders of scotland_, edinburgh, 1823, pp. 201 _sq._). [862] _the magic art and the evolution of kings_, ii. 330 _sqq._ [863] above, pp. 282, 284 _sq._ [864] above, pp. 118, 121, 144, 145, 176. [865] above, pp. 121, 122, 124, 140 _sq._, 145, 146, 174, 176, 183, 184, 187, 188, 190, 191, 192, 249, 250, 252, 253, 254, 258. [866] j. grimm, _deutsch mythologie_,*[4] ii. 908 _sqq._; j.v. grohmann, _aberglauben und gebräuche aus böhmen und mähren_ (prague and leipsic, 1864), p. 32 § 182; a. wuttke, _der deutsche volksaberglaube_*[2] (berlin, 1869), pp. 149 _sq._, §216; j. ceredig davies, _folk-lore of west and mid-wales_ (aberystwyth, 1911), p. 230; alois john, _sitte, branch und volksglaube im deutschen westböhmen_ (prague, 1905), p. 202. [867] above, pp. 108, 121, 140, 146, 165, 183, 188, 196, 250, 255, 256, 258. [868] above, pp. 107, 195 _sq._ [869] above, pp. 162, 163, 166, 171, 174. [870] a. wuttke, _der deutsche volksaberglaube_*[2] (berlin, 1869), p. 351, § 395. [871] above, pp. 165, 168, 189, compare 190. [872] a. wuttke, _der deutsche volksaberglaube_*[2] (berlin, 1869), p. 351, § 395; l. strackerjan, _aberglaube und sagen aus dem herzogthum oldenburg_ (oldenburg, 1867), i. p. 298, § 209. see above, p. 343 note. [873] in the ammerland, a district of oldenburg, you may sometimes see an old cart-wheel fixed over the principal door or on the gable of a house; it serves as a charm against witchcraft and is especially intended to protect the cattle as they are driven out and in. see l. strackerjan, _aberglaube und sagen aus dem herzogthum oldenburg_ (oldenburg, 1867), i. p. 357, § 236. can this use of a wheel as a talisman against witchcraft be derived from the practice of rolling fiery wheels down hill for a similar purpose? [874] f.s. krauss, _volksglaube und religiöser brauch der südslaven_ (münster i. w., 1890), pp. 118 _sq._ [875] in german such spells are called _nestelknüpfen_; in french, _nouer l'aiguilette_. see j. grimm, _deutsche mythologie_,*[4] ii. 897, 983; a. wuttke, _der deutsche volksaberglaube_*[2] (berlin, 1869), p. 252 § 396; k. doutté, _magic et religion dans l'afrique du nord_ (algiers, 1908), pp. 87 _sq._, 294 _sqq._; j.l.m. noguès, _les moeurs d'autrefois en saintonge et en aunis_ (saintes, 1891), pp. 171 _sq._